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E d u c í i n e n
Separating Yard
Debris From Garbage
Could Pay Oft
Environmental Services has always
urged Portland residents to keep yard
debris out o f the garbage can. People
who follow that advice help the envi­
ronment by recycling yard debris and
instead o f sending it to the landfill
N ow they can help the environment
and win prizes at the same time.
Portland garbage haulers are dis­
tributing special stickers to Portland
curbside recycling custom ers to put
on their garbage cans. The stickers
say, “This Can Is For G arbage Only:
We Keep Yard Debris Out o f This
Can ” N ext month. Environm ental
Services staff will random ly check
cans with stickers. The ow ners o f
cans that are free o f yard debris are
eligible to will a free com post bin
and a S25 discoupt on their garbage
bill. E nvironm ental S ervices will
choose 100 w inners at random from
throughout the City. All prize w in­
ners will be entered into a grand prize
draw ing for a m ulching lawn m ow er
“ Portland residents have m ade
good progress over the last year in
reducing the am ount o fy ard debris in
their garbage cans, but w e ’re still
sending too much o f it to the land­
fill,” said Environm ental Services
D irector Dean M arriott. “ Yard de­
bris can be much better used to make
a beneficial com post, and if we can
stop throw ing aw ay so much o f it we
can hold down the cost o f garbage
service for our custom ers.”
State rules require Portland to offer
either weekly yard debris pickup or a
program that keeps yard debris out o f
the landfill as effectively as weekly
pickup. If the amount o f yard debris in
residential garbage cans doesn’t go
down, the City may have to increase
curbside pickup o f yard debris.
About Your
Social Security
Q u estio n : My 16-y ear daughter
I is going to babysit the n eighbor's
children 40 hours a week this sum ­
mer. A re her earnings taxable for
J Social S e c u rity ’
A n sw er: No. W orkers under
age 18 are exem pt unless house­
hold em ploym ent is their main oc­
cupation
If so u have questions
about reporting household em ploy­
m ent and pay ing the Social Securi­
ty taxes, call the Internal Revenue
Sers ice’s toll-free num ber. 1-800-
[ 829-1040.
Q u e stio n : I recently turned 65
| and signed up for M edicare. Will
M edicare pay for my prescription
| drugs?
A n sw er: N o, M edicare does not
I pay for m ost prescription drugs. If
you have any other general ques­
tions about w hat M edicare pays for.
“The M edicare H andbook,” which
I is sent to new M edicare beneficia­
ries, outlines M edicare benefits and
describes what M edicare covers and
what it does not. If you d id n 't
receive your handbook or if you
have more specific questions, you
can call Social S ecurity at 1-800-
I 722-1213.
Q u estio n : I recently applied for
I disability benefits. If I'm eligible
for disability benefits, will I au to ­
matically get M edicare benefits?
A n sw er: N ot right away. You
I will have to be a disability benefi­
ciary for 24 m onths before you will
| be enrolled in M edicare
Q u estio n : I have never worked
under Social Security but my hus­
band has for many years W hencan
I get retirem ent benefits as his w ife?
Answ e r: To receive a w ife’s ben
efit, your husband must apply for
his own retirem ent benefit and you
m ust be at least 62 years old o r have
a child under 16 still living with
you.
Q u estio n : W hat do I need to do
to change the bank w here my Social
Security benefit is deposited?
A n sw er: Cali Social S ecu rity 's
toll-free num ber, I-8 0 0 -7 7 2 -1 2 13
and the Social Security representa
five will change your direct deposit
inform ation o v er the telep h o n e
Have your new and old account
handy when you call. D o n ’t close
y o u ro ld account until direct d ep o s­
it to your new account has started
You can call your financial institu­
tion to m ake sure it has received
your check.
Q u e stio n : D oes continuing to
work after you are 65 have an effect
on your Social Security benefits?
A n sw er: Yes. W orking beyond
age 65 adds to your lifetim e earn ­
ings. T hese earnings are used to
com pute your Social Security ben
efits. In addition, you receive cred ­
its for each month you delay retire­
ment after age 65. Ify o u c o n tin u e to
work after you are entitled to bene­
fit. your benefits may be w ithheld if
your yearly earnings exceed certain
limits.
The 1996 lim its for individuals
65 and o ver is S I 2 ,500 We w ith­
hold SI in benefits for every S3 in
excess earnings. Ifv o u 'd like m ore
inform ation, call Social Security 's
toll-free num ber and request the
publication. Social S ecurity—How
W ork A ffects Y our Benefits.
Wells Fargo Donates $150,000
To Portland Public Schools Foundation
W ells Fargo Bank announced it is
donating $150,000 to the Portland
Public Schools foundation, the first
corporate gift m ade to the C am paign
For O ur Schools Fundrasiing drive
It is one o f the largest gifts W ells
Fargo has ever m ade to benefit p ub­
lic education.
In a b rief cerem ony at H um boldt
Elementary School in N orth P ort­
land, W ells Fargo Executive Vice
President G eorge Passadore present­
ed the check to Foundation C hair
Ron Saxton and Portland School
D is tr ic t S u p e r in te n d e n t J a c k
Bierwirth. A lso attending w as W ells
Fargo Senior Vice President Linda
Tubbs.
Through its Charitable Contribu­
tions Program. W ells Fargo Bank seeks
to invest in the communities in which
it does business. A major focus o f the
bank's grantmaking is kindergarten
through 12th grade education.
“ We hope that this S150.000 grant
helps give our children those oppor­
tunities. O ur public schools and our
teachers are vital parts o f our co m ­
munity and we are happy to do our
part in ensuring their future. We en ­
courage other local businesses, and
everyone else in the Portland com -
munity, to jo in us in this effort.: said
Pasadore.
T he fo u n d atio n kicked o ff its
fundraising cam paign Tuesday. April
16. to restore teaching positions that
will otherw ise be elim inated in the
1996-97 school year, due to budget
shortfalls.
Based in Portland. P assadore is
the division m anager o f W ells Fargo's
N orthw est branch banking netw ork
and T ubbs is the di vision m anager o f
Wells F arg o 's N orth w est com m ençai
banking group.
W ells Fargo Bank m erged with
First Interstate Bank on April I .
Employers Of Teen Must Have
Employment Certificates
Retail, hospitality and other em ­
ployers who are thinking about hir­
ing young people for sum m er jo b s
should apply now for em ploym ent
certificates ifthey d o n 't already have
them, according to Bureau o f Labor
and Industries officials
Last year the O regon Legislature
abolished the work perm it require­
ment for 14-through 17-year-oldsand
sim plified the em ploym ent certifi­
cate procedure for em ployers.
Now em ployers planning to hire
m inors file an E m ploym ent C ertifi­
cate A pplication with the b u reau ’s
W age and H our Division.
If the application is approved, the
bureau sends and Employ ment C er­
tificate to the em ployer.
The certificate is good for one
year The bureau autom atically sends
out renewal notices to em ployers
about six weeks before their current
certificates expire.
In addition to posting a validated
E m ploym ent C ertificate, em ployers
m ust verify the age o f each young
person they hire from an appropriate
docum ent such as a birth certificate,
d riv er's license or passport.
State law also requires each busi­
ness to keep a list o f all m inors hired
and to file a N otice o f C hange in
D uties Form if the jo b responsibili­
ties o f the youngsters change.
“T hese changes sim plify the p a­
perw ork for em ployers and the te en ­
agers w ithout com prom ising p ro tec­
tio n s,’’ said L abor C om m issioner
Jack R oberts. “N ow em ployers file
only one certificate a year instead o f
one for each m inor, and kids can
skip the trip to the bureau to apply
for the perm it. But the b u rea u ’s
careful review o f all E m ploym ent
C ertificate A pplications ensures that
businesses are com plying with child
labor law s.”
graders at Beach
Elementary School plant
ancient ginkgo tree donated
by Kaiser Permantente. The
tree once grew around the
world but died out everywhere
but China during the ice age.
F/ft/?
Conference of Color Bucks Trend For
Underrepresented Minority Students
A ttending college is often a diffi­
cult decision for a m inority high
school student to make. M any o f
them must overcom e financial and
cultural barriers in order to attend.
O thers sim ply do not have the
parental or peer guidance to help
them choose higher education.
An annual conference that targets
“students o f co lo r” is one w ay in
which colleges and universities at­
tempt to reverse this trend for m in o r­
ity students.
W estern O regon State C ollege
played host to the O regon Regional
C onference for Students o f C olor on
I uesday, April 23. at the cam pus in
Monmouth.
R epresentatives from all seven
institutions in the O regon State Sys­
tem o f H igher E ducation will talk
with high school students, freshm en
through seniors, to encourage them
to think ahead about the possibilities
o f attending college.
“ Everything from financial b arri­
ers to individuals w hose parents nev­
er attended college keep minority'
students from even thinking about
co lleg e,” said D avid M artinez, d i­
rector o f M inority Students Services
at W estern Oregon.
“ M any o f these student do not
have som eone at hom e telling them
that college is possible and helping
them through the college process.
And although their high school
may have inform ation about college,
m any minority teenagers d o n ’t see
their peers attending. They have to
deal with the peer pressure o f “ Is this
som ething I can really d o ,” M artinez
explained.
T he director believes the upcom ­
ing conference will help high school
students get the m essage early that
“going to college is possible.”
At the conference, students will
learn about how to prepare for co l­
lege. how to pay for it. and why they
should attend. "W e m ake it clear that
our goal is to recruit students for
h igher educat ion. not to attend W est­
ern O reg o n S tate C o lleg e ," said
M artinez.
T his y e a r's conference has an ad-
ditional m essage,too, he says, one o f
“stu d en t’s helping students.” C o l­
lege students who received 1995-96
U nderrepresented M inority A chieve­
m ent Scholarships, offered though
the O regon State System o f H igher
Education, will be present to talk
with their peers about college life.
"T he m essage that students are doing
this to try to help other students is a
very positive one,” he added.
W hile the conference is hosted
during the year at other state regional
colleges in O regon, W estern O re­
gon. traditionally, attracts the largest
contingent o f students attending from
M ultnom ah, M arion, W ashington,
Polk, and surrounding counties, said
M artinez. A pproxim ately 300 stu­
dents are expected to attend.
"O ne o f the reasons {W estern at­
tracts so many students} is because
w e're centrally located. A nother is
that we have a reputation o f being
student-focused,” he said.
Any individual w anting addition­
al inform ation, can contact M artinez
at telephone 503/838-8195.
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