Letters to the Editor

Holy Rollers to roll again!

The Friends of First Response Kickball Tournament started with the Holy Rollers up against the Maitland Police Department. The Rollers quickly defeated Maitland’s finest and moved on to the most-fearsome contender of the contest, the two-year-in-a-row winning team — the Maitland Fire Department. The Rollers quickly mowed them down. The now-undefeated team moved its sights onto the less competitive but much more diversified Maitland Rotary Club team. The competition was fierce — the players from both teams fought to the end, with the outcome hinging on every play, but the dominant, undefeated Holly Rollers won their third game in the final plays.

Now the league bracket official determined that the undefeated Holly Rollers would be required to best the winner of a coin toss between the Rotary Club and the Maitland Fire Department. The fire chief tossed the coin into the air and the Rotary captain called heads. It came up tails. The Holy Rollers were destined to play the Maitland Fire Department in the final championship matchup for the day.

The winner of this contest was to take the coveted trophy for the year and get the title of Maitland First Responders Kickball Champion for 2011. The Maitland Fire Department had won this title two years running, and they were well-rested for the day’s contest, falling back on their deep roster of players that backed up their playbook. The Holly Rollers, like David against Goliath, had a 10-minute time to rest before starting their stiffest contest of the day, during the hottest hour of the afternoon, with their small roster.

The Holly Rollers started strong, but one of the team had to call the EMTs in attendance — for the second time that day — to care for a twisted ankle. So the Rollers called on a friend of the team from the defeated Rotary Club to stand in for the injured player. Even with the stand-in, the Rollers went down to a defiant narrow defeat in the last minutes of play — Score 3-2, the Maitland Fire Department took the title and trophy for the third year in a row. The Holly Rollers are left to plan their next year’s strategy, and build a deeper team for its respite and repeat of destiny’s opportunity.

—Jeff Flowers

Maitland

A valuable gift for Mom

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. It’s always nice to give Mom a card, flowers and candy. But this year, people all over the country are helping their moms save nearly $4,000 a year on the cost of prescription drugs. You can help your mom too — and it won’t cost you a dime.

The high cost of prescription medication can be a burden on mothers (or anyone) who have limited income and resources. But there is Extra Help — available through Social Security — that could pay part of her monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. Extra Help is worth an average of almost $4,000 a year.

To figure out whether your mother is eligible, Social Security needs to know her income and the value of her savings, investments and real estate (other than the home she lives in). To qualify for the Extra Help, she must be enrolled in Medicare and have income limited to a maximum of $16,335 for an individual or $22,065 for a married couple living together. Even if her annual income is higher, she still may be able to get some help with monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. Some examples where income may be higher include if she or her spouse support other family members who live with them, have earnings from work or live in Alaska or Hawaii; and have resources limited to $12,640 for an individual or $25,260 for a married couple living together. Resources include such things as bank accounts, stocks and bonds. We do not count her house and car as resources.

Social Security has an easy-to-use online application that you can help complete for your mom. You can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov. Just select the link on the left of the page that says, “Get extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs.” To apply by phone or have an application mailed to you, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for the Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). Or go to the nearest Social Security office.

To learn more about the Medicare prescription drug plans and special enrollment periods, visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

—Michael W. Grochowski

Social Security Regional Commissioner in Atlanta