Broadcaster Press 7 November 22, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com Dave Says Is This Plan too Intense? Dave RAMSEY Dear Travis, Man, I’m really excited for you two. You’re working hard to take control of your finances and pay off debt. This is what I mean when I use the phrase “gazelle intensity.” However, I think selling your home is going a bit too far at the moment. Despite a really rocky road the last several years, the housing and real estate market is finally starting to rebound. At this point, there’s every indication that your home is going to go up in value. If you go with your plan, you’re going to lose all that appreciation value and lower your standard of living at the same time. While you have something of a modest income, I think you make enough money to pay off the house and become prosperous during the next five to seven years, without going to the extreme. Keep up the great work! — Dave Health Insurance Options Dear Dave, My husband and I are self-employed, and we currently pay alCyrus was an old farmer and had worked hard all of his life. most $1,000 a month for health insurance. I’ve heard you talk about the potential for rates to increase as much as 40 to 60 per- He was independent, but he was getting older and everything cent next year. Are there other options, such as just saving the was just a little bit harder. Still, he was determined to maintain his independence and pride. money in case of medical emergencies? Anna When the Boy Scouts came around wanting to rake his Dear Anna, You don’t want to go completely without insurance, because you’ll get penalized by the government. Remember, when it comes to health insurance, the problem usually isn’t a kidney stone or a trip to the emergency room for a few stitches. The problem is a cancer diagnosis, which ends up costing $500,000 or more. You might want to check into an HSA (Health Savings Account) type of plan within the exchanges. Another thing you could look at is one of the medical sharing programs through a Christian organization such as Christian Healthcare Ministries. But a higher deductible, HSA-type plan might help keep your premiums down. It’s sad, but this is what Obamacare has done to independent people like you and me who are self-employed. It’s destroying small group plans, and I guess that was their intent. I suppose they wanted to put those companies out of business, so the government could take it over. — Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven bestselling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. Mental Health Task Force Submits Recommendations The South Dakota task force studying mental health and criminal justice today submitted a report with 15 recommendations for consideration by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Legislature. Expanding training and tools for law enforcement, standardizing mental health screenings in jails, and increasing opportunities to divert individuals with mental illness to treatment are among the task force’s recommendations. Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson convened the 22-member Task Force on Community Justice and Mental Illness Early Intervention from March through October. With support from the Governor, the Chief Justice established the group to address delays in court-ordered mental health evaluations and shortfalls in treatment for mentally ill individuals within the justice system. The task force consisted of representatives from all three branches of government and local governments, criminal justice officials, and mental health stakeholder groups. The task force’s work was funded through a $302,500 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ, which assisted the Governor and Chief Justice with recent adult and juvenile criminal justice reforms, provided technical assistance. “I thank the Chief Justice and task force members for undertaking this work. Prior to this, we had not had a comprehensive review of the evaluation and treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system who struggle with mental illness,” said Gov. Daugaard. “I will take this report seriously and carefully review each of the recommendations.” By Daris Howard The task force met eight times to review state laws, requirements for mental illness evaluations, court and jail data, and input from more than 100 stakeholders statewide. The group surveyed 24 jails and found the majority of surveyed jails had no access to a staff or contracted psychiatrist and little to no access to other mental health staff. “Through our research we learned that diversion options are limited to certain geographic areas and there is a lack of procedures for early identification of mental illness. We also found that people with signs of mental illness were more likely to be detained pretrial and to spend more time in detention,” Chief Justice Gilbertson said. “South Dakota can do better. The recommendations of the task force represent common sense approaches to move us in the right direction. That should not only reduce the time these individuals spend in the criminal justice system, it will save the taxpayers considerable tax dollars in the running of the jails.” The task force’s list of recommendations includes: • Expanding Crisis Intervention Team training; • Establishing a grant program for counties and regions to set up crisis response options; • Identifying mental illness through timely mental health screenings; • Providing training to criminal justice stakeholders on options to de-escalate crises and divert people safely into treatment in the community; • Piloting a mental health court in Pennington County; and • Expediting completion of court-ordered competency evaluations. leaves, he shooed them away, telling them he was capable of doing his own yard work. When he hurt his back, the men of the community wanted to help him stack his wood, but Cyrus wouldn’t hear of it. Even if he could only carry one small stick of wood at a time, he was determined to do it himself. One fall day there was a big Agriculture Expo at the local university. Though Cyrus was retired from farming, the monotony was driving him crazy, so he decided to go. “Take some food with you,” his wife said, as he was heading out the door. “You know how you get at those farm things, staying for hours. And since you get dizzy when you don’t eat for a long time, you’ll need something.” Cyrus didn’t like the implication that he was old and feeble. He only pretended to take something, and then he slipped out and was on his way. Once at the Expo, Cyrus was in the world he loved. He knew half of the people walking around the big football field where the agriculture exhibits were displayed. New tractors, combines, hay equipment, and every sort of tillage machine was there. The time went by quickly, and Cyrus started realizing he was beginning to feel that dizzy, low-blood-sugar feeling. He decided to visit one of the food booths. But they were on the far end of the football field, and there was a lot of things to stop and look at on his way. He was getting fairly close to the hamburger stand he was aiming for when, suddenly, everything went black. When Cyrus came to, he was lying on the artificial turf with paramedics leaning over him. No matter how much Cyrus complained, they insisted he had to go to the hospital just to be safe. That made Cyrus mad, but he didn’t have much choice. When he finally got to the hospital, they checked him over and felt he was okay to go home. As he was reaching for the phone to call his wife, he was so mad that he mumbled, “I think I’m going to go home and shoot myself.” He, of course, didn’t mean it, but the hospital staff was trained to take suicidal threats seriously. So they took him, hollering, back into the hospital. He was informed that they legally had to watch him for forty-eight hours. If he was mad before, it was nothing compared to his attitude now. He called his wife, and she hurried over. But he still had to stay for the full two days. He was upset, and for forty-eight hours he made everyone’s life miserable until they were as happy as he was to have him leave. When he was finally told he could go home, he was about to march out when the hospital staff informed him that hospital policy required them to wheel him out in a wheelchair. That was the last straw. He stormed out before they could stop him. But just after he stepped outside, he slipped on the newly snow-covered sidewalk, fell, and broke his hip. Back into the hospital he went, riding, not in a wheelchair, but on a gurney. This time he spent a couple of weeks. When he was finally released, he humbly accepted the wheelchair ride. As his wife walked beside him, she asked, “Cyrus, have you learned anything from all of this?” “Yes,” Cyrus replied. “I have learned that there is a time to keep my mouth shut.” If you don’t get the word out about your business, no one else will!!! SANTEE HEALTH & WELLNESS CENTER Santee Sioux Nation Vacancy Announcement POSITIONS: STATUS: SALARY: CLOSING DATE: Radiology Technician / Medical Assistant Permanent Full-time, 40 hours per week Negotiable, depending on qualifications 11/28/2016 COB Employment applications and full announcements are available at the front desk at the Santee Health and Wellness Center or can requested by email: cheryl.kitto@yahoo.com. To apply, submit a completed SSN Employment Application along with all required and supporting documentation to Cheryl Kitto, Administrative Officer, 110 South Visiting Eagle St., Niobrara, Nebraska 68760 or by email. For further information regarding this positions contact Gary Hotz, Supervisory Lab Technologist at 402-857-2300. The Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan is currently accepting applications for a What everyone is reading. www.broadcasteronline.com www.plaintalk.net JOB OPPORTUNITY Dear Dave, My wife and I make a little over $50,000 a year combined, and we’re almost debt-free. Right now, we have $50,000 left on our mortgage and $4,000 in student loans left to pay. We’re both really excited about the future, and we’re thinking about selling our home and moving into a trailer her parents own. On top of this, we’d like to save my wife’s entire salary for five years to buy another, better house. What do you think of this plan? Travis When to Keep Your Mouth Shut CIRCULATION DISTRICT MANAGER This is a full-time position, offering a full benefit package, including: •Holiday Pay • Paid Time Off •Low Cost Health Care Package Recruitment, training and supervising of independent newspaper carriers, handling customer concerns and promoting total newspaper commitment to the community. Flexible hours and some weekends required. Must be detail oriented with willingness to work hard. To apply send resume to: Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan Attn: Steve Swenson Circulation Manager 319 Walnut Street Yankton, SD 57078 or email: steve.swenson@yankton.net www.yankton.net | 605-665-7811 EOE