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ZZUNUSED
Too many missing out on stimulus checks, senator says
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., looks over finished products with Shin Okuno and Maria O'Reilly during his visit to the Okuno International facility Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, in Prichard.
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HUNTINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller encouraged Wayne County seniors on Tuesday to tell their friends about money that could help them pay the bills and buy groceries.
More than 70 people showed up to the Westmoreland Senior Nutrition Center on Hughes Street to hear the senator speak about economic stimulus checks issued by the government this spring and summer.
The senator also earlier visited an area business to talk about its success in Wayne County. He also raised concerns over children’s health care during one of his stops.
As of June, more than 49,000 West Virginia retirees and veterans had not filed to receive economic stimulus rebates, including 1,300 people in Wayne County, Rockefeller said. In Cabell County, more than 2,500 seniors, retirees and veterans were reported not to have filed.
That number was 1,646 in Lawrence County, Ohio; and 1,431 in Boyd County, Ky., according to the earlier reports.
Rockefeller said he was saddened by the number who had not signed up.
“I just want to make sure that people get the money that’s coming to them,” he said.
When most of the seniors in attendance said they had already filed and received rebates, Rockefeller begged them to spread the word. Many West Virginians live in hard-to-reach places, so it’s up to the community to inform them, he said.
“Life is such a struggle financially right now. It’s not just the price of gas,” he said.
The stimulus checks can help seniors pay a few bills, buy their prescriptions, fill gas tanks or buy food, he said.
While filing paperwork is never fun, the $300 to $600 return should provide incentive, he said.
“It’s not going to save the world, but any amount helps,” he said.
Individuals have until Wednesday, Oct. 15, to seek rebate checks. Free help is available by calling the IRS Rebate Hotline at 866-234-2942.
Rose Meredith, executive director of Wayne County Community Services Organization, said the seniors appreciated the senator’s attention to their problems.
“It’s a very difficult time for everybody, especially for the seniors who are on a fixed income,” she said.
Rockefeller also spoke at the Okuno International facility in Prichard on Tuesday, where he met with Okuno officials and staff to showcase the company’s success over the past eight years in West Virginia.
Rockefeller has been a friend of Okuno since its inception, said general manager Maria O’Reilly. She said his visit was an honor.
“It was wonderful to see him look at the success that he was a part of,” she said. “Without him, I don’t know that Okuno would have known to have a look at West Virginia.”
The hydraulic cylinder manufacturing company currently has 27 employees. It has grown from shipping to one customer to shipping to five customers in North America, O’Reilly said.
Before leaving the Westmoreland center, Rockefeller also mentioned a report he’d just heard — that West Virginia ranks second in the nation for having the highest percentage of children with chronic health problems.
The report from the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy found that an estimated 69,500 West Virginia children have illnesses such as asthma and diabetes.
Rockefeller said time is running out for improvements to be made to lot of things in America, including education, national security and infrastructure.
“We’ve got to turn that around,” he said.
He said children’s health care especially demands attention, as things like screenings and education continue to be needed in West Virginia and across the nation.
Rockefeller said children’s health care must be passed. While President Bush has vetoed the bill, Barack Obama will sign it if he becomes president, Rockefeller said. Also, he said both Obama and Hillary Clinton were present for the last vote concerning children’s health care, but John McCain was not.
“I really do believe that Barack Obama and Joe Biden — both of whom I know really well — will help West Virginia,” he said.
