Spotlight on our Counselors!

We would like to take a moment to recognize our Counselors of the Month for August and September!  Randy Mabry and John Lundblad have been selected because of their dedication and hard work they have both put into the WOBB.  They volunteer regularly, are hard working, and exceptionaly pleasant to be around.  Congratulations guys on an awesome job.  We couldn't do it without you two! (Randy, below- John, left)

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Little Church, Big Hearts

The WOBB had the pleasure Thursday evening to venture to the Clarksville United Methodist Church for their monthly free grocery night.  There was music provided by the Blanchester Grace United Methodist Church as well as snacks for all of the families an individuals who came to pick up their groceries. Pastor Ann Meyers gave everyone a warm welcome and all of the volunteers did a great job of making sure that the over 60 people who came to get groceries did not leave empty handed.  We would like to thank Pastor Ann and the members of the Clarksville United Methodist Church for helping us to spread the word in Clinton County that there is help available to those in need of relief in these tough times.  If you are interested in having the WOBB at your next event, please contact Annen Stuckert or Alex Ives at 937-366-1279. 




If you are interested in making food donations to the Clarksville UMC, please contact Pastor Ann at  937-289-2460 or by e-mail at clarksvilleumc@aol.com.  Here is a short list of the things that are needed. 
Canned Vegetables
Soup
Canned Fruit
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Crackers
Bread
Tuna
Cereal
Pancake Mix
Syurup
Rice
Mac and Cheese  Thank you for helping out!

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Business as Usual

Good News For Ohioans on Unemployment

The story below from the Associated Press is good news here in Clinton County where everyone it seems is struggling to make ends meet.  We here at the WOBB encourage all of you to stop by and meet with our Volunteer staff before your Unemployment Benefits end.  We can be of more assistance when we have time to help you apply for benefits before all of your income stops.  Call today to make an appointment.

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer – Mon Sep 21, 3:32 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Despite predictions the Great Recession is running out of steam, the
House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries.

A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and expected to pass easily would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.

The 13-week extension would supplement the 26 weeks of benefits most states offer and the federally funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved in legislation last year and in the stimulus bill enacted last February.

People from North Carolina to California "have been calling my office to tell me they still cannot find work a year or more after becoming unemployed, and they need some additional help to keep their heads above water," McDermott said.

Critics of unemployment insurance argue that it can be a disincentive to looking for work, and that extending benefits at a time the economy is showing signs of recovery could be counterproductive.

But this recession has been particularly pernicious to the job market, others say.

Some 5 million people, about one-third of those on the unemployment list, have been without a job for six months or more, a record since data started being recorded in 1948, according to the research and advocacy group National Employment Law Project.

"It smashes any other figure we have ever seen. It is an unthinkable number," said Andrew Stettner, NELP's deputy director. He said there are currently about six jobless people for every job opening, so it's unlikely people are purposefully living off unemployment insurance while waiting for something better to come along.

The current state unemployment check is about $300 a week, supplemented by $25 included in the stimulus act.

That doesn't go very far when a loaf of bread can cost $2.79 and a gallon of milk $2.72, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said at a hearing last week on the unemployment insurance issue.

"We need to keep our unemployed neighbors from falling into poverty. We need to figure out how best to make our safety net work," Baucus said.

The jobless rate currently stands at 9.7 percent and is likely to hover above 10 percent for much of 2010. Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said at the Finance Committee hearing that, according to Labor Department figures, 51 percent of unemployment insurance claimants exhausted their regular benefits in July, the highest rate ever.

"It is likely the exhaustion rate will continue to increase in coming months" as the unemployment rate continues to rise, he said.

Stettner predicted that Congress will likely have to continue extending jobless benefits through 2011.

McDermott in July introduced a more ambitious bill that would have extended through 2010 the compensation programs included in the stimulus act. Those benefits are now scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

But with a price tag of up to $70 billion, that bill would have been far more difficult to pass. McDermott instead decided to offer the scaled-down 13-week extension to meet the urgent needs of those seeing their benefits disappear this year.

McDermott said his bill would not add to the deficit because it would extend for a year a federal unemployment tax of $14 per employee per year that employers have been paying for more than 30 years. It would also require better reporting on newly hired employees to reduce unemployment insurance overpayments.

Three-fourths of the 400,000 workers projected to exhaust their benefits this month live in high unemployment states that would qualify for the additional 13 weeks of benefits under his bill, McDermott said.

They include Alabama, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Other states could qualify for more benefits if their unemployment rates are approaching the 8.5 percent threshold.

(This version CORRECTS average unemployment benefit in 9th graf to $300 a week instead of a month.)

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Volunteer at the Benefit Bank

Visit Us this Week During our Open House.

Tuesday- 9am-12pm & 5pm-8pm

Wednesday- 9am-12pm

Thursday- 9am-12pm & 5pm-8pm
Friday – 9am-12pm & 2pm-5pm

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Visit The Benefit Bank at the Clinton County Corn Festival!

The Festival will be held at the Clinton County Fairgrounds on Friday, September 11th, through Sunday, September 13th.  The WOBB has a booth set up in the Swine Barn and we will be there all 3 days!  Come by and support your local Benefit Bank!  Thanks to all of you who have volunteered your time this weekend.  Admission is $3, and the hours are as follows, Friday 12pm-10pm, Saturday 9am-10pm, and Sunday 9am-5pm.  The Corn Festival will be open to the public tonight (Thursday, September 10th) beginning at 6pm.  Admission for the Open House is Free!  We hope you'll stop in and see what the Corn Festival has to offer!

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Caseload jumps at Benefit Bank

NEWS JOURNAL STAFF REPORT


The caseload at the Wilmington office of the Ohio Benefit Bank is about double what it was, Wilmington Mayor David Raizk said Tuesday.

The number of dislocated workers turning up at the Benefit Bank recently has “really picked up,” Raizk said.

Through the Ohio Benefit Bank, dislocated workers can find out whether they may qualify for food stamps, weatherization and other government services, and can get guidance from a Benefit Bank counselor to apply for aid.

The DHL Air Park Task Force wants to get the word out to dislocated area workers not to wait until their severance packages expire before contacting agencies that provide services to the jobless.

Staff at the Wilmington office of the Ohio Benefit Bank, 61 E. Main St., are seeing people who waited until their severance benefits ran out before coming to the Benefit Bank.

It’s important to go to the Ohio Benefit Bank as soon as possible so workers can learn for what assistance they’re eligible. Also, placement for retraining can take a while so it’s prudent to get an early start on that process, too, Raizk said.

“See what kind of assistance is available and try to work out a game plan,” Raizk recommended.

All services provided by the Benefit Bank are free of charge. It is open from 9 a.m. to noon, except Sundays and Mondays when it is closed. The phone number at the Wilmington office of the Ohio Benefit Bank is (937) 366-1279.

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