Rays: Contentious series won by Tampa Bay /B1 MONDAY TODAY CITRUS COUNTY & next morning HIGH 85 Showers, storms, LOW rain chance 80 percent. 73 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com JULY 1, 2013 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 118 ISSUE 328 QUESTION Monday CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK Federal marriage No apathy in city benefits? Inverness mayor Not for Contribute! advocates for his Like us at everyone facebook.com/ town, veterans citruscounty NANCY KENNEDY Associated Press chronicle and Staff writer respond to our WASHINGTON — Like Question of the very morning, Bob other married couples, same-sex couples are Week. Plaisted, the mayor of Inverness since 1994, about to learn that federal Q: How do you raises the American flag benefits for being married E might not be all they’re get your outside his home. Ring his doorbell and it plays cracked up to be. Chronicle “My Country ’Tis of Thee.” Social Security benefits news? Do you An unabashed, unashamed, for spouses can be gener- read our paper, proud veteran and patriot, he ous, but only for couples our website or considers it a gift from God to with big disparities in lead the “most patriotic city” as their incomes. Taxes are a a combination? its mayor. He believes we as a decidedly mixed bag, and society and a community can there are still a lot of Christa Speegle unanswered questions for Iehle never do enough for our veter- ans, and he is concerned about the Internal Revenue Gotta have that newsprint an encroaching apathy toward Service. on my fingers every morn- patriotism. Many middle-income ing. It goes with my coffee. “But apathy’s not a problem couples should get wel- Debbie Bowen here, not in Inverness,” he says. come tax breaks now that Crawford As the city gears up to cele- they can change their fil- brate Independence Day, Mayor ing status from “single” to I am a print girl. I use web- Plaisted invited the Chronicle “married filing jointly.” site at work. I like having The biggest benefits will the paper in my hands es- into his home to talk about In- pecially on Sunday. I love it verness, and especially its noted go to couples in which one on Facebook for breaking embrace of good-old American spouse makes more news. patriotic pride. money than the other. Sally Spencer CHRONICLE: What is it But those at the top and Van Osdell about Inverness that makes it so bottom of the income patriotic? scale could face signifi- Paper paper, but online cant tax increases. while traveling. PLAISTED: As you know, for- mer mayor Joyce Rogers started High-income taxpayers Nancy Carroll the Flag Day ceremony at City could feel the pinch be- Darden Hall about 16 years ago, and cause the tax code still MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle now hundreds of people come. contains substantial mar- Paper mostly, website Inverness Mayor Bob Plaisted is proud of how the city honors local Before that, when Susan Gill riage penalties for cou- occasionally. veterans. “We are the veteran’s city,” he said Friday. was president of the Olde ples with higher incomes. Debbie Ressler Towne Association, she and Ted Low-income taxpayers PLAISTED: That’s so we Then on Veterans Day, we Online, then paper Stauffer (former councilman) could lose benefits that when it comes, as well as decided to have the city’s first wouldn’t compete with Crystal have possibly the largest parade target the working poor, Ground Hog Research. fireworks at Wallace Brooks River’s events on the Fourth. in the Southeast honoring veter- such as the earned in- That was a practical thing to do ans. And with the Historic come tax credit, if they get Karl La Follette Park off the pier. It wasn’t much and actually allows people to go Courthouse as a backdrop, it married and their Sunday actual paper more than sparklers, and I think website and Face- Ted dressed up as George Wash- to both. gives us a great venue for the spouse’s income disquali- book during week. ington and came in on a boat. So, we have Flag Day and the “11th hour” Veterans Day me- fies them. morial service. Joe Coonse Since then, it’s expanded to July Third Patriotic Evening Low-income parents Website. I subscribe where we have 10,000 people with both parks packed with CHRONICLE: You’re a vet- also could lose other gov- to the Tampa Bay who visit the city on the third of people, people down by the boat eran — what branch of the ernment benefits such as Times. July. ramps and by the shopping cen- service? Medicaid, the health in- PLAISTED: Navy. I come surance program for the Jill Jacoby CHRONICLE: What’s the deal ters, even in the downtown area Website. with July 3? Why not the Fourth? — and it gets better every year. See MONDAY/ Page A5 poor, if they get married See BENEFITS/ Page A5 POLL ONLINE POLL: Your choice? Should sheriff’s Salvation Army volunteer serves wherever needed officials crack down on the PAT FAHERTY in Alabama after torna- helping out with Oklahoma, County, the army depends recreational Staff writer does hit Tuscaloosa and Katrina and re- Arkansas, Ten- on volunteers. use of has worked flood zones main in Oklahoma nessee, Kentucky Fineout said they can fireworks? Volunteering with the and hurricane areas in City. and Texas. They definitely use more. He A. Absolutely. They’re Salvation Army has be- Florida. Fineout was on worked 14-and-a- and another volunteer not supposed to be come a way of life for Fineout said the Salva- the ground in half-hour days, run the Homosassa soup used for recreation and Chris Fineout, who keeps tion Army does not just re- Oklahoma within a serving thousands kitchen, providing free they really agitate a bag packed and ready to spond to a disaster; week after the first of meals. meals for 50 to 70 people people and animals. He acquired the every Wednesday night in go. “they’re there a long tornadoes hit. Chris B. It’s unrealistic to The retired engineer time,” he said. “Generally, “It was a disas- Fineout necessary expert- Homosassa. crack down on users, and Yankeetown resident it’s six months to a year.” ter,” he recalled. Salvation Army ise by combining “The local corps can but the state should ban has spent the past three The relief effort evolves “Huge stretches volunteer. his career skills, certainly use volunteers,” retail outlets. and a half years working from emergency aid to were completely training from the he said. “For disaster C. Lighten up, folks. with the organization in more long-term assistance leveled.” Salvation Army and on- services, for the soup Fireworks are fun and a Citrus County. — recovery aid — such as He said the disaster the-job experience. kitchen or for both. I am good way to celebrate It’s a labor of love that shelters and relocating path was just about com- “We want to have our actively looking for volun- our independence. has taken him to various victims. plete with nothing remain- people trained,” he said, teers; we can use anyone To vote, visit www. from 14 up.” chronicleonline.com. disaster sites as well as to The group will operate ing, while adjacent areas “because we get a lot of Click on the word his weekly duty at the food and clothing distri- remained untouched. disasters.” Anyone interested can “Opinion” in the menu soup kitchen in Ho- bution centers and regis- His role was to coordi- Not all Salvation Army contact Fineout at 352- to see the poll. mosassa. tration centers for federal nate the fleet of 15 Salva- workers are volunteers. In 586-3415. Results will appear Most recently, he was benefits. And in the later tion Army canteens Oklahoma, for example, Contact Chronicle re- next Monday. Find last working disaster response stages of recovery, mem- (self-contained mobile he was the only volunteer porter Pat Faherty at 352- week’s online poll in the tornado-ravaged bers help people rebuild. dining units). The units on the team. But in small 564-2924 or pfaherty@ results./Page A3 area of Oklahoma. He was He said they are still were brought in from areas such as Citrus chronicleonline.com. Classifieds . .B7 Crossword . .B5 INDEX Lottery Numbers . .B3 Obituaries . .A6 Comics . .B6 Editorial . .A10 Lottery Payouts . .B3 TV Listings . .B5 Entertainment . .A4 Horoscope . .A4 Movies . .B6 000FEE7 A2 MONDAY, JULY 1, 2013 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE PAID ADVERTISEMENT Hearing and Hearing Aids 101 For consumers about to make a hearing aid purchase, and anyone interested in learning about hearing. What are Hearing Aid frequencies (or the pitch of a sound) and without effecting other areas where you we can adjust each frequency that is too volumes. 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