AACOG's Alamo Regional Transit (ART) began providing public transportation to the residents of Pearsall on January 19, 2009, with an initial bus route that will run through the city limits of Pearsall.  The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 11 a.m. at Pearsall City Hall on February 2.

Beginning February 1, the fares will be $1.00 per one-way trip.  This initial bus route will begin on Comal Street at the intersection of Ash Street in front of City Hall and will continue north on Comal to Peach street.  The bus will proceed through local neighborhoods going through Davila and Garcia streets before heading north to the medical center area off FM 140 and IH-35.  Stops along the route will include the WestView Apartments, the GEO/INS Detention Center, the Frio Regional Hospital, the Pearsall Travel Center, the Department of Human Services, Wal-Mart, the library/ H.E.B. and will then return to the beginning of the route at City Hall.

Funding for this project has been provided by a grant through the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Job Access Remote Commute (JARC) program.  AACOG/ART staff has worked closely with the City Manager, Jose “Pepe” Trevino, Frio County Judge Carlos Garcia and Ralph Morgan Frio County 911 Coordinator to make this public transportation project a reality for the City of Pearsall.  The primary focus of the JARC grant is to provide resources for workers to get to places of employment, training, or continuing their education to improve employment opportunities.  For more information including rider stop times, call ART dispatch at 1-866-899-7433 or click here.

This monthly feature in the AACOG Region Newsletter spotlights our AACOG Board Members.  This month we feature 2009 Vice Chairman and Comal County Commissioner Jay P. Millikin.  Commissioner Millikin has served on the AACOG Board of Directors since April 1997 and also serves on a number of AACOG Advisory Committees.

To read our spotlight on Commissioner Millikin, please click here.

Local aging organizations throughout the region including the City of San Antonio, the AACOG Bexar & Alamo Area Agencies on Aging, and the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature are participating in Senior Day at the Capitol 2009.  Senior Day at the Capitol will be held on February 10, 2009, beginning at 10:30 a.m., at the State Capitol in Austin.  Senior Day, held bi-annually in conjunction with the Texas Legislative sessions, is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions older adults continue to make to the state of Texas. It is also an opportunity for seniors to demonstrate their interest in issues that affect them.

 

The special guest for this year's event is Bob Phillips with Texas County Reporter.  There will also be entertainment including a performance by San Antonio's Ukulele Ladies and Gents from 10 to 10:30 a.m., displays on healthy living and aging, opportunities for a self-guided tour of the Capitol, and a chance for seniors to visit their elected officials. A group of 15 to 16 buses from Bexar County as well as one bus from Wilson County are currently scheduled to make the trip to Austin.  For more information, contact Burma Hyde at (210) 362-5220.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2009 AACOG Regional Awards, to be presented to the winners at a special ceremony on June 24, 2009. 

Categories for nomination are:

• Regional Citizen of the Year

• Corporate Citizen of the Year

• Community Project of the Year

• Governmental Regional Project of the Year

Current elected officials and public sector employees are ineligible for nomination, unless directly involved in a governmental regional project.  

 

These nominations are open to the public. For nomination information, visit www.aacog.com/award or call AACOG Community Relations at (210) 362-5204.  Nominations are due on May 8, 2009.

AACOG, the Floresville Economic Development Corporation, and the South Texas Women's Business Center (STWBC), are pleased to announce two opportunities for small business owners or potential business owners from Floresville and surrounding areas to attend two business-related classes. The classes will be held February 18th and March 4th--click here for details.  For information about the STWBC providing classes in your area, contact Joe Ramos, our Government Services Manager.
 

VIA has partnered with AACOG's Bexar Area Agency on Aging (Bexar AAA) to reach out to seniors in the Alamo Area by mounting placards on 430 VIA buses and 120+ VIA vans with the following message in English and Spanish: “Need Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drugs & Open Enrollment? Help is available! For Free Assistance, call the Bexar AAA at (210) 362-5254 or Medicare at 1-800-633-4227.” 

 

VIA will keep this "Extra Help" message in front of the general public from December 2008 through March 1, 2009, exposing 140,908 bus and van riders to the message daily, or 10,286,284 residents for the entire period from mid-December 2008 to March 1, 2009.

AACOG and VIA are reaching out to elderly and disabled individuals who qualify to receive Medicare and Medicaid, helping them make the right choices, including applying for "Extra Help" or any other benefits they are entitled to receive.  Help includes educating those families that may have adult children returning to the household, along with the added responsibility of taking care of their parents, grandparents, and elderly loved ones.

AACOG is especially grateful to Jerri Ann Jones, VIA’s Community Relations Coordinator, and all those in her department, for their continued cooperation and support in making this joint effort a success.

Need Help Installing and Operating Your TV Converter Box?

AACOG’s Bexar Area Agency on Aging and the Alamo Service Connection have teamed up with COIL (Center on Independent Living) to assist seniors aged 60 and over in Bexar County with the Digital TV transition by helping them install and teaching them to use their new convertor box.  Assistance will be provided to seniors on a first come first serve basis depending on funding availability.  Call the Alamo Service Connection at (210) 477-3275 for more information. 

AACOG's Alamo Area Agency on Aging is also receiving funding through the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and is looking to partner with local senior centers to assist area seniors in the eleven counties of the Alamo region surrounding Bexar County in making a successful transition to digital television.  Call Alamo Aging at 1-866-231-4922 for more information.

The Texas Hurricane Conference and the Texas Homeland Security Conference will be combined this year and held in San Antonio, March 23-26, 2009, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. This year's conference, sponsored by the Governor's Division of Emergency Management, presents a wide variety of workshops, presentations, and training opportunities involving homeland security, hurricane preparedness, and the role of voluntary agencies in emergency management. The conference is one of the premier training events for emergency management and homeland security professionals in the United States.

Participants include first responders, law enforcement, federal, state, and local officials, private sector representatives, voluntary agencies, and emergency management experts engaged in the full spectrum of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation of all hazards and all threats to Texas.  For more information about this conference, click here or contact Amanda Hood with the Governor's Division of Emergency Management at (512) 424-2450 or amanda.hood@txdps.state.tx.us.

AACOG is pleased to announce it is hosting the upcoming State Notary training seminar presented by the State Notary Commission. The training seminar is scheduled for Thursday May 28, 2009 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The seminar will be held in AACOG's Al J. Notzon III Board Room, located at 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100 (first floor), San Antonio, TX 78217.  The seminar is recommended for current Texas Notaries and persons wanting to obtain their State Notary Public Commission.

This is a great opportunity to obtain this training in the San Antonio area. A minimum of ten (10) seminar participants are required to hold this training seminar. To register, or for more details and State Notary Commission contact information, click here. Individuals interested in attending can also contact AACOG Government Services Manager Joe Ramos at (210) 362-5212 or jramos@aacog.com.

 

The San Antonio Manufacturers Association (SAMA), in partnership with the Alamo Community Colleges and Workforce Solutions Alamo, has launched the Dream !t Do !t program throughout the AACOG Region.  To do this, they formed the SAMA Workforce Development Corporation, a non-profit corporation. Contributions to Dream !t Do !t are tax deductible.

 

Dream !t Do !t is a national manufacturing careers campaign that targets young adults, 16-26 years old, and educates them about the successful and rewarding career opportunities available in today's advanced manufacturing industry. Here's how:

• Interactive Website - With streaming videos of advanced manufacturing, links to job opportunities, pathways to training and education, and connections to manufacturing career mentors!

• Mentorship Program - With a manufacturing champion in each high school to encourage young people who are interested in manufacturing - and an after-school program of activities!

• Special Events - To talk one-on-one with young people and their parents - in schools, neighborhoods, churches, and sports events!

• Public Awareness Campaign - from brochures to Face Book, from movie ads to mall kiosks, all designed to reach young people where they are! 

• Internships - with regional manufacturers so our young people can get real-life manufacturing experiences!

Dream !t Do !t encourages young adults who are graduating from high school to get specialized training and/or higher education so they will have the skills they need to succeed!  For more information about this new initiative, contact Judy Ingalls at (210) 902-9916.


Take Control of Your Financial Safety During Go Direct Month

Still receiving your Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or VA Compensation and Pension payments by paper check? You should know that checks can be susceptible to weather delays and even financial crimes. In 2008, nearly 70,000 Treasury-issued checks – totaling an estimated $64 million – were stolen or fraudulently endorsed. There’s a safer, easier alternative to paper checks – electronic payments.

Signing up is free, quick and easy. Two options recommended by the U.S. Department of the Treasury are now available:

• Direct deposit – Go Direct^® gives people with checking or savings accounts a fast, free way to sign up for direct deposit. To sign up, call the toll-free helpline at (800) 333-1795, go online to www.GoDirect.org, or visit your local bank or credit union.

• The Direct Express^® card – A prepaid debit card giving people without bank accounts a safe, easy alternative to paper checks. There are no sign-up fees, monthly fees or overdraft charges, and the card can be used to make purchases, get cash and pay bills. To sign up, call toll-free (877) 212-9991, go online to www.USDirectExpress.com, or visit your local Social Security office.

San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger declared February 2009 Go Direct/Direct Express Month. AACOG is getting involved by partnering with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s campaign to encourage those who receive federal benefit checks to sign up for electronic payments.

By switching to electronic payments, you are choosing a better way to receive your money. Electronic payments eliminate the risk of stolen checks and help protect against identity theft. Plus, electronic payments give you immediate access to your money from virtually everywhere, so you don’t need to wait for the mail or deposit or cash a check. Don’t wait, sign up today!

In an effort to assist families with the cost of child care and to better enable parents to become self-sufficient, Child Care Services (CCS) is actively enrolling new families into the program.  Intake events are currently being held at the Workforce Solutions – Alamo Career Centers throughout the rural area, offering intake appointments to those currently on the waitlist.  In January intake events were scheduled in New Braunfels for Comal County, in Seguin for Guadalupe County, in Kerrville for Kerr and Gillespie Counties, in Pleasanton for Atascosa County, and in Hondo for Medina County.  In February intake events are being conducted in Seguin on 2/9/09 and in New Braunfels on 2/13/09.  Additional intake days and individual appointments are being scheduled for all of the area counties to service the need for subsidized child care. 

In order to be eligible for CCS, a parent must be working or attending school or training in a target occupation for the required number of hours, and the household’s gross monthly income must be within the income guidelines.  

Parents interested in further information about the CCS program are asked to call 1-800-204-7905, if residing in the rural counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, or Wilson, or 210-246-5200, if residing in Bexar County.  Waitlist Information Forms are available at Workforce Solutions – Alamo Career Centers or by clicking here.

The National Association of Regional Councils this week launched Green Regions, a public awareness campaign that supports regional planning organizations in their role as environmental stewards and managers. The Campaign will use its website, www.GreenRegions.org, to facilitate education, training and outreach activities, and build upon regional opportunities in applying innovative and cost-effective environmental solutions, while harnessing the benefits of the green economy and strengthening overall community involvement.  To read more about this campaign, please click here.

On January 14, 2009, the City of San Antonio and Clean Energy Fuels co-hosted ceremonies to dedicate a new CNG station that will fuel the city's expanding fleet of natural gas powered garbage trucks.  The city contracted with Clean Energy to design and construct the new CNG station, and Clean Energy holds a five-year operation and maintenance contract for the fueling station, with a five-year option. Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony included Clean Energy co-founder and board member T. Boone Pickens, San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger; City Manager Sheryl Sculley; and COSA Solid Waste Management Department Director David McCary.   Pickens said, "A growing number of local governments are recognizing the important role they play to help reduce our foreign oil dependency through greater use of domestic resources such as natural gas. I certainly applaud San Antonio's leadership in that regard. This will lead to significant economic and environmental benefits long term that cannot be underestimated."

By March, San Antonio will operate a fleet of 30 CNG-powered refuse trucks, making the city's CNG refuse fleet the largest in Texas.  The city has an option to purchase 60 more CNG refuse trucks in FY 2009, and could potentially construct two more CNG refueling stations at two additional city maintenance facilities.  San Antonio utilized federal and state funding opportunities to assist with the fueling station and vehicle cost. The city was able take advantage of the federal alternative vehicle credits by instructing refuse truck dealers to pass along the tax credit savings to the city in their truck price bids.  A grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality helped to offset station construction costs.  For more information, contact Andrew Hudgins at (210) 362-5228. 

On January 13, 2009 USAA officially launched their Three Million Mile Commuter Challenge during a press conference held at the company’s San Antonio campus.  By encouraging companies and government agencies in the San Antonio area to join the Challenge, USAA and its partners – H-E-B, NuRide, and AACOG – hope to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion in the region. 

 

To participate in the Challenge, employees use alternatives to single-occupant vehicles whenever possible by commuting on foot, bicycle, carpool, vanpool, or bus.  Employees record their alternative commuting miles on the NuRide website and may even earn rewards for their participation based on a point system developed by NuRide.  Alternative commuting miles recorded on AACOG’s River Cities Rideshare website will also count towards the Three Million Mile goal, although the rewards for logging mileage on River Cities Rideshare are limited to the savings associated with driving less.

 

In addition to improving air quality and reducing traffic congestion, other benefits of reaching the Three Million Mile goal set by USAA include:

 

• Conserving 125,000 gallons of gas

• Eliminating 124,000 car trips

• Preventing 1,200 tons of emissions

 

Find out more about USAA’s Three Million Mile Commuter Challenge at http://www.nuride.com/nuride/public/Challenge_events.jsp.

 

Attention Seniors on Medicare who need help paying for prescriptions

If you are single and your income is below $15,600, or a couple whose income is below $21,000 a year, you may qualify for an "extra help" federal grant that lowers your cost of Medicare Part D, including your premium, annual deductible, and cost of medications.

On Thursday, February 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Comal County Senior Center, located at 655 Landa Street in New Braunfels, staff from AACOG's Alamo Area Agency on Aging will be available to offer you free assistance with applying for "extra help" for prescription drugs.

For more information, or to find out about other sessions, call the Alamo Area Agency on Aging toll-free at 1-866-231-4922.