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Blowing snow and frigid temperatures were no match for Harvey Ivy, Sr. who walked the near empty streets near Jefferson and Chippewa in South St. Louis, early Thursday morning, to make some extra cash shoveling snow for his regular customers.
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Record Cold and Blowing Snow Blankets St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 6, 2010 - With weather forecasts of 3 - 6 inches of accumulating snow and record cold, the side streets and highways around the St. Louis area were nearly empty Wednesday evening. Motorists who ventured out found themselves dealing with slick roads, blowing snow and bitter cold.
In conditions which are more favorable for polar bears than people, the Missouri Department of Transportation road crews were pulling out all the equipment, people and materials needed to clear the roads.
The department said the cold temperatures make melting ice and snow much more difficult. At 30 degrees, one pound of salt will melt 46.3 pounds of ice, but at 0 degrees, the same pound of salt will melt just 3.7 pounds of ice. Combining the cold with blowing snow, means it could take longer to clear any snow-packed roadways.
"Our crews have had plenty of opportunities to plow snow in the last few weeks," said Don Hillis, MoDOT System Management Director. "This storm brings some new challenges because salt isn't as effective at these low temperatures. That's why we add other products, such as calcium chloride and beet juice to the salt to help it work better as the thermometer drops."
Northwest winds are predicted to increase Thursday as temperatures fall throughout the day. Wind chill factors will drop to -5 to -15 degrees by evening. The department urges motorists to be extra cautious when driving on slick roadways, particularly when the temperatures dip below zero and being stranded on the roadside could be very dangerous. The ultra-cold temperatures predicted for Friday will also cause refreeze on anything that had melted previously making ice an even bigger problem.
"The best advice we can give is to check road conditions before you leave and allow extra time for travel," said Hillis. "Always buckle up and if you don't have to travel on snow- covered roads, stay home."
Travelers can also call MoDOT's toll-free number, 888-ASK-MODOT, to get road condition information.
Americans Are Hopeful for 2010 Decade
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 3, 2010 - With one decade concluding and another on the horizon, Americans are gearing up for 2010 by learning from the past and making plans for a better decade ahead.
According to a nationwide survey from OfficeMax® Incorporated, Americans have high hopes for the approaching decade with clear plans for their personal lives and heightened focus on family and personal wellbeing while embracing change and opportunity. When referring to the 2010 decade, nearly four in ten (38%) Americans prefer to use the phrase "the twenty-tens" over other popular terms that include "the oh-tens" (16%), "the tens" (14%) and "the teens" (11%).
Moving forward, Americans predict that family, personal development and self-discovery will define the next ten years. Many believe they will spend more time with family (64%) and reconnect with old friends (42%). Others plan to nurture themselves by grabbing the reins on their health (62%) and finally creating a work-life balance (38%). Over half (57%) of Americans believe the next decade will be about discovering what's most important in life, while others think they'll laugh more than ever before (47%).
As Americans consider the advancements and transformations they hope to achieve during the next decade, it's fitting that nearly three in ten people think "Changes" by David Bowie (28%) is the song title that best represents their outlook on the approaching decade. Others selected "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash (13%) to demonstrate their optimism while some shared their apprehension choosing "Help!" by the Beatles (16%) and "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (12%) to illustrate their future outlook.
Gearing up for the next decade, Americans plan to learn from the past and incorporate these lessons into the future. Demonstrating the importance of action in 2010, a large number of Americans selected the expressions - "action speaks louder than words" (73%) and "talk is cheap" (67%) - to illustrate what they learned over the past decade.
Nearly seven in ten people selected "knowledge is power" (69%) and "don't count your chickens before they're hatched" (67%) to describe their hopes for smarter, more calculated decisions in the future. With the touch economic times, personal finances were also top-of-mind for most Americans, which is perhaps why phrases like "a penny saved is a penny earned" (66%) and "money makes the world go round" (50%) are what many will use as a springboard for the new decade.
Helping Others in 2010 Leads New Year's Resolutions
ST. LOUIS, MO, (PRNewswire), January 3, 2010 - Pledges to lose weight or pay off debts typically find a way into conversations this time of year, as the anticipation of New Year's resolutions approaches. However, according to a study from Disney Parks and HandsOn Network, 2010 may see a surge of helping hands and giving hearts, as more families resolve to volunteer.
The survey, conducted by New York-based Kelton Research Nov. 18-23, 2009, found that 59 percent of Americans plan to volunteer in 2010. Interestingly, more women than men (62 percent vs. 54 percent) include volunteering as a goal for next year.
Survey results also showed that 41 percent of Americans would rather pledge to help others, such as volunteering, than resolve to do something that is purely self-serving. In fact, when asked what they anticipate they could accomplish in 2010, 52 percent of Americans surveyed identified spending more time together, followed by 30 percent who selected volunteering as foreseeable goals.
HandsOn Network, the nation's largest volunteer network, is working with Disney to help make 2010 the ideal year to realize those goals and make volunteering a family resolution.
Beginning on Jan 1, 2010, Disney Parks officially launches "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day," a first-of-its-kind initiative with the help of HandsOn Network. Through the program, Disney Parks hopes to inspire 1 million people to perform a day of volunteer service for a participating organization in 2010 by giving them a free, one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park. Families are encouraged to visit www.DisneyParks.com to research and sign up for a volunteer opportunity in their local community.
"Disney Parks, through HandsOn Network, is making it easy for volunteers of all ages to find an organization in need," said Maggie Jones Patton, executive director of Youth HandsOn Network, the youth activating arm of HON. "There has never been a better time to start a new tradition of volunteering together as Disney Parks celebrates good deeds with a free Disney theme park ticket."
A Family That Volunteers Together ...
The Kelton Research survey also found that more parents than single adults (68 percent vs. 55 percent) plan to volunteer in some way when the New Year arrives.
Volunteerism also has its "youth movement." The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that young adults, ages 16-24, are helping lead the way in volunteerism - with more than 441,000 young volunteers in 2008 versus 2007. It also found that the youth today believe it is essential and "very important" to help others in need.
And according to Just Kid Inc., 37 percent of kids, 44 percent of tweens and 46 percent of teens said they would do more volunteering if given the opportunity. When that happens, almost all youth (99 percent) say they were satisfied with their chosen volunteer service.
Attorney General Koster Files Criminal Charges in Medicaid Fraud Case
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 3, 2010 - Attorney General Chris Koster has said that a Mountain Grove licensed professional counselor has been charged with 11 felony counts of Medicaid fraud, 1 count of obstruction, and 1 count of stealing by deceit.
Wright County Prosecuting Attorney Jason MacPherson joined Koster in filing the charges against Lorraine R. Kusior (DOB 4/1/53), who is charged with submitting false reimbursement claims to Medicaid for counseling services she did not perform and providing false patient records with the intention to defraud the state and MO HealthNet.
"One of my top priorities as Attorney General is to enforce our laws against those who cheat Missouri taxpayers by committing Medicaid fraud," Koster said. "We will continue to search for individuals who would perpetrate this kind of fraud, and recover public money stolen from our health care system."
Koster said his Medicaid Fraud Unit's review of Kusior's subpoenaed progress notes and Medicaid claims found evidence of inflated billing. He said Kusior allegedly has fraudulently billed more than $12,000 to Medicaid.
Koster also announced that 2009 set an all-time record for Medicaid fraud recovery in Missouri. He said the $81.6 million obtained by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in calendar year 2009 was more than double the previous record in the unit's 15-year history, $33.6 million in 2008.
Koster said the Medicaid Fraud Unit obtained three state criminal convictions and helped the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District, obtain five federal criminal convictions. He said the unit was able to settle 13 civil Medicaid fraud lawsuits and obtain a summary judgment on one civil suit. Koster said two lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies contributed significantly to the all-time record collections. Warrick Pharmaceuticals paid a $31 million settlement in January; and in September, the largest nationwide Medicaid fraud settlement in history resulted in Pfizer paying the state $22 million.
Koster said citizens should report suspected Medicaid fraud to the Attorney General's Office Medicaid fraud hotline at 800-286-3932, to the Department of Social Services' Investigation Unit at 573-751-3285, or e-mail the complaint to ask.mhd@dss.mo.gov.
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