UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL SECURITY SPOUSAL BENEFITS

Dear Savvy Senior, How do Social Security spousal benefits work? My wife, who’s approaching age 62, has had a few small-paying jobs over the years, but spent most of her time as a homemaker. What is she entitled to?

ABBOTT PROPOSES WIPING OUT LOCAL SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES

Abbott is proposing a state constitutional amendment to eliminate local school property taxes, which provides most of public school funding in Texas, the Chronicle reported.“It’s time that we drive a stake through the heart of the ability of local property tax hikes in the future,” he said.

Me first

When the Red Army marched into Poland in 1945 (Germany had seized the country six years earlier), U.S.S. R. leader Joseph Stalin believed his troops were entitled to take what they wanted.Writer and historian Anne Applebaum, in her book “Iron Curtain,” describes in detail the plunder that followed.

LAW, LEGEND& LEGISLATURE

Which oil strike on January 10, 1901, blew in near Beaumont and rewired the world economy?ANSWER IN NEXT WEEK’S NOVEMBER 28TH EDITION!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”~ Arthur Conan Doyle, “A Case of Identity,” The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesTRANSLATION: Small details tell the truth more clearly than grand statements. What seems minor often decides the outcome.

Second Stage of Crop Disaster Assistance for Farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced today the opening of applications for Stage Two of the Supplemental Disaster Recovery Program (SDRP).

Rotan ISD details bullying protocols, training, and reporting tools

In response to community concerns shared with administrators, Rotan ISD board members received a full report during last week’s meeting on the district’s bullying prevention practices, outlining how staff are trained, how incidents are investigated, and how reports are handled on both campuses.

DENNIS RESIGNS COUNCIL SEAT, PLANS COUNTY RUN

Rotan City Councilwoman Joy Dennis announced her resignation during last week’s city council meeting, bringing an end to her service on the council that began in 2022. The decision, she told fellow officials, comes as she prepares to run for a county office in the upcoming election cycle.

ROTAN’S SOUTH TOWER BEGINS AS CITY EYES END TO BOIL‑WATER NOTICE

Work on the city’s aging South Tower began this week, marking the start of the most delicate phase of the three-tower rehabilitation project.