HOUSTON KTRK — Authorities believe they have found the body of a missing postal worker in San Jacinto County.Related Content

Eddie Youngblood, also known as ‘Marie,’ was using her Jeep to deliver mail in San Jacinto County yesterday. That burned out Jeep was later discovered on the side of Morris Creek Road near Coldspring.First responders found the car on fire after receiving a 911 call. It’s still not clear who made that call.

Read more: Body found in burned out Jeep in San Jacinto Co. believed to be missing postal worker | abc13.com.

Quarles, 47, of Spotsylvania, Va., pleaded guilty in February to receiving thousands of dollars in bribes to use his position as a purchasing specialist for the United States Postal Service to obtain and facilitate contracts for a Maryland-based information technology firm.

Quarles pled guilty on Feb. 14, 2013, to bribery of a public official and faced a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Quarles worked for the United States Postal Service (USPS) since 2007.  During the time in which he was accepting bribes, he served as a purchasing specialist, where he oversaw, evaluated, and managed USPS contracts relating to business mail entry and payment technologies.

In April 2010, officials with AH Computer Consulting, Inc. (AHCC), an international information technology consulting firm based in Rockville, Md., approached Quarles and offered to pay him bribes in exchange for various impermissible contracting preferences and advantages.  Quarles accepted this offer, and from April 2010 through June 2012, AHCC employees paid Quarles numerous cash payments — totaling thousands of dollars — in exchange for Quarles’ providing advantages to AHCC during the USPS contracting process.

For example, Quarles provided AHCC with confidential USPS contracting information, including other vendors’ proposals and labor rates, so that AHCC could tailor its bids to what other potential contractors were bidding.  Quarles also forwarded various private call-in numbers for conference calls between USPS officials, where official business was discussed, so that AHCC employees could anonymously listen in and get a leg-up on their competition.  Quarles also allowed AHCC employees to complete surveys, evaluations, and other review materials in Quarles’ own name so that AHCC could obtain additional government contracts.

Quarles admitted that he used the bribe payments to pay for bills, rent, and other living expenses.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.  Assistant United States Attorney Chad Golder from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Inside those packages, birthday cards and bills, college applications, letters to loved ones and illegal drugs. Those drugs end up in our community.

It doesn’t want to be a drug courier, but it happens. The U.S. Postal Service is seeing an increase in the number of people trying to mail illegal drugs. But there’s also an increase in the number of people being caught too. From 2006 to 2011, nationwide there was a 371% jump in the number of people sending packages with illegal drugs inside.

News10NBC’s Janet Lomax sat down with a man whose job is to catch these criminals. She wanted to know how many of them are trying to use the U.S. Mail to deliver drugs in our area.

Read more: Mailing illegal drugs | www.WHEC.com.

Derrick F. Hutson, 42, and Marshal R. Stapleton, 27, both of Las Vegas, are scheduled to appear at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid, Jr. They are charged with conspiracy, possession of stolen mail and unauthorized possession of counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys.

According to the criminal complaint dated April 23, 2013, United States Postal Service employees recently received reports of several incidents of mail theft in the Summerlin and Northwest areas of Las Vegas. The reports indicated that entire contents of mailboxes had been removed from cluster-type mailboxes, but that no damage had occurred to the mailboxes indicating the use of a counterfeit key. Following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Hutson and Stapleton were apprehended on April 15, 2013, at approximately 2:20 a.m. while they were sitting in a vehicle parked next to a cluster mail box in a Summerlin-area community. Postal Inspectors recovered from the vehicle counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys and burglary tools. Postal Inspectors later recovered from their homes, stolen U.S. Postal Service mailbox locks and parts, counterfeit keys, counterfeit identity documents, credit card manufacturing devices, check software, and stolen mail.

The criminal indictment charges that between January and April 23, 2013, Hutson and Stapleton made and possessed counterfeit U.S. Post Office keys which they used to steal checks, gift cards, debit cards, credit cards, and other items from mailboxes in Las Vegas.

If convicted, Hutson and Stapleton face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy and stolen mail charges and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the counterfeit key charges. They are currently in federal custody pending their arraignment tomorrow.

The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pugh.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A United States Postal Service transportation vehicle caught fire along Highway 74/76 in Columbus County, damaging and destroying some mail.

The driver reported that there was an engine fire Wednesday night, while he was transporting mail collected from two offices in Leland.

Officials said the truck had collected mail from the Leland Post Office and a contract postal unit in Leland. Customers who sent letter mail and/or packages from either postal location in Leland, NC are being asked to contact the Consumer Affairs Office at 704-424-4422.

Read more: Mail damaged, destroyed when postal truck catches fire – WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC.

 “I suspect the authorities dropped the charges because they were afraid of us,” said Rev. John Schwiebert, one of the “Forever Five” arrestees (so named for the “forever” stamp and to protect “forever” the postal service).  “They knew we were planning to plead not-guilty to criminal trespass and to demand a jury trial.  We were ready to plead that our “occupation” of the Salem mail processing plant was in the public interest, to preserve our constitutionally mandated postal service.”  The protesters claim that closure of the Salem plant is itself a criminal act, violating Title 39, U.S. Code, Sec. 404 which requires the postal service to provide a “maximum degree of effective and regular services…” and to consider the effect of plant “consolidations” on communities, jobs and service.

 Mail sorting machines from the Salem plant began to be removed on April 30^th, headed north to Portland and south to Medford.  In the beginning of May, mail collection times and overnight delivery standards changed throughout Oregon.  Although their plants are not scheduled for closure until later this year, mail from Eugene/ Springfield, Bend and Pendleton is already being shipped all the way to Portland to be sorted.  Mail is being delayed one or two days.

 The U.S. Postal Service’s own studies (see attached), which they attempted to suppress, showed that big mailers leave the system as a result of such delays, costing more in lost revenue than is saved by lowering labor costs, not to mention the dramatic increase in trucking costs as mail is transported hundreds of extra miles to be sorted in the closest still open facilities.

 “Postal management is tearing apart the infrastructure of the public postal service,” said Jamie Partridge, retired letter carrier and one of the Forever Five arrestees.  Vowing further bold actions, Partridge declared that “we plan to escalate this fight to save our national treasure.”  

 The Salem, Springfield, Bend and Pendleton plant closures will eliminate approximately three hundred local union jobs, delay Oregon mail delivery, and disproportionately affect small businesses, the elderly, rural communities, the one-half of the public that pays bills by mail and the many who lack access to reliable internet service.   Oregon’s vote-by-mail system could be compromised.

 Despite a “no lay-off” provision in union contracts, at least forty workers in the Salem plant have lost their jobs, according to local union officials.  Twenty-eight were forced into early retirement and twenty Postal Support Employees “lost their hours.”  Over sixty other workers were “excessed” to Portland or other facilities. 

 At least eighteen of these union, postal jobs will be subcontracted to Matheson Flight Extenders, according to union leaders in Portland.  Twelve mail handler positions and six clerk positions will be filled by low wage, non-postal, non-union workers at Matheson, which owns a warehouse next to the USPS Portland Air Cargo Center.  Postal management states that the PACC cannot hold all the machines from Salem, so they must moved into the private facility.  They claim that union workers are too expensive, thus subcontracting is required.  

 Further subcontracting has hit postal truckers in the Portland area.  Faced with understaffing and extensive overtime, the USPS decided to contract out twenty tractor-trailer routes to Dill Star Trucking, instead of hiring union postal truck drivers.  Claiming an “emergency”, postal management issued the no-bid contract, sub-leased postal trailers to Dill Star, and put APWU-represented postal truckers in “short” trucks with many on stand-by for up to six hours.

 The protesters, organized by Communities and Postal Workers United, a national grassroots network, claim that a 2006 Congressional mandate, which forces the U.S. Postal Service to prefund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance, has created a phony financial crisis.  Not only would the postal service have been profitable without the mandate, says CPWU, the USPS has also overpaid tens of billions into two pension funds.

The activists are calling on postal management to suspend cuts and closures and allow Congress to fix the finances by repealing the prefunding mandate and refunding the pension surplus.    Twin bills, HR 630, sponsored by U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (Oregon) and S 316, sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), would fix postal finances and prevent plant and office closures and service cuts. 

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130417/UPDATE/130417026/Five-arrested-during-protest-Salem-Post-Office

Gallery of photos here:  www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J0&Dato=20130417&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=304170802&Ref=PH&odyssey=mod|galleriespic

Preliminary lab tests indicated the presence of ricin on two suspicious letters in Spokane WA, the Postal Service told the APWU on May 15. The letters are being analyzed and tested further for hazardous material, according to a Mandatory Stand-Up Talk [PDF] management presented to workers.

One letter was addressed to the Spokane Post Office; the other was addressed to a federal judge in Spokane. Both letters were postmarked May 14.

“We have no reason to believe that any employees are at risk from handling the suspect letters as they passed through the mailstream in Spokane,” management told employees in the Stand-Up Talk. “The substance involved was not in a form that could be inhaled or otherwise readily ingested.

“If anyone were to inhale a quantity of ricin large enough to produce symptoms, they most likely would include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing and would appear within 24 hours. If you have not experienced such symptoms, you should not be concerned.  If you have, we urge you to let your supervisor know and see your doctor promptly for an evaluation.”

The APWU will monitor the situation closely, said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “Our members’ safety is our primary concern,” he said. The union will provide updates as more information becomes available.

SAN ANTONIO, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In tribute to the legends responsible for making American music part of global popular culture, the U.S. Postal Service today proudly announces the launch of a new Music Icons stamp series with the issuance of a stamp honoring Lydia Mendoza, one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music.

The Lydia Mendoza Forever Stamp was dedicated today during a special ceremony featuring actor Jesse Borrego as master of ceremony at the Guadalupe Cultural Center in San Antonio, TX. Mendoza is the first to be honored in the Postal Service’s new Music Icons series, which will include legends Ray Charles and Johnny Cash later this year.

The stamp is now available for purchase at local Post Offices, online at www.usps.com/stamps or by calling 800- STAMP24 (800-782-6724). As a Forever Stamp, it is good for mailing 1-ounce First-Class Mail letters anytime in the future regardless of price changes.

“The Postal Service is proud to introduce its new Music Icons stamp series with the issuance of this Forever Stamp honoring the first lady of Tejano music, Lydia Mendoza,” said Marie Therese Dominguez , vice president, Government Relations and Public Policy. “Mendoza was a true American pioneer, whose unique voice and style of singing, paved the way for a whole new generation of Latino performers. Her impact on music guarantees her place in American music history, and today her legacy continues on 30 million postage stamps.”

To help dedicate the new stamp, Dominguez was joined by Jesse Borrego , best known for the role of Jesse Velasquez in the hit TV series, Fame; San Antonio singer Rita Vidaurri , who is a member of the group Las Tesoros that often accompanied Lydia Mendoza; Patty Ortiz , executive director, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; Tejano musician Eva Ibarra ; and several members of the Mendoza family.

Known as La Alondra de la Frontera , the Lark of the Border, Mendoza performed the Spanish-language music of the Texas-Mexico borderlands and beyond.

Best known for her solo performances, Mendoza, with her soulful voice accompanied only by the playing of her 12-string guitar, recorded more than a thousand songs in an enduring career that spanned seven decades. Through her music, she gave a voice not only to the poor and working-class people North and South of the border, but also to Latinos throughout the Western Hemisphere. Her enormous repertoire of canciones, boleros, corridos, danzas, and tangos included ballads about historic figures and songs about hard work, lost love, and the joys of everyday life.

Mendoza was born in May 1916 in Houston, Texas. She grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, and in towns along the border. She was born into a musical family; both her mother and maternal grandmother played the guitar. Mendoza began to emulate them when she was four years old, nailing rubber bands to a piece of wood to create her own instrument. She learned to sing and play the guitar from her mother, her greatest musical influence. Mendoza also learned to play the violin and mandolin, but it was the 12-string guitar that would become her signature instrument.

In the early 1930s, the Mendozas moved to San Antonio and began performing in the city’s famous Plaza del Zacate. Lydia’s big break came when she won a singing contest on the radio, which led to her family signing a contract with Bluebird Records in 1934. The producers asked Lydia to record some solo cuts. Among them was “Mal Hombre” or “Evil Man,” a song about a coldhearted man who breaks his lover’s heart. Years before, Lydia had learned the lyrics, which were printed on a gum wrapper. “Mal Hombre” soon became a hit. The Mendozas moved up in the musical world, performing in new venues such as clubs and theaters. By the time World War II broke out, Lydia had recorded more than 200 songs.

The war temporarily slowed Mendoza’s career. In the late 1940s, now married and with children of her own, she returned to recording and performing. Non-Spanish-speaking audiences started discovering Mendoza’s music in the 1970s. As her fame spread, she began to be recognized as an American folk icon and was invited to sing at new venues, such as folk festivals and college campuses. In 1977, Mendoza sang at Jimmy Carter’s inaugural celebration. She continued to tour and record in the 1980s. In 1982, Mendoza received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Increasingly recognized as a national treasure, she was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame.

Mendoza retired from music in 1988 after suffering a stroke. In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton. In his speech, Clinton remarked, “Her legacy is as wide and deep as the Rio Grande Valley.”

Lydia Mendoza died in San Antonio, TX, Dec. 20, 2007, at the age of 91. Her recordings continue to be collected and played on the radio. Today, Mendoza is remembered as a musical pioneer who not only popularized Mexican-American music, but also carved out a career that was unique for a woman of her time, thereby breaking down barriers for the next generation.

The artwork for the Lydia Mendoza stamp features an undated, black-and-white publicity photo of Mendoza taken for Ideal Records in the 1950s. The flag of Texas is superimposed over the singer’s image, with its vertical blue bar and single white star covering the left half of the photo and its horizontal red stripe embellishing the bottom right corner.

The square stamp captures the look of a 45-rpm record sleeve. The stamp pane evokes the appearance of a 45-rpm single peeking out of a record sleeve above the stamps themselves. On the reverse side, the pane includes a larger version of the photograph featured on the stamp art as well as the logo for the Music Icons series. Neal Ashby and Patrick Donohue designed the stamp, working with art director Antonio Alcalá.

Customers can view the new stamps, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, on Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2013-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase the new stamps at local Post Offices, at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should apply the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Lydia Mendoza Stamp
U.S. Postal Service
10410 Perrin Beitel Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78284-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark for fewer than 50 requests. All orders must be postmarked by July 15.

Ordering First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are 11 philatelic products available:

• 579206, Press Sheet w/Die Cuts, $58.88 (print quantity of 2,500)
• 579208, Press Sheet w/o Die Cuts, $58.88 (print quantity of 2,500)
• 579216, First-Day Cover, $.90
• 579218, First-Day Cover (Full Pane), $9.86
• 579219, First-Day Cancelled (Full Pane), $9.86
• 579221, Digital Color Postmark, $1.61
• 579230, Ceremony Program, $6.95
• 579231, Stamp Deck Card, $.95
• 579232, Stamp Deck Card w/Digital Color Postmark, $1.96
• 579210, Keepsake (Pane & Digital Color Postmark Set), $9.00
• 579224, Poster, $14.95

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Links to the following songs on this playlist of Lydia Mendoza songs: “https://rd.io/i/QRdcBDN5AzI/“, “https://rd.io/i/QRdcBDN5AzI/,” “https://rd.io/i/QRdcBDN5AzI/“.

“Mal Hombre” from The Best of Lydia Mendoza
“Pero Hay Que Triste” from Mal Hombre
“ Amor Bonito ” from First Queen of Tejano Music
“Mundo Enganoso” from Mal Hombre
“La Prieta” from La Alondra de la Frontera
“Celosa” from Las Más Pegadas
“Sigue Adelante” from Mal Hombre
“Soy Rebelde” from First Queen of Tejano Music
“Contestacion a ‘Amor Que Malo Eres’” from The Best of Lydia Mendoza
“Te Quieres Ir” from First Queen of Tejano Music
“Larga Condena” from La Alondra de la Frontera
“Amor Con Amor Se Paga” from First Queen of Tejano Music
“Que Desconsuelo” from La Alondra de la Frontera
“Monterrey” from The Very Best of Lydia Mendoza

“If our letter carriers deem your loose dog to be a threat, you’ll be asked to pick up your mail at the Post Office until it’s safe to deliver,” said Ken Snavely , acting postmaster of Los Angeles, where 69 postal employees were attacked last year, placing the City of Angels as the most vicious for dog attacks. Nationwide, 5,879 postal employees were attacked.

Snavely noted that in situations where a dog roams the neighborhood, delivery to the owner’s neighbors could be curtailed as well. Additionally, when letter carriers come to a customer’s door, pet owners are asked to place dogs in a separate room and close the door, as many canines have been known to jump through screen and glass doors.

Dog attacks are a nationwide issue and not just a postal problem. Nearly 5,900 letter carriers were attacked last year, but that pales in comparison to the 4.7 million Americans annually bitten by dogs — more than half of whom are children — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The U.S. Postal Service, the medical community, veterinarians and the insurance industry are working together to educate the public that dog bites are avoidable by declaring May 19-25 as National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

“Many dogs are cherished members of their family and people believe their dog won’t bite, but given the right circumstances, any dog can attack,” said Snavely. “Dogs do not reason like people do and they will react to their instinct to protect their family and territory. Working with animal behavior experts, the Postal Service has developed tips to avoid dog attacks, and for dog owners, tips for practicing responsible pet ownership.”

How to be a Responsible Dog Owner

• Obedience training can teach dogs proper behavior and help owners control their dogs in any situation.
• Dogs can be protective of their territory and may interpret the actions of a letter carrier as a threat. Please take precautions when accepting mail in the presence of your pet.
• When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep your dog inside, away from the door, in another room or on a leash.
• Dogs that haven’t been properly socialized, receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time frequently turn into biters.

Fiscal Year 2012 U.S. Postal Service Dog Attack City Ranking

The National Dog Bite Prevention Week partners offer the following tips:

Avoiding Attacks

• Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.
• Don’t run past a dog. The dog’s natural instinct is to chase and catch you.
• If a dog threatens you, don’t scream. Avoid eye contact. Try to remain motionless until the dog leaves, then back away slowly until the dog is out of sight.
• Never approach a strange dog, especially one that’s tethered or confined.
• Don’t disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies.
• Anyone wanting to pet a dog should first obtain permission from the owner.
• Always let a dog see and sniff you before petting the animal.
• If you believe a dog is about to attack you, try to place something between yourself and the dog, such as a backpack or a bicycle.
• If you are knocked down by a dog, curl into a ball and protect your face with your hands.

The Postal Service; the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), aap.org; the American Humane Association (AHA) americanhumane.org, the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), microsurg.org; the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), avma.org; the Insurance Information Institute (III), iii.org; State Farm Insurance, statefarm.com; and Prevent The Bite (PTB), preventthebite.org, are driving home the message that dog bites are a nationwide issue and that education can help prevent dog attacks to people of all ages.

Advice from the Experts
Note:  Journalists are encouraged to contact National Dog Bite Prevention Week partners for in-depth interviews.

American Academy of Pediatricians
“Parents, please don’t ever leave a young child unsupervised around any dog, even a dog well-known to your family,” said AAP President Dr. Robert Block . “Even very young children should be taught not to tease or hurt animals. And with school almost over for the year, children will be spending more time in parks, at friends’ homes, and other places where they may encounter dogs. They need to know what to do to minimize the risk of being bitten.” Contact: Gina Steiner , gsteiner@aap.org, aap.org, 847-434-7945.

American Humane Association
Children should be taught to never approach an unfamiliar dog. Infants and young children should never be left alone with any dog; interactions between children and dogs should always be monitored to ensure safety for both the dog and the child. Children should be taught to treat the dog with respect and not engage in rough or aggressive play. American Humane Association has a brochure “Pet Meets Baby”, available for families with infants, that is available online americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/interaction/pet-meets-baby-2013.pdf and offers many helpful tips. Contact Mark Stubis , marks@americanhumane.org, americanhumane.org 202-677-4227.

American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery
“Most children love dogs and like to put their face up close to the dog’s face. Parents should never permit this,” said Dr. Joseph Serletti , president of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery. “Even the friendliest dog may bite when startled or surprised. Be cautious, once a child is scarred they are scarred for life. We hear this line all the time ‘The dog has never bitten anyone before’. A dog’s reaction to being surprised or angered is not predictable.” Contact: Krista Greco , kristagreco@isms.org, microsurg.org, 312-456-9579.

American Veterinary Medical Association
Any dog can bite. Protect your family and community and the welfare of dogs with early education programs. The Blue Dog Parent Guide and CD is targeted and tested for children from 3 to 6 years old and is intended as a tool to be incorporated as part of a more comprehensive prevention program. Visit avma.org/dogbite for information on dog bite prevention material from the AVMA and its National Dog Bite Prevention Week partners. Contact: Sharon Granskog ; sgranskog@avma.org, avma.org, 847-285-6619.

Insurance Information Institute
Dog bites account for more than a third of all homeowners’ insurance liability claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability if your dog injures another person or damages someone else’s property. The best way to protect yourself is to prevent your dog from biting anyone in the first place. Contact: Justin Shaddix (national) justins@iii.org, iii.org, 212-346-5522.

Prevent The Bite
A nonprofit organization devoted to keeping children safe from dog bites, Prevent The Bite meets the national standards of education, and makes it possible for anyone to teach children how to avoid being bitten. Dog attack victim Kelly Voigt is available for interviews. Contact: Kathy Voigt , kathy@preventthebite.org, preventthebite.org, 847-223-5084

State Farm Insurance
As the nation’s largest property and casualty insurer in the country, State Farm understands the damage that a dog bite can do. In 2012, the company paid more than $136 million dollars as a result of nearly 4,500 dog bite claims.  There are good dogs and bad dogs within every breed, just as there can be responsible and irresponsible owners. State Farm does not refuse insurance based on the breed of dog a customer owns in the United States. Instead, we urge owners to be responsible with their pets. Visit learningcenter.statefarm.com/ for information on keeping your family and pets safe. Contact:  Holly Anderson ; holly.anderson.m3mj@statefarm.com; statefarm.com; 309-735-7745

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold (TX-27), Chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census, today held a hearing looking at the time it takes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to process federal worker pension claims.

“2.5 million retired federal workers and their survivors rely on their pension check every month to make ends meet. What’s shocking to me is that OPM, who administers these checks, does it the same way today that they did it in 1987. This lack of modernization has resulted in a backlog of 30,000 claims, while the OPM averages $100 million each year in payments to deceased annuitants and survivors. OPM’s processing of these claims is clearly not efficient and effective and just reinforces the government’s poor IT record,” said Congressman Farenthold in his opening statement.

“While the President’s budget recommends $2.6 million to fund a case management system, the budget is short on detail and provides little guidance on how OPM will achieve a modern system. We’ve seen hundreds of millions of dollars wasted in failed information technology contracts, yet reform still seems vague,” continued Rep. Farenthold.

The Subcommittee heard testimony from Mr. Patrick McFarland, Inspector General at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Mr. Kenneth Zawodny, Associate Director of Retirement Services at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Ms. Valerie C. Melvin, Director, Information Management & Technology Resource Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Mr. Joseph A. Beaudoin, President, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, and Dr. George Kettner, President, Economic Systems, Inc.

During the questioning portion of the hearing, Congressman Farenthold spoke to the benefits of using technology to modernize and streamline OPM’s processing of retired federal employee pension claims.

“Do you see some things that OPM could do immediately to kick the technology up, save some time and get the claims processed faster?” Rep. Farenthold asked government IT expert Valerie Melvin.

“The approach that they are taking now, which we see as a very modest, incremental step…is probably a prudent and risked-based approach for them to take, given their inability to be successful with such initiatives in the past,” replied Ms. Melvin.

Congressman Farenthold asked the same question to Dr. Kettner, whose company, Economic Systems Inc., specializes in data entry software.

“I think there are certainly steps that could be taken immediately, and I think you’re entirely correct in thinking that more could be done at the agency level. That’s where the data comes from and where much more can be done. There is no reason in the world the data should not be given to OPM electronically,” concluded Mr. Kettner.

OPM has less than 60 days to achieve its short-term goal of reducing the backlog and processing 90 percent of claims within 60 days. In response to a question from Representative Farenthold about meeting this short-term goal, Mr. Zawodny expressed some insecurity but told the committee he was hopeful it could be met.

Read more: Factiva.