Back to School
by: peregrineJan 03, 2025
Back to school!
DeKalb County students and teachers will return to school Monday, January 6 now that the winter break is coming to an end.
The remainder of the 2025 DeKalb County School Calendar is as follows:
DeKalb County students and teachers will have a full week off for spring break March 24-28, Schools will also be closed for Dr. Martin Luther King Day January 20, President’s Day February 17, Good Friday. April 18, and Monday, April 21. The last day of school will be May 23, 2025 (abbreviated 7:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m.). May 22 will be an administrative day.
Report cards will be issued at all schools on January 9, March 18, and May 23.
Parent teacher conferences will be held at all schools from 3-6 p.m. on March 20.
Body Found at Fire Scene
by: Dwayne PageJan 03, 2025
Local and state investigators are probing a possible fire-related death in DeKalb County
The case is under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
The DeKalb County Fire Department was summoned to a mobile home fire at approximately 1:34 a.m. Thursday morning at 1419 Poss Road. The initial report to 911 dispatch was that the structure was fully involved. Upon arrival, firefighters did find the structure fully involved and collapsed.
Upon investigation, fire crews located a deceased victim inside the mobile home. The Four Seasons, Midway, Johnson’s Chapel, and Short Mountain stations responded along with DeKalb Emergency Medical Services, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) fire investigators.
The name of the deceased has not been released.
Social Security Announces 2.5 Percent Benefit Increase for 2025
by: Dwayne PageJan 03, 2025
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January.
Over the last decade the COLA increase has averaged about 2.6 percent. The COLA was 3.2 percent in 2024.
Nearly 68 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) beginning in January 2025. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2024. (Note: Some people receive both Social Security benefits and SSI).
“Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool,” said Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) is slated to increase to $176,100 from $168,600.
Social Security began notifying people about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December.
This year, for the first time, Social Security beneficiaries will receive a newly designed and improved COLA notice that makes it easier for customers to find the information they need most. The simplified COLA notice is now only one page, uses plain and personalized language, and provides exact dates and dollar amounts of a person’s new benefit amount and any deductions.
Individuals who have a personal my Social Security account can view their COLA notice online, which is secure, easy, and faster than receiving a letter in the mail. People can set up text or email alerts when there is a new message–such as their COLA notice–waiting for them in my Social Security.
People needed to have a personal my Social Security account by Nov. 20 to see their COLA notice online. To get started, visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2025 are available at https://www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, the 2025 benefit amount were available via my Social Security’s Message Center starting in late November. Those who have not opted to receive messages online were to receive their COLA notice by mail in December.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To read more, please visit www.ssa.gov/cola.