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Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind., Jerry Davich column

By Jerry Davich, Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind. on

Published in Senior Living Features

If you're a new parent in need of a birth certificate from the Porter County Health Department, you may want to visit the office in person rather than mailing in your payment.

Nicole Pollock wishes she would have done that.

Last month, the Valparaiso mother mailed a money order to the health department to issue her daughter's birth certificate. It never made it there. It wasn't lost. It wasn't misplaced. It was likely stolen, officials say, along with her personal information and a copy of her driver's license.

"All of the personal information is in the hands of a thief," said Pollock, who soon discovered she hasn't been the only victim of this theft. "I have the names of two other people this has happened to, in addition to myself. We are then having to pay double for another copy of the birth certificate."

The fee for a certified birth certificate is $6. A laminated, wallet-sized version costs $10. The cost for both sizes is $15, which is exactly how much money Pollock is out while waiting for a refund from the health department.

She immediately contacted the health department and heard back from its attorney, David Hollenbeck, who I also spoke with about this issue. He admitted to Pollock, and to me, that this has been a problem in the past, but a very curious, sporadic one.

The county health department receives about 1,600 requests for birth certificates each year and nearly all of them go through without a problem.

"All but a very few of these requests are handled expeditiously and without incident," Porter County Health Officer Dr. Maria Stamp said in a statement.

She described these missing forms and payments through the mail as "isolated incidents," and I don't doubt it. But which parents want to gamble on being the victims again in this sporadic situation? Not Pollock, that's for sure.

"I'm in $30 already for paying them twice," she told me. "It is absolutely ridiculous that this has been happening since at least last November and nothing has been done to correct the issue or catch the person responsible."

She's not convinced that the health department is doing everything it can to avoid future incidents. Stamp disagrees, noting that this problem is taken very seriously by her office and personnel. Hollenbeck reiterated this concern to me.

"Actions have been taken to minimize and eliminate the problem," he said.

Stamp said those actions include filing a report with the U.S. Postal Service and launching an investigation into the issue.

According to USPS spokeswoman Mary Dando, "the inspection service undertook an investigation into the issue at the Valparaiso Post Office and concluded that there was no wrongdoing on the part of any employees of the United States Postal Service."

This implies the culprit is someone inside the Porter County Government Building in Valparaiso, or at the health department. Stamp said her department has discussed the possibility of installing surveillance cameras in the building's mail room.

"The health department is reluctant to abandon the availability of mail as an option," Stamp said.

Due to too many bounced checks in the past, that method of payment is no longer allowed. Most of the missing payments and forms have involved cash, as opposed to Pollock's money order payment. The department's website specifically tells parents to not send cash through the mail, for this reason.

Still, the cost for a birth certificate is only $6, and the fee for a money order in that amount can cost half that amount, Hollenbeck noted. With this in mind, the health department has "reluctantly" allowed cash payments in the mail.

 

Pollock said, "The issue is not being pursed heavily because the small amounts being lost for the cost of a birth certificate."

She's probably right, but the health department is refocusing on this issue and doing what it can to avoid future thefts. In the meantime, customers are encouraged to obtain birth certificates in person while health officials look deeper into this.

"It is the customer's choice to mail the birth certificate request," Hollenbeck said.

True but, to be safe, my choice would be to visit the health department in person, which is why Pollock contacted me in the first place. For the record, you've been warned.

Seniors: the upside and down

Each week, I meet and chat with senior citizens, especially married couples who've been together longer than I've been breathing. I once met with an older couple who reminded me of two basic truths regarding senior citizen couples.

The upside: seniors rarely care about your appearance -- regardless if you look attractive enough for society that day, or if your hair is messed up, or even if your clothes are wrinkled and unstylish. Like your grandmother, they're usually happy just to see you. And they truly mean it when they say, "You look so young."

The downside: senior couples offer us a glimpse of what our marriage or relationship may look like in 20 or 30 years. Too often, it's not pretty from what I've seen. One spouse always seems to have the upper hand and doesn't flinch before using it against the other spouse.

I don't know if it's always been that way or if it snowballed through the decades. I've seen it from both genders and I've seen it too often to think it won't happen with many younger, more idealistic couples.

Unless, that is, we make ourselves aware of it now and try to maintain that tricky marital equality with an eye, and a heart, to the future. Again, you've been warned.

Already accepting nominations

It's not even Halloween yet and I've already received the first nomination for my annual Christmas Elf Fund, which funnels anonymous donations to those in need each holiday season.

Will it again be a success in its seventh year? That's up to you and your generosity, not me. I'll keep you posted along the way.

jdavich@post-trib.com

(c)2015 the Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.)

Visit the Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.) at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune

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(c) Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind.

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