York County and surrounding region feel the impact of partial federal government shutdown

Source: York Daily Record, Pa.儲存Oct. 02--YORK, Pa. -- John Fallon, 17, was walking up to the Social Security Administration office in Springettsbury Township Tuesday morning when he spotted a large sign."DUE TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN," the sign read, "LIMITED SERVICES ONLY."Fallon and his mom paused for a moment."We'll just see what happens," Fallon said.But they weren't inside for long, as Fallon left without being able to apply for a Social Security replacement card or find out what his number is. Fallon, a Chanceford Township resident who completed his high school credits about two weeks ago, said he needs either the card or the number for a job search."That basically puts a huge speed bump in that," Fallon said of the partial government shutdown."Yeah, you'll be unemployed until we can get yournew card," said his mother, Paula.Others in York County and the surrounding region were feeling the impact of the first day of a partial federal government shutdown, as members of Congress failed to reach agreement over a temporary spending bill by a Monday deadline.Employees were furloughed, national parks closed, and federal offices closed their doors or offered limited services.Here's a look at what happened and how people are handling the first partial U.S. government shutdown in 17 years.FurloughsAround noon Tuesday, Maj. Ed Shank, spokesman for Fort Indiantown Gap, was working to gather information about how the government shutdown affected the base, including how many people werefurloughed.However, "all the technicians I go to (for that information) have been furloughed," Shank said.Shank said 40 percent of the employees at Fort Indiantown Gap fall under "technician status," and "all but 20 percent of those (positions) have been furloughed." He said that the positions that remain are "essential employees," including the fire department and other "life and limb" positions.By 2 p.m., Shank had learned 529 federal employees, 489 military technicians and 44 civilians at the base had been furloughed. There are approximately 2,000 full-time employees there.By email, Shank said "internal discussions are still taking place to determine the federal government's exact job-by-job definition of 'essential personnel,' which is why we don't have exact numbers yet."Shank said by email that it's expected that military service members and "excepted DoD civilians," or essential civilian employees, will be paid retroactively once the lapse of appropriations end. "Non-excepted civilians will be paid retroactively" only if a law is enacted providing the authority to pay them, Shank said.Those employees who are still working full time at the base are expecting an interruption in their pay, Shank said."Those guys are probably going to have a hiccup in their pay until this gets settled," Shank said. "This is not good for anybody."Kelly Luster, public affairs chief for the Army Garrison at AberdeenProving Ground in Maryland, did not have an exact number of workers furloughed as of shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday. "We are still in the process of sending folks home and going through the furlough notification process," Luster said by email.He explained there are 90 organizations on the installation, and some organizations which are "paid through funds other than tax dollars" may be exempt from the government shutdown.He noted that "specific missions related to life, health and safety may儲存倉be exempt as well."Kelly said the workforce at Aberdeen Proving Ground was kept informed as the potential shutdown neared. "We hoped for the best in that our representatives in Congress would resolve the situation, but were prepared for the worst case in that the shutdown might not be avoided," Kelly wrote.National parksGarry and Connie Devries' vacation plans changed Monday night when they turned on the TV in their hotel room and learned through a news broadcast that Congress had failed to reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown.The couple from Dayton, Ohio, had been planning a trip to Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Washington D.C., for about two months. After hearing that all national parks would close, they made their way to York because they heard there was some Revolutionary-era sites, Gary Devries said.The shutdown "just ruined our vacation," Connie Devries said while the couple ate lunch at Central Market on Tuesday afternoon. She said she was aware of last week's legislative melee but "thought they'd come up with something at the last minute."The situation could be worse, Gary Devries said, but now the couple is left "trying to scramble to come up with something."Fewer servicesIn Springettsbury Township, an Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Assistance Center on Industrial Highway was closed. A sign on a door for the Social Security office in the same building said staff would help people apply for benefits, request appeals, change their address, replace a lost or missing payment and with some other services.But other services weren't provided.John Fallon wasn't the only person who traveled to the office only to be disappointed.On Tuesday morning, Nicole McMahon's mother called her and told her she should check first to confirm that the Social Security office would be open, McMahon said.McMahon called a 1-800-number, which she said wasn't helpful."It just said they had limited services, so I figured I'd try," she said.McMahon, 22, of the Lititz area of Lancaster County, got married in June, and she has been meaning to change her last name to Guffey since then."I finally got some time," said McMahon, who works at a York County veterinary hospital.She walked up, saw the sign, paused and didn't bother going inside. The sign specifically said people couldn't get a name change."I'm frustrated," said McMahon. "...People have to be able to do stuff like this."Carl Fowlkes, 44, of York, drove his 17-year-old daughter, Deja Smothers, to get a replacement Social Security card."Not today, huh?" he said to another person who showed up.Fowlkes said he was frustrated by the partial shutdown. He served in the U.S. Navy, and he said that if the shutdown stretches on, he and other disabled veterans might not get their checks.He said he didn't think Republicans should insist on changes to the health-care law as part of the budget debate."They're holding everybody else up, because they want the health-care bill to go away," Fowlkes said. "I don't think they should."Brian Wilk, 49, of Springettsbury Township, said he was able to get the information he wanted at the Social Security office. He called the shutdown "a necessary evil.""Obama's unwilling to compromise, which is what has to happen," Wilk added.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 York Daily Record (York, Pa.) Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at .ydr.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉最平