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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1977)
Page 4 Portland Observer Thursday. December 1, 1977 Utility bill ulcers and property tax trauma? by Ron Widen and Peggi l.indquiM l egal Develo usent Program for the Elderly Even with the holidays coming up. this is the time of year when many older Oregonians have “Utility Ulcers" and "Tax Trauma" the former comes from receiving ballooning winter utility bills, and the latter is a depression that sets in when the property tax bill arrives. We thought it might help seniors plagued by these ailments if we described a number of the new money saving laws land one or two that are not new! that can help low income Oregon seniors cut the cost of staying warm, honteowning. and renting. For example, one way to reduce your utility tab is to winterize your home. Those 60 or older qualify for a weatheri zation refund of up to $300 if they have filed a 1976 homeowner s property tax refund claim, have a 1976 household income of less than $7.500, and have a 1977 assessed value on your home of less than $30.000. The Department of Revenue automuti cally sends a voucher to people who qualify for the program. Whatever you spend in winterizing your home between October 4. 1977 and June 30, 1979 should he documented by receipts, canceled checks, work orders, etc., and be included when you send your voucher back, before January 1. I960 Call the Department of Revenue to find out what kinds of winterizing qualify. Their toll free num her is I 800 452 2838. There is also a tax credit for winter» ing available, which is open to almost all homeowners in Oregon. This amounts to $125 or one fourth of the cost of winter» ing, whichever is less, and is applied against your income tax liability when vou file your Stale income lax return. Another law designed to help seniors keep warm this winter is a Fuel and Utility Refund. .Approximately 65.000 elderly have been receiving a $50 refund check to help pay for the high cost of fuel and utility rates. To qualify for this refund, a senior must have filed a 1976 homeowner or renter property tax re fund claim, and be 60 or older with a 1976 household income of less than $5,000. The Revenue department will mail these checks out automatically to those who qualify and there's no application necessary. This money is part of a $7 million appropriation from the legislature, the rest of which will be sent to people who qualify for the refund next Fall. There are also several programs to ease the cost of property tax. One is a senior citizen's property tax deferral law. This allows homeowners age 62 and over to delay paying property taxes and those special assessments shown on their tax statement. The taxes, however, are delayed not but forgotten. They must be paid, with interest when the owner dies, sells the property or begins earning excess income from the property. Pre sent and future taxes can be deferred even though there may be delinquent taxes for previous years. Abo, once the taxes are deferred, a surviving spouse can continue the deferral if he or she is 80 or over. How do you qualify? You must be 62 by March 1st of the year in which you file an application. You must have a recorded title to the property, or be buying the properly under a recorded sales contract, l You can't get a deferral if you have a life estate in the property.) You have to live on the property as well as own it. And you don't earn a gross income of more than $1 .HOD per year from the property. If you're interested and eligible, you'll need to go to the county assessor's office (look under your county in the phone book) between January 1st and April 1st to apply. Oregon also has a property tax refund for homeowners ot all ages. You are eligible for thus refund if you occupy an Oregon homestead (this applies to mo bile homes, tool, have a recorded interest in your homestead, have a total house hold income of less than $16.000 and are the only one in the household filing a refund claim. The forms and instructions for filing for this refund are included in the 1977 Oregon income tax packet which should be mailed to all Oregon citizens. You can also pick up the forms at banks, post offices, courthouses, and Depart me nt of Revenue district offices. The timing of this refund has been changed this year. You should receive your Truth about death important to children BOSTON UNIVERSITY - Shielding your child from the subject of death is a great mistake, warns Gerald Koocher. a Boston University psychiatrist and chief psychologist at a Boston cancer center. Kids can tell when adults are fooling them." Koocher says, "and they build up fears about topics adults try to hide from them Very often those fears grow to be worse than the realities." Koocher stresses that death education should be handled like sex education, and hi- gives parents five simple guidelines for telling children the facts: First, anticipate your child's fears. “Very young children tend to worry about who will lake care of them when they die." Koocher says, "while older children often worry about the pain of death." Second, find out how much your child already knows. By age four or five, most children have some first hand knowledge of death, perhaps by noticing a dead pigeon or insect, and most have seen a great deal of simulated death on teievi sion. which may leave very strong im pressions. Third, straighten out misconceptions. Koocher says children between ages five and seven often look at death magically and think that the dead can be brought back to life. After seven, children realize death is final and form graphic concep lions of what happens to dead people. Also, he says, children often form fears about connections between death and such things as drinking out of styrofoam cups or eating hot dogs or touching dirty bugs. Fourth, give clear information in Ian guuge the child can understand. Avoid euphemisms, fairy tales, and even allu sions to “going to heaven" when not integrated into u larger religious context. Koocher says. Never say that dying is "like going to sleep." A child can understand when you tell him that a dead person looks asleep but no longer breath es or that a person was too sick to get well and his heart stopped. Fifth, and most important, make sure your child feels free to ask any question and that no subject is taboo. "Children will feel in control if they know what happens," Koocher says. He adds one note of caution: "Children often assume that what happens to others will happen to them, so assure them that their bodies work fine and that they are not likely to die for a long time. refund check in October, more near the time your property taxes are due. Renters, of course, are also eligible for a property tax refund, since part of the rent goes to pay for property taxes. In addition to that refund, there is a state program for elderly rental assistance. For both of these refunds, the necessary forms and instructions are included in the 1977 Oregon income tax packet, and are to he filed with your Oregon income lux. To receive a renters property tax refund, you have to occupy an Oregon homestead as a renter on December 31. 1977, have a household income of less than $16,000 and he the only person in the household filing a refund claim. To qualify for the elderly rental assistance, you must he at least 58 years old at the end of this year, have a household income of less than $5,000. and lie paying more than 40 percent of your income for rent, fuel and utilities. If you1 qualify for these programs and file a 1977 refund claim, you'll be receiving a check in October. This is a change from this last year when checks for the elderly rental assistance program were sent out month ly. Just this October, people who qualify for the program were mailed a “lump sum" check for ,977. In summary, most older Oregonians are eligible for some, if not all. of the programs described here. We realize these programs might not coat that "utility ulcer" or totally relieve your "tax trauma", hut we thought that if older Oregonians had this information it would increase the chance that seniors get every penny the State of Oregon says they have coming to help with utility bills and property taxes. If you, the reader, have more questions about your tax and or utility "predicament." call the Oregon Itepartment of Revenue on their toll free number: 1 800-452 2838. They want to help. YOl ( AN HELP - The Toy ‘N Joy project, sponsored bi Portland's Urban 4 II program, 4615 N.E. 7th Avenue, and the Portland Fire Department, is underwit and eX’iecta to provide a happy ( hristmas for hundreds of children Irom low -income families this holiday season. Joyce Payne, 411 rommunili worker, assists with trans porting toys from the I rban Center, where repairable toys are being collected, to the fire department station in downtown Portland. There the neressart re,«airs are made in time for delivery during the holidays. Anyone with usable, re mirable toys to donate are asked to contact the 4-H Urban Center. 287-177(1, or deliver (hem to the (enter. 4815 N.E. 7th Avenue. Pick-up collection service can be provided and the collection project will continue until Christmas week. "Spare when you are young, and spend when you are old " H G. Bohn "He who is not sure of his memory should avoid lying." Michel de Montaigne “Yes, Ron, There is a Santa --” and he (or she) is a special someone for everyone... This year the Observer is offering you a special way to tell your special Santa what you would like for Christmas... What do employers look for when hiring? leading qualification of an applicant. Then comes the person's ability to communi cate, both orally and in writing, a good work attitude and motivation, followed by stability and perserverance. For employers in the clerical field, they first seek applicants with motivation and good work attitudes, then comes basic skills, stability and perserverance and vocational training and technical skills. Those who want to become salesper sons must first have a good work attitude and positive motivation. You must be able to communicate, both verbally and in writing. These are listed as the first priorities for a sales position. The second qualification is listed as being stable and able to perservere, followed by social compatibility and personal relations. In the field of unskilled labor, employ ers first seek motivation and work attitudes, followed by stability, persever ance, discipline and basic skills. Based on the respondents to the What are your chances of locating the job you are seeking, and what is a future employer looking for when he interviews applicants? According to a recent survey conduct ed of 140 Portland area businesses, college graduates with a major in busi ness administration, have minors in ac counting, engineering and or sales and marketing stand a good chance. The survey was conducted to deter mine and identify the attitudes and opinions of job applicants. Craftsman applicants should make cer lain their technical skills and vocational training are in proper order. Employers then say a good work attitude is the second most important qualification, fol lowed by motivation, stability, perser verance. discipline and adjustment to organizational structure. A potential employers in the area of "professional technicians" rates profes sional and technical competence as the Sample Messages bureau's survey, most employers feel the majority of applicants are either "good" or "fair”. Those two categories attracted a total of 89 percent majority responses. “Excellent" applicants were only five percent while "poor" applicants were slightly higher, six percent. Of the qualifications employers found basically lacking in most applicants, be havioral qualities came first, followed by. writing abilities. Of those surveyed. 61 percent said they give job preference to an applicant with a college education or some college back ground. But at the same time. 88 percent of the employers surveyed said they do not anticipate changing their hiring prac tices in regards to college graduates Those who are among the job seekers in the job market today, should check the box score and find out where they stand in the "rating" a potential employers would give them as an applicant. (from Observer staff members...) Consumer League seeks members 3 A ppointimer Come In at Your Coavenience * Lat Us H elp You W ith All Your N a a d a d D antistry . . . U SI MY LIBERAL CREDIT PLAN • I m m e d ia te NO FINANCE DENTURES COMPANY or BANK To S a m e I t a y • IN MOST CASES Com« in b a fa ra 10 a.m . and W a W ill Try to D allvar your Danturas by 4 p.m. Same Day Deal With P a y in Sm all W eekly o r M onthly Im o u n tt ALL Dental Insurance Accepted F o rm a A v a ila b le a t o u r O f fica ( Sodium P entothol WNIN MSIRID 10» SLEEP E xtrac tio n s & F illin g s Lcaniad Anostbetist in Abandonee ) In our Christmas Personals Section - 12 words for 3 weeks for $3. Santa, Please send me a car that runs...RL Your message will appear for 3 weeks in December... just fill out and mail the blank below... Santa, I need a 10- speed for this summer...DM PLEASE PRINT MY MESSAGE TO SANTA, DECEMBER 8, 15, 22 - FOR $3. (12-word maximum, 15c for each additional word, weekly. Messages must be received by Monday, Dec. 5, after which regular rates will be charged.) SANTA, Phone — 2 2 7 -2 4 2 7 2-HOUW ta n NANKING Liwri»i« L iw ru it Name------------------------------------------------------ Address--------------------------------------------------- D K N T I8 T S’ ir e t Level 51 5 S w HOURS 8 30 AM to 5.00 PM Closed Saturdays D U R IN G The Oregon Consumer la-ague has begun a campaign to uncover the most pressing consumer needs of Portland's minority groups. The League. Oregon's oldest non pro fit consumer organization, is inviting area minority groups and individuals to help the- organization focus on the special problems they experience in today’s marketplace. “We would like to give more attention to the problems minority consumers have, but first we need specific informa tion as to what the problems are," says Jan Bathe, newly-elected President ot the League. Located in Portland at 519 S.W . 3rd. Room 412, the league has sought to represent the needs of Oregon's consum ers on the state and local levels for over eleven years. In addition, the League's office offers the public a comprehensive assortment of reference materials. Minority groups and individuals who wish to join the Oregon Consumer Lea gue. or who would like to alert the la-ague about specific problems, are en couraged to contact the office by calling 227 3882 or dropping by between 9:00 a m. and 4:00 p.m. Santa, Please send me a scholar ship to Morris Brown...SB Ave Between Alder A Washington O F F IC E S ALSO IN SALEM A E U G E N E The first jhorthand tystem was publuhed by Dr Timothy Bright in 1588, under the title "Characterie the art of jhort, lw ift and ««cret writing." (Mail this entry to: Observer, P.0. Box 3137, Port., OR. 97208) IP I cam * A encloHe check or money-order. |
