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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2016)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2016 DISASTER PREP M y mother had a saying, “Christmas comes the same time every year, two weeks too early!” She was an ele- mentary teacher and there were always parties, pro- grams, pageants and presents for which to prepare. This year seems no differ- ent. December’s calendar fills up pretty quickly and the “Big Day” will be upon us in no time. Every year I read reports of Christmas tragedy in the form of house fires. Make sure your home and family are safe this season by fol- lowing a few simple safety rules. Inspect your Christmas tree lighting for worn wiring, overloaded circuits and and if you are still using those screw-in bulbs, make sure there are no broken bulbs or exposed filaments. Holiday preparedness One of every three Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical prob- lems. Christmas tree fires are not common, but when they occur, they are likely to be serious. On average, one of every 40 reported home Christmas tree structure fires results in a death, compared to an average of one death per 142 total reported struc- ture fires. A heat source too close to the tree causes one of six reported Christmas tree fires. More than half (56 per- cent) of home candle fires are a result of something flammable situated too close to the flame. There are a sig- nificant higher percentage of candle-related fires in December than other months of the year. If you’re still putting up a “real” tree every year, make sure you keep it well- watered. If you’ve ever burned your tree after Christmas, you know how fast it can go up. Here are a few more tips from the experts: • Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns. • Make sure your tree is at least three feet away from heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, can- dles or heat vents. • Get rid of your Christmas tree immediately after the holiday. • Connect no more than three strings of mini lights, or no more than 50 lights of the screw-in variety. Oh, and one more thing: • Keep your fire extin- guisher handy. It takes less than 30 seconds for a dry tree to go up in flames. No time to run out to the garage and grab it. Winter is statistically the worst for home fires. Cold The Florence Area Veterans’ Relief Agency (FAVRA) is a nonprofit sub- sidiary of the local American Legion Francis M. Yost Post 59. FAVRA is a group of local veterans helping other local veterans with limited, emer- gency, stop-gap grant funding for food, shelter, utilities, medical needs, transportation or other personal, immediate needs. It requires the recipient to meet a simple qualification process, after which the veter- an usually has a check or cash weather coupled with holi- day decorations and over- burdened heating and electri- cal systems boost the dan- ger-factor significantly. Take care of your family this year and walk through your home with “fresh eyes” looking for anything that may cause a fire. Let’s keep our families and homes safe this holiday season. Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! ______________________ Dave Robinson is the postmaster in Bandon, Ore., and author of “Disaster Prep for the Rest of Us.” He may be contacted at disas- terprep.dave@gmail.com. Visit his website for more disaster preparedness tips, www.disasterprepdave.blogs pot.com. Sterling Silver and Gemstones • One-of-a-kind designs Great Prices • Large Selection US BEAD WAREHOUSE 3015 Highway 101, Florence • 541-997-0109 Property tax relief offered for storm damage Property taxes on real prop- erty that has experienced a casualty loss due to either an “Act of God” or a fire during the tax year may be eligible for a reduction of tax — referred to as a “proration of tax.” This property tax relief applies to significant damage to taxable structures (homes and businesses) — not person- al property, such as vehicles and building contents. “We want to be proactive in reaching out to taxpayers dur- ing times of hardship,” said Mike Cowles, Lane County assessor. “The process for requesting a proration of taxes is fairly quick and simple and our staff is available to answer any questions.” The application and addi- tional information can also be found at www.lanecounty.org /AT. Applications are also avail- able at the Lane County Department of Assessment and Taxation, located in the Public Services Building at 125 East Eighth Ave., in Eugene. The office is located on the lower level and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Property owners can also call 541-682-4321 during those same hours. Property owners are encour- aged to file applications for property tax relief as soon as possible to assist in accurately determining real property damage. The law requires that the application for proration of property taxes be submitted to the Assessment and Taxation Office no later than the end of the tax year in which the dam- age or destruction occurs, or 60 days after the date the prop- erty was damaged or destroyed, whichever is later. If property was damaged or destroyed by the recent storm, property owners must file an application for proration by June 30, 2017. For damaged property, the percentage of assessed value lost is multiplied by the total tax on the account for the month the property was dam- aged and for each month the property remains damaged during the tax year. The property owner is required to notify the asses- sor’s office when the damage has been repaired. The refund is made when the property is repaired or the fiscal year State to hold refunds until February SALEM — Oregon Department of Revenue offi- cials have announced that no personal income tax refunds for the 2016 tax year will be issued until after Feb. 15, 2017. The refund hold will allow data-matching of amounts claimed on returns to what employers report on Forms W- 2 and 1099. “Data-matching reduces potential refund fraud, and fraud is a problem we want to tackle from every direction we can,” said Ken Ross, manager of Revenue’s anti-fraud efforts. “The IRS, Oregon, and other states are taking similar measures to prevent potential fraud, capitalizing on the requirement that employers submit W-2 and 1099 informa- tion by Jan. 31.” Ross referred to the IRS’ announcement earlier this year that taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit won’t see their federal refunds until after Feb. 15. Revenue stops millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds each year: In 2015, anti-fraud efforts stopped $6.9 million in fraudulent refunds claimed on almost 4,000 different returns. Fraudsters are known to submit fraudulent returns early, trying to go unnoticed among the many early filers requesting legitimate refunds. Among returns filed before Feb. 15, approximately 90 per- cent request a refund. Deadlines for press releases are Mondays and Thursdays by noon. Email them to: P RESS R ELEASES @T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM . “No one wants to hold up a taxpayer’s legitimate refund, and taxpayers have been pretty understanding of the need to combat fraud,” Ross said. “We take very seriously our respon- sibility to make sure tax dol- lars go to the legitimate own- ers and not to fraudsters.” Visit www.oregon.gov/dor to get forms, check the status of your refund or make pay- ments, call 503-378-4988 (or 800-356-4222 toll-free) or email questions.dor@oregon. gov for more information. For TTY for hearing or speech impaired, call 800-886- 7204. During peak calling times, you may experience an extended wait. ends, whichever comes first. The value on the account for the tax year in which the dam- age or destruction occurred is not reduced. Oregon law allows only a proration of the tax, not an adjustment to the value in the current tax year. The property value will always be the value of the account as of the assess- ment date for the tax year in which the taxes are being pro- rated. When the account is reval- ued on the assessment date following the occurrence, any loss in value will be noted and reflected on the next year’s tax statement. DENTURE SERVICES INC. LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED Open 4 days a week! Here to serve your denture needs: Dentures Partial Dentures Immediate Dentures Implant Dentures Relines & Repairs Same Day Monday-Thursday 10am - 2 pm 524 Laurel St. 541-997-6054 William Foster LD Sherry, Offi ce Manager “As a denture wearer myself, I can answer your questions and address your denture concerns.” ~ William Foster, LD Financing: Citi Health Card 12 Month no Interest GET LOCAL with the Siuslaw News Subscribe or renew your subscription for 1-year by December 31st and be entered to $3 Win a tlet r y Ou Groce very issue rd in e r! a C t f i G ea for a y 6th Ever! ON A Y EDITI WEDNESDA WS NEWS . COM THESIUSLAW @ SIUSLAWNE SPORTS WIN A $3 GIFT CARD IN EVERY ISSUE FOR 1-YEAR! $1.00 2016 U Y 20, JANUAR Visions’ tic c V ‘Artisti d ne er rs s name winn WS / SIUSLAWNE STLE VIKS WRE FOR TITLES B INSIDE — A3 — THAT’S A $312 VALUE! E, OREGON FLORENC T E G WES SERVIN NT E C OU RN L AN E Y SI NC 1890 s Mary Ann’ at Natural Pet way 1541 High red 101 suffe damage Saturday when a car into crashed a power h whic pole, k then struc ing. the build Central Lincoln had r to cut powe a to install new pole. Power was restored ay. early Sund r o outage se es s po on we le, caus Hig hway 101 t h acciden snaps d po y night Crash stor in Saturda e damage the were on No lines ing the vehi- Health eaceH Peace P d or touch toddler to cal groun r Medi Sean and on Marsh al remained Peace Harbo their injuries. cle. said Fire Firefighters traffic until treat trea Center to d and direct Barrett. d Barrett’s were treate scene to All three rding g to ln PUD arrive Acco ordin r was an that day. Central Linco power to the ed drive pole releas the t, le broke the ay repor to shut down allegedly fell The vehic nt Saturd male who d s. The pole lines. r ay y adult A car accide Highw driving, crosse d in two place d, go near powe 1541 ighwa asleep while near the groun “We do not ions,” evening at f and crashe snapped off nts s and busi- lanes of traffic sident broken sec- lines in these situat r lines reside the left of for 101 • Y ACHATS • ut F t LORENCE part W ALDPORT • D UNES • G ARDINER • R EEDSPORT the powe l C ITY • W ESTLAKE power • M APLETON and out pow ithou ith into the pole. i e t the witho tt said. “All ed through h e fire tells s es w sse nesse ne tion smash Ann’s Natural Barre the PUD he time the th y night. nigh until By B man the live January 2016 the of are ived d d, most i and d Fire wall at Mary tment tm ent t arrive ise.” V Siuslaw Valley me of depar two young passengers Pet. some ten- us otherw of were lot and a and Rescue crews nders SH 11A on the the vehicle th “There was See CRA overhead,” ere out of f respo nd ers the street. F o r d were Ford the first in the wires a ac f te r af after tandin n ng g across ta lance sion tt said. a standi cenne ce s scene ed TO into Barre rn Lane Ambu infant she ed r a sh este W E ester F REE M x ONTHLY UIDE A RTS AND Weste NTERTAINMENT on G c crash itio ition pedd iti pe man, ON THE O REGON C OAST E Exped p m 20 p.m. 5 :20 c took the i t i ct l at t 5:20 i ” Distri poowe r pole powe si ve hit,” expp sive a explo w a an It was “It Pet LLE M EYER B Y C HANTE News Siuslaw C OAST C ENTRAL W INCHESTER B AY • L AKESIDE • N ORTH B END • C OOS B AY • C HARLESTON • C OQU ILLE • B ANDON MUSIC Gems Fossils Agates Gem, Minerals Mineral & Vendors Fossil Show Lectures Family Fun The Rock Doc Special Displays in-hand within 24 hours. The help FAVRA provides stays anonymous, personal, discrete and respectful. It’s not a member of a gov- ernment agency or VA; it understand fellow veterans and doesn’t ask anything from them or track them. They sim- ply verify their status and then help them. Those who would like to join FAVRA, or make a tax- deductible contribution, can visit FAVRA.org. To contact FAVRA for assistance, call 541-590- 0395. Just in time for Christmas! from the HEART Virtuoso guitarist Jesse Cook comes to Florence COVER STORY Fest 16 7 OF CONNIE COURTESY SPINNER BLACK B Y D AVE R OBINSON Special to the Siuslaw News Local veterans group seeks to help other vets LOW ENTA YEL CYAN MAG 6 A Th e winner will be selected at random on January 2nd. Th e Grocery Outlet gift card will be inserted into the winning subscriber’s newspaper every issue beginning on January 4, 2017 and ending on December 20, 2017. Th e gift cards will discontinue if the subscription is cancelled before December 30, 2017. Subscribe or Renew your subscription for 1-Year for $71 SUBSCRIBE AND REGISTER TO WIN GROCERY OUTLET GIFT CARDS for a Year! 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