SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 | 11A
Local carpet, upholstery cleaners keep Florence in ‘tip-top shape’
Jo Hines really likes to keep
things clean. Hines has been
working with Florence area res-
idents and businesses to keep
their properties in tip-top shape
since she purchased Florence
Janitorial Services nearly 30
years ago.
“I bought Florence Janitorial
Services from Neil Tompkins
in 1989, and Neil’s Carpet &
Upholstery Cleaning from him
in 1990. These are both fami-
ly owned businesses providing
jobs for local people since that
time,” Hines said. “Two employ-
ees are family members besides
myself and my husband Bill
repairs equipment for the busi-
nesses and maintains the vehi-
cles.”
The process of cleaning the
many different types of furni-
ture materials and floor surfac-
es available to consumers these
days makes the knowledge and
experience the employees at
Hine’s businesses have more
valuable than ever.
They offer a complete array
of services for janitorial sup-
port and they utilize the latest
techniques and equipment for
cleaning all types of carpets and
furniture.
“Our services include steam
and dry cleaning for carpets,
steam only for upholstery. We
also clean area rugs and runners
on site. Carpet manufacturers
recommend steam extraction
cleaning at least once per year,
since dry cleaning does not ex-
tract anything,” Hines said.
She also wants potential cus-
tomers to know there are major
differences in the methods used
to clean things, some work well
and others do not.
“Some home cleaning prod-
ucts remove color from carpet
and upholstery fibers, profes-
sional cleaning does not. Ad-
ditionally, we steam clean up-
holstery that does not have any
precautions regarding steam
cleaning,” she said.
There are also a few miscon-
ceptions that Hine’s would like
to clear up for people consider-
ing professional help with their
cleaning needs.
“Steam cleaning does NOT
shrink carpets, in part because
most carpet is made of man-
made materials, but also be-
cause the fibers are mounted in
a fixed backing.
Extraction removes pet fur,
sand, and in most cases, oils.”
Neil’s Carpet and Upholstery
Cleaning has recently pur-
chased new cleaning equipment
and a new truck.
Hines feels these additions to
the company toolbox will allow
the busy family business to ac-
commodate more customers,
with the latest technology, en-
suring the proper technique is
always used when taking on a
new cleaning situation.
For more information on
Florence Janitorial Services and
Neil’s Carpet and Upholstery
Cleaning, call 541-997-3825.
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Gerry and Jim of Neil's Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning with the company’s new service van.
Better Business Bureau study shows how fake check scams snag consumers
A recent in-depth study by
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
finds that, while consumers
may write fewer checks in this
era of electronic financial trans-
actions, fake check scams are on
the rise.
Fake checks are used in a vari-
ety of frauds, from employment
scams to prize and sweepstakes
fraud. In all cases, victims de-
posit the check and send money
back to scammers.
BBB warns consumers to be
on guard against these serious
and pervasive frauds and their
perpetrators.
The investigative study —
“Don't Cash That Check: Better
Business Bureau Study Shows
How Fake Check Scams Bait
Consumers” — looks at how
fake checks dupe consumers. It
digs into the scope of the prob-
lem, who is behind it, and the
need for law enforcement and
consumer education to address
the issue. Read the complete re-
port at www.bbb.org/en/us.
Scammers often succeed be-
cause consumers don’t realize:
• Crediting a bank account
does not mean the cashed check
is valid. Federal banking rules
require that when someone de-
posits a check into an account,
the bank must make the funds
available right away — within a
day or two.
Even when a check is credited
to an account, it does not mean
the check is good. A week or so
later, if the check bounces, the
bank will want the money back.
Consumers, not the fraudsters,
will be on the hook for the
funds.
• Cashier’s checks and postal
money orders can be forged. A
cashier’s check is a check guar-
anteed by a bank, drawn on the
bank's own funds and signed by
a cashier.
If a person deposits a cashier’s
check, the person’s bank must
credit the account by the next
day. The same holds true for
postal money orders. Scammers
use cashier’s checks and post-
al money orders because many
people don’t realize they can be
forged.
Fake check fraud is a huge
problem, with complaints to
regulatory agencies and con-
sumer watchdog groups dou-
bling over the last three years.
Frauds employing fake checks
is rapidly growing and costing
billions of dollars.
Fake checks were involved in
seven percent of all complaints
Florence Janitorial Services
Robyn, Jason and Connie
“Clean as a Whistle”
New Contruction Clean-Up
Commercial
P. O. Box 3257 • Florence, OR 97439
541-997-2385
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Property Services Contractor #39458 • SAM: #831298500/7E6J9
City License #2578
filed with BBB’s Scam Track-
er. The number of complaints
received by the Federal Trade
Commission’s Consumer Sen-
tinel database and the Internet
Fraud Complaint Center more
than doubled between 2014 and
2017.
Based on complaint data
trends, the study suggests that
there may be over 500,000 vic-
tims of counterfeit checks in
2017.
The study found the fraud
affects victims of all ages and
income levels, but consumers
between 20-29 reported being
victimized by the scam more
than consumers of any other
age range.
The National Consumers
League, which also receives
complaints from fraud victims
at www.fraud.org, found that
fake checks complaints in 2017
were up 12 percent and was the
second most common type of
complaint over all, after online
order issues.
Nigerian gangs appear to be
behind most of this fraud, of-
ten using romance fraud vic-
tims and other “money mules”
to receive money from victims.
Many fake checks and money
orders are shipped to the U.S.
from Nigeria.
If you have deposited a fake
check into your account:
• Notify your bank or the
bank that appears to have issued
the check.
• File a complaint with the
BBB, Federal Trade Commis-
sion, Internet Crime Complaint
Center, U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, Western Union, Mon-
eyGram, Green Dot or the Ca-
nadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
• Victims who are seniors or
other vulnerable adults may
be able to obtain help through
Adult Protective Services,
which has offices in every state
and many counties. Find a local
office at www.elderjustice.gov.
BBB is a nonprofit, busi-
ness-supported
organization
that sets and upholds high
standards for fair and honest
business behavior. Most BBB
services to consumers are free
of charge.
BBB provides objective ad-
vice, free profiles on more than
5.3 million companies, 11,000
charity reviews, dispute reso-
lution services, alerts and edu-
cational information on topics
affecting marketplace trust.
Visit www.bbb.org for more
information.
Vision Quest launches ‘Oregon Coast Quests’ today, tomorrow
Vision Quest: Live, Learn,
Explore has announced its
final event of 2018, a launch
party for Oregon Coast
Quests. Celebrations will take
place on today, Sept. 29, and
Sunday, Sept. 30.
Quests are fun, free-choice
learning adventures that use
clues and hints to encour-
age participants to discover
the natural, cultural and his-
torical "treasures" of place
and community. Suitable for
groups of all ages, self-guided
Quests allow lifelong learners
to explore parks, trails and
other outdoor spaces in new
ways and at their own pace.
Vision Quest team member
Dina Pavlis said, “Quests ex-
ist in most counties along the
coast, but not in West Lane
County. Our team is excited
about bringing these fun and
engaging adventures to our
community.”
On Sept. 29, Oregon Coast
Quest Coordinator Cait
Goodwin will present “Learn
to Quest” at the Siuslaw Pio-
neer Museum in Historic Old
Town Florence.
Participants will learn
about Oregon Coast Quests,
including where they are
and how to participate, and
receive copies of two new
Quests in the Siuslaw Region
courtesy of the Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Attendees will have a
chance to win a copy of the
Oregon Coast Quests Book.
To accommodate all who
would like to attend, Good-
win will give the presentation
at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Space
is limited and seating is on a
first-come basis.
For directions to the muse-
um, call 541-997-7884.
Then on Sept. 30, join the
U.S. Forest Service and au-
thors of the new Lagoon Trail
Quest for a Launch Party &
Campfire. Stop in at Campsite
No. 3 at Waxmyrtle Camp-
ground any time between 10
a.m. and 2 p.m. to celebrate
the opening of the Lagoon
Trail Quest.
A campfire with no-cost
s’mores and interpretive dis-
plays will be at the campsite.
Free copies of the Lagoon
Trail Quest will be available.
The campground is located
at Siltcoos Recreation Area,
south of Dunes City.
Park in public parking area
and walk into campsite.
Both events are free, but a
Northwest Forest Pass, Ore-
gon Coast Passport, federal
recreation pass or $5 day-use
parking fee is required within
the Siltcoos Recreation Area
for the Sunday event.
For more information
about passes or parking, call
541-271-3611.
Vision Quest is an initiative
of the Siuslaw Vision: Putting
People First.
Visit RiverCal.org for more
information.
Alternative Radio’s David Barasmian comes to Florence
Jim & Jerry
Neil’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
541-997-3825
Certifi ed – Bonded – Insured
Property Services Contractor #39458 • SAM: #831298500/7E6J9
City License #2578
“Our commitment is to our customers
cleaning needs with honesty and integrity”
Once again, community
radio station KXCR hosts Da-
vid Barsamian in Florence.
Armed with years of tireless
investigative journalism, he’ll
bring his insights and ob-
servations to the City Lights
Cinemas stage on Monday,
Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m.
For 32 years, Barsamian has
collaborated with world-re-
nowned thinkers, lecturers,
writers, scientists and philos-
ophers to produce Alternative
Radio, aired on more than
250 stations worldwide.
Even with his wide-ranging
speaking engagements here
and abroad, he is making time
to come to Florence to offer
discussion and perspective on
pressing world problems.
Barsamian is the winner of
the Media Education Award,
the ACLU’s Upton Sinclair
Award for independent jour-
nalism, and the Cultural
Freedom Fellowship from
the Lannan Foundation. He
is also the recipient of the
Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Rocky Mountain
Peace and Justice Center.
Barsamian has written
books with Noam Chomsky
— the latest is “Global Dis-
contents: Conver-sations on
the Rising Threats to De-
mocracy” — as well as with
Howard Zinn, Richard Wolff,
Arundhati Roy and Edward
Said.
This does not begin to de-
scribe the depth and breadth
of his experience and knowl-
edge and the eagerness with
which his followers wait for
his programs.
Advance tickets can be ob-
tained at City Lights Cine-
mas, 1930 Highway 101 and
www.citylightscinemas.com,
or at the KXCR FM studios
on Ninth Street in Florence,
across from the Siuslaw Pub-
lic Library.
There will be an opportuni-
ty to support Barsamian and
KXCR through donations at
the door.
KXCR FM is Florence’s
nonprofit, all-volunteer com-
munity radio station.