SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 | 3A
Community News
Garden Club to present
flower arranging tips
The Florence Garden Club day, March 13, at the Presby-
and Running Water of Flor- terian Church of the Siuslaw,
ence in Bloom
3996 Highway
florist shop will
101 in Florence.
present demon-
The Glamour
strations of ar-
Pots presenta-
ranging flow-
tion previously
ers in a vase
scheduled for
or
hand-tied
March will be
bouquet at the
presented at a
monthly meet-
later date.
ing today.
Florence
Running Wa-
Garden Club
ter is interested
meetings
are
Running Water
in showing peo-
held the sec-
ple who might casually walk ond Wednesday of each
and gather flowers how to ar- month. For more informa-
range their bouquet easily.
tion or to contact the group,
This free presentation will visit
www.facebook.com/
be given at 1 p.m. on Wednes- FlorenceGardenClub/.
Library windows vandalized
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
On Friday, a man throwing rocks damaged eight of the Siuslaw
Public Library’s double-paned windows. The glass was cleaned
up before the location opened to patrons for the day.
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By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
T
he Siuslaw Public Library in Flor-
ence was the victim of vandalism
on Friday when a man threw rocks
through eight of the library’s win-
dows.
“We had an unfortunate incident
where someone who had been ex-
cluded from the library for a year
returned a couple weeks later before
the library opened to the public for a
day,” said Library Director Megan
Spencer.
The person threw rocks at eight
double-paned windows in total on
March 8, breaking the first
pane on four windows, and
both in three others.
Librarians Kevin Mittge
and Gayle Weiss called the police,
who apprehended the suspect.
“I felt like staff were rock stars,
and the police responded quickly
and were very helpful,” Spencer said.
“That morning, we had three of our
board members and six of our staff
members cleaning up the glass. We
were be able to open at 10 a.m. thanks
to the hard work of the staff and
board.”
New windows have been ordered,
and the costs will be covered by the
library’s insurance.
“What I have been really apprecia-
tive of is how the public has been sup-
portive, as they always are,” Spencer
said. “They are so responsive, they
love the staff and they love the space,
and we’re grateful for their help.”
For more information about the
Siuslaw Public Library or its pro-
grams, stop by 1460 Ninth St. in Flor-
ence or 88148 Riverview Ave. in Ma-
pleton, or visit www.siuslawlibrary.
info.
Fraud claiming imminent property seizure targets county
Lane County residents
may be targeted in a tax
scam that has made its way
across the country in recent
months. Letters claiming to
be a “Notice of Warrant and
State of Oregon Tax Lien Ac-
tion” have been reported by
some Eugene residents. The
notice claims that property
seizure is imminent and pro-
vides a non-local number for
resolution.
“It’s sick, but these con art-
ists rely on creating enough
panic that their victims will
overlook all of the red flags,”
said Lane County Assessor
Mike Cowles. “Who wouldn’t
panic at the thought of losing
their home? The best thing
people can do is take a breath
and carefully review the let-
ter or email for signs of fraud
before making any kind of
payment.”
Property seizure does not
occur with a legitimate State
of Oregon income tax lien.
For liens related to unpaid
property taxes, real property
seizure only occurs after five
years and many notices to
the property owner. Claims
of imminent property sei-
zure with no prior notifica-
tion are typically false.
Property owners can
check the status of any legal-
ly recorded liens by visiting
Lane County Deeds and Re-
cords at 125 East 8th Ave. in
Eugene.
9392 or visiting www.ore-
gonconsumer.gov.
“These documents are
fake,” said Ellen Klem, Di-
rector of Consumer Out-
reach and Education for the
Oregon Department of Jus-
tice. “Crooks impersonating
the government cost peo-
ple their time and money.
The Oregon Department of
Justice urges people to stay
vigilant against schemes and
scams and avoid becoming a
victim.”
Other indicators that
this letter is a scam:
• A full agency name is not
clearly provided.
• No agency address is
provided on the envelope or
in the letter.
• The logo is a generic seal
that does not properly iden-
tify any agency.
• Lane County does not
have an “Office of Lien Fil-
ings.”
• There is no “Bureau of
Tax Enforcement” located in
Eugene.
Suspected scams should
be reported to your local
law enforcement agency or
the Oregon Department of
Justice by calling 1-877-877-
Scam Safety Tips:
• Don’t panic: Con artists
will use aggressive tactics to
rush you into making imme-
diate payment to avoid legal
action or prosecution. When
you panic, you may not be
able to spot the signs of fraud
as easily. If you have any
doubt about the legitimacy of
a notice, pause and look for
signs of potential fraud. Use
terms or names in the notice
to conduct online research to
see if a similar scam has been
reported by others. You can
also ask a friend or someone
you trust for help research-
ing the notice.
• Spot imposters: Con art-
ists often pose as a govern-
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
ment entity. If you are tar-
geted by a con artist through
the mail, phone or email, do
not provide personal infor-
mation or money until you
are sure you are speaking to
a legitimate representative.
Try contacting the agency
directly through telephone
numbers listed on the agen-
cy’s official website rather
than using phone numbers
provided by the con artists.
• Look carefully at the
letter or email: Fraudulent
notices are usually vague so
they apply to as many vic-
tims as possible. Examine
the notice for identifying
information that can be veri-
fied. Look for blatant factual
errors and other inconsisten-
cies, such as a fake return ad-
dress or fake logo. If the no-
tice is unexpected and states
‘This Is Your Final Notice,’
take a moment and verify
its legitimacy. Agencies will
send multiple letters to tax-
payers if there is a legitimate
liability owed.
• Avoid strange payment
systems: Legitimate govern-
ment agencies will not ask
you to pay a debt with reload-
able debit cards, gift cards or
money wiring services.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
MARCH 13
MARCH 14
MARCH 15
MARCH 16
MARCH 17
MARCH 18
MARCH 19
Partly Cloudy
Cloudy
Mostly Sunny
Cloudy
Sunny
Partly Cloudy
Showers
50°F
38°F
55°F
37°F
58°F
41°F
57°F
43°F
63°F
45°F
64°F
46°F
58°F
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