8A | SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS
Department of Revenue urges staying alert for tax scams
It’s never safe to let down
your guard, the Oregon De-
partment of Revenue warns.
Scam tactics are always evolv-
ing and becoming more effec-
tive. Scammers try many dif-
ferent methods to trick people
into giving them personal in-
formation or money.
The best way for taxpayers
to view their account activi-
ty, balances and credits, and
make payments directly to
the Department of Revenue
is through Revenue Online.
It’s secure and includes all
the information necessary to
verify account status and en-
sure payments are properly
applied to the correct account.
Go directly to oregon.gov/dor
to find Revenue Online. Pay-
ment providers may provide
links that appear to take you
to the government site but just
end up taking you to another
area of the provider’s site.
Scams mainly come in the
form of a phone call, email, or
standard mail. Here are some
tips to help you identify scam
attempts.
• Scammers make unsolicit-
ed calls. Thieves call taxpayers
claiming to be representatives
of the Oregon Department of
Revenue or other tax officials.
They demand the victim pay
a bogus tax bill and may use
threats or a sense of urgency
to con the victim into sending
cash, usually through a pre-
paid debit card or wire trans-
fer. The Department of Reve-
nue never uses methods like
these when making calls.
Hang up on suspicious
phone calls. No matter how
urgent a message makes a sit-
uation sound, you can always
hang up, call the Department
of Revenue at their published
phone numbers, 503-378-
4988 or 800-356-4222 (toll-
free), and know that you’re
dealing with an actual govern-
ment employee.
• Scammers send letters.
Letters often contain legit-
imate logos, addresses, and
phone numbers to fool you.
Sometimes, these letters ex-
pose themselves as scams
through blurry logos, mis-
spellings, and poor grammar.
Letters are usually in the form
of a fake tax bill or claim an er-
ror with your account. Letters
from the Department of Reve-
nue will have information that
is verifiable through our web-
site using the identification
number printed on each letter.
• Scammers set up fake web-
sites. Some scams that start as
unsolicited calls or letters may
also try to send you to fake
websites. These websites are
designed to look like an of-
ficial federal or state agency
site. Remember that the Ore-
gon Department of Revenue’s
web address will always begin
with an “https://” designation
and have the “.gov” extension.
Look for these in the web ad-
dress before entering finan-
SCHOOLS from page 1A
sured that all employees will
continue to receive a paycheck,
even if they must stay home
due to illness.
The district has been plan-
ning for this possibility for
weeks, going so far as to ensure
all of its reserve fuel tanks are
full.
“A week ago, we topped our
tanks up in anticipation of
this,” Rosinbaum said. “Yester-
day, we filled all of our buses
full in anticipation. Tomorrow,
we get fuel delivered, and we’ve
changed from a biweekly fuel
to a weekly fuel by our provid-
er. And we are top of their list
to keep fueled.”
The fuel reserve could also
act be used for first responders
in the community, if the situa-
tion warrants it in the coming
weeks.
As for right now, Brown’s
plans are to have Oregon
schools closed for the next
two weeks, and was not de-
signed to prevent the spread of
COVID-19.
“Schools are experiencing
critical shortages in staff, and
superintendents are concerned
for school personnel who are at
elevated risk such as those over
age 60 and those with under-
lying medical issues,” Brown
said in a statement Thursday.
“I want to be very clear: send-
ing Oregon children home will
not stop the spread of the coro-
navirus. While children are
home, when at all possible, they
should not be in the care of old-
er adults or those with underly-
ing health issues that are most
at-risk from COVID-19.”
However, the situation sur-
rounding the outbreak has
changed so drastically in the
past week, that a two-week clo-
sure may be extended.
“It’s certainly a lot easier to
have the school open for ev-
erybody, including us,” Rosin-
baum said. “This doesn’t make
it less work for anybody at the
school, this makes it 100 times
more work.”
In Rosinbaum’s personal
opinion, the school closures are
important.
“Kids most certainly do get
the virus, though a more mild
case,” he said. “They are just
as contagious as anybody else.
One kid spreading to anoth-
er kid, taking them home to
grandma, is a lot worse than
just sending a kid without
COVID-19 home to grandma.”
The decision to close schools
has been difficult.
“If we do this right, then
it won’t be as big a deal, and
everybody will say the state
panicked because nothing hap-
pened,” he said. “But if we don’t
do it, we kill half the popula-
tion of Florence, Ore. You tell
me what the right decision is
to do.”
For more information on
the district’s plans, visit www.
siuslaw.k12.or.us. For other
questions, including volunteer
opportunities, contact the dis-
trict directly at 541-997-2651.
For the Mapleton school
district, Superintendent Jodi
O’Mara is still working on re-
leasing details.
“A letter is being sent out to
all students and their families
with the plan for nutrition ser-
vices and recommendations
later today,” O’Mara said in a
statement on Friday. “Some
staff will be scheduled to work
next week to deep clean the
common areas and help pro-
vide nutrition services to our
students. The district will be
providing nutrition services
to our families using the bus
routes. Details will be includ-
ed in the letter being sent to
parents. The letter will also be
posted on the district website
(mapleton.k12.or.us).”
Upriver families can sign up
for the RemindApp:
Mapleton
Middle/High
School: Text the message @
mapletonor to the number
81010 or 205-409-7578.
Mapleton
Elementary
School: Text the message @
mapletonel to the number
81010 or 205-409-7578.
More details on the Maple-
ton closure will be published
next week.
“However, if you had plans
for Spring Break and will be
leaving, we’re not going to hold
that against you,” Rosinbaum
said. “Continue with your
plans.”
Childcare will also be an is-
sue for parents who unable to
take care of their children as
the school is closed.
Siuslaw School District has
also anticipated that possibil-
ity. First, it will have childcare
available at the district for
teachers, first responders and
healthcare workers.
“We’re assuming that they’re
going to start seeing 24-hour
shifts with limited time at
home as things possibly pick
up,” Rosinbaum said. “They
can bring their kids to us and
we’ll take care of them.
“But, there’s a lot of other
people in town that need child-
care. What we’re trying to do
right now is to set up a group
of people within our staff and
community members to take
care of small groups of no more
than 10 children for certain
hours a day, so people all across
our community have some
place to take their kids if they
need to. That’s our job.”
The 10-student limit is to
ensure that childcare is possible
without overloading individ-
uals, or risking the spread of
COVID-19.
“We are trying to stop the
spread of this, and getting lots
of people together is contrary
to what we’re trying to do,” Ros-
inbaum said.
The school is still working
out logistics, but is reaching out
to local churches and organiza-
tions that could host childcare
events.
Beyond that, Siuslaw School
District is also looking at help-
ing the entire community —
not just students.
“I have also directed School
Resource Officer Brandon Bai-
ley to let us know of any addi-
tional needs in the community,”
Rosinbaum said. “I anticipate a
time where medicine is going to
be put in people’s hands with-
out them leaving their homes. I
anticipate a time when we need
to feed more than just the first
responders and the children.
The community goes beyond
just its students. We are plan-
ning for the worst and hoping
for the best.”
Food deliveries will also be
available for first responders
and healthcare workers in the
first week, and the district is
also looking at partnerships
with organizations such as
Food for Lane County to dis-
tribute food and goods to indi-
viduals who are in need.
As for paying district em-
ployees, Rosinbaum has as-
Tim Sapp
Owner /
Principal Broker
541 999-8230
Maple Lane #3 – The privacy of
a gated community, the conve-
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in your newly-built home. Great
value on this in-town lot with
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1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
A weekly roundup of shopping,
savings and doings around town.
BARGAINS OF THE MONTH
TRUE VALUE HARDWARE
1750 HIGHWAY 126
DUNES VILLAGE
SHOPPING CENTER
FLORENCE, OR
PHONE (541) 997-8024
4.99
SALE DATE:
MARCH 1ST TO MARCH 31ST
ScotchBlue®
1.41 in. x 60 yd. Original
Multi-Use Painter’s Tape
Removes cleaningly for up to 14 days.
P 865 345 B24
0.94 in., 2.99 P865 337 B36
1.88 in., 5.99 P865 352 B18
1550 6th St. & Hwy 101 541-997-9424
Monday—Saturday 10-5
Elite Dealer
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Chainsaws
Outdoor Power Tools
We Sell & Service Stihl Products
Monday-Friday 8—5
1550 6th St. & Hwy 101 541-997-2653
BARGAINS OF THE MONTH
4.99
FINAL PRICE
YOUR CHOICE
27.99
26.99
31.99
-2.00
MAIL-IN
REBATE•
We invite
you to
join us.
FINAL PRICE
24.99
SALE
PRICE
SALE
PRICE
-4.00
MAIL-IN
REBATE•
Scotts®
Turf Builder Lawn
Food– 5,000 sq. ft.
General-purpose mix.
L 501 272 1
6.49
8 lb. Birders’ Blend
Bird Food Premium mix
40 lb. Clean and Protect
Pellets
20 lb. Wild Bird Food
with energy-rich 42% oil
sunfl ower. L 501 322 F6
Morton®
Conditions water while cleaning and
protecting the water softener.
F 748 947 B63
Prevents crabgrass all season.
L 161 991 40
Roundup®
15,000 sq. ft.,
59.99 after $6 mail-in rebate*
L 161 984 35
*Limit 2 per household.
Consumer reponsible for taxes.
1.33 gal. Ready-to-Use
Vegetation Killer
Kills and prevents weds for up to
12 months. L 176 327 B4
*Limit 2 per household.
Consumer responsible for taxes.
• Wednesday, 7 p.m. - Family Connections
• Sunday Worship 9:00am and 10:45am
Corner of 10th & Maple St. • 541-997-3533
florencecrossroadeg.org
email: office@florencecrossroadeg.org
4.99
29.99 12.99 59.99
1.41 in. x 60 yd. Original
Multi-Use Painter’s Tape
2 ft. Aluminum Step Ladder
ScotchBlue®
Removes cleaningly for up to 14 days.
P 865 345 B24
PARTS
CONSIGNMENTS
SERVICE
Fri.-Sat.
10am-3pm
631 Maple Street
Household, furniture, Triple Bunk
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cial information to make sure
you’re dealing with us directly.
For information on pro-
tecting yourself or what to do
if you’re a victim of identity
theft, visit • www.irs.gov •
www.consumer.ftc.gov • www.
identitytheft.gov
People can visitoregon.gov/
dor to get forms, check the
status of their refund or make
payments. Call 503-378-4988
or 800-356-4222 toll free or
email questions.dor@oregon.
gov for additional assistance.
For hearing- or speech-im-
paired, call 800-886-7204.
0.94 in., 2.99 P865 337 B36
1.88 in., 5.99 P865 352 B18
Louisville® Ladder
Type 1A 300 lb. duty rating. Molded
plastic platform top. Slip-resistant
feet. Reinforced bottom braces.
Meets OSHA, CSA & ANSI standards.
P 636 137 1
BlueDEF®
2.5 gal. Diesel
Exhaust Flud
Non-Flammable, non-toxic mixture.
API registered. Meets or exceeds
OEM specifi cations.
H 135 382 1
True Temper®
6 cu. ft. Steel
Wheelbarrow
Seamless metal tray with 16 x 4-in.
pneumatic wheel. Wood handles.
T 588 683 25
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4390 Highway 101 North, Florence
541-991-2001 or 541-902-0741
TRUE VALUE HARDWARE
1750 HIGHWAY 126 • DUNES VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER, FLORENCE, OR
PHONE (541) 997-8024
SALE DATE: MARCH 1ST TO MARCH 31ST