The INDEPENDENT, January 20, 2005
Page 9
VPD gets grant, buys Powerpoint r Bits & Bites
Vernonia Police Department
has received a Neighborhood
Answers grant, awarded by
RadioShack Corporation as
part of its continuing effort to
improve the quality of life for
America’s families. Vernonia
Police Department is one of
107 agencies to receive grant
money in the latest quarterly
cycle of RadioShack’s Neigh
borhood Answers grant pro
gram. The program funds wor
thy causes that help families
protect children from abduc
tion, violence and abuse.
‘Through the Neighborhood
Answers grant program, Ra
dioShack has the ability to sup
port programs in local commu
nities that aim to help keep chil
dren safe,” said Laura Moore,
senior vice president and chief
communications officer for Ra
dioShack Corporation. “We be
lieve our contributions to agen
cies like Vernonia Police De
partment will positively impact
families across the nation, rein
forcing RadioShack’s commit
ment to the safety and security
of the American family.”
Vernonia Police Department
used their grant to purchase a
Powerpoint projector to be
used for both in-house training
and community programs and
projects.
Neighborhood
Answers
grants requests are accepted
year-round and are evaluated
quarterly by local review coun
cils coordinated through Ra
dioShack
district
offices.
Grants are awarded quarterly
in February, May, August and
November.
To be considered for a
Neighborhood Answers grant,
an organization must be a tax
exempt nonprofit designated
as a 501(c)(3) by the Internal
Revenue Service, offer solu
tions to help prevent family vio-
lence/abuse an/or child abduc
tion, and directly impact or ben
efit, through programs or serv
ices, a RadioShack community.
Grant requests should be limit
ed to $500 or less.
Neighborhood
Answers
grant guidelines and the appli
cation forms are available on
line at web site <www. Radio
ShackCorporation.com/cr/contr
ib_program.shtml>.
___________
Police Chief Matt Workman displays the Seniors Safe
brochures being presented to the Vernonia Senior Center.
This program, from the National Child Safety Council, was
made possible by donations from local business and people.
By Jacqueline Ramsay
Valentine’s Day isn’t far off.
What’s cooking around
town? Where to start - Have
you noticed the sentinel trees
at Washington Grade School
have become firewood. It sure
opened up their back yard.
At the lake, Scout Troop 201
has an Eagle Scout project in
progress. There are pale blue
painted rectangles and rust col
ored paint squiggles around the
lake. Lights and water may be
for picnicking
and night
strolling.
The ducks put on quite a
show while the lake was frozen
- skating on the ice. I met a fel
low that could not understand
why the ducks weren’t interest
ed in his offering of bread.
Since you’ve been helping us
feed cracked corn to them, the
ducks are not so eager to rush
the walkers.
There don’t seem to be as
many people out and about
town yet this year. Could it be
the rain, fog, ice and all the cold
bugs floating around?
Wednesdays at noon at the
Senior Center offers good food
and lively music. Those that
don’t hang around till 2:00 are
missing some very good music.
Take time to stop and partake
of a slice of life you don’t get in
a lot of small towns.
Well, after watching Channel
12 for 10 minutes this a.m., I
think I’ll put on my jammies,
crawl back in bed and wait for
next weekend. It’s supposed to
be warm.
A tidbit from Vernonia Cares.
They need small, tightly lidded
containers (not glass) for
repackaging items they receive
in bulk for redistribution to pa
trons. Also your clean plastic
and paper shopping bags.
Keep well and warm.
Tax refund loans not always good idea
As tax season approaches,
the Oregon Division of Finance
and Corporate Securities wants
to remind consumers that al
though refund anticipation
loans (RALs) get your tax re
fund into your hands faster,
there will be considerably less
of it than if you file electronical
ly and can wait a short time.
RALs are short-term, high-
cost loans secured by and re
paid from the proceeds of a
consumer’s tax refund. These
loans have become extremely
popular for taxpayers who want
to access their refunds more
quickly than waiting for a paper
check or even direct deposit.
Nationwide in 2002, consumers
took out 12.7 million RALs and
paid $1.14 billion in associated
fees, according to a recent re
port by the National Consumer
Law Center and the Consumer
Federation of America.
RALs target the working
poor who receive the earned in
come tax credit (EITC). Using
data from the Internal Revenue
Service for tax years 2000-
2002, the report mentioned
above found that in Oregon
192,600 families received the
EITC. Of this number, approxi
mately 43,000 families got an
RAL. More than 18,000 of
these families were in small
cities or in rural areas of the
state.
RALs cost the average tax
payer from $35 to $300 in fees.
The effective annualized per
centage rate can range from 70
percent for a $5,000 loan to
700 percent for a $200 loan.
Example: A taxpayer due a re
fund of $1,000 might pay a $30
loan fee to the lender, plus a
tax-preparation fee of $120,
and an administrative fee of
$25 to the tax preparer. That
taxpayer would receive $825,
instead of the $1,000 he or she
could receive.
If instant cash is a desire
rather than a need, consider
these alternatives to avoid the
costs of an RAL:
• Go electronic: Abandon the
traditional paper return and file
from your computer. Last year,
around 52 million taxpayers
filed their returns electronically.
You will get the money in two to
three weeks - without paying
loan fees or interest. A new In
ternal Revenue Service (IRS)
partnership with tax preparers
and software companies offers
free online tax preparation and
electronic filing. You can con
tact the IRS at 800-829-1040 or
visit <www.irs.gov/efile>.
• Direct deposit: Electronic
filers who opt for a direct-de
posit refund do even better.
The IRS says the money gen
erally shows up in taxpayer
bank accounts in 10 to 14 days.
Almost 42 million people got
their refunds this way last year.
To check to see if your tax
preparer is licensed or to file a
complaint about a tax preparer,
you can contact the Oregon
State Board of Tax Practition
ers, at 503-378-4034 or visit
<www.open.org/~ortaxbrd>.
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