Newspaper Page Text
2A
SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2006
Tax-free holiday approaching for Georgia
Teachers able to use gift cards for supplies
Special to the Journal
ATLANTA Gov. Sonny
Perdue announced recently
that Georgia teachers will
be able to use their SIOO gift
cards during the state s tax
free holiday.
The 2006 tax-free holiday
begins at 12:01 a.m., Aug.
3 and continues until mid
night Aug. 6. It combines
last year s two tax-free shop
ping periods into one four
day period.
By using the SIOO gift
cards during this tax-free
holiday, teachers will be able
to purchase additional sup
plies to help their students
succeed in the classroom,
Perdue said.
Teachers often spend
money out of their own
pockets to buy classroom
supplies. These gift cards
are another tool to help our
teachers with the important
work they do on a daily basis.
Georgia s single tax-free
shopping holiday will include
schools supplies, clothing
items, computers, comput
er accessories and certain
Energy Star merchandise.
All qualified items are
FIRE
From page 1A
it’s another world out
there. When I was I in a
coma for a month and a half,
I had a whole totally differ
ent life. When I came out of
my coma, it was like ‘Wow!
Where am I?’ I didn’t know
if I was alive or not.”
Johnson doesn’t remem
ber any real specifics of his
first moments of conscious
ness except his wife and his
mother asking basic ques
tions like, ‘Do you know
who you are?’ He could see
people moving around and
comprehend his surround
ings. He did remember his
wife, gave her a big hug,
then went back to sleep.
“The doctors are real
sharp,” said Johnson. “I
started comprehending
within about an hour or two.
I knew what day it was,
all kind of stuff. I pulled
through, and I’m just proud
to be here.”
Johnson was a three-year
veteran of the semi-profes
sional Southern Football
League, two years with the
EFA champion Stallions
and last season with the
South Georgia Stars out of
Americus. He played high
school football at Macon
County High School (gradu
ating in 1997), then played
at Georgia Military College
in Milledgeville.
As a member of the 2005
league champion Stars,
Johnson was the SFL’s Most
Valuable Player as a defen
sive end. He’s also been a
linebacker and strong safety
- in fact he played safety in
a free-agent all-star game in
North Carolina.
As a football player,
Johnson has suffered
through all the injuries like
muscle pulls and sprains.
There can be no compari
sons to the kind of pain he
went though in January, if
he felt any at all being in a
coma.
He said, though, the most
pain he felt in this experi
ence occurred during reha
bilitation.
“The pain in the hospi
tal wasn’t that bad,” said
Johnson. “By me playing
football, being an athlete, I
learned to go through pain.
But the hardest part was
not being able to walk, not
feeding myself, not bathing
myself. I wasn’t hurting, I
just wasn’t able to do all
those functions.
“My skin wasn’t healed.
My foot wasn’t healed. I
didn’t have any balance.
Rehab was the hardest
part, learning how to walk,
getting up out of the bed.
My surgeries and all those
things they did, taking my
staples out, I was able to get
through that.”
TO HEALING MACHINE’
What Johnson found
about his physical condition
exempt from both state and
local sales tax during the
four-day period.
School supplies bought for
classroom use or classroom
related activities are exempt
if they cost S2O or less per
item. Included in this area
are pens, pencils, notebooks,
paper, book bags, calcula
tors, dictionaries, thesau
ruses, children s books and
books listed on approved
school reading lists for pre
kindergarten through 12th
grade.
Sales tax will be due on the
purchase of any single school
supply item that exceeds S2O.
Clothing and footwear are
exempt up to SIOO per item,
but there is no limit on how
many pairs of shoes and
clothing items an individual
may buy.
If the price of an article
of clothing or pair of shoes
exceeds SIOO, then the item
will be taxed at its full retail
price. Clothing accessories,
jewelry, handbags, umbrel
las, eyewear, watches, watch
bands and similar items are
not exempt from sales tax
during the tax-free period.
Johnson doesn't remember any real specifics of his first
moments of consciousness except Iris wife and his mother
asking basic questions like, 'Do you know who you are?'
He could see people moving around and comprehend his
surroundings. He did remember his wHe, gave her a big hug,
then went back to sleep.
upon waking up was second
(facial) and third-degree
(body) burns on 80 percent
of his body. He also lost four
toes to amputation. He said
the doctors were able to save
one of his arms.
“We talked to six doctors,
and all six doctors predicted
I was not going to make it,”
said Johnson. “One doctor
said if I do make it, I would
be in the hospital for at least
two years. This is coming
from professional doctors.
“Well, I woke up Feb. 28
and lfeft March 28. I walked
out of the hospital, which
the doctors said they have
never had a patient do that
in 20 years.”
And just how did this
happen? Johnson doesn’t
have any real explanation.
All he knows is the doc
tors don’t know him as
Jarrod Johnson, but as “The
Healing Machine” and “The
Miracle Child.”
“They can’t even answer
the question of how my skin
healed so fast,” said Johnson.
“They were shocked, didn’t
know what was going on
with me. When I came out of
my coma, they said it would
take at least six months for
me to get my appetite back.
I got my appetite back in a
week.”
Johnson was on solid foods
two weeks after awakening.
He quickly went from a diet
of applesauce to his favor
ites like meat loaf and pork
chops.
“They said it’s got to be
UNIFORM SHOP
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Purchases of personal com
puters and accessories are
exempt up to $1,500 per
transaction. If the purchase
exceeds $1,500, the entire
purchase price is taxable.
Items included in the per
sonal computer exemption
category include monitors,
personal computer base
units, keyboards, hand
held computers, monitors,
printers, modems, non
recreational software and
other peripheral devices.
Personal digital assistants
are exempt unless they allow
voice communication.
Other items that are not
exempt include cell phones,
digital cameras, furniture
and any systems, devices,
software or peripherals
designed or intended pri
marily for recreational use.
Energy Star qualified mer
chandise includes windows,
doors, dishwashers, clothes
washers, air conditioners,
ceiling fans, fluorescent
light bulbs, dehumidifiers,
programmable thermostats
and refrigerators.
The purchase of any
exempted item cannot exceed
the Lord’s work, because
they’ve never seen anybody
heal like me,” said Johnson.
“These doctors are from all
around the country. I look
at myself right now and I
see my skin getting healed
and I go out and run a little
bit. This just happened six
months ago.
“I think it’s the Lord’s
work.”
Johnson didn’t have to go
through this alone. His wife
Nicole Thomas Johnson was
there in Augusta, and the
story is she would not let
nurses assist her husband
with such tasks as feeding.
Johnson said that was her
way of pushing him and
encouraging him back to
health.
“Every time she showed
up I could feel all the pain go
away,” he said. “While she
was there, I was good. She
leaves, I get depressed. She
supported me through the
whole thing, and it takes a
strong type of woman to do
that.”
Johnson said there were
people in his family who
didn’t want to see him in
that condition. It’s not that
they were not supportive,
but more for emotional rea
sons.
“They are used to me smil
ing, running around and
playing with my kids,” said
Johnson.
“My kids thought I was
going to die, and when I
came home they were cry
ing. They didn’t want to see
LOCAL
ENI/GwyHwnon
Shelly Osbourne, Ist grade teacher at Perry Primary, gets an early start on purchasing
school supplies at Wal-Mart in Perry.
$1,500. If the purchase price
of an exempted item exceeds
$1,500, the entire purchase
price of the item is taxable.
The sales tax exemption on
all qualified merchandise is
intended only for individuals
and their personal use.
It does not apply to pur
me like I was.
“When I came home I was
wrapped up in bandages
from head to toe. It was
hard to see my kids crying.
They were scared to come
to me. It took a while to get
to know them. Overall, it’s
brought us real close. One
day you could be here, and
the next day you’re gone.”
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MACON
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478-476-4402
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purchases by businesses,
items leased or rented or
items sold at sports facili
ties, theme parks, res
taurants, public lodging
establishments or airports.
Additional information and
a comprehensive list of
In fact, Johnson’s children
were the last people he saw
on the night of the fire as he
put them to bed two hours
earlier.
UCKTOroOTBIU
Before Jan. 13, Johnson
knew there was a new effort
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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
exempt items are available
at any of the Department
of Revenue s regional offices
or on the department s Web
site at www.dor.ga.gov.
Individuals can also get
information by calling 404-
417-6601 or via email at tax
payer.services@dor.ga.gov.
to bring an SFL team back
to middle Georgia in the
form of the International
City Warriors. However, he
had another league at the
forefront of his mind, the
National Football League.
Nicole Johnson was on
See FIRE, page 8A
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