Newspaper Page Text
Page 2 - The Wiregrass Farmer, October 4,2017
PUMPKIN WINNER The Equifax data breach; how to freeze your credit
Alyssa Hayes is the first pumpkin contest winner at
the Piggly Wiggly. The contest runs through October.
Entry is free. Children draw a Halloween pumpkin pic
ture as their contest entry. Full rules available at the Pig.
The recent data breach at
Equifax compromised the per
sonal information of millions
of consumers.
Whether your information
was compromised or not as
part of this data breach, a credit
freeze may be a good idea, but
you have to obtain a freeze
from each of the three
credit reporting agencies: Ex-
perian, Equifax and Tran-
sUnion.
A credit freeze is free for
senior citizens 65 and older
and for victims of identity
theft. For other Georgia resi
dents, it costs $3 per credit re
porting agency, or you can
freeze your credit file with
all three credit reporting agen
cies for a one-time fee of $9,
which is much less than the
monthly cost of most credit
monitoring services.
Freezing your credit file
prevents anyone from opening
new credit accounts in your
name. Should anyone apply for
Veterans salute
Did you miss last year's
salute to veterans? If so don’t
miss this one. We will be fea
turing the veterans in a maga
zine this year. You can either
email or bring in a picture to go
in our special salute coming in
November. There is no charge
to submit a picture. You do not
have to resubmit a picture.
We keep the veterans
from each year. Call us at
567-3655 if you have any
questions.
TAX
(Continued from Page 1)
WHO PAYS
In Turner County, at least 50
percent of the money raised
through the sales tax comes
from visitors and people driv
ing down 1-75.
A quick check of income
from the Department of Rev
enue in Atlanta shows Turner
County has more than twice as
much sales tax income as
neighboring Wilcox County.
Both counties are about the
same size in population and
total land. The biggest differ
ence is the interstate. Turner
County collected about 50 per
cent more than neighboring
Irwin County.
Another example of this is
the opening of the new store at
Exit 82. Sales tax income
jumped about $10,000 a month
after the store opened, an
amount that has stayed pretty
consistent.
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4. Breast exams
5. Pelvic exam
6. Pap smear
7. Birth control
8. Change in vaginal discharge
9. Blood in urine
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credit using your personal in
formation, the lender will be
unable to access your credit re
port. Without access to your
credit history, the lender will
deny the credit request.
A credit freeze does not af
fect your ability to use the
credit cards you already pos
sess. Identity thieves may steal
your card number,
expiration date and other infor
mation needed to use the card.
As long as you report the loss
of the card within 24 hours or
notify the lender of unautho
rized purchases, other laws
limit your liability to no more
than $50.
A security freeze on your
credit file will not prevent
fraud that involves existing
bank or credit accounts.
A security freeze on your
credit file does not completely
block access. Insurance com
panies, existing creditors and
law enforcement agencies can
still access your information.
Other entities cannot see your
credit file unless you temporar
ily lift, or “thaw,” the security
freeze.
Once you obtain a security
freeze, you must pay $3 per
credit reporting agency to thaw
the security freeze in order to
apply for new credit. Georgia
law requires the thaw to
be available within 15 minutes
of the request. Thawing the ac
count is easily done with a per
sonal identification number
(PIN) or password provided by
the credit reporting agency.
A security freeze is not for
everyone. If you are actively
shopping for a mortgage, car
loan, utilities or other new
credit, wait until the transac
tion has been completed to
freeze your credit file.
To request a security freeze
online through Experian and
TransUnion, go to Experian.
com and TransUnion.com and
enter “freeze” in the search box
for more information about
how to initiate a freeze through
those credit reporting agencies.
To request a security freeze on
line through Equifax, go di
rectly to www.freeze.Equifax,
com. Expect to spend five min
utes or less on each web page.
Remember, you must freeze
your credit through all three re
porting agencies.
To request a security freeze
in writing, be prepared to enter
your full name, including for
mer names if applicable; cur
rent and former addresses
for the last five years; your So
cial Security number; a photo
copy of your driver’s license,
state identification card or
other government-issued iden
tification; proof of your current
residence, such as a copy of a
phone or utility bill; and pay
ment by check, money order or
credit card.
If you are a victim of iden
tity theft and are freezing your
credit, include a copy of a po
lice report, investigative report
or complaint filed with a law
enforcement agency concern
ing the identity theft instead of
tendering payment. Send writ
ten requests to each of the
credit reporting agencies at:
Experian Security
Freeze, RO. Box 9554, Allen,
TX 75013;
Equifax Security
Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, At
lanta, GA 30348; and
TransUnion Security
Freeze, P.O. Box 6790, Fuller
ton, California, 92834-6790.
To find out if you were af
fected by the Equifax data
breach, visit Equifax’s website
at equifaxsecurity2017.com.
(Editor’s note: Do not expect
much from the Equifax web
site. My repeated attempts to
get something done were met
with "This is not available to
you” messages.)
For more information on
protecting yourself from iden
tity theft, read University of
Georgia Cooperative Exten
sion Bulletin 1435,“Get Smart
About Identity Theft,” at ex
tension .uga.edu/publications .
SPLOST
(Continued from Page 1)
emergency response crews are
living in Federal Emergency
Management trailers from
Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The
trailers were never meant to be
permanent.
The capital equipment can
include computers.
The County and all the
cities periodically receive
grants for work. Ashburn in
particular has used Community
Development Block Grants
(CDBGs) to pave roads and
put in new water and sewer
lines. SPLOST money can be
used for the City’s required
match on these grants.
The County and Cities can
use the SPLOST money to pay
loans and leases used to buy
equipment like vehicles and
buildings.
In the City of Sycamore:
Street and sidewalk projects
and improvements; water,
sewage and drainage projects
and improvements; construc
tion, expansion, equipping and
improvements to City build
ings, offices and facilities;
rolling stock, facilities and
capital equipment for the fol
lowing City Departments: City
of Sycamore Police Depart
ment, City of Sycamore Fire
Department, City of Sycamore
Street and Sanitation Depart
ment, and City of Sycamore
Water Department; improve
ments and capital equipment
for the Sycamore City Park;
and matching funds for grants
awarded to the City of
Sycamore for the capital outlay
projects specified above;
In the City of Rebecca:
Street, sidewalk, and resurfac
ing projects and improve
ments; water, storm water,
damage from natural disasters,
sewer, drainage and other City
utility projects and improve
ments; construction and reno
vation, acquisition, expansion,
equipping and improvements
to City buildings, offices, facil
ities and unimproved land
projects; rolling stock, facili
ties and capital major and
minor equipment for the fol
lowing departments: City of
Rebecca Fire Department, City
of Rebecca Street Department,
City of Rebecca Shop, City of
Rebecca Water Department,
City of Rebecca Sanitation De
partment, City of Rebecca Ad
ministration; construction,
expansion, improvements and
equipping the City of Re
becca’s Park and Recreation
Facilities, buildings and rolling
stock; and matching funds for
grants awarded to the City of
Rebecca for the capital outlay
projects specified above, and
funds for payment and satis
faction of lease purchase
agreements, including, without
limitation, those for purchase
of rolling stock, facilities and
capital equipment for depart
ments listed above.
REBECCA PROJECT
Rebecca has a park and a
pavilion. All the Cities and the
County have parks. SPLOST
money can be spent to add
equipment to these parks. Re
becca just makes its part of the
tax more specific than the other
communities.
Capital Outlay Projects for
Turner County to be operated
by the Turner County Devel
opment Authority consisting
of the acquisition, construc
tion, equipping and installation
of industrial development sites
in Turner County.
A Capital Outlay Project
consisting of the improve
ments to the County Library
(The Victoria Evans Memo
rial Library).
AFTER
HOURS
SERVICE
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HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
• High quality, professional photographs will be made locally and at
no charge or obligation,
• We, as sponsors, will use and display the photos as a tribute to
TOMORROW’S LEADERS...TODAY
• As a bonus, you will see finished color photos (photos used in
1he feature will be in black and white) and have an opportunity
to purchase any tor your family needs - you are not obligated
to buy anything. No age limit.
“TOMORROW’S LEADERS..." Feature is Sponsored by:
Tues. Oct. 10th from 3:30-7:30pm and
Wed. Oct. 11th from 2:30-7:30pm
Call Jaclyn Myers 406-0567 or email
jmyers@turner.k12.ga.us
Photography by
INTERPRESS STUDIOS
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