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The True Citizen, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 — Page 3
BURKE
COUNTY'S
FIVE-DAY
FORECAST
Cloudy Sunny
90% Chance of Showers
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FRIDAY
SATURDAY §
I SUNDAY
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Sunny
Mostly Cloudy
Sunny
30% Chance of Showers
Forecast of the National Weather Service
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Editor:
To Close or Not To Close
December to March is the
busiest time of the year for
the Tax Commissioner’s Of
fice. Late November Property
Tax Bills begin hitting your
mailboxes. And as that season
is ending another is just be
ginning. Late January Mobile
Home Bills are dropped into
the mail stream. If you’ve ever
visited our office during this
time period you know from ex
perience it’s not uncommon to
have 10 plus people waiting (at
any given time) to be served.
And the closer we are to the
due date of either billing cycle
the more people there are.
Now add to that COVID-19
Guidelines (Social Distanc
ing). How does one manage
that? How do you make provi
sions to adequately serve the
customer? Do you ask them to
stand outdoors during winter
months until there is space for
them to enter the lobby? How
do you reassure the public that
you have their best interest in
mind?
Knowing I wouldn’t have
the blessing or approval of ev
ery citizen, I made the choice
to close the Lobby. I, like 158
other Georgia Tax Commis
sioners, have had to make
decisions as to how we would
conduct county business on a
daily basis. Location, facility
construction, and staff avail
ability were all things we had
to consider when making these
choices.
In late December I con
tracted COVID and was quar
antined along with my Deputy
Tax Commissioner. During our
quarantine the Assistant Office
Manager fell ill (non-COVID
Related) and we were forced
to completely close the office
for one day. Fortunately, the
following business day I was
able to return, only to lose an
other staff member to COVID.
So now I’m understaffed at
the busiest time of the year.
Closing the lobby and asking
customers to renew vehicle
registrations, make property
and mobile home tax payments
by mail, online or drop box
afforded us the opportunity to
sufficiently serve the public
and maintain crowd control.
These methods of payment
aren’t new practices. They
have been available for years;
even before I took office in
2013. I realize not everyone
took advantage of these prac
tices, but they have always
been available.
Since making these adjust
ments, not a single customer
has been denied service. We’ve
all had to make adjustments
during this pandemic. I’ve
had to change my personal
and BUSINESS banking prac
tices. Can it be frustrating
sometimes? Definitely! But we
adjust. Some have expressed
County offices are offices of
the people and should be ac
cessible to the people. I totally
agree! And if inaccessibility
to the lobby was preventing
taxpayers from conducting
business, I would totally agree
with you. But that’s not the
case. Again, no one has been
denied any service. What I ask
of our citizens is to be patient
as we live through this season.
By the end of this week (Sat
urday, February 6th) the office
will once again be fully staffed,
and the lobby will be open. We
will be in a better position to
serve our customers.
Marian S Jackson,
Tax Commissioner
CROSSWORD
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FreeDailyCrosswords.com
ACROSS
1) Timed
5) Junkyard junk
10) Coffee, informally
14) Say it isn't faux
15) Aussie "bear"
16) One who raised Cain
17) "Out” to an editor
18) Any Dogpatch character
19) Manage somehow
20) Careless pedestrian
22) Canton neighbor
23) Female parents, for short
24) They donate a tenth
26) Illegal entry by a
government agent
30) Featured half of a 45
31) Black-and-white cookies
32) Bed-and-breakfast
33) It might be rigged
37) Wife of Jacob
38) Sign of late summer
40) "The Ghost and Mrs. "
41) Repair sock holes
42) Suffix with "hero" or "rout”
43) "Slowly" in music
44) Trustingly innocent
46) Bow
47) Nineveh was its capital
50) Purchase add-on
51) Do a winter chore
52) Longshoreman
58) Lab heater of old
59) Instrument for an etude
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61) It can be good, bad or rotten
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chemically
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Copyright (c)2015 ucllck.oom
Edited by Timothy Parker
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Pilgrimage to Mecca (var.)
Colored part of the eye
Lampreylike
Barrymore of "E.T."
'70s Earth orbiter
Proverbial broth spoilers
Autumn tool
Emulating Paul Revere
Trusted chum
10) Pavement pounder
11) Love deeply
12) Word with "lock" or "barrier"
13) Sunday approvals
21) Andy's radio partner of old
22) Breakfasted, e.g.
25) Fig. on a driver’s license
26) Attention-getting type
27) Atlas stat
28) Neutral or reverse
29) Combrcad on the griddle
30) "Yes Bob!"
34) Cousin bearer
35) Uses a pew
36) "Iliad" city
38) Two-by-four in 56-Down
39) Military incursion
43) High-class
45) "All bets off’
46) Go on a gamboling spree
47) Big name in pop music
48) Prepare
49) Continuously from
50) High male singer
53) Eight-track, e.g.
54) Arrow cousin
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57) Catch a glimpse of
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ANSWERS ON 6
m
SOIREE ON SEVENTH
eve elegance and ko^fiitality^ meet
Alfonzo Williams
706-589-1163
Ooiree on Seventh
is an elegant evening
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Waynesboro.
From birthday and
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receptions, retirement
parties and church
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memorialize your most
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We offer a calm and
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large oak trees, beautiful
landscaping, hardwood
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Don't host such an event at
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entertain guests who will
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