Newspaper Page Text
Page 6 — Wednesday, April 21,2021 The True Citizen
OBITUARY
Curtis Green
Mr. Curtis Green, 66, of Keysville, Georgia, departed his
life on April 17, 2021 at University Hospital in Augusta,
Ga. Mr. Green was a native
of Waynesboro, born to Mr.
James Cleveland and Mattie
Lee Green.
Funeral services will be held
Saturday, April 24, 2021 at
12:00 noon at Waynesboro De
liverance Evangelistic Church,
985 Old Millen Hwy, Waynes
boro, GA. The interment will
follow at Ward Grove Baptist
Church Cemetery in Waynes
boro.
He leaves to cherish his mem
ories; his sisters and brother, Lacy (Hilliard) Baker, Charles
(Kim) Green, Sr., Dorothy Cummings, and Betty Murray,
nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Phinazee and Son Funeral Home is in charge of the services
for Mr. Curtis Green.
Due to the pandemic, a mask will be
required and social distancing will be
reinforced at the funeral home and at
the graveside service. We ask that you
adhere to all CDC guidelines.
-CLe5^&?59i£)-
OMEGA
MAY 14, 2018
Moma, if you were here right now I know that you would tell us not
to cry. The pain of losing you will never go away, will never dull,
and will never be forgotten. The hole that you left in our hearts can
never be filled. Your love, your laugh, your humor, and your smile,
we will never forget your special day! We will keep our heads up,
and remember you as the guiding light that you were and continue
to be in our lives. Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mommy. You were
one of a kind, and we miss you dearly.
We will forever love you!
Lorene (Moochie), Pat, Willie Jr., Jerry, Gene, Ted, Don, James,
Helen and your grandchildren.
Hospital
companies with a current status
of dissolved.
Optim Healthcare purchased
Jenkins County Hospital in
2010. The group sold the
hospital to a Florida investor.
Approximately two years ago,
the county regained control
of the facility, according to
Alvin Burke of the Hospital
Authority.
Optim Healthcare purchased
Screven County Hospital in
2010. It has since been sold
twice, according to acting
County Manager Lori Burke.
Bird dog
one knows what that budget
will be. There is no doubt it
will be more than what we
currently pay.
Fleming, who the citizens of
Burke County pay quite well to
watch our legal backsides, was
instrumental in guiding SB 9 to
the governor’s desk.
As a state representative,
Fleming did the job his con
stituents in Columbia County
elected him to do; but in doing
so, it meant not acting in the
best interests for those of us in
Burke County.
So the question becomes,
Continued from front
Southeastern Orthopedic
Center purchased Tattnall
County Hospital in 2008
and it evolved into Optim
Healthcare. Kleinpeter is no
longer involved in running the
facility, according to County
Manager Frank Murphy.
In 2014, with Kleinpeter
as the CEO, the Federal
Government reached a $4
million settlement with
Optim Healthcare after an
investigation that the company
was making false Medicare
claims.
Continued from 4
when is Fleming working for
us and when is he actually
working against us - and are
we cutting him a check at the
same time?
Had all you concerned citi
zens been paying attention
instead of being used as pawns
in a political game, you might
have asked our five elected
commissioners where they
think they should draw the line
when it comes to paying some
body to stab us in the back.
For more Burke County po
litical news, follow Bird Dog
Politics on Facebook.
Moving scams cause nightmares
KELVIN COLLINS
Allowing someone you don’t
know to drive away with your
belongings is among the many
stressful aspects of a long-dis
tance move — especially if that
move is complicated or maybe
prompted by the COVID-19
pandemic. Unfortunately, some
consumers find their stress
compounded by fraudulent
movers who charge them many
times the amount quoted, sub
ject them to unreasonably long
delivery windows, hold their
items hostage for additional un
disclosed fees and leave them
with damaged goods.
An investigative study by
Better Business Bureau found
that scams are widespread in
the moving industry, particu
larly when it comes to inter
state moves. BBB receives an
average of 13,000 complaints
and negative reviews about
movers each year, with many
complaints describing how
experiences with dishonest
moving companies have turned
into financial and emotional
nightmares.
The investigative study
— Know Your Mover: BBB
Study Reveals Scammers Price
Gouge, Taking Belongings
Hostage and Destroy Goods
— highlights the risk to con
sumers who do not do careful
research before hiring a mover.
According to the study, a
fraudulent moving company
initially may be helpful on the
phone and may have a well-
designed website boasting of
its many years of experience,
well-trained workers, satisfied
customers and appropriate
licensing. However, the red
flags begin when the company
claims to be unable to make
an in-person inspection and
estimate; while it may claim to
be local, in reality, it is based
out of state and paying for a
local post office box address.
An initial low-ball quote soon
balloons as the company claims
-- often based on improper
calculations — you have more
belongings than originally
estimated.
The bad actor may demand
additional fees before loading
and unloading the truck, and it
may not deliver your goods un
til days or even weeks after you
move in. In fact, the company
you originally paid may not
even be the company conduct
ing your move — it may have
hired local temporary workers
who rented a truck, or it may
have acted as a broker with
another company.
The U.S. Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA), a branch of the
U.S. Department of Transpor
tation, regulates interstate and
international moves. Of the
complaints FMCSA receives,
the last study showed that
57% involved overcharging.
It is believed that fewer than
10% of victims report fraud to
BBB or enforcement agencies,
according to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), so the
actual size and severity of this
problem is likely much larger
and more severe than statistics
reflect.
One man relocating his fam
ily for a better job opportunity
found himself ensnared in one
common variation of a moving
scam. He obtained a quote of
$5,000 from a moving com
pany that had good online re
views, but a week later, a man
claiming to be an “expert esti
mator” for the company called
him with a revised estimate of
nearly $10,000. On moving
day, when most of his family’s
belongings had already been
loaded, the man was given a fi
nal price of more than $20,000
— and movers demanded an
additional $1000 in cash when
they arrived with his family’s
items nearly a month later.
While the man’s employer had
agreed to reimburse his move,
he was required to repay them
the additional $10,000 he had
been charged over the revised
estimate.
Enforcement action against
moving scams can be diffi
cult. While FMCSA does not
have law enforcement power,
it is able to send demand let
ters to bad actors, levy fines
and revoke operating author
ity, and it partners with some
state agencies to take legal
action. The U.S. Department
of Transportation Inspector
General prioritizes moving
fraud and, along with FMCSA,
has supported state and federal
law enforcement agencies in
prosecuting moving fraud and
related offenses. Many moving
scams involve Israeli nationals
operating from Florida, where
the state attorney general has
been active in bringing law
suits against such enterprises.
The best way to avoid such
a scam is to do careful re
search before hiring a moving
company. Specifically, BBB
Lively
I'm more interested to know
why. What could've possibly
motivated that kind of an ef
fort only to see it abandoned.
Unfortunately, if some theories
as to the religious significance
of Stonehenge are true, there
Continued from 4
might not be anybody from
the construction in Heaven to
explain it. In which case I'll just
ask Jesus.
So, those are my five.
Who are yours?
Searles
counties that anticipated mil
lions of dollars in revenue from
the event.
While President Biden has
sided with the Players Alli
ance that spearheaded moving
the game, Governor Kemp
does have his supporters. In
a statement, former President
Donald Trump blasted the
move and urged his supporters
to "boycott baseball and all of
the woke companies that are
interfering with Free and Fair
Elections." Some would think
Georgia Republican office
holders should have learned
the national ramifications and
unforeseen consequences of
hastily passed laws. The North
Carolina General Assembly
Continued from 5
probably had no idea that the
roof would come tumbling
down when it passed the infa
mous “Bathroom Bill.” HB2,
as it was officially designated,
was popular with Republican
voters but aroused and angered
Democrats, Civil Rights lead
ers, and the LGBTQ commu
nity nationwide.
The All-Star Game may be
the first significant push back,
but Will Smith recently an
nounced that his him “Eman
cipation” will be pulled out of
Georgia due to the new voter
law. We will have to wait and
see how many more millions
Georgia will lose before it rec
ognizes the error of its ways.
advises looking up a mover’s
license number on FMCSA’s
website and its BBB Business
Profile at bbb.org.
If you find yourself the vic
tim of a moving scam:
• File a report with local
police.
• Contact MoveRescue at
moverescue.com or (800) 832-
1773.
• Go to BBB.org to file a
complaint or report a scam on
Scam Tracker.
• File an online complaint
with the U.S. Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administra
tion or call 1-888-DOT-SAFT
(1-888-368-7238). While the
regulator typically does not
represent individual victims, it
does track complaints and will
request the mover’s license
number.
• File a claim with the insurer
listed in your moving contract.
Kelvin Collins is president
& CEO of the Better Business
Bureau serving the Fall Line
Corridor.
Chavous B.yohnson & Reid
FuneralCx Home
"Where Service Is An Everlasting Memory"
Notary Service
Available
885 Waters Street
Waynesboro, GA
706-554-7843
Lock and Key Service
LOCKED OUT?
24 HR Emergency service!
'Master Key Systems
'Security Assessments
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Southern Lock 6 Key
TT “Protecting what matters”
Proudly serving Burke County!
Call us today! (706) 664-4559
nLjt
CHANCE & HYDRICK
< fbuveeto4&
Reuben Chance ■ Phil Hydrick
Locally Owned & Operated
706.790.8567
www.chanceandhydrick.com
^^
Burke Memorial Funeral Home
www.burkememorial.com
“A Home oj Dependable Service”
842 Liberty Street, Waynesboro, GA
Jane and George DeLoach
706-833-9867 or 706-551-5100
DeLoach —.
McKerley-Prescott
FUNERAL HOME
N AND CREMATION SERVICE ,
220 East 6th Street ■ P.0. Box 595
Waynesboro, GA 30830
706-554-3531
www.deloachfuneralhomes.tom
Val Prescott, Steve Sirmons, Jason McKerley
“A Family Tradition
Since 1919”
Phinazee and Son
Funeral Home
Funeral Director\Embalmer
Kelsey M. Phinazee
Manager- Crystal M. Preston
Assistant Manager
Almari K. Phinazee
PHINAZEE & SON
404 W 8th St,
Waynesboro, GA 30830
www.Phinazeesonfh.com