Newspaper Page Text
November 11, 2009
^Reporter
PAGE 7A
Five locals haven’t claimed tax refunds
The IRS is looking for five
Monroe County residents — but
not for the reasons you might
think.
In this case, federal tax collec
tors want to locate the listed
Forsyth residents not for an
audit but to give them their
refund checks, which came back
in the mail as undeliverable.
The residents are Byron Cloy,
Robert J. Davis Jr., Phillip
Perkins, Gabriela Villa and
Demorio L. Zellner.
They are among 4,200 Georgia
taxpayers who are due refund
checks worth a total of more
than $5 million. The checks
were returned to the IRS by the
U.S. Postal Service due to mail
ing address errors.
“In Georgia, the average unde
liverable refund is $1,233”, said
Mark S. Green, IRS spokesman
for Georgia. “Last year, the
average was $1,036. We’d like to
get this money back to taxpay
ers as quickly as possible. All
we need is an updated address
and we can reissue the check.”
Nationwide, 107,831 refunds
totaling $123.5 million were
returned to the IRS.
Undeliverable refund checks
average $1,148 this year, com
pared to $990 last year. Some
taxpayers are due more than
one check. Average undeliver
able refunds rose by 16 percent
this year nationwide. Several
changes in tax law likely
played a role in boosting
refunds, including the First-
Time Homebuyer’s Credit.
You’ve got mail
The IRS says it has refund
checks for the following Monroe
County residents:
Byron Cloy
Robert J. Davis Jr.
Phillip Perkins,
Gabriela Villa
Demorio L. Zellner
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Mayor: Remember veterans this week
10 L
I
To the editor:
t is my great hope
that all who call the
City of
Forsyth
their home
will thank a
Veteran for their
service to each of
us and for their
willingness to
serve our great
nation. Young
or old, we all
owe a debt of
gratitude to the men and
women who have fought
for our country’s freedom,
HOWARD
and the liberties that all
of us enjoy. We have this
opportunity to thank the
families who
have offered their
sons and daugh
ters to the serv
ice of the United
States of America
for well over two
hundred years.
Please take time
this Veterans
Day to thank
your parents,
friends, and family mem
bers for their willingness
to serve and to protect
our way of life. We have
veterans from World War
II, the Korean War,
Vietnam, and the more
current conflicts who will
appreciate your remem
brance as will their fami
lies. When we thank our
veterans please remem
ber that not all of them
have made it home, and
to honor the POW/MIA
and their families in
whatever way that you
can. We can be proud
and supportive as a
nation, state, and cer
tainly as a city as we
honor those who are serv
ing here in the United
States, as well as those
serving on foreign soil in
the current wars within
Iraq and Afghanistan.
They have all pledged
their allegiance to each of
us and our country, and
we must pledge all of our
allegiances to them and
to our country in turn.
Thank you, and may
God bless.
Tye Howard
Forsyth
Tye. Howard is the
mayor of Forsyth.
Thanl£t(QldL
for your support and vote of confidence
on November 3, 2009.
I look forward to working with you and for you.
JoAnna Banks
City Council
'or you. ^
W inners
continued from the front page
Supply, skated in at the
No. 3 slot, getting 396
votes.
Corrections officer
Gwen King came in
fourth with 331 votes
and incumbent Rosemary
Walker was fifth with
322 votes. Only the top
three vote-getters win
the at-large council seats.
Of the city's 2,600 regis
tered voters, 828 cast
ballots, or about 31 per
cent.
Now all eyes to turn to
January when the two
newcomers and incum
bent Dodd take their
oaths of office, replacing
two of six members of the
council.
Wilson said he'd like to
begin immediately, hope
fully ordering a feasibili
ty study for a new pool
and where it would go by
March. And he thinks a
study of whether the
city's cable system, which
is losing $500,000 per
year, should be sold or
improved should begin
within 90 days as well.
"It's time to get to
work," said Wilson,
owner of Go
Communications.
Dodd said Wilson and
Banks, both of whom
have worked in economic
development for the
state, bring a lot to the
table. He said they'll
have to get their feet wet
before council can start
moving on big projects.
"You can't just snap
your fingers and do
something," said Dodd.
"It takes votes and all
that."
Dodd said having new
city administrator Greg
Popham on board will
help in the transition,
since he can be a calming
influence and a consen
sus builder for the coun
cil.
"Maybe he can bring
the different personali
ties together," said Dodd.
The council has been
largely inactive since an
incumbent mayor and
three incumbent council
members were defeated
in 2007.
"The last two years
there has not been a
whole lot going on," con
ceded Dodd. "The econo
my has everybody sleep
walking."
However, he noted the
city has millions of dol
lars of sales tax revenues
in the bank waiting to be
used, but noted the
monies are already ear
marked for specific pur
poses like sewer lines.
Concerning the pool,
Dodd reiterated his pro
posal to do a large-scale
study and plan for use of
the city's park area, per
haps including a pool.
For Wilson, it was
sweet redemption after
losing his race in 2007
and a prior loss for state
senate in south Georgia.
"The third time was a
charm," said Wilson. "It
didn't take seven times
like Lincoln," referring to
the 16th president who
lost seven races before
winning.
Wilson noted that voter
turnout was fairly
strong, about as high as
it was two years ago
when there was a
mayor's race. Wilson said
with council member
Lamar Russell retiring
after 34 years, the new
members have some big
shoes to fill.
Banks, the former
Better Hometown direc
tor, said joining council
will be kind of a sweet
homecoming for her. She
said she was surprised
and humbled to have the
kind of support she had.
With that support comes
expectations, said Banks.
"I feel there are high
expectations," said
Banks, "and that makes
me that much more com
mitted to getting things
done. I have a lot of
expectations to live up
to."
Like Wilson, she said
it's obvious council needs
to set a timetable on
building a pool.
"It's time to take action
with that," said Banks,
saying the city needs a
gameplan, including a
date for breaking ground,
on that project.
"Let's get that going
and do it the right way,"
said Banks. "We've got
the money to do it."
Banks said she also
wants to see the city
develop an overall main
tenance plan for things
like limb cutting, ditch
cutting, straightening
street signs and doing
maintenance for existing
parks. "That's something
I'm very interested in —
our day to day house
keeping," said Banks.
And she said she'd like
to focus on better cus
tomer service.
As for the police depart
ment, Banks and Wilson
pushed back against talk
about Chief Art Phillips
retiring.
"As far as I'm aware we
have a police chief," said
Banks. "We will work
with him until things
change."
Banks said she'd like to
make sure there are job
descriptions and evalua
tions for officers to
improve the department.
Banks and Wilson are
already making plans to
attend new council mem
ber training in February
and other classes.
Meanwhile, outgoing
council member
Rosemary Walker said
she relished her time in
office.
"I have enjoyed serving
the people of Forsyth for
12 years," said Walker. "I
will still be around and
doing everything I can
for anyone who needs
Pharmacy &
By Jep Castleberry
Treatments for Reflux Disease
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an abnormal
reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Heartburn is a
symptom of GERD. Chest pain, hoarseness, and cough also
may be associated. Symptoms typically occur after meals, and
may be made worse by eating a large, high-fat meal.
Treatments for GERD are available to alleviate symptoms.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPI’s), such as omeprazole (Prilosec)
and esomeprazole (Nexium), work to relieve symptoms by
suppressing gastric acid secretion. Histamine-2 reseptor
antagonists (H2RA’s), such as cimetidine (Tagamet) and
ranitidine (Zantac), also suppress gastric acid secretion by
blocking histamine-2 receptors on gastric cells. These
medications are available both over-the-counter and with a
prescription. Antacids, such as magnesium hydroxide (milk of
magnesia) and aluminum hydroxide (Atnphogel), work to
neutralize gastric acid and to increase the alkalinity of the
stomach. Gaviscon (alginic acid / aluminum hydroxide /
magnesium hydroxide) contains antacids and an absorbent
that protects the esophagus from gastric reflux. Certain
nondrug changes in lifestyle can also be useful in alleviating
symptoms, including elevating the head of the bedc, reducing
fat intake, eating smaller meals, and quitting smoking.
CASTLEBERRY DRUG CO. LLC
N. Lee St. • 994-2051
me.
Walker says she also
looks forward to spend
ing more time with her
grandchildren. And as
the assistant director of
the Monroe County
Recreation Department
she is sure to be busy
over the next few months
as recreation basketball
gets underway.
King said she wanted to
thank everybody for vot
ing for her and said
desite losing she will still
work on ways to bring
youth recreation to the
city of Forsyth. And she
seemed to suggest she’d
run again in 2011, saying
LOANS WHEN YOU NEED IT
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Applications
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478-994-2505
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We Prepare Taxes
You’ll read it here first.
[Reporter
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