Incorrect 1099 sent: 2.7 million people have received incorrect Social Security payment information needed to complete their federal income tax returns. Corrections are quickly being sent out. In Washington, they stated that a computer programming error caused all of this. Let's just hope they get the correct ones out soon.
Highway 196 construction: I've not been down this road in a long time because of all the construction. What I'm hoping is that the engineers in charge of the widening project have thought ahead and will be planning to construct a flyover at 196 and 17. So many people have been killed and injured at this intersection.
Pollen count: When you read area pollen counts: "Trees, moderate, Weeds, absent, Grass, very low, Molds, moderate" has the person who makes this report not been outside recently? There are tulip trees, redbuds, maples blooming, bulbs blooming, roses and azaleas blooming. So, if there is hardly any pollen out there, then what is that half-inch thick residue of yellow "stuff" on my vehicle?
Donating to Goodwill: Well, the thousands of recalls this past year have definitely affected what you can and cannot donate. I took eight boxes of "stuff" to Goodwill on Wednesday, only to be told no toys, no baby carriers, no umbrella strollers because of the recalls. So, when you're packing up "stuff" to donate, make sure you eliminate these items.
Blight being addressed? I recently rode with our county code enforcer and commissioner to show them the blight in this area. Out on Highway 17, near the Limerick Road intersection is a burned out trailer, pushed into the woods. Near that, adjacent to Fleming Baptist Church is a "repair" business with trucks, boats, cars, car parts, etc. all surrounding a dilapidated house. On the corner of Highway 17 and Limerick is a fallen down house, with fern growing on its roof, windows broken out, and the brick steps all fallen down. Then travel down Limerick and on the corner of Haven and Limerick is a half fallen down trailer, debris scattered everywhere, all just across from the entrance to Woodland Lakes. Then meander into Lake George. There you will find 30 properties that need to be cleaned up. Just across the street from my house is a vacant lot that people from Savannah have been dumping on for three years. Now the owners have come down and driven white stakes everywhere on it. In our community, there are five illegal metal storage containers. I've recently been told that the county is beefing up its ordinance against these ugly metal storage containers in communities. I do know that all of this is being looked into. If you are reading this and you know you have a junk car, boat or truck on your property, get rid of it. If your yard hasn't been cleaned up in years, do something about it. I only regret that the people who own the lot across from me have not even begun to clean it up and they have until Feb. 17 to do so. Several places that I named as "eyesores" have been cleaned up, but we've got a long way to go. I just know it is a monumental job, getting people to clean up their property.
Testing our lakes and rivers: On Feb. 10, Dianna Wedincamp returned to Lake George to educate us about testing waters in this area. Buck Floyd, James Strickland and his two boys, Kimberly Rouse, Bill Weiss, Richard White, Phil Odom and myself were all that showed up. Some of the ones who signed on to volunteer didn't even show up. The certification took two hours and lots of paying attention. Bill lives on Horseshoe Creek and will be monitoring that, as well as out in the Jerico when he is in his boat. Kimberly will be monitoring the Jerico from her dock and the Gress. Richard agreed to monitor all three lakes in Lake George. Results will be posted on the POA website, as well as in my column. Testing will be done once a month and results sent to Dianna. The Riverkeepers will come to our boat hoist every three months to do their own testing. The tests that were done Sunday were mainly to test the oxygen level in the river and it turned out good. The rest of the samples were taken back to Statesboro to be tested on the next day. We came up with a name for our "volunteers," The Limerick Plantation Testers.
Read the find print: On my recent cell phone bill, in little tiny print, it stated that effective 3/30/08 I'm going to be charged for text/instant messaging and for picture/video messages. I don't use either of these features so I called my company and told them not to add that to my bill in the future. I had to turn my cell off for 10 seconds so these features could be removed, then turn it back on. So, look at your bill closely each month.
Panhandlers: Anyone who has gone north on Highway 17 or come down 196 to Highway 17 probably has noticed panhandlers begging for money at the stop sign. Now they are camping on private property across from the intersection. Complaints have been made to the sheriff's office but nothing has been done so far. People should not be submitted to this. These people are able bodied and should be working somewhere, not begging for money.
Highway 196 construction: I've not been down this road in a long time because of all the construction. What I'm hoping is that the engineers in charge of the widening project have thought ahead and will be planning to construct a flyover at 196 and 17. So many people have been killed and injured at this intersection.
Pollen count: When you read area pollen counts: "Trees, moderate, Weeds, absent, Grass, very low, Molds, moderate" has the person who makes this report not been outside recently? There are tulip trees, redbuds, maples blooming, bulbs blooming, roses and azaleas blooming. So, if there is hardly any pollen out there, then what is that half-inch thick residue of yellow "stuff" on my vehicle?
Donating to Goodwill: Well, the thousands of recalls this past year have definitely affected what you can and cannot donate. I took eight boxes of "stuff" to Goodwill on Wednesday, only to be told no toys, no baby carriers, no umbrella strollers because of the recalls. So, when you're packing up "stuff" to donate, make sure you eliminate these items.
Blight being addressed? I recently rode with our county code enforcer and commissioner to show them the blight in this area. Out on Highway 17, near the Limerick Road intersection is a burned out trailer, pushed into the woods. Near that, adjacent to Fleming Baptist Church is a "repair" business with trucks, boats, cars, car parts, etc. all surrounding a dilapidated house. On the corner of Highway 17 and Limerick is a fallen down house, with fern growing on its roof, windows broken out, and the brick steps all fallen down. Then travel down Limerick and on the corner of Haven and Limerick is a half fallen down trailer, debris scattered everywhere, all just across from the entrance to Woodland Lakes. Then meander into Lake George. There you will find 30 properties that need to be cleaned up. Just across the street from my house is a vacant lot that people from Savannah have been dumping on for three years. Now the owners have come down and driven white stakes everywhere on it. In our community, there are five illegal metal storage containers. I've recently been told that the county is beefing up its ordinance against these ugly metal storage containers in communities. I do know that all of this is being looked into. If you are reading this and you know you have a junk car, boat or truck on your property, get rid of it. If your yard hasn't been cleaned up in years, do something about it. I only regret that the people who own the lot across from me have not even begun to clean it up and they have until Feb. 17 to do so. Several places that I named as "eyesores" have been cleaned up, but we've got a long way to go. I just know it is a monumental job, getting people to clean up their property.
Testing our lakes and rivers: On Feb. 10, Dianna Wedincamp returned to Lake George to educate us about testing waters in this area. Buck Floyd, James Strickland and his two boys, Kimberly Rouse, Bill Weiss, Richard White, Phil Odom and myself were all that showed up. Some of the ones who signed on to volunteer didn't even show up. The certification took two hours and lots of paying attention. Bill lives on Horseshoe Creek and will be monitoring that, as well as out in the Jerico when he is in his boat. Kimberly will be monitoring the Jerico from her dock and the Gress. Richard agreed to monitor all three lakes in Lake George. Results will be posted on the POA website, as well as in my column. Testing will be done once a month and results sent to Dianna. The Riverkeepers will come to our boat hoist every three months to do their own testing. The tests that were done Sunday were mainly to test the oxygen level in the river and it turned out good. The rest of the samples were taken back to Statesboro to be tested on the next day. We came up with a name for our "volunteers," The Limerick Plantation Testers.
Read the find print: On my recent cell phone bill, in little tiny print, it stated that effective 3/30/08 I'm going to be charged for text/instant messaging and for picture/video messages. I don't use either of these features so I called my company and told them not to add that to my bill in the future. I had to turn my cell off for 10 seconds so these features could be removed, then turn it back on. So, look at your bill closely each month.
Panhandlers: Anyone who has gone north on Highway 17 or come down 196 to Highway 17 probably has noticed panhandlers begging for money at the stop sign. Now they are camping on private property across from the intersection. Complaints have been made to the sheriff's office but nothing has been done so far. People should not be submitted to this. These people are able bodied and should be working somewhere, not begging for money.