Show Salina Aminals By David SunGunnison Valley News Wednesday Page 3 March 24 1999 Sung Current Business Etiquette Elaine Blackburn Administrator Richfield Rehabilitation and Care Center by Those qualified can get their taxes prepared for free for Free tax preparation assistance all Utah taxpayers with mid- - to with special attention to those age 60 or older isavailable from AARP now through April 15 at various locations throughout the state The free service which was used by more than 9000 taxpayers in 1998 is volunprovided by AARP teers who are trained in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service The locations for AARP for our area are at the Gunnison Senior Center (38 West Center Gunnison — for appointment phone 528-92) and the Salina Senior Center (330 West MainSalina — for appointment phone Taxpayers should bring with them documents and inforall mation including tax booklet and a copy of last year's return is administered AARP through the AARP Foundation in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service AARP is the nation's leading organization for people 50 and older The affiliated AARP Foundation is a charitable organization that administers programs such the AARP Senior Community Service Employment Program and the AARP Home Equity Information Center Educational Incentives Give Breaks People continuing their education or planning forachild to attend college should learn about the educational centives available to them These centives could change the bottom line on their tax returns The Hope credit lets people below certain income levels claim acredil for the first two years of education expenses The credit is limited to $1500 per year for qualified tuition and expenses Tuition expenses eligible for the credit must be reduced funds such as grants or by any Graduate and professcholarships sional level fees are not allowed The credit applies to payments made after 1997 for academic periods starting after that year People can claim the Hope credit for each eligible student in their family The student must be enrolled in at least workload for the half of the course of study The credit is not lowed to students convicted of a felony drug offense A person can claim the Hope credit lor only two tax years for each eligible student The lifetime learning credit applies to qualified tuition and expenses for undergraduate graduate and professional degree courses paid after June 30 998 for courses starting after that date People underccrtain income levels can claim this credit for an unlimited number of years The credit is 20 percent of expenses up to a maximum credit of $ 000 per return The credit amount doesn't increase with additional eligible students in the family and it cannot be claimed for students' expenses during years when the Hope credit is claimed for those students Both the Hope and lifetime learning credits are reduced rateably as a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income rises from $40000 to $50000 (double those amounts for a married couple filing jointly) In addition to these credits people Under certain other income levels can deduct a limited amount of the interest paid on qualified higher loans but only for the first 60 months of loan payments The maximum deduction is $1000 and students must have been enrolled for at least half the normal course load required This deduction phases out as adjusted gross income rises from $400(X) to $55 (XX) ($60(XX) to $75000 for married couples filing jointly) Taxpayers do not have to itemize on Schedule A to claim the student loan interest deduction and People who are dependents married couples filing separate returns cannot claim the student loan interest deduction or the Hope and lifetime learning credits Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)can help provide for education as well as retirement People who have IRAs can tap into them to pay for qualified higher education expenses They won't have to pay the 10 percent penalty lax on early withdrawals but they will have to pay tax on the amount withdrawn The Education IRA is set up as a funding vehicle to pay educational It expenses of a named beneficiary features nondeductible contributions of up to $500 a year per beneficiary with no tax on the earnings if withdrawals are less than qualified higher education expenses in the year of the withdrawal The beneficiary must be under 8 when the contribution is made The $500 limit is reduced il acontribu-to- r has income above certain levels And for people whose employers pay lor their education the educational assistance is excluded from their wages The maximum exclusion amount is $5250 and is for undergraduate courses not for graduate level courses Publications 590 Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) and 970 Tax Benefits for Higher Education have more details about these tax breaks and the income phaseout rules To order call or visit the IRS Web site at wwwirsustreasgov education Porcupuncture Poison Prevention Week focuses on preventing injuries in children The majority of unintentional poisonings occur in the home and more than 60 percent involve children under six years of age Children Act Fast So Do Poisons' is the theme of National Syrup for each child in the home in Use case of a poisoning emergency only under the advice of your Poison Control Center emergency room or doctor Poison Prevention Week During National Poison Prevention Week lai 1999 the Utah SAFE s posting emergency telephone close to the telephone For poicontact the Utah soning emergencies reminds you that everyon can prevent unintentional poisomnr To prevent unintentional poisonings store all household products and medicines in a locked cabinet out of reach and out of sight of small children In addition the Utah Poison Control Center (a member organization of the Utah SAFE KIDS Coalition) recommends: storing all household and chemical products in their original containers keeping all medicines in their original containers and using closures bottle of Ipecac having a Poison Control Center at The Utah SAFE KIDS Coalition targets safety issues affecting the health of Utah children such and as motor vehicle injuries (all aspects of traffic safety) fires and burns firearms and poisonings drownings The mission of the Utah SAFE KIDS Coal ition is to make Utah a safer place forchildrcn by preventing injuries and fatalities through raising community awareness influencing policies promoting safely and establishing private public partnerships April Fool’s Day is Lupus Awareness Day Fool’s Day is also Lupus April Awareness Day — but lupus is no joke It is often misdiagnosed or unrecognized for years It is a disease so devastating come doctors can’t even tell you have it Not because they are afraid to tell you but because it is so difficult to diagnose that it has eluded some of the best minds in medicine Anyone can get it There is no known way to disease prevent this and there is no known cure Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect virtually any organ in the body The immune system of a person with lupus produces antibodies (hat attack healthy tissue instead of protecting it against foreign invaders such as infection and viruses Lupus affects nearly people in the United States — more than AIDS mul tiple sclerosis cystic fibrosis sicklecell anemia and cerebral palsy combined — one of every 185 Americans Yet lupus is not as well known as any one of these diseases The vast majority of those affected are adult women with greater numbers among Latinos and Many people have lupus without knowing it The symptoms often mimic other diseases Common symptoms include achy andor swollen joints fever prolonged fatigue skin rashes sun sensitivity mouth sores and anemia Lupus affects every individual differently and its effects range from mild to Thousands die from lupus complications each year Early detection and education offer the best hope for finding a cause and cure The Utah Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America is located in It serves more than 1200 people each year with services including monthly support group meetings community outreach public education programs referral services and medical information The chapter also supports lupus research All contributions are tax exempt For more information contact the Utah Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America at For the last several years so much hoopla has been made about Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that it seemed refreshing to me when I ran across The Toastmaster’ j list of the traits of effective leaders I felt them worthy and wanted to share them with you Are leaders born or made? Can you learn superior leadership skills? No one seems to be sure but experts have noticed seven specific actions that successful leaders carry out regardless of the organization or cause they lead Effective leaders Make others feel important If your goals and decisions are followers will lose theirenthusi-ast- ing treated An abusive leader attracts few loyal followers Admit mistakes people suspect that you're covering up your own ertoo and rors they’ll hide mistakes you'll lose aluable information needed quickly Emphasize their strengths and contributions not your own Promote a vision Followers need a clear idea of where you're leading opportunities for motivating your followers Make a game of competition The competitive drive can be a valuSet able tool if you use it correctly team goals and reward members who them and they need to understand that the goal is valuable to them Your job as a leader is to prov ide that vision Follow the Golden Rule Trea' vout followers the wav vou enjoy Criticize others only in private Public praise encourages others to excel but public criticism only embarrasses and alienates everyone Stay close to the action You need to be visible to the members of your organization Talk to people v isit other offices and worksites ask questions and observe how business is being handled Often you will gain new sights into your work and find new meet or exceed failures and celebrate Fvimine your your group's success Do not be a victim through Y2K scams Consumer Protection experts know one thing about disasters as soon as one happens scams appear that piggyback offof them After a disaster makes headlines it is common to see scams that claim to be raising money for food tornado or famine victims Well according to sources around the country scams are starting to appear relating to the threatened and much publicized Y2K disaster Several telephone scams reportedly are making their way across the country prey ng on fears that the Y ear 2(XX) computer problem will mess up hank accounts So far the Utah Division of Consumer Protection hasn't received any complaints from Utah residents ripped off by a new century scam but Francine Giani division director says it’s probably only a matterof time before someone gets taken The scams which Giani has heard about from other states apply a new year twist to an old theme “All they are trying to do is get financial information fromaconsumer that can then be used to steal" she said “They’re just using Y2K fears as the tool to get information” One scam reported in several east coast new spapers including the Washas ington Post involvesacallerposing from the recipient’s a representative credit card company The caller claims the company is sending out replacement strips to stick Layton HI & LOIS be- for making decisions over the magnetic stripe on the back of credit cards to ward off Y2K problems Customers who don't get one won't be able to use their cards come warns the caller The card January holder is then asked for his or her account number for "verification’’ Another version goes something like this: A bank representative calls to confess that the bank is way behind fixing itscomputersystems for the millennium Though they hate to admit it the caller says that means there is sure to be plenty of mixups in customer accounts possibly catastrophic ones such as having balances arrives wiped out when January As a safeguard the bank needs to transfer all customer accounts into specially designed Kind accounts immune to any glitches until all systems are Y2K safe The caller then asks for the customer's account number for verification Giani says she is unsure if anyone has fallen for the sw indies but she said people who follow a few simple common sense rules can av oid being duped First never give account information over the phone And realize that a bank or credit card company isn't going to contact you asking for your account number because they already have it Any suspicious calls should be reof ported to the Utah Department Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection at 801 Laminate!!! 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