MAILER BEWARE: Post office officials host consumer awareness event. 1B BIG MESS: Chemical tanker overturns on N.C. 150. 3A
BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Another theory is that those who are trying to save money may be waiting until the last minute to file and pay those taxes, said Mahlon Pendry, who operates Pendry’s Accounting Service. Pendry has gained three new customers this year in addition to his regular clientele and expects to see more before the season ends, he said. “My customers are coming in pretty regularly,” said Pendry, a retired IRS agent. “Most people are going to owe taxes this year since the withholding rate on their W2 forms went down but tax rates didn’t. It may be that later, when people are ready to pay those funds, that we’ll see more coming in.” Hanson said it was too early in the 2009 tax season to tell if there had been a change in the number of people who use paid tax preparers.
TRINITY – Trinity officials discussed the fate of mobile home parks during its preagenda meeting Tuesday evening. With a public hearing scheduled on proposed text amendments to the city’s mobile parks ordinance for next Tuesday night, City Manager Ann Bailie asked the City Council for direction on what the governing body would like to do with mobile home parks. Councilwoman Karen Bridges said she wanted to have all mobile home parks eventually phased out as they “fall apart,” but noted she didn’t think that option was possible. Bob Wilhoit, the city’s attorney, told the City Council that it could not outlaw mobile parks in the city limits. Trinity officials, however, could designate a place in the city for mobile homes, he said. Councilman Kelly Grooms suggested the city would be taking income from mobile home park owners if it begins to phase out some in the city. He also said the residents in the mobile home parks need a place to live. “Don’t cut these people out,” Grooms said. Currently, the city has interest from residents who want to build a mobile home park and another person who wants to replace a mobile home, Bailie said. The City Council took no action Tuesday evening because the public hearing had already been set. Last month, Adam Stumb, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, said Trinity officials are discussing changes to the ordinance because they “want to improve the image and safety for all existing parks” in the city. Currently, Trinity has
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GOING ROGUE
To save money, filers may dodge using paid tax preparers BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – In a time when consumers are cutting back on the amount of goods and services that they pay for, even paid tax preparers may be taking a hit this year. H&R Block reported that the number of returns prepared in retail operations fell 5.6 percent nationally, while the number of total tax returns prepared through Feb. 15 fell 6.3 percent. Some local tax preparers say they’ve seen a similar trend as consumers use other means, such as electronic filing or the Internal Revenue Service’s Free File option, while other paid preparers are waiting for another rush toward the end of the season. Patrick Laughrey, area Jackson Hewitt manager, said Triad offices have seen fewer customers walk through the doors this year.
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Mahlon Pendry, a retired IRS agent, works on his client’s tax return out of his home office. “There haven’t been as many (customers) as last year,” Laughrey said. “There could be a variety of reasons for that. There are some people trying to save money by doing their taxes online. A lot of people probably won’t be filing this year due to economic hardships and unemployment because they didn’t earn enough, so we just might not have as many refunds to issue this year.”
According to the IRS, most people who earn unemployment compensation would probably have to file. The first $2,400 in unemployment compensation is non-taxable. “Unemployment may affect some people this year,” said Mark Hanson, spokesman with the IRS, “But if they’ve earned more than that $2,400, they will probably have to file.”
LEXINGTON – The historic Wil-Cox Bridge will not be demolished as part of the project to replace the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River. The Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night agreed to take ownership of the Wil-Cox Bridge. Commissioners Larry Potts and Don Truell voted against the request by the N.C. Department of Transportation that Davidson County become the new owner of the bridge. Chairman Max Walser said the offer by the DOT was “simply too much to
pass up” before the board voted to take ownership of the bridge. DOT officials will give Davidson County $2.5 million for preservation of the bridge once the state stops allowing vehicular traffic on the bridge. The Wil-Cox Bridge is adjacent to the I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River and serves as a thoroughfare to the town of Spencer. If commissioners rejected the DOT’s offer to take ownership of the bridge, the structure would have been demolished as part of the I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River project, said Pat Ivey, a DOT division engineer out of Winston-Salem. Looking to make the Wil-
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Judge Glenda Hatchett will serve as keynote speaker during the Second Annual Urban Education Institute at North Carolina A&T State University. The event will be March 19-20. Hatchett is known in the legal community for her courtroom style as seen on “The Judge Hatchett Show.”
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NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Oak Hill teachers want more time. 1B OBITUARIES
---- B. Brown III, 53 Linda Floyd, 69 David Gallimore, 94 William Hedrick, 62 Larry Johnson, 68 Brenda Latta, 60 Thelma Leonard, 85 Robert McCandies Sr., 57 Peggy Osborne, 80 Richard Roicchi, 48 Mary Sappington, 86 Evelyn Stokes, 94 Franklin Thomas Helen Wray, 85 Obituaries, 2-3B
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Mostly cloudy High 68, Low 31 6D
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Davidson OKs bridge purchase BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTEPRISE STAFF WRITER
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Trinity mulls fate of mobile home parks
Children line up to watch ducks and geese during warm weather at City Lake Park Monday.
March 10, 2010
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Cox Bridge a pedestrian bridge, Davidson County commissioners agreed to take ownership of the bridge because of its historic nature. The Wil-Cox Bridge, which was built in 1922, is eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The seven-span concrete arch connects Davidson and Rowan counties across the Yadkin River in an important area known as the Trading Ford, according to a report by David Fischetti. Fischetti, president of DCF Engineering, gave a presentation last week to commissioners after being hired to examine the structure of the Wil-Cox Bridge. Fischetti told commission-
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The Wil-Cox Bridge as seen from the boat launch area of York Hill access. ers the bridge’s condition is poor and repairs need to be made, but noted the structure is “very difficult to duplicate today” and could be used as a pedestrian walkway for many years to come. Fischetti also cautioned commissioners last week not to take ownership of the bridge until the DOT stops vehicular traffic on
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the bridge. Ivey, who attended the Tuesday night meeting, told commissioners that the county would not be responsible for upkeep of the bridge until traffic is stopped on the structure or unless it wanted to take part of the $2.5 million to improve the structure. dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
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