Plan to take advantage of these interesting programs next week. Each program is given in the Meeting Room.

Wed. Oct. 15, 2 PM—Roberta Proctor will lead a discussion of “The Post-Birthday World,” by Lionel Shriver. Sign up and check out the book. One hour.

Thurs. Oct. 16, 1 PM—A discussion of Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild,” and Sean Penn’s film of the same name. Pick up a copy of the book at the Information Desk. 200 minutes.

Fri., Oct. 17, 10 AM—Basic Computers. Confused by the terms hardware and software? Mystified by your PC? If so, learn the basics about computers at this free presentation that covers hardware, software, files and networks. For beginners. One hour.

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Plan to take advantage of these interesting programs next week. Each program is given in the Meeting Room.

Wed. Oct. 15, 2 PM—Roberta Proctor will lead a discussion of “The Post-Birthday World,” by Lionel Shriver. Sign up and check out the book. One hour.

Thurs. Oct. 16, 1 PM—A discussion of Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild,” and Sean Penn’s film of the same name. Pick up a copy of the book at the Information Desk. Three hours and 10 minutes.

Fri., Oct. 17, 10 AM—Basic Computers. Confused by the terms hardware and software? Mystified by your PC? If so, learn the basics about computers at this free presentation that covers hardware, software, files and networks. For beginners. One hour.

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The Boca Raton Computer Society Mourns the Loss of
Lorraine Krupowies, Treasurer who passed away October 6..

Lorraine was the senior member of the board of directors of BRCS, serving in various capacities since 1989, recently as Treasurer.
Born in Elizabeth, N. J., she and her husband and her youngest son moved to Florida in 1979. Twenty-one years ago, Lorraine was widowed. Left with four young children, she worked as a secretary/office manager until retiring. She enjoyed spending time with her five grandchildren.

Lorraine was an active member of the Boca Raton chapter of the Southern Handicraft Society, exhibiting her excellent knitting and crocheting at craft shows.

Lorraine provided a role model for BRCS members. She enjoyed working with her peers and gave her time and talent to serve on the Board of Directors for over fifteen years. She will be sorely missed.

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Property Tax Notices to be Mailed October 31 The Tax Collector’s office will mail 2008 property tax notices on October 31. Property taxes are collectable November 1 - March 31. Discounts for early payment are allowed as follows:
• 4% in November
• 3% in December
• 2% in January
• 1% in February
No discounts are allowed in March. Taxes become delinquent on April 1st. The discount is determined by postmark of payment. The Tax Collector’s website offers a new and improved fast payment system to process property tax payments at www.taxcollectorpbc.com.

Redesigned Property Tax Notice Unveiled Are you a taxpayer who received a refund in 2007 due to overpayment? The Tax Collector’s office discovered nearly 5,000 taxpayers paid their November and December tax bills incorrectly by paying the future delinquent amount. Through the work of one of the employee Knowledge Based Leadership Teams (a fact based decision making process implemented at the Tax Collector’s Office) it was determined taxpayers were misreading the payment line. The project team:
• Analyzed current Tax Notice and payment line;
• Created three prototype notices with varying payment line designs;
• Surveyed employees and taxpayers;
• Petitioned the Department of Revenue to approve the revised bill ; and
• Implemented approved changes to reflect a new tax notice for November 2008.

A sample of the new bill with a description of each section of the bill can be found at http://www.pbcgov.com/tax/pdf/TAX_notice.pdf. Thank you for providing the feedback which allows us to serve you better.

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Child Safety Seat Check-Ups for Local Families

The Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Office is holding several child safety check-up events across the area over the coming weeks. The program’s intent is to help families ensure the safety of their children on our community’s roadways.

The next scheduled check-ups are on Saturday, October 11th at the Pediatric Associates of Boynton Beach (10301 Hagen Ranch Road) and Saturday, October 25th at the Home Depot (9820 Glades Road) in Boca Raton. Both events will last from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For more information, please call (561) 688-4194.
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Message from Representative Sachs:
The Sachs - Sentinel
Rep. Maria Sachs Newsletter
October 3, 2008

Dear Friends,

I am proud to report that the H.O.P.E for Palm Beach County Task Force’s first workshop was a major success! Now it is time to bring our team of experts to the homeowners of central Palm Beach County. On Saturday, October 18, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m, our team of experts will be at the Odyssey Middle School in Boynton Beach (6161 Woolbright Road; West of I-95 between Military Trail and Jog Road). Our second workshop will available to any homeowner who is need of help.

With over 100 homeowners in attendance at the first workshop, we are looking forward to bringing HOPE to as many who live in the central part of Palm Beach County. The Task Force works like this: distressed homeowners fill out an application and if their home is already in foreclosure, they will have to bring the appropriate legal documents to the workshop. After an initial consultation with a counselor, they are invited to sit down personally with a bank officer, mortgage broker, or attorney to discuss ways to save their home.

The only requirement that the homeowner be a resident of Palm Beach County and the mortgage in question concerns a primary residence. Attorneys from the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County have graciously volunteered to help alongside our bankers, brokers, realtors, and other specialists. All information received at the workshop is completely confidential and all services are free. There is absolutely no cost to anyone.

If you or anyone you know needs help, please refer to www.mariasachs.com. On my website, you can download the application and receive further information about the workshop.

The mission of the Task Force is to assist the citizens of Palm Beach County to maintain homeownership by bringing together banking and mortgage industry representatives, lawyers specializing in home and condominium real estate, city officials, and real estate policy advocates to find practical solutions to the growing foreclosure problem.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact my office at (561) 266-6645.

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Katerina I. Draganova
Legislative Assistant
Office of Representative Maria Sachs
(561) 266 - 6645 office
(888) 544 - 9121 fax
Katerina.Draganova@myfloridahouse.gov

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Sgt. Melody Gamage of the Palm Beach County Narcotics Squad presented sobering information to our Citizen’s Academy group about the state of the drug trade at present.

Use of crack cocaine is going down. Prescription drug abuse is soaring. Oxycontin, Xanax and Valium are the drugs being used by young, old and mostly white people. Two sources: Some doctors are writing prescriptions illegally, and young people are finding these drugs in their own medicine cabinet from parent’s prescriptions. Deaths from overdosing these drugs are rising. It is imperative these drugs in the home be protected from family members that are not prescribed to use them.

Broward County doctors are writing more prescriptions than those in Palm Beach County. Regulations are a bit less rigid there. Law enforcement personnel are aware that people from Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee drive down to south Florida counties to pick up prescriptions for these drugs and sell them back in their states.

Narcotics department staff has found boats, and work trucks with hidden compartments used to smuggle cocaine and other drugs into Florida from Jamaica and Mexico. Some semi trailer trucks have been found with a false step up to the cab used as a hidden storage area to smuggle drugs. Drug lords in Mexico send a convoy of 25 cars into the United States loaded with drugs. If one car gets stopped and its load gets confisticated, the rest get through and those drugs are sold for street distribution.

Marijuana grow houses are prevalent in many parts of northern Palm Beach County. In 2007 plants worth $34.6 million were destroyed by the Narcotics Department.

Battling the drug trade is an uphill, never ending war for the Department. For further information go to www.pbso.org.

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Board Member Merry Rubinstein will begin her Lip Reading classes for Chapter Members on Tuesday October 7, 1:30 PM at Emmanuel Catholic Church.

Register with Merry at 561-738-5630.

The next monthly meeting of the Chapter will be Friday, October 17 at 10 A.M.
Guest Speakers will be Fred Schott of the Deaf Service Center;
Ed Kissel of Mobile Source
Oscar Segal, President will tell you all you need to know about Telecoils

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Our offices are preparing for our property tax season, which launches next month. Please read the information below which will help our office serve you better.

Not Updating Your Address Could Cost You

Florida Statutes place the burden on the taxpayer to know when taxes are collectable, even if a Tax Notice is not received. During the past two years approximately 50,000 Tax Notices were returned undeliverable to the Palm Beach Tax Collector due to incorrect mailing addresses.

Whenever a taxpayer’s mailing address is changed, in addition to notifying the United States Postal Service the taxpayer must also notify the Property Appraiser, in writing with a signature. Contact the Property Appraiser’s Office to update the correct mailing address on record by calling (561) 355-2866 or visit online at http://www.pbcgov.com/papa/AddressChange.htm. If an address change is not submitted to the Property Appraiser’s Office by the first week of October contact the Tax Collector’s Office at www.taxcollectorpbc.com to ensure receipt of a tax notice.

Property Tax Notices to be Mailed October 31

The Tax Collector’s office will mail 2008 property tax notices on October 31. Property taxes are collectable November 1 - March 31. Discounts for early payment are allowed as follows:
• 4% in November
• 3% in December
• 2% in January
• 1% in February
No discounts are allowed in March. Taxes become delinquent on April 1st. The discount is determined by postmark of payment. However, the amount due on a delinquent payment is determined by the date received by our office, not by postmark. The Tax Collector’s website offers a new and improved fast payment system to process property tax payments at www.taxcollectorpbc.com.

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Message from State Representative Kelly Skidmore: Broward County Offering Low-Cost Rabies Clinic

The Broward County Animal Care and Regulation Division will offer one-year rabies vaccinations and licenses to pets on October 4th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mary Sunders Park (4750 SW 21st Street) in West Park.

For more information, call (954) 358-1010 in Broward County. You can also find information online at http://www.pbcgov.com/pubsafety/animal and http://www.broward.org/animal.

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At Thursday, September 25 Sheriff’s Citizen Academy Class at District 6 Headquarters off Jog Road in Boynton Beach, we formed an auto caravan behind Captain Martin Bechtel and drove up to Sheriff’s Headquarters off Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach.

Our first lesson occurred in the Communications Department, a large area where there are cubicles with civilian employees manning four computer screen consoles. A young lady and her male supervisor were our guides through this important area where all 911 calls come in throughout the county and action dispatches are made. Each employee in the console area handles a specific bit of geography in the county. Each computer screen shows important information such as location of an accident, location of sheriff’s deputy patrol cars, records of licensed drivers, and much more. These operators work long hours in a very stressful occupation.

Leaving one stressful occupation for another, our group of nineteen Academy classmates followed Capt. Bechtel next door to the second lesson of the evening: The County Jail. Here we were given a tour by a prison guard Sheriff’s Deputy and his Sergeant. At each door we had to go through our guides had to shout the count of how many were in our group to the deputy guard in charge so the doors could be unlocked. By this time two more of our classmates joined us.

We were shown the “intake area” where prisoners are first brought in, frisked and processed. One such event happened before our eyes, as a hapless male went through the process. We walked by the first floor cells the prisoners occupy temporarily when they are first arrested before they are transferred to the upper floors. This jail holds about 1,500 prisoners. We were then whisked upstairs in two large elevators to the sixth floor to see where the prisoners live, eat and take their exercise.

After a fifteen minute break at the open air area on the 12 floor of the building which is the staff break area that offers a splendid view of the surrounding area, and the planes going in and out of PBI, we returned to the exit lobby for a demonstration of the weapons used to maintain order, demonstrated by our host deputies. One was a paintball type of gun, the other a Tommy-gun looking weapon that holds six heavy projectiles that can be shot at an unruly prisoner.

“If someone gets hit in the chest with one of these heavy projectiles,” said the ex-Marine deputy who was demonstrating the gun, “it’s like getting hit with a cinder block.” Their weapon of choice is the stun gun which they carry as a sidearm. They said the other two weapons rarely have to be used.

We ended our three hour visit, leaving this sad, drab building packed with unhappy people. An interesting place to visit once—and never have to see it again.

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September 26 through October 3, 2008

Palm Beach County – Palm Beach County traffic will be affected this week by ongoing construction projects and maintenance work, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) officials report. Weather permitting; closures will be in effect on I-95, Southern Boulevard (S.R.80) and in other areas throughout Palm Beach County for construction activities.

For around-the-clock, real-time, traffic information within the tri-county area (Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade counties), travelers should call 511. For I-95 Palm Beach County traffic reports just say "I-95” or “Interstate 95". Information is also available on-line at www.511southflorida.com.

To view real-time video of I-95 in Palm Beach County, visit the FDOT I-95 Interim Traffic Management System (ITMS) website at www.palmbeachcotraffic.org. These free services are provided by FDOT and the SunGuide™ Partners. For updated lane closure information, please refer to www.pbfdot.com.

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Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year for people of my faith, and all mankind.

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