Community Opinion

Dear Editor,

For the past several years a coalition of agencies and nonprofit organizations has been working together to provide IRS VITA sites to the four county areas of Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Swain. These VITAsites offer free tax preparation to qualifying individuals and place special emphasis on returning EIC (Earned Income Credit) dollars to those families that are eligible. This valuable service brings thousands of dollars back to our region each year. This year over $121,000 came back to our area from EIC alone.

The Office of Economic Opportunity and Hinton Rural Life Center would like to express our deep gratitude to our volunteers and partners during the 2007 tax season.

Without the help of the following individuals and institutions, this service would have been impossible:

In Hayesville:

Moss Memorial Library - Mary Fonda, Deborah Kenyon and Judy Smith

United Community Bank - Glenda Cheeks, Phyliss Byers and Marla Mashburn

State Employee Credit Union - Jim Schwalm Nantahala Bank and Trust - Tracy Scolaro and Clara Reffit First Citizen Bank Betty Friedhoff Pat Lincoln

In Murphy:

State Employee Credit Union - Evelyn Carr, Brian Vardo and Linda Carr

Jim Ferrell

In Graham County: First Citizen - Yvette Carringer United Community Bank - Brenda Deyton

State Employee Credit Union - Terri Edwards

Graham County Public Library - Gary Pressley, Janice Panther, Dawn Holder and Gerard Remery

Our goal is to continue to grow and improve the coalition and the services that are offered to the community. We anticipate new site locations and added service hours for the 2008 tax season. We will keep you posted about these exciting opportunities as more information becomes available.

Sincerely,

Claudie Burchfield, Program Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity/Catholic Social Services and Jason Johnson, VISTA for Hinton Rural Life Center