Published: October 07, 2009 06:56 pm      

Evening News Briefs

• Jeffersonville

Spring, Maple streets closed Oct. 17

The Jeffersonville Board of Public Works approved a street closure near the intersection of Maple Street and Spring streets between 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Oct. 17.

The closure is being scheduled for a food and antiques festival at Sugar Maples, 109 Maple St. The board met for its regular meeting Wednesday morning.

In other business

• The board ordered the demolition of a boarded up house at 1640 Kehoe Lane. The structure is vacant and tall weeds have grown up around it.

— Staff Writer David A. Mann



Bridge closing Saturday

The Clark Memorial Bridge will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

No other streets in downtown Jeffersonville will be affected.

— Contributed



• Charlestown

Coat giveaway seeks donations

The North Clark Outreach Center and the Kiwanis Club of Charlestown are collecting winter clothing items with donations accepted through Friday to distribute at a coat giveaway in late October.

New and gently used coats, hats and gloves can be dropped off at drop locations throughout Charlestown, including: Charlestown High School; Charlestown Middle School; Jonathan Jennings Elementary School; Pleasant Ridge Elementary School; D.A. Inc.; Edward Jones Investments; First Savings Bank; New Washington State Bank; City Hall; and The North Clark Outreach Center.

The Coat Giveaway will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Charlestown Arts and Enrichment Center, 999 Water St., Charlestown. Last year, more than 200 coats were distributed to Charlestown residents.

Contact Ruthie Jackson, NCOC director, at 502-773-7474 for more information.

— Contributed



• Clark County

Christmas crafts at the Library

The Charlestown-Clark County Public Library is bringing holiday spirit early with a Christmas craft program for adults to make ornaments, and offered at all five library branches from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the dates and locations listed.

• TUESDAY — Henryville

• OCT. 22 — New Washington

• OCT. 26 — Charlestown

• OCT. 27 — Borden

• OCT. 29 — Sellersburg

The event is free and open to the public. Register at clarkco.lib.in.us or at a local branch. Call June Kruer at the Henryville Library at 812-294-4246 for more information.

— Contributed



• Indiana

Congressional team asking FEMA for aid

Joining Gov. Mitch Daniels, the Indiana Congressional delegation has sent a letter encouraging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider declaring several Hoosier counties disaster areas as a result of Aug. 4 flooding.

According to a news release from 9th District Rep. Baron Hill, the letter highlighted new damage assessments that “came to light when the Indiana Department of Homeland Security reopened its various information gathering systems.”

Floyd and Clark counties are included in the relief request, which could entail public and individual assistance. In September, President Barack Obama rejected aid based on FEMA reports.

But Aug. 4 was not an isolated event, Hill argues. He said the letter stresses many Indiana counties have been impacted by flooding and wind damage on several occasions over the past year. Hill said he spoke with Charlie Axton, acting administrator for disaster assistance for FEMA, during a telephone call Tuesday.

“I told Mr. Axton that I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask him to change his decision,” Hill said. “People are really hurting, and he needs to know that.”

—Staff Writer Daniel Suddeath



Car purchases can lead to tax breaks

With 2010 models arriving in dealer showrooms, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that purchasing a new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle could qualify them for a special deduction for the state and local sales and excise taxes on their 2009 tax returns.

Purchases made before Jan. 1 will qualify for this deduction under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The deduction is limited to the sales and excise taxes and similar fees paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a new vehicle. The deduction is reduced for joint filers with modified adjusted gross incomes, or MAGI, between $250,000 and $260,000 and other taxpayers with MAGI between $125,000 and $135,000. Taxpayers with higher incomes do not qualify.

Taxpayers who make qualifying new vehicle purchases this year can estimate the deduction with the help of Worksheet 10 in IRS Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My Withholding?

Lines 10a to 10k of the worksheet show how to take into account purchases above the $49,500 limit, as well as the reduced deductions for taxpayers at higher income levels. The special deduction is available regardless of whether taxpayers itemize deductions on their returns. Taxpayers who do not itemize will add this additional amount to the standard deduction on their 2009 tax return.

A video on the IRS Youtube.com channel and audio podcasts in English and Spanish are also available to help taxpayers take full advantage of the deduction.

More information is available at IRS.gov/recovery.

— Contributed