It s Set: BCC, West Brunswick
Among hirst
107 Highway' Site-s
Brunswick Community College
anil West Brunswick High School
,ire among the first 107 sites on the
North Carolina Information High
way (NC1H). Gov. Jim Hunt con
firmed Tuesday.
These first sites are expected to
come into service in August as part
of a high-capacity telecommunica
tions infrastructure. The public-pri
vate undertaking is the tirst ot its
kind worldwide.
Both BCC and West Brunswick
High School are among area sites
sharing in a $485,000 Rural Electri
fication Administration (RliA) grant
that will help provide the equipment
necessary for them to join a regional
distance-learning network based at
UNC Wilminuton. their link to
NCIH.
"It's a very exciting time." said
Michael Reaves, president of Bruns
wick Community College.
The college has identified space
for its distance-learning classroom
and will pace readiness of the facili
ty to coincide with Atlantic Tele
phone Membership Corp.'s schedule
for getting fiber optics to the cam
pus, probably sometime in May.
"We want to use the summer to do
some trial work and training and get
ready to go on line in August," said
Reaves.
BCC anticipates two-way bene
fits?receiving courses and pro
grams from other distance-learning
sites, and exporting some of its own
programming, such as courses from
the new aquacuiture technology cui
riculum that will begin this fall and
is the only one of its kind in North
Carolina, he said.
"By linking these sites with cut
ting-edge technology, we can boost
education, public safety, economic
development, health care and crimi
nal justice in all communities across
North Carolina." Hunt saiil in a pre
pared statement.
Of the 1(17 initial sites announced
Tuesday, 23 are 111 southeastern
North Carolina. I he NC III project is
l>eing initially funded with SI.4 mil
ium (tUlllOl UA.V1
N ( Of!
Assembly last year.
Sites chosen for hook-up to the
highway had to commit to designat
ing locations for distance learning
and data communications, choosing
site personnel to support the project,
acquiring strong support and partici
pation from key leaders, staff train
ing and support, and purchasing and
maintaining necessary site-based
equipment.
The telecommunications infra
structure will he part of the public
switched network, in which the state
will offer communications services
to ils agencies primarily through the
facilities of the local telephone com
panies and long-distance carriers.
The state will handle administrative
aspects of the sites along the high
way, while telephone companies
will own and operate the network
Areas wiih immediate uses for
N( III are public schools, universi
ties, community colleges, hospitals
and medical centers, economic de
velopment. crime control and crimi
nal justice, and state and local gov
ernment. Major applications include
distance learning, video conferenc
ing. tele-medicine, multimedia col
laboration. imaging and high-speed
data exchange for business and re
search.
Special Tax Credit Available
To Some Low-Income Workers
P"OTK"
Have Car, Will Train
8CC PHOTO BY ANNt MARIE BELLAMY
Brunswick Community College's automotive mechanics program got a boost last week with the dona
tion of a 199.1 Buick LeSabre from Kick Edwards Regional Automotive Outlet, Whitevillc, for use in
class, hut not on the road. Pictured above (Jrom left) are student Michael Tompkins of Bolivia, lead in
structor Roy Hornaday, BCC nominee for the State Board of Community Colleges/First Union
Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award; student Nathan Francis of Long Beach and Edwards.
While Hornaday 's goals include more equipment to keep pace with changing technology, he said,
"He \t got some good new cars coming in to work on and I hope a lot of students will begin showing
up."
Some Local Farmers To Be Interviewed For Costs Survey
Coleman Cain of Garland will he The survey results are to show crjps. They also help measure the
contacting some Brunswick County how well agriculture is doing as a competitiveness of U.S. agriculture,
agricultural producers over the next whole, how the various types of en- The survey will he carried out hy
few weeks asking them to partici- terprises within agriculture are far- the N.C. Agricultural Statistics Divi
pale in the Farm Costs and Returns ing, and whether some sectors are sion of the Department of Agri
Survey. more financially vulnerable than culture. This is the tenth year North
The survey measure the current others. Carolina producers have been asked
financial system of U.S. agriculture. Survey figures are used to help to take part.
It will provide detailed information set target prices and loan rates. They Producers chosen to take part in
about producers' expenses, income, are also used to determine farm the survey will be notified by letter,
finances, production practices and credit and disaster needs, and to They were selected at random. All
other operating characteristics dur- compute grazing fees, parity prices figures describing individual opera
ing 1993. and support prices for some program tions will be kep confidential.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Migrant Labor Laws Focus Of Meeting
A meeting on migrant farm labor
housing and employment-related
laws will be held for area farmers
Tuesday, Feb. 1. at the Whiteville
Cooperative Hxtension Service of
fice. from () a.m. until noon.
Speakers will review migrant
housing and field sanitation require
ments, the Fair Labor Standards Act,
Child Labor Laws, worker program
enforcement and show a video on
worker protection.
Gene Ward (center) of Winna bow was selected recently to attend
the 1994 Master h'arm Management seminar, a one-week program
designed to enhance farmers' financial management skills. Ile 's
shown with Evan (tore (left) of the Farm Credit Service office in
Shallotte and David Sash, county i noperative extension agent.
Ward Chosen For Week-Long
Farm Management Seminar
Gene Ward ot Winnabow was re
cently selected to polish his finan
cial management skills during a
week-long Master Farm Manage
ment seminar this month in Raleigh.
The event is sponsored hy grants
from six Farm Credit Associations of
North Carolina; Ward was sponsored
hy the local office. The program is
conducted hy the Department of
Agricultural and Resource Econom
ics at N.C Slate University.
Through a combination of lec
tures. problem-solving exercises anil
computer laboratory instruction, par
ticipants study business manage
ment skills, examine how their own
goals ,md attitudes influence adop
tion of sound business practices, and
study how to develop accurate fi
nancial statements, good record
keeping systems and micro-comput
er applications to farming.
The program .ilso aims to increase
participants' understanding of farm
credit, marketing techniques, in
come tax issues, larm lahor issues
and other factors that affect manage
ment decisions.
According to I van (iore of the lo
cal farm Credit olfice, good produc
tion skills alone are not sufficient lor
successful farm operation in the
I WIN Farmers must manage their
operations as full-fledged business
es. which requires accurate financial
information, business knowledge
and undeistanding ol economic fac
tors in management
The Whiteville Extension Service
office is at 112 West Main Street.
Train Workers To Use
Pesticides Safely
Two meetings have been sched
uled in Brunswick County to teach
farm, nursery, forest or greenhouse
owners how lo train their agricultur
al workers and pesticide handlers to
meet pesticide safety standards.
The worker training is required hy
recently enacted Environmental
Protection Agency Worker Pro
tection Standard Laws. The laws al
so apply to labor contractors and
for-hire or independent crop consul
tants for these types of businesses.
The first meeting will be held
Thursday, l-eb. 3, from iO a.m. until
? n ? ?
i iv >1 mi ill tuc ui uii^w icrv v. i >i i ii 11 u 111?v
College Teaching Auditorium, locat
ed upstairs in the Administration
Building.
The second meeting will be held
Thursday. Feb. 10. from 2 p.m. to 4
p.m. in the Brunswick County
Cooperative Extension Office.
Participants are to register for the
meeting they plan to attend by call
ing Jetty Gore at 253-4425.
PLAGUED
WITH ?>
ACHES
AND
PAINS?
CHIROPRACTIC CENTER
HARBOR SQUARE PLAZA
Across trom Hardee's
LITTLE RIVER, SC
(803)249-9787
One frequently overlooked tax
break available to low-income
workers is the earned income tax
credit (F.ITC). According to the
North Carolina Association of
Certified Public Accountants, the
credit is worth up to S 1.511 for the
1993 tax year. What's more, as a re
sult of the new tax, the credit will be
worth even more in 1994 and subse
quent years.
Not only does the EITC offset any
taxes that are owed, but it may also
put money into your pocket. Here's
why: if the amount ot the credit ex
ceeds your tax liability, the differ
ence is refunded to you.
Who Qualifies?
To claim the EITC in 1993. you
must have earned income (or adjust
ed gross income, if greater) of less
than $23,050 and you must have a
qualifying child who lived with you
in your main home in the United
States for more than six months in
1993. A qualifying child is your son.
daughter, adopted child, grandchild,
stepchild or foster child who at the
end of 1993 was under age 19, or
under age 24 and a full-time student,
or any age if permanently and totally
disabled.
When estimating your earned in
come for purposes of the credit, you
must include wages, salary, tips,
commissions, jury duty pay, union
strike benefits, self employment
earnings, as well as certain disability
pensions.
If you are married, in order to
claim the credit you must also file a
joint tax return. However, if your
spouse did not live in your house
hold for the last six months of the
year and you maintained a home for
a child who lived with you for more
than half of the year, you may claim
the credit as a head of household.
For the 1994 tax year, you must
meet these same requirements, hut
the income limit increases to
S23.760 if you have one qualifying
child and to $25.29(1 for two or more
qualifying children.
come (or adjusted gross income, if
greater) in excess of $12,200. The
EITC" is completely phased out tor
workers w ith earned income (or ad
justed gross income, it greater) over
523,050.
As long as you are eligible for the
EITC and pay health insurance pre
miums for a child, you may also
claim the health insurance credit.
This credit is limited to the lesser of
$451 or the amount paid for health
insurance premiums.
A supplemental young-child cred
it is also available to you if you had
a child under the age of one year at
the end of 1993. It is computed on
the same income base as the basic
EITC and is limited to a maximum
of S388. Be aware that this credit
may be claimed only for one child.
The amount is not increased if you
have twins under the age of one.
Also, note ihut if you claim the
supplemental young child credit,
you may not claim the child-care
credit?a credit that is generally
available to low-income earners
who pay for child care help in order
to work.
New Rules For 1994
To simplify the computing of the
EITC, the new tax law repealed both
the health insurance and young-child
credit beginning with the 1994 tax
year. At the same time, it increased
the amount of the maximum credit
to $2,038 for one child and to
S2.527 for two or more qualifying
children.
Phase-out rules apply it your
earned income (or adjusted gross in
come. it greater) is in excess of
SI I.(MM) The maximum F.ITC credit
will increase again in 1995. The
amount of earned income you may
have to qualify for the F.ITC will be
adjusted annually for inflation.
Be aware, too. that effective w ith
the 1994 tax year the EITC is ex
tended to low- income taxpayers
who are at least age 25 and under
age 65 who do not have children and
who are not the dependents of an
other taxpayer.
Finally. CPAs point out that you
needn't wait until tax time to request
the F.ITC. You may elect to receive
the credit on an advu.iCe basis by
providing a certificate of eligibility
to your employer. Your employer
then makes an advance payment ol
the credit at the time wages are paid.
Guitar Class Set
A beginning guitar class starts
Feb. 2 and runs through March 23 it
Brunswick Community College.
Taught by master guitarist Hi
tram Hatch, the self-supporting cl;?
will cost $(>() per person, with en
rollment limited to 10 people.
The class will meet on the BCC
main campus.
For more information or to regis
ter contact Stuart Callari at 754
6922.
AARP Offers Free Tax Help
How Much Is It Worth?
For the 1W3 tax year, the EITC
consists of three parts: a basic credit
and supplemental credits for health
insurance anil new Kirn children. To
qualify for the supplemental credits,
you must first qualify for the basic
credit.
The maximum basic credit is
SI.434 if you have one qualified
child, and S 1,511 if you have more
than one child. The maximum credit
is gradually reduced on earned in
t-ree income-tax assistance will
be available for Brunswick County
Residents through the Tax-Aide Pro
gram of the American Association
of Retired Persons (AARP).
Seventeen volunteer counselors
have been trained by the Internal
Revenue Service to piovide counsel
ing service and assistance at these
times, dates and locations:
?Shallotte. National Guard Arm
ory. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Feb. 1
through April 14.9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
?Supply. Brunswick Community
College Interagency Building. Wed
nesdays Feb. I through April 13, 9
a.m. until noon by appointment only.
Call Chrvli Coleman at 754-6900,
Ext. 4(K). to make an appointment.
?Southport. Brunswick Comm
unity College. Lord and Owens
Streets. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Feb. 2 through April 14. a.m. until
1 p.m.
Dan Beddard. coordinator for the
tax program, said the service is de
signed to help older persons under
stand income tax forms and become
familiar with special benefits avail
able to older persons.
Beddard said. "Our counselors,
many of whom are retired business
people with considerable experience
in tax matters, are trained to prepare
returns for older taxpayers."
He added that past experience in
dicates that many older people are
not aware of special benefits they
are entitled to claim, and some may
not even be required to tile a return
because of limited income.
Persons wishing to use the free
service should bring with the in
copies of their previous year's feder
al and state returns and forms for the
current tax year, including W-2s and
other relevant records and material-,
showing income and expenses fur
the year.
For more information about the
service, call Dan Beddard at 27S
4242 or Larrv Nielsen at 845-2121.
TAX REFUNDS IN A FLASH
In as little as 3 days with a refund loan!
FAST. Get your refund check in the mail from the IRS in as little as 21 days,
rASTER. Deposited directly into your account by the IRS in as little as 14 days.
FASTEST. Receive a loan in the amount of your refund in as little as 3 days.
Just have your income tax return filed electronically with FlashFundsSM
(Available whether we prepare your return or not)
NO CASH NEEDED. Fees are deducted from your refund.
(910) 579-3006 (800) 582-7768
ACT Accounting and Taxation, Inc.
All States - Year round service - Preparation - Representation
Professionals Licensed to Practice before the Internal Revenue Service
Highway 179 at Seaside, N.C.