Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/769206
ByJustinMcCuin SocialSecuritymanagerin Redding It's that time of year again. Preparing for tax season can seem over- whelming. Some forms and pa- perwork might be diffi- cult to track down. If you misplaced your Benefits Statement or haven't re- ceived it by the end of Jan- uary, we've made it easy for you to go online to re- quest a replacement with my Social Security. An SSA-1099, also called a Benefit State- ment, is a tax form Social Security mails each year in January to the more than 60 million people who receive Social Se- curity benefits. It shows the total amount of bene- fits received from Social Security in the previous year so people know how much Social Security in- come to report to the IRS on their tax return. For noncitizens who live outside of the United States and received or re- paid Social Security ben- efits last year, we'll send form SSA-1042S instead. The forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S are not avail- able for people who re- ceive Supplemental Secu- rity Income (SSI). If you currently live in the United States and need a replacement form SSA-1099, we have a way for you to get a replace- ment quickly and easily. Go online and request a replacement form with a my Social Security ac- count at www.socialsecu- rity.gov/myaccount. Online replacement forms are available be- ginning February 1, 2017. Every working person in the U.S. should create a my Social Security ac- count. The secure and person- alized features of my So- cial Security are invalu- able in securing a com- fortable retirement — for today and tomorrow. SOCIAL SECURITY Getreplacement tax forms online with ease Caltrans District 2, along with contrac- tor Steve Manning, Inc., continue to work on the State Route 299W emer- gency project to construct a temporary detour at Big French Creek Road fol- lowing a series of rock- slides earlier this winter. Due to recent storms in the area, the opening of the temporary detour is expected to occur mid- January. Crews are working dou- ble shifts to construct the detour when weather per- mits. The detour is 50 per- cent complete. Caltrans realizes the closure of a state highway can be an inconvenience, and ap- preciates everyone's con- tinued patience. When the detour opens, there will be one-way con- trolled traffic and motor- ists can expect delays be- tween 15-30 minutes. Caltrans is recommend- ing motorists use State Routes 36, 20 or Inter- state 5 as alternate routes. Call the Road Construc- tion hotline for the very latest information at (530) 225-3452. You can also check our District 2 website at www.caltrans2. info. CALTRANS Storms delay 299W detour completion An equine assisted ther- apy provider catering to vet- erans at-risk youth will be hostingaSpringBazaarfun- draiser 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat- urday,Feb.18attheVeterans Memorial Hall in Red Bluff. The event will be a large community estate sale and include gift baskets and gift certificatesfromthecommu- nity. A grand prize raffle will beheldfora125ccAutomatic Utility Quad. There will be crafts, food and entertain- mentwithallproceedsbene- fitingDLBRanch,Inc.,anon- profit organization. Interested crafts peo- ple and other venders can reserve an indoor spot for $30 by calling 347-9902. Those looking to do early spring cleaning and donate their good condition items also are urged to call. FUNDRAISER CONTRIBUTED A volunteer visits with a horse at DLB Ranch, Inc. Spring Bazaar to benefit veterans and youth Tony Serra, one of the most respected attorneys in the San Francisco Bay Area, will speak to the annual meeting of the Shasta-Te- hama-Trinity County Chap- teroftheAmericanCivilLib- erties Union — ACLU — of Northern California. This free event is being held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Pilgrim Congrega- tional Church, 2850 Foot- hill Blvd. in Redding and is open to the general public. The subject of Serra's speech will be "Why jury tri- als are an endangered spe- cies." Serra's clients have in- cluded Huey Newton of the Black Panther Party, Rus- sell Little and Michael Bor- tin of the Symbionese Lib- eration Army and members of the Hell's Angels. "Tony has spent his life defending society's out- casts," said Don Yost, chair- man of the local ACLU chapter. "He began his law practice in the 1960s, an era he calls the golden age of law. Perceiving himself in the role of a warrior, Tony has continued to battle for more freedom for more peo- ple through law." For more information about this event, call Yost at 241-8421. ACLU Bay Area attorney to speak in Redding Dear Mary: I don't have cable TV in my house, but I do have internet. I'm one year into a two-year con- tract, and I noticed this month's bill went up $20 since I'm no longer in the first-year promo pe- riod. I called the company and told the representative I was looking to cancel because I found a better rate. I must have said the magic words because the rep forwarded me to the retention team. I was able to negotiate my internet bill down to the original monthly promo rate for the next two years (I did have to agree to ex- tend my contract for two years from that day, which is fine with me because I'm happy with the service). They also gave me a $75 credit spread over the next three billing cycles. All in all, that 15-min- ute phone call saved me $25 over the next three months plus $20 a month over the next two years, for a to- tal savings of $555 over the two-year contract period! I am pretty proud of my- self. It just feels good to take control as opposed to feeling like a pawn on my service provider's chess- board. Now I'm thinking about ways I might be able to use this tactic to rein in other expenses. — Matt Dear Matt: You are of- ficially the EC hero of the day. This is wonderful. You did so many things right. Let me count the ways. 1. You were fully aware of where you are in your con- tract, what your promo rate was and how that rate rose once you got into the sec- ond year. Do you have any idea how many people don't have a clue about these de- tails with regard to their cable and internet service contracts? Many. 2. You knew in advance what you would say to the customer service rep. You had a script, and you fol- lowed it. Additional useful scripts include "What can you do for me?" and "I'm asking for some help here." 3. You moved into nego- tiation mode once you were put in contact with the de- cision-makers — the reten- tion team. These are the people who are paid to keep customers. If they can't get customers like you to stay, their jobs are in jeopardy. You are a valuable commod- ity for your internet service provider. 4. Once you had your monthly rate rolled back and nailed down, you didn't say good bye. You asked for just a bit more, and that re- sulted in a $75 credit. 5. With you new two- year deal nailed down and your phone call complete, you went one step further, calculating the true return on your time spent. Fifteen minutes to cut your future expenses by $555 — that's one heck of a pay rate. Good job, Matt. Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE Turn a 15-minute phone call into $555 cash Mary Hunt beginthe healing process You are Worth it! Ifyouexperiencedsexualviolenceasachild, please know it is not your fault. You are not alone. It'snevertoolatetobeginhealingfromyourexperience When you are ready to talk, we are here to listen. 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