Wait…It’s April Already?

by Rick · April 1, 2021

Protection And Service – By MPO Jim Whitman, Winter Park Police Department

By now, you have hopefully become accustomed to the time change and so have your pets. However, have you taken a minute to adjust your outside lighting timers and sprinkler systems? Remember, according to the St. Johns Water Management rules, you can now water twice a week (the days you may water are dependent on your even or odd street address), please consult their website at https://www.sjrwmd.com/wateringrestrictions/.

The time change is also a reminder that you should change the batteries in your smoke detectors. People often put this off until they are awoken by that annoying single “beep” that you randomly hear (it usually begins in the middle of the night) and spend hours trying to determine where it is coming from. Some people choose not to switch the batteries out because they think it is wasteful. If you weigh the cost of a set of batteries against the cost of an insurance deductible, finding a new place to live while yours is being rebuilt after a fire, not to mention the hassle, you might agree the cost of batteries is a little more palatable.

Kids often equate April with the old dad joke, “If April Showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?…..Pilgrims!!” Okay, now that you are done with your sigh, we as adults usually think of April as the month that Uncle Sam reaches out with that long arm (known as the Internal Revenue Service) to personally request that we donate to the function of our government. Of course, by now you may have heard that we have received a slight reprieve as the deadline to file your Federal taxes has been extended to May 17th to help people navigate any unusual circumstances that they may have incurred during the pandemic. Unfortunately, criminals have not extended that same courtesy and we have already heard of instances where crooks have either attempted or been successful in committing fraud.

Allow us to assist you in preventing you from becoming a victim in some of these fraudulent practices. First of all, the IRS will never put a warrant out for your arrest without contacting you numerous times via the mail. Therefore, if you receive a phone call informing you of your pending arrest, please disregard the call and hang up. Secondly, the Internal Revenue Service will never ask for payment via an ITunes gift card, “vanilla” Visa card or Amazon gift card. Lastly, the IRS will not contact you over the phone and ask for your social security number, tax identification number, or personal information or bank account information to “verify” you so that you can receive your tax refund faster. If you initiate the call to the Internal Revenue Service, they may ask for one of those items but always make sure when you are looking up the phone number that the number is listed from a credible source! Don’t just trust Google, go the IRS website, www.IRS.gov to find the phone number to call.

For those of you receiving a refund and are looking for a place to spend it, as you can tell, I am always looking for a new “Dad Jokes” book! Stay Safe! And “IF you see something…..Say something!”