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Volume 3,| Issue 12 |2010August August | 2010
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Preserving History By Kathryn Acree
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Jeff Beabout grew up hearing stories of World War II battles from his great uncle who served in the Navy. He never tired of the stories and it instilled in him a deep respect for the men and women now known as our “Greatest Generation.” In 2004 he asked a friend’s grandfather, a World War II veteran, if he could record his story on video. Until that time, Beabout’s experience with videography was limited, but he felt certain that veterans of World War II had so much to teach us and to share, so he compiled a list of questions for the interview that became the basis of what is now known as “The Veteran DVD Project.” By 2006, Beabout’s website on the project was up and running and interest in the interviews grew rapidly. To date, Beabout has recorded the stories of approximately 100 veterans. His largest group of veterans came from Homewood’s Dawson Memorial Baptist Church when he recorded the individual stories of 31 men. By the time the interviews were completed and a banquet was held to honor the project, three of the
See BEABOUT, PAGE 21
Jeff Beabout with Cecil Wooten. Mr Wooten served in the European campaign. Part of his story can be viewed at www.veterandvdproject.com.
Tax Free Weekend is August 6-8
By Kathryn Acree and Erica Breen
Since 2006, Alabamians have had a little extra help with getting ready for the start of the school year with a sales tax holiday held the first weekend in August. For 2010, the holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 6, and ends at midnight Sunday, August 8. The term “tax free” officially means no state sales or use tax will be collected during that period on certain school supplies, computers, and clothing. While the state of Alabama does not collect sales tax, local city and county governments individually decide if they will participate. In our area, the cities of Birmingham, Chelsea and Vestavia Hills participate every year, while Hoover, Mountain Brook and Homewood have said yes for 2010, but will evaluate every year. Jefferson County will not participate in the sales tax holiday weekend but Shelby County will. The Alabama Department of Revenue defines clothing purchases that will be sales tax free as “all human wearing apparel suitable for general use” that is $100 or less, per article of clothing. Items excluded from this, for example, are jewelry, cosmetics, umbrellas, sunglasses and handbags. Also excluded are items of protective equipment such as hard hats and tool belts, in addition
to sport or recreational equipment like goggles or ski boots. In regards to computers, the dollar limit is a single purchase with a sales price of $750 or less. This includes computer software and school computer supplies such as printers and printer supplies, but excludes furniture and any systems, devices, software, peripherals designed or intended primarily for recreational use, or video games of a non-educational nature. The sales tax free school supply category includes school supplies, school art supplies and school instructional material with a sales price of $50 or less, per item, and books with a sales price of $30 or less, per book. Items excluded are magazines, newspapers or periodicals. A full listing of items included and excluded in the sales tax holiday weekend is available at www. revenue.alabama.gov/salestax. Erica Breen, 280 Living’s Retail Shopping Expert offers these shopping tips to make the most of the tax-free weekend: Identify dollar limits for each item- Know what the holiday applies to and what it does not apply to for each store. Make a list- List everything you need and
then check and see if those items are sales tax free on the state’s list. Plan ahead and have a game plan- List stores in order of importance that you want to visit. Stores may be crowded and items may sell out quickly. Study sales flyers- Stores sometimes offer sales just for the sales tax holiday hunt. Check coupon rules- If using coupons, check and see if they are applicable during the sales tax holiday weekend.
Items Included in Alabama’s Tax-Free Weekend: Clothing items $100 or less, per item- defined as apparel suitable for general use Computers, computer software and school computer supplies- a single purchase with a sales price of $750 or less School supplies, school art supplies and school instructional materialmust have a price of $50 or less, per item Books with a sales price of $30 or less, per book See www.revenuealabama.gov for more info.
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