Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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Dec. 8
The Kingsport Times-News on being cautious of holiday season scams:
Tis the season to be jolly and give unto others, but also to take care to avoid being scammed by the Grinches who crawl out of their caves every holiday season to steal a bit of Christmas.
A Hawkins County resident told the county sheriff’s department last month that he had been swindled out of $10,000. The 61-year-old Church Hill man said he received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as a state official in Texas who told the victim his Social Security number was tied to some crimes in Texas and that authorities would be at his home in the morning to seize his bank accounts and property. He was told he could avoid that by getting prepaid Visa cards and giving the scammer the card information.
This wasn’t the only victim. On Nov. 13, a 66-year-old Rogersville woman said she had an issue with an online cash service and called what she thought was a legitimate number. A man gave her a code to enter into her computer to start a “refund claim,” but her computer came under remote control. When the woman asked what was going on the man reportedly told her not to worry, and “smoke a cigarette.” The woman became suspicious and turned her computer off.
On Nov. 12, a 78-year-old Bulls Gap man reported that he purchased a $125 gift card but never used it and decided to cash it in. He called a number he found online and spoke to a man who took his bank information to perform a refund. He was contacted by the man, who stated that $4,000 had accidentally been deposited in his account, and he was instructed to purchase eight $500 gift cards to pay back the excess funds. Although he didn’t fall for the scam, the victim lost his $125 gift card to the scammer.
According to consumer websites, scams to watch out for this holiday season include phishing scams that can take the form of bogus delivery confirmation requests seeking your information, or even a personalized letter to your child from Santa. Another capitalizes on the goodwill this time of year by asking you to make a donation to a charity that doesn’t actually exist. Verify the authenticity of any charity you’d like to make a contribution to by checking it out on a website like CharityNavigator.org.
UPS and FedEx trucks are everywhere dropping off boxes, many of which are promptly stolen. Especially when ordering something expensive, arrange for a delivery that requires your signature. Otherwise, track your order and know when to look out for it.
You’ll also see ads on various sites including social media, for items at prices that seem too good to be true. These are quite likely scams. Once you click an ad link and place an order, you’ll never hear from the site again. Worse yet, they may use the information you shared to empty your credit card account.
Only shop on reputable sites and remember to check the website address/URL before placing an order. Also ignore ads that offer a new iPhone or other item free of charge. Don’t accept them. And a tip when buying gift credit cards: Check to see if the activation code is exposed. If it is, a scammer has probably copied the information and will use the card after you purchase it.
Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson recently warned residents of scam artists calling county residents claiming to be him or one of his deputies and demanding money. Lawson said the callers tell their would-be victims that they have out-of-state warrants for their arrest for crimes they had committed in the past few months.
“These callers are requesting Social Security information and/or demanding bond payments be made by credit cards or money cards purchased at CVS and Walmart,” Lawson said. “Actions such as this are never conducted by any law enforcement agencies.”
Lawson said you should hang up on any such call but it’s better to never answer an unrecognized number. If you get such a call, the sheriff advises you report it to local law enforcement.
Online: https://www.timesnews.net
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Dec. 6
Johnson City Press on wearing a mask while waiting for the coronavirus vaccine:
Online polls like those on our website are not scientific samples, but they can offer a glimpse at attitudes toward particular attitudes.
So while we won’t hang our hats on the results of our most recent question, they nonetheless are of grave concern, especially in light of recent trends in the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The poll asked visitors to our site whether they would take a COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available. As of this writing, most people answered yes or expressed uncertainty, but 30 percent answered no.
Again, this is a small, non-scientific sample, but knowing that three people in 10 who answered intend to refuse the vaccine is startling.
We suspect these are among the same selfish people who refuse to wear face coverings in public settings, placing themselves and others they encounter at risk of contracting the virus, or equally dangerous anti-vaxxers.
Despite the advice of health professionals and other measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic is raging across the country and right here in Northeast Tennessee. Hospitalization and death records are frequently eclipsed.
The situation is so dire that Ballad Health has again ended non-emergent procedures at its hospitals to devote resources to COVID-19 care and ordered a supplemental mobile morgue to hold the dead. Sixty-one people in Ballad’s facilities have died in the last seven days.
Far too many families are suffering. Ask the loved ones of Cindy and Phil Torbett about the devastation this plague can bring to a single family. The much-loved Johnson City couple were both hospitalized in intensive care, and Cindy did not pull through.
Still, it’s business as usual for many people who either are in denial about the danger or callously disregarding the lives of others. We have two chances to end this pandemic - adherence to precautions and accepting vaccinations when they arrive.
One might think the promise of safe, effective vaccines coming in 2021 would offer hope, but if people do not get vaccinated, the virus will continue to wreak havoc for months on end. It will continue to tax our health care system, injure and kill vulnerable people and extend the need for social distancing and other precautions.
Vaccines will not be 100 percent effective, but they will help right the ship.
Please, get in line when the vaccines are available, and in the meantime, wash up frequently, mask up, don’t gather in large groups, limit trips in public and maintain safe distances.
We can move past this, but only if enough of us care enough about one another and ourselves to do the right thing.
Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com
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Dec. 4
The (Cookeville) Herald-Citizen on supporting local business this holiday season:
It seems the holidays have been in full effect long before the turkey cooled from Thanksgiving dinner, and with the year Putnam County has had beginning with the deadly March 3 tornado and continuing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the colorful lights, trees and decorations are a welcome sight compared to what many of us have experienced.
As we settle into the season of giving, we’d like to remind our readers that if you are fortunate enough to have any extra spending money this December to consider shopping at small businesses owned by our friends and neighbors in Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland.
We appreciate our local businesses and our advertisers that support the Herald-Citizen, and we hope you’ll remember that buying your Christmas gifts in the place where you live helps support the same tax base that funds our schools, police, fire and emergency workers and roads.
Most of our cities have been fortunate in not seeing as much of a loss in tax revenue from the safer at home recommendations earlier in the year at the beginning of the pandemic. Those dollars likely came from the large retailers who not only didn’t experience a drop in sales, but actually had so much of an increase that it was difficult to keep store shelves stocked with things like canned goods and toilet paper.
So please remember our small businesses in Putnam County who may not have had a record year, but rather fought hard to keep their doors open and continue to pay their employees during a time where many had to juggle sickness and quarantine.
The CityScape website boasts more than 50 local businesses who are members of the non-profit dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Cookeville’s unique downtown area. And the Biz Foundry’s Made Here Holiday Market website includes dozens of Cookeville area crafters with what could be the perfect gifts for your loved ones this season.
And inside the pages of this newspaper, you’ll find the businesses that make it possible to continue our 118-year tradition of the Herald-Citizen.
Thanks always for your support, and thanks for reading.
Online: https://herald-citizen.com
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