Letter to the editor

I’m writing this letter to share with  your readers some important news from Como. The Como Rescue Fund, a grass roots citizens’ organization whose purpose is to help the Town of Como in its current financial crisis, is now a 501(c) (3) organization.

The CRF is staffed by volunteers who are citizens of Como and has no connection with the government of the Town of Como, its Mayor, or its Board of Aldermen. Long-time Como resident Margaret Porter Wilbourn, who is the Chairwoman of the Fund, had applied for this status back in March of this year, and was informed on May 30, 2008, that CRF is now officially a tax-exempt charity. This important designation means that all donations to Como Rescue Fund made after March 20, 2008, can be claimed on the donors’ federal tax returns next year and in years to come.

Since its beginning, Como Rescue Fund has paid a few of the Town’s bills, but most of the the money given to CRF has been used to pay for reconciliation of the Town’s financial records.  In future, donors may wish to specify how they’d like their contributions to the Fund used. 

Some possible designations include the following: for use by “Friends of the Como Library,” to help pay for needed supplies and services for Como’s public library;  for use in paying down Como’s IRS debt; for use in paying off various other bills owed by the Town; for use in paying for on-going, needed services provided for citizens of the Town; or for “miscellaneous” (which means for whatever Town of Como financial need is most pressing at the moment.)  

Many current and past residents of Como, as well as well-wishers from Batesville and other towns, have given to the Fund already, and most likely they along with  many more people, will give even larger donations to CRF now that gifts to the Fund are tax deductible. Future contributors may want to designate their gifts to be in memory or in honor of some special person. 

Please help Como pull out of its current financial crisis by taking your check or cash gift to any branch of First Security Bank and asking the teller to put it into the Como Rescue Fund account.  Make certain to provide the Bank with your name and address, so that CRF members can send you an acknowledgment. You may instead prefer to mail your check to Como Rescue Fund, P.O. Box 2, Como, MS, 38619, again being sure to include your name and address.  Let’s all pull together to help Como get back on the right track!

Thank you.
/s/Martha F. Taylor Garrison, member of the Como Rescue Fund Committee