When will the teleconferencing be over?

By James Hicks
Apr 30, 2020
Apr 30, 2020

Staff writer James Hicks attends a teleconference meeting of the Greenwood City Council in late April.

JAMES HICKS | INDEX-JOURNAL

Boy, do I miss the good old days.

I know I haven’t been here very long but in my short time here I have gotten to experience a bit of normalcy before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

What am I talking about? Government meetings.

When I first started covering these meetings for the Index-Journal, I was getting immersed in being right in the action — or lack thereof — of the public meeting.

Seeing each member face to face and getting to read the reactions of the room give context to what is happening.

Since most public meetings have been postponed indefinitely or moved to teleconference, much of this is lost in technology.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am a huge fan of technological advances and I think some of the options for moving these meetings to the virtual world are pretty cool.

Not to mention it opens up access to more people to get involved in what their government is doing.

But, if you can’t attend one of these meetings, I’ll be there to let you know what happened.

Another thing that is lost in these virtual meetings is discussion. Often times, it is really informative when councilmembers or attendees get to ask questions and discuss topics.

Most of the time during these virtual meetings, discussions are limited with troubles over muting/unmuting as well as poor audio quality at times. A number of these problems could be fixed with the right equipment but the quick descent of COVID-19 had many entities scrambling to get the basic necessities accomplished.

I have a feeling we will be getting back in the same room pretty soon. I hope.

I don't know. The check is in the mail?

By Matthew Hensley
Apr 30, 2020
Apr 30, 2020

Tax Day is a great time to get a stimulus check — I mean economic impact payment — because that's how taxpayers will pay for the money they are getting now.

CLINTON — No, we don't know the location of your economic impact check.

Sure, we can tell you some broad things about what is happening with your check and have done some coverage of hiccups, but if you don't know where your check is, chances are we don't either.

This seems like a silly thing to say, but the Index-Journal newsroom has received at least eight phone calls in the past few weeks from people wondering where their checks are. It might be more since we aren't there to answer our phones but do check our voicemail.

If you want to know where your money is, check your bank account first. If money hasn't magically materialized there, the IRS has a place where you can find out: irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments.

If it can't find your information, shout at the website, or at least the typist's version of shouting. Key in your information IN ALL CAPS. If it has the wrong bank account information, the FAQ page will tell you what to do. If the IRS needs more information, it will tell you on the payment status page.

All of that is very easy, at least if you have a computer. Most of the people calling us either lack computer access or are older and not adept at navigating the World Wide Web. And for right now, they can't go to the library to get help.

So while we can't help these callers — I'm not about to have our newsroom staff take Social Security numbers and birth dates over the phone to plug into the site — you can check on your parents or grandparents to make sure they get their money.

And please, don't take advantage. If you do, there might be serious consequences. According to South Carolina law, "A person who knowingly and willfully exploits a vulnerable adult is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, and may be required by the court to make restitution."