01_HP (Page 1) - Herald-Post

4 NEWS
Thursday, April 10, 2008 HP
Around
Town
time to file
TAXES
Who’s eligible?
Military members serving on active duty and their
family members, DoD civilians and military retirees
are able to use the local tax centers free of charge.
Arepresentative can e-file your tax return directly
with the IRS with software from the IRS, and get your
refund posted to your account within 10 work days.
What do I bring?
wW-2s
wSocial Security cards
wCopy of last year’s tax return
wPowerofattorney if spouse will not be present to
sign tax return bank routing and account information
ID cards
Where do I go?
Darmstadt
Location: First floor, Bldg. 4006, Cambrai-Fritsch
Kaserne
Appointments: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Walk-ins: Monday,Wednesday and Friday, 9
a.m.-11:15 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.
Contact: DSN 348-7145, civ. 06151-69-7145
Heidelberg
Location: Shopping Center, across from Popeye’s
Chicken
Appointments: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
starting Feb. 6
Walk-ins:Thursday mornings
Contact: DSN 370-7510, civ. 06221-57-7510
Mannheim
Location: Bldg. 343,Taylor Barracks, across from the
Auto Care Center
Walk-ins: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Appointments: Call
Contact: DSN 381-7978, civ. 0621-730-7978
Kaiserslautern
Location: Room 101, Bldg. 2310, Kleber Kaserne,
inside the Legal Services Center
Appointments andWalk-ins: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5
p.m.
Contact: DSN 483-7688, civ. 0631-411-7688
Landstuhl
Location: Bldg. 3701 on the ground floor
Appointments and walk-ins: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-
noon and 1-5 p.m.
Contact: DSN 486-6334, civ. 06371-86-6334
Christine June
Above: Petty Officer 2nd Class Nadia Jeter, Navy European
Mobilization Unit currently deployed to Landstuhl Regional
Medical Center, salutes the American Flag March 28 at Kaiserslautern’s
2008 Women’s History Month observance at the Armstrong
Community Club on Vogelweh Housing.
Below: Jada Foots, 6, Kaiserslautern Elementary School first
grader, asks her mother, “What was the last number called?”
March 28 at the Parent Teacher Organization Family Fun Night
at the school’s cafeteria on Vogelweh.
AFN provides more user-friendly Web site
By Tech. Sgt Jeramie Brown
SOLDIERS MEDIA CENTER
The American Forces Network
Europe Web site, www.afneurope.net,
recently underwent some changes to
give customers a more user-friendly
environment.
Visitors have access to a variety of
content, including a Web-based interface
to watch videos, listen to audio,
download both audio and video
packages, and subscribe to podcasts.
Keith Fenske, AFN Europe Webmaster,
said additional content isn’t
the only thing that’s changed.
“By installing new servers, larger
storage arrays and increasing bandwidth,
we can now make audio and
video content available to the audience
for years versus days. Even if
astory aired months ago, it can be
found and viewed on the site,” Fenske
said.
According to Army Lt. Col. Donald
Ross, AFN South commander, each
station in the network has its own
portion of the AFN Europe Web site,
so they can customize content to fit
Christine June
Juan R. Meléndez Jr.
Winter’s (hopefully) last blast Monday took these flowers by surprise
in the village of Frankenhausen outside Darmstadt. The late
snow storm – which largely spared the Heidelberg area – snarled
autobahn traffic in several regions of Germany.
the needs of the local audience.
“I am impressed with the flexibility
the new design affords my stations.
Each one of my station commanders
has an opportunity to tailor
local Web pages with custom items
unique to their community,” Ross
said. “And that’s why we are here – to
deliver things that are meaningful to
the local communities we serve.”
AFN Kaiserslautern, for example,
links to the most popular sites in
Baumholder and the Kaiserslautern
military community.
“Weare working hard to become a
one-stop shop for our listeners,” said
AirForce Master Sgt. Shiela Flinders,
AFN Kaiserslautern station commander.
“They can find links to just
about everything they need on our
homepage.
“Visitors can also vote for their
favorite songs in our “Top 3 Countdown”
and soon they’ll be able to
play “Hangman” to get the phrase of
the day for radio contests.”
AFN Kaiserslautern isn’t the only
station taking advantage of the Web
site’s new technology. According to
Chief Petty Officer John Harrington,
AFN Sigonella station commander,
the Web site gives his audience a
chance to catch programs they might
have missed.
“One feature we’ve been able to incorporate
is our monthly “Feedback
Live” TV show. The base commanding
officer comes in and answers
community concerns live on the air.
It’s extremely popular, but not everyone
can see it when it airs. Being able
to feature it on the Web page means
anyone who missed it can see the
whole show right from their computer,”
Harrington said.
Every newscast produced by an
AFN Europe station is available on
the new Web site, along with radio
news, Lea Ortiz’ Entertainment
Watch, Virtual World News and a
host of other products.
According to Fenske, the technology
surrounding the new Web site
makes it easier to deliver those products.
To check out the changes to the
AFN Europe Web site, point your
browser to www.afneurope.net.