Action Line: Wood-burning stoves allowed after all

Question -- I live in the Mad Russian area of Milliken and have noticed some of the new homes have wood-burning stoves in operation on cold days. I thought there was a ban on such stoves in new houses because of the pollution in Weld County. Whom would one call to report violations to check if any restrictions do in fact exist?

<strong>HAVE A QUESTION?</strong> Call Andrew Villegas at (970) 392-4423 or e-mail him at avillegas@greeleytribune.com.

Answer -- Phil Brewer, an environmental specialist with the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment, said wood-burning stoves are allowed in new homes as long as they conform to Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment standards. The EPA has a list of these certified stoves on its Web site.

The stoves in the new homes are undoubtedly certified because it's illegal to sell wood-burning stoves in Colorado that don't conform to federal and state standards, he said.

Brewer added that some stoves are even allowed to be used on "red" -- or bad pollution -- days, depending on the model. There are some stoves, however, that can only be used on "blue" -- or good pollution -- days, he said. It's up to the consumer to know the difference when purchasing their stoves.

Question -- I live in an apartment near Greeley West High School, and I want to know why kids are always throwing cigarette butts by my window. This doesn't happen just during school. It's all the time.

Answer -- Bob Harr, principal of Greeley West, said teachers and administrators at the school encourage students to be good neighbors and to dispose properly of their cigarettes after they have finished smoking them, which they cannot do on any school property.

Harr said he's sure that the students are not targeting you individually and that it takes some students longer than others how to behave like adults. Smoking on campus is a Catch-22, Harr said. If school officials put a trash can across the street for students to use after they have finished smoking, it's almost like the school is encouraging smoking, Harr said.

"We encourage them not to smoke at all," Harr said. The problem is compounded, Harr said, in that officials cannot stop students from smoking -- even if they're underage -- because the act of smoking if younger than 18 years old is not against the law, though purchasing them at that age is.

Beware rebate scams

With tax season beginning, the IRS is warning tax filers about e-mail and phone scams using the IRS name to push unsolicited advance payment tax return checks.

Such scams use a proposed tax rebate, which has not yet been approved by Congress, to lure people into giving personal financial information such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers.

The IRS never sends unsolicited e-mail and never gathers information by phone. Do not give out personal information over the phone or via e-mail to persons identifying themselves as IRS agents.

A new scam that comes by e-mail tells the taxpayers that they are going to be audited and to fill out forms with personal information. Do not fill out such forms, even if the e-mail is personalized with your name.

All IRS Web sites start with http://www.irs.gov. Do not click on links in supposed e-mails from scammers who say they're from the IRS as these links can make you download malicious software that could open you up to identity theft.

In still another scam, a person calling who says they're from the IRS could tell you that a check they sent you was not cashed and that they want to verify your bank account information. Do not give it to them. Again, the IRS does not contact taxpayers via phone to collect personal information.