Carlos Ramirez had a stroke and heart attack during an operation on his brain aneurysms. While he was recovering his property taxes piled up, but now he has a new start.
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.
With a little help from his friends, and some complete strangers, Carlos Ramirez has paid in full his overdue property tax bill.
In June the Sun wrote about Ramirez’s request that county commissioners forgive the late fees on his growing property tax bill.
Ramirez, 56, owed the county almost $9,000, including $2,000 in late fees, on the 2,700-square-foot home he bought in 1987 near Alta Drive and Valley View Boulevard. He hadn’t paid his bill for years because of financial trouble that followed a host of medical problems — four brain aneurysms, discovered in 1996, and a stroke and heart attack suffered during surgery on the aneurysms.
He could not walk or talk for a year. He eventually made a partial recovery and hobbled his way through marathons with the help of a cane.
He now teaches water therapy classes to other stroke survivors.
Who paid Ramirez’s debt?
The money was sent to the treasurer’s office by 12 sources. The largest part — $5,777 of the $8,900 bill — was from several people associated with the Las Vegas Running Club, which Ramirez trained with as he worked to gain the strength and stamina to finish a marathon.
What has gotten into people? This is still Las Vegas, isn’t it? Who are these do-gooders?
Here’s a list culled from receipts kept by the treasurer’s office: Steven and Marla Smith; the Thyrel and Nora Barnum Trust; Knights of Columbus; J.F. Jr. and Antonia M. Turner; Donald and Gretchen Payne Trust; Ted and Sharon Maddox; Mike F. Pinjuv/State Farm Insurance Co.; and Kenneth and Jerry Bowles. One donation was listed as “anonymous.”
What does Ramirez make of this generosity?
He said he’s overwhelmed. “I just want to thank these people,” he said last week.
He is seeking part-time work. He has received full-time job offers, but can’t stand up for eight hours at a time because he lost use of most of the left side of his body after the stroke. He said he may find out soon if he’ll get a job as a greeter at a retail store.
Are his tax worries over?
Death is the only escape from taxes.
Ramirez’s 2010 property taxes totaled $2,819. The donations on his behalf exceeded his old tax bill by $382, so he now owes $2,437. And if he presents medical records or a letter from his doctor demonstrating why he was unable to make the past payments, the county will forgive $2,000 in late fees and that amount will be deducted from his current bill.
Ramirez said he has requested his medical records and expects them soon.
•••
A short ceremony in the county building’s rotunda Wednesday highlighted a move by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada to enhance bus stops throughout the valley with local art.
The 48.5-inch by 68.5-inch posterized art by four local artists will be displayed for a year in unsold advertising panels. The artists are Montana Black, Shan Michael Evans, Nobila Khanam and Thomas Willis. After a year the works will be replaced with new ones.
The art was funded by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
It’s a small part of a bigger move by the RTC to fund local art to beautify bus stops and so-called transit corridors.
How can anyone afford art in this economy?
Jacob Snow, the RTC’s general manager, said a 2006 change in federal funding formulas to help in the purchase of buses and building materials allow the targeting of up to 1 percent of the money for art. He said the RTC typically gets $25 million to $26 million of that federal money so it will be able to spend about $250,000 a year on art.
“We have a nascent arts movement (in Clark County) and we want to continue to support it,” he said.
Who’s going to decide what kind of art we want in our bus stops or along transit routes? Casino bosses? Latte-sipping, goateed coffeehouse poets?
Snow aims by the end of the year to establish a committee to help make those decisions.
•••
Clark County Quote of the Week:
“I guess animals and code enforcement is more important than people at parks.”
— County Commissioner Tom Collins at Tuesday’s commission meeting, after being told that animal control has a dispatch system but county park police have no system to handle the 10,000 calls they get each year.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy