YOUNGSTOWN Tax filers make deadline, enjoy the fun

The post office turned a dreaded moment into a happy occasion.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tax filing deadline night at the main post office here featured festivities including ice cream, but the atmosphere was more subdued Monday than in most years.
"It does seem down compared to last year," said Ernie Shipley, postal customer relations coordinator. Shipley said he wasn't sure whether the intermittent rain or e-filing reduced the number of people coming to the post office to mail their tax forms at the last minute.
Because the usual April 15 deadline fell on a Sunday, procrastinators got an extra day to file.
Why some wait: "There's no reason to do it any earlier," said Richard Ivory of Boardman, quality assurance supervisor at RMI Titanium Co., who says he's getting a refund from the IRS this year, but always files at the last minute.
"I just get tired of giving the government my money all the time. They can wait," explained William Green of Hubbard, a manufacturing supervisor, who said he always procrastinates on filing taxes.
"I just waited until the last minute. The last minute got here, and I had to get out here and file them," said Andrew Machen of Youngstown, a press operator, who was accompanied by his 4-year-old son, Tre.
Free help, samples: At the main post office, window service was open until midnight; AARP volunteers provided free assistance to last-minute filers; several local radio stations did live remote broadcasts; and AVI Vending, Pierre's Ice Cream and Dean Dairy representatives distributed free samples of their products.
"What can you say good about tax day? It's really cute that they stay open, and everybody's out here," said Shawn Miller of Youngstown, a childhood lead-poisoning service coordinator, who mailed her Youngstown city tax form Monday evening.
Accompanied by her 41/2-year-old son, Hunter, who enjoyed a chocolate-milk sample, Miller said she filed Monday because she needed help to figure her city tax, since she only lived half of last year in the city. "I needed help from my dad, and he waited until the last minute," she explained.
A continuous line of drivers handed their tax forms from their car windows to a mail handler attired in rain gear in the parking lot.