Post by Okwes on Aug 10, 2006 13:34:36 GMT -5
House returned to Indians
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Friend bought parcel for $4,500 at Otsego County’s property-tax sale
By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
COOPERSTOWN — Richard "Black H
Cory White breaks into tears during a hug with her husband, Richard ‘Black Horse’ Phillips, after finding out their friend Rena Rose won the bid on their property during a tax sale at the Otsego County Highway Garage in Cooperstown on Monday. (Star photo by Anita Briggs)
orse" Phillips and Cory White saved their New Lisbon home Monday at the Otsego County property-tax auction.
With the help of friends and supporters from Otsego and Chenango counties, Phillips, an Abenaki Indian, and White were able, through a surrogate, to bid $4,500 to redeem their property.
Bidding for the parcel, one of 23 being auctioned off, started at $500. Phillips and White were forbidden by law to bid for their owAdvertisement
n property, which they lost to the county Aug. 1 for nonpayment of county and town taxes. On their land at 218½ Gardnertown Road, they operate the Algonquin Native American Church. Church member Rena Rose bid for the couple and for the church.
Another woman in the crowd of about 125 people at the county Highway Department garage in Cooperstown also bid on the property.
Auctioneer Don Turnbull, of Morris, pointed from one bidder to the other as the price rose in $500 increments. The other bidder offered $4,000 for the roughly one-acre lot, on which there is an old one-room schoolhouse and two trailers.
Rose bid $4,500, and the bidding ended there as several in the Phillips-White party hugged and clasped hands.
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"It never should have come to this, but we did it," said Phillips, who had vowed not to leave the land.
Last week, White met with county Attorney Rodney Klafehn, who said they did have valid state and federal tax exemptions. Had they filled out the appropriate paperwork on time, he said, they likely would have been exempt from paying county property taxes.
White said she has since filled out the form and that she and Phillips intend to lodge a legal complaint against the county for taxing their home and church.
"All these years, we’ve struggled to pay taxes, and no one told us there was a form we had to fill out," she said.
White said that on her previous tax payments, she always noted she was paying under protest. The couple were $1,505.67 behind on their taxes when told last week that the county would sell the parcel.
Several supporters were with Phillps and White on Monday. One man who read of their situation in The Daily Star last week said he gave them $1,200.
"My wife and I were going to take a vacation in the Fingerlakes region, but this seemed a much better use for the money," he said.
He gave the money on the condition that his name not be disclosed.
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Also helping were Stefan and Donna Herberth of New Berlin.
"We sold timber and that gave us some money so we could help out these folks," said Stefan Herberth. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Another couple, who identified themselves as Ray Dancing Turtle and Linda Morning Star of Columbus, were critical of the county for auctioning off the home.
"It’s just another case of the government doing what it has been doing to Indians for the last 500 years," Morning Star said.
"I can’t tell you what I really think about this," said Dancing Turtle. "I can’t tell you what’s in my heart right now."
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The other bidder for the property, who declined to give her name, said she had no idea about Phillps’ and White’s situation until after the bidding was over.
"I’m part Indian myself, and if I’d known, I never would have bid," she said.
After the bidding ended, Rose met with employees of the Treasurer’s Office to pay for the parcel.
"It’s in the name of the church now," she said later.
This should allow the property to be tax-exempt in the future, although the exemption will not take effect until 2007, she said.
County Treasurer Myrna Thayne said Monday the county took in $327,924 on properties that had outstanding taxes of $84,261.24.
"The county did very well today, and I was surprised at the prices paid for some of the parcels," she said. "It was a good day for the taxpayers."
Thayne, who took office in January, said previously that her office tries to work with all homeowners, including Phillips and White, who are behind on their taxes.
She said she had never seen paperwork indicating that Phillips and White had federal and state tax exemptions and was not aware they may be entitled to a county property-tax exemption.
Still pending is the resolution of harassment and aggravated harassment complaints lodged against White for an incident that occurred at the county office building Aug. 1 when she met Thayne. White was released on her own recognizance awaiting resolution of the case in Cooperstown Village Court.
Story text size
-2 -1 0 +1 +2
Friend bought parcel for $4,500 at Otsego County’s property-tax sale
By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
COOPERSTOWN — Richard "Black H
Cory White breaks into tears during a hug with her husband, Richard ‘Black Horse’ Phillips, after finding out their friend Rena Rose won the bid on their property during a tax sale at the Otsego County Highway Garage in Cooperstown on Monday. (Star photo by Anita Briggs)
orse" Phillips and Cory White saved their New Lisbon home Monday at the Otsego County property-tax auction.
With the help of friends and supporters from Otsego and Chenango counties, Phillips, an Abenaki Indian, and White were able, through a surrogate, to bid $4,500 to redeem their property.
Bidding for the parcel, one of 23 being auctioned off, started at $500. Phillips and White were forbidden by law to bid for their owAdvertisement
n property, which they lost to the county Aug. 1 for nonpayment of county and town taxes. On their land at 218½ Gardnertown Road, they operate the Algonquin Native American Church. Church member Rena Rose bid for the couple and for the church.
Another woman in the crowd of about 125 people at the county Highway Department garage in Cooperstown also bid on the property.
Auctioneer Don Turnbull, of Morris, pointed from one bidder to the other as the price rose in $500 increments. The other bidder offered $4,000 for the roughly one-acre lot, on which there is an old one-room schoolhouse and two trailers.
Rose bid $4,500, and the bidding ended there as several in the Phillips-White party hugged and clasped hands.
What's Related
"It never should have come to this, but we did it," said Phillips, who had vowed not to leave the land.
Last week, White met with county Attorney Rodney Klafehn, who said they did have valid state and federal tax exemptions. Had they filled out the appropriate paperwork on time, he said, they likely would have been exempt from paying county property taxes.
White said she has since filled out the form and that she and Phillips intend to lodge a legal complaint against the county for taxing their home and church.
"All these years, we’ve struggled to pay taxes, and no one told us there was a form we had to fill out," she said.
White said that on her previous tax payments, she always noted she was paying under protest. The couple were $1,505.67 behind on their taxes when told last week that the county would sell the parcel.
Several supporters were with Phillps and White on Monday. One man who read of their situation in The Daily Star last week said he gave them $1,200.
"My wife and I were going to take a vacation in the Fingerlakes region, but this seemed a much better use for the money," he said.
He gave the money on the condition that his name not be disclosed.
The Daily Star Weekly Photo Galleries
View and purchase local photos from The Daily Star
Also helping were Stefan and Donna Herberth of New Berlin.
"We sold timber and that gave us some money so we could help out these folks," said Stefan Herberth. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Another couple, who identified themselves as Ray Dancing Turtle and Linda Morning Star of Columbus, were critical of the county for auctioning off the home.
"It’s just another case of the government doing what it has been doing to Indians for the last 500 years," Morning Star said.
"I can’t tell you what I really think about this," said Dancing Turtle. "I can’t tell you what’s in my heart right now."
The Daily Star User Submitted Photo Gallery
View photos submitted by readers of TheDailyStar.com
The other bidder for the property, who declined to give her name, said she had no idea about Phillps’ and White’s situation until after the bidding was over.
"I’m part Indian myself, and if I’d known, I never would have bid," she said.
After the bidding ended, Rose met with employees of the Treasurer’s Office to pay for the parcel.
"It’s in the name of the church now," she said later.
This should allow the property to be tax-exempt in the future, although the exemption will not take effect until 2007, she said.
County Treasurer Myrna Thayne said Monday the county took in $327,924 on properties that had outstanding taxes of $84,261.24.
"The county did very well today, and I was surprised at the prices paid for some of the parcels," she said. "It was a good day for the taxpayers."
Thayne, who took office in January, said previously that her office tries to work with all homeowners, including Phillips and White, who are behind on their taxes.
She said she had never seen paperwork indicating that Phillips and White had federal and state tax exemptions and was not aware they may be entitled to a county property-tax exemption.
Still pending is the resolution of harassment and aggravated harassment complaints lodged against White for an incident that occurred at the county office building Aug. 1 when she met Thayne. White was released on her own recognizance awaiting resolution of the case in Cooperstown Village Court.