Dear Editor: Kudos are due for Marilyn in our Newton County Tax Commissioner’s Office.

Our mail is delivered late in the afternoon, and on Friday, Jan. 8, I received an official notice that my motor vehicle registration was suspended allegedly for not maintaining continuous vehicle liability insurance. As soon as I could breathe, I called my insurance company and was told, in a rather blasé manner, that apparently what had happened was that AIG (one of the companies we bailed out) had been sold to 21st Century and that apparently when my AIG auto insurance was cancelled, 21st Century neglected to file proof of insurance on my behalf. After making several frantic phone calls, I found Marilyn in our Tax Commissioner’s Office to be the voice of calm. It was approaching 5 p.m. and the insurance company still hadn’t faxed a binder to our Tax Commissioner’s Office, so Marilyn made the necessary calls herself, and at 5:05 p.m. she called me back to that it was all taken care of. I was legal. Phew!

A public thank is being sent to Marilyn and all those in the Tax Commissioner’s Office who daily take on such mini-crises: where else but in Newton County would we find someone willing to work a little late on a cold and wintry Friday afternoon to make certain that a resident was driving legal.

Barbara Toner, Psy.D., Covington