You have a great opportunity to safely dispose of unused medication during the Community Medication Take Back event, hosted by WellStar Health System staff. It will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23, at Acworth Health Park, East Cobb Health Park and Cobb Senior Services. Do your part to prevent accidental poisoning, overdoses and improper use of medications by simply taking your medications to one of these three drop-off locations. Your efforts will ultimately save lives by removing expired and unused prescription medications from your medicine cabinet. No questions will be asked and no forms or ID required. Sharps, liquids and pills are accepted. Since these events started in 2015, a little more than two tons of medication has been collected. WellStar Clinical Partners will also offer flu shots at the Acworth and East Cobb Health Park locations (not available at the Cobb Senior Services location). Cobb County Police Department and Safe Kids Cobb County team up with WellStar to offer this event in our community. For more information these events, call 770-793-7373.

Injuries from falls are a leading reason Cobb residents visit emergency rooms and vision problems are identified as a top risk factor for falling, especially for seniors. According to the CDC, the average hospital cost is more than $30,000 for a fall injury. To help our community address this, three area Lions Clubs will offer free vision screenings in September at five county libraries. The screenings are for adults and children, from six months of age. Lions Club volunteers use a screening device to detect possible vision issues that require follow-up professional care. Walk-ins are encouraged.

The free screenings will be held:

• 2-4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 6
  West Cobb Regional Library, 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw
  Paulding-West Cobb Lions Club
   
• 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9
  Kennesaw Library, 2250 Lewis St., Kennesaw
  North Cobb Lions Club
   
• 3-5 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 13
  Sibley Library, 1539 South Cobb Drive, Marietta
  South Cobb Lions Club
   
• 2-4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 18
  Powder Springs Library, 4181 Atlanta Street, Building 1
  Powder Springs Paulding-West Cobb Lions Club
   
• 3-5:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 22
  South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton
  South Cobb Lions Club

These events are part of Cobb County Library System’s Falls Prevention Awareness Campaign, launched in 2015 with support from Cobb Senior Services, Georgia Department of Public Health, WellStar Health System and other organizations. For more information, please visit cobbcat.org/falls-prevention.

Do you have concerns about falling? Many older adults restrict their activities due to these concerns. Throughout the month, Cobb Public Library System staff is hosting programs to raise awareness about falls prevention and other safety-oriented resources.

Tai Chi for arthritis and falls prevention one-hour demonstration classes will be presented:

• 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 12
  Kemp Library, 4029 Due West Road, Marietta
   
• 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 19
  Kenesaw Library, 2250 Lewis Road, Kennesaw
   
• 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 21
  South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton

South Cobb Regional Library staff will also host WellStar health screenings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 20. The free screenings are for adults 18 and older related to falls prevention, including blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol and bone density. No registration is required and walk-ins are encouraged. The library is located at 805 Clay Road, Mableton.

More than 261,500 bills, representing $729,711,039 in 2017 property taxes, have been mailed. There were 245,942 bills resulting in $674,891,143 for real property and 15,582 bills resulting in $54,819,896 for personal property.
 
The Tax Commissioner’s Office bills and collects property taxes for Cobb County Government, Cobb County Board of Education, Cumberland and Town Center Community Improvement Districts and the Cumberland and Six Flags Special Services Districts. All six of Cobb’s cities bill and collect their own property taxes. State of Georgia property taxes have now been eliminated. The chart below details this year’s property taxes for our billing and collection authorities:
 

 
Payments received or U.S. postmarked after Monday, Oct. 16 will incur a 5 percent late penalty, plus monthly interest on the unpaid balance. Payments can be made online at www.cobbtax.org, by automated IVR at 1-866-PAY-COBB or by mail to P.O. Box 100127, Marietta, GA 30061-7027. In-person payments are accepted at the Property Tax office at 736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta, the East Cobb Government Service Center at 4400 Lower Roswell Road in Marietta and the South Cobb Government Service Center at 4700 Austell Road in Austell. Payment drop boxes are located both inside and outside the Whitlock Avenue location, as well as inside both Government Service Centers. Payments via check will also be accepted at any Motor Vehicle office.
 
Visit Understanding Your Tax Bill on our web page for a detailed explanation of the 2017 tax bills.