Chamber News

Carnes Recreation Center

102 Pace Avenue SE

Attalla, AL 35954

256.538.3712

Hours of Operation

Monday – Thursday: 8 AM – 8 PM

Friday: 8 AM – 5 PM

Saturday: 1 PM – 5 PM

Items Needed:

Hammers, Nails

Chainsaw oil

Cleaning supplies, including brooms and industrial-sized dust pans

Plastic containers with lids

No clothing, please

In the wake of the deadly tornadoes that swept through Alabama on Monday, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers says that blood donors are needed immediately to meet a shortage of blood statewide.

“The tornadoes didn’t cause an increase in the usage of blood, but the devastation severely hampered our donors’ ability to make it to our donor centers and our bloodmobiles,” said LifeSouth’s Director of District Operations J.D. Pettyjohn. “While all blood types are needed, the need for donors with negative blood types is especially great.”

LifeSouth is the largest supplier of blood products in the state of Alabama. Pettyjohn said the current shortage has impacted the entire state, not just areas affected by Monday’s storms.

Donors must be 17, or 16 with parental permission, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in good health. A photo ID is also needed. Call LifeSouth toll-free at 1-888-795-2707, or go to www.lifesouth.org to find a blood drive near you.

The Messenger newspaper is proud to announce the launch of its new and improved website. Please visit www.gadsdenmessenger.com to see the many changes and additions to the Messenger website.

The Chamber received a phone call regarding an alleged renewal of a Yellow Pages Online contract and a past-due amount that was quite excessive. The caller wished to update contact information and repeatedly asked questions to which the answers would reasonably be "yes" or "OK".

We ask that our community business owners please be aware that there is a potential that these calls are a scam. When our staff questioned the validity of the call and stated they were aware of this program being a potential scam, the caller suggested they transfer the staff member to a cancellation department and immediately hung up on the staffer.

Many businesses have noticed third-party billing on their AT&T phone & Internet service bills. We encourage businesses to check their invoices today and to contact the toll-free number listed with these third party billing entities and question what the services are for. Quite often, they are for websites or online listings that the business owner has never authorized and does not want. THESE CHARGES CAN BE REFUNDED IF YOU PUSH THAT COMPANY TO DO SO. Some companies have reported thousands of erroneous fees charged to their account that they have paid for several years. They WILL be refunded to your AT&T invoice, but you must be stern and demand the refund. These third-party billers are NOT businesses of AT&T, however they use AT&T as their billing source, which can hide their fees in long, detailed invoices.  You may also want to contact AT&T to request that no third-party billing be allowed on your account.

The Consumerist reported in 2011 that Yellow Pages Online as a scam.

http://consumerist.com/2011/08/offices-beware-the-yellow-pages-online-scam.html