DSS director honored by welfare group

Columbia’s Marilyn J. Edelhoch has been presented the 2007 Outstanding Service Award from the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics.

Edelhoch is director of research and evaluation for the state Department of Social Services. She was noted for her outstanding contributions to the association and for her research in welfare policy.

She was formally honored recently during the organization’s annual meeting in Charleston, W.Va.

The National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics exists to exchange ideas to advance research and statistics in public welfare.

Edelhoch serves as board secretary of the nonprofit agency and has served the organization in several other capacities during the past decade.

Before coming to DSS, Edelhoch worked for the legislative audit council and at the state health department.

• n n

It was a dirty job, but the S.C. Department of Transportation maintenance crew members were happy to do it.

Transportation workers removed 313,405 pounds of litter from 2,280 miles of highway during the agency’s annual fall cleanup earlier this year.

The annual event is held to ensure that travelers can enjoy the beauty of South Carolina

“The cleanup efforts of our maintenance employees are an outstanding demonstration of the agency’s commitment to a cleaner South Carolina,” said DOT secretary of transportation H.B. “Buck” Limehouse Jr.

In Richland County, workers removed 12,630 pounds of trash from 94 miles of highway. Lexington County crews removed 11,600 pounds of trash from 37 miles of highway.

This marked the 14th year of the cleanup effort.

• n n

United Way of the Midlands is seeking volunteers to help working individuals and families prepare their 2007 tax returns.

The assistance will be offered at eight new free tax-preparation sites in Richland and Lexington counties, beginning in January and running through the end of the tax season.

Orientation and basic training will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 at United Way of the Midlands, 1800 Main St., Columbia.

No accounting experience is necessary, but basic computer skills are required. Supplies, Internal Revenue Service forms and computers will be provided by the United Way of the Midlands. Volunteers will be matched with sites based on their availability and convenience of the site to their work or home.

There is no liability to volunteers. Training is provided, and sites follow the IRS VITA free tax-preparation program.

To register, call Jennifer Moore at (803) 733-5421, or visit www.uway.org.