After helping people file their taxes for 24 years, Charlie Long is retiring from the tax preparation program offered at the local senior center, leaving a gap that needs to be filled by anyone interested.

“It was fun and I enjoyed it,” Long said about the job. “I didn’t especially like the computers, but I like to meet the people and help them get their paperwork together.”

Long said that before doing the work on computers he’d do the taxes by hand. Back then the program was located in the basement of what is now North Cascades Bank.

The 2018 American Association of Retired Persons tax preparation season is scheduled to begin at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019.

AARP counselors will be available to provide free tax preparation services each Wednesday from then until April 10, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the senior center on Main Street in Grand Coulee.

The program is open to anyone, with priority given to senior citizens.

The services have been offered in the community since the 1980s, averaging completion of nearly 200 simplified tax forms annually in recent years, according to Birdie Hensley, local coordinator for the program.

With the retirement of Long, the program can use more volunteers to help people file their taxes. The job lasts for a few hours, one day a week, Hensley said.

Those interested should go to http://www.aarp.org, create an account, go to the volunteer section, and tell them you want to help with the tax program.

Those interested can also contact Hensley at 509-631-0303, or email her at birds@ifiber.tv, for more information.