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�No hope of catching up� Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Sandy Nelson, of White City, tries panhandling on the Interstate 5 freeway exit at Barnett Friday for money to help pay taxes on her home. She says she has two students in college, is out of work and is in danger of losing her home to back taxes. Taxes, tuition put White City woman to test By Jessica Smith Sandy Nelson didn�t know what else to do. She said she�s out of work, taking classes at Rogue Community College and strapped for cash. So Friday afternoon, the 50-year-old woman made herself a cardboard sign and headed to the south Medford freeway interchange. Standing along the southbound Interstate 5 exit ramp at Barnett Road, her sign told her story: "Single working mom. Two kids in college. Please help me or we�ll lose our home." Nelson, whose teenage daughter and son are college students in Ashland and Seattle, said she learned this week that the government plans to take her White City home if she doesn�t pay back taxes on the property. She owes about $2,000, she said. "It�s hard enough to keep the house payments up but now I�ve let the taxes lapse. ... There�s no hope of catching up." A former food services worker, Nelson said she decided to go back to school to learn new skills and was making ends meet with unemployment checks until recently. "I�m just desperate," Nelson said. "I don�t have any money." After checking in with the Medford police � officials say anyone can panhandle at the interchange as long as they don�t interfere with traffic � Nelson said she decided to try it out. Standing in the hot sun Friday afternoon, Nelson said she pulled in $85 in about three hours. "I�ve thought about doing this before, but I�d never been down to zero money before," said Nelson, who is considering whether to continue panhandling to pull herself out of debt. "I really just need to pay my bills." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA