Community
Free income tax help available
Free income tax preparation assistance is available locally through April 14 through the Tax-Aide/Tax Counseling for the Elderly program.
Tax-Aide/TCE is a service of AARP, the retired persons organization, in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service. The free program targets lower-income, elderly and handicapped taxpayers.
Volunteers have been trained by the IRS to prepare simple federal forms, as well as Pennsylvania tax returns. Counselors also can prepare applications for rent rebates and can alert taxpayers to special credits and deductions for which they may be eligible.
The free assistance is not limited to senior citizens. Although a couple of the sites are in senior centers, low-income taxpayers of all ages are invited to take advantage of the program.
Volunteers will not prepare complicated returns for those who own businesses or rental properties or who are self-employed. The IRS does not permit volunteers to complete Schedule C for business owners because preparing them is not part of the training.
The IRS says those seeking assistance should take these items to the sites: Social Security cards for the taxpayer, spouse and dependents; birth dates for dependents listed on the tax return; wage and earning statements including W-2 and 1099 forms and other relevant materials showing income for 2009; copies of 2008 federal and state returns; the 2009 tax package if one arrived in the mail; bank routing and account numbers if a tax refund is to be direct deposited; the total paid for day care and the day-care provider’s identification number; and receipts for real estate taxes paid in 2009. Taxpayers who bought a vehicle during the year should take a receipt showing the purchase to qualify for a special credit.
Tenants who will be seeking Pennsylvania rent rebates must have with them their landlord-signed form.
Electronic tax-return filing is available at all the Mercer County sites.
Three of the sites – Shenango Valley Senior Center, McQuiston Center by the Park and Keystone Blind Association – require appointments. Taxpayers without appointments will not be served.
Tax-Aide/TCE volunteers will be available at these times and locations next week:
• Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Mercer – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday. Use the Penn Avenue entrance for Gallagher Hall.
• Knights of Columbus hall, 170 Clarksville Road, Greenville – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.
• Sharon City Building – 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Keystone Blind Association, 1230 Stambaugh Ave., Sharon – 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday by appointment only by calling 724-347-5501. Use the Stambaugh Avenue entrance because tax preparers will be located on the first floor.
• Sharpsville Borough Building – 9 a.m. to noon Monday.
• Pine Grove Community Center, Barkeyville Road outside Grove City, near the Pine Township firehall – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
• Sandy Lake Community Senior Center at McQuiston Center by the Park – 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday by appointment only by calling 724-376-3608.
• Shenango Valley Senior Center, Hermitage – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday by appointment only by calling 724-981-7950 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Free assistance is available for homebound taxpayers through March 31. To arrange a visit, call Ann Jofery, 724-347-5245, and leave a message.
- Community
-
-
Teaching with technology
Technology in the classroom is always changing and one Greenville teacher has spent the last three summers learning new skills through a program limited to a select few.
Jan Abernethy, a fifth-grade teacher at East Elementary School, was one of 75 teachers nationwide chosen to attend the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute, which is held at a different location each year.
-
Actors visit Camelot
The magic and mysticism that abounds in the King Arthur legend has been just as prevalent in the life of a woman who has written a three-part play chronicling the history of Camelot’s famed ruler.
Youngstown native Carol Weakland said she’s been working for 12 years on the play that premiered last weekend: “The Arthurian Trilogy Part One, Arthur and Merlin: The Making of a King.” She was never able to assemble a cast to play the demanding roles or “whittle down” the lengthy script into a compact but complete show. But this year, everything came together.
-
Annual senior fair is Friday in Sharon
State Rep. Mark Longietti will hold his fourth annual free Senior and Health Education Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Sharon American Legion, 1395 E. State St., Sharon.
The fair will feature farmers market coupons, free health screenings, about 50 vendors, door prizes and free information and services.
For more information, call 724-981-4655. -
Dolata carves time for local fest
Walter Dolata shows and sells his wood carvings at arts festivals — sometimes large ones — in New York, Maryland and Ohio.
But he always makes time for the arts festival in his back yard: the Hermitage Arts Festival, which runs this weekend at Rodney White Olympic Park.
“I like it,” said Dolata, who lives in Hermitage. “It’s a local festival. It’s a nice little festival.”
-
Farmers market vouchers for seniors available
Mercer County Area Agency on Aging Inc. is again offering the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program to eligible Mercer County Seniors.
This program is made possible through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Distribution.
The purpose of this program is to encourage older adults to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables produced by local growers.
Eligible seniors can pick up vouchers at locations in Greenville, Grove City, Mercer, Sandy Lake/Stoneboro and the Shenango Valley . -
Victorian Weekend begins Friday evening
Step back into a gentler era during the 22nd annual Victorian Weekend Festival, planned for Friday through Sunday on the historic Mercer County Courthouse Square.
The weekend begins with “A Victorian Concert” by the Mercer Community Band at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the bandstand on the east side of the county courthouse; the warmup concert starts at 6.
-
Girl Scouting gold goes to RHS grad
Lorrie Lehman, daughter of Dave and Rosemary Lehman of Reynolds and sister of Tommy, was recently awarded the Girl Scout Gold Award from Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania.
The Gold Award recognizes leadership, hard work and service to the community and for exemplifying the ideals of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. Only five percent of Girl Scouts nationwide earn this recognition annually.
-
Public invited to annual Farm Safety Day
Our annual Mercer County Farm Safety Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the Leslie N. Firth Learning Center, home of Mercer County Cooperative Extension, and the adjacent 4-H Park, 483 N. Perry Highway, 1 1/2 miles north of Mercer in Coolspring Township.
Our staff, along with event sponsor, the Agricultural Health and Rural Safety Advisory Committee, invite you and your family to attend and actively participate in a full day of safety demonstrations and open dialog on an issue which affects us all. Our goals are to make rural residents more conscience of common hazards, risky behaviors, and cultural traditions which often contribute to farm and rural accidents.
-
Urban League offers outdoor movie series
It’s been decades since movies have been shown on a big screen in Farrell.
The Shenango Valley Urban League is changing that this summer, with its “Films in the Square” series, to be held Friday nights at Veterans Square.
-
Fourth of July activities
There's no lack of Independence Day celebrations planned in the area.
- More Community Headlines
-
Teaching with technology
