The Hoosick Area Church Association (HACA), for the ninth year, is offering free assistance to the public in preparing income tax returns through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA program. The VITA site will be located at the HACA Center at 26 John Street, Hoosick Falls. The office will be open each Saturday beginning February 2 from 10 am to 3 pm and on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 pm through February. In March and April, offices will be open on Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm and on Thursdays by appointment. Office hours have been scheduled for evenings and weekends to accommodate people who find it difficult to take time off from work. The service is free and is provided by IRS Certified VITA/TCE Volunteer Preparers.
To help accurately prepare their returns, taxpayers should bring the following:
• photo identification;
• valid Social Security cards for the taxpayer, spouse and dependents;
• birth dates for primary, secondary and dependents on the tax return;
• current year’s tax package, if received;
• wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R from all employers;
• interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099);
• a copy of last year’s federal and state returns, if available;
• bank routing numbers and account numbers for direct deposit;
• other relevant information about income and expenses;
• total paid for day care, and
• day care provider’s identifying number.
Call Alison at 686-9491 to make an appointment. Volunteer positions at the site such as reception, filing, photo copying or hostess are also available.
The VITA program offers free assistance to those with low-to-middle incomes (wage earners who make $51,000 or less) who file Form 1040EZ, Form 1040A, or a basic 1040 Federal tax return. Most returns for both Federal and State (including Vermont and Massachusetts) can be filed electronically and upon request, refunds can be deposited electronically into a checking or savings account.
Local News
Aaron’s Barber Shop
Letter To The Editor – A Question Of Security At The Grafton Town Hall
To the Editor:
I would like to elaborate further on the anonymous letter referenced in the January 18 Eastwick Press article titled “Weird Confrontations and A Sander Accident in Grafton.” The purpose for reading the anonymous letter, found in my Town Hall communication box at the January 14 Town Board meeting, was to point out that security within the Town Hall may need to be revisited.
On the surface the letter may seem as a practical joke or possibly a threat. More importantly, it speaks directly to the security of Official Town communications and correspondences. In addition to reading the anonymous letter at the meeting, I suggested the Grafton Town Board investigate additional measures to assure the security of official communication boxes and public safety.
As reported in the Eastwick Press during 2012, issues of Town Hall security were acknowledged, requiring changes in security procedures including securing communication boxes and changing locks on doors. It is apparent these procedural changes have been breached if someone can simply place an un-authored letter in Town Officials’ communication boxes located in a locked room. Residents of Grafton need to be assured their public and private information or correspondence remain secure. Every public servant has a responsibility to uphold these protections.
I would like to assure the people of Grafton as a public servant, I am committed to safeguarding YOUR information and protecting the public at large within the Town Hall and Grafton publicly owned properties.
Barbara J. Messenger
Town of Grafton Board Member
Letter To The Editor – A Feudal Firearms Law?
To the Editor:
It is with a heavy heart and utter disappointment and disgust that I find myself compelled to write this letter, the causation of which is the enactment of New York’s recent ill-conceived feudal firearms law. This law is an overbearing assault on individual Rights guaranteed by our Constitution! A knee jerk reaction to a heinous crime perpetrated by an insane individual, this does nothing to address the root of the problem, which is the state of mental health in this country, and the treatment (or lack thereof) of those so afflicted. In their haste to trample the Constitution of the United States under the pretense of public safety there was absolutely no thought put into this law, or the ramifications thereof.
While I am certain the 21 gun salute at the close of the Berlin Memorial Day Ceremony will be almost as dignified and respectful with BB guns as it was with the Garand rifles typically used which are now classified as “assault rifles” and illegal, I am not as confident our respected veterans who once carried these same rifles across Europe and the Pacific in defense of liberty and our Constitutional Rights will feel quite as proud or dignified marching down the streets of Berlin in our Independence Day Parade, a celebration of Rights and Freedoms, with broom sticks on their shoulders instead of their Garand rifles!
I must also point out that while we lack the funds to repair roads and bridges, we miraculously have funding to crush honest citizen’s Rights? Or is this destined to be yet another unfunded State mandate to be foisted upon the Counties?
While I maintain this travesty must be repealed immediately, I must applaud our State Senator Kathy Marchione for having the courage and wherewithal to stand up to the Governor and downstaters so eager to seize our Rights! And being in receipt of our copy of the Eastwick Press yesterday, dated January 25, which reported on the Petersburgh Town Board actions, I must also tip my hat to Petersburgh Town Councilman Duane Goodermote for his similar efforts to defend the Constitution.
There is yet another question that arises and that is this: If they can move so swiftly and without public debate to eliminate our Second Amendment Rights, which portion of the Constitution will they trample next? Our Right to voice our disgust with their actions, or perhaps the Right of the Eastwick Press to even be published?
Todd Hermann
Berlin
Registration Opens For The Hoosick Falls Soccer Club Spring Teams
Registration is now open for Spring teams at the Hoosick Falls Soccer Club. You can sign up at the website at hoosickfallssoccer.org. You can also call Steve Hinchliffe at 686 9505 for travel teams and Laura Sagendorf at 944 4971 for In House Rec teams.
Flying Deer Presents Song Of The Forest
The Flying Deer Nature Center will present Song of the Forest on March 22-24 at the Abode of the Message, New Lebanon.
Since time immemorial, birds have lifted the human mind and heart into brighter places with their enchanting sounds. We may appreciate the beauty of birdsong, but we often miss many messages the birds are telling us about their natural surroundings and about ourselves. [Read more…] about Flying Deer Presents Song Of The Forest
Kristopher N. Hansen Graduates From Basic Training
Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Kristopher N. Hansen graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness and basic warfare principles and skills.
[Read more…] about Kristopher N. Hansen Graduates From Basic Training
Local Students Named To The College Of Saint Rose Dean’s List
The College of Saint Rose in Albany recently announced that Tyler Pomakoy of Stephentown and Katherine Bakaitis of Petersburgh were among 805 students named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2012 semester.
Full time students who complete a minimum of 12 credit hours and achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.5 with no grades of D, F, Incomplete or Pass/Fail are eligible for inclusion on the Dean’s List.
The College of Saint Rose is a private, independent, coeducational, liberal arts college located in the heart of New York’s capital city. The College offers 70 undergraduate and 74 graduate programs and serves nearly 5,000 students. Through a strong liberal education curriculum and progressive academic programs, a Saint Rose education instills students with the passion, knowledge and purpose not only to do great things Ð but extraordinary things.
Alex Lilac On Dean’s List At SUNY Cortland
Alex Lilac has been named to the Dean’s List at SUNY College of Cortland for the Fall 2012 semester. He is the son of Mike and Katy Lilac of Hoosick Falls.
Nicole Hensler Named To The University Of Rhode Island Dean’s List
The University of Rhode Island is pleased to announce that 4,199 undergraduates have qualified for the Fall 2012 Dean’s List. The students represent nearly all of Rhode Island’s cities and towns, all six New England states, New York and New Jersey, and many other states and nations.
Nicole Breanne Hensler of Petersburgh was named to the Dean’s List.
To be included on the Dean’s List, students must have completed 12 or more credits during a semester for letter grades with at least a 3.30 quality point average. Part-time students qualify with the accumulation of 12 credits with a 3.30 quality point average.