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Page 4 Oxford Hills Observer March 2015 www.centralmainetoday.com March Events at the Norway Memorial Library March celebrations at the Norway Memorial Library’s Children’s Department. Did you know that Dr. Seuss’s birthday is March 2nd, Harriet Tubman Day is March 10th and Maine became a state on March The Paris Public Library is hosting a Pi Day Pie Party on March 14th from 3-5 pm! Pi Day is celebrated around the world on 3/14 to celebrate the mathematical constant known as pi. The 15th? Celebrate these special days with us by crafting, coloring and crossword puzzles. We will have our regular weekly morning programs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday Pi Day Pie Party library plans to celebrate Pi Day by hosting a pie party - make your favorite pie and bring it to the library to share. Sample all the pies while you are here! Check out the library’s Facebook event for more at 10:30 am. Board games, puzzles, and the play kitchen are also available every day. To learn more about our programs, contact Annika at 743-5309 extension 4 or check out our website at www.norway.lib.me.us. • information and recipe ideas. You may also contact the library for more information by email at paris.public.library@ msln.net or call us at 743- 6994. • Veterans Benefits Information Seminar Oxford Hills Veterans, their families and dependents are cordially invited to attend a benefits information presentation and discussion on Thursday March 12th from 7-9pm at the Anderson-Staples American Legion Hall 169 King Street Oxford beginning with a meet and greet at 6:30pm with refreshments. “Nobody understands the needs of veterans more than the American Legion. We know the challenges facing veterans and their families and we know and understand how difficult it is to keep up with the benefits and entitlements they earned during service to our country,” said Rick Nugent Anderson-Staples Post 112 service officer. “We support our fellow veterans and their families by ensuring they receive the help and benefits they deserve. We’re here for them now because we’ve been there before.” This is the second of four seminars scheduled this year by Anderson- Staples American Legion Post 112. Areas of discussion will be the role of the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, VA Pensions, Vocational Rehabilitation Programs, Claims processing, What makes a good claim, the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 and the Claims backlog. For additional information please call Rick Nugent Post Service Officer at 595-4200 or e-mail your questions to: askthepso@yahoo.com. • Ireland is a nation with a rich history, some of which is celebrated every St. Patrick’s Day. The thirdlargest island in Europe and the 20th largest island in the world, Ireland lies in the North Atlantic west of Great Britain. Since 7500 B.C., when the first inhabitants were believed to occupy the land Key Events in Irish History of Ireland, many notable events have taken place on the Emerald Isle. Christianity comes to Ireland Although St. Patrick is largely credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, the arrival of Christianity in Ireland may actually have been a by product of both St. Patrick’s missionary work and a visit by Palladius, abishop who was sent by the Pope to Ireland in 431 A.D. Accounts as to the success or failure of Palladius’ mission differ, but historians do agree that Palladius was ultimately banished from Ireland. St. Patrick might have been more tolerated because of his familiarity with Irish culture and language, and that may be the reason his name, and not Palladius, is linked with spreading Christianity in Ireland. Decline of Viking power Vikings made various raids and established fortresses in Ireland throughout the 8th and 9th centuries. One such fortress was close to where the city of Dublin now stands. During the Battle of Tara in 980, King MáelSechnaill mac Domnaill defeated Olaf Cuarán, resulting in Gaelic control of the Kingdom of Dublin. By 1014,the Viking forces had been defeated by the armies of Brian Boru, and Viking power in Ireland began to decline, paving the way for other leadership. English rule begins Following the pleas of exiled Dermot MacMurrough to Henry II of England to help MacMurrough reclaim his kingshipin Ireland, Henry II decided to pay a visit to Ireland, and in 1171 he declared himself Lordship of Ireland. Upon signing the Treaty of Windsor in 1175, Henry II established Norman influence in Ireland, which lasted for several centuries. Scottish influence By the 14th century, Ireland had not had a high King since 1186. Much of the nation was divided by Irish dynasties and Anglo lords who ruled part of the land. In 1315, Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, arrived in Ireland to rally the Irish to rise against Anglo control of the nation. Great Potato Famine Although cold winters in successive years around 1740 resulted in large scale famine, the Great Potato Famine of1845 to 1849 is the famine many speak of when discussing famine in Ireland. During this time, a blight destroyed potato crops, knocking out twothirds of Ireland’s staple food. It is believed that roughly one million died as aresult of the famine, which also spurred an additional million people to emigrate. Britain rescinds some control In 1916, The Easter Rebellion was a battle between armed Irish patriots and British troops in Dublin. Rebel leaders were executed; however, the rebellion may have been the catalyst for the Anglo- Irish War, which began three years later and during which the British battled the Irish Republican Army. That battle eventually led to atreaty in which Britain rescinded control of most of Ireland, retaining only portions of Northern Ireland. This division caused a rift between those who accepted the treaty and the Irish Republican Army, which wanted all of Ireland to be free of Britain. By 1949, Britain declared Ulster in Northern Ireland a permanent part of the British Empire. The lower 26 counties declared themselves the Irish Republic. - Courtesy of Metro • FIND THE PHONY AD!!! You could win a Gift Certiicate to an area merchant from one of our papers! It is easy to ind - just read through the ads in this issue of Oxford Hills Observer and ind the phony ad. Either ill out the entry form below (one entry per month please) and mail to: Find The Phony Ad Contest, P.O. Box 214 Turner, ME 04282 or email to: phonyad@turnerpublishing.net. (one entry per household please) You must include all the information requested below to be eligible to win. Note: Turner Publishing will not lend or sell your email address to a third party. Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Email Address: Phone: ( ) - Would you like to receive email notiication of local sales and specials___Y___N Please tell us your age (circle one) 12-25 yrs. 26-35 yrs. 36-45 yrs. 46-55 yrs. 56 yrs. & up The Phony Ad is: Tell us what you think of this publication: We have February Contest Winners! FIND THE PHONY AD! Congratulations! Country Courier: Kenneth Reed Country Connection: Tina Ray Auburn Highlights: Lori Lewis Franklin Focus: Beverly West Lake Region Reader: Shirley Rollins Kennebec Current: Stacy Hustus Good News Gazette: Monica Cooper Western Maine Foothills: Alana Ladd Lisbon Ledger: Lynn E. Arbour Two Cent Times: Eva Whitney Oxford Hills Observer: Kathy J Lagasse Moose Prints: Evelyn Girard Somerset Express: Helen Aylward Lewiston Leader: Naomi Fish All of the winners listed have won gift certificates to one of our advertisers. If you haven’t won - keep playing! We get hundreds of entries each month! It’s easy to enter - read through the ads in this issue and find the phony ad, fill out the entry form found in this paper and mail it in. If you have the correct answer, your name will be entered into a monthly drawing!
March 2015 Oxford Hills Observer www.centralmainetoday.com Page 5 2 Business Business Plan and grow your business with monthly Tips on various subjects such as Taxes, Human Resources, and Marketing. Tax Free Roth IRA Conversions Moving money from a tax deferred retirement account to a potentially tax-free Roth IRA usually will trigger income tax. That won't always be the case, though, thanks to recent IRS announcements. Some examples show how this can work. Example 1: Nancy Martin has participated in her company's 401(k) plan for many years. She typically has made maximum pretax contributions to the plan. Nancy's company allows employees to make additional aftertax contributions (many employers do), which she has done. Nancy decides to leave the company at a time when she has $600,000 in the 401(k), including $100,000 from aftertax contributions. Thanks to an IRS notice published in September (IRS Notice 2014-54), Nancy can have her plan administrator transfer $100,000 of aftertax money to a Roth IRA. Because this is aftertax money, Nancy won't owe tax on the transfer. Inside her Roth IRA, untaxed growth can continue. Once Nancy has met the five year and age 59½ requirements, she can withdraw as much or as little from the Roth IRA as she wishes without owing any tax. In order to qualify for this tax treatment, Nancy's Roth IRA transfer must be part of a distribution to two or more retirement accounts. Thus, she can send $100,000 to a Roth IRA and the other $500,000 to a traditional IRA. Nancy won't owe any tax on these transfers. However, her $500,000 traditional IRA (and any future earnings) will remain pretax. Nancy will owe tax on YOUR FINANCIAL TEAM IS READY. Tax & Accounting Services (207) 783-9111 www.austinpa.com Auburn- 207-783-9111 Norway 207-743-7777 austinpa.com in any withdrawals from that traditional IRA or any future conversion to a Roth IRA. Beyond 401(k)s, this strategy can be executed by taxpayers with aftertax money in other types of employer sponsored qualified plans. IRA implications What if Nancy already had rolled her $600,000 to a traditional IRA? In that case, any distributions from that account— including those for a Roth IRA conversion— would be considered a mix of aftertax and pretax money. If Nancy had $600,000 in a traditional IRA, with $100,000 of aftertax money, for instance, a $150,000 Roth IRA conversion would be considered $125,000 (5/6) taxable and $25,000 (1/6) untaxed. Nevertheless, there can be a way to execute a tax-free Roth conversion in that situation. Courtesy of Austin Associates, PA, CPAs • Don’t Mix Wages and Conduct Courtesy of Rebecca Webber One of the more common wage and hour violations seen by the Department of Labor is illegal wage deductions and failure to pay employees when their employment ends. The law that applies to deductions from checks is 26 M.R.S.A. § 626. According to the law, an employee leaving employment must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand at the office of the employer where payrolls are kept and wages are paid... and any loan or advance against future earnings or wages may be deducted if evidenced by a statement in writing signed by the employee. According to § 626, the term "employee" means any person who performs services for another in return for compensation, but does not include an independent contractor. A “reasonable time” means the earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than 2 weeks after the day on which the demand is made. If an employee sues, the employer may not deduct as a setoff or counterclaim any money due the employer as compensation for damages caused to the employer's property by the employee, or any money owed to the employer by the employee. An employer found in violation of § 626 is liable for the amount of unpaid wages and, in addition, a judgment rendered in favor of the employee must include a reasonable rate of interest, an additional amount equal to twice the amount of those wages as liquidated damages and costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee. What if an employee tells her employer to just go ahead and make the deductions and not to worry about the signed agreement? If money has already been loaned to the employee, the offer is tempting but the employer shouldn’t make the wage deductions. An oral agreement will not be enough under the law and the employer becomes dependent on relations never souring with the employee. What if an employee has just been fired for damaging company equipment due to sheer inattention or sloppiness? The employer would really like to hold his check, or deduct the cost of the damage, but shouldn’t do it. While the employer’s reaction may be justified, it needs to separate payment of wages due to an employee for hours worked from any money an employee may owe. There are other avenues rather than wage withholding for recovering money owed. Deducting will give the employee a wage and hour claim that will multiply the amount owed plus include the employee’s attorney’s fees. When in doubt, pay it out – or at least give us a call to find out what to do! This article is not legal advice but should be considered as general guidance in the area of employment and corporate law. Rebecca Webber is an employment attorney; others at the firm handle business and other matters. You can contact us at 784-3200 (telephone). Skelton, Taintor & Abbott is a full service law firm providing legal services to individuals, companies, and municipalities throughout Maine. It has been in operation since its founding in 1853. • Run an Ad in the new B2B section for as little as $60/month! Contact Jim at 225 - 2076 CREDIT CARD PROCESSING Save up to 30% on credit card processing. If we can’t save you money we will give you a $100.00 visa gift card. Must have 3,000.00 or more in credit card sales monthly. Email : businesshelper@outlook.com for free quote no obligations GOT A LANDLINE TELEPHONE? If you still have a landline telephone and want to save money on long distance calls, we can help! We service businesses and residential. Email: businesshelper@outlook.com for a free quote.
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