Each month The Forest City Nursing & Rehab Center recognizes the remarkable lives of its residents by honoring one of them. The Resident of the Month for February, 2013 is Mrs. Margaret Sample.

Margaret Sample, Resident of the Month

Margaret Tarhanich Sample, known to her friends as Marge, was born on November 2nd, to Anna Kovach Tarhanich and John Tarhanich.  She and her sister Dorothy, grew up in Simpson.

After graduating from Fell Township High School, Margaret worked at the Childs Dress Factory. Each day Margaret rode the bus to work, where fate brought her together with a handsome young man by the name of Walter Sample. On July 5, 1947 the two were married. The wedding was a big, beautiful affair with seven attendants. A builder by trade, Walter built a lovely house in Vandling for his growing family.  Through the years, Margaret worked in the Forest City Dress Factory while raising her three children: John, Patricia, and Diane.

The Samples loved to travel. At the end of each school year Walter and Margaret would treat their three grandchildren to a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  They also went on cruises and travelled to San Francisco. She is now a proud great-grandmother to her great-granddaughter.

Margaret was a member of the Fell Township Golden Age Club, and enjoyed their monthly trips to Atlantic City.  This past November Margaret’s family treated her to a birthday celebration at Mohegan Sun.

These days Marge enjoys playing games of Casino, Bingo and cards.  She loves attending the various musical entertainments offered at the nursing center, when she is not visiting with family and friends. Marge is a sweet, caring lady whose smile can light up the room. Congratulations to Margaret Sample on being our February Resident of the Month!

How about a good time on the town? Mark your calendars for March 15th and join us at Lakey's in Susquehanna for a fantastic fund raiser. A donation of $10 will get you a ham and cabbage dinner, Karaoke, a sports memorabilia auction and a chance to help our four legged companions at True Friends. It's a St. Pawty's day celebration! Wear the green and bring your lucky charms. Sammi, pictured will be disappointed if you don't come. She is hoping one of you will give her a home. She is a bulldog, 9 years old, spayed and does have some allergies. She is the SWEETEST girl. She is housebroke and likes other dogs. Forget all the blarney and adopt a new friend! If you don't, I'll tell the little people on ya!

HARRISBURG – Seeking to make state law better for organizations that have small games of chance licenses, Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) led the House Gaming Oversight Committee in supporting new legislation to make further updates to the Small Games of Chance Act.

“Organizations that operate small games of chance rely on fundraisers to keep their doors open and to continue their valuable contributions to our community,” said Pickett, chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee. “While many of the updates we passed last session overall sought to benefit these organizations by allowing them to increase their prize limits, it did raise some concerns and highlighted the need to make additional modifications.”

The committee unanimously reported out House Bill 290, which Pickett also co-sponsored, that will help nonprofit organizations and charities with further clarification in the state’s Small Games of Chance Act.

Among its provisions, the proposal would make a number of clarifications, including the definition of a “public interest” purpose. This would make it clear in state law that an entity operating solely in the public interest – such as a volunteer fire company – has the ability to retain the money for its own charitable purposes.

The legislation also calls for the addition of several new games, such as Chinese auctions and Night at the Races events, and would permit the state Department of Revenue to approve new small games of chance through the regulatory process.

Another change would allow for two licenses based on an organization’s annual proceeds – a $25 fee for less than $40,000 annually in small games revenue (which would also exempt them from reporting, background and separate bank account requirements) and a $100 fee for raising more than $40,000 annually.

The new legislation also would permit club licensees -- those organizations with a liquor license -- to retain the first $40,000 in small games of chance proceeds for their own use. Once the $40,000 has been retained by the organization, the current 70 percent/30 percent split of proceeds between public interest purposes and general operating expenses would begin.

Also, organizations would now have 12 months to spend the proceeds on public interest projects, rather than the calendar year.

Other changes include:

Clarifying that Liquor Control Enforcement (LCE) does not have enforcement powers over small games of chance violations with organizations that solely have a special occasion permit under the Liquor Code. LCE would still retain enforcement power over any Liquor Code violations of these organizations.

Increasing from $100 to $600 the requirement that an organization must record the name and address of a winner. This would align with the $600 federal requirement for the organization and winner to report to the IRS.

Eliminating the requirement that an organization must obtain receipts for all donated items.

Permitting an organization with a license to hold its games at another organization’s licensed location and allowing both organizations to operate games at the same time. This would help organizations that do not have their own locations.

Requiring annual reporting forms to be available in a paper format that can be filed by mail, instead of only online options.

“The nonprofit organization and charities in our communities do a tremendous job in raising funds for a wide variety of projects that benefit us all, and this legislation is just another way we’re trying to assist them in their charitable endeavors,” Pickett said.

The legislation now heads to the full House for consideration.

HARRISBURG – State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) is seeking support for a legislative proposal that will study the potential for increased residential, commercial and industrial natural gas infrastructure extension in Pennsylvania.

In a co-sponsorship memo circulated to members of the state Senate, Yaw discussed a resolution directing the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a bi-partisan, bi-cameral legislative research agency of the General Assembly, to study the potential for increased extension of natural gas distribution infrastructure by Pennsylvania’s natural gas public utilities to un-served and under-served areas.

“This session, Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and I will work to ensure that Pennsylvanians remain a primary beneficiary of low-cost, energy-efficient, Pennsylvania-produced natural gas,” Yaw said. “Working collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Pennsylvania’s natural gas utilities, we hope to increase the accessibility and availability of this natural resource to more state residents. The Center’s findings and recommendations (from the study) will aid us in this effort.”

Specifically, the Center would be directed to study the residential, commercial and industrial extension of natural gas distribution infrastructure by collecting and analyzing information on the estimated demand for natural gas service in un-served and under-served areas of the Commonwealth; estimated price consumers are willing to pay for access or conversion to natural gas service; regional differences in consumer demand and willingness to pay for natural gas service; and relevant economic information on the costs and benefits to expand natural gas distribution infrastructure.

The Center would be responsible to report its findings, plans, and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than August 1, 2013.

“As Chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, we have convened several discussions on rural residential and commercial gas distribution. It is clear, we have an abundant natural resource beneath us, which can be used to help consumers lower their energy heating costs, improve consumer satisfaction, provide for increased economic development opportunities, and create jobs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Yaw added.

HARRISBURG – State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) has co-sponsored legislation that would completely phase out the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax, also known as the ‘death tax.’

Senate Bill 61, sponsored by Senator Kim Ward (R-39), would seek to reduce the current tax rate from 4.5 percent for direct descendents (children) to 2 percent in 2014, with a complete phase out by 2015.

The legislation would also reduce the current 12 percent tax for siblings by 3 percent a year until 2017, when it would be completely phased out. Lastly, the current 15 percent tax rate for all other heirs would be reduced by 3 percent a year until 2019, when it would be completely phased out.

“Pennsylvania remains one of 13 states that still impose a death tax,” Yaw said. “Not only is this archaic tax a burden on estates, but also on small businesses. It’s time that we completely eliminate it once and for all.”

Senate Bill 61 has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.