Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offering free assistance in the Annex

MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is participating with AARP Foundation for Tax-Aide assistance on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with required appointments.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Service provides free tax assistance to anyone, however, there is a focus on taxpayers with low to moderate incomes or are over the age of 50 years old. The program runs with Tax-Aide volunteers who receive training and are IRS-certified every year to ensure they are up-to-date on any latest changes to tax codes.

AARP Foundation’s mission has been to help reduce poverty not only for older adults, but with them as well. During the 10-week tax season, the foundation sends volunteers to more than 3,500 different communities to meet with taxpayers and maximize their tax returns.

The volunteers are able to help file a variety of income tax forms, yet need to stay within certain tax law and policies that are set by the IRS and AARP Foundation. Some returns the volunteers can prepare include: wages, interest, dividends, unemployment compensation, pensions, retirement income, Social Security, self employment, charitable cash contributions, qualified business income deductions and much more.

In 2023, according to the AARP website, the foundation was able to secure $563,947,534 through its Tax-Aide program, assisting tax refunds and credit to 918,774 older adults with low income.

For members of the community that struggle with low income, tax refunds can be one of their largest payments they receive all year. Last year, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide helped taxpayers secure an average refund of $905, which according to the AARP website, is equivalent to a year of cell phone service for an older adult with low income.

The program recently began on Friday, Feb. 7, and community members have the ability to use this service until Friday, April 11. Appointments will be held in the NorthEast-Millerton Library’s Annex, located across from the Post Office.

To ensure the volunteers can assist with your return, visit taxaide.aarpfoundation.org to learn more and to schedule an appointment dial 211 or call 1-800-899-1479.

Latest News

State denies Shepherd's Run solar farm

New York State's Office of Renewable Energy Siting denied an application from Chicago-based Hecate Energy LLC that would have resulted in a 42-megawatt solar farm across 700 acres in Craryville, a hamlet in the Town of Copake.

Photo by Nathan Miller

COPAKE — New York State denied Hecate Energy LLC’s application for a more than 700-acre solar project, pointing to two factors: floodplain and community protection issues, and identification of and protection of wetland resources in this rural hamlet.

Jason Zehr, interim executive director of the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, issued the decision on Wednesday, Oct. 14, five days before the clock was to run out for the state to approve or deny the Chicago-based company’s application.

Keep ReadingShow less

Lelah M. Somers

Lelah M. Somers

DOVER PLAINS — Lelah M. Somers, 97, a longtime Dover Plains, New York, resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, New York. Lelah was born on July 3, 1929, in Pawling, New York, to the late Byron and Lelah (Watts) Brill. Lelah grew up in Pawling and on Nov. 22, 1946, in Pleasant Valley, New York, she married James F. Somers, Sr. Mr. Somers passed away on Sept. 3, 1970. Lelah worked for New York State as a therapy aide for thirty-years and as a senior companion for New York State for thirty-two-years, with specific care provided to the mentally disabled.

She enjoyed taking care of the mentally disabled, was a wonderful mother to her four children, always putting her family first. She is survived by her son, James F. Somers, Jr. and his wife Donna of Dover Plains; two daughters, Doreen Monica of Wingdale, and Frances “Fran” Horton of Dover Plains, who was also her caregiver for many years; seven grandchildren, Debbie, Margie, Leah, Stephanie, Deirdra, Benji and Jimmy and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, and her step-son, Kenny Elliott. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelah was predeceased by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol “DeeDee” Maile and Gil Maile, her son-in-law, Stephen Monica, and her son-in-law, Benny Horton as well as her companion of over forty-years, Andrew “Mac” McAlravey and her siblings, Ferris Brill, Eleanor Barryann, Richard Brill, William Brill and Barney Brill.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

The art of getting into art school

The art of getting into art school

Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day returns to Poughkeepsie.

Provided

For a young artist considering college, the question isn’t simply whether the work is good enough. It’s which work to show, which school might be the right fit and even whether a creative life can lead to a sustainable career.

On Friday, Oct. 16, hundreds of aspiring artists will have the opportunity to explore those questions at Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day, presented by The Art Effect at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie.

Keep ReadingShow less
A colorful life together at Atelier Valla

Textile designer Justine Valla sits in her father’s chair, which she painted, alongside her husband, illustrator and muralist Victor Valla, in their Atelier Valla studio.

L. Tomaino
I lost the ability to paint after the accident. I struggled to paint again.
— Justine Valla

Husband and wife Victor and Justine Valla share a lavender and pink studio, Atelier Valla, across the driveway from their pink house, nestled into a hillside in Salisbury. The colors, said Justine, “were inspired by Monet’s house at Giverny.”

Creating art has been a lifelong pursuit for both.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Ruchman’s “Acquired Taste”

Filmmaker David Ruchman

Bleacher and Everard Photography

In a region known for its vibrant but geographically scattered arts community, discovering something new can require a little effort. The same might be said for finding a new place for an extraordinary meal. While the Northwest Corner, Berkshires and Hudson Valley have no shortage of creative talent, opportunities to experience it — whether on a stage, in a gallery or on a plate — aren’t always just around the corner.

In David Ruchman’s short film “Acquired Taste,” that challenge becomes the premise for an unlikely friendship between Nick, an aspiring young food critic living in an area with limited dining options, and a gruff New York City master chef.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.