Rep. Arata 4/4 Update

Education Tax Benefits

The Educational Opportunity Tax Credit, commonly referred to as Opportunity Maine, provides either a refundable or non-refundable Maine income tax credit for student loan payments made by degree earners who live, work, and pay taxes in Maine following graduation.  The tax credit is also available to Maine businesses that make their employees' educational loan payments.  Certain science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees are eligible for a refundable tax credit.
 
To claim the Educational Opportunity Tax Credit, qualifying individuals must file a Maine income tax return.  Using the Credit for Educational Opportunity Worksheet found on Maine Revenue Services’ Web site when completing an income tax return will provide the necessary information to determine eligibility and claim the credit, if eligible.
 
For information about other education tax benefits, click here.
 

Private Well Water Safety and Testing

Testing Your Well Water

• Test your well water once a year for bacteria and nitrates and every five years for arsenic, fluoride, uranium, radon, lead, and manganese.
• If you have never tested your well water, it is recommended that you do a comprehensive or standard water test.  Other times to test your well include:
  • if you are expecting a baby;
  • your water changes in smell, taste, and color;
  • your well runs dry and comes back;
  • when buying a new home;
  • after installing a water treatment system or replacing parts of your treatment system; and
  • after any work is done on your well.
• Get this brochure to learn more about well water testing
• Find a lab to test your well water
• Find a lab certified to test water for Radon

Common Well Water Contaminants and Problems

• Arsenic
• Fluoride
• Lead
• Manganese
• Radon
• Uranium
• Corrosive Water (Penn State Cooperative Extension)
• How to disinfect or shock your well to remove bacteria (Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory)
• How to disinfect or shock your well to remove bacteria (Maine Drinking Water Program)
• If you think your well has been contaminated by a sand/salt pile  
• If your well has been flooded

Fixing Well Water Problems

• Help paying for arsenic treatment 
• Choosing a Radon treatment company
• To make sure a treatment system is certified to remove a contaminant

Other useful information can be found online here.

MSAD 15 Preliminary FY 20 Budget Document Posted Online

Details on the budget, process, and timeline can be accessed on the MSAD 15 Web site.  A list of school board members and contact information can be found here.

Poland Town Meeting

Poland’s annual town meeting is this Saturday, April 6, at 9 a.m.   The gathering will take place at the Poland Regional High School auditorium, 1457 Maine St., Poland, ME.

6^th Annual Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Competition

Maine’s sixth FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition event will be held at the The Androscoggin Bank Colisée, in Lewiston, on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6.  The Pine Tree District Competition will host 32 high school robotics teams from New England states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and attract over 2,000 spectators.  The ice arena will be transformed into a competition field to play the game that was released at the January 6 kickoff event by FIRST headquarters.  The number of FIRST Robotics Competition teams in Maine has grown to over 25, all of them looking forward to another great competition season.

A FIRST competition is an exciting sporting event using robots created and built by students with the guidance of professional mentors.

To learn more about FIRST worldwide, click here.  To learn more about the Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Competition, click here.  To learn more about the Maine FIRST teams, click here.