PA State Rep.
Bud Cook
Serving Pennsylvania's 50th Legislative District
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Cook, Beth Center Students to Release Classroom-Raised Trout at Ten Mile Creek

March 31, 2017

Legislative Report 
The latest news from the State Capitol
                         
Cook, Beth Center Students to Release Classroom-Raised Trout at Ten Mile Creek
                   
 
I am greatly looking forward to participating in a trout stocking event with a group of Bethlehem Center Middle School students and local educators on Friday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Ten Mile Creek Access in Marianna.

These students have raised trout as part of their Trout in the Classroom curriculum, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), and will be releasing the fish into Ten Mile Creek.

Opening day for trout season statewide is Saturday, April 15. My Bentleyville district office has a limited number of 2017 trout stocking schedules available for pickup, and an online version is also available at RepBudCook.com. 
                        
                                        
Announcing Spring Satellite Office Hours in Donora 
                                        
 
Just a reminder about my upcoming satellite office hours for the month of April.

My district office team will be available on Tuesdays, April 4 through April 25, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Donora Township Municipal Building, 603 Meldon Avenue.

We are hosting these special office hours in order to offer greater convenience and make it easier for District 49 residents to meet with us one on one. Whether someone simply wants to discuss a state issue, or would like personal assistance with a state program or form, my team and I are here to help.

Services offered through my district office include:

  • Information and applications for senior citizen benefit programs, including Property Tax/Rent Rebate and PACE/PACENET prescription drug programs.
  • Assistance with PennDOT paperwork (lost cards, changes, corrections, special registration plates, vanity plates and temporary placards for persons with physical disabilities).
  • Help with securing birth and death certificates (photo identification required).
  • Information about legislation.
  • Assistance with resolving matters relating to state agencies.

                        
For the latest district event information and state government updates, visit RepBudCook.com and Facebook.com/RepBudCook.
                     

                
Don’t Miss Out on Free Property Tax Rent Rebate Assistance 
                           
 
Attention Fayette County residents: My district office staff will be available to provide FREE application assistance for the state’s 2016 Property Tax/Rent Rebate program on Thursday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Smock Fire Hall, 125 Shaffer Ave., Smock.

Eligible participants can receive a rebate of up to $650 based on their rent or property taxes paid in 2016. The program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians who are 65 years or older, widows and widowers 50 years or older, and those 18 years or older with disabilities.

The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded. Applications are due by June 30.

Residents are reminded to provide all the necessary income, property tax or rental information required to process claims quickly and accurately.

Copies of the forms, as well as FREE assistance with filing them, are also available by contacting my Bentleyville district office at (724) 669-2242 and online at RepBudCook.com.
                       
                                
 
Applications Available for Rural Fire Assistance Grants 
                     
Applications for federal grants to help Pennsylvania’s rural communities better guard against the threat of fires in forested, undeveloped and underprotected areas will be accepted until May 18.

The grants are designed to organize, train and equip local forces in preventing, controlling and suppressing fires that have the potential to threaten human life, livestock, crops, pastures, woodlands, orchards and farmsteads.

Grants can be used for the purchase of wildfire suppression equipment, wildfire protective gear, wildfire prevention and mitigation, wildfire training, mobile or portable radios, and installation of dry hydrants. The funds may also be used for conversion and maintenance of federal surplus property vehicles. The vehicles are presented to local departments exhibiting the greatest needs and those that commit to outfitting them for fire suppression.

For more information, click here.  
                    
                        
 
State Veterans Agency Seeks Vietnam Veterans 
                                                 
As a way to pay tribute to all of the men and women from Pennsylvania who died as a result of the Vietnam War, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) is asking the public for help in finding the remaining 105 Vietnam veterans from Pennsylvania who are not yet included in the agency’s Wall of Faces project.

For the past two years the DMVA has partnered with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) in Washington, D.C., to find a photo of every Pennsylvanian whose name appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The VVMF is posting the photos on a virtual Wall of Faces to put a face and a story to every name, allowing these Vietnam veterans to be honored by family, friends and others from around the world.

A complete list of Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans whose photos are still needed can be found by going to www.veterans.pa.gov, and clicking on Wall of Faces. Instructions on how to submit a photo can be found here. 

To view the virtual Wall of Faces, go to www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces.
                      

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