PA AG's Office to Present at Goldberg Lecture

Three Chief Deputies of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, together with the Dauphin County District Attorney, will make presentations at the Seventh Annual "Goldberg Lecture Series in the Law", to be held on Thursday, October 25, 2007, from 3-5 p.m., at the Harrisburg Hilton Hotel.

Those presenting include:

• Mark A. Pacella, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section, PA Office of Attorney General

• Linda J. Williams, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection, PA Attorney General's Office

• Frank G. Fina, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Prosecutions Section, PA Attorney General's Office

• Edward M. Marsico, Jr., District Attorney of Dauphin County, PA

Each of the PA AG Chief Deputies will discuss the role & functions of their particular practice section within the PA AG's Office. Each will identify Section activities of particular interest or importance to professionals and the public. Then each will offer then practical tips for counsel who interact with their section in the course of investigations or reviews involving their clients.

District Attorney Ed Marsico will comment on the interactions of a local law enforcement office -- the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office, which he heads -- with officials of the PA AG's Office. Often these offices act jointly, and sometimes they act separately, where both have jurisdiction.

This presentation will be the second consecutive Goldberg Lecture in which Ed offered his insight into the local legal system.

Those lawyers having an interest in charitable trust & organization matters, consumer protection enforcement, or criminal law, should find this free session valuable.

Thomas E. Brenner, Esq., current President of the Dauphin County Bar Association, will moderate the presentations.

Neil E. Hendershot, Esq. planned the seminar.

The Goldberg Lecture Series in Law was established in 2000 in memory of Harrisburg lawyers Arthur L. Goldberg and Harry B. Goldberg. The annual presentation is sponsored by the Dauphin County Bar Foundation, with the assistance of the Dauphin County Bar Association, 213 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. The law firm Goldberg Katzman, P.C. also supports the Goldberg Lecture Series.

Past annual presentations have featured topics of: effective trial court advocacy; wrongful imprisonment; presentation of the complex civil case; the Patriot Act; the role of an independent judiciary; and practical dispute resolution. As to last year's presentation, see: PA EE&F Law Blog, "Practical Dispute Resolution" Seminar on "National Conflict Resolution Day" (10/14/06).

Pursuant to Pennsylvania's Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Rules for Lawyers, this program will provide two hours of substantive credit for all participants who attend the entire session. There will be no fee for this CLE session.

Attorneys may attend by making advance reservations to the Dauphin County Bar Association by mail (213 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101), by fax (717-234-4582), or by email (to Bridgette@dcba-pa.org).

Reservations are requested no later than Friday, October 19, 2007.

Update: 10/26/07:

The session was attended by approximately 140 lawyers, and was well-received by all. Thanks go to Don, Joyce, & Bridgette, of the Dauphin County Bar Association, for administering the session so smoothly.

Unfortunately, due to the convening of a statewide grand jury, Frank Fina could not attend. However, E. Christopher Abruzzo, the head of the Drug Strike Force, of the PA AG's Criminal Law Division, took his place, speaking with great authority & experience.

The oral presentations were supplemented by handouts or displays from the award-winning website of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, which is expansive, detailed, & current.

Frances S. Goldberg, widow of Arthur L. Goldberg, presented inscribed marble boxes to participants in honor of their efforts towards education of bar association members.

"Hot" Property of the Dead

A recent Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court case addressed disposition of widely-dispersed, possibly stolen, property of a decedent. After the death, friends & family in possession of the property turned it in, but later made claim for its return. The case is Commonwealth v. Personal Property of Abendroth, 1527 C.D. 2006, decided 07/25/07 (PDF, 10 pages).

The case describes scenes reminiscent of those drawn by Charles Dickens in "A Christmas Carol", as introduced by the Ghost of Christmas to Come:

When the Ghost makes its appearance, the first thing it shows Scrooge is three wealthy gentlemen making light of a recent death, remarking that it'll be a cheap funeral, and they'd only go if lunch was provided. Next, Scrooge is shown the same dead person's belongings being stolen and pawned.

Perhaps it is the contrast of gross materialism to sudden mortality that allows us to characterize post-mortem fights over a decedent's property as either comic or chilling.

As to the chilling aspects, consider these past news reports regarding misappropriation of property owned by a decedent:

• "Dead man's neighbors admit stealing property" (09/16/07), posted by the Palm Beach Post — Four Port St. Lucie residents admitted Friday to stealing from the home of one of their neighbors just hours after he died, police said. Officers responded to a burglary call Thursday at the home of George Lippi, who had died earlier in the day, on Southeast Dival Avenue. According to a police report, officers found [four adults] in the back yard of Lippi's home carrying away a cast-iron cooking pot. * * * The suspects then admitted to entering the home without permission and taking Lippi's cooking pot, patio furniture and two firearms, police said. * * *

• "Mover And His Mother-In-Law Arrested For Stealing From Dead Man" (01/12/07), posted by Art Now Online -- In New York, a mover and his mother-in-law are about to spend some time in jail because of their decision to steal two black and white drawings by Pablo Picasso. The mover . . . was hired to take a dead man´s belongings from the Upper East Side apartment to a warehouse. Both drawings (a guitar and a mandolin) are worth more than US$60,000 and are part of the extensive art collection by William Kingsland, who died in March of last year, without a will. * * *

• "Caregiver, others steal dead man's credit card, go on spending spree" (06/16/04), posted by WKYC-TV Channel 3 (Northeast Ohio) -- A Parma Heights man died in February but police say his credit cards were kept alive by his Ukrainian-born caregiver and other Ukrainian immigrants. * * * Police started investigating the case when the family of Anthony Kaldoon noticed something strange going on. "Their deceased father's bank statement showed twenty-thousand dollars worth of purchases on his credit cards after he passed away," Captain Mark Sovey with the Parma Heights Police Department. Police eventually discovered another $30,000 of charges and his car missing from his Brandywine Road home, they say taken by his caregiver. * * *

• "Wider Inquiry Into Stealing From the Dead", by Ralph Blumenthal, published by The New York Times (02/03/88) -- New York State and city investigators, expanding their inquiry into thefts of property from the dead, seized accounting records yesterday from Public Administrators' offices in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. * * * The searches, announced by the State Attorney General and the State Comptroller and carried out with the city's Investigation Department, marked a new phase of a lengthy undercover investigation into the city's five Public Administrators' offices. The offices manage the estates of people who die without properly executed wills. * * *

When property possessed by the decedent may have been stolen, we can focus more on the comic aspects of events.

In the Arbendroth case, property of Harvey had been disbursed before his death among five of his "family members or acquaintances":

Pursuant to a criminal investigation of Harvey for possession of stolen property, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) removed items largely of a musical nature from appellants’ residences via consensual searches.

All five appellants essentially testified that, upon Harvey’s return from Florida, he left the items at issue in their residences. Two appellants, John Pudish and Scheideler, testified that they started to sell some of these items on eBay at Harvey’s suggestion and with his help.

All five appellants stated at one point that Harvey was either the owner of the property or that it was stolen. Shirley Harvey testified that the items were in her possession, but that “they were my sons [sic].” N.T. at 53. She did testify that her son gave her an organ, which was part of the property that he left with her. * * *

Each of the appellants had a story to tell as to how Harvey's property had come into their possession before he died.

But, there was a problem as to the manner in which Harvey may have acquired an interest in that property, according to one witness:

I just had found out that everything was stolen. As soon as I found out I called the guy [Kevin Abendroth] and he started asking me questions. I told him I would help. * * *

I told Kevin I wanted nothing to do with the items once I found out they were stolen items. I helped immediately, or whatever that word is. * * *

Then, the Pennsylvania State Police became involved:

Trooper Rebecca Warner testified that the PSP was prepared to criminally charge Harvey when he died, and outlined her subsequent efforts to return the property to Abendroth.

When Abendroth ultimately failed to come north for the property, the district attorney, on behalf of the PSP, filed a petition to dispose of personal property.

The PSP, through the district attorney, requested permission of the county court to dispose of the property by donation to a local church or by destruction.

Upon learning this, the appellants reappeared to claim it.

Upon learning of the proposed disposal of the property, appellants filed the instant motion for its return.
The court denied the motion, determining that appellants failed to prove by a fair preponderance of credible evidence either ownership and/or lawful possession of the property at issue. In coming to that conclusion, the court noted that appellants failed to claim the property as their own at the time of removal, turning it over without protest.

The court further noted that, to the contrary, appellants either voluntarily brought the property to the police barracks or assisted the PSP in identifying the property sought in the criminal investigation of Harvey. It compared appellants’ respective mindsets at the time of the property’s removal to their modified positions at the subsequent hearing, and observed that there are three or four “people who [didn’t] want any part of this property until today.”

Applying a fiduciary law principle, the county court further concluded "that if it had found that Harvey lawfully owned the property, then only his estate would have any standing to claim it."

The Commonwealth Court affirmed the holding of the trial court in an opinion written by President Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter:

While it is true that appellants were in possession of the property at the time of removal, they were unable to prove the lawful possession required * * *.
Rather, the evidence reflects that all the property was given to appellants by Harvey to hold on his behalf. In other words, they were bailees.

As bailees (or in the case of Shirley Harvey, recipient of a gift), appellants had to prove Harvey’s lawful possession because they could acquire no interest in the property greater than his. To hold otherwise would reverse the burden of proof any time an otherwise innocent person had agreed to hold property temporarily.

Appellants presented no evidence whatsoever that Harvey lawfully possessed the items he left in their care. Indeed, appellants’ testimony was permeated with expressions of doubt that Harvey acquired the property legally. * * *

The Commonwealth Court concluded its opinion with a footnote, somewhat in the nature of a disclaimer:

While holding that appellants failed to prove lawful possession, we emphasize that we do not in any way suggest that appellants’ behavior was unlawful. Indeed, their conduct appears to have been entirely blameless, and they fully cooperated with the authorities when contacted.

Perhaps she was mindful of a principle recited in a far-earlier opinion by another Pennsylvania Court:

And therefore it is that it is slanderous to charge one with stealing chattels, the property of a dead man, [since] the words "convey to the general ear an accusation of stealing them from his representative."

-- Chief Justice Shippen, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Bash v. Sommer, 20 Pa. 162, quoted in American Leading Cases (1871).

IRS "Interviews" for EINs

Beginning Tuesday, October 9, 2007, taxpayers can apply for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) online and get it before disconnecting from the Internal Revenue Service website. The IRS calls this innovation an "interview-style" application.

This new process supplants the former process of online completion of an IRS Form SS-4:

No more need to file a Form SS-4! We ask you the questions and you give us the answers.

The application includes embedded help topics and hyperlinked keywords and definitions so separate instructions aren’t needed.

After all validations are done you will get your EIN immediately upon completion.

You can then download, save, and print your confirmation notice. It’s fast, free, and user-friendly!

A new EIN is issued upon completion of the online "interview". Then a taxpayer can use it as a "Taxpayer Identification Number" (TIN), as explained by the IRS in "Apply for an EIN Online":

This EIN is your permanent number and can be used immediately for most of your business needs, including: opening a bank account; applying for business licenses; and filing a tax return by mail.

However, no matter how you apply (phone, fax, mail, or online), it will take up to two weeks before your EIN becomes part of the IRS' permanent records. You must wait until this occurs before you can: file an electronic return, make an electronic payment, or pass an IRS Taxpayer Identification Number matching program.

See also: "Online EIN: Frequently Asked Questions".

Assuming that you have the proper system requirements (computer, connection, & browser), you can access the new form of online application during the following hours:

Monday - Friday:
6:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Eastern time

Saturday:
6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time

Sunday:
7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Eastern time

This new form of online EIN application will be made available beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, October 9, 2007.

Hartford Reports Fed Est Tax Attitudes

On October 4, 2007, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. issued a Press Release entitled "The Estate Tax Conundrum: A New Study by The Hartford Explores Attitudes of Affluent Americans on Transferring Wealth to the Next Generation".

It notes: "Despite worries about the bite taxes will take, many Americans with significant savings have not taken adequate steps to plan their estate."

In a new survey from The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG), affluent Americans, especially those with more than $2 million in net worth, say they are more concerned than just a year ago about their families having to surrender significant chunks of an estate to federal taxes.

Despite those concerns, however, nearly 40 percent say they have not taken any steps to plan their estates and one in three surveyed say they don't know where to start. * * *

The Press Release reports: In August of this year, researchers for The Hartford gathered information about views on the estate tax from 750 adults with annual household incomes of $150,000 or more (70% had more than $1 million; 36% had more than $2 million in net worth).

The results revealed concerns by the polled audience:

Concern over the estate tax is rising, perhaps in connection with uncertainty over national elections now 14 months away.

Just under half of those surveyed said they were more concerned about the estate tax than a year ago. The concerns, the research found, rose in proportion to the respondents' savings.

Compared to the sample average of 49 percent who expressed greater concern about the estate tax, 73 percent of Americans with $5 million or more in assets, and 56 percent of those with more than $2 million in assets confessed that their fears were rising, the survey found.

The reported top causes of concern were:

• Increase in their net worth (65 percent)
• Growing federal budget deficit that might imperil any estate tax cuts (47 percent)
• Sense that the new Congress is less likely to repeal or reform the tax (41 percent)
  

Of those surveyed who had engaged in some estate planning, traditional approaches & tools appeared favored:

• 81 percent had written a will

• 68 percent had talked to family members about their intentions

• 63 percent had created a Power of Attorney or Living Will

• 51 percent had created a Living Trust

• 40 percent had purchased life insurance for estate liquidity or to pay estate taxes

• 22 percent had created an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

The results reinforced the role of professional advisors in addressing plans to address federal estate tax concerns:

Of the more than half of respondents who had begun estate planning,

• 74 percent worked with an attorney,

• 47 percent worked with an accountant and

• 28 percent worked with an insurance agent.

Smith said consulting a professional is a good start.

The Press Release was also posted online by Yahoo Business (here), Trading Markets (here), and MSN Money Central (here), among others. It should be consulted for details.

IRS Issues Revised Form 706

Effective on September 28, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released a revision to the "United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return -- Form 706" (PDF, 40 pages). Accompanying, new & updated Instructions for Form 706 (Rev. September 2007) (PDF, 32 pages) were also issued by the IRS.

However, the IRS did not yet issue a new Form 709, "United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, or its Instructions, for the year 2007. Only the 2006 Form 709 and its Instructions are posted on the IRS website, which lists all IRS "Estate and Gift -- Forms and Publications".

The IRS references these forms in its general explanation about "Estate and Gift Taxes".

On October 2, 2007, Vincent F. Lackner, Jr., Esq., founder & President of The Lackner Group, Inc., of Pittsburgh, PA, posted onto the Pennsylvania Bar Association's "Probate & Trust" Law Division Listserv, his detailed analysis of the changes of the new 2007 Form 706, in comparison to the 2006 Form 706.

Last week, he had given me permission to post his analysis; and I do so now.

Summary of 706 Changes from 2006 Final to 2007 Final
by Lackner Group

Form

1) All Pages: Revision date changed from 2006 to 2007 (upper left corner and/or lower right corner)

2) Top of Page 1: Decedent date of death: after 2006, before 2008

3) Page 2, Part 3, Line 3: Inserted "you may be required" (in place of "you agree")

4) Page 2, Part 4, Line 4c: Changed instruction page reference from 10 to 11

5) Page 2, Part 4, Bottom: Moved Questions #8a and 8b from top of Page 3 to bottom of Page 2

6) Page 3, Part 4: Changed "10" to "10a" and changed text

7) Page 3, Part 4: Added Question #10b (regarding valuation discounts). Per the instructions, this affects Schedules A, F, and G (with instructions for all three schedules appearing only in the instructions on the back of Schedule F (Page 20 of the forms set).

8) Page 3, Part 4: Changed Question #14 from marital deduction (under transitional rule) to interests in foreign accounts

9) All Schedules: Added block in upper right corner for "Decedent's Social Security Number"

10) Schedule R, Part 2, Line 8: Changed factor from 3.173913 to 3.222222 (based on new marginal rate of 45%)

11) Schedule R, Part 3, Line 8: Changed marginal rate from 46% to 45%

12) Schedule R-1, Part 2, Line 6: Changed factor from 3.173913 to 3.222222 (based on new marginal rate of 45%)

13) Decedent's Social Security Number: Added block for this in upper right corner of most schedules.

The following page and schedules do not have a line for the name of decedent or social security number at the top (this is not a change from prior years):

Page 3
Schedule A-1 (Page 9)
Schedule R (first page)

Presumably, the addition of the social security number at the top of most of the schedules was done to help identify a page/schedule if it becomes separated from the rest of the return. We have suggested to the IRS that it add blocks for this information on these three pages in a future version of the form.

Instructions

Back of Schedule F (Page 20 of the forms set)

Valuation discounts are separated into two types

Schedule A: "effective discount"
Schedule F: "total accumulated discount"
Schedule G: "total accumulated discount"

The IRS is looking for the reduction from gross to net (expressed as a percentage).

An example of "effective discount" is provided for Schedule A. It includes a "grid" that displays multiple discounts:

a. Pro-rata value of fractional interest (before any discounts)
b. Minus: 10% discount for lack of control
c. Marketable minority interest value
d. Minus: 15% discount for lack of marketability
e. Non-marketable minority interest value

Effective discount equals (a minus e) divided by a [($100 - $76.50) / $100 = 23.50%]

Apparently the IRS wants this level of detail to appear at least on the attachment for Schedule A.

No example is provided for "total accumulated discount" (Schedules F and G).

Without a second example, it is not entirely clear what distinction the IRS is trying to draw between the two types of discounts. We are hoping to receive clarification from the IRS on this point in the near future.

The IRS specifically listed Schedules A, F, and G only because they are the schedules where valuation discounts most commonly appear. Discounts may also have to reported on other asset schedule, as appropriate, with a corresponding attachment that shows either "effective discount" or "total accumulated discount".

Alternate Valuation -- If the estate elects Alternative Valuation, it can get a little more complicated because then there are two asset values and two discounts (although it's possible that the percentage discount would be the same in both cases).

Some changes of note

Page 3. Return Preparer Penalties: income tax return penalties extended to estate tax return preparers.

Page 4. Maximum Rate on Table A: 45%. This somewhat simplifies the calculation and proof of interrelated taxes because, for the first time, there is only one tax rate above the applicable exclusion amount.

Page 12. Foreign Accounts: Must check the box on Page 3, Part 4, Line 14, if decedent had interest in/signature over such accounts.

On page one of the new 2007 Form 706 Instructions, under the heading "Which Estates Must File", the IRS notes:

For Decedents dying in 2007, Form 706 must be filed by the executor for the estate of every U.S. citizen or resident whose gross estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts and specific exemption, is more than $2,000,000.

In view of this threshold, the text in the online banner at the top of the new posted Form 706 (September 2007 Revision) might appear as a humorous invitation: "Please fill out the following form. You can save data typed into this form."

Healing After Horror

A year ago, on October 2, 2006, the horror of senseless death was inflicted upon a one-room Amish school house in rural West Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, PA. A local resident, a married milk truck driver, took young children as hostages, released a few, then began shooting the others, killing five and wounding five, before he killed himself just as police broke through.

See: PA EE&F Law Blog posting "In Amish Tragedy, Autopsies Required, Acceptance & Faith Abound" (10/06/06), and its Updates on 02/09/07 & 04/19/07.

The horror of those events is vividly recalled and recounted in articles now appearing at the first anniversary of the tragedy that shook a community, a state, and a nation. Such articles were posted by The Lancaster New Era, which has indexed, in reverse chronological order, all its articles published during the past year on this subject.

The most recent articles explore how various participants in events surrounding the massacre dealt with the horror, now looking back a year:

• It still seems like a bad dream (09/30/07) -- One year later, a deputy coroner talks about the West Nickel Mines massacre of Amish girls and her ongoing job of dealing with tragedy. * * *

The horror of that day almost sealed Ballenger's desire to open herself to the sadness, pain and ugliness of the world in order to be a deputy coroner. * * *

"I was led down this path, and I was given the ability to do it," she says.

She says she will continue "as long as I feel I am doing a professional job and am offering something to these people." * * *

• Troopers talk about horror of Amish school tragedy (09/28/07) -- Trooper Samuel Laureto stood poised, gun drawn, outside the West Nickel Mines School that morning last October. When the first gunshots sounded, Laureto thought, "He's shooting into the air. Ain't no way he's shooting those kids." * * *

They talked about it with their families and the other troopers who were there that day.

They get angry sometimes, Cpl. Leo Hegarty said. They get emotional, Trooper Brian Herr said. They get quiet, Trooper Jonathan Smith said. Some don't want to talk about it anymore. They want to put it behind them and move on. * * *

• ER doctor reaches out to first responders (09/28/07) -- It's been nearly a year since the shootings in Bart Township, and Dr. Michael Reihart is still caring for the people involved.

Last year, Reihart and his fellow emergency room workers at Lancaster General Hospital treated several of the Amish children wounded by a suicidal gunman.
* * *

Reihart admitted that he — and several people directly involved in the girls' care that day — were deeply affected by the shooting and still get emotional about the subject. * * *

"I thought, 'How can we learn from this?' " Reihart said. "There are still a lot of people hurting." * * *

On Monday, Oct. 8, Reihart has arranged for Lt. Col. Dave Grossman — a West Point psychology professor and expert in human aggression and violent crime — to lead a seminar in Lancaster County. * * *

• Anniversary a painful reminder for Nickel Mines (09/25/07) -- Residents are dreading international media coverage as they cope with their own rekindled mourning and struggle to move on with their lives.

"I think everybody thinks about the shooting every day," [an Amish man] says. "It will never go away. This place will never be the same." * * *

But after a year of mourning that gradually has turned from dark anguish to gray, leaden, never-ending sorrow, many observers see glimmers of light. The community, they say, is more united.

"It's the kindred spirit idea," explains Bontrager. "You hurt together, you grow together."

Residents say they also feel more connected with events in the rest of the world. Many empathized, for example, with victims of the mass shooting last spring at Virginia Tech.

And many, after reaching out to ministers, counselors and sympathetic neighbors, have adjusted their view of life to meet a new reality.

"I think a lot of people rearranged their priorities," notes an Amish farmer. He smiles wryly. "A lot of problems seem insignificant now." * * *

See also: PA EE&F Law Blog posting regarding the shootings at Virginia Tech on Monday, April 16, 2007, "Moved by Sorrow with Mourning Online" (04/20/07).

For a comprehensive report about the fund-raising efforts after the tragedy, and the community's activities towards healing, see: "One Year After: The Nickel Mine Amish School Shooting" (Word format, 2 pages), dated September 7, 2007, prepared by the Nickel Mines Accountability Committee, of Christiana, PA, & posted by the Bart Township Fire Company. It prefaces its brief report with thanks:

The events that took place on October 2nd in a 1 room Amish schoolhouse in Bart Township will live in the minds of many. The Bart Township Fire Company would like to thank everyone that helped us in so many ways.

Notice: The local banks have closed accounts for the victims funds. Please forward any contributions to: NMAC - Nickel Mines Accountability Committee, 1528 Georgetown Road, Christiana, PA 17509 , 1528 Georgetown Road, Christiana, PA 17509

Other reports posted by that Fire Company regarding the aftermath of the tragedy can be found here.

The reactions of the Amish community, which received the trauma directly, have been love, forgiveness, and faith.

This approach, modeled by these "plain people of Lancaster County", has been adopted by many others in nearby communities:

Given the gross upheaval the shooting caused, one might expect some in this community would remain unforgiving about the intrusion and the intruder.

But the Amish were not the only forgivers.

"It is quite possible for other Christians to forgive in this way," explains the Rev. Remel, who lived one house away from the Roberts family and was as shocked as anyone by his action.

"God works for good, not evil," he says, "and this world isn't all that we live for. We have a hope for an eternal life with God where there won't be all these bad things — and that gives us the ability to forgive."

Beyond forgiving, or forgetting, many have felt a need to look for good to offset bad.

A popular song written by a young Amish mother in response to the shootings concludes, "Let's just look for the good things: We're surrounded by miracles." * * *

A book was written during the intervening year that is eagerly awaited by the Amish, entitled "The Happening", by Harvey Yoder, a Mennonite author of popular spiritual books.

This new book, drawn from the Amish viewpoint, is described in another article posted on September 26, 2007, by The Lancaster New Era, entitled "Amish eager for new book".

But those who want to know what really happened on Oct. 2, 2006, and how the Amish community reacted to the assault on a human level will read a much more modest book by Harvey Yoder.

The article reports that "The Happening" is "an account of Nickel Mines tragedy written by an insider."

"The Happening" presents the story through the eyes of a girl, one of the older teenagers, who was shot in the schoolhouse by Charles Carl Roberts IV, a milk truck driver from nearby Georgetown.

This girl, with the fictitious name of "Rebecca Sue," is a composite of all 10 girls. Her family is a composite of all the families of girls who went to school that morning. Yoder designed the book this way to protect the identities of individuals in a community that prefers anonymity.

By writing from the point of view of one omniscient person, who witnessed or later heard about everything that occurred, the author has created a you-are-there narrative." * * *

The Happening, a 162-page paperback book, has been published by Christian Aid Ministries, an Anabaptist charitable organization with headquarters in Berlin, Ohio, and a large food distribution center in Ephrata.
The book costs $11.99, plus tax, and may be purchased at the Christian Aid Ministries warehouse, 2412 Division Highway, Ephrata, and at several Lancaster County bookstores and other locations.

Update: 10/03/07:

National Public Radio offered an audio broadcast on October 2, 2007, entitled "Amish Forgive School Shooter, Struggle with Grief ":

A tragic school shooting left an Amish community devastated, but not resentful. But the ability to forgive doesn't mean that the families have been able to quickly get over their grief.

The article quoted Jonas Beiler, the founder of the Family Resource and Counseling Center, of Lancaster & Chester Counties, PA:

"Tragedy changes you. You can't stay the same," Beiler says.

"Where that lands you don't always know. But what I found out in my own experience if you bring what little pieces you have left to God, he somehow helps you make good out of it. And I see that happening in this school shooting as well. One just simple thing that the whole world got to see was this simple message of forgiveness." * * *