Daily Archives: January 10, 2013

Gary Lee’s Daybreak to Twilight

Trail Travel: Be careful of fallen debris and on-coming sleds

Common Redpolls

Common Redpolls

We are truly into the winter season with steady snowfall and longer days.

It looks as if there will be a warming trend this week which should settle the depth of snow and wet up the lakes.

It has been above freezing since just before Christmas and with all the snow that fell on just a skim of ice the lakes are far from safe.

There were some ice fishermen out on Limekiln Lake on January 5 wading around in the six inches of slush atop approximately three inches of ice.

But that doesn’t mean there is three inches of ice on the entire lake, as I’m sure there isn’t.

It needs to wet up and freeze before you venture out on the ice. If you haven’t checked the depth of the ice don’t travel on it as it could be your last trip.

Going through the ice and into freezing water is not a good situation to be in or to get out of.

_MG_2211This also puts local rescue people in danger when they are trying to save a life under such conditions.

DEC personnel are still working on the new connector trail from the three mile area in the Moose River Area to Raquette Lake.

I talked to someone the other night who has been working on the trail and he said they only had two more bridges to build.

I haven’t walked the trail but I know if they used the old loop trail after hitting it from the Plains they would have eliminated the new trail construction near the Seventh Lake Boat Launch to the entrance of Eighth Lake Campsite.

From that point to the Sagamore Road is a long stretch of new trail. PR I saw said there was only 2.5 miles of new trail to be built.

The construction cost is more than what has been spent on the roads in the Moose River Area in several years, and that is just for materials not labor. Continue reading →

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Tax Time Questions by Independent Tax Preparer Deborah Ritz

When to file tax returns and where to find forms

How soon can I file my income tax return?

As soon as you receive the information you need to file (W-2, Unemployment 1099G, bank interest, etc.) you may fill out both the federal and state income tax forms and mail them in. If you efile your return the first acceptance date will be January 31.

This year the IRS and most states including New York state will not provide a projected refund date. In 2012 the IRS issued more than 9 out of 10 refunds to taxpayers in less than 21 days and anticipates the same results in 2013.

To help you track the processing of your return the IRS has established a site http://www.irs.gov/Refunds/Where’s-My-Refund-It’s-Quick,-Easy,-and-Secure, a cell phone app IRS2GO, and for those electronically-challenged taxpayers a Refund Hotline 1-800-829-1954.

The IRS has also joined New York state in the practice of reviewing some returns with refundable credits (Earned Income Credit, etc.) before sending the taxpayer their refund which will delay the processing of those returns and refunds expected.

The IRS cautions you to not count on your refunds by a certain date. Even though they issue most refunds within the 21 day period, it’s possible your return may require additional review and a longer processing time.

Where do I get the forms & instructions? Continue reading →

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Webb board agrees to unprecedented easements on snowmobile Trail 5

The Town of Webb Board passed three resolutions Tuesday to allow the owners of three individual properties to create driveway entrances across Snowmobile Trail Number Five to land they own on the west side of Route 28, north of Old Forge in the vicinity of Fourth Lake.

This action by the board is unprecedented.

Requests of this nature have come before the board for decades, but to this point the board has been reluctant to allow the possible loss of control over the quality of Trail Five, a main snowmobile thoroughfare, by allowing bisection to adjacent land—much of which is undevelopable.

The three properties relating to the current action are owned by Donald Gooley, David Gribneau and John Johnson.

The board was petitioned most recently on the property owners’ behalf by attorney Mark Levitt on Tuesday, November 13.

Since then Town of Webb attorney Richard Frye has been working to craft an acceptable agreement between the town and the three property owners to accommodate the property owners request and to establish an updated policy regarding easements on Trail Five.

Newly discovered documents provided the impetus for the efforts.  Continue reading →

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