If you want the answers, you need a lot of questions

I think it is safe to say that kids, no matter where they are from, have a natural curiosity of the world around them.

With that said, I suppose you could call me and all my friends who grew up in Inlet a bunch of snoops.

We reveled in anything or anyone that was new to our community.

If there was a new guy driving the oil delivery truck we would tromp around the house where he was making a delivery and ask him who he was and what happened to the old guy.

If we saw a fellow wetting a line on the shore of one of our lakes we would think nothing of sauntering up to him to pepper him with questions.

What’s bitin’? What lure you got there? What sorta bait do you normally use? The questions just kept pouring out.

Sometimes I was by myself when I ran into someone new. It could be a gal poking around the ski trails with her dog, or a fella with a shot gun and hound dog walking down a trail on his snowshoes.

On one particularly warm March day in 1975 I met up with a very interesting sort of fellow. I had made my way up one side of the Limekiln Road on my cross country skis. I was maneuvering along on some thin and crusty brown snow that was diminishing daily under the spring sun.

My dog Mutt was ahead of me hopping back and forth over the snow banks, sniffing at all sorts of animal tracks. Continue reading →

Wily coyotes keep hunting dogs on the run

Mark with his coyote

Winter weather continues in many parts of the country where they don’t usually have winter. We had a new covering of snow almost every day last week but we didn’t get the wind that other folks got.

It sounds like we are going to get all kinds of crap this week—snow, freezing rain and just plain rain. What a mess that will make.

With all this snow, the lakes have wet up in places causing slush that could bog down a snowmobile.

I got in some slush a few times myself while crossing Limekiln Lake to the Sump Trail but I never got stuck in it.

Sometimes while beaver trapping on March mornings I have put my foot through about a foot water on top of the ice.

Luckily for me there has been plenty of ice under the water, but it sure did give me a funny feeling.

If I have gone back to the same spot at night I have sometimes found that the water has all drained off.

There were days when I would cross the frozen lake in the morning to collect sap and then have to come out on the road at night.

Jacob and friend Colby documented McCauley skiing with a helmet-cam

One day one of my partners broke his handle bars and made it back to the shop using vice grips.

He welded the handle bars and went out again.

It was one of those sunny days and by the time he got to Beaver Lake things had begun to thaw. He chose to go along the shoreline rather than cross the middle of the lake. He dropped his machine through while going over a tree top in the ice.

The machine balanced on the top and he walked to shore on the tree. He cut a pole and got his machine to shore. He didn’t cross the lake that day.

This past weekend I got down to the open farmlands near Richfield Springs to Coyote hunt with Jason Harter and a few other hounding friends. Continue reading →

Is student scholarship award considered taxable income?

Question: I paid the tuition for my son to attend college. He lives in my home but my divorce agreement allows his father to take him as a dependent. Can I use the tuition I paid as a deduction or credit on my tax return?

To take advantage of the education (tuition and fees) related adjustment or deduction the payments must have been used for the taxpayer or their dependent’s education.

Since your son is not your dependent you cannot use the tuition payments as an adjustment or credit on your return. For the same reason his father cannot use the funds you paid as a deduction on his return either.

The only way you can take advantage of the tuition adjustment or deduction is to obtain an agreement from your son’s father allowing you to claim your son as a dependent for the years you pay for his education.

If this is possible, be sure you have IRS Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, or a similar document signed by your son’s father and attach it to your return.

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Question: I have just received a tuition statement (Form 1098-T) from my daughter’s college and on it is a figure for the scholarship she received. Is this scholarship taxable income? Continue reading →

Snofest: Special trail permits available

The Towns of Webb and Inlet will be offering a special trail permit promotion in conjunction with the annual SnoFest event that will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9 at the George T. Hiltebrant Recreation Center on North Street in Old Forge.

Beginning Thursday, March 7 anyone who purchases their 2013 to 2014 snowmobile trail permit at the $65 pre-season rate can ride the trails free for the rest of this season.

Trail permits must be purchased in person at either the Town of Webb or Inlet Information Offices to take advantage of the opportunity.

SnoFest provides a first look at what snowmobilers can expect in the way of 2014 sleds, gear and accessories.

Dealers from the four top snowmobile manufacturers, Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo, and Yamaha, will be on-hand to present the Sneak Peek Nationwide Tour.

The event will also feature freestyle snocross performances by Tree Line Sled Style of Bethel, VT.

The daredevil sledders will present performances on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at noon and 6:30 p.m.

For a complete weekend schedule, directions, lodging specials, and vendor list go to www.SnoFestusa.com.