State Troopers reported that 28 year old Mark McGraw died in a logging accident in the town of Hancock on Tuesday morning. Troopers said McGraw died of a broken neck, he had been working by himself felling trees at about 9:40 Tuesday Morning when a tree fell and he was pinned.
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The North Dakota Industrial Commission voted to approve regulations to reduce the volatility of crude oil at the source before it is shipped across the nation. North Dakota will increase the safety of transporting crude oil that eventually crosses New York State. Governor Cuomo’s administration has taken 66 actions to safeguard New York’s residents from potentially serious incidents involving the increased shipment of Volatile crude oil by rail or Boat, the actions were taken following a well-publicized train explosion in North Dakota earlier this year.
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New York Farm Bureau members along with the Feeding America Food Banks announced that New York Farm Bureau members have donated almost 9.6 million pounds of food and farm products in 2014 through the month of November. That translates to nearly eight million meals being provided to New Yorkers in need. This record number is more than a million pounds of food ahead of where donations were last year at this time.
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Congressman Chris Gibson announced the passage of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which requires changes to Department of Defense and VA mental health programs. Congressman Gibson co-sponsored the bill, which increases access to mental health care by creating a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning servicemen and women. It also requires an independent 3rd party to conduct annual evaluations of VA mental health and suicide prevention programs, authorizes the VA to collaborate with non-profit organizations to improve suicide prevention efforts, and starts a loan repayment program to help recruit new psychiatric caregivers. The bill is named for Marine Corporal Clay Hunt, who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder & faced delays in treatment; he took his own life at the age of 28 in 2011.
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Charity solicitations usually gear up during the holiday season, but you should check with the solicitor to make sure the money is indeed going to a worthy cause. Many charities employ telemarketers for their solicitations, and those middlemen often take a chunk of the proceeds. If you receive a call from a telemarketer, ask what programs are conducted by the charity? How much of your donation will be used for charitable programs? How much is the telemarketer being paid and how much is the charity guaranteed
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Doctors statewide would have wider discretion in treating Lyme disease if Gov. Cuomo signs legislation now on his desk. The bill would allow doctors to go outside of accepted medical guidelines to treat Lyme disease without automatically triggering an investigation by the state’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct. Last year, 17.9 people out of every 100,000 in New York were diagnosed with Lyme disease according to the CDC. The deadline for action by Cuomo is Dec. 17th
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The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance said bitcoin purchases will not be subject to sales taxes. According to a tax guidance memo from the agency’s Taxpayer Guidance Division, digital currencies are a type of “intangible property” and, as such, are not subject to a sales tax when purchased. A sales exchange involving a digital currency w?uld b? considered a type ?f barter transaction. Only ??rt?in goods ?nd services exchanged far a digital currency w?uld b? subject t? a sales tax or related reporting requirements.
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Law enforcement agencies around the state will conduct DWI enforcement patrols and checvkpoints, from the end of this week through the new year. Drunk drivers kill more than 10,000 people each year, the frequency of those accidents increase during the holiday season. You can now download the free STOP-DWI mobile app for Ios, Android & Windows Phone at stopdwi.org/mobileapp. The app will allow you to call a taxi; program a designated driver list & report suspect drunk drivers.
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