Little, Stec introduce ambulance relief legislation pg. 4
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HOMES EVERY WEEK! Valley News
Feb. 17, 2018
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• EDITION •
Mazdzer makes history Luger first male athlete to bring home medal for U.S. By Keith Lobdell SPORTS EDITOR
LAKE PLACID | Saranac Lake’s Chris Mazdzer has brought a men’s luge medal back to his hometown, the first male luger to ever do so. Mazdzer was guaranteed at least a bronze medal after his fourth run in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but moved into the silver medal position when two-time defending Olympic champion Felix Lock of Germany had a miscue on his final run. “This feels like 18 years in the making,” said Mazdzer to reporters after the event. “This is what you go to bed thinking about sometimes, to put it together on some of the most difficult conditions and be the first U.S. man to win an Olympic medal. It hasn’t set in. I can’t process all of that. I’ve just been having fun the last week.” Mazdzer started the second night of luge in fourth place after two runs. He turned up the heat with a track record in his third run that put him in second place. “Coming in, the ice temps are dropping. It’s
getting colder,” said Mazdzer. “I knew that I had it. I don’t know. It was a weird thing. I was at peace with myself. I looked at the ice and was excited, not nervous at all. I think that really helped me have that great third run.” Mazdzer’s silver medal time was 3:10.728. “I’d always been confident with my sliding, it’s just that the results hadn’t been there,” said Mazdzer. “I’ve had really good starts and really good sliding. It just took the conditions to be right. These conditions are so cold, it really played into my comfort zone, which is out of control and having fun.”
HAMLIN BRINGS THE FLAG IN
Erin Hamlin, four-time Olympian and Olympic bronze medalist, was selected as Team USA’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony. “Being named to an Olympic team is an amazing accomplishment, and making four teams and winning the bronze medal is so much more than I could I have imagined I would accomplish. Now being voted flag bearer is a whole new level,” said Hamlin, a Remsen native. “Working hard and earning success is one thing, being acknowledged as a great representative and member of Team USA by fellow athletes — many who I have been inspired by — is above and beyond anything I’ve experienced. It is definitely a privilege and honor to be the one to lead the team and will be a very special moment. I can’t wait to share it with them all.”
Chris Mazdzer made Olympic history Feb. 11, becoming the first male to win a luge medal, earning the Silver in his third Olympic attempt. Photo provided/Getty The announcement did not come without some controversy, as Shani Davis, making his fifth Olympics as a speedskater, felt he should have been the flag bearer after it was announced he lost a tie vote on a coin flip.
BAILEY, BURKE TAKE TO BIATHLON
In the 10 km sprint, Lake Placid’s Lowell Bailey placed 33rd with a time of 24:54.4 along with 1:15.6 in penalty time after one miss on his second shooting station in his
first race of the Olympics, Along with Baiiey, Tim Burke took to the Pyeongchang course the following day as the Lake Placid native finished 17th in the 12.5km sprint pursuit event with a time of 35:11.3 with 2:19.6 in penalty time from three shooting misses. Bailey placed 32nd with a time of 36:43.3, but suffered 3:51.6 in penalties due to five missed shots in the final two shooting stations. ■
Opposition mounts to proposed state tax burden shift
COUNTY GETS INDIGENT DEFENSE LIFELINE Three-year state grants accepted, but permanent relief still needed, say officials
» County Cont. on pg. 3
Executive proposal to make state land tax exempt has united green groups and local officials in outrage By Pete DeMola EDITOR
ELIZABETHTOWN | Concerns continue to grow by an expanding coalition over an executive budget proposal to use payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements instead of market value to calculate taxes on land in the Adirondack Park and the Catskills.
GREEN GROUPS OPPOSE
Environmental groups joined local
off icials last week in arguing the measure would shift the burden to local governments and taxpayers. The constant threat of diminished revenue may erode the shaky alliance that has been forged between environmental groups and local governments. “They could stop seeing the Forest Preserve as the financial asset it is,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Willie Janeway in a statement. “That can lead to local opposition to important state land purchases and political pressure to allow more intensive forms of recreation that cause harm to the Forest Preserve’s forests, waters and wildlife.” The state proposal could also reduce local autonomy. “If the state takes away their legal protections for tax collection in this budget, what’s to stop them from halting the payments entirely in the next budget, or the one after that?” Janeway said.
Essex County Real Property Tax Service Director Charli Lewis estimated last week $185,300 would be immediately shifted from the state to local property owners if the proposal took effect immediately, resulting in about an 8.5 percent tax increase. Half of the county’s land is state owned. If all of that is made tax exempt, Essex County could lose an estimated $956 million in taxable value. Dozens of schools districts would also be impacted. Local lawmakers are apoplectic. “This is why I hate the state,” said Chesterfield Supervisor Gerald Morrow. “They speak with a forked tongue, they do not practice what they preach. They tell you to do shared services and tell you can’t do what you are already doing. Who do they represent? Not our taxpayers.”
CENTRAL CONTROL
The state is currently required to pay full property taxes on Forest Preserve. » State tax Cont. on pg. 7
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