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ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron

Editorial» Thank you for saving 2014, NASA

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YOUR NUMBER ONE SOURCE OF COMMUNITY NEWS, SERVING THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN REGION

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This Week SARANAC LAKE

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Saturday, December 13, 2014

ROCKETS’ RED GLARE

State slams feds over crude oil regulations By Pete DeMola pete@denpubs.com

Winter Carnival now accepting parade applications PAGE 2 WESTPORT

Children watch a fireworks display in downtown AuSable Forks on Saturday, Dec. 6 as part of the hamlet’s annual holiday event. For the full story, see page 9.

Local group working to build veterans memorial

Photo by Pete DeMola

Residents miffed over tree cutbacks By Pete DeMola

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pete@denpubs.com

SPORTS

Ti tops ELW in basketball tournament

KEESEVILLE Ñ The neighborhood has a new close-cropped look. Motorists entering Keeseville from Exit 34 on the Northway were once greeted with a green gauntlet of strong and hardy pines. Now, all that remains is a naked gash of stripped earth, trees hacked in half and detritus-strewn yards. And the undertow of angry chatter. Some residents on Pine, Pleasant and Hill Streets arenÕ t very happy at NYSEGÕ s latest round of pruning and tree removal designed to clear obstructions near power lines. Ronald Desautels stood in his front yard last week and surveyed what was left of two tall pines. He agreed that one was touching the line and needed to be cut back. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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ALBANY Ñ A state report released on Monday says the feds need to pick up the pace on the regulation of crude oil rail shipments. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the pace of federal regulatory agencies Ò unacceptably slow.Ó Ò Over the past six months, our administration has taken swift and decisive action to increase the stateÕ s preparedness and better protect New Yorkers from the possibility of a crude oil disaster,Ó said Cuomo in a statement. Ò Now it is time for our federal partners to do the same.Ó The status report also slapped the railway biz for what it said was an Ò unwillingnessÓ to invest in critical equipment that would reduce the volatility of Bakken crude, a chief contributor to the Lac Megantic incident that killed 47 last summer in Quebec. Last month, the state urged federal authorities to remove DOT-111 cars from service or require they be retrofitted to assure safer transport. A decision is still pending. The report also cited lobbying efforts by the state to the North Dakota Industrial Commission that would require gas separation prior to making the crude oil available for shipment, a measure that proponents say would reduce volatility. VOLUME UNKNOWN

The latest round of maintenance conducted by NYSEG to prune and clear vegetation around 12 miles of power lines in Keeseville has left many residents confused and angry. Ronald Desautels, pictured here, is upset about the removal that slashed through the heart of his hunting camp. Photo by Pete DeMola

Fracking has fueled a surge in domestic oil production over the past five years and the use of trains to ship the crude has risen by 4,000 percent, from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to 407,642 in 2013. Trains are maxed out at 100 CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Index LOCAL COLUMNISTS

4

COUNTY PROCUREMEN LAW

5

PUBLISHER’S COLUMN

6

LETTERS

7

IN BRIEF

7

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