Milford man killed in NYC construction accident

MANHATTAN — A 38-year-old Milford carpenter was one of two workers killed August 23 when a temporary elevator at an office tower under construction plunged 19 stories to Madison Avenue.

Reportedly the father of seven children, James Benton fell inside the hoist’s basket. He was extricated by emergency services and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. A second worker, George Scarpati, 34, from Howell, NJ was thrown into the street and died at the scene of the 4:00 p.m. accident.

According to the New York Times, the NYC Department of Buildings was shutting down and investigating the site, which had a fire earlier this month and a crane collapse in April.

The 1.2 million square-foot 35-story building is to be the new headquarters of CIBC World Markets, an investment bank. The project’s general contractor is Manhattan-based, Turner Construction, which is also building the new Sullivan West High School in Lake Huntington.

Absentee ballot deadlines near for primary election

ALBANY — The New York State Board of Elections reminds all New Yorkers who are eligible to vote on Primary Day, September 10, 2002, that if they will be out of their county or New York City or will be unable to go to the polls because of illness or physical disability, they may vote by absentee ballot.

Voters will receive an absentee ballot after they complete an application and mail it to their county board of elections no later than Tuesday, September 3, or hand deliver it by Monday, September 9.

For more information and applications for absentee ballots contact the Sullivan County Board of Elections at 845/794-3000, extension 5024. Internet users can download an application by clicking on “Voting” on the New York State Board of Elections’ website, www.elections.state.ny.us.

Casino hearing scheduled

MONTICELLO — The Town of Thompson Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement for the St. Regis Mohawks/Park Place Entertainment casino-hotel project at Kutsher’s sports academy on Anawana Lake Road.

Its hearing for the project, the Mohawk Mountain Resort and Casino, has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Lackawaxen bans outdoor burning

LACKAWAXEN — Faced with increasingly dry conditions earlier this month, the Lackawaxen supervisors declared a ban on all outdoor burning on August 14.

The ban is scheduled to continue for 30 days.

Man charged with rape of 10-year-old

MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP — Pennsylvania state police have arrested a Pleasant Mount man and charged him with repeatedly raping an unidentified 10-year-old girl over the course of the past year at a residence located in Manchester Township.

Joseph Michael Freer, 23, has been charged with five counts of Rape and Statutory Sexual Assault, 10 counts each of Aggravated Indecent Assault and Indecent Assault, as well as Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse and Corruption of Minors.

Freer was arraigned before Magistrate Bonnie Lewis and held at the Wayne County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail, pending an August 29 preliminary hearing.

State parks open for early goose hunting

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has announced that state parks will allow Canada goose hunting during the state’s early season beginning next month. The statewide season, designed to reduce local nuisance geese populations, runs Monday, September 2, through Wednesday, September 25.

With the early-season starting date falling on the busy Labor Day holiday, not all state parks will be open to hunting that day.  Also, as some state parks are closed to hunting, hunters should contact individual park offices for starting dates and other details.

Game commission rules and regulations governing the early Canada goose season will apply. Additional details can be obtained from the Game Commission by writing PA Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA  17110-9797, or by calling 717/787-4250.

Governor encourages unity for 9/11 anniversary events

ALBANY — With the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorism attacks approaching, Governor Pataki has asked that New Yorkers, amid any and all activities, observe four moments of silence during the day.

Those moments are: at 8:46 a.m., the time of the impact of the first plane into the World Trade Center, again at 9:03 a.m. at the time of the second impact, 9:59 a.m. at the time the first tower collapsed and finally at 10:29 a.m. at the time of the second tower collapse.

Pataki has further requested the tolling of municipal and church bells across the state at precisely 10:29 a.m. as part of the effort to reflect on and remember the tragic events, as well as the heroism, of that day.

In addition to the simultaneous tolling of bells across the state, the Governor is encouraging all religious institutions to remain open into the evening hours to provide a venue for New Yorkers to pray and be comforted in their respective houses of worship.