Top Ten Year End Tax Planning- Questions and Answers
You've been through it all before, right?
As the end of the year approaches, you have become quite adept at making clever
moves that reduce your taxes and position you for better results in the coming
year. Even so, there may be another strategy or two that could make your results
even better.
Some of your best opportunities to fine-tune your tax picture come in the form
of charitable planning strategies. You may be familiar with many of these, but
others may be new options you have not considered.
The Office of Gift Planning is pleased to offer a special booklet – Top Ten
Year-End Tax Planning Questions and Answers – to help you sharpen your year-end
planning acumen. We invite you to take our year-end planning quiz to reinforce
your planning prowess and to introduce you to some ideas you may find useful.
To request a copy of Top Ten Year-End Tax Planning Questions and Answers, send
your name and address in an email message to GiftPlanning@union.edu. We'll
send a copy out ASAP.
Bubo scandiacus is the Latin name for a snowy owl. The birds are typically found in the subarctic. But one sat placidly on a lawn in the middle of campus until the state Department of Environmental Conservation took the bird to a vet.
Ed Becker, a veterinarian at The Animal Hospital in Guilderland, reported the bird was “very thin — he is basically emaciated and dehydrated,” but otherwise apparently intact. Other tests were ongoing. (Becker wasn't sure whether the owl was male or female. Blood tests are generally the only way to figure that out.) After the owl recuperates, it likely will be released somewhere farther upstate, officials said.
Karl Parker, the DEC wildlife biologist who snared the owl with a net and delivered it to Becker, said the owls will migrate far afield when they are having trouble finding the small animals they usually eat. While it's not unheard of for a snowy owl to appear this far south, it did appear earlier in the season than one usually might.
“I haven't seen one in a number of years, actually,” Parker said.
A Union biologist who came to look at the owl, Carl George, said other birds typically found far to the north have come south sooner than usual. Ward Stone, a DEC wildlife pathologist, had heard that too — and worried that global warming might push more snowy owls out of their habitat as the wide-open spaces they look for are overgrown with bushes and trees.
Several people gathered to look at the owl, a dome of white feathers flecked with dark markings. A maintenance worker on campus first spotted the bird around 6:30 a.m., when it was scurrying across campus. It stopped near a stone wall near the Nott Memorial.
When Parker netted the owl, it put up little resistance, spinning its head around and widening its big, golden eyes. Parker held it aloft, like a trophy.
“Gorgeous bird. Absolutely beautiful,” said Jeremy Dibbell, Union's archives specialist, who was among those giving wide berth to the owl and its talons.
If anybody found it ironic that next week millions of turkeys will quietly go to their deaths while such a fuss was being made over this one bird, nobody said so.
Later, a chef wearing a toque and white coat showed up. People joked that the bird was off limits. He laughed at the commotion he caused. He walked away, saying, “No owl — tortellini for lunch.”
Two things about the snowy owl that collapsed on campus recently: first, it's a female; second, she's put on some weight since starting recovery at a local vet and may be released as early as next week, Dec. 6.
Plans are to release her near the Canadian border, according to Mike Hilton of Campus Safety, who has been monitoring the bird's progress.
The brilliant white arctic raptor with
bright gold eyes made a stop on campus on Wednesday morning, Nov. 17, delighting students,
staff and a newspaper photographer who happened by.
First spotted by Dennis Chotkowski
of facilities on the south end of campus early Wednesday morning, the raptor
made a low flight to the ground below Terrace Wall near the College flagpole.
Ed Teller and Mike Hilton from
Campus Safety went to the scene where a small group of students had gathered
and summoned Prof. Emeritus Carl George, whose expertise covers birds of prey.
Though it appeared intact, the owl
was “pretty frail” and probably hadn't eaten for some time, Prof. George
reported. A staffer from the state Department of Environmental Conservation
captured the bird to take it to a veterinarian, he said.
The bird was well south of its
normal range in the arctic tundra, Prof. George said, adding that birds can
greatly extend their range if food supply (in this case small rodents) is
scarce, a phenomenon known as an irruption.
This was apparently not the first
campus visit by Nyctea scandiaca.
George said that colleagues recall a snowy owl perched atop the Nott Memorial
about 20 years ago.
The professor, who has seen a
number of snowy owls in the wild, said he marveled at seeing one so close.
“Those large bright gold eyes that look so placidly,” he said. “They're almost
ethereal in their gaze.”
A check with the vet by Hilton on Tuesday, Nov. 23, revealed that the bird, a female, had gained nearly a half pound during recovery. It may be released next week, he said.
Expenses are absorbed by the vet, Hilton noted. Those who would like to contribute may send donations to: The Animal Hospital, 2 Rocking Horse Lane, Guilderland, NY 12159 c/o Union College Snowy Owl.
Junior Jonathan Poirier (St. Jerome, QUE) earned
Union's first men's hockey conference honor of the season on November 8 as he was named the
ECACHL Player of the Week. Union picked up two wins in its
conference-opening weekend. They defeated #13 St. Lawrence 6-5 on Friday
evening for the team's first-ever win over a ranked opponent. The win was
Union's fifth straight over the Saints. For an encore the Dutchmen downed
Clarkson 4-1, holding the Golden Knights to their lowest single-game goal total
of the season.
Poirier fueled a high-powered Union offense with two goals
and three assists. He tied the game up with a power play goal against the
Saints as Union came from two goals down to hold on for the win. He also
had three assists, including two on a three-goal run by the Dutchmen to give
him four points on the night, the most points tallied against St. Lawrence for
a single player. The following night Poirier registered his second power
play goal of the weekend against Clarkson as he scored Union's third goal of the
game to add some insurance against the Golden Knights.
Sophomore Scott Brady(Sutton, MA) was named
to the ECACHL Honor Roll following a solid defensive effort. He also recorded a
pair of assists that came on both of Union's game-winning goals. He leads all
defenders with three assists on the season.
Each time the Dutchmen hockey team scores a POWER PLAY goal,
Tech Valley Printing will contribute $50 to the Northeastern New York Chapter
of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF). You can help too by adding your support to
ours. Make a pledge to contribute $1,
$2, $3, $5, $10 or any amount you want for each POWER PLAY goal the team scores
this season. You will receive a bill for
your total pledge at the conclusion of the Union hockey season. All proceeds will go directly to the JDRF of
Northeastern New York.
Pledge cards can be obtained at Frank L. Messa Rink at the
Achilles Center, or you can send your pledge to Union College Athletics, 807
Union Street, Schenectady, NY
12308. Please make sure to mark
it as your pledge to JDRF.
