NY town to preserve parcel with bloody history

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (AP) An upstate New York town is buying a parcel of land containing a large rock with a bloody history that dates back more than 250 years.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls reports that the town of Queensbury will spend $45,000 to buy a 1-acre patch of woods where Blind Rock is located.

The rock was a meeting spot for American Indians centuries ago, and in the 18th century it marked the unofficial frontier boundary marking French-held territory to the north and British forces to the south.

According to historical accounts from the French and Indian War, the rock was where Indians tortured captives taken in raids against the British.

Town officials say they plan to build a small park around Blind Rock and preserve the property, located just off Route 9.

Information from: The Post-Star, http://www.poststar.com

NY comptroller: Low growth in local sales tax take

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York state's comptroller says the growth in local sales tax collection has been sluggish.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says local sales tax collections in New York grew by $450 million in 2012, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to 2011.

DiNapoli says localities are still feeling the aftershocks of the recent recession and that the slow sales tax growth is adding pressure to already strained local budgets.

New York City had a slightly higher growth rate of 3.5 percent.

NY historic site to host 1780s winter encampment

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. (AP) Before he became the nation's first president, George Washington spent the final winter of the American Revolution at his headquarters in Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, while his northern Continental Army was encamped in nearby New Windsor.

The New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is marking Presidents' weekend with a demonstration of how thousands of Continental soldiers got through the winter of 1782-83. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, re-enactors will stage a winter encampment with musket and cannon firings, blacksmithing and other demonstrations of daily life in 18th-century America.

During the last year of the Revolution, more than 7,000 American soldiers lived in 600 logs huts built at New Windsor. The historic site is also home to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.

(All stories copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)