Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
Cornell Cooperative Extension Essex County (CCE Essex) received a $2500 grant from the International Paper’s Ticonderoga Branch, and the International Paper Foundation. The money will be used to host two “Game of Logging” courses through the Northeast Woodland Training with instructor David Birdsall, taking place at North Country Creamery in Keeseville.
Almanack Contributor Editorial Staff
Stories under the Almanack's Editorial Staff byline come from press releases and other notices.
Send news updates and story ideas to Almanack Editor Melissa Hart at [email protected]
CCE Essex receives grant for logging training courses
The Museum Association of NY announces North Country grant awards
The Museum Association of New York (MANY) has announced in a press release that 98 museums across New York State have been selected to participate in an IMLS CARES Act grant program, titled “Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, and Growing Accessibility.”
The grant project is designed to help support those museums that have been impacted by the pandemic and subsequent quarantine, so they may share their collections and reach audiences who cannot physically visit their museums. Under the program, 200 staff will be trained in using new hardware and software in order to engage communities and reach new audiences.
Adirondack roads get $32.5M facelift
$18.5 Million Resurfacing Project on Route 28 in Hamilton County from Eagle Bay to Blue Mountain Lake Enhances Safety and Supports Tourism
Additional Projects Totaling $14 Million Resurface 172 Lane Miles of Pavement in St. Lawrence, Franklin and Clinton Counties
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced the completion of a series of roadway resurfacing projects totaling $32.5 million throughout the North Country. The projects were led by the Department of Transportation and consisted of the resurfacing of a 25.4 mile stretch of State Route 28 from Eagle Bay to Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton Country. This section of Route 28 is part of the Central Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway and connects many popular areas for recreation and tourism. 172 lane miles of pavement on 20 state highways in St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Clinton counties were also restored due to a $14 million investment.
Gov. Cuomo signs road salt bill, paving way for salt reduction
Gov. Andrew Cuomo won praise from Adirondack and statewide conservation organizations today when he signed into law the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act – a bipartisan bill that would help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park.
Late Wednesday night, the governor signed a law aimed at reining in the 300 million pounds of salt dumped each year in the Adirondack Park to clear roads for fast-moving vehicles.
Local lawmakers and environmental groups have been pushing the idea since last year. The law creates a task force and directs state transportation, public health and environmental officials all to help with a three-year study that will test new ways to manage roads in the winter.
Franklin County schools to resume in person
School leaders in Franklin County have decided to bring students back into school buildings early after seeing progress in COVID-19 protocols throughout the county.
Schools will start bringing students back Monday, Dec. 7. Most will use a phased approach that will continue through Dec. 10.
Franklin County’s school districts shifted to fully remote learning in November, when officials from Franklin County Public Health asked school district superintendents in the county to help them slow the spread of COVID-19 cases. At the time, schools weren’t ready to meet the state testing requirements if the region were to be designated a yellow zone, and public health staff were too busy with contact tracing and other efforts to slow the virus spread to help. School leaders initially said the pause of in-person learning would last through Jan. 4.
DEC Announces Annual Arbor Day Poster Contest
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced the start of the DEC’s Annual Arbor Day Original Artwork Poster contest. This contest is held by the DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry Program yearly in order to commemorate Arbor Day. The public is invited to submit original photos and artwork celebrating the immeasurable value of trees.
The contest is sponsored by the New York State Arbor Day Committee, and the DEC will be accepting photographs and artwork submissions for the committee through December 31, 2020. The photos and artwork submitted must include trees within New York State, and can be sent to [email protected]. Participants will be limited to five submissions and each submission should include a completed artist information form available on DEC’s website.
To obtain past New York State Arbor Day posters, contact any local DEC forestry office or call 518-402-9428.
Indian Lake orgs host holiday event
A virtual event to benefit the Arts Center, Indian Lake Theater, and the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce!
Don’t miss this fun holiday event! For the link to this livestream, go to adirondackarts.org.
To reserve your seat at the Theater to watch this livestream on the big screen, stay tuned for info and a link at indianlaketheater.org.
For information on how to enter or be a judge for the Let There Be Lights! holiday lighting and decorating contest, go to indian-lake.com
Workshops provide health management tools during COVID-19 pandemic
The North Country Healthy Heart Network has teamed up with the St. Lawrence Health Initiative and the New York State Office for the Aging to promote Better Choices, Better Health, a free, six-week online workshop to help people prevent or better manage diabetes, high blood pressure, or other chronic disease, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Better Choices, Better Health’s self-paced workshop is designed by Stanford University to help people with a wide range of medical conditions, including anxiety, COPD, diabetes (type 1 & type 2) and more.
The workshop will help participants stay informed about medications and physical activity, as well as pain, stress, and isolation management skills. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/bcbh2020.
For more information about the North Country Healthy Heart Network, visit heartnetwork.org.
ADI Director receives award from Adirondack Wild
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve has honored the work of Nicole “Nicky”’ Hylton-Patterson, the executive director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, a project of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA). The group presented her with Adirondack Wild’s 2020 Wild Stewardship Award in recognition of her initiating and elevating difficult conversations about race, shared power, and influence in the Adirondack region over the past year. Such conversations are integral to improved and shared stewardship of the Adirondack Park.
Nicky Hylton-Patterson, joined by the ADI’s core team of volunteers, leads this necessary educational work in all its complexity. Adirondack Wild’s award recognizes Ms. Hylton-Patterson’s intelligence, personality, and courage, in addition to her collaborative and educational talents, which have all been brought to bear on anti-racism progression in the Adirondack Park.
“Nicky’s ‘Anti-Racism 101’ and other seminars are breaking down barriers and opening eyes, minds, and hearts. In just one year, cooperators have learned from her how to become accomplices through the consequential work of learning to become an antiracist,” reads Adirondack Wild’s award letter.
Ausable River Association presents Wild & Scenic Film Festival
On Saturday, December 5 from 7-9pm, the Ausable River Association (AsRA) will be hosting a virtual “Wild & Scenic Film Festival.”
Inspired by the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City California, it is designed to celebrate the beauty of wild places and the work being done to protect them.
For December 5, AsRA has chosen 12 films which will be showcased on their virtual platform. AsRA’s Executive Director Kelley Tucker, along with Donor Outreach Associate Tyler Merriam will introduce the films and establish their connection to the local natural world.
Call to Artists: NorthWind Gallery Virtual Juried Show
NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery will be hosting an upcoming juried art show, under the theme: “The Healing Wilderness.” Organizers are inviting artists of any type of media to submit work inspired by the power of the wild places to heal after tumultuous times.
The gallery is located in the heart of Saranac Lake, a village founded on its healing powers since the 20th century when it was discovered that fresh air could help ease tuberculosis.
Selected works will be displayed in a digital format at the NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery during Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival, as well as online and via social media. Award-winning pieces will be showcased on North Country Public Radio’s virtual art gallery, the UpNorth Gallery.
VW Settlement funds advance clean transportation in NYS and Akwesasne
A report from Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA):
Earlier this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that $11M in funds from the State’s allocation of the federal Volkswagen Settlement will be used to expand electric transportation infrastructure across New York.
The program addresses goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) to increase access to clean energy and the benefits of sustainable infrastructure. This latest announcement will advance EV adoption and improve access to charging stations in disadvantaged communities in upstate and northern New York.
Charging station developers for the North Country region are invited to apply by February 18, 2021.
This is great news, coming on the heels of ON-RAMP, ANCA’s clean transportation summit, where we convened stakeholders and partners who are committed to advancing clean transportation efforts in the region.
In the far north of the state, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environmental Division announced it will use Volkswagen Settlement funds to invest in electric vehicles and charging stations in the Akwesasne community. Kudos to the National Tribal Air Association for advocating for Indigenous communities to be included in the federal settlement, and to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Air Quality Program Manager Angela Benedict, whose hard work resulted in $249K for the purchase of two new trucks and installation of four charging stations in 2019. The second settlement payment will go toward the purchase of low-emission vehicles for the community’s casino and transfer station.
OSI Protects Warren County Property in Southern Adirondack Foothills
Newly protected property, located west of the West Mountain Ski Area, aids in clean water protection and efforts to fight climate change
The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the permanent protection of land in the Town of Lake Luzerne- building on over thirty years of land protection in and around the Adirondack Park Preserve. The town is composed of hard and softwood forests and wetlands, within the Hudson River watershed. This acquisition will be providing protections for clean water, as well as contributing to the fight against climate change via the capture of carbon.
Latest Adirondack News
- WATCH: DEC treats hemlock trees
- Proponents celebrate signing of road salt bill
- Climate panels to determine how NY can meet ambitious emissions targets
- Hiking with goats? It can be done
- Trudeau Institute, Adirondack Health discuss vaccines
- Cuomo backs salt study
- SUNY ESF sells Masten House for $1M
- Lake George Winter Carnival canceled
- The salmon's struggle
- State experts warn about algal blooms
Latest Adirondack News
- WATCH: DEC treats hemlock trees
- Proponents celebrate signing of road salt bill
- Climate panels to determine how NY can meet ambitious emissions targets
- Hiking with goats? It can be done
- Trudeau Institute, Adirondack Health discuss vaccines
- Cuomo backs salt study
- SUNY ESF sells Masten House for $1M
- Lake George Winter Carnival canceled
- The salmon's struggle
- State experts warn about algal blooms
The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities
We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here.
Wait, before you go,
sign up for news updates from the Adirondack Almanack!
Recent Almanack Comments