Community news stories come from press releases and other notices from organizations, businesses, state agencies and other groups.
Submit your contributions to Almanack Editor Melissa Hart at editor@adirondackalmanack.com.
The Wilmington Historical Society meets the first Wednesday of each month. “Open Discussions” take place at 7 p.m. (before the business portion of each regular meeting, staying is optional), and last about 45 minutes to an hour. All are invited to relate stories, bring news articles, photos or artifacts related to the topic of each meeting, or you can just come to listen.
Here is a list of Open Discussion topics for 2009: Feb. 4 (Wed.): “Restaurants in Wilmington”
March 4 (Wed.): “Gas Stations in Wilmington”
April 1 (Wed): “Industry in Wilmington”
May 6 (Wed.): “Contributions of Women in Wilmington”
June 3 (Wed.): “Wilmington Campgrounds”
July 1 (Wed.): “Whiteface Mountain and Wilmington in Literature”
August 5 (Wed.): “Wilmington and Whiteface in Art & Photographs”
September 2 (Wed): “Agriculture in Wilmington”
October 7 (Wed.): “Motels in Wilmington”
November 4 (Wed.): “Stores and Shops in Wilmington”
The Adirondacks’ largest species of venomous snake will be featured at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake this Sunday (and three more Sundays to come). The Wild Center’s resident herpetologist Frank Panaro will present a program about the timber rattlesnakes found in Adirondacks which are listed as threatened in New York and are only found in limited areas in the region.
This event brings up a little historical note from Flavius J. Cook’s 1858 Home sketches of Essex County: Ticonderoga: Elisha Belden was a near neighbor of Mr. [Gideon] SHATTUCK’s [at the south end of Trout Brook Valley – presumably in present day Hague near the Ticonderoga town line], . .closely following him in time of settlement [1793], tastes and occupations… Father Elisha was famous for hunting rattle-snakes, which he sent from the Rattle-snake’s den near Roger’s Rock, as curiosities to various parts. The stories of his captures of that reptile with a crotched stick, and of his particular power over them, are no less wonderful than well authenticated. In one of his trips to the den, on a Sabbath afternoon, he was badly bitten, but he said “it was because the varmints did not know him, as he was dressed up and had on white stockings – they thought he was Judge [Isaac] KELLOG.” At last going out one day alone, to fill a basket with this dangerous game, the old man did not return. When found he was sitting upon the rocks, leaning back, frightfully swollen and blackened with poison – dead. A snake, cut to pieces with his jack-knife, lay by his side, with fragments of flesh, thought to be a remedy for poison, which he had applied to the bite beneath his arm, to which, it is supposed, the chafing of his side against the cover of the basket, as he carried it had let out the heads of the reptiles. It was said, as before, that a change of clothes he had lately made put it beyond the wisdom of the rattlesnakes to recognize him, and hence his power over them was lost, but a better explanation was a half empty whiskey-bottle found near the spot whose contents had so fatally palsied the truly remarkable courage and skill of the old hunter.
Rattlesnakes were once a more common sight in the Adirondacks – Elisha BElden was a well-known entertainer with rattlers on the Lake George Steamships (he was on the John Jay when it sunk, for instance). Today we have few opportunities to see these amazing animals. Frank Panaro’s presentation will also include information concerning venomous snakes and venom in general in addition to a snake handling demonstration and a chance for you to ask questions. One of the Museum’s timber rattlesnakes will be in attendance for a close up view on the special live camera that lets you see the snake closer than you would ever see one in the wild.
The Timber Rattlesnakes of the Adirondacks program will also be held on Sunday, February 22nd, March 8th, and March 22nd at 1 pm.
Sometimes I think having so many conservative newspapers is a weird kind of blessing. Hoping to appeal to conservative editorial boards gives “our” politicians an opportunity to really show their true colors, and that’s just what Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward has done over at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
I think a lot of people who live and play in the Adirondacks would be astonished to hear that Sayward opposes state land purchases that would open land previously held by the rich and powerful to regular folks – places like OK Slip Falls – which Sayward opposes purchasing. How about this nugget. In order to keep local prisons open (prisons we NO LONGER NEED and that costs us a fortune to operate) – Sayward’s wants to “privatize some of the golf courses, swimming pools and campgrounds.”
Who exactly are you working for Ms. Sayward? The people? Or your rich friends, lobbyist buddies, and fellow political hacks? Tell us, which campgrounds do you want to close to the public and why?
Why is it necessary to close the few public services we have and boost private interests in a economic climate that has decimated working people? Especially when that burden has been handed down to us by so-called private businesses by people like Sayward who have allowed them to run rough-shod over us all?
Maybe a bigger question is how can we keep reelecting a woman who wants to close public services (remember North Country Community College?) and hand them over to private interests?
Here’s a plan Ms. Sayward – EXXON/MOBIL has just recorded a record profit again this year of some $45.22 billion – how about taking some of what they have? It used to be ours anyway.
If you want to consider yourself knowledgeable about the Adirondacks you must own and have read Mike Storey’s Why The Adirondacks Look The Way They Do. That’s not hyperbole – that’s a simple fact.
Storey self-published this guide to Adirondack natural history in 2006 and sold out the first printing in the first year. The reason, no doubt, is that it’s readable and relevant. Storey was the former Chief Naturalist at the Adirondack Park Agency (24 years at the APA!) and he wrote the book we all need to keep in our car, backpack, and back pocket. In fact, my only complaint is the book’s format doesn’t make it easy to pack – it could have been a lot smaller, even with all the info and images packed in there! This book is more than a guide to our local flora and fauna, more than a wildlife guide, it covers geology, geography, forestry, history, cultural anthropology, environmental politics, from the life cycle of the black fly to the problems of upland development. The diagrams, illustrations, photographs, are illustrative beyond comparison. From “Grenville Continent Rifting and the Lake George Rift Valley” to the illustration of a 50-years of a hemlock and yellow birch growing on a rotting log resting on a glacial erratic rock, this book shows you the basics and backs it up with detailed explanations. The tracks of common animals, identifying common birds, leaves, trees, fish, soils, insects, eskers, kettle holes – its all there and more.
This book will do what it says it will – explain, in vivid and easy-going detail, why the Adirondacks look the way they do. I’ve been thinking about doing a “Ten Books Every Adirondacker Should Own,” and when I do, this book will be on that list.
Big political news this morning as an aide to Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand has told North Country Public Radio that she will be taking over the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Gillibrand beat john Sweeney for his seat in November 2006 and easily won re-election handily last year over Republican operative Sandy Treadwell. According to NCPR:
Gillibrand is a moderate who opposes same-sex marriage and gun control. Long Island Democrat, Carolyn McCarthy, says she’ll challenge Gillibrand in the primary next year. Gillibrand will be officially named today at noon at an event in Albany. She will likely face stiff opposition in a special election in 2010 and again in 2012. Possible Republican opponents include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Governor George Pataki. But Gillibrand has proved herself to be a ferocious campaigner and fundraiser.
Governor Paterson’s pick sets off a round of political musical chairs across the North Country. State Senator Betty Little, a Republican, is expected to make a bid for Gillibrand’s seat. Should she win, that would trigger another contest for her state Senate seat. Other likely candidates for Gillibrand’s seat include Sandy Treadwell, from Essex County, who ran in 2008.
Here is the articles in the New York Times and the Albany Times Union.
All the stories we’ve followed about Gillibrand can be found here.
The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid, New York retired 132 tons of carbon dioxide for the month of December 2008. The Golden Arrow accomplished this by working jointly with the Adirondack Council and their Cool Park/ Healthy Planet Carbon Retirement Program. The program was created by the Adirondack Council to prevent thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted by power plants from Maine to Delaware.
The Golden Arrow committed to retire enough carbon credits to offset the total number of occupied room nights for the month of December. It has been estimated that the there are 100 lbs of carbon emitted per room night. The Golden Arrow had a goal to retire 100 tons of carbon credits through the program. A total of 2590 rooms were occupied at the resort for the month of December.
The resort through the program permanently retired 132 tons, which was almost one third more than their original goal. It was their objective to make guests and the public to understand that they can really help make a difference. » Continue Reading.
The second race of the 4th Annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge airs Sunday, January 25 from 4 PM – 6 PM EST on The SPEED Channel. This bobsled race features drivers from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) taking on the drivers from NASCAR in a charity event. The Bodine Bobsled Challenge features NASCAR and NHRA drivers piloting specially-made bobsleds down Lake Placid’s famous track in fun races geared to raise money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. The New York Army National Guard has provided soldiers as brakemen for the bobsled drivers the past three years. Race 1, which already aired this past Sunday, saw Todd Bodine snap Boris Said’s streak of five consecutive wins in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge to win his first gold in bobsledding competition. Bodine turned in a combined time of one minute, 39.18 seconds to claim victory. Joey Logano took silver with a 1:39.58. Larry Gunselman earned bronze with a 1:39.60.
In the NHRA versus NASCAR showdown, Team NHRA is comprised of Top Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR Todd, Bob Vandergriff and Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin, Jr. This will be the third event for Lucas and Todd, with Lucas giving NASCAR driver Boris Said a run for his money in last year’s NASCAR versus NHRA showdown before losing to Said in the final round. Lucas has also won two silvers medals during this event. Todd is looking to improve upon his Top 10 finishes. Vandergriff placed ninth in his first race last year, and then lost to Lucas in the NHRA final round.
Coughlin is a four-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Champion, and is currently the two-time defending champion (2000, 2002, 2007, and 2008). Coughlin won the bronze medal as a bobsledding rookie in his first race last year, fifth in this year, and is looking to dethrone fellow NHRA competitor Morgan Lucas as the top bobsled driver on the dragster circuit.
The NASCAR field will be lead by five-time Bodine Bobsled Champion Boris Said. Said has commented in the past that maybe “bobsledding is in my genes” as his father Bob Said was an Olympic bobsled competitor.
Joining Said is NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie driving sensation Logano as well as the Bodine Brothers. Geoff Bodine is a co-founder of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., and namesake for the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge. Last year Geoff played the gracious host and didn’t compete in the races, instead giving advice and words of encouragement to the drivers. But this year Geoff climbs back into the pilot sled and is aiming to win his own event. Todd Bodine, the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Champion and brother of the Bodine Challenge founder Geoff Bodine, has participated in every Bodine Bobsled Challenge, earning his first victory in Race 1. He’s looking to upset his older brother and take home his second gold of the event. “Sliced Bread” Logano competed last year in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge, finishing eighth, and finished an impressive second to Todd Bodine in Race 1.
The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., was started in 1992 by NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine, and has built American-made bobsleds for United States athletes competing in the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Winter Games. Monies raised from the Bodine Bobsled Challenge go directly to this project.
For more information on the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., or the Bodine Bobsled Challenge, visit www.bodynbobsled.com.
A press release from Neil Woodworth, Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club:
The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is still reviewing the Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposed amendment to the Bog River Unit Management Plan to allow floatplane use on Lows Lake through 2012. The proposal does contain some positive elements, including a plan to regulate the western part of the lake as Wilderness. But ADK is deeply concerned about the length of this extension in light of the fact this is a Wilderness lake that should have been closed to motorized use years ago. » Continue Reading.
The FIS Freestyle World Cup Tour will come to Whiteface / Lake Placid this weekend, January 18-19. The event features a nighttime aerials competition on Sunday evening at the Olympic Jumping Complex, and for the first time ever on the East Coast, a world cup competition in ski cross at Whiteface. The event kicks off with the men’s and women’s ski cross qualifications Sunday, January 18 on the Lower Valley trail at Whiteface. The women begin with qualifications at 9:45 AM with the men following at 12:20 PM. Ski cross debuted on the World Cup Tour last year, and this is its inaugural event at Whiteface. Many of the athletes competing are looking for a spot on the Olympic team as ski cross was added to the roster of events for the 2010 Vancouver Games. Ski cross consists of four freestyle skiers going down the run at once, and has course features similar to snowboard cross such as rollers, banked curves and jumps.
The aerialists take flight starting at 1:30 PM with the women’s qualifications at the Olympic Jumping Complex. The men follow suit with their own qualifications at 5:15 PM. The Freestyle Funk Fest gets the party started at 6 PM with live music from Peter Price and Moon Boot Lover. The top 12 women and men from qualifications advance to the finals, slated to begin at 7:40 PM.
The ski cross athletes get their chance to win gold on Monday, January 19 at 11 AM with the men’s and women’s skier cross finals at Whiteface.
Prior to the competitions, fans have a chance to meet U.S. Ski Team members at Whiteface on Saturday, January 17. From 12 PM – 1:30 PM is the freestyle athlete autograph signing session and the “U.S. Ski Team – We Ski & Snowboard Challenge.” Skiers and riders may enter to win a chance to show off their Wii skills against the freestylers. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers. Plus, the Whiteface Cash Cube will be on hand for even more fun.
Daron Rahlves, the most successful U.S. male downhill skier, retired after 13 years on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team following the 2006 Olympic season. He wanted to continue skiing, and has since made the transition into the ski cross world. Four-time Olympian and six-time U.S. Champion Casey Puckett retired from the U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 2002. He quickly set his sights on ski cross and has become a superstar of the newest Olympic sport after winning X Games gold and dominating the Ski Tour and Jeep King of the Mountain. Joining them is former speed skier Jake Fiala.
Two-Time Olympian Jeret Peterson leads the U.S. aerial contingent. Along with fellow Olympians Emily Cook and Ryan St. Onge as well as teammate Scotty Bahrke, these athletes hope to secure the top spots in Lake Placid.
This is the second stop on the World Cup Tour for the aerialists and the fourth for skier cross. Leading the men’s aerial field is Alexei Grishin from Belarus, followed by China’s Ke Li and Canadian Warren Shouldice. Lydia Lassila of Australia tops the women’s field, followed by China’s Shanshan Zhao and Canada’s Veronika Bauer.
Hedda Bernsten of Norway sits at the top of the women’s ski cross field with 145 points. France’s Ophelie David is second with 130 points while Katharina Gutensohn of Austria is third with 130 points.
Austrian Andreas Matt leads the men’s ski cross standings with 180 points. Michael Schmid of Switzerland sits in second with 140 points, followed by Canadian Christopher Delbosco, who has 116 points.
Daily tickets for the aerials training, qualifications and finals at the Olympic Jumping Complex are $14 for adults, $8 for juniors/seniors. Spectators may view the ski cross competition at Whiteface from the base lodge for free. Those wanting to watch from alongside the course may purchase a lift ticket.
More information on the FIS World Cup Freestyle Tour can be found at http://www.orda.org/newsite/events/worldcups/200809/freestyle/index.php.
The following press release, presented here in its entirety, comes from the John Sheehan of the Adirondack Council:
Proposed Cap on State’s Tax Payments to Localities Undercuts 122-Year-Old Compact Between State & Adirondack/Catskill Park Towns, Counties and School Districts
As the deadline nears for Gov. David Paterson to make last-minute changes to his 2009-10 budget plan, more than 100 government and civic leaders from the Adirondack and Catskill parks are urging the governor to discard his plan to cap the state’s property tax payments to local towns, counties and school districts that host state Forest Preserve lands. » Continue Reading.
Randomly organized links to ideas for making life in the Adirondacks just a little bit easier – technology tools and tips, do-it-yourself projects, and anything else that offers a more interesting, more convenient, or healthier way of life in our region.
The farmer-led Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has added resources for meat and dairy goat producers to its website at www.nnyagdev.org. The website includes fact sheets prompted by the Empire State Meat Goat Producers’ Association (ESMGPA) and prepared by Cornell University’s Animal Science Department on feeding, breeding, pasture management, health care and the Kidding with Confidence mentoring handbook sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension and ESMGPA on the site. A January 31st meeting set for 1-3 pm to provide resources and information for those raising or interested in raising meat, dairy and pet goats will be held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County Learning Farm in Canton and telecast to the Extension offices in Watertown and Westport. The meeting will cover general goat management and care and marketing. The meetings are free, however, pre-registration is requested – call Cornell Cooperative Extension at 315-379-9192 x234 for St. Lawrence County, at 315-788-8450 for Jefferson County, and 518-962-4810 for Essex County (pre-registration required).
According to meeting organizer and Livestock Educator Betsy Hodge with Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, there is an interest in meat goats in the North Country and a need to provide resources that relate to farms in New York. The Cornell fact sheets now available on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website apply to goat farming in the Northeast and are especially good for people interested in starting a goat enterprise to read before purchasing goats.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County Executive Director Anita Deming has noted that a diverse mix of people are raising goats in the North Country. “We have one producer selling meat goats as breeding stock and a new dairy goat farm that has recently begun selling goat cheese”, she said “Information on good animal husbandry and on business planning for those who would like to operate a farm business with goats is always useful.”
According to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County Dairy & Livestock Educator Ron Kuck, Jefferson County has farmers raising goats for meat, for milk and for value-added product sales, such as goat’s milk soap. They are always interested in the latest information that will help them enhance their production and marketing practices.
Meat goat producer Karen Stumpf of Thousand Islands Goat Farm in Cape Vincent, NY, is Region 2 Director for the Empire State Meat Goat Producers Association. Stumpf thinks goat farming has great potential to add to the agriculturally-based economy of Northern New York. She says they are beginning to establish new herds and develop the networking that will support marketing, processing and sales opportunities for all producers.
Dr. Tatiana Luisa Stanton, a goat specialist with Cornell University’s Animal Science Department is currently developing the kidding season mentoring program for 2009. The program pairs experienced, knowledgeable goat farmers with new producers as they experience their first kidding season.
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program provided funding for the on-farm evaluations. Those interested in the mentoring program may contact Dr. Stanton at Cornell University at 607-254-6024, tls7@cornell.edu, or call your local Cornell Cooperative Extension office.
The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides on-farm research, education and outreach to the diverse agricultural sectors in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.
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The Wilmington Historical Society meets the first Wednesday of each month. “Open Discussions” take place at 7 p.m. (before the business portion of each regular meeting, staying is optional), and last about 45 minutes to an hour. All are invited to relate stories, bring news articles, photos or artifacts related to the topic of each meeting, or you can just come to listen.
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