This week on the Adirondack Explorer website, we ran a story about the community of Indian Lake rallying to save their local branch of Community Bank from closing. (Read it here)
Now I’d like to hear from you: Who are the people in your community that make things happen? What are some other examples of Adirondack towns and villages coming together to creatively solve problems and come up with innovative solutions?
Leave a comment below or send me an email to: editor@adirondackalmanack.com.
At the end of an eight-week long course on manufacturing and career building at Clinton Community College a few years ago, there was a sense of nervous anticipation as the seven participants considered their next steps and prepared to meet with prospective employers at an informal job fair the following day. One of the students had driven from Westport every day for two months to attend the four-hour class. Another participant had commuted from Malone and was now considering moving to Plattsburgh if he was able to find employment. Another student, who spoke openly about the barriers to employment because of a past criminal record, said he hoped the class and OSHA certification would lead to a good job and a better future.
The Assembling Industry: Manufacturing & Education class or AIME, launched in 2010, is a partnership between ETS Staffing and Recruiting, Clinton Community College’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, and CV-TEC. The initiative is in part an attempt to bridge the gap between a flourishing manufacturing sector in the area and a shortage of employees heightened by historically low unemployment rates. According to Deb Cleary, President and CEO of ETS, on any given day there are some 130 to 150 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the Plattsburgh region.
The Adirondack population is rapidly getting older. By 2030, according to projections from the New York State Office for the Aging, more than one third of the population in most North Country counties will be over the age of 60. New York State itself ranks fourth in the nation in the number of adults over 60. And state-wide the fastest growing population is over 85. For the remote towns and villages of the Adirondack region, this represents a challenge and an opportunity.
The Adirondack Explorer/Adirondack Almanack is partnering with Adirondack Foundation to shine a light on unmet needs in the region as well as highlight promising efforts to address them. This special series was inspired by the Foundation’s 2019 report “Meeting the Needs of Adirondack Communities.” To learn more, visit adirondackfoundation.org/
In our previous post, we gave an overview of some of the struggles working families face — finding child care and access to fresh, healthy food options. look at organizations that are working to address the problems that working families face.
Here, we’ll highlight some new ways organizations are addressing the needs of working families.
The child care landscape is “bombed out and pitted,” said Jamie Basiliere, executive director of the Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country, speaking to Adam Federman for an article that ran in the Adirondack Explorer earlier this year.
That same story found that virtually every corner of the region has been impacted by the shortage of providers. Across all seven North Country counties, 86 percent of census tracts, which roughly accord with towns and villages, qualify as child care deserts where the number of young children exceeds the system’s capacity. According to a report from the Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country, there are on average nearly six children for every child care slot in a regulated facility. In Franklin County, for example, there are 2,405 children ages birth to 5, but only 1,602 openings in child care programs. Since July 2019, a staggering 28 programs have closed.
The Adirondack Explorer/Adirondack Almanack is partnering with Adirondack Foundation to shine a light on unmet needs in the region as well as highlight promising efforts to address them. This special series was inspired by the Foundation’s 2019 report “Meeting the Needs of Adirondack Communities.” To learn more, visit adirondackfoundation.org/
From the report’s introduction:
The needs and barriers across the Adirondack region are real. And the solutions are not always obvious. The percentage of families who earn too much to qualify for public assistance but not enough to make ends meet has grown dramatically in recent years. There’s a critical shortage of child care providers, which can make it difficult for parents to commit to full time employment or advance their careers. Meanwhile access to public transportation and safe, affordable housing in the region is limited.
Latest News Headlines
Latest News Headlines
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.Catch up on all your Adirondack
news, delivered weekly to your inbox
Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
Recent Almanack Comments