Posts Tagged ‘coronavirus’

Sunday, May 31, 2020

The Luxury of Health

Since we first opened our museum doors in 2009, thousands have come to learn about Saranac Lake’s history as a center for tuberculosis research and treatment. Visitors often ask about the cost of care and who was able to afford it. Was Saranac Lake’s fresh air treatment just for rich people? Did people of different ethnic groups and social classes have access to the cure?

These were topics we discussed with a school group this past March. The students were participating in the spring break program of the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at SUNY Potsdam. We were days away from the pandemic shutdown, and Saranac Lake’s historic connection to infectious disease felt newly relevant that morning.

In the late 1800s, when Saranac Lake was becoming famous as a health resort, one in seven people in the United States was dying of TB. The disease afflicted people from all walks of life. Public health measures and improved living conditions were beginning to lower the rate of infection in the United States. Still, TB continued to spread. It especially plagued poor people, living and working in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 28, 2020

Dumping milk while people go hungry

 

Co-written with ANCA Executive Director Kate Fish

This April, shoppers throughout the country faced empty milk shelves in their grocery stores, while at the same time, North Country dairy farmers dumped tens of thousands of gallons of their herds’ daily production down the drain. 

Why did this happen? Why are farmers dumping milk when store shelves just a few miles away are empty? 

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 28, 2020

Not Us Versus Them; It needs to be WE

I was driving to an appointment with my family and we had to make a few scheduled stops.  I saw many people not wearing masks. (Now, keep in mind people do not need to wear masks while practicing social distancing. I know you all know, but I digress.) The gas station even had a sign on their front entrance requiring all patrons to only enter if wearing masks. It was difficult to miss since you have to push on the sign to get through the door. Yes, there were people inside not wearing masks. Yes, some of those people mocked those of us wearing masks.

I found it ironic on Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember people who have died–not served– but died for our country there are people still putting their individual rights before the collective whole. You can wear a poppy on your lapel for a person who lost his/her life, but you can’t wear a mask to protect someone from actually dying? That doesn’t even make sense.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Poll: NYers worry about reopening too quickly

By a margin of 65-32 percent, voters say moving too quickly to loosen stay-at-home orders  is a bigger danger than moving too slowly to loosen those orders. The concern is that reopening could spread the virus faster, resulting in more lives being lost, resulting in a worse economic impact and more jobs being lost.

That’s according to a new Siena College Poll of registered New York State voters released today.

Other findings include:

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Wednesday, May 27, 2020

ADK Offers Free Memberships to Frontline Workers

johns brook lodgeADK is offering free one-year memberships to frontline, essential workers in recognition of the risks that they have taken to save lives and keep essential services available to the general public. Based on the definition provided by New York State, the following industries qualify as essential work:

*   Grocery stores
*   Public transportation
*   Healthcare
*   Emergency services

Membership benefits include a digital subscription to Adirondac magazine and discounts on outdoor skills workshops, wilderness Adirondack lodging and camping, and parking at the Heart Lake Program Center, which hosts numerous trailheads that lead into the High Peaks Wilderness. (Pictured here: Johns Brook Lodge)

If you are a frontline worker, please contact ADK’s membership department at membership@adk.org.


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Should the Adirondacks discourage visitation during COVID-19?

Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Parkway in Lake GeorgeEditor’s note: As the coronavirus pandemic swept New York this spring, Adirondack Explorer staff asked those who know and love the Adirondacks for opinions on the upcoming season. Their timing spanned late-March to mid-April, and a roundup of online and emailed submissions were published in the May/June 2020 issue of the Adirondack Explorer magazine (subscribe here). What follows is some of the responses. With Memorial Day behind us, we feel this conversation continues to be one worth having. We welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

It’s Debatable: Should the Adirondacks discourage visitation during COVID-19?

» Continue Reading.


Monday, May 25, 2020

Musings on return to ‘normal’: Cheeseburgers, haircuts and fresh air

This week it began. We have initiated the economic “phase-in” period of our return to normalcy, a studied collection of charts, graphs and data which, if all goes well, will allow us by mid-June to sit down in public and eat a cheeseburger.

“Easy, easy … caaareful … OK, now do you want fries with that?” By that time we will have worn masks so long that, forgetting they are there, we will smush a tuna sub right into the business end of our N95.

Then, on June 1, the North Country is expected to get back to the serious business of cutting hair. Stylists are going to be like humanitarian relief workers in Haiti after a Category IV hurricane — working around the clock to the point of exhaustion, until the average Adirondacker no longer resembles Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, May 23, 2020

Before the Flood

Memorial Day weekend is shaping up as a grand, celebratory reopening across the Adirondacks and North Country. If initial trends that I’ve seen this month of steady business at local trailheads and parking areas are any indication, I expect to see the Adirondacks flooded with visitors this weekend. I expect this trend to continue throughout the summer. Will hikers stay locally in hotels, once they’re allowed to open, I don’t know, but I’ve seen people regularly at lean-tos and campsites I frequently pass by in hikes throughout Hamilton County and the central Adirondacks that are hardly ever used or are usually empty this time of year. I think that many folk see camping in Adirondacks as a safe, low-risk activity.

As New York slowly claws its way back towards normal American life, there’s a great deal of uncertainty about what lies ahead. It’s too soon to tell, given the length of time it takes for a person to fall ill from COVID-19, what the experience is in other parts of the U.S. that started opening back up for social and commercial activities in early May. Initial reports of COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the south are troubling as this region was the first in the U.S. to try reopening. New York is only just beginning the reopening process.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, May 23, 2020

ADK leaders ask visitors to act responsibly, be patient

In a Facebook Live forum held recently, three Adirondack leaders asked visitors to make sure they are wearing masks and practicing social distancing this Memorial Day weekend, which is expected to be busy because of the holiday and the warm, dry weather forecasted for the region.

“We have some responsibilities to our local communities and residents to make sure we keep our infection rates low, so anyone coming from outside the region, we’re really encouraging them to get back to the principles,” said ROOST CEO Jim McKenna. “Let’s go beyond social distancing as much as possible, a mask all the time whether it’s required inside or not, let’s wear masks.”

» Continue Reading.


Friday, May 22, 2020

A reminder to stay socially distant when getting out on Memorial Day

The opening days of hiking season are here, and with a warm Memorial Day weekend ahead, the Adirondack Council wants to remind outdoors enthusiasts to socially distance and continue using personal protective equipment while recreating.

Outdoor tourism is important for the North Country economy as well, and hikers traveling to the Adirondacks should take the time to research the local protocols and conditions beforehand. Residents and tourists alike should seek to avoid crowds and crowded locations so we can continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while still getting the exercise and fresh air we all need.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 21, 2020

DEC Island Campgrounds remain closed

by

Water-access campsites at DEC campgrounds remain closed to overnight camping until DEC’s campgrounds reopen. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Saranac Lake Islands Campground;
  • Indian Lake Campground;
  • Lake George Islands Campground
  • Tioga Point Campground;
  • Forked Lake Campground; and
  • Alger Island Campground.

Boaters and other day users should continue to social distance on the water and on shore and avoid crowded sites. Boaters and day use visitors should use mainland bathroom facilities before going out on the water, as outhouse facilities at DEC day use sites and campsites are not currently maintained or sanitized.

Primitive tent sites outside of DEC campgrounds remain available for those who are recreating locally but are limited to a maximum of three nights with nine people or less from the same household. Additional information about camping can be found at: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/camping.html


Thursday, May 21, 2020

Resources for Reopening: Phase by Phase

The North Country is beginning its four-phase reopening process, and as we adjust to the new normal, it is important to work together and develop a plan with the help of guidelines from New York State, our local governments, chambers of commerce, IDAs, SBDCs and other organizations dedicated to supporting businesses.

Here are several resources and webinars, collected by and courtesy of Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA):

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Finding solace in our furry friends

During these days of solitude, many of us are finding great comfort in our animal friends. Blissfully unaware of troubles in the world, our pets are thrilled that their humans are spending more time at home.

Pets are a source of companionship and joy for us now, just as they were for the TB patients of the past. During the TB years, many patients spent two years or more, mostly in bed. Cut off from family and friends, patients were often lonely, scared, and anxious. Animals provided friendship and distraction from worry. Some wealthy patients rented entire houses for their cure, and they were able to bring their pets with them to Saranac Lake. John Black came from Mansfield, Ohio, with his dog, Buddy. Sadly, John eventually lost his struggle against TB, and the John Black Room Room at the Saranac Laboratory Museum was built in his memory. In this photo, John looks very frail, but you can see how happy he was to be with his dog.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Emergency relief program to help artists

Emergency relief grant program will provide $1,250,000 in aid to Tri-State non-salaried workers in the visual arts who have experienced financial hardship from lack of income or opportunity as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Willem de Kooning Foundation, the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Teiger Foundation, and the Cy Twombly Foundation have partnered to establish an emergency relief grant program, administered by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), that will provide $1,250,000 in aid to Tri-State non-salaried workers in the visual arts who have experienced financial hardship from lack of income or opportunity as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis. NYFA wishes to thank the Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation for being the first funder to contribute to the Tri-State Fund, following the announcement of the Fund.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 20, 2020

ADK Health COVID-19 Mobile Testing Locations

Saranac Lake’s Adirondack Health Center has finalized their mobile COVID-19 testing locations throughout Essex and Franklin counties for the week.

» Continue Reading.



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