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A “Spring Fling” concert to benefit the Adirondack Community Outreach Center (ACOC) will include Dan Berggren, Carolyn Bischoff, Mike Corey, Beatriz de Mello, Jeffrey Schanzer, Bernadette Speach, Dan Studnicky and dancers, Ling Minucci and Willow Logan, all performing in a potpourri of romantic and patriotic tunes in concert, followed by a reception provided with sweet and savory treats and wine from local restaurants. » Continue Reading.
Posts Tagged ‘North Creek’
Adirondack Community Outreach Center Benefit Concert
A Retrospective Exhibit of North River Artist Jan Palmer
North River artist Jan Palmer will fill the Widlund Gallery at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek from May 24th to June 25th with a retrospective of some 50 years of paintings in watercolor and pastel.
The early years are represented by Raggedy Ann and Andy illustrations, fairy tales and other stories. Jan has illustrated over 20 books. She has won many awards from national shows in both watercolor and pastel including the prestigious Silver Medal Rosenau Award from the Adirondack National Exhibition of American Watercolors in Old Forge, New York. Her love of portraiture shows in recent paintings of local children. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Adventure Festival in North Creek
There are so many times that I wish I could be in two places at the same time. Though my family is committed and looking forward to hiking The Grand Hike from Westport to Essex on May 3rd, the Adirondack Adventure Festival in North Creek is taking place around the same time.
According to Director of Gore Mountain Region Chamber of Commerce Lisa Salamon this year’s Adirondack Adventure Festival will be hosting even more family-friendly activities on May 3-4, 2014. The event is bringing back its popular children’s trout fishing tournament along with more games, face painting and Adirondack crafts.
Frank Morehouse: The Return of Common Loons
Left the farm at 11:15 am; reached Kibby Pond at 12:30. There were some reroutes since the last time I was here, but I can’t blame my hiking time on those. I blame winter and junk food.
Ice is not out. And it’s a good thing because I am not prepared to fish. I didn’t expect the ice to be out. I came here for reconnaissance. Of course I got myself worked up on the hike in. What if the ice is out? I’m not ready. Then, as I crested the hill and saw the outline of the pond below, my heart stopped. It is out. I stood there in disbelief for half a second. Through the trees, ice looks the same as the reflection of an overcast sky on open water. But the sky isn’t overcast enough. Ice. I started down the hill and could make out a darker outline along the shoreline. That’s what open water looks like today. My heart slowed with my relief and my decent.
I came here on a whim. I was hemmin’ and hawin’ this morning over whether and where to hike. I’m farm-sitting for my cousin in Sodom. Do I leave the animals for a little while? There’s a lot going on at work right now, too. I should stay and get some stuff done. But I heard and saw my first loons of the season this morning, a pair of them, and that made my decision easy. » Continue Reading.
6th Annual Adirondack Donegal Beard Contest Saturday
The 6th Annual Adirondack Donegal Beard Contest will take place 4 to 7 pm this Saturday, March 15th, at Basil & Wicks (formerly Casey’s North), Route 28, in North Creek, NY. The contest is open to beardsmen who were clean shaven on or after January 1, 2014 and have since grown a Donegal beard.
A Donegal beard is a traditional Irish beard that grows along the jaw line and covers the chin — no soul patch, no mustache. This year marks the contest’s sixth year. New beardsmen are welcome to take part in the event, which is free and open to the public. Judging begins at 6 pm. There will be beer specials, music by Finger Diddle, and corned beef and cabbage.
To see pictures from previous contests, and to join the Facebook group, go here.
Hudson River Rafting Owner Fined $25,000
The owner of Hudson River Rafting Company has been fined $25,000 for sending customers on whitewater trips without a licensed guide—violating a court order just a few days after reopening his business following earlier legal troubles.
Supreme Court Justice Richard Giardino found Pat Cunningham, owner of the North Creek business, guilty of contempt of court, in a decision dated December 3.
Hudson River Rafting sent customers on trips with an unlicensed guide at least five times in July and August. In each instance, the guide put in the river at railroad tracks near the hamlet of North River. The rapids there are not as big as in the Hudson Gorge, but the first part of the trip takes place on a stretch of river where state law requires companies to provide licensed guides.
Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again in North Creek
Teddy Roosevelt is not available to recreate his historic 1901 ride from the North Creek Train Depot, but nationally recognized Roosevelt reprisor Joe Wiegand will be on hand to fill those famous shoes.
On September 14-15 the Saratoga/North Creek Railway (SNCRR) is providing historic train rides, recreations and special excursions surrounding the theme of Teddy Roosevelt’s famed ride from Tahawus to North Creek. » Continue Reading.
State Seeks To Shut Rafting Company Again
The state attorney general’s office is seeking once again to shut down Hudson River Rafting Company, alleging that the company violated a court order by sending clients on whitewater trips without a licensed guide.
Assistant Attorney General G. Nicholas Garin says in court papers that the company and its owner, Patrick Cunningham, violated the order a month or so after resuming business this summer.
Last fall, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed suit against Cunningham accusing him of running an unsafe business. He sought to shut Hudson River Rafting permanently, but state Supreme Court Justice Richard Giardino ruled in May that Cunningham could resume operations under certain conditions, among them that he deploy only licensed rafting guides on trips on the upper Hudson River, including the Hudson Gorge. » Continue Reading.
Judge: Hudson River Rafting Company Can Resume Business
A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that Hudson River Rafting Company must post a $50,000 performance bond to stay in business and pay $12,000 in fines for violations of the law.
However, Justice Richard Giardino refused the state’s request to shut down the rafting company for good. He also dismissed the state’s claim that the company had engaged in false advertising by billing its rafting trips as safe. » Continue Reading.
APA Lays Out Options For New State Lands
The staff of the Adirondack Park Agency has proposed seven options for the classification of 22,538 acres of former Finch, Pruyn & Company lands recently acquired by the state, all calling for the creation of a Hudson Gorge Wilderness.
The size of the new Wilderness Area—which would require the reclassification of lands already in the Forest Preserve—would range from 18,829 acres to 45,347 acres, depending on the option.
Under six of the proposals, the Wilderness Area would extend from just south of Newcomb through the Hudson Gorge to just north of the hamlet of North River. Under the other proposal, part of the river corridor would instead be classified a Canoe Area.
Because motorized use is forbidden in Wilderness Areas, local governments often oppose such a classification in favor of Wild Forest, which is less restrictive. However, Fred Monroe, executive director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board, thinks local officials can accept the creation of a Hudson Gorge Wilderness. The battle, he said, is likely to be waged over the classification of the nearby Essex Chain of Lakes and the degree of motorized access to both the Essex Chain and the Hudson. » Continue Reading.
AG Puts Spotlight On Cunningham’s Raft Business
The owner of Hudson River Rafting Company knew a guide had a drinking problem, but he continued to let him take clients on whitewater trips, one of which resulted in the death of a client who fell out of a raft and drowned last year, according to sworn statements.
The guide—Rory Fay of North Creek—later admitted he was intoxicated at the time of the accident. He pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
In a statement to state police, Fay said Pat Cunningham, who owns the company, and one of his assistants, Mark Lebrecque, knew he drank heavily. At the time, Fay was living in a guides’ house owned by Cunningham. » Continue Reading.
Judge Says Rafting Company Violated Law
The state attorney general’s office has won the bulk of its lawsuit against Hudson River Rafting Company and its owner, Patrick Cunningham.
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Giardino ruled on March 29 in favor of the state on three of four causes of action, finding that Hudson River Rafting violated the law by repeatedly sending customers on whitewater-rafting trips with unlicensed guides and transporting them in buses with unlicensed drivers.
The judge has yet to determine any penalties, but he continued an order forbidding Hudson River Rafting from running whitewater-rafting trips. The whitewater season began a few weeks ago. » Continue Reading.
ORDA’s ‘Ongoing Fiscal Challenges’ Prompt Review
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli says his office will launch a full financial audit of the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) after a report by his office found that financial issues persist at a time when its operations have been expanded to include the Catskills-based Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.
“ORDA’s venues have long been an essential part of the North Country economy, which heightens the need to ensure its stability and accountability to the public,” DiNapoli said in a statement issued to the press. “We will examine selected financial management practices related to payroll, procurement and other areas.”
DiNapoli’s “By the Numbers” ORDA report, released today, details operational losses and a reliance on a line of credit from a private bank, among other sources, to meet its spending needs. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Family Activities: Adirondack Lecture Series
Though our family always enjoys the numerous Adirondack trails, we also like to experience rich history through lectures available at a variety of wonderful venues. Not only are these lectures led by experts, it is an inexpensive way to entertain a crowd as well as a delightful way to learn more about a wide range of topics.
Those of us with young people can take advantage of the benevolence of the speaker or performer. Most people graciously answer questions or enjoy showing people of all ages the tricks of their trade. Whether it’s a fabulous round of storytelling by Chris Shaw or an historical retelling from Heaven Up-h’isted-ness!’s Sharp Swan, here is just a sampling of places to go and lectures to hear. » Continue Reading.
Hudson River Guide Gets Jail In Rafting Fatality
A rafting guide whose client drowned in the Indian River last September has been sentenced to a year in jail and five years of probation.
Rory Fay, 37, of North Creek admitted he was drunk when he and the client, Tamara Blake, 53, of Columbus, Ohio, fell out of the raft on the morning of September 27. Blake’s boyfriend stayed in the raft and paddled to shore. Fay also managed to get to shore. Blake’s body was found five miles downstream in the Hudson River.
Fay, who worked for Hudson River Rafting Company, pleaded guilty in November to criminally negligent homicide, a felony, as well as two misdemeanors, driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. » Continue Reading.
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Latest News Headlines
- Hochul appoints John Ernst APA chairman
- Entrepreneurs on tribal lands test marijuana gray area
- Authorities: Cover-ups abounded at wildlife refuge
- Becoming an Outdoors Woman
- Democrats Give Hochul Early Double-Digit Lead
- Some States Want to Charge for Rescuing Lost Hikers
- Hear from the First Black Summit Steward
- The Pavilion in Ticonderoga: An American treasure
- Clarkson Honors Former NYS Sen. Betty Little
- Fulton County buys $520K lake front property for museum
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