The Rogers Rangers Challenge has been resurrected by its original co-founder, Dr. Dave Bannon and Rogers Island Visitors Center. The original Challenge began in 1991 and ended in 2001. The run, paddle, bike triathlon starts at the Hogtown trailhead on Buck Mountain in the Town of Fort Ann at 8:00 am on Sunday June 13th. Registration for the Challenge is due by May 23rd. This race is dedicated to the memory of Major Robert Rogers and his Independent Company of Rangers who lived on Rogers Island at Fort Edward during the French and Indian War.
A 7-½ mile run starts at the Hogtown trailhead over Buck Mountain and ends at the Fort Ann Beach on Lake George. The 3-mile canoe/kayak goes from the beach to Dome Island on the lake and back to the beach where the bike trek starts. The bike portion of the race winds through beautiful Washington County and ends at Rogers Island Visitors Center on Rogers Island in Fort Edward. This event can be done as a team or individually. Although it is not required entrants are encouraged to dress in period clothing. Eileen Hannay, manager of Rogers Island Visitors Center, explains: “The event is quite unique. Racers will find French & Indian War and Native American reenactors along the route as they experience some of the challenges the terrain offered Rogers Rangers more than 250 years ago.”
Mark Wright, one of the original co-founders and an Army Major will be coming from Maine to participate in the challenging event. Dr. Bannon explains: “The most difficult part of this triathlon is the run down Buck Mountain towards Fort Ann Beach. The going is steep and rough with many obstacles.”
Registration forms can be found at www.rogersisland.org. For more information call Rogers Island Visitors Center at 518-747-3693.
The Rogers Rangers Challenge is sponsored by: Adirondack Trust Company, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Glens Falls National Bank and The Anvil Inn Restaurant. Proceeds for this event benefit Rogers Island Visitors Center.
What follows is the Forest Ranger Activity Report for April 6 through April 18 for DEC Region 5, which includes most of the Adirondack region. These reports are issued periodically by the DEC and printed here at the Almanack in their entirety. They are organized by county, and date.
Clinton County
Town of Beekmantown, Private Lands
On Monday, April 5, 2010, at 6:40 AM, DEC Dispatch received a call from New York State Police Plattsburgh requesting assistance locating Kim McDonald, 56, of West Chazy, NY. The State Police had information that led them to believe that Mr. McDonald may have intended to harm himself. DEC Forest Rangers responded and along with NY State Troopers began a search of the area. At approximately 9:00 AM, the Mr. McDonald was located in a swamp behind his house. He was missing his shoes, suffering from exposure, and had superficial wounds to his face, feet and hands. He was carried out of the woods and transported to CVPH Medical Center. » Continue Reading.
Once it was just the dream of Dieter Drake, now 38, owner of a Cambridge-based air-conditioning business and an avid cyclist. Now in its 6th year, the race has become the biggest pro/amateur bicycle race in the country. And the professional race, which took place last Sunday, attracted thousands of spectators and world-class competitors, including Floyd Landis.
Fashioned after the 100 year old Paris- Roubaix cycling race in France, the race drew more than 1,400 racers in 2009. This year’s registrations topped 2,200. The race begins and ends in Cambridge, and takes amateur riders over a 62-mile course, a quarter of which is on steep and dusty dirt roads. They also ride through a covered bridge and by many of Washington County’s rural farm towns. Professional riders get to do two laps.
Last year’s professional race was nothing less than thrilling (although it’s hard to follow a bicycle race on the ground — a quick blur of spinning wheels and colorful Lycra, and that’s about it until the finish line). Racer Scott Nydam broke away from the peloton early on during the race, and kept the lead for a leg-burning three hours to score a first-place finish.
This year wasn’t quite as exciting, plus it was a bit damper. Crowd favorite Floyd Landis — the winner of the 2006 Tour de France who later failed a post-race drug test — broke his way through the pack with 23-year-old rider Caleb Fairly of Colorado Springs, Colo. But in the end, it was Fairly who pulled ahead to win the 124-mile course at 4 hours, 57 minutes, 7.4 seconds, according to race coverage in the Post-Star. Landis came in two minutes, 24 seconds later, placing second.
While some local business people reportedly were unhappy the race did not bring in as much business as promised, according to one news story, the event is a fine addition for the region, especially at a time of year when there is little to attract visitors to the mountains.
With six years of success, you can add the Tour of the Battenkill to the ranks of such classic competitions unique to the region, such as the Black Fly Challenge mountain-bike race and the Ford Ironman Lake Placid.
While not technically in the Adirondacks, the Battenkill tour is rugged, challenging and beautiful. In other words, it has the true flavor of the North Country.
It was T.S. Eliot who wrote “April is the cruellest month.” He also wrote, in his epic poem “The Waste Lands”: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
Substitute “mud” for “dust,” and Eliot might have been talking about the Adirondacks after the snow melts (although, you want to talk about cruel, let’s talk black flies …but that’s a subject for another post).
Anyway, as we reach the spring mud season, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation issues its annual “please don’t hike on muddy High Peaks trails” request, may we suggest a few dryer alternatives? For starters, cast your eyes southward. The Lake George region, which gets much less snowfall than other areas in the park, is also one of the first places to warm up in the spring. There’s enough hikes there to last a full season, but we can easily recommend a few: » Continue Reading.
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) is seeking support with fund-raising for what it’s calling the “Last Great Shoreline Preserve” in Putnam, Washington County by offering an opportunity to win naming rights to the preserve’s eastern overlook trail.
Until February 24, each gift of $100 entitles the donor to entry in LGLC’s Name the Trail drawing. The drawing winner will be given the exclusive opportunity to name the eastern overlook trail as well as receive a picnic for six at the overlook this summer. The new name will be displayed on trail markers and in the preserve’s trail guide, available at the trailhead kiosk and from the LGLC website. LGLC acquired the Last Great Shoreline nearly one year ago, on February 27, 2009, while also taking a leap into debt in order to finance the purchase. The cost of the land was $4 million with another $300,000 of project expenses.
Though much of the mortgage’s Phase 1 payment has been raised with the support of private donations, LGLC still needs to raise $34,000 by the payment deadline of February 27, 2010. If this deadline goal is not met, the mortgage interest can by contract grow tenfold, from 0.6% to 6%, increasing the overall cost of the land purchase by $144,000 each year over the life of the loan.
In his proposed 2010-2011 budget New York State Governor David Paterson suggested a moratorium on land acquisition by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). By reducing the Open Space Land Acquisition line item to zero, Gov. Paterson eliminated any spending from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) for land acquisition, ostensibly for at least two years. When LGLC purchased the Last Great Shoreline property in 2009 (a culmination of twenty years of negotiations) LGLC says it was led to believe that it would be purchased by New York State within three years. Now, the proposed moratorium in the governor’s budget threatens to postpone the state’s purchase of the property into a distant and uncertain future, according to the LGLC.
The Lake George Land Conservancy’s is says “the purchase of the Last Great Shoreline project… was a crucial step in the protection of the Lake George watershed.” 351 acres and 2,357 feet of shoreline were acquired as a preserve, and 70 acres and 1,613 feet remain in private ownership that is now protected by a deed restriction. LGLC has already built over a mile of trails to lead hikers through a diversity of ecological systems, from the Sucker Brook wetlands, to the lichen covered rocks on the western shore of Lake George.
The land contains approximately thirty-five acres of wetlands (reportedly including a rare white cedar swamp) which which the LGLC says provide important food and breeding sites for amphibians, birds and mammals. These Sucker Brook wetlands provide a natural filtration system, according to the group, contributing to the pristine water quality of Lake George. In addition, the legendary Jumping Rock, rising approximately 30 feet above the lake, is situated on the northern shore and will be preserved forever as an LGLC preserve.
Those who wish to learn more about the Last Great Shoreline Challenge, the trail naming opportunity, or the Lake George Land Conservancy’s work, are invited to visit www.lglc.org, email shoffman@lglc.org, or call 518-644-9673.
Photo: Last Great Shoreline eastern overlook. Courtesy the LGLC.
If there was any doubt about where the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) stands on cell towers, the following press release, presented here in it’s entirety, should clear it up:
On January 29, 2010 the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) hosted a meeting on telecommunication projects which was attended by Senator Betty Little, Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, Franklin County officials, Local Government Review Board Executive Director, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T representatives. Agency staff were in attendance and provided an overview of the Agency’s Towers Policy and the 31 telecommunication projects approved in 2009 resulting in a total of 116 telecommunication structures in the Adirondack Park through a total of 188 permits. The meeting focused on ways to refine the permitting process, reduce cost, extend coverage and promote coordination between the cellular carriers. During the meeting participants expressed strong support for continued improvement in overall cellular coverage throughout the Adirondack Park to benefit local residents, businesses and tourists. There was discussion about the need for the agency to consider fewer taller towers to promote co-location. Officials emphasized co-location potential is minimized when permitted towers just peek above the tree line. Discussion also focused on considering different conditions where not readily discernible and sometimes visible could build more flexibility into the agency’s review process.
There was encouragement for cellular carriers to coordinate planning efforts and submit joint applications. Industry representatives indicated they must abide by FCC regulations which limit the extent they can collaborate when planning their networks. Carriers said they do not submit joint applications or design their overall network based on the possibility of co-location but can design individual towers to accommodate future co-locations. They also stated system development is driven by customer base and while co-location is advantageous it is not currently a major part of their business model or revenue sources.
The carriers did acknowledge they realized significant benefits from information provided by agency staff and local officials in reference to the availability of tall structures located throughout the park. Carrier representatives proposed the agency itself consider slightly taller towers to accommodate co-location.
Tower height was also discussed by local government officials regarding differences in coverage areas for the Verizon Paul Smith’s College site. During the initial proposal, Verizon s propagation analysis for a 90 foot tower projected a coverage range of approximately 1.5 to 2 miles and analysis further indicated little change in range for the approved 65 foot tower. However, with the site built and operational, the public is experiencing coverage within approximately a three mile radius of the campus. Verizon officials indicated that a higher customer user volume could occasionally cause a decrease in the coverage area which was noted by local town officials. Agency staff presented a Verizon Wireless coverage map of NYS Route 30 which identified the potential need for three additional towers between Paul Smith s and Duane to ensure coverage along the corridor. It was also noted that topography and specific locations are two important factors in terms of serving population centers and travel corridors.
The meeting included dialogue on possible approval process refinements. Agency staff suggested pre-application meetings earlier in the process to avoid extra costs associated with visual analysis and site engineering details. Staff also suggested carriers utilize the agency’s tall structure GIS database to help design networks. In addition, an interesting approach to siting multiple towers on sites where taller towers would not be appropriate was suggested. There was discussion about the potential to amend the co-location General Permit to review the proposal for a new tower on an existing site as a horizontal co-location. This could result in significant time and cost savings.
The discussion addressed how telecommunications services provide a safety network for visitors, residents and businesses. It was acknowledged that additional tower development throughout the park will build services that result in decreased gaps in coverage. Chairman Stiles stated that the agency’s administration of the Towers Policy has matured and the agency will consider the various recommendations shared. How do we refine the process to serve the public good? he asked.
APA APPROVED 31 CELLULAR PROJECTS IN 2009
Staff provided an overview detailing the continued improvement in cellular coverage inside the park. In 2009, the APA approved 31 permits/amendments for cellular projects. This included 14 new towers, 14 co-location projects, 1 replacement and 2 replacement/co-location permits. Presently there are 11 cellular tower applications under review. To date the agency has issued 188 telecommunication permits resulting in the construction of 116 structures.
2009 Cellular Permit Activity By Cellular Carrier
8 Verizon Wireless Permits:
5 New Towers 2 Co-locations 1 Replacement
18 T-Mobile Permits:
6 New Towers 11 Co-locations 1 Replacement & Co-location
1 AT&T Permit:
1 Co-location
Additionally, park-wide coverage was reviewed in relation to the following eleven applications that are pending approval:
11 Cellular Applications Pending Approval:
1 in Town of Dresden (behind Hulett’s Landing fire station) 1 in Town of Keene (near Neighborhood House) 1 in Town of Fine (NYS Route 3) 1 in Town of Minerva (NYS Route 28 & Morse Memorial Hwy) 1 in Town of Chesterfield (Virginia Drive) 1 in Town of Clifton (NYS Route 3, Cranberry Lake) 1 in Town of Chester (NYS Route 9, Word of Life) 1 in Town of Wilmington (NY Route 86) 1 in Town of Queensbury (West Mountain Road) 1 in Town of Duane (Co. Rt. 26, fire department) 1 in Town of Westport (Boyle Road)
Coverage along travel corridors and communities continues to improve as cellular companies build approved projects.
Staff also noted policy implementation through the permit process has withstood legal challenges which ensures approved projects move forward in a timely fashion for telecommunication carriers. The Agency’s Towers Policy, revised in February of 2002, discourages mountaintop towers and promotes the co-location of facilities on existing structures. The policy is intended to protect the Adirondack Park’s aesthetic and open space resources by describing how telecommunication tower sites achieve substantial invisibility. The natural scenic character of the Adirondack Park is the foundation of the quality of life and economy of the region, long recognized as a uniquely special and valuable State and National treasure.
The policy also recognizes the importance for telecommunications and other technologies to support the needs of local residents, the visiting public and the Park’s economic sector. The policy includes guidance for telecommunication companies to ensure successful implementation of projects.
Guidance includes: avoiding locating facilities on mountaintops and ridge lines; concealing any structure by careful siting, using a topographic or vegetative foreground or backdrop; minimizing structure height and bulk; using color to blend with surroundings; and using existing buildings to locate facilities whenever possible.
The mission of the Adirondack Park Agency is to protect the public and private resources of the Adirondack Park through the exercise of the powers and duties of the Agency as provided by law. With its headquarters located in Ray Brook, the Agency also operates two Visitor Interpretive Centers, in Newcomb and Paul Smiths. For more information, call the APA at (518) 891-4050 or visit www.apa.state.ny.us.
November is one of those in-between months, sort of like mud or black-fly season, where your outdoor activities are sort of limited. There’s no snow yet (not anymore, not like the old days anyway), it’s too cold to paddle unless you’re a die-hard and without any leaves the woods certainly don’t look terribly appealing. Not to mention the fact that it gets dark only a few hours past noon.
Our advice for a hike during these dreary, pre-winter days? Keep it short. A good outing for those in the Lake George area, or living in the Capital Region, is Sleeping Beauty. This 2,162-foot-high treeless peak is less than two miles from the parking lot (assuming you’re brave enough to drive the one-lane, 1.5-mile road to Dacy Clearing from Shelving Rock Road — but I’ve done it several times in a sedan and never had a problem). And though it gains steeply toward the end it’s a climb any hiker should be able to tackle.
To reach the trailhead, 149 east of Route 9 in Queensbury, and make a left on Buttermilk Falls Road. Follow that road for a good 10 to 15 minutes until you enter the Shelving Rock woods. You’ll see a huge parking lot on the right, and at the end of that will be the road to Dacy Clearing (or park here and walk the road if you like). Don’t make the right onto Hogback Road.
Trail signs point the way to Sleeping Beauty, which at first follows an old, rugged dirt road. Eventually, the trail leaves the road and climbs steeply past rock cliffs to the summit, which provides a sterling view over most of Lake George.
If you left early enough you’ll have time to explore some of the many trails in this area. Bumps Pond, just north of Sleeping Beauty, makes a nice loop, and Fishbrook Pond further north will make the loop even longer. There’s a nice leanto at Fishbrook to have lunch and a number of other loop options if the short days still haven’t caught up to you.
While the trails are well-signed, an ADK Eastern Region trail map will go a long way to helping you choose your destinations. Remember to pack a flashlight and warm clothes, and enjoy.
Rogers Island Visitors Center in Fort Edward is hosting dinner with Samuel de Champlain on October 24th at the Tee Bird North Golf Club (30 Reservoir Road, Fort Edward). Local Chefs, Neal Orsini owner of the Anvil Restaurant in Fort Edward and Steve Collyer, researched the stores list aboard Champlain’s ship, the Saint-Julien, to develop a dinner menu using European, 17th century ship and New World ingredients. Some menu items were standard fare aboard 17th century ships, but the Saint-Julien was 500 tons, carried more than 100 crew and had a galley which meant that even livestock was brought on board aboard, if only for the captain and officers. Don Thompson, who has spent this Quadricentennial year traveling throughout New York, Vermont and Canada portraying Samuel de Champlain, will serve as a special guest presenter bringing the story of de Champlain’s North American explorations to life.
There will be a cash bar at 5 pm; and dinner served at 6 pm. The price is $22 for Rogers Island VC members, $25 for non-members and $8 for children under 12. Special prize baskets have been donated for a raffle.
For reservations call Rogers Island Visitor Center at 518-747-3693 or e-mail rogersisland@gmail.com. Proceeds benefit the Rogers Island Visitor Center.
The Rogers Island Visitors Center at Fort Edward is hosting the Rogers Rangers Challenge triathlon. The run, canoe/kayak, and bike event will be held (rain or shine) on Saturday October 3, 2009.
The Rogers Rangers Challenge is dedicated to the memory of Major Robert Rogers and his Independent Company of American Rangers which were based on Rogers Island at Fort Edward during the French & Indian War (1755-1763). Rogers Rangers, forerunners of the U.S. Army Rangers, fought and died on ground upon which the challenge takes place. Local Native Americans described Rogers as having the ability to “run like a deer.” Participants in the event are encouraged to dress in period costume. The Challenge begins at the Hogtown Trailhead with a run over Buck Mountain to Fort Ann Beach at Pilot Knob (7.5 miles) and then a canoe/ kayak along the east shore of Lake George (3 miles) (a Compass is recommended due to the potential of thick fog). The final leg is a bike from Fort Ann Beach to Rogers Island Visitors Center, Fort Edward (30 miles). The race is limited to 100 participants and you must be at least 16 to participate. The entry fees is $60.00 per person which includes membership to Rogers Island Visitors Center, and entertainment & catered lunch for each participant.
Participants must pre-register by September 12th; for more information e-mail Eileen Hannay at rogersisland@gmail.com or call 518-747-3693.
A piece of historic Fort Edward, site of the Great Carrying Place portage between the Hudson River and Lake George and prominent in the history of the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, is reported to have been brought up while dredging the Hudson River for PCBs according to the Glens Falls Post Star. “Neal Orsini said he was awakened at 4 a.m. by the noise of a clamshell dredge pulling the piece of wood, which he estimated to be about 14 feet long, from his property,” the paper reported. “There was a breakdown somewhere in the system and they took a piece of old Fort Edward out of the bank they weren’t supposed to be touching,” Orsini said, “It was really loud.”
Orsini also told the paper that a clamshell dredge removed a section of riverbank. “It left a gaping hole in my river bank,” he said. The paper is reporting that archeologists are on the scene and a “survey is being performed on the pieces taken from the area.”
Fort Edward was built in 1755 on “The Great Warpath” between Albany and the head of northward navigation at Lake George. It’s three components, the fort itself, a fortified encampment on Rogers Island, and a Royal blockhouse built in 1758 across the river was Britain’s largest military outpost in North America during the French and Indian War housing more than 15,000 troops. An earlier stockaded area named Fort Nicholson was located there in 1709 during Queen Anne’s War; it was rebuilt as Fort Lydus (primarily the trading post of John Lydus) and in 1731 was rebuilt as Fort Lyman. It was renamed For Edward by Sir William Johnson during the French and Indian War in 1755.
Although the historic site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has been largely forgotten, after the area was heavily contaminated with PCBs, and has fallen into disuse except for the Rogers Island Visitors Center. The Associated Press reported this week that three entities are hoping to purchase parts of the site including the Archaeological Conservancy, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and archeologist David Starbuck, who has been excavating the site since at least 2001.
Rogers Island was also the base camp of Major Robert Rogers and his company of Rangers and it was there that he composed his “Ranging Rules” which form the basis of military tactics adopted by irregular fighting forces all over the world. The site is considered the birthplace of the U.S. Army Rangers. The fort fell to British forces under John Burgoyne in 1777 during the American Revolution.
The dredging project is in its fourth month of removing approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of Hudson Riverbed sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). General Electric is believed to have dischargeed more than 1 million pounds of PCBs from its plants in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward into the Hudson River. The company then fought a legal, political, and media battle to avoid cleanup for nearly 20 years. GE fought the Superfund law in court and conducted a media campaign to convince the public that cleaning the toxic waste from the river would stir up PCBs. This week high levels of PCBs downriver slowed the dredging. GE was ordered by the EPA to clean up a 40-mile stretch of the Hudson River it contaminated in 2002. Photo: Fort Edward from “A Set of Plans and Forts in Americas, Reduced From Actual Surveys” [1763]
I’ll be giving an informal talk about Adirondack blogging, trends in local media history, the new book (Historic Tales from the Adirondack Almanack), and their connection to Hulett’s Landing at 7:30 pm, this Saturday, August 8th, at the Hulett’s Landing Casino. I hope you’ll come out for the event.
The original Casino was built on the over the waters of Lake George at Hulett’s Landing in 1917-18 and burned down in 1953. It was rebuilt in the center of the community in 1954 and operated until 1973. It was closed for 16 years before Al Kapusinski reopened it in 1989. It’s the only establishment in Hulett’s for dining and drinking.
Local county fairs start this week, so here is our full list of Adirondack county fairs, listed according to opening date. As usual, I’ve included a few of the most important regional fairs as well. See you at the fair!
The FUND for Lake George, a not-for-profit, privately funded organization dedicated to the protection of Lake George that was formed in 1980, will hold its 2009 Annual Meeting on July 10th at the Lake George Club, beginning at 10:00 AM. The meeting will include an overview of the major issues confronting Lake George and the major programs and projects of the FUND, the Lake George Waterkeeper, and their partners. This year, the FUND will honor the Lake George Land Conservancy with the James D. Corbett Award. Since its creation, the LGLC has protected over 12,000 acres around Lake George, including over three miles of undeveloped shoreline areas. The LGLC’s work has helped landowners protect their lands, increased public access to wild areas, protected priceless undeveloped shoreline areas, helped protect the lake’s upland scenic beauty, and helped to protect water quality around the lake through preserving land in a natural state.
Past recipients include Lake George Mayor Robert Blais and past Chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors Bill Thomas for their leadership in organizing the West Brook Conservation Initiative, Dr. Carol Collins for her leadership on Lake George protection efforts over the past 25 years, and the RPI Darrin Fresh Water Institute for its long-term commitment to scientific study of Lake George.
In honor of Jim Corbett, The FUND for Lake George established an award in his memory. The Corbett Award recognizes an individual or organization whose work to protect Lake George continues the tradition of Jim Corbett’s passion and commitment to the lake. James Corbett had a tremendous passion for Lake George. He spent part of all of his 89 years here on the lake. As a senior partner with Merrill Lynch, Jim’s business career was on Wall Street where he was known as “Gentleman Jim.” Due to his integrity and sound thinking, upon retiring in 1970, Jim and his wife Amy became permanent residents of Huletts Landing. Jim’s passion for the Lake got him heavily involved with the Lake George Association and later he was the founder of The FUND for Lake George. Not only did Jim give endless hours of his time to preserve Lake George, he shared his treasures. He was a man of action dedicated to this lake.
2009 FUND for Lake George Annual Meeting Agenda
10:00 Welcome & Refreshments 10:15 Introductions and Agenda 10:20 Board of Trustees Business 10:30 FUND Treasurer’s Report 10:45 Program Reports: Lake George Waterkeeper 11:45 Break 12:00 Lunch: James D. Corbett Award to the Lake George Land Conservancy 12:30 Program Reports 2:00 Adjourn
For your information comes this press release about a Healing Retreat for Women Vets at Wiawaka Holiday House on Lake George, August 10-12th. Established in 1903, Wiawaka is one of the oldest continuously operating retreats for women in the Unites States. The retreat was established by Mary Fuller a progressive activist for women’s rights who wanted to establish an affordable respite for female immigrants working in the shirt-collar factories, mills and laundries of her native Troy, and Cohoes. Here are the details: Do you have a wife, a mother or a daughter serving in the military? Today, many people do. Nearly 20 percent of America’s troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. They fly planes and helicopters, drive trucks and other equipment along mine-infested highways, and place their lives at risk in equal measure to the men; all this in wars that have the highest rate of post-traumatic stress and suicide of any wars since such data has been collected.
Women in the military are not new; many have served with distinction in Vietnam, Korea, and both World Wars. They wear the scars and medals to prove it. Women have faced not only all the same challenges as men (including living with severe deformities as a result of advances in combat-related care and long separations from loved ones), but the added challenges of potential rape and sexual harassment.
In an effort to support our troops, and most especially the women who have served, Creative Healing Connections, known for its annual Adirondack Healing Retreats for Women Living with Cancer and other Chronic Diseases, has joined with Wiawaka Holiday House, to host a retreat this August for women who have served in the military.
The retreat will be open to women veterans of any branch of the military no matter when they served, be they currently serving, recently finished their service or served in Vietnam or at any other time. The cost is modest with many full and or partial scholarships available through the support of the Charles R. Wood Foundation and Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation.
“When women veterans come home they need care, a safe place to tell their stories and share their experiences with other women who have experienced the same stresses. Our goal is to provide them that space, to help them build a network with others who have faced similar challenges, and to provide them with an array of techniques to enhance the quality of their lives,” said Fran Yardley, director of Creative Healing Connections, more popularly known as the Adirondack Healing Retreats.
“Wiawaka has terrific facilities,” Yardley continued. “It is located on the shores of Lake George and is very private. It was founded in 1903 by women for women it has a long history of serving women – it provides women a safe and welcoming environment, a retreat that is beautiful, serene and historic the energy of generations of women is present in every fiber of the place and the sounds of the waters lapping the shores and the summer breeze clears the soul. It is a magic place.”
Creative Healing Connections, Inc. will bring to the retreat its seasoned faculty which has had great success in using the arts, nature, movement and listening skills to help women develop support networks, share their stories and gain techniques they can use to enhance their life. Specialists who have extensive experience working with veterans will join their faculty.
“Our retreat is for women who have recently served as well as those who have served in the first Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and other military situations,” said Yardley, “Indeed we seek a range of experiences. We and Wiawaka have received underwriting support to insure that any person wishing to attend can afford to do so.”
In the closing stages of its efforts to strengthen dam safety across the state, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has posted for public comment amended regulations proposed following the failure of a southern Adirondack dam in 2005.
The proposed regulations would more than double those sections of New York’s Codes, Rules and Regulations devoted to dam safety (and here, and here), implementing a regimen of inspections and record keeping requirements for owners of dams across the state. The the amended proposed regulations would also strengthen the State’s enforcement capacity, allowing the DEC to undertake repairs of privately-owned dams in cases of imminent peril to the public. » Continue Reading.
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The Rogers Rangers Challenge has been resurrected by its original co-founder, Dr. Dave Bannon and Rogers Island Visitors Center. The original Challenge began in 1991 and ended in 2001. The run, paddle, bike triathlon starts at the Hogtown trailhead on Buck Mountain in the Town of Fort Ann at 8:00 am on Sunday June 13th. Registration for the Challenge is due by May 23rd. This race is dedicated to the memory of Major Robert Rogers and his Independent Company of Rangers who lived on Rogers Island at Fort Edward during the French and Indian War.
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