Top News Stor(ies) of Huletts: 2012

Since I’ve been writing here on the Huletts Current, I’ve gotten in the habit of posting what I consider to be the top news story of Huletts Landing from the past year.

This year, I’ve named three stories as “co-top stories” of Huletts for 2012.

Let me explain. As I went through the posts for the entire year, there were many “newsworthy items” that I could have chosen. There simply has been a lot of news this past year. My book, the Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George was released, the Whitehall School Board had a special election because “write-in” votes ended in a tie, and the Huletts Landing Post Office ending the year on the US Postal Services POStPLAN were all very big stories in their own right.

However there were three stories which I felt were deserving of the top story so I compromised and listed them all. There was a common theme that ran through through these stories that I thought was important.

Bruce Young Reappointed as Chairman of LGPC

Bruce Young, a life-long Huletts Landing resident, was appointed to a third term as Chairman of the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) by Governor Cuomo and confirmed by the New York State Senate. Mr. Young was originally appointed by Governor Pataki in 1996 and reappointed to a second term in 2002. What makes this so unique is that Mr. Young was appointed by two different Governors of two different political parties. In this day and age where politics has become so polarizing, it is nice to see Mr. Young appointed to a third term. We need more people like Mr. Young, who see that common ground is what binds us together. Mr. Young’s service to the community and the Lake George region is exceptionally commendable.

Huletts Island View Marina Sold

The Huletts Island View Marina was sold in 2012. The new owners are long-time Huletts residents; Tom Conrad, Jeremy Linhart and Amanda Linhart. When any business changes hands, the new owners are making an investment in the community. Many local communities are seeing first-hand what happens when entrepreneurs won’t invest in their community. The fact that Hulett residents stepped up and purchased the marina bodes well for our little piece of the world. Business owners often don’t get the credit they deserve for making communities the vibrant places they are, but Tom Conrad, Jeremy Linhart and Amanda Linhart’s love for Huletts shows in their investment.

Elephant Mountain Fire Extinguished

There are some problems that small communities can’t handle on their own. That’s what happened on July 25, 2012 when a fire was spotted on Elephant Mountain. While our local Huletts Landing Volunteer Fire Department responded and located the fire, a State Police helicopter had to be called in to extinguish the blaze. If it wasn’t for the many brave first responders who willingly put themselves on the line, a larger disaster may have occurred.

So the common theme that ran through all of these co-top stories of Huletts for 2012 was: service to the community. Service can take many forms, but all three of these stories demonstrated service in one way of the other. That’s why they are all worthy of recognition as the top-story of Huletts 2012.