I spoke to Leann this evening and one improvement that she will be offering at the Casino this summer will be wireless Internet access. So if you bring your laptop and stop at the Casino, you’ll be connected!
Adirondack Park Agency – Meet Google
Google has recently launched a new tool designed to help web users find public data buried in hard-to-find government web sites.
The new service, called Google Public Data, is an effort to make information from all levels of government accessible to citizens.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qt2n34VEr4
I personally would like to see all Adirondack Park Agency decisions including permits, non-jurisdictional letters and any determination made by the agency in it’s entire history available online and searchable by topic, year, town, county, etc.
The Adirondack Park Agency has been criticized for having little regard for administrative law, making different determinations based on arbitrary findings and in many cases making entirely inconsistent rulings. This is a major reason why the APA encounters so much resistance from local communities. These criticisms could be easily proven untrue if all of the APA’s decisions were online. In this day and age it is unfathomable that the APA cannot organize its permit and non-jurisdictional rulings online in a searchable and open manner.
Google along with Wikipedia and Amazon have all been trying to make it easier to find government information on the web. In 2002, the E-Government Act mandated governmental agencies to make information more accessible electronically but many have complained that federal and state agencies do not organize their sites so they can be easily indexed by search engines.
Sadly, the Adirondack Park Agency lives in the digital wilderness. Their determinations are not online or searchable at all through their website. Google can’t find them because they’re simply not there.
The citizens of New York clearly deserve better.
Bits of Everything
Lake Homes Sales Take Hit
Sales are slow this year on Lake George. Read the Post Star article here.
Please Don’t Feed the Bears
The Adirondack Alamanack had a good story on what happens when bears get fed.
Whitehall Police to be Outsourced
I wonder how the Washington County Sheriff will handle sightings of Bigfoot?
Heron Finally
I’ve been trying to get a decent picture of this heron for some time. This morning I got close and finally got some. These were the best two.
Sometimes Life Throws A Curve
The Washington Nationals announced this week, that they replaced Randy St. Claire as their pitching coach. Randy grew up in Whitehall and he and his family have many ties to Huletts. His parents ran the soda fountain for a few years in the 70’s and his brother Shane built some docks in Huletts in the 70’s also. His father, Ebba, was a major league catcher and actually taught me how to throw some different pitches when I was young.
Randy signed out of high-school with the Montreal Expos and played a number of seasons in the major leagues. He had been the pitching coach of the Washington Nationals for the last few years.
Sadly, I had recently submitted a request to the Nationals to interview him. We wish Randy the best and we know he’ll end up someplace good soon.
Here is a picture of his brother, Shane, (standing on the left) building a dock in Huletts in the 1970’s.
Floating on the Wind
Saturday Quote
“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
Oscar Wilde
A Performance You Don’t Want To Miss
The Lake George Opera Company will present a program of arias from favorite operas at the Mt. Grove Memorial Church on Saturday, June 27th at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 with limited seating. Proceeds will go to the Outreach Program of both Huletts churchs and to the Volunteer Fire Company. Call 499-2427 or 499-0233 for tickets a.s.a.p.
The mission of Lake George Opera is to present a diverse opera repertoire, exemplary of the highest artistic quality and accessible to people of all ages, races and cultural backgrounds; to preserve the musical heritage of opera and to promote the creation and presentation of American works; to promote and maintain an Apprentice Artist Program; to foster an understanding and appreciation of opera through education, and to establish and maintain a year-round pleasure throughout our region, including the use of alternate venues.
Amelia Earhart & Huletts
In this book, written by Amelia Earhart’s sister, there is one brief mention of Huletts.
“In the spring of 1919, Mother came to Northhampton from Kansas City. … Mother saw the move from California as another major ordeal that she did not look forward to. We rented a summer home at Huletts’s Landing on Lake George where Amelia, Mother, and I enjoyed the entire summer.”
“Amelia became especially friendly with the New York Stabler family who owned the cottage next door to the one we rented. Another neighbor was a young poet, Mark Turbyfill. Marian Stabler and her brother Frank, Amelia, and I formed a critical yet friendly audience for Mark. Mark’s poetry appealed to us because it broke from traditional poetry both in form and subject.”
That’s all folks. The next paragraph goes on to deal with their father and Amelia’s college career. If anyone knows anything about the people mentioned I’d appreciate hearing from you and I’ll share it here.
Now you know, Amelia Earhart was here in the summer of 1919, exactly 90 years ago!
Summer Picks: Non-Fiction
With the first day of summer officially getting closer, I know we have a lot of people who love to read during the summer, especially on the beach. So, I thought I would throw out some picks for some non-fiction books that people might enjoy.
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When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, few could have imagined the fate that awaited the Polish clergy. The Catholic Church had a powerful influence on the Polish people. For the Nazis to gain absolute control, the solution was simple – the clergy had to be destroyed. As a young seminarian trapped in the merciless events of the time, Kazimierz Majdanski – who would later become an Archbishop – was not prepared for the events that would follow his arrest. You Shall Be My Witness is his extraordinary memoir, which chronicles his experiences and remarkable test of faith. |
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Lou Gehrig started his professional baseball career at a time when players began to be seen as celebrities. Though this suited the charismatic Babe Ruth, Gehrig avoided the spotlight and preferred to speak with his bat. Best known for playing in 2,130 consecutive games as well as his courage in battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a disease that now bears his name), the Iron Horse that emerges from Luckiest Man is surprisingly a common man. Honest, humble, and frugal, his only vices were chewing gum and the occasional cigarette. Despite becoming one of the greatest baseball players of all time, the author shows how Gehrig truly was one of a kind. |
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Many people will attest to the happiness pets bring, but few are aware of the neurochemical basis. In one of those delectably books that tie together threads of science, history, and everyday life, Made for Each Other explains the evolutionary processes behind our love and need for animals. Olmert starts with our ancestors’ transformation into hunters, the forging of communities, and the welcoming of wolves around the hearth. As wolves evolved into dogs, it is the chemical oxytocin that turned them into “man’s best friend,” and the same mutually beneficial oxytocin-enhancing chemistry makes possible the close bonds between humans and horses, cattle, and cats. More proof of the astonishing intricacy of life’s interconnectivity. |
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This gripping true story about a 34-year-old Buffalo firefighter who regained consciousness after nearly 10 years patiently records a family’s heroic grief and fortitude. Trapped under a collapsed roof in a burning house in 1995 and deprived of oxygen for six minutes, Donny Herbert suffered severe anoxic brain injury and lapsed into a long, largely unresponsive, nonspeaking state. Finally on a stupendous day in 2005, Donny simply started talking again. In The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up, the author offers a restrained version of events, frequently tying Donny’s recovery to divine intervention, though the miraculous events are spare in relation to the enormous span of time anticipating Donny’s recovery. |
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I Am Murdered relates the tale of the 1806 murder of one of the nation’s most celebrated public figures. Virginia’s George Wythe was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and of the Constitution. He was also teacher and friend to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Marshall and Henry Clay. Few were as beloved and admired; but one day in 1806, he and his entire household were poisoned. Historian Bruce Chadwick takes readers through the circumstances of Wythe’s murder and gradually reveals—no surprise to the attentive reader—the murder suspect. It’s a good story, well told about life in Richmond, a small, elite-driven capital city in the young nation’s most important state. |
Whatever you do this summer, read a few good books and let me know some of your picks. I’ll be posting the fiction list soon. I’ll probably post another list of both non-fiction and fiction in August after I’ve read a few more and heard from you!
Bits of Everything
Whitehall Marina Sold
I received this announcement about the Whitehall Marina being sold.
Ballplayer Hulett Tells of Tragedy
If you ever do a search on the name “Hulett” it will return the name of “Tim Hulett” a former pro-baseball player. This story on MLB.com is about a tragedy that happened to his family as told by his son, Tug Hulett, who is now a professional baseball player himself. It’s a great story about overcoming a tragedy and turning it into a positive. Read the whole article. I’ve always wondered if they’re related to our Huletts.
Americade is Coming
The Saratogian has a good article on the upcoming Americade weekend. Please don’t become hysterical if you see motorcycles in Huletts this week. These are motorcycle enthusiasts simply out enjoying themselves. They are not a threat to public safety. These folks are on licensed vehicles bringing in much needed tourist dollars to the area. If you stop and talk to them, they love talking about their motorcycles. So if you see a motorcycle this weekend, please don’t become alarmed. They are just normal folks out enjoying themselves. Please welcome them as you would welcome any new friend.
The Teachers Contract
Previously I posted the Whitehall teachers contract online here. Today, I thought I would give my analysis of it.
Overall I believe the contract is fair but it could be improved. The problem that I have had with the district does not involve the teachers contract but revolves around the yearly budgets being padded and the excess being put into reserve accounts only to be spent later. The taxpayer is simply viewed as a deep pocketed dupe and never are any excesses returned in the form of lower taxes or lower budgets the following year. When coupled with falling enrollments, even in a year where there are no tax increases, per-pupil spending rises.
I have always had the utmost respect for teachers. It is more work than most people realize and the pressures to deal with students and parents can be overwhelming at times. Students have a lot of energy and teachers deserve our appreciation and support.
I’ve compared the Whitehall teachers contract to those in nearby districts and I would say it compares relatively favorably to those of nearby districts. Some districts have higher starting salaries than Whitehall but lower ending salaries after many years of service. However, while the current teacher’s contract is not extravagant, it is generous and it is certainly not frugal.
The original teacher’s contract was from June 1, 2005 to June 30, 2009 and the agreement was extended with a memorandum of agreement from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011.
The biggest thing I noticed is that there is no anti-nepotism language or policy in effect. This allows for all types of inter-connectiveness in the hiring and staffing of positions. Almost all districts are moving to these types of policies to prevent relatives from hiring and recommending other relatives. Whitehall has been criticized in the past as being a “good old boys network”. This type of language and/or policy would go a long way in blunting this type of criticism.
The second thing I noticed is that in the first agreement the percentage the school district was paying for medical, surgical, hospital, and dental costs for the teachers was declining.
2005-06 – 92%
2006-07 – 91%
2007-08 – 90%
2008-09 – 89%
However, in the extension (for the next two years) the percentage goes up.
2009-10 – 90%
2010-11 – 90%
This seems a bit odd in so far as the teachers had already agreed to lowering this percentage and it appears to be a major concession on the part of the District. It would seem that with a concession such as this, the District would ask for other concessions in return.
However, the district agreed to 4% annual increases for the next two years in the memorandum (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2011) which seem exceeding generous in these bad economic times.
I was also a bit surprised at the amount of compensation being paid to club moderators and team coaches. The athletic director’s salary was increased 33% from the original agreement to the memorandum for the next two years (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2011).
One criticism that I have heard repeatedly is that the school system needs to do more to crack down on unruly or misbehaving students. The one policy that has been shown to work and which many private schools use is academic, behavioral and/or attendance probation. This denies students the ability to participate in interscholastic or after-school activities who are failing, exhibit behavioral problems and/or who refuse to attend school regularly.
However if the teacher’s union views these clubs as a quick source of extra cash, there is no incentive to crack down and discipline students. You have a cycle where misbehaving students are needed for clubs so that a moderator can collect extra income.
Finally the number of clubs and paid positions should be evaluated in light of Whitehall’s falling enrollment. Hopefully the school board and the teachers will realize these types of positions are funded by hard-earned taxpayer dollars and that not everyone can afford these types of increases and that if the district doesn’t have an academic, behavioral and/or attendance probation policy it will continue to have disciplinary problems.
Hopefully the Board will think carefully about these types of increases and policies as they negotiate the next contract. Until they are able to reduce taxes and spending, I’m afraid Whitehall will continue to suffer from continued declines in enrollment, population and business as it has experienced over the last 15 years.
I believe the biggest problem the taxpayers face is the continued overcharging of the taxpayers by the district to fund reserve accounts which are earmarked for future building projects. These make little or no sense in a district which is losing students and population. What’s the point of having a new school and no people left in the Town?
The Dolphin Boat
Here’s a cool video of the new Innespace Submersible Watercraft, otherwise known as the Dolphin Boat, from the Travel Channel’s Extreme Playtime show. (The actual video of the Dolphin Boat doesn’t start until 2:00 into the clip.)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVXSdbd13bk