Give Bob Banks credit for trying, but another attempt to fund the Washington County beach failed today. Washington County uses weighted voting based on population so the beaches were closed because larger towns voted against it. This does not mean that the beach will be closed this summer though. Many supervisors are still open to ways in which it can be kept open. We will keep you updated in the days ahead.
Now for Some History – 1895
This is a fascinating picture showing the steamship landing in Huletts in 1895. It’s a little blurry, so click on the image to see it in larger scale. We apologize for the clarity of the image but this is how we found it. Remember it was taken in 1895.
Gov to Get Tax Cap Report
There was a short article in todays Albany Times Union about the report being prepared for Governor Paterson that recommends capping property taxes.
Washington County Budget Revisited
The supervisors are trying to cut 50% of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. What’s the Cornell Cooperative Extension?
The Post Star has a good piece about what it is here. Our opinion is very clear, if they can cut funding for the Washington County Beach, they must cut the Cornell Cooperative Extension also.
Photographing Lake George
This is a great piece on photographers in the Adirondacks. It highlights, Carl Heilman, while he shoots high quality panoramic views of Lake George.
Saturday Quote
“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
Benjamin Franklin
Lots of Budget
Some things to note in Saturday’s Post Star:
A great editorial about school districts entitled: “Districts Must Cut Costs”
Ominious cuts still coming from the State?
Can more savings be found from cell phones?
A database of what Washington County pays all its employees. If you pull the drop down arrow, you can see the employees names.
Technical Updates
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We wanted to thank the many people who have emailed and made suggestions during our initial period. We wanted to give a technical update here. |
We are working on improving our front-page load time. For our techies out there, the pages being served are dynamically created and access the database every time a page loads. We have been experiencing 8 – 13 seconds of “waiting time” before our first page loads. This will be our priority over the next few weeks. While our address is www.hulettscurrent.com, you may be able to save a few redirection seconds by going to: http://www.hulettscurrent.com
We have not enabled comments at this time; we understand that some people are waiting to comment. We are establishing our policies and testing the code but comments will ultimately be enabled once our policies are set. We will update you as we progress.
We understand that our contact form is a bit slow after you hit the submit button. Once again, we are working on it and expect this to be resolved in the weeks ahead.
Remember we want the Current to grab you!
School Districts Told To Expect Cuts
This ran in Tuesday’s Albany Times Union and is quite clear. School districts across the state will be getting less state money next year.
This article in today’s Post Star notes that other school districts are already eliminating duplicate positions like dual principals. We will be examining this issue in the days ahead.
Total Sewer Taxes Decrease
This is another good sign of fiscal responsibility by the members of our Dresden Town Board.
The 2009 adopted budget for the Huletts Landing Sewer District # 1 shows a very slight increase in the amount to be raised by taxes of $400. Spending in 2008 was $42,000, spending for 2009 is budgeted at $42,400. For the Fredericks Point Sewer District # 2, the amount to be raised by taxes decreases by $1,300. Spending in 2008 was $25,500, spending for 2009 is budgeted at $24,200.
Thank you Dresden Town Board for “getting it”.
Happy Thanksgiving
We would like to take this moment to wish you and your family a very happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for all you do to make Huletts Landing the special place it is.
Wobi Mandanondo, “The White Devil”, is Coming
When you think of the word, “frontiersman”, Robert Rogers (1731 -1795) was the living embodiment of the word. The Indian’s gave him the name Wobi Mandanondo, “The White Devil” because of his cunning in commanding the famous Rogers’ Rangers that fought for the British during the French and Indian War. Rogers’ Rangers were the only non-Indian force capable of operating in the inhospitable mountainous terrain during the harsh winter. The US Army Rangers, to this day, use his “Rogers’ Rules of Ranging” in the U.S. Army’s Ranger handbook.
Rogers Slide, at the northern end of the lake, is so named after the legend which circulated after the Second Battle of the Snowshoes on March 13, 1758 were Rogers himself was originally reported by the French to have been killed, which in fact was not true. This report stemmed from the manner of Rogers’ escape during which he discarded some of his belongings, including his regimental coat, and supposedly slid down 400 feet to the frozen surface of Lake George and escaped over the ice. While there is no proof of this event, the rockface he supposedly went down has become known as ‘Rogers’ Slide or ‘Rogers Rock.’
The story of his life is quite fascinating, starting with him being a member of a counterfeiting gang, to being sent to America as punishment, ultimately being charged with treason but later being vindicated, all the way to being arrested by George Washington during the revolution to finally ending up in a debtor’s prison. We can only assume that somewhere along the way he walked in Huletts. A statue was dedicated to him, on Rogers Island in Fort Edward on Memorial Day 2005. It’s a nice stop on the way home on a Sunday afternoon.
For a fascinating read about a fascinating life, this book is great and for an interesting take by a local author, check this site out.
An Educated Taxpayer is the Best Citizen
Over the next few months one reoccurring topic the Huletts Current will examine, is how we as a community are regularly treated by both Washington County and the Whitehall School district. More importantly, we will discuss strategies were we can effectuate positive change. Today’s editorial in the Post Star is right on the mark, noting that the Board of Supervisors really took the easy way out by closing two county parks, noting also that these two parks are located in two of the smallest towns in the county.
Read the whole article: Supervisors Lost Track of What’s Important
Now for Some History – 1891
This drawing accompanied a piece which ran in Harpers Weekly magazine in 1891. Entitled, A Day on Lake George, it clearly shows Deers Leap and the area right across the lake from Huletts, in front of Sabbath Day Point. What is interesting to note is the clothing of the passengers. (Click on the image to see it in larger detail.)
