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Wouldn’t Want to Run Into One of These

A really cool short clip (about 3.5 minutes) on how the prehistoric short faced bear differed from today’s grizzly bear and black bear. I saw a black bear once on top of the mountain about 15 years ago. If you’re interested in bears, here’s an interesting clip for you.

[hulu=ra06vuFlOWTX4zsJfKSN5w,LEFT,340,16:10,Prehistoric Bear,AUTOPLAY]

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Washington County Budget Drawing Heat

From Saturday’s Post Star:

“The 2009 Washington County budget isn’t pleasing everyone. More than 100 concerned citizens filled the Board of Supervisors chambers on Friday to voice their opinions on the proposed $117.3 million spending plan.

The tentative budget contains an 8-percent hike in the tax levy, a $106,000 cut to the county Sheriff’s Office’s budget and a 50 percent reduction in funding to the Hudson Falls arm of Cornell Cooperative Extension.”

Read the entire piece here.

Update – ALERT:

“At the same time, supervisors on the committee backed the elimination of two county-run parks,” ..  AT THIS TIME THIS INCLUDES THE WASHINGTON COUNTY BEACH

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Saturday Quote

“We’ve uncovered some embarrassing ancestors in the not-too-distant past. Some horse thieves, and some people killed on Saturday nights. One of my relatives, unfortunately, was even in the newspaper business.”

Jimmy Carter

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Did the Lost Dauphin of France Really Stay in Huletts?

This is a great piece from Adirondack Magazine about rural legends of the Adirondacks. Was there really a Lake George Monster? What was the biggest buck ever shot here? Did Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother live in the Adirondacks? Does Presidential brother, Jeb Bush really own land in the Champlain Valley?

From Gerald Ford’s son to the Lost Dauphin of France, the legends are all spelled out here. It a great read. Perhaps you’ll learn of a legend you never knew existed.

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When You’re Out of Money, You Can’t Spend Anything

From the Post Star:

Bad News Hits Area Schools

This is pretty unprecedented. The issue becomes what will school districts around NY do; use their reserve accounts in the interim and hit property owners with increased taxes next year or actually get control of their spending. Remember the Whitehall school district spent $2.25 million two years ago on tennis courts and a building addition. Sadly the Whitehall school district has never shown a willingness to control spending.

In case you missed it, the Whitehall School district was recently told by the comptroller’s office that they had $150,000 over the amount that the law says they can have in one of their reserve accounts. They have a bunch of them.

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Our Dresden > Their Dresden?

Many people are surprised to learn that there are actually two towns named Dresden in the state of New York. The other Dresden is located on the western shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region. Check out the other town of Dresden here. Our former Town Clerk, Mrs. LeClaire, would say that both towns would occasionally receive correspondence which was intended for the other. Just a fun fact to know if you’re ever on a game show and there’s a category: Towns in NY State.

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Fort Ticonderoga

While this video is about 3 months old, I thought it was appropriate to share on Veterans Day. It illustrates what is happening to the surrounding economy when taxes go up and tourism starts to dry up. Fort Ticonderoga is a non-profit corporation but they sustain the museum in large part through visitor patronage. The next time you’re in Huletts in the summer, it’s a great day trip especially if you like history.