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Whitehall School Board: January Meeting Minutes

The Whitehall School Board has begun to put the minutes to their monthly meetings online. The Board should be commended for this.

Here is a link to the minutes for the Regular Board Meeting from Wednesday, January 18, 2017. I will begin to post these. (There is no easy way to link directly to these. They have to be printed out and saved as a pdf.)

Please note the following budget items where discussed by the Superintendent in his remarks (Item # 4 Superintendent Comments):

Patrick Dee stated that the State Aid Budget runs will be approximately 1.7% increase in aid. The Governor’s budget: Approximately $124,000 present budget runs for Whitehall.

Patrick Dee stated that there will be an approximate 15% budget increase (approximately $300.000 budget increase) in health insurance for 2017-2018. Whitehall is part of a consortium, which includes twenty eight out of thirty districts within WSWHE BOCES.

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NY State Comptroller’s Audit of Dresden Released

The NY State Comptroller has completed its audit of the Town of Dresden and the operations of the Town Clerk. That audit, as well as the Town’s initial response, is included in the report. The Town’s complete response is due to the state within 90-days.

This was a comprehensive undertaking that encompasses the financial health of the entire town, including the general and highways budgets, as well as the overall health of both sewer districts.

The audit has been posted on the Town’s website here.

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French Architecture Focus of Fort Fever Series Program March 12th


French vernacular architecture at Carillon will be the topic of the next Fort Fever Series program on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at 2:00 P.M. given by Assistant Director of Interpretation Nicholas Spadone. Admission is $10; free for Members of Fort Ticonderoga and Ambassador Pass Holders.

Fort Ticonderoga’s “Fort Fever Series” continues on Sunday, March 12th, at 2:00 p.m. with “Basse Ville: Vernacular Architecture of the Lower Town at Carillon,” presented by Assistant Director of Interpretation, Nicholas Spadone. The cost is $10 per person and can be purchased at the gate; Fort Ticonderoga Members and Ambassador Pass Holders are admitted free of cost. The program will take place in the Mars Education Center.

This Fort Fever presentation will examine the vernacular architecture of Ticonderoga’s temporary structures and shed light on how the peninsula appeared from 1755-1759. “Today, the impressive stone fort protrudes on the peninsula prominently,” said Nicholas Spadone, Assistant Director of Interpretation. “Much less known are dozens of temporary structures that dotted the landscape during the French occupation at Carillon, later named Ticonderoga. What remains of those structures are simply stone foundations or merely a drawing on a map. However, new research has revealed the structure’s rich story.”

The “Fort Fever Series” is just one of several programs taking place at Fort Ticonderoga this winter and early spring. Clothing and Accoutrements Workshops are offered March 11 & 12 and April 8 & 9. Fort Ticonderoga presents the living history event “Four Divisions formed at Fort Carillon: Rigaud’s Attack of Fort William Henry” on March 25th. The Sixth Annual Garden & Landscape Symposium will be held on April 8th. You can learn more about all of these programs by visiting www.fortticonderoga.org. Some programs require advanced registration.

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January Dresden Town Board Meeting Minutes

The minutes from the January 2017 Dresden Town Board meetings were recently approved and have been posted on the town’s website. This meeting set the salaries for town officials and which members of the Town Board would serve on which committees.

January Minutes

Additionally a Public Notice setting the standard work day for certain town employees was also posted.

Standard Work Day Resolution

The February minutes will not be approved until March and so on.

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LGLC Welcomes Michele DeRossi as Staff


Michele DeRossi has joined the staff of the Lake George Land Conservancy.

The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) is pleased to announce the addition of Michele DeRossi as the organization’s community engagement and events manager. In her new role, Ms. DeRossi will be managing community and fundraising events for the LGLC and working with the staff to raise funds and awareness for the importance of land protection throughout the Lake George watershed.

Ms. DeRossi brings a versatile background in development, event planning, and conservation. Prior to joining the LGLC, Ms. DeRossi worked for The Nature Conservancy, where she spent 3 years working in development, most recently as a Donor Relations Manager for both individual donors as well as foundations and corporations around the eastern New York region and in New York City. Prior to her work at The Nature Conservancy, she worked as events manager for the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, organizing and facilitating major events to raise money for restoration projects around historic Saratoga Springs. Ms. DeRossi got her start in non-profit work while living in Jackson, Wyoming where she was the marketing and events associate for Jackson Hole WILD, an organization dedicated to promoting stewardship of wildlife through the use of media.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Ms. DeRossi grew up coming to Lake George in the summers with her family and continued to be a part of the Bolton Landing community through college, working at several local restaurants and contributing to the Lake George Mirror. Ms. DeRossi holds a BA from Fordham University in Journalism and Communications and attended the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT. Although she now lives in Saratoga Springs, Ms. DeRossi can often be found at her family’s home in Diamond Point. In her free time, Michele writes a food column in Saratoga, is working on becoming an ADK 46’r with her fiancé and loves to explore new places, whether on skis or by foot.

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Saturday Quote

“Touch of the Master’s Hand,” by Myra Welsh

T’was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.

“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar,” then, two! Only two?
“Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

“Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three . . . ” But no,
From the room, far back, a grey haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.

“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone,” said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand
What changed its worth?” Swift came the reply:
“The touch of a master’s hand.”

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.

A “mess of potage,” a glass of wine;
A game, and he travels on.
He is “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s “going” and almost “gone.”

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

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Famous Painting: The County Election, 1852

The County Election, 1852 by George Caleb Bingham (1811–1879). Oil on canvas. Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Mo., Gift of Bank of America. (Click to see full-scale.)

All the goings-on in Washington D.C. recently, reminded me of the famous painting shown above.

“The County Election pictures the American democratic system in progress. The story takes place in a small Midwestern town in the mid-nineteenth century, when the rituals of voting were still taking shape, particularly on the frontier. George Caleb Bingham, known as “the Missouri artist” for the state where he lived and worked, recognized the responsibilities as well as the rights of citizenship; and because he played an active part in Missouri politics, he gained a personal perspective on the contemporary electoral process. In “The County Election“, Bingham presents a raucous voting party as an enactment of democracy, bringing together a variety of residents in a rural community to make decisions for the common good.”

Abstracted from the Picture America Resource Book
Read more about what is represented by this picture.

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Fort Ticonderoga Receives Grant from International Paper for Shoreline Buffer Garden

Fort Ticonderoga’s historic 1826 Pell home, the Pavilion, with the garden behind it. (Photo Credit: Carl Heilman II – Click to see larger image.)

The Ticonderoga International Paper Foundation has recently awarded Fort Ticonderoga a grant supporting a shoreline buffer garden designed to educate visitors on how native plants prevent erosion, provide a buffer on the Lake Champlain shore, and promote pollination. Specifically, the $1500 grant will be used to purchase the plants, compost, and mulch for the shoreline buffer garden, and for the development and installation of interpretive signage. The garden will be open to the public beginning in May 2017.

“Fort Ticonderoga is grateful to the International Paper Foundation and to our partners at the International Paper Mill at Ticonderoga for their support,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga’s President and CEO. “The grant provides important funding for our horticultural program to create and interpret the new garden. We look forward to this opportunity to highlight our shared commitment to Lake Champlain’s regional environmental goals of land preservation and water quality.”

The shoreline buffer garden will be located at the entrance of the newly installed Fort Ticonderoga dock. Beautifully situated in front of the historic 1826 Pell home, the Pavilion, the garden sits between the sweeping Pavilion front lawn and the stunning natural beauty of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains.

The new garden is an addition to a $350,000 waterfront recreation and maritime project that was completed in 2016. Fort Ticonderoga acquired the 60 ft M/V Carillon tour boat in 2015. Boat tours embark from the 200 ft dock, which was installed in the summer of 2016. Daily tours, charters, and sunset cruises carry guests onto the historic waters of Lake Champlain from May through October.

“From the top of Mount Defiance, to the fort and the gardens, and onto Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga is the transformative American history experience that provides an unmatched combination of grand, immersive storytelling and breathtaking scenic beauty,” said Hill.

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Saturday Quote

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

John Wooden