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Fort Ticonderoga 2014 Season Begins May 10th


Fort Ticonderoga. Photo Credit Carl Heilman.

Fort Ticonderoga opens for the 2014 season on Saturday, May 10, and will offer new programs, living history weekends, special events, exhibits, gardens, the Carillon Battlefield hiking trail, canoe rentals, and the new Mount Defiance experience. Guests will immerse themselves in nearly 2000 acres of exquisite landscape at Fort Ticonderoga to discover one of North America’s most epic stories of defiance, hope, and independence.

Recognized as a top destination in the Adirondacks by USA News Travel, Fort Ticonderoga connects all guests to a place and time that defined a continent, a nation, and its continued legacy.

2014 Highlights:

Visit Mount Defiance to witness a birds-eye view of Fort Ticonderoga’s epic military landscape and discover how this summit shaped America’s history! Mount Defiance: Witness to History Tour is offered daily at 4:00 pm.

Experience 1776 this year! Guests to Fort Ticonderoga will be immersed in the year 1776 when rebellion became revolution. Fort Ticonderoga’s interpretive staff will bring this dramatic and successful year at Ticonderoga to life as they portray Captain John Lacey’s company of the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion. A variety of daily soldier’s activities, tours, musket demos and special family programming will immerse guests in the story of this remarkable year of independence.

Step into the shoe maker’s shop and tailor’s shop to explore how Fort Ticonderoga served as a major supply depot producing shoes and clothing for the thousands of soldiers camped at Ticonderoga. With needle and thread or awl and bristle discover what kinds of supplies were needed to build the army to secure liberty.

Fort Ticonderoga’s newest exhibit “Founding Fashion: The Diversity of Regularity in 18th- Century Military Clothing” highlights the most impressive 18th-century military clothing collection in America. Utilizing the most important elements of the museum’s clothing, art, and archeological collections, the exhibit will explore what military clothing is and how European military fashion and global commerce influenced American martial appearance through the American Revolution. Additional museum exhibits showing in 2014 include Bullets & Blades: The Weapons of America’s Colonial Wars and Revolution and “It Would Make a Heart of Stone Melt: Sickness, Injury, and Medicine at Fort Ticonderoga.”

Fort Ticonderoga is open daily from May 10 through November 2, 2014 from 9:30 am until 5 pm. General admission to Fort Ticonderoga, an independent non-profit organization, is $17.50 for adults, $15.00 for those 65 and over; and $8 for children 5 through 12. Children 4 and under are admitted free of charge. Friends of Fort Ticonderoga and Ticonderoga Resident Ambassador Pass holders are also admitted free.

Fort Ticonderoga offers more than one hundred exciting and unique events and programs this season! Visit www.FortTiconderoga.org for a full list of ongoing programs or call 518-585-2821. Funding for the 2014 season is provided in part by Amtrak. Visit http://www.fortticonderoga.org/visit/directions for a special 2 for 1 Amtrak offer!

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That’s a Wrap: Independent Movie Finishes Filming in Huletts


The producers and film crew making an independent short movie finished shooting in Huletts Landing this past week.

Over the past two weeks producers, films crews and actors have shot an independent short movie in Huletts and Whitehall.

Filming concluded in Huletts this past week. Producer Jeremy Leach of Lost City Creative hopes to have the movie released next year at movie festivals throughout the world.

The family oriented movie, focuses on a man who returns to his boyhood home. Scenes were shot at many areas that people will recognize. Thanks go out to the many individuals who worked tirelessly throughout the week to make the movie a reality.

Look for a screening in the Casino in 2015!

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Andrew Weibrecht Takes Silver in Men’s Super G

Update 2/17:

Original Post:


Andrew Weibrecht’s 2014 U.S. Olympic Alpine Sking Team Photo

Andrew Weibrecht from Lake Placid, N.Y. won the Silver medal in today’s Men’s Super G event in Sochi.

ESPN covers the race here.

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Your Sochi Viewing Guide: Local Athletes


With the Sochi Olympic games beginning this week, here are the local athletes that I will be keeping an eye on. All of these athletes have some connection to New York or Vermont.

Name     Sport
Lowell Bailey    Biathlon
Time Burke     Biathlon
Annelies Cook     Biathlon
Hannah Dreissigacker     Biathlon
Susan Dunklee     Biathlon
Nick Cunningham     Bobsled
Jamie Greubel     Bobsled
Steve Langton     Bobsled
Erin Hamlin     Luge
Aidan Kelly     Luge
Chris Mazdzer     Luge
Matt Mortensen     Luge
Jayson Terdiman     Luge
Tucker West     Luge
Billy Demong     Nordic Combined
John Daly     Skeleton
Nick Alexander     Ski Jumping
Peter Frenette     Ski Jumping
Nolan Kasper     Skiing – Alpine
Andrew Weibrecht     Skiing – Alpine
Sophie Caldwell     Skiing – Cross Country
Andy Newell     Skiing – Cross Country
Ida Sargent     Skiing – Cross Country
Liz Stephen     Skiing – Cross Country
Ashley Caldwell     Skiing – Aerials
Hannah Kearney     Skiing – Moguls
Devin Logan     Skiing – Slopestyle
Kelly Clark     Snowboarding – Halfpipe
Alex Diebold     Snowboarding – Snowboardcross
Jacquelin Hernandez     Snowboarding – Snowboardcross
Lindsey Jacobellis     Snowboarding – Snowboardcross
Hannah Teter     Snowboarding – Halfpipe
Ty Walker     Snowboarding – Slopestyle
   
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Interview with Annelies Cook, U.S. Biathlon Team


Annelies Cook will compete in the Olympic biathlon in Sochi.

I recently had the chance to interview Annelies Cook, a biathlete from Saranac Lake, while she was in Italy preparing for the Olympics. The Olympic biathlon is a marriage of cross-country skiing and shooting. It became part of the Winter Olympics for women in 1992. Yesterday, Ms. Cook was officially announced as part of the U.S. Biathlon team.

Below is my interview with her.

As you wrap up the days before the Olympics, what are your goals?

At this point, there are only three weeks left until we head to Sochi. I have one more world cup this weekend and so far, I have not had the competitions that I would like due to some illness and some muscular issues that are now resolved. I think it is important to continue keeping my confidence high and executing my race plans in the same way that I would in Sochi. Hopefully this week is a positive experience! After that, we have two weeks of training where we are going to do some volume so that our base doesn’t disappear and after that we will start peak training. That includes more rest and very high intensity intervals. After that, it is just recovery and staying healthy! My goals are to go into the Olympics feeling good and confident.

What goes through your head while competing?

There are LOTS of things that go through your head but they usually depend on how you are doing. If I am having a challenging race, I have to focus on the positive and the process of the race- technique and things like that. In a great race where you feel aggressive and things are going well, you get this kind of high feeling where the pain almost feels good and you can welcome it. Then, it is easier to focus on catching the girls ahead of you and you don’t feel hesitant to go for it.

What will be unique for you about the Sochi Olympics?

Well first of all, it is my first Olympics so it will all be unique for me. The entire world starts to pay attention during the Olympics. While biathlon is the most popular here it is only during the Olympics that people from the U.S. pay attention to biathlon. So there is a lot more media attention and excitement. One of the biggest goals is to keep things as normal as possible during the Olympics. There is a lot more security, there is a lot more pressure, and there are athletes from many different sports around. It will be quite exciting.

The Biathlon is a unique sport, what should your fans be watching for as your Olympic event(s) unfolds on TV?

The fans should be looking for the way that the pressure on the shooting range can transform the outcome of a race. Imagine skiing as hard as you possibly can and then standing at the shooting range with 10,000 people standing behind you cheering for each hit and knowing that if you hit all of your targets you can be a gold medalist, but also knowing that the person you are competing against has the same pressure. In this way, one miss can be the difference between an Olympic champion and tenth place. In biathlon, anything can happen.

Any words for you Adirondack fans?

I hope you have an exciting time watching all the athletes from the Adirondacks competing! Almost every sport is represented by someone local and it is a time to feel really proud of our community.

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What are the Forces Behind Closing Post Office Buildings?

The local post office in many cases is the hub of rural communities and an important force in the explosion of e-commerce. What are the forces leading to their closure across the country?

The biggest proponent of downsizing buildings and slashing service is senior USPS management itself. The POStPlan introduced already has reduced retail mail service at more than 13,000 facilities and after October 2014, post offices will be re-evaluated annually to determine whether further cuts are necessary.

There are many political organizations, politicians and former members of the postal Board of Governors as well as competing delivery services that support USPS privatization and downsizing. These groups cite the USPS Office of Inspector General and the General Accounting Office to advocate downsizing postal infrastructure.

FedEx CEO Fred Smith testified before Congress that “closing down USPS … is an option that ought to be considered seriously.” However spokespeople for FedEx and UPS have said “it’s important to have a strong Postal Service.” USPS, FedEx and UPS in many instances already partner with each other in delivery services.

Pitney Bowes, a maker of postage meters and shipping software has funded a study for the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to examine the benefits of partially privatizing the postal service. The study envisions private companies taking over all postal operations except the “last mile delivery” where a letter carrier would continue mail delivery.

The proliferation of email has in many cases impacted first class mail delivery, however email pioneer Vint Cerf of Google has stated; “I am convinced that until we get to the 24th Century, we are going to need the Postal Service as somebody to provide delivery services….”

All of the above indicate that changes are probably coming to the small rural post office in the years to come.

Sources: Association of United States Postal Lessors & PostandParcel.info

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Saranac Lake Man Makes US Olympic Luge Team


Left to right: Chris Mazdzer (Silver), Felix Loch (Gold), Dominik Fischnaller (Bronze) after the December 6th World Cup men’s singles luge at Whistler, B.C. Mazdzer finished in second place. (Picture courtesy of International Luge Federation.)

Chris Mazdzer, a luge sled racer from Saranac Lake, secured his place on the US team for the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia that open in February while competing in Winterberg, Germany at the end of November. I was able to ask Mr. Mazdzer some questions after he finished in second place on December 6th at the World Cup men’s singles luge at Whistler, B.C.

Mazdzer, who hails from Saranac Lake, should be back in the North Country for the holidays. The USA Olympic luge team nominees were recently announced but Mazdzer’s top finishes in World Cup races guarantee him a spot on the team. He will use two World Cup races in North America in December and four in Europe in January as a warm-up for his second Olympic games. Mazdzer is a veteran of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where he finished 13th.

Below is my interview with him.

How do you feel knowing that you’ve secured a place on the 2014 Olympic Team?

Knowing that I have already guaranteed a spot on the 2014 Olympic Team was an incredible sense of relief. The sport of luge is timed to the thousandth of a second and most race fields are within a second of the leader. There are variables that can happen and situations that can arise when sliding down a mile long ice track that can easily drop an athlete back towards the back of the field. Securing a spot on the team has allowed me to focus more on the process as opposed to the result. I can now think “how can this track help me prepare for Sochi” as opposed to concentrating specifically on that track.

As you wrap up the World Cup events before the Olympics, what are your goals?

My specific goal for the World Cups leading up to the Olympics is to be ranked in the top 12 athletes. During the Olympics the top ranked 12 athletes will go first in the order and this is a significant advantage. If there is any kind of precipitation or warm weather the first athletes will have the fastest ice and an overall advantage.

What goes through your head while competing?

I would have to say that there are three components to this question. First, about 10 to 15 minutes before the actual run I am constantly doing pre-run visualizations and going over exactly what I am going to do. I find that during this step I am nervous, excited and sometimes feel uncertain as to what exactly is going to happen. Second, about 2 minutes before I go down I clear my head and try not to concentrate on the run because when going down the track everything happens so fast that if you are thinking you may be reacting too slow. Finally, when going down the track I am focused 100% on every little detail that is happening, I am just trying to let my instincts take over and focus on keeping good position and reacting to how the sled feels underneath me. In total, I find that I try to build myself up so I can feel the adrenaline kicking through my body, focus on exactly what I have to do and then try let everything go and be in the moment.

What will be unique for you about the Sochi Olympics?

The Sochi Olympics will be unique for me in the sense that this time I will be the highest ranked US Luge athlete competing. In Vancouver I had two experienced teammates that helped guide me through the process and take the pressure off. The role has been reversed this time around and I will be the experienced athlete at the Olympics for luge.

Any words for you Adirondack fans?

I first want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years and also want to tell everyone to go out and enjoy the Winter. The Adirondack’s are one of the only places in the country the breathes Winter Olympic Sports and I want to encourage every child and adult to go out into the winter and have fun !!!

Chris, I can safely say that we’ll be rooting for you in the 2014 Olympics!

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Bald Eagle Sighting: Lake Champlain South Bay Bridge

Many thanks to Dave Richards who emailed me these pictures of a bald eagle taken from the Lake Champlain South Bay Bridge, on Sunday morning, December 8th, about 9:00 am.

Dave luckily had his digital camera on hand. Looks like the eagle was feasting on a fish.

While our local bald eagle population is improving, it’s hard to catch them on camera.

Thanks again go out to Dave for sharing these great shots!

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Stec, Gov. Cuomo Honor Keene Valley Resident


Assemblyman Dan Stec (left) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right) honor Keene resident Ron Konowitz with a Hurricane Irene Recovery Award.

Assemblyman Dan Stec (R,C,I – Queensbury) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently honored Keene Valley resident Ron Konowitz with an Emergency Preparedness Award during the governor’s Conference on Emergency Preparedness. The award was given in recognition of Konowitz’s extraordinary courage and dedication as a volunteer firefighter in service of our communities.

“When times were tough and things were at their worst, Ron Konowitz was at his best,” said Stec. “Ron was on the frontline as a volunteer firefighter and his courage and dedication to helping others has proven crucial not only in helping our friends and neighbors recover in the wake of Hurricane Irene, but in saving the lives of others. It was an honor to present him with an award recognizing his service to our communities and on behalf of the entire 114th District, I thank him.”

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2013 Ballot Proposals: Proposal # 4

Ballot Proposal 4 hits very close to home.

The official ballot text for Proposal # 4 reads as follows:

Settling Disputed Title in the Forest Preserve

The proposed amendment to section 1 of article 14 of the Constitution would authorize the Legislature to settle longstanding disputes between the State and private entities over ownership of certain parcels of land in the town of Long Lake, Hamilton County. In exchange for giving up its claim to disputed parcels, the State would get land to be incorporated into the forest preserve that would benefit the forest preserve more than the disputed parcels currently do. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

What it Means?

This has been appropriately described as the “queen of all property title disputes”, predating both the Adirondack Park and the Forest Preserve. Titles to 216 parcels of land, equating to approximately 1,000 acres, on the shores of Raquette Lake in Long Lake, Hamilton County, New York, have been in dispute for the past century. The land was originally incorporated into New York, which was a colony at the time, as the “Totten and Crossfield Purchase” in 1771 and was known as “Township 40.”

The state claims that the lands under dispute were purchased from private residents in a tax sales in the late 1800s. Both the state and private residents, a utilities company, a fire department and a public school have conflicting ownership claims on the land. Some disputes have been resolved in courts, but others have not been due to the lack of ownership proof by any of the parties. Because the residents do not have clear and obvious titles to the land, many have been denied title insurances and certain loans. Attempted once in 2007, private landowners backed out of an exchange due to what they deemed to be too high of fees demanded by the state.

In return for settling the dispute, the state would gain land to be incorporated into the forest preserve at no cost to taxpayers.

Here is a video made by those who support a “Yes” vote.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udwzkmpNZ58#t=20

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Happy Bicentennial: Warren County NY


Joseph Warren

The Warren County Bicentennial Citizens Advisory Committee invites you to a:
Bicentennial Banquet
Celebrating the creation of Warren County

October 26, 2013 at the Fort William Henry Hotel, Lake George

Joseph Warren, Master of Ceremonies
Guest Speakers – Senator Betty Little and Assemblyman Dan Stec
Historical Characters and Song
Closing Thoughts and Good Night

$45 per person
Questions: Contact John Strough 518-798-9696

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Why You Should Come Back For Columbus Day


Spectacular fall foliage awaits you on Lake George.

This untouched picture, taken a few days ago, illustrates how beautiful the scenery is this time of year. Where else would you want to spend the Columbus Day weekend?

(Click image to see full-scale.)