Bits of Everything

Famous Jefferson Lake George Quote Put in Context

The Adirondack Almanack gives us great background information on Thomas Jefferson’s visit to Lake George which produced his memorable quote.

Effort to Save Bats Begins in Whitehall

I definitely noticed that the bat population in Huletts was down last summer, so this is some potentially good news that the Post Star reports.

The Immune System in Action

This is a bit dated but behold, a human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN, or neutrophil) on a blood film, “chasing” Staphylococcus aureus. This is how your body fights back when you get sick. For real. (Requires Quicktime.)

An Interview with Lake George Author, Anne White

Today the Huletts Current is happy to sit down with Anne White, author of many Lake George mystery stories. Her most recent novel, Cold Winter Nights, has just been released. All of her books take place in the Lake George region. They’re all great reads for the entire family.

To begin I understand you grew up in Whitehall, daughter of Helene and Bernard Murphy, and spent many happy hours in Huletts Landing. Could you give us some of your earliest recollections of Huletts?

“I grew up in Whitehall and loved visiting Huletts, which always always seemed so serene with its beautiful views of the lake. As an adult, I enjoyed going to the Casino. Several friends spent summers there as cooks, waiters or waitresses and visiting them was always fun.”

Are there any spots from Huletts Landing that you’ve included in your novels?

“My last four Lake George Mysteries take place in the fictitious town of Emerald Point just north of Lake George Village. (I consider it not far from Diamond Point, as you might suspect) My first book, An Affinity For Murder, involving paintings which may have been left behind by Georgia O’Keeffe, is set near the Village. I live in Glens Falls now, so I’m more apt to visit the southern end of the lake. I confess I haven’t included scenes from Huletts yet. Maybe next time.”

The Lake and how it changes during different seasons of the year, plays a central role in your stories. For people who perhaps only visit during the summer, can you explain how you see the Lake change during the year?

“I love seeing the changes and trying to capture them — the lush beauty of summer when the lake and all the places around it seem to be bursting with life; the unbelievable colors in the fall, that breath-taking panorma as you drive down the west side and look across at the mix of orange and gold with dashes of fiery red and the cool accents of the evergreens; the frosty blue, gray and white of winter; then the burst of life as spring comes on. Lake George has been called one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and for good reason.”

Your characters are quite colorful and when I’ve read some of your books, it’s clear that you portrait the essential elements of Adirondack living quite well. Without naming names, are there some people from your everyday life that you use for inspiration?

“My characters are a mix. I might start with the idea of somone I know, or knew, then change age, job, family connections, even appearance. I like to recast my characters the same way I do with locations. It’s fun when people guess. In the last couple of books I’ve tried to create characters who are closely tied to the locale — the man who studies bats in Secrets Dark and Deep and now the Adirondack Woodsman in Cold Winter Nights.”

I remember a good writing instructor once saying a great novel “has lots of conflict”. I don’t want to give any of your plotlines away but this is actually harder to do than it sounds. Are there any local conflicts that you’ve used that you’ve gotten positive feedback on?

“Because Loren, my leading character, is the mayor of the town, she’s pulled into whatever is going on. But Loren’s biggest problem is that she doesn’t know when to quit. She is a “buttinski”, but then so are most other amateur detectives in fiction. She’s often at odds with the Sheriff’s Investigator and increasingly with her fiance. So there’s built-in conflict there. My teenage character, Josie, serves as a kind of Watson. She’s more apt to be in conflict with her mother, Loren’s friend Kate. As for feedback — now with the Internet and e-mail, I sometimes hear from people who’ve visited Lake George, not about (political) conflicts, but to say how beautiful it is and how many happy memories they have of staying there.”

Anne, one character that would make sense in a future book, is an intrepid blogger who stumbles upon a sensational local news story and ultimately saves the day. You’re more than welcome to use this idea in your next book. (Big smile.)

“I love this idea since one of my goals is to do more blogging myself. Of course, someone would have to try to murder the blogger at some point.” (Big smile also.)

Anne’s Lake George Mysteries are available in Red Fox Book Store in Glens Falls and Dog Ate My Homework in Saratoga Springs. They can also be found on Amazon.com and her website, www.annewhitemysteries.com also.

Rachael Ray Returns to Lake George

We’ve learned that TV personality and chef, Rachael Ray, will be returning to Lake George for her 7th Annual Lake George Alumni Assoc. Scholarship Benefit Show, April 22, 2010 at 7 pm. Pet & People Food Donation optional, book sales and signing, followed by a catered meal from her recipes. Tickets go on sale: Saturday, March 20 from 9 am -1 pm for $25.00 per-person. 6 Ticket maximum. LGHS Tel. Hotline 668-5452 Ext-1019

Rachael was born in Glens Falls, and grew up in Lake George. She is a 1986 graduate of Lake George High School.

This yearly event and Rachael’s generosity has been able to provide the following:

  • Media Room and School Equipment
  • 6 – $1,000.00 scholarships to 2nd year College LG Graduates
  • 1 of the scholarships is dedicated to a student in the Hospitality Industry!

Bits of Everything

Cool Pictures from the Air

I found this site recently, www.PhotosFromOnHigh.com, and there was a page dedicated to local sites which everyone should recognize.

New Lake George Mystery Book

If you want to curl up on a cold winter night with a good Lake George mystery you might want to check out Perky’s Projects review of Cold Winter Nights by Anne White.

Finally the Train May Run on Time

The Post Star reports that things may be speeding up for train service into Whitehall.

LG Park Commission Claims Success Against Milfoil

The Lake George Park Commission released a press release documenting good success against Eurasian Watermilfoil.

Although eight new sites were added this year, 164 of the 177 locations where milfoil has ever been recorded were cleared in 2009, a 92.7% rate, the highest rate recorded in the twenty-four
year history of the program. There was a reduction in the number of un-managed milfoil beds from 16 to 9, also the best annual achievement recorded. The 15 remaining beds and moderate areas are smaller in area and compare to a high of 41 in 1999. Several huge persistent milfoil beds, the subject of intense management effort for years, were pronounced cleared for the first time in 2009.

Read the whole report here.

Bits of Everything

Get a Mask, Pickup Trash

The Post Star notes some great work by scuba divers who pickup garbage from the lake bottom.

Whitehall: Boats & Recycling

The Whitehall Times had two interesting stories this week which I’m linking to. The Town of Whitehall is concerned with boats on the Longtin property and the Whitehall transfer station won a recycling challenge with an 18-percent increase in their recycling. Bravos to all who recycle!!

Ticonderoga Makes A Plan

Denton Publications has a description of an 8-point plan that Ticonderoga has come up with to increase tourism.

Bits of Everything

APA Considering Delegating New Boathouse Rules to Lake George Park Commission.

The Adirondack Almanack reports that the APA is speaking to the Lake George Park Commission about enforcing their new proposed boathouse rules. The bigger question is why are new rules necessary when this has no bearing on water quality?

Washington County Business

The Post Star was at the most recent meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors.

Paul Smith’s New Cell Phone Tower Resembles Tree

Paul Smith’s College, The College of the Adirondacks, just released this video showing off their new cell phone tower. If they can get one, hopefully Hulett’s can get one soon also.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEqkiHf8T1E

LGA Study: Fireworks Don’t Harm Environment

The Lake George Association has recently completed a study, which I have posted in its entirety here, which concludes that fireworks do not harm the environment but more study is needed.

This is something that I’ve always wondered about. I’ve excerpted certain paragraphs below but I recommend you read the entire report. It’s quite interesting.

In more recent years, with increasing interest in new age contaminants, there have been a few studies on perchlorate, which is used as a propellant in fireworks. While most of it combusts, all
of it does not, resulting in perchlorate falling down on the land and water. There are health and environmental concerns associated with perchlorate contamination, many of which are still not well understood. Perchlorate is absorbed by the thyroid gland in place of iodine, which can interfere with the production of thyroid hormone, which is essential to metabolism and mental development.

Antimony (Sb) and Barium (Ba) are two common chemical components of fireworks. Antimony is a metal used to create firework glitter effects. Barium is used to create green colors in fireworks. It is also used to stabilize other volatile elements of the fireworks. At increased concentrations, antimony has been shown to cause heart problems and stomach ulcers in humans. In small mammals, antimony has been shown to cause lung, heart, liver and kidney damage and eventually death. Water soluble forms of barium have been linked to increased blood pressure, kidney and heart damage, and breathing difficulties in humans. Barium also bioaccumulates in fish and other aquatic organisms.

Due to concern over the years about the effects of fireworks on Lake George, and lack of available scientific data, we collected some initial samples this past summer. Perchlorate, barium, and antimony, all common components of fireworks, were measured in the water. Perchlorate was also measured in sediment samples. Our samples did not find higher amounts of these pollutants in response to fireworks events held in Lake George Village throughout the summer. Our results showed no change in perchlorate, with perchlorate levels less then 0.002mg/L for all tests, before and after firework events. We also did not find a change in antimony levels, and while barium levels slightly fluctuated, the results were also not significant. We also found perchlorate levels of less than 0.002 mg/L in the sediment samples from both locations, both near the fireworks and far away from any known fireworks displays.

However, we acknowledge that these results are only very preliminary. Other studies elsewhere have found changes in perchlorate levels associated with fireworks. These studies were able to measure smaller amounts of perchlorate thanwe were able to in this study. There are also many other contaminants associated with fireworks that we did notmeasure. Others may wish to pursue further studies on this matter, and our findings are available for those purposes.

Perchlorate-free fireworks are available for use, however they cost more than traditionalfireworks. Since perchlorate has implications for human health, a switch to perchlorate-free fireworks for fireworks used over Lake George might want to be considered. Our initial findings did not find detectable perchlorate levels in the water attributable to fireworks, so they do not necessarily support the need of this additional expense at this time. However, since this study was by no means comprehensive, we can not know for certain if there is need for a concern over perchlorate or not, and can only weigh our options based on the knowledge we have available to us. This study is just one step in adding to that knowledge base. It still might be a prudent idea to further investigate the costs associated with using perchlorate-free fireworks.

What does seem to make sense to move forward with at this time is a way to track the fireworks displays that occur over Lake George every year, so that we can have a better idea of the number and locations of these events. A simple registration form could be required by licensed fireworks display companies hired to produce a show anywhere in the Lake George watershed. The name of the company, date, time, location, and information on the amount and type of materials used in the show would be very useful information to have. This does not have to be a burden or expense on the fireworks companies, just a simple registration form so that we know what is going off in the air over the lake, and potentially falling into it. When we met with Jeff Alonzo from Alonzo fireworks he agreed that such a registration seemed reasonable
and said he had no objection to it. The LGA is in no way against fireworks displays over Lake George. We know that everyone enjoys a good fireworks show. However, if future scientific inquiries determine that there is cause for concern, as stewards of Lake George, we feel that the responsible thing to do is to address the matter and work with our local community in finding a solution.

I’ve read that back in the early 1900’s there were fireworks in Huletts every week during the summer.

Floating Classroom to Visit Twice This Summer


The Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom will visit Huletts Landing twice during the summer of 2010, courtesy of the Friends of Historic Huletts.

I’m pleased to announce that the Friends of Historic Huletts have arranged for the Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom to visit Huletts twice this upcoming summer. For those unfamiliar with this great program, it is literally a boat which serves as a “floating classroom” where individuals can learn more about the lake’s ecology.

It is a great day for young and old, where one can learn about the unique nature of Lake George and what can done to preserve the lake. The boat can hold up to 40 people and will visit once in July and once in August. I will post further details as we get closer to the summer. Thank you Friends of Historic Huletts for arranging for this great summer program.

To read more about the LGA’s new floating classroom, read the LGA’s flyer here.

Bits of Everything

Polar Plungers Get Real Cold

The Post Star reports on this years Polar Plunge in Lake George.

MSNBC Reports on Bridge Demolition (with sound)

Early Footage of an Adirondack Log Drive

The Adirondack Almanack has some great historical video of an Adirondack log drive here.

Hollywood Wants Your Kids to Smoke

This University of California, San Francisco website is devoted to showing how Hollywoood promotes smoking in movies, especially those flicks targeted at kids. It has gotten so noticable that major national health organizations have endorsed an R-rating for future smoking scenes and other voluntary measures to encourage producers to keep kid’s movies smoke free. If you have children, you need to look at this.