News & Opinion About Huletts Landing, N.Y.
Americans Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton took the Bronze medal today in the two-man bobsled event in Sochi.
Langton, the brakeman, resides in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Bleacher Report: Steve Holcomb Drives U.S. to Historic Bobsled Medal at Winter Olympics
Congrats to @CharlieaWhite & @Meryl_Davis and @StevenHolcomb & @StevenLangton on #Olympic medal moments! #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/YpYr4d5UEx
— US Olympic Team (@USOlympic) February 18, 2014
Update 2/17:
This didn't happen by mistake and by that I mean thank you to everyone who supported me. #Beleiveinus pic.twitter.com/WZcx8kqbXY
— Andrew Weibrecht (@a_weibrecht) February 16, 2014
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.
WCAX TV reports from Okemo and Mount Snow where Vermonters Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter perfected their Olympic skills.
Update: Thursday February 13th
NBC Olympics Coverage: Freeskier Devin Logan wins silver in slopestyle’s Olympic debut.
Original Post:
Devin Logan, of nearby West Dover VT, won the silver medal today, in Ski Slopestyle.
Devin Logan (@dlogan) stopped by earlier and took a #sweetsilverSochiSelfie: pic.twitter.com/Bm1qHZeJ41
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2014
Update: Wednesday February 12th
#TeamUSA Pic of the Day: @erinhamlin after her historic performance in women’s singles #luge. #GoTeamUSA #Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/egRq69QClD
— US Olympic Team (@USOlympic) February 12, 2014
NBC: Erin Hamlin Wins Historic Bronze for U.S. (with video of her last two runs).
ESPN: Erin Hamlin’s Unforgettable Moment (with video commentary).
Original Post:
Erin Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., won the bronze medal today, becoming the first American to win an Olympic medal in singles luge.
BRONZE! Congrats @erinhamlin family! Big thanks to @ryanjhamlin for the "look at Bree!" Camera direction @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/3MBidxZLSr
— Bree Schaaf (@BreeSchaaf) February 11, 2014
Hannah Kearney Wins Bronze, Disappointed
NBC’s Olympic Coverage profiles Vermont’s Kearney’s big day. (Scroll down the page to see a video of her talking about living in Vermont.)
Adirondack men finish Biathlon Sprint
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 |
The moment the U.S. Mens Hockey team defeated Finland for the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. (Photo courtesy of Russ Considine. Click image to see full-scale.)
Whenever the winter Olympics come into view, I always remember the excitement of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Although, like most, I only watched on TV, the excitement of those games is not easily forgotten by those who watched.
That’s why I’m happy to pass along this link: http://www.lakeplacidwinterolympics.com/.
It’s a personal reflection, with pictures of the 1980 Winter Games, by Russ Considine, who was there as a photographer.
Russ grew up in Huletts Landing and has some unique shots and great recollections. It’s worth the entire read. Perhaps it will bring back memories for you too.
Multi-platinum selling musician, singer-songwriter and current Grammy Awards nominee Gavin DeGraw closely collaborated with the United States Olympic Committee on his song Everything Will Change, which appears on his most recent album Make a Move, which debuted today. The collaboration includes a music video set to DeGraw’s song, featuring competition and training footage of more than two dozen Team USA athletes as well as sound bites from figure skater Jeremy Abbott; Paralympic alpine skiers Heath Calhoun and Alana Nichols; short track speedskater J.R. Celski; freestyle aerials skier Emily Cook; alpine skier Stacey Cook; and long track speedskater Shani Davis.
“I grew up watching the Olympics, and it’s a dream come true to have had this opportunity with Team USA,” said DeGraw. “I think the song fits because so many of us can relate to that desire to do what you love, put it down for a minute, then make that decision to get back on that horse, because life is really all about following your passions – sport, music or otherwise – and, in essence, that’s the pursuit of happiness for me.”
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.
Magic Salt on Lake George Streets
Denton publications spotlights the village of Lake George using a new substance instead of traditional rock salt on local roads.
Lindsey Jacobellis: Olympic Profile of US Snowboard Hopeful for Sochi 2014
Bleacher Report profiles Vermont snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, with a video of her agonizing 2006 Torino loss.
Saturn and its Moons in Holiday Dress
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has some amazing pictures of Saturn and its moons as seen by the Cassini spacecraft.
Retired Saratoga Racehorse, Metro, Pays Medical Bills By Painting
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
This picture appears to show Washington County soldiers headed off to World War I.
It was given to me by Don Hart. Don’s wife, Pamela, is the granddaughter of Ruth Foote. Ruth was the sister of Earle Foote of Huletts Landing. Taken if front of what was then the Whitehall Armory, the name; H. Sullivan is written below the man sitting in the middle.
A larger version of the picture can be seen if you click on the above image. If anyone can identify any of the other soldiers or provide more details about the photograph, I’d appreciate hearing from you.