When traveling to Huletts during the week, be aware that there is work going on on Route 149 between the Northway and Fort Ann that will slow you down. There is a flagman and one lane is closed so that traffic both ways has to share a single lane. This work is only on weekdays, so if you’re traveling on a weekend it will be quicker.
The birds have been making lots of noise this week and the sun has been out, so I went for a walk yesterday and I thought this picture captured the flavor of the day. Summer is coming soon and if the birds are back, hopefully you’ll be coming back soon also.
If you were in Huletts the past few weeks, you would have seen men on the roof of the Casino replacing the roof. Last week, the new roof was completed. You can see the new roof and some of the new windows installed in the picture above.
We’ll have more updates and pictures as we progress through April but there are some more very positive changes in store for the Casino this summer. Stop back often to see new pictures and updates here.
What Happens if the Special Congressional Election Ends in a Tie?
The Saratogian had a good article about what will happen if the special congressional election ends in a tie. No coin flip here. While we’re on the subject of flipping coins, does anyone else think that Scott Murphy looks like the character, Harvey Dent, from Batman?
Fighting the Flu Right Here in the Adirondacks
Adirondack Life Magazine has an enlightening piece about the Trudeau Institute. The Trudeau Institute is an Adirondack research facility dedicated to studying the flu and preventing the next influenza pandemic. The article has some great info on the Spanish flu of 1919 that claimed roughly 50 million lives. The article has some interesting facts about how the 1919 outbreak affected the Adirondacks.
Just to let everyone know, the ice is out of the lake. It’s pretty much disappeared as of Thursday, April 2nd. From what we can see there’s no apparent damage. This means that summer is getting a lot closer.
If for some reason you miss the ice,
here are 12 videos where you can see the original Vanilla Ice doing everything from boxing Todd Bridges, going crazy and destroying his best selling album, to even apologizing for his music.
While there are never any ties in politics, the NY State Board of Elections website now lists the unofficial results in the 20th congressional election as a dead heat. A decision on how to start counting the absentee ballots will come this week.
Update April 8, 2009
The count has been changing slightly every day so the two candidates are no longer tied.
Bridges to be Replaced in Whitehall this Summer
The Post Star has an article on two bridges that will be replaced in Whitehall this summer with federal stimulus money.
The Times Union had a nice graphic showing who got an absentee ballot by county and party affiliation in the vote for the congressional seat in the 20th district. Hopefully, if you were away, you returned yours.
Gaslight Village Project Gets $2.5 Million
The Post Star reports that the Gaslight Village project in Lake George Village got a big grant from the federal government.
We Love You – John Paul II
AOL has a heartwarming story about a man left for dead a few weeks ago, who attributes his recovery to miraculous intervention by Pope John Paul II. Watch the video attached to this story.
That old saying about death and taxes being inevitable is only applicable to the taxes part of this post. As part of the agreement on the golf course, the Huletts Landing Property Owners Civic Association is responsible for paying the property taxes attributable to the golf course. A disagreement arose about how the taxes were being apportioned and calculated on the area of the golf course. The amount in question was approximately $4,000 because the issue had dragged on for some years.
It’s nice to report, that all the parties discussed the disagreement by phone with the Town Assessor and that an agreement was reached and the tax disagreement was resolved. The actual amount that the parties were in disagreement about was approximately $600.
The older axiom about calmer heads prevailing is more applicable to this post. Bravos to HLPOCA President, Peter Spiess, and Treasurer, Joseph Campbell, for working through this issue and finding a resolution.
There’s also an expression about a bad day on a golf course being better than a good day at work but the fact remains that in this case the hard work was done so the taxes could be paid and so that everyone could enjoy the golf course peacefully.
Now we just have to keep working together to get the taxes lowered. That gets back to the first saying again.
The Lake George Park Commission has posted the video from their February 24, 2009 public meeting where public comments were solicited on their proposed stream regulations.
The first video is from February 24, 2009, the first 11:00 AM session. It is 1 hour and 34 minutes.
If you don’t have the time to watch, here are the most salient parts from the first video. The public comments start at 22:30 into this video. Out of the 18 speakers featured in part one, 13 speakers were opposed or had concerns regarding the stream regulations, 5 spoke in favor of them.
If you have problems viewing the file above, use this link to the video file to download and view on your computer. (You can right click on this link and “Save Target As…” to download the entire file to your computer. It is quite large though.)
At 29:23 into the first video, there is an excellent speaker from the Lake George Property Owners Group who speaks about being at all the preliminary meetings where the rules were originally discussed before being drafted (and which went on for two years) and that the proposed rules now being considered bear no resemblance to what was ever discussed at those preliminary meetings.
At 1:30:00 into the first video, the speaker tells how he believes one of the most radical environmental groups active in the basin, the Fund for Lake George, is influencing these rules behind the scenes, through two appointees to the LGPC who were members of the Fund before they were appointed. This apparent conflict of interest is something everyone needs to know about.
If you watch these two speakers you will begin to see how the process is not a fair process but how the environmental organizations are “stacking the deck” in favor of these very extreme regulations.
The second video is from February 24, 2009, the second 11:00 AM session. It is 2 hours and 19 minutes.
Once again, we’ve tried to summarize the most important parts from this video also. Out of the 26 speakers featured in part two, 20 speakers opposed or had concerns regarding the stream regulations, 5 spoke in favor of them and 1 was neutral.
If you have problems viewing the file above, use this link to the video file to download and view on your computer. (You can right click on this link and “Save Target As…” to download the entire file to your computer. It is quite large though.)
The DEC representative leaves before this video even starts. So you can thank DEC Commissioner Grannis, for at least being up front, and not caring what people think.
At 1:00 into the second video, Kathy Simms, the Bolton Town Supervisor, speaks about all the comments she has received opposing the stream rules.
At 5:37 into the second video, Joe Rota, the former Dresden Town Supervisor who now lives in Putnam, tells why he is against the proposed rules.
At 42:00 and again at 1:38:45, we hear two speakers tell horror stories about road salt. Road salt isn’t even covered by these proposed rules.
At 1:10:15, John LaPointe, Town Supervisor of Putnam, states that the people he represents are “vehemently opposed” to the rules as drafted.
At 1:19:02, Mark Schachner, representing the Town of Lake George, states that the rule making procedure is “woefully, legally deficient.”
At approximately 1:57:00 a local logger talks about his love for the environment but also why he is opposing these rules.
The third video is from February 24, 2009, the evening session. It is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The DEC representative never returns to the evening session.
The public comments start at 20:50 into this video. Michael White repeats his PowerPoint presentation from the first session. Out of the 18 speakers featured in part three, 17 speakers opposed or had concerns regarding the stream regulations, 1 spoke in favor of them.
If you have problems viewing the file above, use this link to the video file to download and view on your computer. (You can right click on this link and “Save Target As…” to download the entire file to your computer. It is quite large though.)
Huletts resident, Pat Peterson speaks at 45:36.
Peter Bauer, Executive Director for the Fund for Lake George, says in 1:25:20 – 1:25:33 that it’s “high time to deal with” golf courses. Listen for yourself.
Sadly, this is commentary and analysis you won’t see on other media outlets. But you can see it here on the Huletts Current. Don’t take our word, watch for yourself.
If you watch the whole thing, you’ll learn that 2 commissioners didn’t attend, the DEC representative left after the morning session and 2 commissioners had ties to the Fund for Lake George. While we won’t call this hearing a farce yet, after all three sessions: 50 people spoke out in opposition or had concerns regarding the draft rules, 11 were in favor and 1 was neutral. Let’s see how these public comments are incorporated. You saw it here, even if you weren’t there.
“In 1995…A Line Of Damaging Thunderstorms Developed In The Northern Great Lakes During The Night Of July 14 And Quickly Strengthened As It Moved Into Northern New York By 4 Am On July 15…And Then Into Southern New England By 8 Am. Estimated Peak Wind Speeds In Excess Of 100 Mph Occurred In The Adirondacks And The Storms Themselves Covered Over 800 Miles (From Ontario Province To Cape Cod) In Less Than 12 Hours”
The 
