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Hurricane Update: Wednesday Afternoon

Here is what I can report regarding Wednesday (8/31) in Huletts.

Power has been restored to most of Huletts Landing. Some houses are still out but for the most part the power is on.

All roads seem to be open. It is possible to reach the Marina and the Casino. Bluff Head Road and Lands End Road are open.

The phones are still out and will likely continue to be out for a number of days. Things are returning to normal, although not having a phone is tough.

Vermont has been particularly hard hit as have some other parts of the Lake George region. Even with all the damage Huletts sustained, we appear to be very lucky!

If you were planning on coming up for Labor Day, please plan on still coming.

Photo Credit: Rick Carter

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Hurricane Update: Tuesday Night

Here is what I can report regarding Tuesday (8/30) in Huletts.

Power has been restored to the center section of Huletts Landing. Power is still out in parts of Bluff Head and Meadow Point. Power has been restored up to approximately Sheep Meadow Lane on Lands End Road. There are two broken poles and one transformer down on Lands End. Power seems to still be out south of Chase Road. The power crews seem to have left for the night.

There has been no sign of Verizon and phones are still down throughout the Landing.

The Eichlerville bridge has reopened and is passable. (Please go slow.)

In regards to the local vicinity, Rutland has been particularly hard hit. There is only one road open into Rutland at this time.

More updates to follow on Wednesday.

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Irene Was Nasty


Photo on the Eichlerville bridge looking up Foster brook on Monday afternoon.

What exactly happened on Sunday? Well I was told by one local official that they heard that Irene caused Lake Champlain (all 125 miles) to rise 7 feet on Sunday! This is simply unheard of.

I am trying to keep up with updates and email but conditions all along the east coast make this difficult. Vermont has been particularly hard hit, with many bridges out.

National Grid was working on top of the mountain today and I will continue to update everyone as soon as I have more news.

Photo Credit: John McNelis

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Down But Not Out

Irene Update

as of Monday Morning:

Power & Phones Out
Lands End & Bluff Head Closed
Eichlerville Bridge Closed
Numerous Trees Down

Update: 7:00 pm – Monday

Bluff Head Road – Now Passable – Some Debris on County Section / Town Section Clear
Lands End Road – Now Open Tree Cleared
Chase Road – Now Open
Eichlerville Bridge – Work Scheduled for Tuesday
Power & Phone – Still Out

Update 4:30 pm – Tuesday

Power has been partially restored to some of the Landing / 174 homes still without power.
Phones still out
Eichlerville Bridge – Work Continuing Throughout Today

Message from National Grid:

National Grid continues to make significant progress with restoration efforts from Hurricane Irene. 38 hours after the storm passed through our area, we have restored power to nearly 650,000 customers and expect to have restoration estimates for all communities by end of day. The biggest storm in decades rendered many towns and communities without power and, at its peak, we had more than one million customers out. We are using all resources at our disposal, including amphibious vehicles, helicopters and ATVs to access remote and hard to reach areas.

We recognize the inconvenience a loss of power is to our customers and we appreciate your patience as restoration efforts continue.

We want to remind customers to stay safe as the restoration and clean up continues. Many customers are taking advantage of the nice weather to clean up around homes and businesses. Customers are reminded to be extremely cautious when clearing debris near power lines and call us if they see any downed wires.

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Pictures of Albany Chapel Dedicated to Dr. DeRossi

The Chapel at the Teresian House in Albany is dedicated to longtime Huletts resident, Francis DeRossi, M.D.

There are moments in life, when we all step back and remember good friends who have done good things with their lives. This was the case recently when I stopped in the Teresian House in Albany and froze in my tracks when I saw the above pictured plaque.

The Teresian House Center for the Elderly is a long term care facility for the elderly run by the Catholic Carmelite sisters. Longtime Huletts resident, Francis DeRossi was the medical director there for 27 years. Dr. DeRossi died a few years ago and is remembered fondly by many in Huletts Landing. I have many good memories of Dr. DeRossi; playing golf, fishing and just taking the time to be hospitable to so many.

I had heard that after his passing, the chapel at the Teresian House was dedicated in his honor. So when I found myself in Albany recently, I stopped in to pay a visit.

I know many people in Huletts who knew Dr. DeRossi would be interested in learning about the chapel, but are unable to stop in Albany. So I thought I would share a few pictures.

When I stopped in, I had to ask the person at the front desk where the chapel was and was directed down the first floor hallway. When I came upon the plaque commemorating the chapel in Dr. DeRossi’s name, (which is outside of the chapel), I froze because the bronze relief is so well done and his likeness is so authentic. Memories of Dr. DeRossi came flooding back to me, so I wanted to share here what I saw because so many people remember Dr. DeRossi and his many good deeds.

I have to conclude by giving the Teresian House due credit. They could not have picked a better person to commemorate their chapel in honor of. Huletts was certainly fortunate to have him as a resident for so many years.

“May God support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy rest and peace at the last.”

(Click on the images to see full scale.)

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Earthquake News

Just wanted those to know who are not in Huletts, that there was some small shaking but no damage of any kind that I can discern.

I spoke to some people in Whitehall who felt the earthquake and some who didn’t feel anything.

All in all, everything seems to be fine.

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Email to the Editor

Meet The Tax Assessor

This is to advise you that there will be a special meeting this Thursday, August 25th, at the Dresden Town Hall (102 Clemons Center Rd., Clemons, NY) at 4:00 p. m. to give all property owners the opportunity to meet our local Tax Assessor, June Maniacek.

At our Aug. 13 Federation of Huletts Association meeting, a presentation was given by two founding members of the Lake Communities of Putnam Association, Gene Frost and Bert Windle, who have been strong advocates for fair and equitable tax reform within Washington County, and particularly for the towns of Dresden and Putnam. The primary focus of their mission has been to encourage, through a formal appeal process, the state of New York’s oversight authority, the Office of Real Property Tax Services, to correct the unfair application of their imposed Equalization Rate (ER). It is this rate that the town assessors use to calculate our property taxes each year. Gene and Bert’s extensive studies indicate that the ER being applied within our two towns should be restored to a more equitable tax basis.

In the discussions that followed that presentation, many of our residents expressed an interest to have the opportunity to review this important subject with our town’s tax assessor. Art Borin, our local town councilman from the Landing, has arranged to have Ms. Maniacek meet with us on Thursday for a continued dialogue on this important topic and to answer any additional question we may have. If you plan to attend, I would suggest that you review your latest property tax bills and perhaps even bring them to the meeting. Hope to see you on Thursday afternoon.

Dave Richards
FHA President

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LGA Receives BoatU.S. Foundation Grant

The Lake George Association has received a grassroots grant from the BoatU.S. Foundation worth $3,950. Using this grant funding, the LGA will launch a new clean boating program next spring.

“The cumulative actions of boaters can dramatically affect water quality when clean boating practices are followed, so it’s important for each boater to share responsibility for keeping the Lake clean,” said Kristen Rohne, the LGA’s watershed educator.

Under the new program, boaters will sign a pledge stating that they will be a clean boater and will receive an LGA guide to clean boating practices, including recommendations for fueling, oil in the bilge, sewage, cleaning, hazardous wastes, trash and aquatic invasive species. Safe boating and special navigation rules for Lake George will also be addressed in the guide. Participants will receive spill prevention materials and will be recognized on the LGA website.

“This highly competitive, annual grant program is designed to help nonprofit groups and associations spread the message about safe and clean boating practices at the grass roots level. Working with local boating nonprofits enables us to focus on issues specific to local waterways,” said Alana Keating, grant coordinator for the BoatU.S. Foundation. This year’s grant program attracted 150 applications from around the country and the LGA was one of only 11 that received funding. Since 1988, the Foundation has awarded over $1,000,000 in grants to fund projects that promote responsible boating on a local level. A list of all 11 recipients, as well as grant applications and guidelines are available online at www.BoatUS.com/Foundation.

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education and research organization primarily funded by the voluntary contributions of the 600,000 members of
BoatU.S. The Foundation operates more than a dozen programs including the only accredited, free, online general boating safety course, a low-cost EPIRB rental program, the “Help Stop the Drops” national clean fueling campaign, a free kid’s Life Jacket Loaner Program, and has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for nonprofit groups for boating safety and environmental projects.

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Art Auction Details

If you’re interested in the art auction, sponsored by the Friends of Historic Huletts Landing, this is how I understand the details.

Correction

The Gallery & Library (the old firehouse) will be open from Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to noon, so people can view the art and place silent bids. On Friday, August 26th, the auction ends at a wine and cheese social from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

See you there with some great art!

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Dresden Democratic Caucus Results

This afternoon, I spoke to Louise Davidson, who is the Co-Chair of the Dresden Democratic Committee. She told me that the Dresden Democratic Committee met earlier this week and did not nominate anyone to run for any town office.

“We were very disappointed,” said Ms. Davidson. “If there are any Democrats out there who would like to run, they should talk to the committee,” continued Ms. Davidson.

What does this mean? Presently, the Republicans have filed a slate of candidates and while there are other independent lines that candidates can run on, some offices may go uncontested.

I’ll have more after Labor Day and I will will still submit candidate questionnaires to all those running.

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2011 Lecture Series Finishes Strong


Persis Granger’s talk on the Adirondack Railroad at the Mountain Grove Memorial Church on Saturday, was the last lecture of the 2011 summer sponsored by the Friends of Historic Huletts Landing.

Saturday night, August 13th, was the last lecture of the summer (say it ain’t so) sponsored by the Friends of Historic Huletts Landing.

Persis Granger regaled the audience with tales about the Adirondack railroad and other interesting topics:

Chicken farming should be left to professionals.

The long and interesting history of Warren county.

Spoke in-depth about a major head-on historic train collision that occurred nearby with over 300 children on board.

The new Saratoga/North Creek railroad which travels between Saratoga and North Creek. You can learn how to buy tickets for a day excursion and more at www.SNCRR.com.

Many thanks to FHHL for sponsoring these talks, our entertaining and fun speakers (some of whom traveled from far distances to bring their expertise to Huletts) and the many people who turned out to hear them!

Visit the Huletts Current often throughout the “off-season” to hear about what interesting speakers are scheduled for 2012.