News & Opinion About Huletts Landing, N.Y.
So you’re sitting at work, daydreaming of summer and the July 4th weekend. You’re thinking about the community fellowship, the great food, and the baskets of cheer. So I know what you’re thinking about, so daydream no more! You’re thinking about the annual 4th of July cocktail party on the golf course! So here are all the details so you don’t have to daydream, you can now plan on being there!!!
I received the following letter this week from our neighbors at the Dresden Volunteer Fire Company.
Looks like they are planning some radio upgrades that will help provide mutual aid to any emergency call in Huletts Landing.
Please also note that their chicken barbecue will be on Saturday, June 5th!
Support the Huletts Post Office
The Washington Post details a GAO report that endorses postal cuts.
“Lawmakers also should consider establishing a panel similar to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to independently recommend changes, the report said. Auditors, however, also suggested that more details are needed about potential delivery cuts and post office closures.”
Remember stamp and postal purchases in Huletts Landing, support the operation of the Huletts Post Office.
Leave the Firewood Home
North Country Public Radio details the DEC’s attempts stop wood infested with invasive insects from entering the Adirondacks.
Albany Still Waiting on Giants
According to the Giants Football Blog, NY Giants CEO John Mara, is still waiting to make an announcement regarding summer camp at the University of Albany.
Students from Putnam were the first to board the Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom, through a grant by the Froehlich Foundation which aids local school districts. Helen Froehlich was a longtime resident of Huletts Landing.
Due to a grant from the Froehlich Foundation, elementary students from Putnam School District were the first to venture out on the Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom this spring. And this was the first time in the 20-year history of the Floating Classroom that the Putnam School District has participated. Students from Warrensburg, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls, Ticonderoga and Lake Luzerne will also be going out before the school year ends. Because of a generous grant from the Froehlich Foundation, the program can be provided at no cost in 2010 to school districts in the Lake George watershed.
“The program tied in perfectly with the New York State science curriculum for our 4 – 6th grade students,” said Meredith Beeman, a teacher at Putnam Station School. “The trip included scientific investigations and methods, and information about the water cycle and the local ecology of Lake George. The students had a fantastic time. They talked about the equipment they got to use for days. The program provided a real world hands on science experience for our students. The highlight was catching plankton and examining them under the microscopes. This activity was a good primer for the students as they are set to begin studying invasive aquatic plants in the Adirondacks using our new wireless microscope,” she said.
Last year the Lake George Association purchased and launched a new 40-ft boat, a custom-built Floating Classroom for schools throughout the Lake George Watershed and beyond. On the boat, students investigate the Lake George ecosystem, and engage in the hands-on science behind keeping the Lake’s water clean and healthy. Students catch and identify tiny animals called zooplankton that live in the lake and they measure the water’s quality and clarity.
“We instill in the students a sense of life-long stewardship for the Lake,” said Kristen Rohne, a former Queensbury student who took a trip on the floating classroom during her 7th grade year, and grew up to become the LGA’s watershed educator. “It’s an experience the students will never forget… I know I never did! The program helps the students see how important it is for people to protect Lake George.”
On the boat, students have the opportunity to use the actual tools of the water ecology trade: Secchi disks, plankton nets, field microscopes and Van Dorn bottles. Students measure water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen, all are important indications of lake quality. In addition, they gain an understanding of how Lake George is different from other lakes, and learn about the Lake’s geographical history, and learn about threats to the lake from invasive species and pollution.
For the first time this summer, the LGA will be offering Floating Classroom trips for the general public on Wednesdays during July and August, leaving the dock at Shepard Park in Lake George at 11 am. Reservations are required. Scouting groups, homeowner associations and others are also welcome to book a trip for their group.
The Floating Classroom will visit Huletts twice this summer courtesy of the Friends of Historic Huletts.
I received the following flyer from Mr. Quick and the Huletts Golf Club. Please encourage all your friends and family to join for the 2010 season.
There’s no better value than Huletts Golf.
Shut off that TV and get out there and play!
The Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom will visit Huletts Landing twice during the summer of 2010, courtesy of the Friends of Historic Huletts
The Floating Classroom teaches over 1,000 area students, adults and visitors each season, providing hands-on activities about lake ecology, geology and stewardship. In 2009 the LGA purchased a new 40-foot custom-built catamaran boat and outfitted it with water quality measurement tools, including Secchi disks, plankton nets and other lake monitoring equipment. Schools, youth groups, adult groups and tour groups are invited on board for programs customized to their interests.
It is scheduled to make two stops in Huletts this summer: Saturday July 10th at 2 pm and again on Monday August 2nd at 2 pm.
I will have more details on how to sign-up for boarding the Floating Classroom in the next two weeks. Please do not contact the Lake George Association for sign-up information. Both of these events are sponsored by the Friends of Historic Huletts and more information regarding sign-ups will be forthcoming soon.
Because of the “issues” with our server this past week, I was not able to report on the final vote on the election of school board members.
Current incumbents Mark DeLuca and Theodore LaRose ran unopposed for reelection.
Mr. DeLuca received 243 votes and Mr. LaRose received 227 votes.
While I provided both candidates with questionnaires, I never received Mr. LaRose’s questionnaire back. I mailed the questionnaires to the addresses listed on each candidate’s nominating petition. I provided multiple ways in which the questionnaire could be returned (either through email or regular mail). I never heard anything from Mr. LaRose.
One of the things I hoped to accomplish with the creation of the Huletts Current was to inform residents and friends of Huletts Landing of ongoing issues that might be of interest. In this regard, the number of comments I have received have been overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, the number of unique pages views, of people reading and checking the site, have risen every month since the site came into existence. So while I am disappointed that I did not receive all the questionnaires back, and could not accurately share with you the views of all those running for the school board, it is ultimately you, the readers of the Huletts Current, who Mr. LaRose ignored.
I congratulate both candidates on their victories and service to the community. I would especially like to thank Mr. DeLuca for taking the time to answer my questionnaire and to inform you about his positions.
Budget Passes / Single Proposition Pulled from Ballot
No Tax Decrease Next Year
| Yes | No | |||
| Budget – No Tax Decrease | 245 | 53 |
In one of the strangest occurrences in recent memory, the Proposition to fund $10,000 for the Whitehall Library was pulled from the ballot on Monday night.
The library raised a legal objection that only the library board can set the amount requested. Even though the proposition was announced in the legal section of the newspaper, the school board pulled the proposition at a special board meeting on Monday.
The district’s contribution will remain the same as last year at $15,000, even though it was not voted on this year.
The Whitehall School District will have an election Tuesday, May 18th between 12:00 noon and 9:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Junior/Senior High School on Buckley Road:
1.) To adopt next years budget.
2.) To elect two (2) members of the school board.
3.) To vote on one (1) proposition:
a.) To appropriate and grant the Whitehall library $10,000.
Please remember to vote!
This year there are two vacancies on the Board of Education and two candidates running for these seats. The Huletts Current submitted the following questions to each candidate running for the school board. I explained to each candidate that I would run their answers as they submitted them on the Huletts Current.
Today I present how, Mr. Mark DeLuca, candidate for the school board, replied to my questions.
Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for the school board?
“My name is Mark DeLuca. I reside in Whitehall with my wife and children. I have three daughters and I have been employed in the health field for the past 33 years. In addition, I have an interest in music. I have performed in several bands throughout the years. At the present time I am the director of our church choir. For the past 10 years, I have served as a member of the Whitehall Central School Board of Education. It has been my pleasure to be involved in providing opportunities that provide student success and to act in the interest of the taxpayer.”
There are many residents of Huletts Landing who are “seasonal” and who are not in the area year round. Could you share with us, what you see as the successes of the Whitehall School District from the past year?
“Our students continue to excel and gain admittance to area colleges on a par with larger school districts. This year’s graduates will be attending such schools as Drexel, Albany College of Pharmacy, Ithaca College, Union, University of Vermont. Our seniors in Advanced Placement programs can acquire as many as 21 college credits, transferable to almost all colleges.”
The Whitehall School District has held the line on tax increases the last two years. However enrollment has declined over the past several years, so per-pupil spending has continued to increase. When do you expect that falling enrollment will mean lower taxes for all?
“The Board of Education approaches the budget keeping in mind a balance for student success at a reasonable cost. Falling enrollment does not necessarily mean a reduction in taxes. The Board of Education considers class size, educational opportunities and contractual requirements with the local teacher’s association and non-instructional bargaining units. Continued support from the State is necessary to offset mandated requirements in Special Education and pension costs.”
Even with the cuts in state aid this year, state spending on education has increased 45% over the last 5 years. The Governor feels that School Boards aren’t doing enough to halt spending and has started a new website: http://www.straighttalkny.ideascale.com/, where people can share ideas on cutting school spending. Is there a specific idea that you will champion to help save taxpayers money?
“In this year’s budget preparation the Board of Education approved elimination or reduction of 16 positions both in the instructional and non-instructional areas. Staffing will continue to be evaluated on an annual basis.”
It’s obvious that people are really hurting in this economy. There is a lot of property for sale in Whitehall and Dresden and people are leaving the area. Do you feel a responsibility as a school board member to cut taxes to halt this decline?
“My responsibility as a School Board member is to work cooperatively with other board members to provide the best education possible for the students of the school district at the most reasonable cost to the taxpayer, keeping in mind that the education of our young people will have an impact on our whole society in the future.”
This spring view of Deer’s Leap is the Huletts Current newest desktop background.
I’ve updated the Wallpaper page with a spring background of a clearly recognizable shot from Huletts.
This does not include the current school year (2009-2010), but there’s no mistaking the trend.
To learn more facts about the school district, look here.