Bloomberg.com: congressional race is referendum on Obama spending
State to layoff 8,900 employees, deficit higher than predicted
Train station in Whitehall to get stimulus funds
Budget shortfall for Washington County
Bits of Everything
Plans for County Beach Moving Forward
The Post Star has an interview with Dresden Supervisor Bob Banks about plans for the Washington County Beach this summer.
A Picture’s Worth a 1000 Words
Adirondack Life Magazine has a photo contest every year. Here is the page showing their winning pictures for 2009. If you’re a photographer consider submitting some of your best shots, you just might win!
Bits of Everything
Warren County Resolution Opposes Stream Rules
Read the resolution the Warren County Supervisors passed opposing the stream rules the Lake George Park Commission is proposing. You won’t be getting a copy of this from the LGPC.
What Did Samuel de Champlain Look Like?
See PBS’s conception of Champlain as created in the new documentary; Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America
The Treasurer Says We Have No Money
The Post Star reports that the Washington County Treasurer is telling the Supervisors that the County needs to spend less.
An Interview with “Grandma’s” Great-Grandson
The renowned American folk artist, “Grandma Moses”, was probably one of the most famous people to have ever lived in Washington County.
What many people do not know is that her great-grandson, Will Moses, carries on her wonderful legacy and is a painter and artist extraordinaire in his own right. He lives and paints in southern Washington County in the town of Eagle Bridge.
You can check out his artwork at: www.willmoses.com and also visit his Mt. Nedo Gallery on 60 Grandama Moses Road. It’s about 40 minutes from Huletts in southern Washington County. If you’re interested in good art, he also has a catalog which features his original work. Call 800-328-6326 and he’ll send you one.
Will was kind enough to take the time to do an interview with us. We always like to promote Washington County businesses because we’re all in this together.
Grandma Moses is an iconic figure in American art. While she died in 1961, do you have any family stories or memories that would tell our readers a little bit about her?
“Grandma passed away when I was fairly young. However she was such a focal point of everyone’s attention and conversation I guess that even as a young child I knew enough to pay attention to her and what was going on around her. The fact of the matter was though, that while she was indeed very famous she was also very Grandmotherly and always welcomed her family in to visit with her. I have very distinct memories of watching her paint and visiting with her or just having a cookie at her house. I also remember her 100th birthday celebration which seemed to be quite a big affair and was covered in-depth by the media of the day and seemed to go on for some days.”
I’m sure she influenced you. Could you tell us how your artwork is similar to hers?
“Grandma’s work has indeed influenced me simply because her painting and her legacy is what I grew up with. We had her paintings in the house and her memory has lived on in a very strong way with the entire family. In reality though, I always credit my grandfather, Forrest Moses (Grandmas son) with encouraging me to paint. Forrest Moses was also a painter in his own right and he had picked up the knack from Grandma. After she died, he took it up with more seriousness and in so doing, he strongly encouraged not only me but all of his grandchildren to paint. Without his patience and encouragement I am sure I probably never would have begun to paint much less carried on with it.”
Washington County is really rural America at it’s finest. Do you have any personal favorite paintings or scenes from Washington County?
“I guess most of my paintings probably have their roots in this region. The rolling hills and checkerboard of farms and fields and woods and villages lends itself to the style of art I attempt to paint. As for favorite paintings I tend to like the most recent painting the best (perhaps just because I am happy to finally be finished with it).”
We notice that your artwork is always filled with people. We’re always interested in fostering the idea of “community” at the Huletts Current. Can you tell us how your idea of community influences your art.
“Yes, often times my paintings are filled with people in part to reflect that idea of community and responsibility we all have to our communities. I think the roles we play in this regard have changed over the years and our obligations may not be as apparent (yet never needed more) as they were years ago when folks were more reliant on their neighbor and themselves. Years ago a group of good people with good intentions would come together and build schools, hospitals, churches, roads etc. They didn’t need governments to tell them how. The need was there and the people did it. Today we elect a school board for example and all they seem capable of doing is appointing sub committees to make the decisions they were elected in the first place to decide. We need a new generation of people willing to take responsibility for their communities. People need to become active in politics, not for selfish interest but because they can offer sound leadership and make their towns a better place to live. People need to volunteer to be fireman and EMS responders, teacher aids and look after those who can not take care of themselves. It is this simple; if you are not willing roll out of bed in the middle of the night to save someone’s house or child, then you have no right to expect anyone to come to you, in your time of need. When your house is on fire, your government funded community organizer won’t save you but your neighbor just might.”
We have a number of young readers. Can you tell us how you became interested in painting and what you enjoy most?
“I became interested in painting and took it up as a career simply because my Grandfather took the time and interest to pass it along to me. Looking back on it, I am sure he probably had other things he could have been doing with his time but he was a pretty good old fella and his grandchildren were a joy to him and the fact that he did take the time has meant that I have been able to make painting my life’s work. I think if he were here today he would get a big kick out of knowing that.”
Will thank you for taking the time to talk with us, we would like to extend an offer for you to come up and paint a scene from Huletts Landing anytime you are free. Please take us up on this offer.
Please stop by and support Will.
Bits of Everything
Phish Fly in Reunion
If you missed him when he passed through Whitehall, here’s your chance to see Trey Anastasio in concert.
Adirondack Harvest Connects You to Local Farms
This is a new website, www.adirondackharvest.com, which puts products made at local farms at your fingertips to purchase.
AMD Plant Moves Forward
The company is going to be called the Foundry but it will build and operate the $4.6 billion semiconductor fabrication plant at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County.
Bits of Everything
“Molly” Minon, Rest in Peace
We are sad to report that Mary “Molly” Minon passed away recently. Molly was the former interim Town Supervisor of Dresden from 1977-78 and lost to Joe Rota by one vote in one of the more interesting elections in Town history. She was the grandmother of Heather Charpentier, who along with her husband, Justin Charpentier, has run the Casino for the past few years.
A Novel Way to Fund the Washington County Beach
Saw this in yesterday’s Post Star. This is certainly one way to make up for less funding for the Washington County Beach this year.
Bits of Everything
Garbage Stickers Going Up in Price
The Post Star had an article about how the cost of garbage stickers will be increasing.
Temporary Layoffs Planned at Paper Plant in Ticonderoga
The Press Republican had a story on some temporary layoffs at the International Paper plant in Ticonderoga. If you’ve never been inside this plant, they make toilet paper and reams of copy paper and notebook paper. It’s quite an operation.
Bits of Everything
There’s Proof – The Air is Cleaner
Here is a good article from the Watertown Daily Times which cites an EPA study that shows that decreased emissions from the nation’s power plants have led to cleaner air and water in the Adirondacks.
Election Date Set for Congressional Election
AMD Plant Snags
The proposed AMD computer chip plant has run into a few snags, the Post Star reports. While not unexpected, these may slow down the plant’s development.
Bits of Everything
This Deal is Pure Garbage
Here is a good article from the Post Star about the Hudson Falls trash burn plant. All of our garbage from Huletts goes to the trash burn plant. It has always operated at a deficit and Washington County has always lost money on it. When it was constructed, it was believed Washington County would make money every year on its waste disposal. However, this never happened because the state allowed other landfills to remain open and accept trash. This has resulted in increased competition for garbage from other counties. The result is that the plant doesn’t get the amount of trash that it was expected to receive and thus loses money. So instead of making money, it has been a terrible deal for Washington County. The agreement is up in 2 years.
Bolton Landing Says No to Proposed Stream Rules
The Bolton Landing Town Board has just passed a resolution against the draft proposed stream corridor rules that the Lake George Park Commission is accepting comments on. It is expected that other municipalities around the lake will be opposing them also. Common sense exemptions are no where to be found in the proposed rules. Read more about Bolton Landing’s resolution in the Albany Times Union.
What a Black Swan Means to the Governor’s Tax Cap Proposal on State Land
In his 2007 best selling book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, explores an idea which is relevant to the current debate on whether NY state should pay their full share of taxes on their forest preserve land.
“The book explores one big idea: that history is dominated by rare, unpredictable and extreme events. The author calls these black swans, alluding to the fact that Europeans had seen only white swans until black swans were found in Australia. The Great Depression, the 1987 stock market collapse, and the current financial crisis are examples. Black swans don’t have to be negative. Biotech firms that stumble upon breakthrough cures are black swans.
The human mind, evolved to cope with everyday tasks, deals poorly with rare but consequential events. People assume that the future will be like the recent past but in fact, the most consequential events may not have recent precedents.”
For example: NY state attempting to change how it has paid taxes on its public forest preserve land since the 1880’s. If they stop paying their full share, property taxes will go through the roof. No one really understands the consequences of this because it has never been tried before. However, all readers of the Huletts Current; if this happens, you’ve seen the black swan here already. This will be devastating to the private property owners of the Adirondacks. Please contact your downstate, state representatives. Don’t let the Governor get away with this proposal.
*Book Synopsis – Forbes Magazine February 2, 2009
Supervisor Banks Named to Committees
Town Supervisor, Robert Banks, was recently named to a number of committees at the county level. He was picked to serve on the Adirondack Community College, Health, Human Services, Public Safety, and Public Works committees.
Many important decisions are made at the committee level and we commend Supervisor Banks for these important assignments.
You Won’t Find These on the APA Website
9 Counties and 11 Towns Sue Adirondack Park Agency
Nine counties and eleven towns have filed suit against the Adirondack Park Agency to try to reverse new rules that have been implemented, including shoreline building prohibitions on structures that pre-date the APA. Shorefront property owners take note. Hear about it here.
Lewis Family Farm v. APA
“At 1,200 acres, Lewis Family Farm has conserved hundreds of acres of organic soils and removed thousands of tons of accumulated waste, including 15 decrepit, moldy, broken farmhouses. The documents on this site tell how the APA, a regional land use board within the blue line, violated New York State law, and engaged in an abusive, aggressive and frequently dishonest strategy to intimidate the Lewis Family Farm.”
Read about the whole case here. The Lewis family just won their case, but the APA has appealed.
Nothing about either of these on the APA site.
Bits of Everything
30 Days Are Up – Governor Still Doesn’t Want To Pay
The Post Star has a good article about the Governor’s proposal to cap NY state tax payments to local governments with state forest preserve land. This is a must read for all taxpayers and voters. If you’re a NY state resident, please contact your downstate representatives and tell them NY state has to pay their property taxes. We do.
Dem’s Down to 6
This story from the Post Star is about the finalists who are being considered by the Democrats to be their nominee for Congress in the 20th Congressional District. The special election to fill former Rep Kirsten Gillibrand’s seat will be held 30 days after the Governor calls a special election.
Reynolds Game Farm Won’t Be Closed
The pheasants are going to make it after all. Cruella De Ville is crying.
Hold the Salt
With all the recent snow, it seems like the perfect time to discuss other options for salting the roads in the Lake George basin. Salt runoff is one of the primary pollutants reaching the lake.
Here is a product called Magic Salt, which bills itself “as less corrosive, biodegradable and environmentally friendly,” than regular salt. Here is a .pdf file of an area coated on one side with regular salt and coated on another side with magic salt. Notice how the grass is burned on the regular salt side.
Here is a product called Ice B’Gone® that is made of a molasses-like liquid that can be mixed with regular rock salt. It “contains no algae-forming phosphorus”.
These are the types of products that will bring us into the future. There are most likely many others. We’ll bring to your attention a new technology that is being studied in Maryland that can lengthen the life of an existing drain field with plain old regular air.
You never thought salt was so cool.