News & Opinion About Huletts Landing, N.Y.
The building that housed the Roma restaurant in Whitehall (seen here in 1975) has been a popular destination for many years. On May 1, 2018 it will be auctioned off.
Whitehall Times: The former Roma restaurant will be auctioned off on Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Two school board seats will be up for election in 2018. School board President, Frank Barber’s term expires, making a three-year term available. The seat formerly occupied by Jason Hoagland, who resigned before completing his term, will come up for election as a one-year term. Petitions of those seeking these seats must be returned to the district clerk by April 16th no later than 5:00 pm. To run, a person needs to be 18 years old by May 15th, must have resided in the school district for at least a year, and must submit a petition signed by 25 eligible voters.
I will be covering these contests and will be sending out questionnaires to all those who enter the race. Stay tuned.
The Champlain Power Express is a project you will hear about over the next few months as the developers hope to run an underground electricity transmission line 333 miles from a substation in Canada to a substation in Queens New York, with the goal of supplying additional power to New York City.
The project has been years in the works, starting in 2009. The proposed route would take the line underground through Dresden along state Route 22. It would only carry electricity that would be generated almost exclusively in hydroelectric plants in Canada. It would not carry gas, fuel oil or other hazardous materials.
The proposed route would take the planned transmission line underground through Dresden to Whitehall near the South Bay bridge.
The project would bring additional tax revenue to the Town of Dresden, Washington county and the Whitehall school district because the transmission line becomes a taxable asset when it is placed in the ground. More details coming soon.
Congratulations to Codie Bascue, who piloted the top American sled to a ninth-place finish in the 4-man bobsled.
From NBC’s coverage:
Bascue led the top American sled with two solid runs on the second day of competition. Top U.S. pilot Steve Holcomb, who won gold in 2010 and double bronze in 2014, passed away in 2017, and Bascue filled in valiantly. He couldn’t put together a medal run, but still piloted his sled to a top-10 finish.
To see a highlight clip – scroll down the page here.
The 2018 Winter Olympics will be starting soon and Whitehall native, Codie Bascue, will be driving the bobsled.
Post Star: Washington County Supervisors Approve Budget
The Post Star reports on the 2.06% increase in next year’s county budget.
Time: 8-Year-Old Steering Car During Crash Is Seriously Injured, Police Say
Time has a sad story out of Whitehall.
Video: Local 2018 Olmypic profile – Lake Placid to Pyeongchang – Tim Burke – Biathlon athlete
Whitehall Times: Local Vendor May Quit because of ‘Honor System’ Decline
The Whitehall Times reports on a local produce vendor who is about to throw in the towel because of thievery.
Spectrum News Rochester (Article & Video): Golisano Withholding Tax Payment Because of Geese Problem
What do you do when the you have a really bad geese problem? Here is his response.
The Sun Newspapers: New ‘Text Stop’ on 87
New Northway “Text Stop” profiled in the Sun Newspapers.
Tines Union: William Shatner to Visit Ticonderoga in May
The Times Union reports that Captain Kirk himself will visit the Star Trek set in Ticonderoga during May 2018.
Sports Illustrated: Examines the Impact of Football in America by Analyzing Whitehall’s 1973 Undefeated Team
A truly fantastic piece from Sports Illustrated about the 1973 Whitehall football team.
The special election to determine the last seat on the school board due to a Board Member candidate tie in the regular election has now been finalized.
June 20, 2017 in the Jr/Sr High School Gymnasium from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
To elect one (1) member of the Board of Education due to a Board Member candidate tie.
Michele M. Redmond
Roxanne Waters
The vote for the School Board Member will be by paper ballot or absentee ballot.
The vote totals from yesterday’s school district election:
Proposition 1 – Budget Proposition
Yes – 214
No – 50
Proposition 2 – Bus Proposition
Yes – 207
No – 54
Board Of Education Election (Top 5 candidates)
4 year seat for Jeremy Putorti – Resigned (immediate start) – Chris Dudley* 232 votes
3 year seat (July 1 start) – Richard LaChappelle* – 225 votes
3 year seat (July 1 start) – James Brooks* 208 votes
2 year seat for Tony Scrimo – Deceased (immediate start) – Jason Hoagland* 147 votes
2 year seat for Amy Austin – Resigned (immediate start) – (TIE) Michelle Redmond & Roxanne Waters 140 votes
TIE to be determined by special election
Virginia Rivette – 117 votes
*Winner
Below, I post a candidate interview with Michele Redmond, candidate for the school board. She is one of seven candidates running for five seats on the Whitehall School Board. Voting is Tuesday, May 16th. I mailed candidate questionnaires to all those running in this year’s election and will post their responses in the order received. Below are my questions and Ms. Redmond’’s responses.
1.) Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for the school board?
I was raised in Whitehall and currently live here with my husband and two children. I am a Registered Nurse and a Nationally Certified Diabetes Educator. I am very interested in the education that our students are receiving. Although I have already had one child graduate from Whitehall Jr. Sr. High School and I currently have a child in the ninth grade, I want to be directly involved in decisions that are being made that will ultimately benefit ALL the students at Whitehall Central School.
2.) The Whitehall school district has consistently been ranked in the lower half of Washington County school districts based on standardized test scores. What will you do to increase the test scores?
I would suggest that the school board members work closely with the Superintendent to develop a committee that will collaborate with local school districts that excel on these standardized tests.
3.) Many of the students educated in the Whitehall school district talk about leaving Whitehall once they graduate and going elsewhere to look for work. Does the school board have a responsibility to cut spending to make the local taxing climate more receptive to jobs and growth?
I don’t know that cutting spending is the answer, but being fiscally responsible is important. What might be a better option would be to create job shadowing/internship opportunities for our students with local businesses. I’m sure that many students, and community members, have no idea the many different job opportunities that are available in our area. Through this program, we many encourage our graduates to stay in Whitehall, or return to Whitehall in the future. Who knows, our graduates might open their own businesses and create more job opportunities in the future.
4.) The job market today is a highly competitive one. Should the school district be doing something that it is not already doing or should it be offering additional classes to see that its graduates have the skills and education necessary for success?
Whitehall Central School District has been offering college level classes through SUNY Adirondack for several years. Starting in the fall of 2017, they will be offering additional advanced classes in Science, Math and Business.
5.) Health insurance costs are increasing by 10.5 percent this year. What can realistically be done to keep this cost from rising so fast?
Whitehall Central School joined the BOCES consortium so that they could benefit from the best negotiated health insurance rate. The 10.5% increase is the rate that all schools in the consortium face this fall. Healthcare is expensive and until it is fixed on the national level, it is the reality that every employer faces.
6.) What is the biggest issue that children face today and what can the school board do to address it?
I turned to my children for their input on this question. One of their biggest concerns is that there is so much material that needs to be covered to prepare them for Common Core and Regents testing that students sometimes haven’t fully grasped a concept before they have to move on to the next concept. If a student doesn’t have a good grasp on the material before having to move on, they are more apt to do poorly. Perhaps the school board needs to take this perspective into consideration.
Editors Note: I would like to thank Ms. Redmond for her answers to my questions. I will post the other candidate’s responses in the order I receive them.
The minutes for the March and April school board meeting of the Whitehall Central School district are posted below.
Voting for five open seats on the school board, adoption of the annual school budget and a school bus purchase resolution will take place on Tuesday, May 16th between 12:00 noon and 9:00 pm at the Gymnasium of the Junior-Senior high school building on Buckley Road in Whitehall.
Under the proposed budget the school district is proposing to increase spending by $602,383 which represents an increase of 3.92 percent from this year. The tax levy is expected to rise 2.51 percent or $133,267 with the remainder coming from increases in state taxes.
Voters will also be asked to approve the purchase of two school buses, not to exceed the cost of $220,000.
I expect to be sending out questionnaires to all the candidates running for the school board in the next few days.
A public hearing will be held on Monday, May 8th at 6:00 pm for those with questions concerning the budget and/or vote.
Seven candidates have filed to run for the five school board seats up for election this year in the Whitehall Central School District. Those candidates are:
James Brooks
Chris Dudley
Jason Hoagland
Richard LaChappelle
Michele Redmond
Virginia Rivette
Roxanne Waters
More to come.