Addressed to:
Keene» Search continues for missing Massachusetts man
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Saturday, Setpember 21, 2013
GETTIN’ DOWN
This Week ELIZABETHTOWN
Horace Nye sale nears finish line By Keith Lobdell keith@denpubs.com
ELIZABETHTOWN Ñ The finish line may be in sight for the sale of the Horace Nye Nursing Home to Centers for Specialty Care. The New York State Department of HealthÕ s Planning Committee voted Sept. 12 to approve the Certificate of Need transfer from the county to the New York-based company, moving the process on to the full Planning Council. The council will meet on Thursday, Oct. 3, to make the final determination.
Taste of Local event held at museum PAGE 3 COUNTY
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Towns seek assessor contract with county
One justice for all?
Jay voters set to decide issue Photo by Katherine Clark
PAGE 11 CLINTONVILLE
NYCO pushing for land swap vote By Shawn Ryan
shawn@denpubs.com
AVCS names new members to Hall of Fame PAGE 14
By Keith Lobdell
Lowell, Mass. based band Soft Cactus performed on the main stage at the 2013 Otis Mountain Get Down on Sept. 13 in Elizabethtown.
LEWIS Ñ Essex CountyÕ s second largest private employer, NYCO Minerals, has a plan to ensure another 10 years worth of mining at their Lewis mine, but it will require a land swap with the state. NYCO is bordered by state land. A small parcel of that land, a land-locked 200 acres known simply as Lot 8, holds enough Wollastonite to keep the mine operational another 10 years, NYCO officials believe. But because itÕ s in the Adirondack Park, that state land falls under the stateÕ s, Ò Forever Wild,Ó provision. A change in the stateÕ s constitution would be required to approve a land swap.
In exchange for those 200 acres, NYCO is offering the state 1,500 of their property. The property they are offering has considerable road frontage, and is currently acting as a buffer, preventing hikers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts access to the massive Jay Mountain wilderness to the east and west. The NYCO parcels, along with road frontage, have streams stocked with brook trout and the occasional salmon is caught in one of the streams. Only a positive vote by two consecutive state legislatures, and a yes vote on a state-wide ballot, can allow the land to transfer to private hands. NYCO has already gotten those positive votes from the legislature, in 2012 and 2013, and the measure will now come up to a state-wide
vote. Ò The 200 acres was a parcel of property that the state got for back taxes,Ó said Theresa Sayward, retired New York State Assemblywoman. Ò The state is not giving up something that was purchased for environmental reasons.Ó Sayward has long been a proponent of the land swap. An exposed vein of Wollastonite can be seen commanding the exposed rock face just 25 feet from Lot 8. In some places there are only about 10 feet of Ò overstory,Ó or material that would need to be removed in order to begin mining. As part of the deal, when NYCO has mined all the Wollastonite from the 200 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
keith@denpubs.com
Au SABLE FORKS Ñ Jay residents will not have to wait until November to exercise their voting rights. The town will hold a permissive referendum Wednesday, Oct. 16, with polling from noon until 8 p.m. at the Town of Jay Community Center (11 School Lane in Au Sable Forks) and the Amos and Julia Ward Theatre (12 Parkside Drive, Jay). At issue is whether the town should be allowed to move forward with a plan to reduce its town justice office from two justices to one at the end of this year when the term of Justice Robert Minogue comes to an end. A Ò yesÓ vote will eliminate one justice position, and a Ò noÓ vote will not eliminate one justice position. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Index LOCAL COLUMS
4
EDITORIAL
6
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
7
OBITUARIES
9
SPORTS ADIRONDACK OUTDOORS
14
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
15
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