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THIS WEEK Warrensburg ....................2-3 Lake George....................4-5 Bolton Landing ................5 Opinion ..........................6 Chestertown ..................7 Week in Sports................8 Outdoors ........................12 Calendar ........................13 Thurman ........................14 Classified........................16
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February 27, 2010
Arts
Lake George
Sports
A performance of ‘Evita’ at Gracie’s hopes to raise funds for drama club.
Carnival wraps up this weekend with car and dog sled races.
Town is considering a football field to develop young talent.
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Page 8
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Local skiers are training for Olympic-level competition Beck, 17: ‘I have only one life to live...’ By Thom Randall thom@denpubs.com LAKE PLACID — With many millions of viewers tuned into the heart-stopping action of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this week, two teenagers from northern Warren County are watching the skiing events with keen personal interest. Andrew Beck of Lake George and Aaron Griffen of Chestertown are taking a close look at the Olympic downhill ski racers, examining the competition in detail, evaluating the skiers’ techniques. Beck and Griffen are members of the ski teams at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, which prepares athletes for the Olympic games and other world-class competition in winter sports. During the Olympics, however, Beck and Griffen haven’t had much spare time to cheer on the 17 Olympic athletes that are recent graduates of the National Sports Academy, because they’ve been training hard, they said in interviews this week. Both have qualified for the Eastern Cup Finals at Okemo Mountain, set for next week, and considering their racing records, they should fare well. Both have been committed to ski racing for years. Beck, 17-year-old son of Dave and Debbie Beck of Lake George, is a high school senior at the National Sports Academy. He’s now completing his fourth full school-year at the institution. His daily winter weekday regimen includes skiing from 9 a.m. to noon on the slopes of Whiteface, then intense academic studies from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and traveling for skiing competition most weekends. Any spare hours are spent
See SKIERS, page 8
Aaron Griffen, who grew up in Chestertown, careens downhill in the 2009 Scottish National Championship ski races held in Three Valleys, France. Griffen is continuing his racing efforts this year earning points with an eye on competing in top national and international competitions. With his sights set on competing in the Olympics, Griffen has been skiing alongside another ski enthusiast Andrew Beck of Lake George — both are training at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, which has more than a dozen of its alumni vying for medals this year in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Community embraces Oscar’s, an Adirondack landmark By Thom Randall thom@denpubs.com WARRENSBURG — With a show of overwhelming support, people from all over the region showed up to hail the re-emergence of a landmark Adirondack-area enterprise, which has rebounded from a fire that consumed their enterprise less than five months ago. Saturday, Oscar ’s Smoke House held a grand re-opening ceremony, and an estimat-
ed 2,000 people throughout the day attended to celebrate. Area residents and visitors not only witnessed a ribbon-cutting, but took tours of the new plant, tasted samples of smoked meats and cheeses, greeted employees, and bought food to take home. While many thought the celebration of Oscar ’s return was over late Saturday, the crowds resumed Sunday with nearly as many people as attended Saturday’s official opening. But the show of support wasn’t over, as
record-breaking business continued Monday, Oscar ’s owner Jerry Quintal said early this week. “The number of people who showed up and wished us well was just overwhelming,” he said. “The amount of business we did was staggering — we set all sorts of records as far as retail sales go.” Quintal credited the newspaper and television coverage for drawing thousands into Warrensburg over the weekend. Area newspapers, including the Adirondack Journal and The Chronicle gave Oscar ’s
reopening extensive front-page advance coverage. Six television stations broadcast the event. PBS attended Saturday, and returned on Sunday to film a mini-documentary of Oscar ’s rise from the ashes, Quintal said. “We couldn’t have gotten better advertising through the media,” Quintal said. “The press coverage we’ve had has been unbelievable.” Saturday’s celebration started off with hundreds gathering for the 9 a.m. ribbon
See OSCAR’S, page 9
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