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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In LOCAL | pg. 3
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Biking on the railway
In NEWS | pg. 4
Campaign launched for new loon center
Warren County may follow Saranac Lake’s lead
Upstart project needs $35,000 for exhibits
Growing allegations of Medicaid taxi abuse falls under state scrutiny
State, county agencies meet to discuss possible regulation of Medicaid taxi industry
agencies last week to discuss alleged crimes swirling around the Medicaid taxi industry left one of the county’s top bosses in disbelief: The allegations, said Essex County Board of Supervisors Vice By Pete DeMola Chair Randy Preston, were shocking: pete@suncommunitynews.com Among the reports trickling into the department of social services: •ID thieves are billing �phantom trips� back to the state for ELIZABETHTOWN — A meeting with state and county
MilestoneÊÊ birthday
>> See TAXI ABUSE | pg. 9
Disgraced Westport teacher arrested on new charges
John “Jack” Thompson accused of witness tampering, falsely reporting an incident
Public invited to join Wadhams resident Don Taylor as he celebrates his 105th birthday on Saturday WADHAMS — Don Taylor leaned back in his armchair and recalled his recipe for tasty salt pork. Fatten the pig with a mixture of cornmeal and hot water. Then examine its side — “That’s where the plump pork comes Pete from” — before butchering, carving it up DeMola Writer and smoking the animal. Taylor advises smoking meat all day before lining the bottom of a barrel with a half-inch of salt. After cutting the meat into bricks, alternate placement between layers of salt and meat, using boards to separate them. Cover with water and wait. The meat will eventually grow hard. When it does, slice a piece off. Fill a frying pan with about an inch of water and let it come to a good boil. Roll the pork in flour and drop it in. That’s how his mother used to do it, Taylor recalled. Taylor sat in the front room of the farmhouse where he has lived since birth. Outside, a warm wind blew through the willows and maple
compensation. •Vehicles are allegedly involved in drug running, ferrying passengers and narcotics from downstate locales back to the North Country. •Some drivers are rumored to be manipulating passengers into paying for their dinners, with some even using the industry,
By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
Wadhams resident Don Taylor turns 105 on April 30. The public is invited to join him at an open house at his house on Taylor Road from 1 to 3 p.m. Photo by Pete DeMola
trees and up the dirt road that bears his name. Taylor turns 105 on Saturday. How does he feel? “Pretty good, I think,” he said. “I don’t feel anything different than six months ago — I got my rings, I work out every day.” Taylor does 50 curls at a stretch — sometimes 100, he said, if he’s sitting in his chair. He patted his dog, Bucky, as his woodstove crackled. Like folks still do, Taylor made his living off the land. A group of 12 cows would provide the milk that he sold to a local dairy, Anson’s, which closed sometime in the early >> DON TAYLOR | pg. 9
RAY BROOK — John “Jack” Thompson, the former Westport Central teacher who pled guilty last month to secretly filming students at his Willsboro home, was arrested last week on two new charges. Thompson, 51, was arrested by state police on Thursday and charged with tampering with a witness, fourth degree, and falsely reporting an incident, third degree, both misdemeanors. On April 14, state police received a “cybertip” alleging a 20-year-old male had pictures and videos on his cell phone of his underage girlfriend engaged in sexually explicit acts. “Subsequent to an investigation, all allegations were deemed false,” a state police spokesman told the Sun. Thompson was arrested at his Willsboro home. As troopers were transporting Thompson to the Essex County Jail, he provided “oral admissions” on his own accord >> See JACK THOMPSON | pg. 7