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Saturday,ÊJ uneÊ11,Ê2016
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In SPORTS | pg. 4
Athletes prepare for state championship NYSPHSAA Track and Field finals set for June 10-11
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In OPINION | pg. 7
Transparency in medicine Third parties are price gouging
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In OTHER | pg. 11
Prison break one year later State releases scathing report
Review board skeptical over study Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board challenging the findings of Adirondack Council-sponsored study
a decade in the 12 counties that constitute the Adirondack Park. The findings apply to properties within 0.5 to six miles of Wilderness-designated areas. “People seeking to purchase homes and businesses in northern New York paid more for the same property inside the Adirondack Park than they would have outside of it,” the study By Pete DeMola concluded. pete@suncommunitynews.com Heintzelman formally presented his findings at the Adirondack Research Consortium’s annual conference last month in LAKE PLACID — A new study by Clarkson University has Lake Placid. determined that proximity to lands classified as Wilderness “There’s a premium for all buyers for this protected wildergenerates up to a 25 percent premium on property values. ness,” Heintzelman said. Martin Heintzelman, an associate professor of economics and financial studies, studied 77,000 property transactions spanning >> See STUDY | pg. 5
SurpriseÊ of aÊ lifetime
WWII vet Joe DeMarco honored with flagpole, medallion in surprise ceremony JAY — The past week had been a good one for Joe and Norma DeMarco. Joe turned 90 on May 22 and the couple drove to Ohio to spend time with five generations of their big Italian family. Pete As they were cruising up the AdironDeMola dack Northway last week, the last leg of an Writer 800-mile trip that saw them stay overnight in Syracuse, Joe was primarily concerned with picking up a gallon of milk. Until they saw the pair of motorcycles waiting for them at the exit. Danny Kaifetz and a pal escorted the DeMarcos back to their cozy alpine-style chalet in AuSable Acres, where a delegation of friends and neighbors were waiting for them. So was a gleaming new flagpole. Kaifetz owns Adirondack Flagpoles, the only wooden flagpole maker in the country. Each year, the Vietnam veteran gives away one handcrafted Northern Red Oak pole to a combat vet. Since meeting DeMarco through the North Country Honor Flight Program, the pair have struck up a close friendship.
WWII navy veteran Joe DeMarco was surprised with a custom-made wooden flagpole when he returned home from a trip to Ohio to visit family. Adirondack Flagpoles’ Danny Kaifetz gives away one each year to a combat veteran. DeMarco was an easy choice, he said. But the difficulty came in preparing and delivering it to his friend without his knowledge.
Challenging a Clarkson University study that revealed proximity to lands classified as Wilderness generates up to a 25 percent premium on property values, the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board says the connection between Wilderness classification and economic benefit is far more nuanced. Photo by Pete DeMola
Essex County courthouse incurs water damage
Flooding stemmed not from heavy rainfall, but rather a malfunctioning water fountain By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
Joe and Norma, he said, have treated him like a third son. “Joe is pretty much my hero,” Kaifetz said. “He’s one of the finest men I’ve ever known.” DeMarco, who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima, became a regular at Kaifetz’s workshop in Keeseville. Kaifetz had long eyed him to be a recipient of a flagpole, but keeping the project under wraps would have been impossible while he was still in town. Preparations began shortly after the DeMarcos left for
ESSEX — The Essex County Courthouse accrued significant water damage over the weekend due to a malfunctioning drinking fountain on the second floor. A night watchman discovered torrents of water running through the facility on Sunday while making his rounds shortly after 5 p.m. The water flooded a courtroom, cascaded down the stairs and dripped through the drop ceilings, resulting in a cornmeal-type sludge. The Commissioner of Juror’s Room incurred significant damage, as did the clerk’s office, located two floors below. Basement-level tiles pulled themselves loose; carpets were
>> FLAGPOLE | pg. 9
>> See WATER DAMAGE | pg. 9
Photo by Pete DeMola