E-town Day photos pg. 13
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HOMES EVERY WEEK!
July 28, 2018
Valley News
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Patakis chat with their neighbors An Essex farm has worked out well for the former governor By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER
ESSEX | Former Gov. George Pataki likes to say his Essex farm is his sanctuary, that is to say “a politics-free zone.” His neighbors have no problem with that. At a benefit for the Belden Noble Memorial Library, the Pataki family, which owns a working farm just south of town, participated in a “Getting to Know Your Neighbors” series last week, and nary a question from the audience involved the fireworks currently consuming the nation’s capital. Instead, the packed house wanted to know about his horses, his luck with growing wheat, the water quality of Lake Champlain and — a small town being a small town — what could be done to lower the speed limit in the picturesque waterfront community on the Adirondack Coast. Pataki, his wife Libby, son Owen and daughter-in-law Emily casually chatted about their background, what they find appealing about Essex and their future plans. George, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2016, raises Angus beef cattle, but says he wants a couple of Jerseys as soon as he can talk Libby into milking. » Pataki Cont. on pg. 5
HIKING LEGEND, LORE AND LIFE MEET AT ADIRONDACK HISTORY MUSEUM
» Cont. on pg. 8
A red ribbon awaited cutting at the official opening of “Hiking in the Adirondack High Peaks” at the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown last Friday. Photo by Kim Dedam
Hillside Cemetery, burial ground to prominent citizens, at risk of abandonment
Westport Cemetery Association looking for civic boosters By Pete DeMola EDITOR
WESTPORT | Mother Nature will have her way. While Hillside Cemetery is well-maintained, sinkholes, tombstones toppled by creeping roots and bank erosion have all led to mounting concerns at the tree-lined burial ground on Main Street. The cemetery, which saw its first internment in 1808, is the eternal resting place for some of the town’s most prominent citizens,
including John Tyler Cutting, who served a single term in Congress from 1891-93. There’s John Halstead, who built the village’s first home at the top of Dock Hill, and Barnabas Myrick, an early merchant and town supervisor. The Lee Family, early business leaders known for their philanthropic and business efforts, occupy a slice of real estate in the southeast corner, a shady expanse blanketed by pine needles. Numerous veterans starting with the Revolutionary War are also here, as are early settlers, many of whose descendants continue to reside in the lakefront community two centuries later. But while rich in history, the cemetery is at the risk of becoming financially insolvent. “We have not been able to meet the financial needs on just having lawn care, so we were concerned we would have to abandon (the cemetery) in the near future,” said Westport Cemetery As-
sociation (WCA) President Derinda Sherman.
DIMINISHED INCOME
At aging cemeteries like Hillside, income has dried up. With an estimated 300 graves, the cemetery is full, but remains active, interring those with pre-purchased plots. Cemeteries have traditionally derived income from the sale of burial space, interment fees and investment income, the interest from which is set aside for perpetual and current maintenance funds. But compounded with low interest rates, rural officials are now questioning how they will be able to perform even basic maintenance on the properties. Despite the challenges, sites still must be kept open and maintained. The WCA is now embarking on fundraising
efforts to ensure not only repairs can be made, but to prevent the cemetery from being abandoned. Once abandoned, towns are legally required to take cemeteries over, according to state law. But their oversight is minimal. Localities must mow three times per year, but are not required to repair or otherwise take an active role in their upkeep from keeping annual paperwork and overseeing internments. Th e state acknowledges the future of rural cemeteries presents a slow-burning problem for localities. “The increase in cremations, use of mausoleums, shifts in aging population away from New York state, and aging of the volunteer caretakers of New York’s cemeteries have altered the financial and operational impacts upon cemeteries,” wrote the state Office of General Counsel in a legal memorandum. » Cemetery Cont. on pg. 2
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HOURS: MONDAY - FRIDAY 6-9 • SATURDAY 7-9 • SUNDAY 7-8
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