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N News ews
Enterprise E En nterrpprise
May 21, 2011
2011
4 192
Area school budgets pass easily
Youth baseball and softball food drive JOHNSBURG — Johnsburg Youth baseball and softball will hold a food drive Sunday May 22, in front o f t he N orth C reek Grand Union, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please stop by and d rop o ff f ood i tems. All food will go to the local food pantry. Thanks in advance from Johnsbur g Youth Baseball & Softball.
By John Gereau
johng@denpubs.com
NORTH CREEK — Area voters handily approved school spending plans in balloting throughout the region Tuesday, May 17.
Johnsburg Central School Voters passed the 201 1-12 spending plan for the Johnsburg Central School, according to Patty Morehouse, secretary to the superintendent. Ther e wer e 450 yes and 131 no votes. Meanwhile, an attempt by thr ee challengers to r eplace established School Boar d members f ailed. Voters r e-elected T homas Ordway (392), Erwin Morris (370) and T ara Sears (368) to thr ee-year terms. Ther e wer e three challengers: Carmine Bellotti (1 18), David Braley (136) and Anthony Moro (122). Richard Stewart and Margaret Prashaw also
Newcomb students to hold blood drive
Photo provided
New Blue Mt. Lake pavilion plans proposed By Jon Hochschartner jonh@denpubs.com
INDIAN LAKE — Town of Indian Lake of ficials will submit a new proposal requesting a variance for the construction of a building at the Blue Mountain Lake beach on Route 28 at the next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, accor ding to Supervisor Barry Hutchins. The meeting has not yet been scheduled, but it will take place within a month. The project, which stemmed fr om the 2009 r oad construction along Route 28, had er ceived pushback from some r esidents concerned it would block views of local scenery. In response, the town and the Beach Beautification Committee, a subcommittee of the Blue Mountain Lake Association, went back to the drawing
THIS WEEK
board, a ccording t o H utchins. T he n ew p roposal moves the pavilion 20-30 feet eastwar d and r emoves one of the lifeguar d equipment storage spaces. Hutchins was unsure of the exact figures, but he said the law r equired any str ucture be r oughly 75 feet from the lakeshore and 42 feet from the middle of the highway. Hutchins said the pr oposed building would be roughly 18 feet from the lakeshore and 40 feet from the middle of the highway. The proposed building, which would be owned by the town, would serve as a beach pavilion, r eplacing the existing change houses with a facility that includes changing r ooms, l ifeguard stations and storage capabilities. Characterized as user-friendly and handicapped accessible, the pr oject was pr esented to the Indian Lake Town Boar d during the fall budget pr ocess.
The project was awarded $10,000 in the town budget and the remaining $25,000 was raised by the Beach Beautification Committee, according to Hutchins. Merle Sessions, a resident of Blue Mountain Lake, was opposed to the new proposal. “I would like to know what the pr oblem would be fixing up the present storage building,” Sessions said. “Even though they’ve moved the pavilion site, it still takes up a valuable piece of real estate. You have limited space on that beach.” Sessions added that he thought the new proposal would still block the view. Hutchins, however, was confident that after withdrawing the original pr oposal, the new one would be approved. “I think the town and (Beach Beautification) Committee have made every attempt to addr ess concerns the Zoning Board had,” he said.
Johnsburg eighth grader breaks down gender barrier Ellsworth faced down gender discrimination to play game she loved
By Jon Hochschartner jonh@denpubs.com
North Creek...................2,3 Opinions ......................6,7 Sports..........................10,11 Around the Region ........12,13 Classifieds....................14-16 Auto Zone ....................17-20
See BUDGETS, page 4
NORTH CREEK — After a long fight, which involved a civil rights attorney fr om the U.S. Department of Education, 14-year -old EmmaLee Ellsworth has been granted permission to play on the Johnsbur g Central School baseball team, a right which had pr eviously been denied
because of her gender. EmmaLee, now in eighth grade, has been breaking down barriers for some time. In 2009, after having played baseball for four seasons for Johnsburg Youth Athletics (JYA), she was told she would have to play softball instead of baseball. But after working her way up fro m the minors to the majors on the town baseball team, she didn’t want to be shunted in a different direction. “She said, ‘No, I don’t want to play softball, I want to keep playing baseball,’” EmmaLee’s mother, Darlene Ellsworth, said.
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So Darlene went to the Johnsbur g Youth Committee, the or ganization in charge of JYA, and requested EmmaLee be allowed to continue playing baseball. The request was rejected. Girls had to play softball, Dar lene was told. Things changed when Darlene lodged a complaint with the New York State Division of Civil Rights. At the time, accor ding to Darlene, the town pr ovided insurance and baseball fields for JY A. And f aced with a potential lawsuit, the town board encouraged JYA to allow
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INDIAN LAKE — Indian Lake Methodist Church will host a chicken and biscuit dinner Satur day, May 28. Takeouts begin at 4:30 p.m. and dinner is served at 5 p.m. Menu includes chicken and biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cole slaw , cakes and beverage. Adult prices are $8.50 and $4 for 12 and under . Childr en 5 and under are free.
The Johnsburg Central School Pop Singers and Jazz Band had their annual Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 4 in the JCS gymnasium. The Pop Singers portion of the concert had a 1950s theme, and songs included “Lollipop,” “Back to the Fifties Medley” and “Goodnight, Sweetheart,” featuring longtime JCS staff member Dave Hyde and the men of the Pop Singers.
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See sports pages 10-11.
NEWCOMB — On Friday, May 20, Newcomb’s Class of 2012 is holding a blood drive fr om noon to 5 p.m. This is the thir d service pr oject for the class with the American Red Cr oss in Albany. There is a higher than usual need for blood donations, especially in the summertime. To help meet the needs, the Red Cr oss is giving away gas car ds to all donors in the month of May. T o sign up, please call Newcomb Central School at 582-3341. Walkins are welcome, but there might be a wait so please call today.
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