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October 24, 2009
A Denton Publication
Build up
Outdoors
Sports
Minerva rehabs many trails for the upcoming winter.
States consider ban on the use of deer urine in lures.
Congrats to the Lady Jags on their championship season.
Page 9
Page 16
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Farmer’s market bids farewell to the season
Long Lake starts a ‘smashing’ tradition By Lindsay Yandon lindsay@denpubs.com
By Lindsay Yandon
LONG LAKE - From the height of a scaffolding airlift, Long Lake residents dropped pumpkins in what they hope will turn into an annual pumpkin drop competition. On Oct. 10 fourteen contestants gathered at the town hall with pumpkins in hand to lift them into the sky, courtesy of Wallace Contracting. Members of the Long Lake Volunteer Fire Department Cliff Ross and Jordan Wallace were charged with dropping duties. Rigging operator Greg Bruce lifted them forty feet above the ground, where they sent the pumpkins on their fall. A panel of judges including John Rayome, Rose Lily and Tammy Kitchen voted on the best pumpkin drop. Their criteria included best splatter, best noise and biggest impact. The kick-off pumpkin was filled with cherry pie filling and set the sage as it hit the pavement below and reminded spectators to find a safe and clean distance. Clean up crews cleared the area between drops. The finale pumpkin weighed over 120 pounds.
lindsay@denpubs.com NORTH CREEK - After a successful first year, the North Creek farmer ’s market has concluded as of Columbus Day. The farmer ’s market is dedicated to providing the freshest produce to the community, while recent drops in temperature encouraged them to close their doors and begin preparing for next year ’s market. “This being our first year as a market, we were not sure how long we could extend the season. Columbus Day seemed to be the best time for this area,” said market manager Barbara Thomas. The North Creek Farmer ’s Market Association, Inc. wishes to extend a sincere thanks to all who came and supported their premier market. “The market was started for the community, to supply it with fresher fruits and vegetables and as a gathering place for friends and acquaintances,” said Thomas. “We hope the community thoroughly enjoyed this first year.” The market has begun work to plan and improve next year ’s market and will be posting updates in the News Enterprise as well as on their website at www.northcreekfarmersmarket.com.
Senior at Long Lake Central School, Jordan Wallace drops one of the competing pumpkins from a scaffolding lift. Photo courtesy of the Town of Long Lake
Lake Champlain Bridge officially closed DOT suggests 100-mile detour By Fred Herbst
= Detour Route
fred@denpubs.com CROWN POINT — State officials are promising to open the Lake Champlain Bridge as soon as possible, but local commuters are demanding to know when that will happen. “Frantic calls to DOT produced a cheery voice offering to give detour directions,” Barbara Brassard, Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, said. “What they didn’t mention is that these detours were around two hours long. “The enormous impact on the Lake Champlain region The enormous impact is obvious,” she said. “What on the Lake Champlain re- is New York State doing? Nothing!” gion is obvious. What is Todd Hoffman, New York State Department of TransNew York State doing? portation regional structural Nothing! engineer, disagreed. He said — Barbara Brassard engineers are studying the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of bridge and formulating a Commerce executive director plan to repair and re-open it. That plan should be in place in about two weeks. “We’re not going to rush just to get the bridge open,” he said. “We’re going to work diligently to make the bridge as safe as possible. Safety is our top priority.” The bridge, which serves about 4,000 vehicles a day, links New York and Vermont. It was closed Oct. 16 when an inspection found as much as 30 percent of its concrete piers had disintegrated. “We were afraid the bridge could fail abruptly,” Hoffman said. The bridge is jointly owned by the states of New York and Vermont,
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See BRIDGE CLOSED, page 8
denpubs@denpubs.com
VT 17
VT 22A
MIddlebury
VT 125
Crown Point NY 9N/ NY 22 VT 74
NY 74
Larrabee’s Point
Ticonderoga
VT 22A VT 73
VT 73
NY 8
Hague
Detour Route from New York Take NYS Rt. 9N/22 South to Ticonderoga, 11 miles VT 22A
Take NYS Rt. 22/74 South, 1.6 miles Stay on NYS Rt. 22 to Whitehall, 25 miles Turn left onto US Rt. 4 and head east into Vermont, 8 miles
NY 22 US 4
Whitehall
Officials call for immediate reaction to bridge closure By Jonathan Alexander
Vergennes
= Bridge Closure
See SMASH, page 2
Take VT Rt. 22A North to VT Rt. 17, 35 miles
Lake Champlain Bridge Closure Official Detour Route
CROWN POINT — State legislators and town supervisors are calling for the construction of a temporary pontoon bridge across Lake Champlain and a Gubernatorial emergency declaration following the Oct. 16 closure of the Crown Point Bridge. But state officials remain non-committal. The Crown Point Bridge – which allows 4,000 cars a day to travel between New York and Vermont – was closed last Friday after state Department of Transportation officials discovered inclined cracks in the supporting piers. Town supervisors and state legislators have labeled the bridge closure an emergency that threatens the local economy. Officials say hundreds face job loss if a solution is not found. For state Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, only one course of action will salvage the economies of the surrounding communities, but the state may have other ideas in mind. “I can tell you what we think the solution is,” Sayward said. “That’s a temporary bridge.” Following a closed-door meeting with officials from numerous state agencies Monday, state Senator Betty Little said that she is currently imploring Governor David Paterson to declare Essex County in a state of emergency.
See REACTION, page 8