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May 29, 2010
Golf benefit
MLH chillin’
Festival
The Padula Memorial Golf Classic will assist a challenged golfer from Putnam.
Moses-Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga is saving energy while staying cool.
The annual Crown Point Strawberry Festival will be held June 27.
See Page 5
See Page 2
Panthers rule; win MVAC titles Crown Point won the both the softball and baseball championships in Mountain and Valley Athletic Conference action last week. The Panthers beat Indian Lake-Long Lake for the softball crown and upset previously undefeated Schroon lake for the baseball title. See sports.
Port Henry offers tax payment plan Residents can pay 2010 Port Henry village property taxes in two installments, but must notify the village of their intention before July 2. The base June amount is divided into two equal payments, and interest is added for the applicable month in which the payment is made. Any unpaid balance after Nov. 1, 2010, will be returned to Essex County as an unpaid tax and re-levied onto the 2011 town and county property tax bill. For further information, contact the village office at 546-9933.
THIS WEEK Ticonderoga...................2-11 Opinions ......................6-7 Crown Point ..................14 Moriah ..........................15 Schroon Lake ................17 Obituaries ....................20 Calendar ......................21 Sports ..........................22-23 Classifieds....................24-29 Auto Zone ....................28-30
Ti vet reflects on WWII
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Honoring Our Veterans MEMORIAL DAY - MAY 31, 2010
Tony DiFebbo remembers his friends, not battles By Fred Herbst fred@denpubs.com TICONDEROGA — Tony DiFebbo was watching a war movie recently. “I saw Saving Private Ryan,” he said. “I liked it, it was pretty good. But it’s not the way war really is; movies never are.” DiFebbo would know. The Ticonderoga man is a World War II veteran who, like many of his generation — The Greatest Generation — witnessed the horrors of war firstTony DiFebbo hand. “I’m no hero,” in 1945 DiFebbo said. “A lot of guys saw more action than I did. I was just a kid and I wanted to do my part.” DiFebbo, age 84, graduated from Ticonderoga High School and was drafted in 1944. After basic training at Fort Bragg, N.C., he was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division. He shipped out to Europe aboard the Queen Elizabeth in a snow storm. He eventually found his way to Belgium — and the famed Battle of the Bulge. Out of site of the enemy, artillery units send forward observers to the front line to direct their fire. It’s considered one of the most hazardous jobs in war. DiFebbo’s job was to string communications wire from forward observers back to the men firing the guns located a few miles away. “That was the first time I’d ever seen guys all shot up,” DiFebbo recalled. “They were missing arms, legs...it was terrible. It was one of the worst things I ever saw in my life. “And there was snow up to our waist in some places,” he added. “It was so cold and everyone had cold feet. Those Army boots were worthless.” The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last offensive of the war. It began Dec. 16, 1944, and ended Jan. 25, 1945. Fought in bitter cold and snow in the densely-forested Ardennes Mountains region of Belgium, American troops were pummeled by German
See TI VET, page 11
Kaylin Barnaby helps decorate her grandmother’s home in Ticonderoga for Memorial Day with the help of her pet goat, Peanut. Memorial Day observances are planned in Hague today and Crown Point and Fort Ti on Monday. Photo by Nancy Frasier
Small spill leads to big expense By Fred Herbst fred@denpubs.com TICONDEROGA — A small spill has become a big expense for Ticonderoga taxpayers. About two gallons of gasoline was spilled on the floor of the Ticonderoga highway garage recently, Supervisor Deb Malaney reported. The spill was immediately cleaned up. An unnamed community member learned of the accident and reported it to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Malaney said. That led to a DEC investigation. “The DEC came the next day and found a small stain and learned the spill had been cleaned up properly,” she said. No problem, right? Wrong. While investigating the spill, the DEC officer saw an abandoned drain in the garage floor. Further investigate revealed the drain led to a dry well outside the garage. The drain and dry well were installed when the highway garage was built in 1953, Malaney said, and had not been used since the 1970s. Concerned about possible past contamination, DEC ordered Ticonderoga to have soil sam-
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ples taken from around the highway garage. “We had to hire an environmental service to do core samplings under the garage floor, do geo-probes and do test pits near the holding tank,” Malaney explained. “We’re still awaiting results of the tests, but it doesn’t look good.” The supervisor said 20 tons of earth have been removed from the site to date and transported to a hazardous materials waste site. “We’re looking at a minimum of $100,000 with most of that being the transportation of the soil to a proper tipping site,” Malaney said. That money is not in the highway department — or town — budget. If the test results reveal more contamination, Ti will be responsible for the costly clean up. “That doesn’t include any potential fines that might be imposed (by DEC),” Malaney said. “We could be fined $37,000 a day. That’s scary stuff.” The supervisor said Ticonderoga officials are working closely with the DEC in hopes of avoiding fines. “We’re very anxious to please them and they’ve been supportive,” Malaney said. Malaney said she has also been in contact with
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