ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NEW MARKET PRESS/ DENTON PUBLICATIONS
Save a Stamp
Now You Can!
P.O. BOX 338 ELIZABETHTOWN, NY 12932 POSTAL PATRON
Simply go to www.trilakestoday.com Enter the letters to the editor section. Post your own letter, reply to others. It’s simple, easy, and free!
September 26, 2009
A Denton Publication
Tea Party
In tune for 50
Business
Citizens gather to have their voices heard.
Don Rand celebrates 50 years of music lessons at North Country School.
Lincoln Logs is moving foward under new ownership.
Page 2
Police arrest man at gunpoint By Chris Morris denpubs@denpubs.com
Page 6
Page 12
McHugh appointment now official Opens seat for three-way race By Matt Bosley
SARANAC LAKE — A local man was arrested last week following reports that he was attempting to flee town with a 16year-old girl. According to Saranac Lake Village Police Sergeant James P. Law, officers were investigating a report of a missing juvenile from the town of Brighton. The teenage girl was last seen in the village of Saranac Lake. Police interviewed several individuals who had past associations with the girl. Those interviews led the police to believe the girl may try to leave the area with 21-year-old Chadd R. Snide of Saranac Lake. Ray Brook-based State Police began the investigation into reports of a runaway on Monday, September 14 because the girl is from Brighton, outside the village. Officers responded to the bus terminal at the Hotel Saranac on the morning of Wednesday, September 16 and found both the suspect and the missing teen. A foot pursuit ensued when police arrived at the scene. The chase led officers to the parking lot of St. Bernard’s Church, where police were able to corner Snide and the juvenile. Sergeant Law said that several students and parents were outside of the church and St. Bernard’s Catholic School at the time. Reports also indicate that Snide had a sweatshirt wrapped around one hand, leading officers to suspect he possessed a weapon. Snide has a past criminal record. “He made every effort to prevent the juvenile and himself from being caught,” Law said. “He knew the juvenile was wanted by police.” Officers drew their guns because of the uncertainty of the situation. Snide was finally arrested at gunpoint at 8:59 a.m. – the item underneath the sweatshirt was a hand purse. Following the arrest, Snide was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration. He was arraigned in Saranac Lake Village Court and remanded to the Franklin County Jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail. Snide will return to village court at a later date to answer to the charges against him. The juvenile has been reunited with her family. Law said the case is ongoing and more arrests are pending depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Free
matt@denpubs.com WASHINGTON — Long-time North Country Congressman John McHugh is now officially the United States’ Secretary of the Army. McHugh was announced as President Barack Obama’s choice for the cabinet position June 2. Since then, potential candidates have been lining up to make a run for his vacant Congressional seat, but have been waiting for the Senate to formally confirm him. Since 1993, McHugh has represented New York’s 23rd Congressional District, which spans 11 counties across the northern tier of the state, including Franklin, Clinton, and most of Essex County. Elected to his ninth term in 2008, he was ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. As Army Secretary, McHugh will be responsible for the management of a more than $200 billion budget, more than a million troops, and 14 million acres of land. McHugh’s appointment had been approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee in early August, and was subsequently introduced for Senate approval, but the decision was blocked by
Senators Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Sam Brownback, R-Kansas. The two reportedly put a hold on the confirmation of McHugh and several other presidential appointments in order to protest a supposed White House plan to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to Fort Leavenworth, a military base in Kansas. Roberts and Brownback agreed to let the confirmation go forward, however, after discussions with senior White House officials. “In a good faith effort to continue moving this dialogue forward, we are releasing our holds on all Department of Defense and Department of Justice nominees,” the Kansas Senators wrote in a joint press release. “We are confident that because of this good faith dialogue, detainees will not be transferred to Fort Leavenworth.” His appointment was unanimously confirmed in the Senate the evening of Sept. 16. On Sept. 21, he resigned from Congress and was officially sworn in as Army Secretary after final approval from the President. With the seat now officially vacant, Gov.David Paterson is soon expected to announce a special election to fill out the remainder of McHugh’s term. Many anticipate the date will be set as Nov. 3, the same as the general election for local offices. Major candidates have already been nominat-
John McHugh ed for the empty seat. Republicans chose Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur; The Conservative Party selected Douglas Hoffman, a Lake Placid accountant; and Democrats tapped Plattsburgh lawyer Bill Owens.
Lake Placid hosts NYS Maple Tour By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com LAKE PLACID — More than 150 of the Empire State's top maple producers will gather in Lake Placid Sept. 27-29 for the New York State Maple Tour, hosted by the Adirondack Maple Producers Association. “The group meets in different places every year and it's a great chance for producers to tour different sugarhouses and learn from each other and research different technologies,” explained Mike Farrell, director of Cornell University's Uihlein Forest in Lake Placid. Participants in the tour will visit several Lake Placid area sugarhouses including North Country School, which operates a wood-fired evaporator that boils 400 buckets of sap collected by students, and the Uihlein Maple Forest, the 200-plus acre research center and extension field of Cornell University. They will also visit Heaven Hill Farm, Henry Uihlein's old sugarhouse which has been renovated as a site for teaching local students about syrup production. The event comes on the heels of this spring's maple season, which was considered one of the best in recent memory. An estimated 362,000 gallons of syrup was produced in the state, an increase of 10-percent from last year's production. The Cornell Sugar House alone collected more than 70,000 gallons of sap and produced a record 1,500 gallons of maple syrup. “It just so happened that the weather was perfect for maple sugaring,” said Farrell. “You’re at the whim of mother nature; some years
Maple products, like those seen here from South Meadow Farm in Saranac Lake, will be the topic of discussion at the New York State Maple Tour held Sept. 27-29 in Lake Placid. The event allows maple producers to share ideas and learn more about producing and marketing syrup and other maple treats. it’s good and some it’s not so good.” While the tour is aimed less at the average sight-seer and more towards maple producers, Farrell said there are hundreds in the region, whether they operate largescale sugarbushes or simply collect sap as a hobby.
“While to some degree this is still a ‘mom and pop' type industry with many people producing as a hobby, the industry is changing and becoming more technology based,” said Farrell. “Producers are learning to be more environmentally friendly, but it's still labor and en-
ergy intensive for the smaller operations.” According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, there are more than 1,500 maple producers in New York State, who generate more than $8million in sales, making New York
See MAPLE TOUR, page 6