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Saturday,ÊJ anuaryÊ23,Ê2016
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | pg. 16-17
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All State football teams announced
In OPINION | pg. 6
Keeping local business afloat
Plus high school hoop action and more
During the tough winter months
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In ARTS | pg. 9
From sunrise to sundown It’s all happening this weekend
Snowmobile trail coming through Bicentennial Park Limited snowmobile access through Bicentennial Park By Mikaela Foster
mikaela@suncommunitynews.com
TICONDEROGA — Thanks to an agreement between the town and local snowmobile groups, riders will now be able to continue their travels via access to the Bicentennial Park. That access will be limited, as a trail will only be open when there is a minimum snow accumulation of four inches, as required by the NYS Snowmobile Association. Snowmobile trail markers will be set up when the trail is open and where it is open for use. Jon Cooke, Adirondack Trail Riders Club
president, said the season actually hasn’t quite begun yet. “The snow isn’t deep enough so we haven’t opened the trails yet,” he said. But they’re ready to go and hoping for snow. During a meeting about the snowmobile trail, Gary Olcott of the Adirondack Trail Riders said the project that replaced Tower Avenue’s bridge last year blocked off snowmobile access to downtown businesses. Rerouting through the park will keep snowmobilers from riding past any children at the skating rink. Cooke is excited about the new trail access. “It will get snowmobiles into town to visit the local business.” A press release stated, “Riding snowmo >> Story Continued | pg. 12
Putnam CS audit reveals overreliance on fund balance Overestimates expenditures two years in a row
By Mikaela Foster
mikaela@suncommunitynews.com
PUTNAM — The state has slapped Putnam Central for overestimating their surpluses, which has led to excess surplus. According to a state audit, Putnam Central overestimated expenditures by $682,398 over two fiscal years. The district budgeted $2.3 million for the 2013-14 school year, but actual expenditures came in at $1.8 million. The following year, about $2 million was allocated out of a $2.3 million forecast. By the end of the 2014-15 school year, fund balance stood at $1,443,571, or 59 percent of the annual budget. The state requires the number be held at 4 percent. The report also chided the district for increasing tuition from grades 7 to 12 students, who attend Ticonderoga Central, by 11 percent in the 2015-16 budget despite flat enrollment.
In addition, the state found 15 additional accounts were overestimated, including hospital and medical insurance funds. Superintendent Matthew Boucher said the board disagreed with some of the audit’s findings. “The auditor’s statements concerning tuition costs show no understanding of the actual conditions the district encounters,” wrote Boucher in an attached response to the state’s findings. Boucher acknowledged fund balance is at a higher level than the state comptroller recommends, but they disagree with how the fund balance was built. But, he noted, with a tax levy of $5 per $1,000 in assessed value, the district has one of the lowest tax rates in the state. The district, wrote the superintendent, has formulated a plan to reduce the unrestricted fund balance to be “at a level more commensurate with the recommendations of the Office of the State Comptroller given the items previously discussed.” Putnam Central School District hosts 20 students from kindergarten to sixth grade. For the full report, visit osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2016/putnam.pdf.
Mineville-Witherbee FD gains traction with UTV By Mikaela Foster
mikaela@suncommunitynews.com
MINEVILLE —Introducing: the Mule. The Mineville-Witherbee Fire Department’s newest rescue vehicle. Currently outfitted with emergency lights, stokes basket and snow tracks, the 2015 Mule, six-person Utility Terrain Vehicle, is ready to come to the rescue in rough winter terrain. During the summer months, the Mule will be switched to tires in preparation for any possible wild fires or major storms that cause roads to become impassable. Chief Adam Wright said the biggest challenge for fire service today is not having the correct resource for certain calls. “When someone calls 911,” he said, “you can’t just not go because the roads are bad or the snow is too deep.” People are counting on assistance. Wright said having the Mule will change how certain types of calls are handled and will assist fire fighters in making their way through difficult terrain. The Mule would have been a great asset during the forest fire at Crow Foot Pond last September, Wright said. The firemen were walking more than a mile in 90-degree weather, to and from the scene, because a fire truck could not get through >> Story Continued | pg. 12