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Saturday,ÊM ayÊ6,Ê2017
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | pg. 26-27
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Ti opens track facility
In OPIONON | pg. 6
Unified Basketball
Scores from around the area
brings students from across the aisle together
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In SPECIALS | pg. 14-17
Nurses Week
Thanking those who provide care
Proposed expansion of Schroon Lake Stewart’s rocks neighborhood Upset residents sound off at tumultuous meeting as town board weighs zoning revisions By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
SCHROON LAKE — Wallace and Shelley Thomas thought they found paradise when they purchased a home a stone’s throw from the Schroon Lake Boat Launch. Shelley enjoyed relaxing in her Adirondack chair, where the breeze from the water would roll up Taylor Street. Sometimes they’d chat with their neighbor, Paul Ceresnak, who lives across the street.
But then came the sudden proposal to raze and rebuild the Stewart’s on Route 9. With the purchase of a single family home behind the current store location, the Saratoga-based chain is hoping to expand the location from 2,500 to 3,675-square-feet. Doing so will push the new building right into the center of their neighborhood. Now instead of bonding over the raspberry bushes that line the tidy street, residents fear the diesel fumes from the pump station, the scent of pizza grease, bright lights and the tumultuous clang of dumpsters being unloaded will haunt their bucolic existence. “You’re going to take my little slice of heaven and put a dumpster 20 feet from my front door,” said Wallace at a town board meeting
on Monday. The standing room-only meeting, a loud and unruly affair that constantly teetered at the edge of derailment for more than 45 minutes, opened up faultlines between the residents who stand to be affected by the development and the town officials in favor of revamping a local mainstay they have argued has long been in need of a facelift. On the docket was a resolution to change the zoning ordinance in the neighborhood to allow retail usage, which is currently prohibited and would have required a simple majority vote by the town board to greenlight. The board ultimately voted to table the decision until receiving advice from their counsel.
At times, residents accused town board members of actively lobbying for the project. “I have rights,” Ceresnak said. “This board is ignoring those rights.” Several town board members defended their advocacy, arguing residents are generally in favor of the expansion based on the general consensus around town. “It appears the majority of the town, from what I gather, are in favor of this change,” said Supervisor Mike Marnell. At the crux of it all was the zoning revision process, which both sides admitted was confusing. Several attendees repeatedly called for a >> See STEWART’S | pg. 13
Benefit will aid young woman Hope Lacey is undergoing chemotherapy and surgery By Lohr McKinstry
lohr@suncommunitynews.com
CROWN POINT – A fundraiser at Crown Point Central School will aid a young woman with osteosarcoma. Twenty-seven-year-old Hope Ann Lacey of Crown Point was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that starts in the bones. The fundraiser is scheduled to be held on Friday, May 5 at 4 p.m. at Crown Point Central School. It includes a spaghetti dinner with salad and rolls, cake auction, bake sale and basket raffle with a drawing at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10 a person; free for under 12. Her friend, Bobbi Shaffer, is helping organize the event. She said Lacey is undergoing regular chemotherapy at University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. “She’ll have surgery in a couple weeks,” Shaffer said. “Then she goes back for more chemo. I am super proud of her. A lot of people, myself included, would have been discouraged. She has a good attitude.” The surgery will replace Lacey’s femur bone. Lacey has always been an upbeat person, ready to help others, Shaffer said. >> See BENEFIT | pg. 10
The Essex County Hazmat Team recently met for training at the Moriah fire house. The hazardous materials response group is standing by the state Department of Environmental Conservation Emergency Spill Response Trailer here, which they toured. The team is part of the Essex County Office of Emergency Services. Photo by Lohr McKinstry