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HOMES EVERY WEEK! Times of Ti
June 1, 2019
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Concern shown for schools
Moriah honors heroes
Residents fear loss of popular programs; board says no decision yet By Tim Rowland
Banners celebrate area veterans
STA FF W RITER
TICONDEROGA | Ticonderoga Central School Board members met with residents last Thursday to quell social media rumors and explain their next moves, after voters rejected a 9.57 percent increase in the tax levy earlier in the week. In public presentations prior to the vote, the board indicated that high-end academics and sports teams would be lost if it failed, and that seven teachers would lose their jobs. On Thursday, administrators said those decisions aren’t carved in stone and that everything will be re-
evaluated once a new budget number — probably one that stays within the tax cap — is firmed up. “What the board is going to vote on (next) is a number, not how we get to that number,” said Superintendent John McDonald. The board has a little bit of wiggle room thanks to a year-end surplus that was higher than expected. But that fund balance does not come close to covering the budget shortfall by itself, and board members fear that using it all will put them behind the eight ball again next year. Meanwhile, the board will have to figure out how to eliminate a $650,000 budget gap that the 9.57 percent increase would have closed. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there,” said Board President Mark Russell. “We’ve got a lot of things to look at. Our goal is a minimal number of cuts and a minimal number of changes.” Parents and students attended the meeting, asking the board not to cut
advanced placement academic courses, or the Ticonderoga sports teams. “I’ve heard about AP classes being cut, and that concerns me,” said one student. Parents said they would volunteer if it would help keep the sports teams functioning, and argued that college-readiness classes are cost effective for families and the community. Students have been able to enter college with a year of credits already under their belts, at a considerable savings to the students and parents. “There’s an immense return on investment in these programs,” one parent said. Residents also worried that severe cuts to the school system would create a downward spiral, scaring young professionals away and leading to more low-income households. That will decrease property values and make the tax bite more severe, said former board member Gary Davis. “The school district is the one thing that will bring people to this town.” he said. » Schools Cont. on pg. 5
Rose and Bill Woods stand in front of a banner honoring her father LeRoy Vanderhoof who served in the Pacific during World War II. Photo by Tim Rowland By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER
PORT HENRY | LeRoy Vanderhoof served in the Navy during World War II, and was a signalman aboard the amphibious LSMR-190 during the battle of Okinawa on May 4, 1945. The landing ship had been pressed into service as part of a floating picket line around the island, running radar to warn the main forces attacking the island of incoming Kamikaze aircraft. It was not a job for which the boat had been designed. » Heroes Cont. on pg. 7
Concerned citizens meet with the Ticonderoga Central School Board to hear what will happen following a defeat of the school budget at the polls. Photo by Tim Rowland
Women and the vote
For Devons’ sake
Hancock House talk, exhibit to focus on the fight for suffrage By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER
TICONDEROGA | Women’s right to vote at a national level is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and next. But the fight for suffrage began 70 years before that, and swept along a fascinatingly complex coalition of interests and issues. » Suffrage Cont. on pg. 7
Oxen Mack and Mick and their teamster interpreter Heather Workman are pleasing crowds and pulling loads at Fort Ticonderoga. Photo by Tim Rowland
Heritage oxen are the new stars at Fort Ticonderoga By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER
TICONDEROGA | In American history the noble draft horse gets all the ink, but it was the ox that did the heavy lifting. A generalization of course, but if a settler or soldier had a heavy load and a long way to go, it was a team of oxen that was called upon. And now, that crucial part of 18th century life is represented for public inspection at Fort Ticonderoga. In May, visitors to the fort helped celebrate the first birthday of Mick and Mack — “They had to share a birthday card,” said historian Stuart Lilie — two young oxen that, like their ancestors so many generations ago, perform
a multiplicity of duties on the shores of Lake Champlain. Ticonderoga President and CEO Beth Hill said the fort tinkered with a herd of heritage cattle, but cows grazing off in the distance was not particularly meaningful or interactive for the fort’s visitors. Two of those cows were pregnant, and the semi-joke was that if the mothers had two boys within days of each other, the fort would make a team of oxen out of them. And that’s what happened. “An opportunity presented itself,” Lilie said. Technically, Mick and Mack are oxen-in-waiting, as the term is generally understood, An ox is a bovine of either sex that’s reached two years of age and is trained as a beast of burden. And the animals are always learning. “Training is everything you do with them,” said Nick Spadone, director of interpretation. “They’re in training when they’re walking to their feed, when they’re eating and just standing.” » Oxen Cont. on pg. 7
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The fight for women’s suffrage was long and involved multiple factions, which will be the subject of a discussion and exhibit at the Hancock House. Photo provided
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