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Algae closes Port Henry beaches
Saturday, August 1, 2015
This Week
TEA PARTY
TICONDEROGA
By Keith Lobdell keith@denpubs.com
PORT HENRY — It is the hottest week of the year, and campers at a pair of campgrounds here are looking for a new place to cool down. Both the Port Henry (operated by the Village of Port Henry) and Bulwagga Bay (Town of Moriah) beaches were closed as of Tuesday, July 28, citing an infestation of blue-green algae as the cause. The Port Henry beach was closed July 27, while Bulwagga Bay was closed the following day. According to offi cials, lifeguards on duty at the beaches discovered the algae during routine testing. Lifeguards and possibly New York State Department of Health offi cials will continue to test the waters. Once a test comes back clean, there is a 24-hour moratorium until swimming can resume. Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava said while swimming is out of the question, the town can still continue its paddle board and kayak rentals. “Our lifeguards will still be on staff running the program and making sure no one goes swimming,” Scozzafava said. “We have been going through this every summer.” Scozzafava said the closure usually lasts between three and six days, depending on conditions. “We could have a strong north wind come in and blow it all out tomorrow,” he said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
PAGE 3 SCHROON
Boat washing efforts praised on lake PAGE 11 REGIONAL
Betty Organek (left) is pictured receiving the “best outfit” prize from Laura Dewey (right) during the Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society Tea-luncheon on July 22.
Index TICONDEROGA
Big Jim to perform at Ti’coustics
2-10
EDITORIAL
6
LETTERS
7
Scozzafava sounds off on tourism challenge PAGE 13
OSHA levels harsh penalties against IP
OUTDOORS
10
SCHROON
11
Finds Borowski death in Jan. ‘could have been prevented’
MORIAH
13
By Christopher Pratt
CALENDAR
17
CROWN POINT
18
BRIEFS
21
CLASSIFIEDS
22
christopher@denpubs.com
TICONDEROGA — International Paper Co. faces $211,000 in fi nes for numerous workplace safety violations related to the death of a mechanic at a Ticonderoga mill in January, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says, “could have been
prevented.” In a statement last week, the federal agency said it cited the company with “two willful, one repeated and three serious” safety violations. The death of Jorg Borowski, a 57-year-old general mechanic, “could have been prevented if his employer provided proper safeguards and training,” according to an OSHA statement. Borowski, of Schroon Lake, was removing burned fi lter bags of combustible fl y ash dust from a dust collector in the facility’s power plant and replacing them
with new bags when the fl y ash ignited, according to the statement. He sustained severe burns as a result and subsequently died. Federal offi cials, who launched the investigation Jan. 24, found the paper company “failed to supply the employee with necessary fi re-resistant clothing and did not train him and employees on the specifi c physical hazards of combustible fl y ash,” the statement said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8