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ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron

Saturday,ÊO ctoberÊ15,Ê2016

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www.SunCommunityNews.com

In SPORTS | pg. 22-24

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In OPINION | pg. 6

Go newspapers!

Welcome home

Biggest political stories broken in print

Ticonderoga opens new field with wins

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In CROWN POINT | pg. 18

Crash victim recovering

Hunsdon greeted by many at AppleFolkFest

Public input wanted for proposed regional trail network Adirondack Community-based Trails and Lodging System aims to broaden hiking experience, revitalize communities By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

TICONDEROGA — Are you into nature but are clueless on how to pitch a tent or build a campfire? Do you have inexperienced guests in town? Getting older? Or are you still hardcore, but want a few luxuries waiting for you at the end of your journey? An ambitious new project aims to broaden the hiking experience for everyone, and give local towns an economic jump start in the process.

Ô IÊ justÊ wantÊ toÊ entertainÕ

The Adirondack Community-based Trails and Lodging System (ACTLS) project seeks to develop a series of trail networks across the region. Key locations will include lodging facilities at the end of a day-long trek, each containing varying amenities. Hatched by a pair of local educators with years of wilderness experience, the project is now only in its conceptual stages, and was formally rolled out earlier this year at the Adirondack Research Consortium’s annual conference in Lake Placid. After experiencing a hut-to-hut system in New Zealand, Joe Dadey, a former Paul Smith’s College professor, returned statewide and mulled over his experience: “What would that like look like in the Adirondacks?” The Methow Valley Recreational Trail Sys-

tem in Washington, a network of 120 miles of cross-country ski trails surrounded by national wilderness, provided additional inspiration, Dadey said. That network, according to their website, generated $4.5 million in spending directly, another $4.1 million indirectly, and an additional $2.7 million annually through related industry earnings in the region. Over 200 seasonal full- and part-time jobs can be also directly attributed to the network. A similar system in the Adirondack Park would promote the outdoors and wellness while also aiding in economic development, Dadey said. The network could also provide opportunities for people who don’t ordinarily experience the backcountry. Dadey and his partner, Jack Drury, will host a series of nine community workshops across the Adirondacks this fall to gather

public input. The first session was held in Star Lake on Tuesday. Subsequent sessions are scheduled for Old Forge, Saranac, Lake Placid, Lake George, Elizabethtown, Ticonderoga and Tupper Lake, with the final session slated for Paul Smith’s on Nov. 15. The project is in its embryonic stages, and possible trail networks exist only within a conceptual framework. But Dadey and Drury hope to leverage public knowledge with these sessions, gleaning input on existing trails and prospective new ones and their connections, as well as potential lodging facilities. Routes floated earlier this spring include a North Creek to Indian Lake circuit that may incorporate rafting. >> See TRAILS | pg. 14

“It’s evil,” local clown says of creepy clown sighting epidemic By Lohr McKinstry

lohr@suncommunitynews.com

MORIAH – There are good clowns and now there are bad clowns. A national phenomenon of sinister-looking clowns popping up briefly to frighten children is worrisome to Cathy Sprague, who’s appeared as Penelope the Clown for 38 years. The Moriah resident is speaking out to alert people that the bad clowns are not representative of the clown >> See CLOWNS | pg. 13

Seniors on the Ticonderoga girl’s varsity soccer team cut the ribbon for the opening of the rebuilt Sentinel Field Oct. 5. The Lady Sentinels defeated Chazy, 5-4, in their home opener, while the Sentinel football team scored a 28-14 win two nights later. For more, see page 22. Photo by Mark Russell


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