Vn 06 14 2014

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Editorial» The VA: Is technology the answer? Or is it money?

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Saturday, June 14, 2014

Bed tax renewed

FOUND HIM!

This Week COUNTY

Towns: ‘We want our fair share’ By Pete DeMola pete@denpubs.com

Sheriff Cutting announces re-election bid PAGE 3 KEENE VALLEY

Seventh annual kite fest on tap this weekend

Birdwatchers from across the United States studied the elusive golden-winged warbler as part of the 12th Annual Adirondack Birding Celebration June 6 at an Essex thicket. The golden-winged warbler is a “species of special concern,” said trip leader Brian McAllister. Populations have declined precipitously during the past 45 years due to a loss of breeding habitat and the expansion of the blue-winged warbler into the former’s range. Photo by Pete DeMola

County hands Frontier Town to North Hudson By Pete DeMola

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‘JUST A LITTLE PIECE’

pete@denpubs.com AMERICAN CROSSROADS

Money pouring into the race for the 21st PAGE 9

ELIZABETHTOWN Ñ The Board of Supervisors filed into their chambers at the Government Center on Tuesday, June 3 after leaving an 87-year-old man to wait on a hard wooden bench for nearly an hour before telling him that they were officially rejecting his winning bid for the former Frontier Town property in North Hudson. The four remaining parcels, which George Moore offered $49,500 for at a competitive auction that was advertised for months, would have completed his empire. After the announcement, the man’s lawyer ushered him outside. George Moore sighed: “Are we dead?” he asked his lawyer, Andrew Russell. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County lawmakers voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 3 to ensure the sweet sounds of the county’s summertime lifeline — the cha-ching of the cash register — will resonate for at least another three years. The county’s board of supervisors is required to approve the renewal of the three percent occupancy tax on lodgings that has brought in more than $20 million since its initial imposition in 2000. Ninety-five percent of that number is turned over to the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), the agency tasked with marketing outreach, to promote tourist attractions within the county. The remaining five percent is used by the county for operating costs. Despite passing unanimously, several lawmakers and local officials revisited a common refrain: We want more.

The Essex County Board of Supervisors voted June 3 to accept a lower bid from the town of North Hudson for the former Frontier Town property off Northway Exit 29. Photo by Keith Lobdell

Moriah Chamber of Commerce President Tim Bryant said his organization does a lot to promote their lakeside town with little resources. The chamber’s operating budget is $12,000 per year. Half of that, he told lawmakers at the meeting, goes to fundraising. The other half goes toward operating costs. The prolonged uncertainty makes it difficult for the chamber to plan accordingly, he said, a situation that is not unique when it comes to other towns in the county. “It’s hard to have a threeyear plan when you don’t know how much funds you’re CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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