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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,ÊA ugustÊ6,Ê 2016

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In ARTS | pg. 9

‘The Night We Met’

Independent film to debut in Schroon

www.SunCommunityNews.com

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In OPINION | pg. 6

It’s time for the fair!

Don’t miss the Essex County Fair

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In FEATURES | pg. 4

Finding a seat for Bruce Campaign on at E-town golf course

Local lawmakers, residents eager for solution to broadband woes State: Expect movement on the New NY Broadband Program within weeks By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

CHESTERFIELD — A narrow road runs parallel to the Adirondack Northway near Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, the severe-looking peak located just south of Chesterfield. Dotted with pockets of homes and a summer camp, the road gives way to a series of arteries that snake between towering pines before eventually leading to Auger Lake. The site, about 22 miles south of Plattsburgh, is remarkable

Flood

in both its beauty and frustration. For the past five years, Robin Gucker has been fighting an uphill battle: securing a steady internet connection. She estimates the cluster of parcels has “poor or no service 90 percent of the time” through the provider, Frontier Communications, who offers DSL service through a phone line. This lack of reliable service, said Nancy Gucker Birdsall, director of the nearby North Country Camps, has caused significant headaches, affecting everything from communicating with parents to the submission of financial invoices. “There are simply days when we can’t get work done,” Birdsall said. Technicians have become a steady presence.

mitigation Culvert replacement projects underway in Wilmington and Jay

JAY — Flood mitigation projects underway here and in Wilmington are meant to protect important public roads and wildlife during major storm events. They are this year’s pieces of an ongoing and important collaboration between state, local and non-government organizations. The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Kim Wildlife Service, the state’s Department of Dedam State, the Ausable River Association, EsWriter sex County and the town highway departments are installing specially designed culverts at river crossings on both Jay Mountain and the Hasleton roads. In Keene Valley, Conservancy spokeswoman Connie Prickett said what is really powerful about these projects is the common willingness to give new engineering a try. “This is all new, we are co-creating a climate resilience strategy that has benefits for communities and it has benefits for wildlife,” Prickett said on Friday. OTIS BROOK The 17-foot wide aluminum arch-culvert going in on Jay Mountain Rd. was built to fit the Otis Brook.

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A 17-foot wide arch culvert is being installed to allow Otis Brook, a tributary of the Ausable River’s East Branch, smooth passage under Jay Mountain Road. The aluminum structure was designed and sized specifically for this site, according to the Ausable River Association. Photo provided

“The new culvert will allow Otis Brook, its population of native brook trout, and other wildlife to move unimpeded under the road. Work began on July 13, and is expected to continue through early August,” according to a statement from Kelley Tucker, executive director of the Ausable River Association, who is overseeing the project. “Culverts that don’t allow fish passage can also pose serious risks to road infrastructure and public safety. Fixing these problems helps all concerned – reducing flooding, road and culvert maintenance, and property damage after floods. It also provides safe passage for trout, frogs, salamanders, and many small to mid-size mammals.” In the process, Tucker says, town road crews gain experience installing climate-ready, fish-friendly culverts. “The upfront investments of time and costs will save money in the long term as the culverts should last 60-70 years.” >> See CULVERT | pg. 14

But visit after visit, they admit little can be done. The line, according to Gucker, is “saturated” due to the number of homes and businesses connected to stressed lines. And perhaps most maddeningly, Gucker and her husband, who runs an excavating business, are still paying full price. “They are knowingly having us a pay for a service they know is inadequate, or is actually no service at all,” Gucker said. Birdsall, too, is exasperated at the red tape that accompanies each phone call and site visit. “Tech support is incompetent, but our local technicians are rock stars,” she said. Welcome to the North Country. >> See BROADBAND | pg. 20

Little Whiteface radio hut needs repair, say county officials County supers sign off on new stain job for recently-completed radio hut By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

WILMINGTON — A delegation of county lawmakers visited the hut housing the county’s radio equipment on Little Whiteface last fall. Despite the $800,000 price tag on the structure, problems keep surfacing: Before, it was a leaking roof that threatened the expensive equipment contained within. Now it’s a shoddy stain job and siding that had blown off. Randy Preston (I-Wilmington) asked the Essex County Board of Supervisors on Monday to approve a motion to go out to bid to hire someone to stain the building, which he said >> RADIO HUT | pg. 14


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