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Saturday,ÊS eptemberÊ12,Ê2015
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | pg. 20-25
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2015 Fall Sports Preview Special
In OPINION | pg. 6
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In ARTS | pg. 9
Tanker storage Dolly’s Word a flawed plan Get Down at Otis
A look at Tri-Lakes teams
The Adirondacks is the wrong place
Hundreds to converge on Elizabethtown
Project addresses problem culverts Innovative new culvert project weds flood resilience to ensuring sustainable fish habitats
By Pete DeMola
deep, anyway, and instinct tells you that you can probably find a better spot elsewhere — perhaps upstream. But it’s an uphill climb. The path is littered NORTH ELBA — Imagine hanging out at with obstacles and debris. When you finally your local swim spot. reach your destination, you’re all banged up. It’s 75 degrees, but the mercury keeps ris- Perhaps you never made it at all and sizzle to ing: 80, 85, 90. death in your watery prison. Before long, you’re cooking and just need Welcome to the life of a brook trout in the to find some shade. The water isn’t even that pete@suncommunitynews.com
Rough Francis
era of climate change. As summer reaches its scorching apex, the Nature Conservancy: Adirondack Chapter is nearing the end of work on an innovative new culvert replacement project. It’s a part of larger initiative in New York’s Champlain Basin to not only improve fish habitat, but also community resilience to flooding and stream connectivity. The effort, a partnership with a plethora of state, local and federal agencies, covers two projects in North Elba and one in Wilmington.
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In Westport
Officials opt for sole justice Barring challenge from the public, town resolution will become law
Punk outfit to bring raw sound, dose of rock history to Otis Mountain Get Down ELIZABETHTOWN — Rough Francis plays loud and dangerous rock and roll, unsafe music that should inspire action and ideas, says the band’s frontman. “Something that keeps you on the edge of your seat,” said Bobby Hackney Jr. Pete The Burlington-based outfit boasts a DeMola Writer variety of influences. Their sound is like a roadmap that traces out American rock history beginning with the Motown scene. They’ve melded those influences with late-1960s proto-punk troublemakers like the Stooges and MC5 alongside elements of Burlington’s hardcore heyday in the late-1980s. The result is jittery and unhinged, but also laced with streaks of soul. “It’s primal rock and roll,” said Hackney, the band’s vocalist. The quintet is slated to perform this Saturday at the Otis Mountain Get Down in Elizabethtown, a festival gig that comes at the end of a flurry of summertime activity for the outfit, including shows up and down the east coast and recording sessions for a new LP.
Last week, work was completed on the culvert spanning Roaring Brook on River Road in North Elba. What was once a claustrophobic culvert containing duel six-foot pipes is now a handsome bridge-type structure that spans 35 feet. It’s a veritable salmon superhighway, explained the Nature Conservancy’s Michelle Brown, allowing fish to navigate their way up the Ausable River with few hurdles. With this project, six additional miles have been opened up.
Burlington-based punk outfit Rough Francis are scheduled to perform at the Otis Mountain Get Down in Elizabethtown on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 p.m. In addition to turbocharged riffs, the quintet brings a slice of rock and roll history. For more info, find them on Facebook or visit otismountain.com.
Photo provided
It’s impossible to discuss the band without mentioning one of rock and roll’s most compelling tales, a family saga that is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring. In the early 1970s, three brothers started a band in Detroit, quickly taking up the brand of turbocharged rock and roll proffered by local Motor City acts — including, you guessed it, the Stooges and MC5. They called themselves Death. Industry heads took notice, but a major label deal disintegrated when the trio refused to change their name to something more marketable. That was the beginning of the end for Death. The Hackney Brothers relocated to Burlington, released a gospel-tinged re >> Story Continued | pg. 7
By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
WESTPORT — Following a summer operating with only one justice, town officials now want to make the reduction permanent. Last month, the town board voted unanimously to slash the position left vacant by Michael “Ike” Tyler’s resignation in June, arguing that one justice can handle the court’s case volume. According to meeting minutes, Justice William LaHendro said he currently puts in 15 hours per week, handing about 90 cases in two months.
Town officials presented the reduction as a cost-savings measure that will save taxpayers between $10,000 and $15,000 each year. Supervisor Dan Connell said the reduction will help the town stay under the state-mandated tax cap. Under the cap, the town can only increase the levy by $6,500 next year. Going above that number means residents will not be eligible for state-issued tax rebate checks. “That number becomes significant if you look at it that way,” said Connell. “It’s extremely difficult to find >> Story Continued | pg. 7