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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,ÊD ecemberÊ10,Ê2016

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In SPORTS | pg. 20-26

Winter sports Preview Lady Warriors return veteran core

www.SunCommunityNews.com

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In opinion | pg. 6

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Budget season

In News | pg. 9

Beware of scams

Officials should be commended

State Police warn of holiday fraud

ELCS, WCS proceed with merger study Study could pave the way to potential merger of neighboring districts By Kim Dedam

kim@suncommunitynews.com

ELIZABETHTOWN — Two neighboring Adirondack schools agreed in a joint school board session to pursue a Reorganization by Centralization study, a formal process that could merge Westport and Elizabethtown-Lewis central schools several years from now.

Project

The combined board took the next, but not insignificant, official step after considering preliminary merger data released by consultants last summer. The schools already share Superintendent Scott Osborne and business office operations. But community voices weighed in after an 80-minute overview and discussion lead by Osborne, who presented the PreMerger Feasibility Study Final Report released last June. Meant only as a nuts-and-bolts overview, pre-merger data also looked at varied approaches to a merger with Willsboro Central. But numbers indicate tax base equalization with Willsboro

COMMUNITY COMMENTS The joint ELCS/Westport School Board meeting held >> See MERGER | pg. 15

Business leaders say they want more access to Boreas

WeeÊ CareÊ

Local businesses are overwhelmingly endorsing a proposal that allows maximum recreational usage at the new state-owned tracts in Newcomb and North Hudson

Champlain National Bank expands holiday giving program serving Westport families

WESTPORT — On the heels of a weekend packed with traditional holiday events, a local bank is spearheading an effort to collect gifts for Westport Central students in need. Champlain National Bank is collecting Pete gifts through Project Wee Care. DeMola Editor The goal is provide toys and gifts for children who another social service agency might not reach, and who might not have had much under a Christmas tree. The program last year served six families, or about 14 children. The goal this year is to reach 20 families for a total of 29 kids. To identify families, CNB has asked Westport Central to provide a list of gift requests and other needs. The program is purely anonymous. Requests have been written on mittens, which adorn a tree at the Westport bank branch. Employees and patrons take the mittens, buy the items and return them to the bank. Bank staffers will wrap the gifts and give them to the school for distribution.

would exceed 100 percent of funds available to use in recalibrating a common school tax rate. Should further options with Willsboro be explored, the study says, “discussion will quickly turn to the debt service currently faced by Willsboro as well as the fact that the distance from (ELCS) to Willsboro is double the distance from (ELCS) to Westport.”

By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

Internal fundraising efforts are also underway. And last Friday, employees at all nine branches participated in an “Ugly Sweater Day” to raise money to buy the gifts listed on any tags that aren’t taken. “It’s our little Christmas back to the community from Champlain National Bank,” said Medara Sherman, the Westport and Elizabethtown branch manager who conceptualized

NEWCOMB — As the state nears the end of the public comment process for Boreas Ponds, business owners in the towns where the land is located say they are overwhelmingly in favor of the highest amount of recreational usage allowable on the state-owned tracts. That would be Alternative 1, the Adirondack Park Agencyprovided proposal that offers an even split between Wilderness and Wild Forest. Doreen Ossenkop, co-owner of the Adirondack Buffalo Company, said restricted use will reduce the number of visitors to the area. “Fewer and fewer would use it, and fewer would come to visit,” Ossenkop said. The farm is open in the winter by appointment-only, and struggles to attract a steady flow of visitors even in the summer, when the lack of signage on the Adirondack Northway

>> See WEE CARE | pg. 7

>> See BOREAS | pg. 14

Champlain National Bank is again spearheading holiday charitable efforts this year, including Project Wee Care, which serves Westport Central. Pictured above: Amanda Grant, Melissa LaMotte, Kendra Goff and Rosann Fields share a moment at the Elizabethtown branch on Ugly Sweater Day on Friday, Dec. 2, a day dedicated to internal fundraising.


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