ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
Saturday,ÊD ecemberÊ12,Ê2015
>>
In SPORTS | pg. 20
Sports Preview New season begins AuSable Valley returns an experienced squad
www.SunCommunityNews.com
>>
In OPINION | pg. 6
A rash of violence
Cooler heads need to prevail
>>
In ARTS | pg. 9
‘Dolly’s Word’ on the arts scene
Market Street Brass to perform in Keene Valley
Essex Center cited for violations New protocols in place to safeguard against elopement, wandering residents By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
ELIZABETHTOWN — A local nursing home says they’ve switched administrators and have reviewed all protocols and procedures since they were reprimanded by the state for serious violations that put residents in “immediate jeopardy.” The violations at the Essex Center for Rehabilitation and
DeckÊ the Town
Healthcare, which were noted in August during a site visit, State inspectors returned one month later and concurred. were for having an ineffective resident elopement system, All violations have since been corrected, said McCartin. The housing residents with inaccurate risk assessments and not next round of inspections should be favorable, he said. having a quality assurance committee oversee such a system. Those results are expected imminently. The center was also dinged for failing to provide proper Inspections at the facility have revealed a mixed bag. safeguards against wandering. Citations from November 2011 through Oct. 31 of this year Thomas McCartin, a spokesman for the facility, stressed have determined life safety code citations at Essex Center are that no elopement took place. below the state average. “It was the state’s judgement however, that there was a poStandard health citations are slightly above average, while tential risk,” said McCartin. “That risk was addressed and mit>> Story Continued | pg. 17 igated immediately.”
Taxes up 6 percent in Essex County Lawmakers vote to give themselves pay raises while stripping contract agency funding
For one local firefighter, carrying on the town’s Christmas light legacy is a solemn calling
AU SABLE FORKS — He remembers it like it was yesterday: The 1954 fire truck made its way down Main Street. Upon rolling to a stop, four guys from the Au Sable Forks Fire Department leapt Pete off, positioned a wooden ladder under the DeMola Editor utility poles and ascended skywards. The crew then decked the town in boughs of garland and lights, connecting the strands from the poles to the elm trees across the street. Down below, men supported the lights with poles until they were firmly attached. The result was a downtown cast in a warm glow. That was in 1968. Nearly 50 years later, while the elms are long gone, Kevin Zaumetzer is still overjoyed by the lights and imbued with a strong dose of Christmas spirit. The firefighter is the inheritor of a tradition that started back in 1932 when a group of merchants on the Jay side of
By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
Since 1982, the Au Sable Forks Fire Department’s Kevin Zaumetzer has spearheaded the installation of Christmas lights in downtown Au Sable Forks. For Zaumetzer, the undertaking is the continuance of a long holiday tradition in the community. This year’s installment boasts 15 strands of overhead lights paired with numerous pole decorations. “Christmas is everything,” he said. Photo by Pete DeMola
the Ausable River worked with the Associated Gas & Electric Company to hang 15 strands of lights on Main Street, from the bridge up to Holy Name Church. “They used to call them pig tails,” said Zaumetzer of the large 25 watt bulbs bunched together on custom-made strands. After a long apprenticeship, the torch was passed to Zaumetzer in 1982. For the Jay resident, decorating is a year-long endeavor. Preparation starts in January, with plans coalescing around a >> Story Continued | pg. 16
ELIZABETHTOWN — The Essex County Board of Supervisors passed their 2016 budget on Tuesday. The $96.5 million spending plan comes with a 6.06 percent increase in the tax levy. While the broad contours of the budget had already been hammered out, lawmakers spent the morning examining requested allocations from contract agencies. To shave one cent from the tax rate, County Manager Dan Palmer said lawmakers needed to snip $67,000 from the 19 groups who applied for partial funding. In the end, lawmakers saved $30,000, or 0.03 percent of the total budget, by keeping spending for most of the groups at current spending levels. The exceptions were Lakes to Locks, Literacy Volunteers and funds for a veteran’s memorial trip, which were saved by lawmakers offering last-minute rallies. The Essex County Historical Society and the Adirondack Regional Airport were among the biggest losers, whose sizable requests for increases were denied. Supervisor Roby Politi (I-North Elba) lamented the process, which required separate resolutions for each cut. >> Story Continued | pg. 17