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News

Filtering by Category: Featured

Town proclaims every May 10 as Jamie Rose Martin Domestic Violence Awareness Day

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The Tupper Lake Town Board adopted a resolution at Thursday night's meeting establishing May 10, 2023 and every May 10th thereafter in Tupper Lake as “Jamie Rose Martin Domestic Violence Awareness Day.”

The Martin family, through spokeswoman Tracy Sparks, had requested the measure at last month's town board meeting, as part of the campaign by the family members and friends of Jamie to promote domestic violence awareness.

Family members were back at Thursday's meeting for the formal action by the town board.

Deputy Supervisor Mary Fontana read the resolution that she said was beautifully drafted by Councilman Rick Donah in recent weeks. Mr. Donah was traveling and not able to attend the meeting that evening.

“Whereas the Town of Tupper Lake recognizes the tragedy of May 10, 2017, when the life of Jamie Rose Martin was taken by domestic violence. This somber day will be recognized in our community to advance awareness of domestic violence and to support its many victims.

“Whereas, New York State has created the only executive level agency dedicated to the issues of gender-based violence.

“Wheres, domestic violence behavior is a pattern of behavior used by an individual to establish and maintain power and control over their intimate partner or former partner. This behavior includes abusive tactics, threats, and actions that may or may not rise to the level of criminal behavior.

“Wheres the community continues to honor Jamie Rose Martin by taking a stand against domestic violence.

“Whereas, the designation of this day helps support the Domestic Violence Awareness Month and each October as a way to united advocates across the nation in their efforts to end domestic violence. February of each year also marks Teen Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an annual observance raising awareness about the specific ways that abuse impacts teen dating relationships.

“Be it resolved that the town clerk will add this to the town's annual calendar and the Town of Tupper Lake will recognize the importance of building awareness and identifying resources in this community to help prevent incidents of domestic violence. Copies of this resolution will be sent to the village, county and appropriate agencies in New York State.”

The town board resolution comes at a time when the community prepares to recognize the horror of domestic violence with Saturday's public awareness event in the municipal park in Jamie's honor.

Deputy Supervisor Mary Fontana presented Thursday evening a framed copy of the town board resolution affirming every May 10 as “Jamie Rose Martin Domestic Violence Awareness Day” in the Town of Tupper Lake to members of Jamie's family. From left were Jamie's father, Dick, her sister Jennifer Tice and her mother, Diane. (Dan McClelland photo)

Perfect weather greets 2022 observance of Memorial Day

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

Bright sunshine and warm temperatures were at center stage Monday morning during the Tupper Lake observance of Memorial Day 2022, as was American Legion Commander Mark Moeller, the master of ceremonies.

The retired businessman and U.S. Army veteran also delivered opening and closing prayers, all the introductions as well as reading the guest speaker's message in her absence.

The scheduled speaker was Valerie Ainsworth, executive director of Homeward Bound Adirondacks, which offers weekend retreats in the Adirondacks for veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, as Mr. Moeller explained, Valerie couldn't attend at the last minute as she needed to be by her husband's side, who is a Vietnam War-era veteran and suffers from some ailments common to his service over there.

“We welcome you all here today,” Mr. Moeller began when the observance began at the Veterans Park on Park Street, where Veterans' Days and Memorial Days are always held here. Monday's event was sponsored by the five local veterans groups here- American Legion Post 220, VFW Post 3120, AmVets Post 710, the Adirondack Leathernecks Marine Corp League and the Tupper Lake Honor Guard

He thanked the more than 100 assembled in front of the park on the closed-off state highway “for gathering with us, for taking the time to honor those family members, neighbors, friends, classmates and fellow citizens who answered our nation's call and who served in harm's way and who are no longer with us.”

“We honor their patriotism and their sacrifice. We honor their selfless service to others. They led the way and defined honor and courage for the generations that followed them!”

He delivered the opening prayer- recognizing the veterans of this great nation.

He introduced the Tupper Lake High School band, under the direction of Laura Davison, who performed the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” in rousing yet moving fashion.

Meanwhile the Tupper Lake Honor Guard members- Commander Mike Larabie, Ray Bigrow, Tracy Luton and Joe LeBlanc- presented arms and stood stiffly at attention.

In the absence of any local boy scouts, three members of the Tupper Lake Girl Scout troop came forward at Mr. Moeller's urging at the last minute to lead the attendees that morning in the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

In the absence of the guest speaker Mr. Moeller read from her notes.

Ms. Ainsworth is a licensed clinical social worker who is the director of the mental health association in Essex County, he told the group. She is also the executive director of Homeward Bound Adirondacks and it was about that facility she was going to address the Tupper Lake audience that day.

Mr. Moeller serves on the board of that organization with her.

He said she also has a private practice where she specializes in treatment of veterans and law enforcement officers with PTSD and complex trauma. Valerie, he continued, also works as a contract mental health provider for the Wounded Warrior project, which is nationwide, and so she travels around the country to its retreats helping veterans.

“She's a very talented and caring professional...a social worker with a very kind spirit.”

Valerie has helped veterans come to the forests of New York and in doing so has helped improve their lives through retreats here in the Adirondacks.”

He said 100 years ago the Adirondacks was a place to take the cure for tuberculosis. “Now we are using these same Adirondack mountains to help folks deal with PTSD!”

“Valerie has taught them they are not alone, they are not forgotten and that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.”

“So how is this tied to Memorial Day? Sadly we are experiencing in this nation an epidemic of veteran suicides. Many of our heroes take their own lives every day!”

He said the weekend retreats that Homeward Bound provides offers “coping mechanisms” for those veterans suffering from PTSD.

Homeward Bound was established in 2010 as a not-for-profit. It provides transportation to veterans in a van it owns, taking them to medical appointments and such. The organization also offers “a crisis outreach” program for veterans.”

He said Valerie had two telephone calls this past weekend from veterans “who were having a hard time as this Memorial Day weekend approached and as they thought about the friends and fellow soldiers they had lost.”

“We also offer emergency grants for soldiers dealing with homelessness, fuel assistance, broken pipes- those kinds of emergencies.”

He said Homeward Bound receives no direct public funding. “All of its funds come from grants written on the organization's behalf and from the generosity of donors like yourselves -And Tupper Lake has been very generous in support of Homeward Bound.”

He said the last two years of COVID have been very challenging for everyone, including soldiers and veterans who may be alone. “Veterans are a tough bunch. They don't want to ask for or accept help. Many joke they are experts in being locked down anyway, so COVID was nothing different for them.”

Mr. Moeller said a primary consequence of COVID, however, is that veterans do feel more isolated, more depressed and more subject to suicidal tendencies.

Homeward Bound hosted several retreats in the area during COVID- but they were smaller than normal attended by fewer veterans than is customary.

“Several of the participants told Valerie that these were life-saving events for them!”

June is PTSD awareness month and one of Homeward Bound's initiatives is “to reduce the stigma associated with asking for help, raise the awareness of the high risk of veteran suicides and educate veterans, their families and their employers about the value of getting help when things become too much,” he told the crowd.

“PTSD is a very natural response to a very unnatural experience...the brain stores that trauma in different parts of it along with other memories. This keeps the dangerous situations just under the surface with ready access. So certain memories are triggered by different sights, smells, sounds and they can flash up at any moment.” The results can become debilitating and extremely difficult to deal with, he stressed.

“Homeward Bound also helps veterans access services in the community. It works closely with VA clinics, local mental health agencies, substance abuse organizations like St. Joe's and the United Way.

“What we have witnessed in the last eight years is that the wilderness of the Adirondacks is a great healer. It's a wonderful equalizer that promotes bonding as veterans come with their families. Vets help vets!”

“Veterans who have suffered from PTSD and have learned coping mechanisms can help teach those mechanisms to other veterans- and particularly younger ones!”

He said it is the peer to peer counseling that proves to be the most effective.

“-And doing this in the wilderness here in the Adirondacks is priceless!”

Mr. Moeller said effective too are the conversations late at night around a camp fire. “That's where real and powerful discussions happen as veterans open up to other veterans about their experiences!”

He said for the last eight years the organization has been renting places around the North Country to conduct these retreats. “But last year we purchased 105 acres near Lake Titus and that will soon become the Sgt. Carlton Clark Veterans Center. It will be named after the Vermont engineer with the 101st Airborne who was killed in Iraq in 2006. A member of his family has been a regular and very generous donor to the work of Homeward Bound Adirondacks.

He said in coming years built there will be four sleeping cabins, a utility building with a bath house and a large lodge on site with commercial kitchen and meeting area where these important conversations will continue.

Mr. Moeller said on June 14 Stars and Stripes will be raised on a 40-foot tall flag pole at the retreat site that will mark the official start of the process. Around the flag pole will be built a memorial garden with four foot high walls, comprised of bricks that will bear the names of veterans and their years of service. The Homeward Bound web site explains the process of making those donations to special veterans.

“-And lastly Homeward Bound wants to thank the town and village of Tupper Lake for their ongoing support and will keep the local communities updated regularly on the progress to come,” he said ending Valerie's address.

The high school band then played its medley of service anthems- an especially enjoyed piece of every Veterans Day and Memorial Day observance here. The band again this year did a great job with it.

Wreaths lined the walkway before the memorial that morning, ready for placement at the war memorial. There were wreathes prepared for the Tupper Lake boy scouts and girl scouts, Woodmen Lodge by John Ellis and Phil Wagschal, the Red Hat Society, Knights of Columbus 2177 by officers Bob Guiney and Kevin Keeler, the Tupper Lake School District, the Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department and its ladies auxiliary, placed by Mike Russell and his daughter Christine, the Village of Tupper Lake, laid by Mayor Paul Maroun, the Town of Tupper Lake, American Legion Post 220 by Bill “Stevie” Stevenson, Tupper Lake Honor Guard by Commander Larabie, Adirondack Leathernecks Marine Corp. League placed by Wesley Hoyt and Terry Tubridy, AmVets Post 710 by Bruce Cook, and VFW Post 3120 placed by Craig Bowman.

The Tupper Lake Honor Guard then fired three volleys of shots. It was followed by a performance of “Taps” by a high school senior and band member, Lowden Pratt.

The high school band members put a nice finish to the observance with a sterling performance of “America, the Beautiful” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

After they finished, MC Moeller asked for a second round of applause for the young musicians and the crowd responded vigorously. “These students and their director come to every ceremony of Veterans Day and Memorial Day and they come in rain or shine. “It could be too hot or too cold or raining cats and dogs but they always come and they always perform their lively patriotic gifts that always add to our ceremonies! We are so grateful they do so!”

Mr. Moeller also acknowledged Brent Cook and Mary Kay Kucipeck who tend to the landscaping of the veterans park and care for its plants. “They keep it clean and neat and in doing so it it helps honor our veterans,” he told the crowd, before offering the closing prayer.

During the ceremony miniature flags were distributed by members of the Woodmen Lodge, and before closing Mr. Moeller asked the many in attendance with the tiny flags in their hands to wave them proudly, which everyone there that morning did.

It marked an appropriate close to an excellent Memorial Day observance here.

Mac's Safe Ride leaders in need of help to resume; pitch to town officials Thursday

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

In the face of a shortage of board members and volunteer drivers and navigators, the leader of Mac's Safe Ride reached out to town officials for help at Thursday's town board meeting.

Vivian Smith, who directs the 13-member board that operates the volunteer get home safe driving program, offered several options of help from the town that evening.

In recent weeks Ms. Smith put out a call for volunteers in a front-page story published in the hometown weekly in recent weeks. As the evening and late night driving program emerges from the pandemic and leaders look to continue to resume the valuable weekend service, a shortage of volunteers is the reality right now.

Ms. Smith began her presentation that evening with a short briefing of the organization's role in the community as it shuttles folks out on the town between licensed drinking establishments and private parties with the intention to keep drivers under the influence off local streets and highways.

Distributing their operational brochure that evening she said Mac's was born on December 31, 2014- mirrored after a similar one that was started earlier by Tupper Lake native Gisele Lavigne Kress in Old Forge.

“I just wanted to remind everyone that Mac's is a great service and it's not for a lack of donations that we are not running right now, it's lack of volunteers!”

“The town...the community has been amazing in its support” of the program since its inception.

Mac's Safe Ride was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic about March, 2020. The leaders resumed it for a short time in late 2021- but the ongoing pandemic stopped it again.

“We were seeing our volunteers dwindle a little bit before COVID. When COVID came, we shut down. We started again the next year but when COVID returned we shut down again. Right now we are shut down!”

Ms. Smith said at this point she and her colleagues who direct Mac's don't have a clear path forward. There was a board of directors meeting last night from which she hoped a new plan will be forged, she told town officials at the monthly meeting last week.

“We'll have to see who shows up and what we can decide,” she admitted of her frustration at this point.

“The mission of Mac's is not to bring drunken people home. Our mission is to keep our roads safe!”

“No one started this to bring drunk people home.” She said she frequently hears that it is just a program to drive drunks home and that irritates her. “Our aim is to be proactive instead of reactive” and keep local streets and highway free of intoxicated drivers so that every motorist can be protected.

“I'm here before you this evening to see if there is something we can work out” to acquire the services of a paid driver. “-Or maybe (funding for) half a paid driver?”

She said that with someone to operate their van on a regular basis around town, there are many services it could provide- above and beyond the role Mac's uses it for.

“Maybe we could all sit down and think of ways it could be used in the community. The van just sits idle during the week.”

“In the past we have tried to open up for every event in town where alcohol is served.”

She said too Mac's Safe Ride may become even more important than it now is with the inability of the Tupper Lake Police Department to have enough active officers to staff round the clock shifts. Right now the department is only fielding a 12-hour day shift.

With no village patrols here after midnight, it may “entice more drinking and driving,” she worried.

“So it is important again to have us there!”

She said her board members have worked “tirelessly” to keep Mac's rolling on weekends and at special events.

“But we're tired. Our board members are tired. Our volunteers are tired. But I don't want to see it go!”

“Over the years we have given tens of thousands of rides to local people and visitors with the help of as many as 150 volunteers. It's been pretty amazing!”

Ms. Smith said she and her board is open to any and all ideas local elected leaders may have to help the life saving service continue here.

“I also thought of turning everything over to the town. We would still do our benefits and give those proceeds to the town,” she offered as one idea.

The Mac's Safe Ride program is currently a federal 501-3c program that enables donations to be tax-deductible.

Acting Supervisor Mary Fontana noted that the town, by law, can't take donations, but thought that maybe some arrangement could be worked out for the town to help the program.

“Have you tried hiring drivers?” Councilman John Gillis asked her. Vivian said that was tried unsuccessfully in the program Gisele Kress ran in Old Forge.

John Girouard, a member of the Mac's Safe Ride board here, said that in Old Forge they weren't able to raise enough money to continue to pay paid drivers and the program, unfortunately, just dried up.

Mrs. Smith said her organization for a time offered gift certificates to people to induce them to sign up to drive or navigate, but that practice was viewed as questionable.

“We also sponsored raffles where volunteers were entered in the contests for prizes...we've tried all sorts of things” to recruit volunteers.

She told the town officials, that although she has not discussed this idea with her board members yet, she thinks there is enough money in the Mac's bank account “to pay drivers for the summer. So that's an option before us that this point.”

She admitted there was a lot for her board “to talk about” when it met last night. “But I wanted to come here before you tonight to remind you who we are, what are mission is and how important it is!”

Mac's drivers and navigators “bring babysitters home after we take people home. We bring people to events and back from events where there's alcohol. We do weddings and events of all kinds here!”

John Gillis spoke to the importance of Mac's here. “I've used it and I've driven it,” he told his colleagues that evening. “I've had a blast driving it...it can be a lot of fun!”

“-And I hate to say our local teenagers use it, but they do. It's a safe way for them to get home!”

Councilwoman Tracy Luton, who directs the VFP Post here as its commander, noted Mac's role here is even more important in a community like ours since Tupper Lake has no taxi businesses. “Everyone relies on Mac's!”

Tupper Lake Business Group leader Mark Moeller, in attendance there on another matter that evening, joked that maybe some of the often entertaining late-night antics in the van could be filmed with the footage sold to Tic Toc.

Councilman Gillis and Ms. Smith assured him the very confidential nature of the rides, noting that “what happens in the van, stays in the van.”

“One of the reasons for coming before you this evening,” Ms. Smith told the town board members was just “to remind you and the community that we are not in the business of just bringing drunk people home every weekend. We don't have the same riders every weekend. Our goal is just to keep our roads safe for everyone!”

Mac's riders have included many visitors to Tupper Lake for many local events like the Northern Challenge, the Brewski...people who come here to snowmobile and camp and vacation, according to Ms. Smith.

“We are going to try our hardest to stay open, but we are looking for help and we are in dire need of help!” she emphasized.

Mr. Gillis supported what she said about tourists taking advantage of the service. “I've driven our visitors in the van and they are always blown away by the service....absolutely blown away and what a great community Tupper Lake is to do this!”

John Girouard offered the hope that evening that maybe with the town's help, an arrangement for Mac's to be able to pay some of its drivers could be worked out.

Kelly Fleury, a member of the Mac's board also in attendance that evening, noted that Vivian has covered all the important points for town board consideration in her talk that evening. Kelly was also instrumental is generating many of the facts presented in the recent Free Press article about the current state of Mac's Safe Ride right now.

“The only future we have is that we either need a lot more volunteers or we can get the funding to pay the drivers,” Mrs. Fleury said of the program's current predicament. “They are our only two options at this point,” she added.

When Ms. Smith wondered about town grants, Acting Supervisor Fontana offered access to several parties who have written successful grant applications for the town in the past. “There may be some things we can look into,” she told her.

With the expected arrival of train excursions coming to Tupper Lake in 2023, Mr. Moeller wondered if the Mac's van could somehow fit into the forthcoming ground transportation needs of the arriving train riders.

“The van could be used for other things like that,” Ms. Smith noted.

“Or it could be used to bring kids to the beach each summer, or to the ski slope, if it ever opens,” she offered as two other local uses.

Asked when her organization may hear from the town board on their requests, Councilwoman Luton spoke for her colleagues, promising to discuss it at length in the near future to help find a solution for the volunteer organization in its current challenge. “We definitely don't want to see Mac's go away!” she assured Ms. Smith and her volunteers.

New brewery proposed at 138 Park gets green light from planners

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The proposed Tupper Lake Brewery, to be situated on now nearly leveled grounds at 138 Park Street, can now move ahead, following approval by the joint village and town planning board of an amendment to its original permit filed and approved nearly a year ago.

Neil and Sara Kriwox saw the endorsement of their project by the entire planning board at the April 27 monthly meeting.

The amendment was required because the young couple changed their building plans. Instead of replacing the old two-story building on the site, Neil and Sara now intend to build their new brewery and tap room on the footprint of an old brick garage on the site. The couple intends to attack their project in phases.

On grounds newly cleaned up last week by Kentile Excavating, the new business people intend to create an outdoor garden, punctuated with plenty of flowers, shrubs and decorative trees where craft beer fans will enjoy what they came to the brewery for.

At the March meeting the planning board members asked for a detailed site plan, showing the various plantings planned, with elevations. Neil and Sara had presented various architectural sketches and maps and and other drawings that evening.

The April meeting opened with the comment by Chairman Shawn Stuart that updates to the couple's plans had been sent to the members in advance of that night's meeting.

“They have provided us with what we asked them for last meeting,” Board Member Tom Maroun said, pointing to the completed paperwork.

Jim Merrihew agreed that the couple had furnished them with the additional sketches and plans they wanted. “We know now exactly what the building will look like,” as well as what the site will look like.

The completed plans for the new brewery building and the colors the exterior surfaces will be painted were all in materials before the planners that evening.

Jan Yaworski thought it was wonderful that these “young entrepreneurs are investing in the community.”

Planner Dave St. Onge called their proposed brewery “a great addition to Park Street.”

Another board member and the newest one, Andrew Chary, applauded the applicants “for making their plans a lot clearer to us” and that are easier to visualize.

He also thanked them for including a sketch of the “pathway lighting” leading into the building through the garden.

Mr. Stuart asked about two sheets in their planning documents which show different details in plans for the outdoor beer garden. One sheet, he said, showed grass right up to the sidewalk, while another showed paving stones there.

Sara Kriwox told him they plan a combination of surfaces in the front of the outdoor garden- paving stone sections where the outdoor fire pits will be situated, and grass in other places.

She also said they are proposing an open-style fence in front with flower beds and plantings along the sidewalk.

Planner Paul O'Leary reported to his board that since the March meeting he reached out to the couple and they had several discussions about where any large propane tank to service the propane-fuelled fire pits would be situated.

“They don't want it (any tank) to be seen either, so it would be screened,” he said of the couple's intentions.

The board approved the brewery project unanimously, and wished the young couple well with all their future endeavors.

The monthly planning board meeting opened with a public hearing on a two-lot minor subdivision of lands located at Moody at 1718 State Route 30. The property owner, Jim Richer, was represented by Survey Owen Littlefield.

At Chairman Shawn Stuart's suggestion the local surveyor gave a brief overview of the application.

Mr. Littlefield said the subdivision plan effects “two main parcels with common ownership.”

“They are looking eventually to sell the main house which was one of Tupper Lake's oldest hotels.”

He showed how they wanted to partition the property which involved using the one lot to complement the other. In doing so it gives the house “a nice yard and looks like it it the property that goes with the house. Rather than being cut up in a strange way!”

There were no public comments regarding the matter, neither at the meeting nor in the weeks before following notice of the hearing.

Approving the new land arrangement at Moody was first on the agenda of the regular part of the meeting.

Chairman Stuart called it a fairly straight forward proposal and asked his members to share their thoughts, which there were none.

The board, on a motion by Doug Bencze, seconded by Jan Yaworski, passed the matter unanimously.

New Bigrow exhibit on local industry opens at Tupper Arts Center; reception on May 7

Dan McClelland

By Rich Rosentreter

The latest exhibit at the Tupper Arts Center is a new showcase of Kathleen Bigrow’s photography that will include not just her work depicting local history but will also feature memorabilia from the Tupper Lake Historical Society’s collection with a focus on the area’s logging industry and the Oval Wood Dish Company, both former mainstays of the town.

The exhibit, titled Mostly Spruce & Hemlock; Tupper Lake’s Logging Heritage,” started this week and will run through May 29. There will be an opening reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 7 and will feature music by The Rustic Riders. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public, it is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The Free Press was given an advance tour of the exhibit and discussed it with Jim “Cookie” Lanthier, who helped construct the exhibit along with Tupper Arts' Ed Donnelly.

Mr. Lanthier explained that the exhibit will display 119 of Bigrow’s photos and a dozen by other photographers along with old issues of the Free Press, each having something to do with logging or the OWD plan and some covering local businesses in the hospitality industry such as hotels and eateries. He pointed out that although there will be mostly photographs featured, there will be many historical items on display. Although Kathleen's photos cover both logging and the OWD, she did not cover all of it, hence the additional displays courtesy of the local historical organization, Mr. Lanthier added.

“She wasn’t here around 1900; she did cover fifty years worth,” Jim told the Free Press as he took a break from his work setting up the exhibit.

Mr. Lanthier said with the help of Amanda Lizotte, the Woodsmen Association and Historical Society, a booklet was produced that will contain all of the images in the exhibit and be available for purchase at the Arts Center. Both Jim and Amanda edited the publication, which is chocked full of local history.

The booklet features images such as aerial views of Tupper Lake and the OWD, the baseball teams that played for OWD, logging-related companies such as the Drapers Corporation and Woodsmen’s Field Days of the past.

The booklet also mentions many local hospitality businesses such as the Hotel Altamont, Wood’s Laundry, LaFave’s Grill, Mason’s Drive-In, Roy’s Restaurant, Elite Restaurant, Bob’s Grill and the Miss Tupper Diner, among others.

Jim Lanthier has been the mainstay of the Kathleen Bigrow collection and he recently donated it to Tupper Arts. It includes thousands of photos taken during the famous local photographer's half-century long career here.

Tupper Arts has begun cataloging and archiving her wonderful images, under Mr. Lanthier's direction.

His goal and the goal of the Tupper Arts leaders is to digitize every photo in the collection that was given to Jim by Kathleen, as well as the written descriptions of some of her photos. The film conservation project involves the permanent storage of all images and information connected to them. As well as the prints, all of Kathleen's thousands of negatives will be preserved and archived for the enjoyment of future generations.

Tupper Lake High School students have been assisting with this ongoing project.

Mac's Safe Ride needs help!

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

Mac's Safe Ride needs help.

The all-volunteer organization that has safely transported people to and from bars and private parties in recent years desperately needs both drivers and board members.

Without enough help, Mac's Safe Ride is in jeopardy.

Director Vivian Smith, in an interview in recent weeks, explained the Mac's closed temporarily at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

In the summer of 2021, over a year into the pandemic, the board of directors of Mac's Safe Ride tried to resume operations on weekends. “We found, however, that riders were down, as many people were staying home, and drivers were way down!” Ms. Smith lamented.

“Not having enough drivers was a huge problem!”

This is how the driver recruitment used to work at Mac's. Each of the 13 board members was asked to take a month and find enough drivers for the month's Friday and Saturday evenings. If the board members couldn't find drivers, then they drove. Vivian admits that is a big ask of her board members.

“But we stayed pretty steady doing that for about five years,” she remembered.

“Then we got to the point that the volunteer pool was just drying up!”

Taking a Mac's shift on a Friday or Saturday involves a two-person team (driver and navigator) being on call with the Mac's van from 8p.m. to 3a.m.

“Our volunteers lose almost the next day because they are normally up most of the night before”

To make it easier on the willing volunteers the hours of service last year were shortened to 9p.m. to 2a.m.

“It slowly got to the point it was tough to man our shifts. But Tupper Lake has been great- both the residents and businesses. People support us as best they can!”

“Our donors, in particular, are both generous and plentiful,” she asserted with great thanks.

Vivian worries that people may have lost the understanding of the program and its mission. “When I talk to people, they tell me the same people are driving and the same people are riding from bar to bar. But that's not our mission!”

She said the primary mission is to keep “our local roads safe and our community safe!”

“-And an important side effect of keeping our roads safe is that people get home safe and they are not driving under the influence.”

“When Mac's is rolling, our roadways are safer for everyone!”

“If someone is out drinking and driving and I'm out on the road with my babies in the car, and you hit me because you are in my lane, we're trying to prevent that kind of stuff from happening. We're trying to be proactive or preventive, instead of reactive!”

“Our need now as we look to start up again is to find new people to serve on our board, which has dropped in past months” from an original 13 to 12.

Last summer, when the operation closed for a second time, there were evenings when Mac's didn't run because there were no drivers and navigators to operate the van.

“In addition to Friday and Saturday evenings, we tried to also open up when there were special events in town where alcohol was being served.” That too, took its toll on available volunteers.

Mac's closed for a second time last summer and it hasn't re-opened yet.

-And that really bothers the director. “I was sitting home last month when the Tupper Lake Football Boosters had another successful St. Patrick's Day celebration. I thought to myself Mac's should have been operating!”

“Our board members, who continue to meet, are struggling to find ways to go forward!”

Mac's Safe Ride began here in December of 2015, modelled after a safe driving program started by Gisele Lavigne Kress in Old Forge years earlier after her son died in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident. So it has a solid history of service here that Vivian and her board members don't want Tupper Lake to lose!

“Our program is in jeopardy right now. We're at a point where we either get new blood or we face closure!”

She said Mac's is a completely anonymous operation, meaning the board members and drivers never discuss who the riders are. There are no questions ever asked. “We've picked up underage teenagers who might be at a house party. We've often driven babysitters home, who might otherwise not have had a safe way home. We've given tourists rides home from a bar to their motel room.”

Vivian notes that some of the nicest compliments have come from visitors who used the service who say how lucky Tupper Lake and its residents are for having such a valuable service. “Visitors are particularly generous with their praise and their donations!”

She noted that unfortunately some residents and frequent riders have started to take Mac's Safe Ride for granted. “There is nothing better to dampen the altruistic spirit and enthusiasm of a volunteer driver than a gripe or complaint from an unappreciative rider.”

Mac's Safe Ride has depended since the start on donations and sponsorships of businesses, as well as its annual summer fundraiser. Since the beginning of COVID, however, fundraising has been at a standstill and that's also hurt the program which still has its operating expenses.

The current board of Mac's Safe Ride currently consists of Ms. Smith, Melissa Howard, Tammy LaLonde, Kelly Smith, Connie Kennedy, Kelly Fleury, John Miller, Sandy Grahm, Bridgette LaPierre, Janelle Lavigne Kentile, John Girouard and Bob Zande.

Any of this dedicated folks would like hear from any community resident with any time to donate to the program so that Mac's Safe Ride can re-open and continue to keep the roads of Tupper Lake safe on weekend evenings- as it has done so well for so many years.

To help Mac's Safe Ride in any way, Vivian would love to hear from you at (518) 651-6178.

Planning ramping up for Field Day event in July

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The Town of Tupper Lake Recreation Department, in its planning for the new Tupper Lake Field Day and Parade event on Saturday, July 23 conducted a survey to gather information about what people wanted it to be, via Facebook and the town web site. From that came a number of ideas for the day.

Reporting on the new event at last week's town board meeting, Deputy Supervisor Mary Fontana called it “the largest event the town has planned in a very long time.”

The event is intended to help replace the Tupper Lake Woodsmen's Days, which is not expected to return this year.

“We're hoping to have a parade and are currently waiting on village board approval.” That approval hinges on the availability of enough village police officers to staff it.

The police department is currently down in personnel in the face of a recent resignation, a maternity leave and a retirement.

Village Trustee Ron LaScala recently met with Recreation Director Laura LaBarge and Ms. Fontana to discuss how many officers will be required to handle the traffic logistics of running a parade on the state's Route 3.

It is hoped that state troopers and members of the Franklin County sheriff's department might be engaged to supplement the work of the village police and to fill in gaps where necessary. It is unknown, however, at this point if that help will be forthcoming.

The anticipated parade route is from Route 3 at Pine Street to the municipal park. Ms. Fontana noted Thursday that the town will have to secure permission from the state Department of Transportation in order to close the state highway and direct through traffic around the planned route.

She said there would be prizes for the best floats and heavy equipment entries in the “hoped for” parade.

According to the tentative information submitted to the board for its review by Mrs. LaBarge that evening, the Field Day parade would begin at 11a.m. and conclude before noon. From noon to 1p.m. judging of the floats and other entries would be done by the members of the town and village boards as the rigs collect along the firemen's strip in the park.

The theme of the proposed parade is “Not All Heros Wear Capes,” and it's intended to be a tribute to first responders here and everywhere.

The theme is expected to generate color floats, many of them sporting costumed super heros.

Grand Marshall of the parade is the late Clint Hollingsworth. His family will be honored in the procession.

Police, fire and emergency squads from around the North Country will be invited to bring their members and their large pieces of equipment to join in the parade.

There will be cash prizes for the best floats and first responder rigs, according to Mrs. LaBarge's report to the town board that evening.

Between 1p.m. and 2p.m. that day the emergency rigs will stay parked along the firemen's strip where guests will explore their inner workings and technological advancements. Organizers are hoping that during that hour the various agencies will do demonstrations for the public- K-9 presentations, fire drills, loading presentations, etc.

There will be youth field games in the park from 2 to 4p.m. that afternoon. Included will be a Little Bucket Relay for ages two to five, spoon races for kids two to five, sack races for children six to eight and nine to 12 years of age, two tugs of war- one between six and eight years old and a second where kids between nine and 12 will pull off. There is also planned a Color Run- a one kilometer fun run for all ages.

Award medals will be given out for each contest.

From 4p.m. to 6p.m. the agenda in the park will change to adult field games. Planned are a first responder bucket relay, a three-legged race, a sack race and a tug of war. There will also be another Color Run for all ages.

Scattered around the outer field of the municipal park will be a number of games and inflated rides and such, including Knockerball, an extreme X obstacle course, carnival on the go games, cornhole, a bouncy house and face painting artists. A beer garden is planned and local and area food trucks will be on the scene.

At 6p.m. music will arrive at the venue, with two Tragically Hip tribute bands performing from under the Rotary Pavilion. The music begins with an area band, “The Altered Tones,” which will open for “Fully Completely Hip” from Southern Ontario.

Admission to the field day event is free. There will be an admission fee for the concert. First responders will be admitted to the concert area free that evening.

For more information about the event contact Mrs. LaBarge week days at 518 359-8370.

Former Tupper Lake resident raises $250,000 to battle cancer, help victims

Dan McClelland

A check for $20,000 was recently donated to the American Cancer Society. Pictured, from left, were James Flynn, Move for the Movement Event Coordinator, Rose Flynn, Move for the Movement Event Director, Louise Santosuosso, American Cancer Society vice president, Boston/New England and Allison Mannette, American Cancer Society Senior Development Manager. (photo provided)

By Rich Rosentreter

Former Tupper Laker Rose Leonard-Flynn is a cancer survivor and over the course of several years has raised approximately $250,000 on her crusade to help fund research to find a cure for the deadly disease and provide aid to its victims.

Rose currently resides in Massachusetts with her husband James, but she was born and raised in Tupper Lake. She moved away in 1985. Her sister Kim Henning and brother Ted Leonard still live in the village and her mother, Donna Exware, lives in Potsdam.

In May 2011 at the age of 44, Rose was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, and she is doing well now and technically considered a survivor. She recently discussed her bout with cancer and how it inspired her and James to begin their fundraising campaign.

Getting the news

Bad news is difficult to handle, but none worse than hearing the dreaded words: “You have cancer!”

When Rose received the news, she said it hit her hard.

“It was devastating” she said, adding that her daughters were in their early teens at the time, the youngest still in middle school the other in high school. “I was a full-time mom. It was scary because you never want to hear those three words and you automatically think it’s a death sentence.”

She said she was fortunate to have support from her family and friends who rallied around her in a time of crisis.

“Everyone seemed to just come and become part a part of our life and just picked up what we couldn’t do. They say it takes a village and it really took a village for us to get through the first six months to a year,” she said.

During the first six years after being diagnosed with cancer, Rose had nine surgeries.

“It was a tough six years,” she said. Eventually, after years of radiation and other treatments, Rose gradually began to feel better as her condition lightened up a bit and a certain degree of hope settled in.

“It’s hard to pinpoint a specific time. I had a very radical treatment,” she said. “When I hit five years, I think it was OK, it’s not in my face and I’m still here. I’m surviving and I’m moving forward. I had other things to focus on. I decided early on in my treatment that I wanted to fight back and that’s when we started our fundraiser and became a huge thing for us to focus on – and the Relay for Life and American Cancer Society, that became our goal, to find a cure.”

That was in 2013.

“That’s when we started. It wasn’t a black mark in our lives, it became something that we celebrated and we focused on trying to make it hope and something that wasn’t awful,” Rose said, adding that she and James did their best to make a positive out of a negative situation.

“We took the focus off of us and put it on other people who were diagnosed and we needed to raise money to help those people and also for the future too,” James said, adding that they both realized it wasn’t just them facing the challenges of cancer.

“When you think about it, and it seems like a sad statement, but nowadays it seems like almost everyone knows somebody who either has cancer or gone through cancer or knows somebody who has died of cancer. So there’s a lot unfortunately,” he said.

Despite all the hope, there is always a chance that cancer will again appear.

“There’s always going to be that cloud; there will always be that fear,” Rose said.

“Every time she feels a little bump somewhere, it goes through her mind that ‘Oh crap, it’s back.’ Even though it may not be, she thinks that. It will always be with her,” James said.

Fundraising

Rose said her first experience getting involved in fundraising for cancer came by participating in the Relay for Life with her team called “Rosie’s Riveters.” But that was just the start.

“We decided we needed to do a fundraiser, so we decided to do a dance fundraiser where we would invite dance studios to being their upper echelon dancers to come and perform,” she said.

That dance event came to be known as Move to the Movement and since its inception has grown to six shows in Massachusetts in which an average of 1,800 to 2,000 dancers cross the stage, with a total of nearly 3,000 people in the audience, according to James. This year was the event’s tenth anniversary.

“The first year we did it we raised $5,000 and it was so exciting. We had so much fun!” Rose said. “So next year, when we hold Move for the Movement again, will be the eleventh year. We will have raised almost $250,000. That’s what we have handed over to the Cancer Society. This year we held it during the pandemic so it was a bit challenging and we still raised $35,000.”

According to Rose, she and James recently presented a $20,000 check to the American Cancer Society, and this year the monies went to transportation for cancer patients, something she said North Country residents are familiar with.

“I know in Tupper Lake they have a van that transports patients to Plattsburgh for radiation. My sister utilized that transportation and it was a Godsend. Even here where I live in the city, people don’t go for treatments because they don’t have transportation and we were able to designate that our $20,000 this year is going directly to help transporting cancer patients to the hospital for that treatment,” she said.

According to James, the program sponsored by the ACS is called “Road to Recovery.”

“In the past years the money we raised has gone into the general fund of Relay for Life and left it up to them as to where the money should be used, but this year we felt strongly that we wanted the money we raised to go to a specific benefit for people and also to our local community here in Massachusetts,” he said.

Helping others

The shift from cancer victim to cancer-related fundraising has provided Rose and James with a mission and sense of purpose that did not come overnight. Rose said she is happy that she is a 10-year survivor, but the memories of the battle she fought are still fresh in her mind and fuel her enthusiasm to keep raising money to help those currently going through what she endured.

“I guess when I was first diagnosed, I felt that I was too young. I had so much more to give and I wasn’t ready to quit. As the days went by and it sunk in more and more, I had more and more people that came around me and said ‘You can do this; you’re the strongest person I know. You’re a fighter. This will not take you down.’ And those words, when you hear them over and over again, no matter what spot you’re in, you tend to believe them. I have many friends who have had many horrible things happen in their life and I’ve always turned around to help them and then I finally received it back,” Rose said, adding that she just celebrated her 55th birthday. “I don’t feel like a victim anymore. I definitely feel that I have been given a reason to live and I am going to take every day and embrace it and move forward and do what I can do just to make someone else’s life easier.”

And support for Rose still continues as well.

“My sister was diagnosed too. She is doing fantastic. She supports me, she travels for six hours and comes and volunteers at Move for the Movement. My nephew Timothy Fuller always made me smile. He shaved his head and put a pink ribbon on his head for me as support. He was a big supporter too. My brother Ted does fishing derbies and raises money for the relay team,” Rose said. “My mom and her husband hold paint nights. She sells ribbons and peanut brittle that she makes. She is a huge supporter for our fundraisers as well.”

These days, the fundraising efforts takes a good amount of time and energy. Move for the Movement takes roughly nine months to do between organizing, planning and getting it to happen, and the neighborhood Rosebud Relay, an event organized to replace the Relay for Life because it was canceled the past two years due to the pandemic, was held in May and Rose and the team walked 24 hours straight for a total of roughly 40 miles.

Rose said both events continue to grow and those two things keep her and James busy enough, even with a crew of volunteers who help out. With the success of their fundraisers and the efforts of organizations such as the American Cancer Society, they say there is hope in the battle against cancer.

“As much as we hear about people that succumb to cancer, there are just as many success stories and there has been so much new treatments that as little as ten to fifteen years ago, didn’t exist and people are surviving because of those treatments or procedures,” James said. “It’s encouraging and that’s part of the reason we try to raise as much money as possible to help research for those types of things and hopefully it will save more lives.”

Rose also had a message to others battling cancer.

“If I would have gotten my diagnosis in the early 1980s, it was a death sentence. Stage 3 breast cancer was a death sentence. In 2011, it was something that could not be cured, but could be helped – and I got 11 more years out of that,” Rose said. “If I can say anything, it’s don’t give up. Believe, keep fighting.”

“And if someone asks them to donate money to help fund research for cancer, donate. Don’t brush them off, because they may not think that $10 or $20 doesn’t make a difference, but it actually does in the long run,” James added.

The best way people can help is to make a donation online at move4tm.org. They can also get more information about the couple’s fundraisers on their social media outlets on Instagram, Facebook and soon to be on Tik Tok.

“Beauty and the Beast JR” packs the house over weekend

Dan McClelland

by Rich Rosentreter

The Tupper Lake Midde High School’s Red & Black Players attracted large audiences and rave reviews during its showings of Beauty and the Beast JR over the weekend. Each performance was done with a high level of energy, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was the first live, in-person show with the cast not wearing masks since the pandemic began.

Music director Elizabeth Cordes told the Free Press that overall she was thrilled by the performances and especially the support demonstrated by the strong attendance drawn by the shows. The shows were greatly enhanced by the vibrant costumes for many of the characters.

“I’m incredibly proud of the cast and crew for three amazing performances this past weekend! We were very fortunate to also have three terrific audiences, each one nearly filled the auditorium to capacity,” she said. “My sincere thanks to the community for coming out and supporting the Red & Black Players!”

Meika Nadeau and Lowden Pratt were exceptional as the lead characters and kept the crowd captivated and at some points emotional, especially near the end when the beast apparently dies but is shortly resurrected when the Enchantress’ curse is lifted.

But Nadeau and Pratt were not alone on the stage, as the large cast provided many superb moments on the stage. Cody Auclair was very entertaining playing the role of Gaston, as were the supporting roles of Jenna Switzer as LeFou and Karen Bujold as Maurice

The roles of the other characters who were cursed by the Enchantress spiced up the level of the play allowing for some humorous and very entertaining moments. They were Emileigh Smith as Mrs. Potts, Raegan Fritts as Lumiere, Nolan Savage as Cogsworth, Sophia Staves as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Lacey Pickering as Chip and Shae Arsenault as Babette.

Although not in lead roles, the performance featured standout minor roles, but equally important. They were Hannah Barber, Joelle Bedore and Nevaeh Toohey as the Silly Girls, Aubrey Sparks, Haylee Callaghan, Antwon Gachowski and Samantha Flagg as the Narrators and Hailey Bissonette as the Enchantress, Milkmaid and Dance Captain.

Rounding out the large cast was Aubrey Bissonette, Jeevika Branchaud, Eliza Bujold, Ava Facteau, Bug LaVigne, CJ Levey, Dane O'Connor, Rylee Preston, Ayden Rabideau, Bryce Richer, Lyla Robillard, Ghost Switzer, Noah Switzer, Brianna Towne and Sireea Zaidan. Each played a small yet vital role to make the stage full of fun.

The aforementioned were the cast members who were visible for most of the show, however, any performance has a crew who work mainly behind the scenes, yet their participation is critical to the success of a performance. Working on the crew were stage manager Genna Carmichael, assistant stage manager Alison Richer and Hannah Callaghan, Liza Crouse, Mya Fortier, Raegan Hudak, Nick LaPlante, Kelsie Liscum, Morgan Lohr, Rylee Kennedy and Robert Paige and lighting crew Johnathan Jauron, Caydence Flagg and Casper Pratt.

Also helping oversee the production was stage director George Cordes, lighting and technical director David Naone, assistant director Danielle LaMere and choreographer Kendall Davison.

Red and Black Players to perform Beauty and the Beast Jr.

Dan McClelland

The Red and Black Players of the Tupper Lake Middle/High School will perform Beauty and the Beast JR. at the auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door. Children 5 and under admitted free. As restrictions have been eased by the school district, wearing of masks by audience members will be optional for these performances. Pictured is the cast and crew: Meika Nadeau, Lowden Pratt, Cody Auclair, Jenna Switzer, Emileigh Smith, Raegan Fritts, Nolan Savage, Karen Bujold, Shae Arsenault, Sophia Staves, Lacey Pickering, Hannah Barber, Joelle Bedore, Nevaeh Toohey, Aubrey Sparks, Haylee Callaghan, Antwon Gachowski, Samantha Flagg, Hailey Bissonette, Aubrey Bissonette, Jeevika Branchaud, Eliza Bujold, Ava Facteau, Bug LaVigne, CJ Levey, Dane O'Connor, Rylee Preston, Ayden Rabideau, Bryce Richer, Lyla Robillard, Ghost Switzer, Noah Switzer, Brianna Towne and Sireea Zaidan. The crew is: Genna Carmichael, Alison Richer, Hannah Callaghan, Liza Crouse, Mya Fortier, Raegan Hudak, Nick LaPlante, Kelsie Liscum, Morgan Lohr and Robert Paige. Lighting crew is Johnathan Jauron, Caydence Flagg and Casper Pratt. (Rich Rosentreter photos)

New Junction Connectivity Study aimed at improving economy of downtown area

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The opportunities for a second village Downtown Revitalization Initiative- this time targeted at the Junction, or other grant programs currently or possibly on the horizon- were the subject of several information-gathering meetings Wednesday. They were conducted by the village's community developer, Melissa McManus and a consulting team from Elan, the firm that helped the village win the Park Street and Boulevard- targeted DRI.

The Zoom meetings were set up by Elan's Susan Caruvana, senior planner at the Saratoga Springs-based agency.

The focus of the discussions is to provide fodder and good ideas for what is now called The Junction Connectivity Study that Elan will complete in preparation for grant opportunities ahead.

Among the questions the participants Wednesday were asked to ponder and those who will weigh in at upcoming meetings were: What's your vision for the Junction in 2030? What places in your travels would be a good model for what the Junction can be? What was it about that place that you thought would be right for the Junction? What types of projects and investments are important in achieving this vision? What barriers currently exist to sustainable job growth and investment in the Junction?

At the afternoon session Melissa McManus explained the purpose of the sessions that day.

Also attending from Elan were Jere Tatich, Mark Westa and Sue Caruvana. Town Councilman John Gillis tuned in as did Matt Ellis, a steering committee member of the Tupper Lake Business Group, Hope Frenette of Schoolhouse Renovations and one of the promoters of the rail/trail project and Main Street Restaurant owner Shawn LaBarge.

Mrs. McManus noted that “the village has been very successful in recent years in using a couple of funding streams (most notably the state department of state's waterfront revitalization program) to do improvements in the park, make trail connections, do street-scape enhancements on Park Street, business assistance programs, etc.”

“However, we have not focused our planning on the Junction.” She said the downtown section of the village has been broadly included in some large planning documents completed by and adopted by the village over the years. “But we've never focussed on what the Junction wants to be and what it can be!”

She said a few years ago when she and community volunteers were looking to upgrade the village's waterfront revitalization grant program “we made sure we brought the Junction into it.”

“We all know of the possibility of the rail/trail and what it can bring” to the community, and the Junction in particular. “But we didn't have that same kind of focused vision there...we don't have the narrative together or the project list” to develop future grant programs there.

She said those things are imperative for future funding sources for the Junction and its businesses.

“That's why we're here today...to gather that information to start building that (planning) document to line us up for future funding!”

She said many people, particularly downtown residents, have spoken to her in recent years about their area getting ready for the opening of the new trail and the return of the train.

“We heard that from downtown business owners at a meeting this morning.”

She recommended as a first step in preparing a long-range planning document, the development of “an urgent” or short-term plan.

“When you look at the Junction you have Next Stop! Tupper Lake owning the train station, the town owning the land, the state involved in both the rail/trail and train arrival preparations and then the private sector with their businesses.”

“We want to be the most ready we can be...weaving together all the various pieces” of that neighborhood, she told the meeting participants.

She left time at the end of the meeting to hear from the attendees so “the Elan team can begin weaving this blanket of readiness” for the new things coming to the Junction this year and next.

Shawn LaBarge said “it sounds like great things are happening in Tupper Lake right now. We waited a long time for this,” pointing to his 18-year tenure as a main street business owner.

“It's time to shine and we must be quick about it! -And we have to take advantage of everything we can to make sure we are ready for this influx coming” on the train and the trail.

“They are going to want to eat, to shop and go to places” like Raquette River Brewery. “It's going to be good for everyone in this town!”

“We've needed this for a long time when we had this blanket over Tupper Lake. It's time to shake it off and get our community back to what it used to be” in the forties and fifties, when the community was thriving.

“It's very easy to make a list of all that we had here when my parents were young and most of that is all gone now!”

“I'm excited about it,” he said of all the plans developing for Tupper's future.

Hope Frenette said it was important for everyone to “know what the schedules are” of the state departments of transportation and environmental conservation with respect to the improvements on the rail/trail and railroad corridors coming into Tupper Lake.

“One of the big issues we are going to have to address for everyone using the rail/trail or the train is parking” in the vicinity of the depot, she warned. “It's not an issue there now but it's going to soon be a huge problem” without proper preparation here for all the corridor users.

Especially with Tupper becoming the hub for train riders and hikers and bikers coming to use the rail/trail, Mrs. McManus agreed.

“Here's what I know” about the timing and schedules of two projects, Mrs. McManus told the participants.

She said from the DOT they have received plans for most of the track restoration work- including a new crossing on Main Street and property improvements at the station.

She said the DOT contractor has possession of the rail corridor until the end of 2022 to finish its work. “Although no one will speak on the record, but informally, I was led to believe for us not to expect a train until 2023” because construction will be ongoing through the end of this year.

“On the improvements and preparation on the rail/trail side we do not have much information” from the DEC. “We have sketches of the large parking areas in Tupper Lake that the DOT staff recommended to the DEC.”

“I've hear reports it could be 2025 before the trail is finished but that's all hearsay!”

There have been some estimates this past year the trail could be open between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake by 2023.

“On the positive side, this information gives us more time to get our acts together,” she conceded.

Dan McClelland, a member of the Tupper Lake Business Group and chairman of the train station organization, said the business group has had several meetings with representatives of the Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society over the winter months. ARPS, which currently leases the line every summer to run trains from Utica to Thendara and on to Big Moose, has won the DOT contract to operate trains from there north to Tupper Lake and to run excursion trains out of here.

“Their contacts with the DOT as to when the corridor is ready for their trains are sketchy at best,” he told the group.

“They are getting mixed signals from the DOT and as the train provider they should be getting better information.”

He said Rick Dattola of the Tupper Lake Business Group recently reached out to the Watertown office of the DOT and the fellow he spoke with said he is very eager to come up and speak with the TLBG and the community in general.

“What I've been pushing is a community meeting when all the players are there: the town and village boards, the planning board, school board and the local businesses.”

“That way everyone will know what's planned at the depot site in preparation for the arrival of the rail/trail visitors and the train passengers,” he stressed.

“A few months ago we were told the first trains would arrive this August and then we were told later it would be in the fall. I think you are bang on correct, Melissa, that we won't see trains until 2023.”

“There is a lack of information for whatever reason between the DOT and the DEC!”

He said he received a call from a trail staff member at the DEC who was trying to set up a meeting between the two agencies in Tupper Lake and wondered if the train station was free.

“I'm thinking to myself” why aren't these guys talking? What are you coming to Tupper Lake for...aren't you talking with each other every day?”

“They are apparently not!”

He said the business group would like a huge community meeting conducted by those two agencies soon “to really dissect all that's going to happen.”

Mr. McClelland said he anticipates some major logistical problems with the train's arrival. “I envision 250 people getting off a train here, and there won't be a taxi, a shuttle service, a bike rental business, a car rental business to move those people into our community where we can benefit from their economic impact!”

“We're hoping the ARPS people will have a plan in place to provide secondary transportation for these train riders to move about the community.”

He said when a cruise ship in the Caribbean pulls into port on some island there are a fleet of buses to greet them to take them into the island to explore it.

He said while he knew the ARPS volunteers were working on trying to find buses to transport riders to places in Tupper Lake and around the tri-lakes, those plans remain to be finalized.

“And Hope makes a good point about the need for abundant parking places near the depot.”

Matt Ellis said what was recently discussed by the business group was inviting DOT representatives to come to town to meet with them and community leaders and to make plans for a big community meeting shortly thereafter.

“Our idea was to have a DOT representative come from Watertown and meet with community leaders so that they get a real understanding of what their plan is for Tupper Lake. A short time later we'd like them to come back and do a complete briefing to the entire community!”

“They told Rick Dattola they were open to coming here a couple of times” to detail all the plans, he explained.

“That sounds good,” Mrs. McManus told the two business group leaders. “I sense that among everyone I have spoken with, there's a receptiveness” of the two ventures starting here, “but we're all in a big information vacuum right now!”

Continue next week

Local skaters compete in ESWG in Lake Placid

Dan McClelland

Once again, several girls from High Peaks Academy took the Empire State Winter Games by storm in February and brought home several medals.

The medal standings were as follows:

Beginner Girls Excel group: Sierra Welch, 1st place; Lyla Robillard, 2nd place; Rena Reandeau, 3rd place.

High Beginner Excel: Rylee Preston, 6th place.

Pre-Preliminary Girls Excel: Emilie Schuller, 3rd place; Alyssa Pickering 5th place.

Pre-Juvenile Girls Excel: Sophia Nadeau 4th place; Sarah Higgins 4th place; Elli Dukette, 4th place.

Juvenile Girls Excel: Abby Gavin 4th place; Michaela Gillis 5th place.

Intermediate Girls Excel: Kiera Levitt 4th place.

Pre-Preliminary Synchronized Skating Team, 3rd place: Aubrey Bissonette, Emilie Schuller, Hadley Savard, Isabel Tessier-Day, Jeanelle Lizotte, Lyla Robillard, Brianna Towne and Rylee Preston. These talented young ladies skate under the coaching direction of Amy Payton. While training for Empires these young ladies along with the rest of the HPA ladies are also training for an upcoming competition in Massena and their local show which both will take place later this month.

Planning board gives green light to OWD Development apartment complex

Dan McClelland

The rendering by Architect Tim Geier shows the OWD Development LLC's new landscaping plan beyond the town's community garden behind the town hall parking lot. The garden is shown as a gray area. The trees that will be planted won't grow as tall as ones in an earlier plan would have.

by Dan McClelland

At a special meeting Monday the Tupper Lake joint village and town planning board unanimously approved a permit for the OWD Development LLC's major apartment and commercial complex project on The Boulevard. The permit did not include a condition for one year of continued oversight of landscaping, lighting and parking by the planners, as had been proposed at the January meeting.

Joining Developers Joe Gehm and Mike Dunyk on Zoom that evening were a number of the consultants and state officials assisting on the ambitious project including Tyler Beerse, permit specialist Zina Lagonegro of Passero Associates, Tim Geier, David Cox, Kyle Malder and Diane Jakinoski.

At the January meeting both sides presented a set of proposed permit conditions in three subject areas- lighting, landscaping and parking. The two sets of conditions were similar, except that the planning board sought to have one year of continued oversight in those areas.

Developer Joe Gehm said the year of oversight was unacceptable to his state and private financial backers and Diane Jakimoski of the state Division of Housing confirmed that.

Since the January meeting the developers and their team and the local planning board members reached agreement over lighting, parking and landscaping.

Monday's conversation was led by Ms. Lagonegro of Passero Associates, a firm that specializes in municipal permitting and by Mr. Gehm.

Ms. Lagonegro said that since the January meeting they have trimmed the number of apartment units from about 90 to 80. “We've also changed the mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, so there are now more one-bedroom apartments.”

She said the aim was to reduce the pressure on the indoor parking garage in what was most recently the Tupper Lake Veneer Corp. portion of the building and in the outdoor parking area adjacent to it.

In earlier discussions, the planning board members questioned whether or not the 135 parking spaces planned were enough to accommodate the residents of the 90 apartments- some of whom may own two cars- as well as their guests.

Joe Gehm reviewed what he called “the handful of changes” they made since the January presentation.

He said “one reason for the change” in the number of apartments was a recently updated market study they did in preparation for a submission to the state housing agency. “We went a little heavier on the one-bedroom side. We wanted to help the parking ratio, that we had discussions with you guys on.”

Another reason for the change in types of apartments and the reduction of ten apartments was “budgetary.”

“We wanted to tighten up our budget a little so the removal of those ten has helped on all three fronts.”

He explained that “to fill the space” left by the ten less apartments they have proposed an area of self-storage for tenants in building No. 2. There are eight different buildings in the proposed complex.

Mr. Gehm said that to answer some of the concerns by the planners of too much lighting, his consultants had answered some of the board's questions in the time since the January meeting.

He also said their landscaping plan was “updated” to address some of the board's concerns.

Architect Tim Geier had also produced some high resolution renderings from the westerly direction that the planning board had requested, Mr. Gehm said.

He said they also completed a maintenance plan since January to address some of the board's landscaping and lighting concerns.

Looking at Mr. Geier's rendering Chairman Shawn Stuart thought the 24-foot high light poles looked a little tall.

Planning Board Member Jan Yaworksi asked about curbs around the outdoor parking area and it was confirmed there would be curbs in areas.

Board Member Andrew Chary asked the consultants to detail the changes made since last time in the rendering of the western side of the project.

Tim Geier said he added more of the features detailed in the redrafted landscaping plan, including taller trees on one side with shorter ones on the other closer to the building and lower shrubbery throughout.

Chairman Shawn Stuart said that since the last meeting the members of his board had reviewed the maintenance plan prepared by the developers and were agreeable with it. The planners also reviewed the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) assessment, he noted.

Before voting on the permit, however, that evening the planners, at Ms. Lagonegro's request, went line by line through the state-required document, affirming there were no negative environmental impacts associated with the elements of the new development.

Community leaders reflect on passing of Clint Hollingsworth

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The community was deeply saddened by the untimely death last week of new Town Supervisor Clint Hollingsworth and many thoughts from local officials reflected that deep loss.

At their regular monthly meeting Wednesday- the day after his death- the Tupper Lake Village Board members each paid tribute to Clint and his many contributions to the community, and particularly those he made during his years on the village board as trustee.
Mr. Clint resigned this fall as village trustee to step into the town supervisor's job following his election in November.

At the start of Wednesday's meeting Mayor Paul Maroun asked Clint's long time friend Ron LaScala to begin.

Trustee LaScala, who was introduced to Clint by his best friend, Adam Hurteau, when they were teenagers, was very close to Clint for many years- and grew closer in recent years as colleagues on the village board.

“Clint was proud to serve Tupper Lake for more than two terms on the village board and he worked well with everyone sitting in this room tonight,” Mr. LaScala began.

He said Clint was very “excited” to be beginning this new phase of community service as town supervisor.

Among his many “wishes” for the community of Tupper Lake was that the “people of Tupper Lake would go in the right direction. “He strongly advocated for positive change here!”

Among those changes he envisioned and endorsed, according to Mr. LaScala, was the “revitalization of Big Tupper Ski Area and the Tupper Lake Country Club.” He said he longed to see the golf course facility become a year round attraction here- a place for people to “socialize and recreate” on the trails there each winter.

“On a personal note, I've known my buddy since we were about 14 years old. We played a lot of games as kids, grew up and ended up here together on the village board.”

Ron remembered the times, as teenagers, they used to slide on sleds and such behind Clint's four wheel drive Eagle.

Ron said he was “blessed” for the opportunity to serve on the village board with his good friends Clint and Jason McClain, and together try to bring meaningful and positive change to the community.

Ron was a frequent visitor to the Hollingsworth home on Lindsay Ave. where their families socialized. He said in recent years he and Clint would often pick a local political topic and verbally spar- each of them playing devil's advocate to the other.

Ron said Clint nicknamed him the honey badger, for his tenacity and his unwillingness to give up easily in any public or private debate.

“My friend Clint will be deeply missed by this community!”

“I hope that everyone understands that everyone in public service gives up something very precious and that's time and you never get time back. Clint gave up a lot of his time to try to make Tupper Lake better, because he loved this place and he loved its people and he loved his life!”

Deputy Mayor Leon LeBlanc, who like Mr. LaScala, served at least foujr years on the village board with Clint, called his colleague “a big asset” to the village and its board. “When he left to go to the town this fall, he left with many good directions. He had some great plans for the town. He will be deeply missed!”

“To lose someone who you have worked closely with for years” and accomplished all the things we as board members did in recent years is very painful.

“Clint was a good man and my heart and my prayers go to his family.” Mr. LeBlanc too called him a local leader who will be deeply missed.

Trustee Jason McClain said he knew Clint well long before they were elected to the village board.

He said the senior trustee was very “supportive” of his efforts during his first year on the board last year.

Jason said he worked for Clint in his contracting business from the time he started it until he left in 2011 to go to college to obtain his nursing degree. “He was very supportive of me when I made that decision. Clint always promoted growth. When I worked with him he always thought that someday he would be mayor, but chose to run for supervisor instead.”

“He will be very much missed by all his many friends and by his family, as well as this board.

Trustee David “Haji” Maroun served with Mr. Hollingsworth on the board for a handful of years before stepping down a year ago and returning to fill Clint's position this fall when he resigned to become supervisor.

“Clint was a great guy. He worked hard during his time. He always worked for the community. He loved it!”

Trustee Maroun said Clint was “always very respectful” of the people he worked with at the village.

“He was a great husband, a great father and a good friend to many...he will be missed!”

“On behalf of the Village of Tupper Lake and the community of Tupper Lake, we are all sad to lose a colleague and a friend of this community,” Mayor Paul Maroun said when it was his turn to pay tribute to the trustee.

“To Alison, Cash and Lily our prayers and deepest sympathies,” he offered.

“Clint sat to the right of me at the board table for years and told me many times he planned to assume the mayorship when I retired. We talked often about it. He deeply loved Tupper Lake. He liked everything here, from the library to the electric department which he directed for years.”

The mayor said in village deliberations and debates at the board “he had the ability to calm things down, ” especially when things would become heated “between myself and some of my brethren at times.”

“Clint also had the ability to learn quickly and to do what was right for Tupper Lake!”

“He once told me that Ron LaScala had told him the only way to win an election in Tupper Lake was to switch political parties and become a Republican. At the recent GOP caucus, when he won that night, he won big!”

The mayor noted that while he knew Trustees McClain and LaScala knew Clint better than he did, “I knew him when he was a baby because his family, on his mother's side, lived right next door to me!”

“Clint will certainly be missed by myself, by this board, by the town board and by the entire community” because as trustee and most recently as town supervisor he had, as Trustee LaScala said, “a vision and a plan for the mountain, and plans to work closely with this village board to make this community a much better place for everyone.”

“Thank you, Clint, for all you did for all of us! You will always be in our prayers!”

Deputy Town Supervisor Mary Fontana, who was appointed to that post by the new supervisor at his only town board meeting in January and who presided in Clint's absence at the town board's February meeting, said last week she was deeply saddened by his passing.

“It's a big loss for Tupper Lake,” she began. “It's difficult to find the right words” to reflect the scope of that loss.

“Clint was a dedicated family man and a dedicated community man! He had big dreams for Tupper Lake!”

“I'm sorry Clint won't be here to witness some of the great things” coming for Tupper Lake- many of which were in his dreams.

Ms. Fontana said she knew Clint before their community service in their various business dealings- he as a contractor and she in the insurance business.

She lamented Clint won't see his dreams for the town board's involvement in Tupper's future growth come to fruition.

Councilwoman Tracy Luton said she will miss the opportunity to serve with Clint on the town board. “He was very good on the village board. He had the best interests for Tupper Lake at heart. He was a great guy, a great family man!”

Ms. Luton said she believed Clint would have been a great town supervisor. “He had the ability to listen to others and compromise!”

“My heart is broken by his death!” she asserted. “I would have liked to have seen what Clint could have done as supervisor. Unfortunately for the community, we'll never know!”

While new Supervisor Hollingsworth and new Town Councilman John Gillis both joined the new town board together, they knew each other for years in their business capacities- Clint as a major contractor here and John as a skilled cabinet-maker.

“As a contractor, Clint set the bar high and its showed throughout his crew,” John told the Free Press last week.

“I always enjoyed working with Clint” on our various projects over the years.

John said he brought business savvy and quality workmanship to each project “and he did well, as result.”

“When he was hired to do a job, he and his crew went out there and got it done,” which resulted in building a solid reputation as a top notch and very reputable contractor, according to Mr. Gillis.

“The projects we worked together on weren't simple projects. There was a lot of complexity to them and Clint was good at fitting all the pieces together.”

Many of them too were both large in size and scope, he admitted.

“Clint definitely had a passion for Tupper Lake. He really, really did. He had a vision for the town and I remember telling him after we got elected this fall, I can't wait to do this journey with you!”

John said in the short time they worked together in recent months Clint had already changed his perspective on a few things. He had a great perspective on many local issues and a great way of articulating it...I am totally going to miss that!”

"Clint was ready to lead, he was always working to better our community, he understood risk, he knew how to build, he was interested in seeing Tupper Lake thrive!" is how Councilman Rick Donah described him. “I told him before he passed, that I appreciated his willingness to run for office, and that I supported him and that I would keep fighting for the priorities we had discussed."

“For those who loved him, we are devastated by his passing, he was a great father, husband, community leader, employer, and most importantly, a real friend who would help you out in a pinch!”

Kurt Garrelts worked for Clint and his company as electrician and plumber, among other things. We ran into him Wednesday afternoon last week where he was inventorying materials and straightening up things at the company headquarters, in the renovated former uptown fire hall on High Street. He said he and his co-workers are heart sick over losing their boss and friend.

“He was the best boss,” Kurt began.

He said in addition to having great trade skills, “he was a great business man,” who studied business administration in college.

“-And as a boss he was outstanding!”

Kurt said that Clint as a businessman and contractor and local employer he was “very open-minded. “When he approached me five years of so ago to come to work for him it was a no-brainer,” given what I knew about Clint and how fair he was with everyone.

“In any group setting, he would always listen to what people had to say. He'd never belittled anyone by not listening to them. He truly was eager to listen to what you had to say!”

“He often told me you learn a lot by listening to the other guy!”

Mr. Garrelts said Clint and his crews always talked thoroughly about the projects before them. “Everyone always felt they had a piece of the project and it was a good way to do things!”

He said “a great team effort” was always present at Hollingsworth Carpentry and Renovation.

“He always stressed that we had to keep our customers happy and he was very good at working with our clients.”

Kurt said too that he was very generous to the people of the community and when tragedy struck, he was often the first one to step up and offer the services of his crew without charge. He cited several recent examples of his generosity.

Kurt said there have been many times over the years when Clint would have as many as 16 people on the payroll.

“He respected everyone who ever worked for him,” and there were many tradesmen on his various crews over the years- some excellent and some not so good. “But he never belittled anyone. He gave everyone a chance...he wanted everyone he hired to succeed!

Clint was good friend of many of the people who worked for him, according to Kurt. He remembers one late autumn day during deer hunting season when he and Doug Snyder were working at a client's house in the woods and fresh snow had fallen.

“I told Doug...look at it out there. What a day. We should be in the woods hunting deer!”

“So Doug got right on the phone and called Clint and asked him if he minded if we took the afternoon off to go hunting.

“Where are you guys? Clint immediately asked him, according to Kurt. “He told us to come back to town and meet at the shop, but just give him time enough to go home to get his gun and his hunting equipment.” The three of them went to camp for an enjoyable afternoon of hunting. “That's the kind of boss we was!” Kurt noted. “He loved to hunt. We all did!”

In Clint's final days receiving care from hospice, his employees were frequent guests at the house, along with Clint and Alison's many other friends and family members, according to Kurt.

Kids take part in 4th annual Lumberjack Scramble Ski Race

Dan McClelland

The Tupper Lake Youth Nordic Ski Club held its fourth annual Junior Lumberjack Scramble Ski Race over the weekend at the golf course and included cross-country skiers ages 6-14.

There were five age brackets of races, those 7 years old and younger on the Lollipop Loop (.8K) and were not timed, those 8-10 years on the Golf Course Loop (2.4K), those 11-12 years old on the Cranberry Pond Loop (4K) and those 13-14 years old, also on the Cranberry Pond Loop.

Those who participated were:

7 and under: Kit Armendola, Jocelyn Dukett, Genevieve Arsenault, Estelle LaBarge, Timothy Snye, Owen Barrett, Major Day, Madelyn Boushie, Nadia Geil, Remington Tristram and Eloise Littlefield.

8-10 years old: Claire Snye, Lincoln Counter, Jax Kenny, Lance Schaffer, Ethan Olds, Delainee Wilson, Finnigan Harris, Isabelle Sauvageau, Fern Henning, Ryan Mannion, Tyler Erenstone, Emmie Brunette, Will Scanio, Olivia Zande, Heath Turner, Emerald Hoehn and Forest Hoehn.

11-12 years old: Jade Hoehn, Asher Murray, Kaileigh Dukette, Lucas Olds, Anika Mian, Connor Mannion and Grady Brunette.

13-14 years old: Hunter Hoehn, River Gray, Parker Scanio and Caleb Turner.

The winners for the 11-12 year old category were: Connor Mannion, first place; Anika Mian, second place and Grady Brunette, third place.

The winners for the 13-14 year old category were: Hunter Hoehn, first place, Parker Scanio, second place and River Gray, third place.

Local snowmobiler narrowly escapes death

Dan McClelland

Searchers from the Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake fire departments and the New York State Police at the staging area at the state boat launch site late Thursday. (Photos by Jim Lanthier)

The SLVFD's new airboat used in the search.

Two local snowmobilers lost their way on the big lake here around midnight in the high winds of Thursday's snowstorm and one had a close brush with death when his sled crashed through the ice on Tupper Lake west of Moody Bridge.

Justin Drayse was reportedly in the frigid water for some time, clinging to the ice, before he was able to get out of the water and was later rescued nearby by emergency crews from Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake.

A second rider snowmobiling with Mr. Drasye, who also lost his way in the storm, was Shawn Fleury.

The Tupper Lake Fire Department and the Tupper Lake Volunteer Emergency and Rescue Squad were called out about 11:30 that there were two snowmobilers missing on the lake and one was in the water there.

Tupper Lake no longer has a dive team so Fire Chief Royce Cole immediately called for help from Long Lake and Saranac Lake Dive Teams and the Saranac Lake team responded, according to reports this week.

According to a report from the Saranac Lake Fire Department this week “the call was initially reported as two snowmobilers through the ice with one person in the water, possibly under the ice shelf and one on top of the ice.” The incident took place during Thursday night's fierce snowstorm.

The Saranac Lake Fire Department responded to the mutual aid call from Tupper Lake with three members of its dive team, three other firemen, two trucks and its airboat. The department's new airboat made its maiden voyage that night.

Also responding to the call was the state police and its dive team.

The Saranac Lake volunteers joined the Tupper Lake firefighters in their search at approximately 12:53 a.m. Friday. Dive team and rescue personnel, working with local firefighters familiar with the lake, worked alongside the airboat and its operator, according to the SLVFD report.

“The first missing snowmobiler (Shawn Fleury) was located approximately 10 minutes later across the lake on an island in a small bay, where he had taken shelter in the storm. He reported to the airboat crew “he last saw the second victim (Drasye) in the water and had last heard him yelling ten minutes earlier,” according the department report. He wasn't able to locate his whereabouts in the storm, however.

Given the new information the search team continued looking for Mr. Drasye and found where his sled had broken through the ice. A few minutes later the searchers found him facedown in the middle of the marsh, unresponsive and suffering from severe hypothermia.

Both riders were transported back to the search party's staging area at the state boat launch where they were treated by the Tupper Lake Rescue Squad and transported to the Adirondack Medical Center for treatment of their injuries.

The airboat's maiden rescue that evening took place exactly five years to the day the Saranac Lake department acquired its first rescue craft- a 2002 Yankee airboat purchased used from the Consensus Fire Department in 2017. Its first trip was February 4 that year when it was instrumental in locating and rescuing an individual who went through the ice on a four-wheeler on Oseetah Lake. The incident also occurred during a blinding snowstorm.

“The new airboat was put to the test and ran through the gauntlet during its maiden search and rescue in Tupper Lake,” said the department release. “This new airboat is specifically designed for search and rescue and hopefully will serve as a tremendous resource for the entire tri-lakes and surrounding regions for years to come.”

Its hull is designed to handle the rigors of ice travel as well as strikes from underwater objects. Rated for five-foot waves, it is designed to effortlessly transition from open water to ice and back again. Its V-hull and contour planning hull is designed for stability on ice, water, snow or slush.

Local planners close on approval of Oval Wood Dish apartment development

Dan McClelland

by Dan McClelland

The members of the joint village and town planning board are very close in their approval of the ambitious redevelopment of the former Oval Wood Dish Corp. industrial complex on Demars Blvd. into a modern residential facility with over 90 apartments, judging by the discussion at last week's January board meeting. There is still some work to be done, however, on any conditions that may be attached to the coming approval.

A half a dozen of Developer Joe Gehm's project team appeared before the planners via Zoom Wednesday.

Zina Lagonegro, director of entitlements and permitting from Passero Associates of Rochester, who has prepared many of the permitting documents for the project, introduced some of her colleagues that evening.

With her from Passero Associates was Joshua Saxton, who was there to answer any any questions the planners had about lighting of the development and parking, she said. She also introduced Architect Tim Geier.

Also in attendance were Diana Jakimoski of the division of housing, Mira Mejibovsk, Briana Mitchell and Charlie Breuer.

Developer Joe Gehm briefed the planners on some of the recent changes made to the site plan of the project- many at the planners' requests at the last meeting in late October.

In the southwest corner of the property near the town hall, part of a planned retaining wall was scaled back.

An outdoor parking lot in front of the former Tupper Lake Veneer Plant portion of the complex where indoor parking is planned was increased in size slightly to the west, he said.

The plan is still for a total of 135 parking spots in the indoor and outdoor lots, as had been proposed originally and which generated some concerns by the planning board members at the October 27 meeting as not enough, given that some of the tenants of the 90 apartments planned will have two cars.

Mr. Gehm said the western side entrance was moved slightly to the west to make it easier to access the two parking areas.

He said that unfortunately they cannot afford to build a third lot behind the former Veneer plant to add more parking spaces, as the local planners would have liked.

“We feel confident that 135 spots is ample for the project at the moment.” He held out the possibility more parking could be added in the future if there was a demonstrated need for more parking of tenants and guests.

The new plans also called for the relocation of a dumpster area behind the town hall, another concern by the planners last time, to the eastern side of the property behind the pellet silos of Roger Sullivan's O.W.D. Inc. and out of sight of passersby on Demars Blvd.

Ms. Lagonegro said the site changes done since the fall meeting and during correspondence between them and the town planning office in past months address all of the concerns expressed by the planning board members in October.

Planner Jim Merrihew, who had a number of parking and other concerns and visibility questions at the October meeting, reminded Mr. Gehm and his group that he had liked the original parking plan with 84 spots where more of it was hidden. “You'll remember my comment about parking that the best parking lot is the one you can't see” or at least one that is difficult to see. “That was ideal!”

“People in town know what the building looks like and what it will look like when it's done,” he said of the reports and photos published since last fall. He noted that how the project is finished on the exterior will greatly influence how it and the community will be viewed by passersby of the site.

He said while he didn't understand the economics of the venture “but if you are saying it is cost prohibitive” to move the parking lot behind the Veneer portion of the building “I get that.”

“I think this is a great project. I want to see it happen! It will be a great project for Tupper Lake!”

He said his intent to have the outside parking moved to the rear of the site was to give the campus more of a residential feel and not resemble a strip mall.

He said too the addition of more green space between the enlarged outdoor parking lot and the town's community garden is most welcome. “It'll make it more difficult to see there's a large parking lot there!”

With respect to the lighting plan he said it was apparent the plan advanced by the developers is “dark-sky compliant,” as both the planning board and the leaders of the Adirondack Sky Museum project want.

“If you can pay attention to how much lighting each of your areas require, that would be very good for the observatory” and its night sky viewing.

“We require dark-sky compliant lights. You have met that and I'm okay with that.”

He said the renderings furnished the planners set in a beautiful sunset with clouds overhead makes “the building looks great!”

“Overall I like your plan. I wish the parking could have been hidden on the north side, but I'll take what we have right now for the project,” Mr. Merrihew told Mr. Gehm and his team.

Board member Tom Maroun said he agreed with Mr. Merrihew on having the parking moved out of sight to the rear of the property. “I do understand there would be extra costs involved with doing that.”

“I like the project. I think everything looks good.” He said he liked the way the developers had scaled back the amount of lights they intend to erect and for making them downward pointing and in compliance with the community's dark sky regulations.

Mr. Maroun also liked the fact the trash receptacles were moved from near the outdoor parking area on the western side of the property to the other side where they were out of public view for the most part.

“I'm good with this plan,” he asserted.

Doug Bencze also agreed with the points made by his colleagues.

He wondered, however, about the need for overflow parking to accommodate guests. He thought under the current plan those people would encroach on tenants' parking spaces.

Joe Gehm said he thought that guests could be easily accommodated with the 135 new parking spots proposed there. He said apartment dwellers will not be parked there all the time and may be out of town certain times of the week- leaving many spots open to guests. “Quite honestly, I think we'll be okay!”

Jan Yaworski said she also agreed with her colleagues on the points they raised that evening.

“I think it's a great project.”

On the large red maples that will be planted in the green area behind the community garden next to the town hall, she wondered if they would provide too much shade for the garden plots. She wondered if a different variety of tree that didn't grow as tall might be a better choice.

It was noted later in the meeting that with the sun in the southern sky any shade from any new trees would be beyond them.

She also questioned the lighting contour map that had been furnished to the board that day which appeared to reverse the illuminated areas around the complex and the intensity of the lighting in each from the October plan.

Joshua Saxton, who made the changes to the lighting plan advanced in October, said the closer to each building the stronger the degree of lighting. “The foot candle measurement decreases the farther you go from the building which means less light,” he told her.

He apologized that the colors used to denote the lighting contours might have been switched in the most recent lighting plans. “The colors of the lines were apparently switched in the recent plan,” he explained.

Ms. Yaworski continued. “Within the lighting plan when there is one light facing the other and when they are situated on the outside balusters of the buildings, will it be brighter there?” she asked the consultants.

Mr. Saxton said in those instances the light shed wouldn't be doubled. The trouble with staggering lights on opposite buildings sometimes causes dark spots, which can be troubling particularly in the court yard areas and entrance areas proposed outside many of the buildings.

“That's why we want those areas in particular evenly lit and well lit for safety!”

Ms. Yaworski asked if they planned to use any dimmer switches or motion-sensitive lights in various areas of the complex.

Mr. Saxton said lighting will likely be dimmed in the early morning hours when there are few or no pedestrians around the buildings. “The main point of enough lighting is for safety of people walking by or through the court yards,” he told her.

“There will be a set dimmed times likely from 11p.m. to 5a.m.,” he thought.

The indoor parking area lights would also be dimmed somewhat in the early morning hours.

“All the lights will be dim-able and all will be on timers,” according to Ms. Lagonegro.

Andrew Chary noted that the front parking lot appeared to be uniformly lit at one-foot candle. “Is that the minimum for a parking lot or you wouldn't want some pools of one-foot candle and then some dimmer areas?”

Mr. Saxton told him that the “general rule of thumb” is that a half a foot candle (of light) is the minimum but his firm prefers to recommend one foot candle lighting for areas like parking lots. “It provides ample lighting for drivers and for pedestrians,” he told Mr. Chary.

Mr. Chary said while he is new to the project being at his first planning session, he found it “very exciting.”

He said in his review of the local zoning language quoted in the project's engineering plans, he learned that the minimum parking aisle in town is 26 feet. A parking aisle is a service road passing between rows of parking.

“-And yet we're being presented aisles of 24 feet. I'm looking how tight that parking lot is and presume you can't get the 26-foot aisles? He wondered why the narrower aisles.

Mr. Saxton explained that 26 foot wide roads between rows of parking are generally required if there are fire hydrants installed along them and a fire access lane is required of ample width for fire trucks to maneuver.

“We're not proposing any hydrants near the building so we don't require aisles of 26 feet.”

He said they find 24 feet between rows of parking is sufficient for two-way traffic on private roads in parking lots.

Planning Board Member Dave St. Onge, attending by Zoom, felt his colleagues had covered all his questions about the project's site plan.

“I really like the new place for the garbage bins.”

He wondered if there was going to be a central building control system to regulate the various elements of the lighting system- including aspects of the dimming and what lights are on at certain times of the day.

Architect Geier explained most of the operations of the lighting will be on “set timers” and will be fully automatic. There won't be a central control system that Mr. St. Onge asked about. “All our lights will be programmed to dim at certain times.”

Chairman Shawn Stuart called the apartment complex envisioned “a great project” and thanked Mr. Gehm and his team for the changes “and input” made since the October meeting.

At his request, the designers posted views of the development from each direction on the town's large video screen that evening.

“From my standpoint, I'm not that concerned about the parking” and the view of it when it comes to traffic from either the east or west. He said from the east, the buildings block the view of the outdoor parking area. From the west some of the lot is blocked by the town hall, the community garden and the green area and trees to be planned there. “Any view of it is just a flash as people drive by,” he told his colleagues.

A sweeping driveway leads off Demars Blvd. to the parking lot, adjacent to the town hall.

At Mr. Stuart's request, aerial shots from above were shown both in day time and night time.

There will be new lights on all sides of every building, but rear lighting will be very minimal, it was noted.

Andrew Chary said he had read the various discussions between Mr. Merrihew and the design team at past meetings. “Could someone explain drainage swale crossing and the costs associated with putting parking” in the back of the indoor parking building “that are dissuading you” from doing it?

Mr. Saxton said that additional drainage is planned in addition to the swale around the parking area.

Mr. Chary pressed about the reasons the northern parking lot recommendation by the board had been abandoned.

Ms. Lagonegro said there is an existing swale that runs along the western side of the structure “and there is a substantial area of gravel which we are removing” to meet the state storm water regulations.

She said by adding more pervious surfaces again (like the gravel in a new parking lot) it “complicates” their compliance with the storm water regulations.
“That's one of the reasons. The other reason is that the swale (ditch) itself and providing a new road along the western side of the building (to the new parking lot) would “require some fill and some substantial regrading to rework our storm water management plan” to get to the back of the building.

She said that rear area has also been reserved for recreational space for the complex and where a new playground will be situated. There will also be a connection to the Junction Pass trail there, she told the planners.

“We haven't thoroughly thought out all the public aspects of the project yet,” she explained, noting more recreational and public elements may be added to the complex over time.

“So we don't want to do a lot of grading and reworking of our storm water management plan and the extension of our utilities to add costs to the project which would be prohibitive at this point until we know more about what the site wants to be ten years from now,” she told the planning board.

Mr. Chary asked them if they could use some of the gravel that will be removed to put in other areas of the site that need fill as a cost saving for them.

“Probably not, as it is a mix of earth and gravel,” Ms. Lagonegro told him. She said those materials don't compact well.

Asked to comment on the project by Mr. Stuart, Village Code Enforcement Officer Peter Edwards said he liked the changes the design team had made since the last meeting.

As the 45-minute discussion came to a close Paul O'Leary presented a list of conditions for permit approval that the planning board members had asked him to draft in advance of Wednesday's meeting. Factored into that list were some conditions suggested by the applicants.

The town planner first read the planning board's recommended conditions:

“That the planning board shall retain continuing jurisdiction of the exterior lighting plan regarding wattage and shedding of light for one year after all improvements have been completed and during this one-year period the planning board may prescribe reasonable modifications that it sees fit to mitigate any adverse impact of the project lighting. That the planning board shall retain continuing jurisdiction over the parking, landscaping and planting plans of the project until one year after the certificate of occupancy is issued for the whole project. During this one year period the planning board may prescribe reasonable additional parking and plantings as it sees fit in order to mitigate inadequate parking and visual impacts. Plantings that do not survive will be replaced in kind within the one year period.”

The applicant offered the following conditions of permit:

“It is a condition of site plan and special permit approval that the owner of the property construct and execute building and site improvements, pursuant to the approved plan for the redevelopment of the Oval Wood Dish factory consisting of multi-family residential and commercial uses and at its collaborative effort between the owner and the planning board to: 1) insure the building accent, parking lot and courtyard lights are dark-sky compliant and sufficient to provide the safety and security of residents and visitors to the site; 2) to insure that the approved parking lot is constructed to meet the needs of residents and visitors to the site; 3) to insure that the landscaping is maintained to provide color, texture and visual appeal to the site including proper care and maintenance and replacement of dead and unhealthy plantings.”

Mr. Stuart called for a motion that included permit approval with all those conditions.

Mr. Gehm interrupted at that point saying the town conditions calling for the continued oversight by the planning board for the next year were financially unworkable. “We cannot add that financial risk with any conditions that may be brought up after certificate of occupancy.” He said those conditions would compromise their position with their state and private financial backers. “It's a financial exposure we unfortunately cannot take on!”

“We're all for working with you guys to make sure that we come to agreement with all these specs- but as far as a one-year window after your approvals, that's just not something we can agree on.”

Mr. Stuart then picked the board conditions apart. If the plantings die, you have to replace them. If the lights are too bright they have to be turned down. He said neither of those things are financially burdensome.

“If we are talking about dimming lights, that's once thing,” countered Mr. Gehm. “If you are talking about removing lights that's another.”

Mr. Stuart asked for his members' input.

“Your term collaborative effort with the planning board,” began Mr. Merrihew, “takes the place of our” one-year of oversight. “I suppose it would be very easy in a collaborative effort, if we have an issue and we're meeting with you folks and we're trying to come up with a plan that satisfies both of us. The easy out is- and I'm not trying to be insulting, that 'we can't afford it.' Is that a true collaborative effort between us?”

“I get what you are saying, Joe!” He offered, however, he couldn't really predict how “this collaborative effort” between the two groups would exactly work. “Maybe there won't be any problems?”

Mr. Gehm suggested a third party be retained to work out conditions that are agreeable to both sides. “This process should result in the final decision in a process you guys are comfortable with in what we are going to construct and put on that site and how it is going to be lit. Going back after the fact” is not a workable solution, he told them.

“There's an open exposure for our team and for our banking partners and it won't work!”

“Our goal is to get an approval from you that you are happy with what we are presenting.”

Diane Jakimoski of the division of housing said if the state sees any major conditions in the planning board's approval it “does tend to hesitate” and “we don't want to give the state any reason not to fund the application.” She explained that conditions can precipitate both delays in state funding and rejections of applications, requiring applicants to re-apply with changes.

Mr. Stuart worried about the planning board signing off too early on the unfolding project.

“Once that parking lot is full of vehicles and it looks like Yankee Stadium, and it's apparent there needs to be more shrubs (to screen it) and break up the view from the state highway” there needs to be a way to make that happen. “We're just talking about tweaking” the permit, he told Mr. Gehm.

Mr. Gehm said they would rather that the planners make any and all recommendations right now.

On the chairman's recommendation, the planning board tabled the project for the time being and agreed to consult with a third party to resolve the differences between the planners and the developers.

Andrew Chary said before voting on the permit he would first like to discuss with the board “the things they would like to be able to fine tune in the future.” He thought excess lighting may be something neighbors might complain about later, and so the planners should leave themselves with a vehicle to revisit those sorts of complaints.

“I understand that Joe's proposed language says if we get your approval that's all we are going to do. On the other side of the table, however, where the town does keep purview over plantings and lights and screenings, we could be more specific about what our concerns are. Those may not be monetary. They might be simple things. We might say that's our purview and that may help the differences in our languages come together more.”

He thought there may be advantages in tabling action on the permit to allow more discussion between the planners and the developers.

David St. Onge explained he raised the issue of the development having “a building control system” so problems like too much lighting in certain areas of the complex could be addressed very quickly and at no cost to the owner.

“I'm not so concerned with parking. I thought Shawn brought up a good point you will only see the parking lot from Demars Blvd.” a short time while driving by.

“I don't think parking is as much of a concern as the lighting” of the buildings. He thought the board might abandon its call for conditions, if there was a mechanism in place where the community could address any complaints that arise in the future.

Doug Bencze made a motion to table the permit, leaving the door open for more discussions with the developer. Tom Maroun seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Chairman Stuart suggested the board members meet several times in coming days to develop “some ideas” of what might be acceptable to Mr. Gehm and his group.

ESWG adaptive sled hockey action coming to civic center

Dan McClelland

by Rich Rosentreter

The Empire State Winter Games will return to the Tri-Lakes Region February 3 to 6 and Tupper Lake is scheduled to host adaptive sled hockey at the civic center. The Games will feature athletes from across New York State and others area of the Northeast to compete in more than 30 winter sports events.

The ESWG are returning to the region after being canceled last year due to the pandemic. Although most of the events will take place in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, many local athletes take part in the competition, such as figure skaters and several levels of youth hockey players. About 2,000 athletes are expected to take part in the ESWG and being a resident of the state is not a requirement to participate. The sled hockey competition replaces the other hockey events that have taken place at the civic center in previous years.

On January 11, ESWG officials hosted a meet-and-greet session at the civic center that included several sled hockey athletes along with Tupper Lake Mayor Paul Maroun, who expressed his support for the upcoming games.

“To think of the people and the time and the energy that puts this together here (Tupper Lake), Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, the whole North Country benefits from it,” Mr. Maroun told the audience. “And it’s great to have the president of Community Bank here today, because they did keep this event (ESWG) going during the years when things were tight and we’re so glad to have them here in Tupper Lake.”

Mr. Maroun said the ESWG is good for the region and he will keep working hard to keep the Games moving ahead.

“The Empire State Games have to continue because it’s not only a great thing for Lake Placid and Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake and for tourism, it’s a great for the participants. These kids really do a great job and outstanding job,” he said, as he reflected to the women’s hockey games that have been played. “They play hard hockey! It’s great for the young children to see this in the community and it’s great for the community. I want to thank everybody for being here today. I hope you enjoy this facility.”

Adirondack Sports Council managing director Chris Carroll said his organization is excited to have sled hockey in Tupper Lake.

“This really an amazing event. It brings together amazing young athletes,” he said, adding praise to the local civic center, a place he had not been to before. “This is really an amazing place.”

According to ESWG spokesman Jon Lundin, there is a connection between these Games and the Winter Olympics, which are also taking place in February. The ESG have produced 34 athletes who have gone on to compete in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Olympic Games, and 12 of them have gone on to win Olympic medals, he said.

“These Empire State Games are a catalyst for many athletes to go on to compete in other international events,” Lundin said.

Teams

According to Lundin, many of the teams competing in the ESWG will be composed of Wounded Warriors and wounded veterans and a couple of players will have actually tried out and had participated in selections for the U.S. Paralympic hockey team.

“We will have eight teams as of now competing in Tupper Lake and it’s the first time the civic center has held this tournament,” he said. “One of the reasons we held this was to help introduce the media to this great facility and introduce some of these players to the rink they’ll be playing on.”

There will be plenty of players who hail from the North Country playing sled hockey, with many of them coming from the Fort Drum, Lundin said.

“Unfortunately in the Tri-Lakes area there is not a league for adaptive athletes for hockey,” he added. “Our hope is that disabled athletes see this and they are inspired by these athletes and maybe in the future there will be a team or league from this area that will play.

Lundin also used his past experience watching the sport to give people an idea of what they can expect to see during the ESWG at the civic center.

“I have seen a lot of sled hockey, and these are fantastic athletes. I think if you sit in the stands you will be amazed by the speed and the precision of these athletes. They take it very seriously, it could be a physical game as well. There’s as much emotion as you see in an NHL game or a high school game, there’s a greater amount of emotion here with sled hockey,” he said. “I think it’s something people really should see and they’ll really come to appreciate.”

Sled hockey

The basics of sled hockey is explained on the ESWG website, which states that the sport “follows most typical ice hockey rules, with the exception of the equipment. Players sit in specially designed sleds that sit on top of two hockey skate blades. There are two sticks for each player instead of one and the sticks have metal pics on the butt end for players to propel themselves. Goalies make modifications to their gloves — metal picks are sewn into the backside to allow the goalie to maneuver.”

“Sled hockey provides opportunity for many types of disabilities and there are opportunities available in local areas for recreation/competition all the way to the National Sled Team that plays in the Paralympics,” it reads.

Rachel Grusse and Randy Gollinger were two of the sled hockey athletes who visited the civic center on January 11 to introduce themselves and their sport to the community.

Grusse, is 29 years old and from Vernon, Connecticut. She plays for the Boston Ice Storm and is a member of the U.S. National Women’s Sled Hockey Development Team - and set to play the ESWG with the Central Vermont Pioneers, who won the silver medal in 2020.

Grusse was born without a spleen and lost both legs at 15 months old when they were amputated below the knees due to an infection. She has played wheelchair basketball, competed in the Paralympic swim trials, competed on able-bodied soccer and swim teams in high school and has tried gymnastics and wheelchair lacrosse.

“It helps with mental health. The level of exercise, being around people who are in similar situations who enjoy the sport that you do is very good in general. The sled community can be similar to a family at times, having the community that sled hockey provides is fantastic,” she said in a prepared statement, adding what she enjoys most about the game. “Checking. I definitely think people don’t really know how physical it is. I’ve had people come watch games and they’re surprised I’m checking male players, maybe two times my size. I don’t really think much about it.”

“There’s something very freeing about being on the ice. I felt like it was a lot easier to move for me. I liked the physicality of it too You get to hip check somebody,” Grusse said. “Gliding on the ice, I have a sense of freedom when I’m skating. Breathing in that cold air just feels so good.”

Randy Gollinger, is a military veteran and lost his leg and an eye at 19 when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006. He was a multi-sport athlete growing up in small-town, and was the 2021 ESWG sled hockey player of the year. His team won silver medal in the 2020 ESWG.

Gollinger said he got started in sled hockey after getting encouragement from his girlfriend – he watched others play sports but could not join in until she pushed him to try sled hockey. He said once he tried to give it a try, he was hooked and it truly changed his life for the positive.

“Every year I felt like I was dying one year at a time,” he said in a prepared statement. “The moment I first sat in a sled I felt almost at peace. This is what I was meant to do.”

Both Grusse and Gollinger will be competing in the ESWG at the civic center.

ESWG

The ESWG will include sports such as downhill skiing and snowboarding, cross-country skiing, bobsled, luge, biathlon, figure skating, ski jumping, sled hockey, speedskating, snowshoeing and winter biking among others.

Sport venues are located locally at the Tupper Lake civic center and in Lake Placid, Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Malone, and Paul Smiths. Venues include: Lake Placid Olympic Center Herb Brooks Arena, Lake Placid Olympic Jumping and Sliding complexes, Whiteface Mountain, Paul Smith's College, Paul Smith's College VIC, Saranac Lake Civic Center Ice Rink, Dewey Mountain Recreation Area, Olympic Cross Country and Biathlon Center, Titus Mountain and Mount Pisgah.

This year, the Opening Ceremony will be held outdoors at the village beach at Mirror Lake on Thursday, February 3.

For more information on the ESWG including a complete schedule, visit www.empirestatewintergames.com.