In TL, Cuomo issues stern warning

During a surprise visit to Tupper Lake Monday, Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo issued a stern warning to state workers.

According to WWNY-TV, Cuomo was touring the Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office and campus when he issued the following statement:

“If I was a state worker and just a resident of the state, I would be afraid of what is coming ahead,” he said.

The WWNY report states that Cuomo has been touring state facilities since being elected. During his campaign, the Democrat promised to cut state spending and slash the state workforce.

While touring Sunmount, Cuomo said layoffs cause pain for families, but that difficult decisions will need to be made in order to bring New York out of its fiscal crisis.

Rabideau on Trudeau's future...

I'm posting here, in its entirety, an editorial penned by Saranac Lake Village Mayor Clyde Rabideau regarding Trudeau Institute's future in Saranac Lake:

The Future of Trudeau and Saranac Lake
Guest Commentary by Clyde Rabideau

Trudeau Institute might leave us—an option affirmed by senior management---something most Saranac Lakers thought impossible until few weeks ago. After all, Trudeau Institute has been around for 126 years and was founded by the village’s first mayor, Edward L. Trudeau. Nothing could be more Saranac Lake than Trudeau Institute.

Game on...

I just returned from a news conference in Lake Placid, where officials announced that the winter Empire State Games will in fact be held in February 2011, despite reports this week that the state has pulled funding for the games.

You can read my earlier report here.

As of right now, barring any issues on the state's end, the games will proceed as planned, with the towns of Wilmington and North Elba, the village of Lake Placid, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), and the Olympic Regional Development Authority joining forces to keep the games alive.

No takers for Camp Gabriels

Jon Alexander reports this afternoon that the state Office of General Services received no bids for the former Camp Gabriels minimum security prison.

Here's his story:

The state has been looking to sell the 91-acre parcel ever since its 2009 closure due to shrinking inmate populations and declining budget appropriations at the state Department of Correctional Services.

GOP v. tea party Conservatives : Owens victory fallout

Republicans in New York's 23rd Congressional District are blaming Conservative Doug Hoffman -- and through the transative property UNYTEA -- for Matt Doheny's defeat at the Hands of the incumbent Democrat Bill Owens last night.

But Hoffman and UNYTEA's brass are firing back.

While not actively campaiging, Hoffman remained on the Conservative line and garnered 9,500 votes. Without counting the 9,000 abesentees cast in the district, Owens bested Doheny by 4,000 votes.

Big win for Dechene in Tupper Lake

The race to decide Tupper Lake’s next town highway superintendent wasn’t even close Tuesday.

Deputy Highway Superintendent Bill Dechene – running on the Republican and Maple Leaf lines – handily defeated Democrat and town Supervisor Roger Amell as well as former Tupper Lake Village Trustee Tim Larkin.

Unofficial numbers from the Franklin County Board of Elections show Dechene pulling 1,139 votse, with Amell and Larkin tallying at 372 and 65 votes, respectively.

The three men were running for the seat vacated last April by former Highway Superintendent Mark Lavigne.

Burpoe, Crossman win; GOP gains two seats

The two local incumbents facing challenges yesterday for their seats on the Franklin County Board of Legislators held on, and the Democrats retained a slim majority.

Democratic incumbent Timothy Burpoe fended off a strong challenge from Republican Betsy Nicastro in the race for the District 7 seat, winning that race 1,061 to 845.

Meanwhile, in District 3, incumbent Democrat Gordon Crossman also edged out his Republican challenger, Besser McKee Hanna, by a margin of 901 to 852.

The county’s GOP base did pick up two seats in the legislative body.

Some 767 absentee ballots remain to be counted in Franklin County.

Mulverhill edges out Reyome for Franklin County Sheriff

In the race for Franklin County’s top law enforcement position, Kevin Mulverhill beat Ronald Reyome by a 500-vote margin.

Mulverhill ran on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence party lines, garnering 5,749 votes to Reyome’s 5,218.

Reyome ran for the seat on the Democratic line.

Cutting holds big lead in race for Essex County Sheriff

Richard Cutting --the virtual incumbent for Essex County Sheriff -- currently holds a commandding lead over independent challenger Micheal "Ike" Tyler.

With 33 of 42 districts reporting, Cutting has garnered a whopping 67 percent of the total vote and leads Tyler by nearly 3,000 votes.

Cutting is the protege of the recently deceased Sheriff Henrey Hommes and has run on a platform focused on his 30 years of experience and consistency of operations at the county department. He has been backed by county Republicans.

Tyler -- a retired corrections officer -- campaigned on a promise of cutting costs through increased programming that he argues would improve operational efficiency.

For elections, North Country press puts craft before competition

We in the press are accustomed to the intrinsic competition that comes with the information game. We are regularly massaging our sources and probing new angles in the hope of getting something new, unreported and fresh.

The driving paradigm in the news business is be out in front of something and make it yours.