Public rallies in support of Tupper Lake resort

Here's George Earl's report on yesterday's Adirondack Club & Resort public hearings:

The L.P. Quinn Elementary School cafeteria was packed Wednesday afternoon during public hearings over the proposed Adirondack Club & Resort project in Tupper Lake.

Dozens of community members, business owners, politicians and other leaders from throughout the Adirondacks spoke during the hearings. The overwhelming majority were in support of the Adirondack Club and Resort project proposed for the Big Tupper ski area.

Melissa McManus of the Tupper Lake Revitalization Committee asked the state Adirondack Park Agency to send a message that “appropriate development can happen here, that Adirondacks are still open for business and that there is in fact hope for Adirondack communities like Tupper Lake.”

Community Store reaches goal, set to open this summer

The interim board of directors of the Community Store in Saranac Lake announced this week that it has reached its capital investment goal and will open sometime this summer.

Board members made the announcement Wednesday morning at the former Corvo’s restaurant, the future site of the shareholder-owned department store.

The effort to open a community-owned department store in Saranac Lake launched in the summer of 2007. At the time, the all-volunteer board of directors had high hopes of reaching its $500,000 capital goal quickly.

Barrett to chair ORDA board of directors

The former chairman of the New York State Republican Committee unofficially took the helm of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority’s Board of Directors today.

Pat Barrett sat in as chair of Tuesday’s regular ORDA meeting, replacing Joe Martens, who earlier this month was confirmed as the new commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Barrett worked for Cuomo during his gubernatorial campaign last year, and served as chair of the state Republican committee from 1989 to 1991.

Solider, 40, from LP dies in Texas

A Lake Placid man who served several tours in Iraq was found dead at his Texas home last month.

Officials with the Fort Hood Army Base say Sergeant First Class Shawn Michael Coolidge was found dead at his residence in Killeen, Texas on Feb. 17.

The cause of death is not yet known.

Police looking for missing sisters

Police in Albany issued a missing child alert Wednesday morning.

According to reports, police are looking for two sisters who disappeared around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officers suspect the young girls may be with their non-custodial mother, possibly heading for Canada.

Officials are seeking the public’s help in locating 15-year-old Ashley Duncan and 12-year-old Heather Duncan.

Ashley is described as a white female, 5’8” tall weighing about 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes; her sister, Heather, is described as a white female, 5’7” tall weighing approximately 120 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.

Gibson forms energy advisory council

The Republican representing New York’s 20th Congressional District announced recently that he’s forming a group to advise him on a broad range of energy issues.

Chris Gibson of Kinderhook says the Energy Advisory Council will assist him in identifying the necessary steps to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Gibson also wants to study ways of developing clean forms of domestic energy production and establish the role northern New York can play in that process.

Gibson, Sayward to host town hall meeting in Lake Placid

A pair of state and federal lawmakers will host a town hall-style meeting in Lake Placid next week.

Chris Gibson, who represents New York’s 20th Congressional District, and Teresa Sayward, who represents New York’s 113th Assembly District, will participate in a town hall forum from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 at the High Peaks Resort on Saranac Avenue.

The event is being hosted jointly by the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.

Gibson and Sayward – both Republicans – will make opening remarks, with a question-and-answer period to follow.

What's your superpower?

Marist College released a poll this week showing that the preferred superpower for Americans is either mind-reading or time travel.

Other top desired powers include the ability to fly and invisibility.

Here's the rest of this afternoon's AP brief:

Time travel and mind reading tied for first place in a Marist College poll released Tuesday. Both superpowers received 28% of the votes out of 5 choices. Flying came in third followed by the ability to teleport and invisibility.

Trudeau to stay in SL

Officials with Trudeau Institute announced this morning they intend to keep the research facility in Saranac Lake.

Here's the official press release:

The Trudeau Institute’s Board of Trustees announced today that the Institute is committed to staying in Saranac Lake.

“The Trudeau Institute is committed to Saranac Lake and is dedicated to advancing biomedical research in the region,” said Trudeau President Dr. David Woodland. “As we further develop our long-term plan focused on maintaining our status as a premier research organization, our goal is to continue to thrive in the Adirondacks while pushing the frontiers of biomedical science.”

Local man looks to purchase Sears

Reports surfaced Friday that a local restaurant owner is nearing a deal to purchase the Sears building, with the intent of reopening the parking lot to public use.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise says Paolo Magro, who owns the Little Italy pizzeria on Main Street and the Nonna Fina restaurant on River Street, is under contract to purchase the 1.41-acre parcel from Phil Vivlamore and Larry Mullen.

The pending deal does not include the Sears business itself. That remains on the market.

Gibson wants repeal of 1099, won’t support Owens’ bill

North Country Congressman Chris Gibson says he wants to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement included in last year’s Affordable Care Act.

But the Kinderhook Republican won’t support a repeal measure introduced this week by his Democratic colleague, Bill Owens.

The reporting requirement, which doesn’t take effect until 2012, forces businesses to submit IRS Form 1099s for every business-to-business transaction of $600 or more.

Owens, who represents New York’s 23rd Congressional District, says the measure small businesses are already overburdened with tax paperwork and reporting requirements.

ORDA worker injured at Whiteface Mountain

An employee of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority was injured earlier this week while performing maintenance on a ski lift at Whiteface Mountain.

ORDA spokesman Jon Lundin says the worker was attempting to restart the chair lift at Kids Kampus when the accident occurred at about 10:15 a.m. Monday.

According to reports, the lift had malfunctioned and crews were using a standby, auxiliary engine to help unload a pair of skiers and two instructors from the top of the lift.

Senator looks to stop congressional pay raises

New York’s junior senator introduced legislation this week aimed at halting congressional pay raises.

Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill would prohibit automatic raises for members of Congress. 12 of her colleagues in the Senate are cosponsoring the legislation.

The bill mirrors a similar one introduced last year by Senator Russ Feingold, a Democratic from Wisconsin.

Police search for missing Saranac Lake man

The Saranac Lake Village Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a local man who went missing over the weekend.

Chief Bruce Nason says village cops are looking for 55-year-old Gary P. Sklaryk of 304 Ampersand Avenue, Saranac Lake.

According to Nason, Sklaryk was reported missing by a family member on Sunday. He was last seen at approximately 4 a.m.

ORDA worker hurt following lift malfunction...

An employee of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority was injured following a lift malfunction at Whiteface Mountain this week.

ORDA spokesman Jon Lundin says an investigation into the incident is under way. He notes, however, that the malfunction was not caused by wind and the lift line and chairs were not in danger of falling to the ground.

The malfunction occurred on Lift I – the Freeway Lift – on Little Whiteface Mountain at 10:58 a.m. Wednesday. Lundin says 76 people were on the lift when the malfunction happened.

Comptroller finds Lake Placid government handing out taxpayers’ money...

Here's a report filed by Jon Alexander a few minutes ago:

French King Louis XIV built the gold and jewel-laden palace at Versailles, the Roman Emperor Caligula named himself a god and Lake Placid Village officials apparently get grossly overpaid for work they never did.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli blasted Lake Placid Village government Wednesday following the completion of an audit that found village employees were paid over $111,000 for unapproved leave accruals. One town officials received lumps of cash for leave time that was never even earned.

Beard shaving for Donegal contest is this Saturday...

John Warren at the Adirondack Almanack is reminding folks today that beard shaving for the third annual Adirondack Donegal Beard Contest is this Saturday:

Participants in the 3rd Annual Adirondack Donegal Beard Contest are preparing to shave their facial hair New Year's Day in anticipation of growing their Donegal Beard for this year's contest. New beardsman are welcome to take part in the event, which is free and open to the public.

Sears owners look to sell building, parking lot...

Jon Alexander is reporting that Sears in Saranac Lake is up for sale:

The owners of Sears in Saranac Lake are seeking to sell their building, the business and the recently-barricaded Main Street parking lot that has roused non-stop controversy for months.

Adirondack Premier Properties owner Margie Philo told WNBZ Tuesday that the owners of Sears, Larry Mullen and Phil Vivlamore, are looking to shed the property because of the fallout surrounding the parking lot’s August closure.

“The owners feel that at this time – with the business climate in village and their difficult experience over the last 16 months – they just felt unwelcome,” she said. “So they decided to list it.”

Police searching for missing TL woman

Police in Tupper Lake are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 79-year-old woman reported missing Thursday morning.

Tupper Lake Village Police Officer Justin Perryman told WNBZ that family members of Helen Reandeau reported her missing around 11 a.m.

Helen’s daughter-in-law, Diane, says she was last seen by her son and daughter at a residence on King Street in the village of Tupper Lake at approximately 7:15 a.m.
Diane says she arrived at the home at about 9:15 a.m., and soon after friends and family members filed a missing persons report.

Bridge update this morning...

The Associated Press reports that officials with the state Department of Transportation will provide an update on the Lake Champlain bridge project.

Here's the AP brief:

New York state transportation officials and the contractor building the new bridge across southern Lake Champlain will give the public an update on the $70 million project.