AMO: BEING CLOSER TO FAMILY BEHIND DECISION TO LEAVE

Scott Amo says he’s stepping down as Saranac Lake School District superintendent to be closer to his home and his wife in Plattsburgh.

Amo, who was hired last night as the school superintendent in Beekmantown, said he came to Saranac Lake three years ago and intended to finish his career here. 

But, he said, the long commute to and from his home in Plattsburgh began to wear on him both physically and spiritually.  “At this stage of my life I didn’t want that to continue forever,” he said.

Amo also said he wants to spend more time with his wife, who works as a middle school principal in Plattsburgh.  So when the Beekmantown position became open, he decided to apply. “It’s extremely important that the community knows that the only district I applied for was Beekmantown and it’s for those reasons,” he said.  “Its proximity and its opportunity presented itself in a way I had to pursue it.”

After a 45 minute executive session Wednesday night, the Saranac Lake School Board unanimously authorized the acceptance of Amo’s intent to resign.  Board member Cliff Donaldson was absent.  The decision was made pending Amo’s hiring by the Beekmantown Board of Education, which took place at nearly the same time last night.

Saranac Lake School Board member Miles Van Nortwick said there were no hard feelings surrounding Amo’s departure.  Some members of the board had even written him letters of recommendation for the Beekmantown job. “Scott’s leaving on a very positive note,” Van Nortwick said.  “There’s no animosity among any of the board members.  He’ll be a great asset to the Beekmantown School District.  We’re going to miss him, absolutely.” 

Board member Darren Dalton said the timing was bad for the district, considering the start of the school year is two weeks away. “But we’ll make due,” he said.

The board will most likely bring on an interim superintendent.  One name that’s already been mentioned is John Raymond, who served in a similar capacity for the district before.  “He has expressed an interest,” Dalton said.

The process of hiring a new superintendent could take months.  Although the qualifications for the position have yet to be spelled out, Dalton said the next superintendent should be required to live in the school district. “It creates a connection with the community, the kids, the staff and everyone else,” he said.

Asked about his accomplishments during his tenure, Amo gave credit to the district’s administrators, principals and staff for “pulling off lots of good things” such as revising the teacher evaluation process and the hiring of more than 30 new employees. 

But there are other initiatives that are just getting started, Amo said, such as curriculum development and goal setting. (news4) “I would have liked and would like the district to have goal setting be an active part of everybody’s work day and work year.  That’s a thing that would have been a year away from now before we’d see it ready to happen.  But the clock has run out.” 

Amo’s resignation will be effective September 21.

-Chris Knight

GILLIBRAND TO HOST TOWN HALL FORUM IN LAKE PLACID

Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that she will hold her eleventh town hall meeting of the year this Saturday in Lake Placid on the subject of economic development.

Gillibrand, in a news release, said the session honors her pledge to hold a town hall meeting in each of the ten counties she represents.

She called it a great opportunity for local residents to “share opinions and concerns on the issues that matter to them.”

Officials will also be on hand to give technical advice on setting up a successful small business in Upstate New York and how best to take advantage of available state and federal tax credits. “I am focused on creating good jobs for the North Country and making sure our local economy is prepared for growth,” Gillibrand said.

At the beginning of the town hall, the Congresswoman will be presenting Lake Placid Mayor Jamie Rogers with a copy of a resolution honoring Lake Placid's 75th Anniversary of the 1932 Winter Olympic Games and distinguished place in Olympic history.  The resolution was approved by the House of Representatives on July 23. In turn Rogers will be giving Gillibrand a key to the village.

The town hall meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Lake Placid Beach House on Parkside Drive.

-Chris Knight

WILMINGTON GETS GRANT FOR NEW SENIOR BUS

The Town of Wilmington has received a large grant to put towards the purchase of a new bus for its senior citizens.

Supervisor Jeanne Ashworth says she received word last week that they’ve received a grant for $42,500 from the state Department of Transportation.

The money will pay for a new 12 passenger bus for the seniors. 

The town applied for the grant in 2006.  Ashworth said they were hoping the bus they were using would last until they received the funds, but that didn’t happen. “The seniors have been out of a bus for about 10 months.  It’s been so long since we put this grant in, we were giving up hope.  But on Friday we got the letter and we’re very happy.”

Ashworth said the town had to pay an $8000 match to get the grant.  The bus could be ready by November.  “We’ll be riding in style in Wilmington,” she said.

-Chris Knight

STATE REPRESENTATIVES QUESTION POLITICAL JOB

Some state politicians are questioning the hiring of former Governor George Pataki’s North Country representative to a political job with the Assembly Minority Conference.

Candy Luck will serve as a regional representative for the conference with a $30,000 salary.  Part of her Plattsburgh-based job will include archiving the papers of former Assemblyman Chris Ortloff, who donated the materials to Plattsburgh State last year at the end of his 20 year Assembly career.

But Assemblywoman Janet Duprey says it’s wrong for anyone to be working on Ortloff’s papers.  “If he wants to donate his papers, if anybody thinks they are worth anything, then he should pay for them to work on them,” she told the Plattsburgh Press-Republican.  “We shouldn’t be spending taxpayer money on this.”

Duprey said she had nothing against Candy Luck.  “But I don’t think it’s the state’s responsibility to make up jobs for someone,” she said.

The Press Republican reports that Luck needs 13 more months of state employment to maximize her retirement benefits.

Luck defended the job, saying it’s more than just archiving Ortloff’s papers.  Her responsibilities include doing field work, helping local Assembly members and working on special projects for the Assembly minority leader.  “This work is very similar to the work I did in the Assembly and I feel very fortunate that they wanted me to return to work,” she said.

A spokesman for the Assembly Minority Leader said Luck will be “the eyes and ears of the North Country and will make sure our members are served in the best way.”

But other lawmakers were concerned about the position.

Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward said she and Janet Duprey were never consulted about the hiring of Luck as a North Country representative.  “With the kind of money taxpayers are paying right now, I don’t think most New Yorkers would think this is a good use of their money,” she told the Press-Republican.

State Senator Betty Little said she doesn’t think there’s much value in Ortloff’s papers.  “I just don’t see it,” she said.

-Chris Knight

FRANKLIN COUNTY WANTS DEC TO FIX BOAT LAUNCH

The Franklin County Legislature is calling on the state Department of Environmental Conservation to repair and upgrade the state Boat Launch on the Raquette River known as the “Crusher.”

The county recently approved a resolution co-sponsored by legislators Paul Maroun of Tupper Lake and Tim Burpoe of Saranac Lake that asks the DEC to move the site up on the priority list for either new construction or major repair. 

“The condition of the boat launch at this time is truly an accident waiting to happen,” Maroun said in a news release.  “It is truly deplorable.”

The action by the county comes just weeks after the Town of Harrietstown board passed a similar resolution.  “For the sake of safety, tourism and recreation it needs to be improved,” Councilman Brian McDonnell said at the time.

The wooden structure of the launch is falling into the river and nails are sticking up in some locations, McDonnell said.

If nothing is done and someone is harmed, Maroun says the state will be liable.  “This boat launch should be at the top of the priority list,” he said.

DEC spokeswoman Lori O’Connell tells the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that the state has a preliminary plan for rehabilitation of the site. “Dependent upon funding and permitting at this site, the Raquette River Boat Launch project could begin construction as early as the fall of 2008,” she said.

-Chris Knight

BROOKLYN MAN GETS PRISON TIME FOR COCAINE POSSESSION

A Brooklyn man was sentenced in Franklin County Court this week to 11 years in prison for possessing 80 grams of cocaine.

27 year-old Tiray Paige was convicted in June of this year on counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.

The charges stemmed from Paige’s March 20, 2006 arrest where he was found in possession of 80 grams of cocaine in the Town of Westville. Paige was also accused of intentionally obstructing State Police in their attempt to execute an arrest warrant.

Paige had been convicted of same cocaine possession charge in Ulster County in 2002, making him eligible for sentencing in the Franklin County case as a second felony offender.  He served time at the Lakeview Shock Incarceration Facility in Brocton, New York.

Franklin County Judge Robert Main Jr. sentenced Paige this week to a determinate sentence of ten years on the possession charge to be followed by three years of post release supervision.  He was also given a one-year sentence on the obstruction charge and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne, in a news release, said the sentence sends a strong message to “those people who believe they can come to Franklin County and establish their drug trade.”

The DA also praised the efforts of State Police Investigators William Bronner and Brian Mulverhill for their handling of the case.

Assistant District Attorney Glenn MacNeill prosecuted the case.

-Mike Fritts

CORRECTION: PROPANE LEAK AT SKI JUMPS

A correction to a fire call we reported on Wednesday.

Lake Placid firefighters were called to the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex on Route 73 Tuesday night for a propane leak. 

A fire department spokesman had reported an ORDA employee ran into a pair of 1000 gallon propane tanks with a pickup truck.

But, according to ORDA spokesman Sandy Caligiore, the unoccupied vehicle slipped out of gear and went down an embankment, striking the propane tanks. 

Firefighters used a leak kit to slow down the leak and then burned off the remaining propane from the tanks. 

The fire department was called to the scene again Wednesday morning at 9:05 a.m.  One truck and 14 members stood by as the gas company burned off the remaining propane from the tanks.  Firefighters returned to the station by 2:05 p.m.

POLICE REPORT

Lake Placid Police charged 35 year-old Ricardo Montes of Lake Placid with felony first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and driving with an obstructed view at 6:47 p.m. Wednesday.  Police say he was arrested following a traffic stop where Montes was found to be operating on a revoked license.  Montes was arraigned and remanded to the Essex County Jail in lieu of $2000 bail or bond.

Tupper Lake Village Police charged 47 year-old Mary Cook of Tupper Lake with disorderly conduct at 2:28 a.m. today.  Police say she was allegedly acting drunk and disorderly on Demars Boulevard.  Cook was released to appear in village court at a later date.