TUPPER LAKE MAN KILLED IN ONE-CAR ROLLOVER

A one-car rollover crash off State Route 56 in the Town of Colton has claimed the life of a Tupper Lake man.

State Police in Canton said 74 year-old Beatrice Whitman was driving a southbound sport utility vehicle around 2:20 p.m. Friday when she fell asleep at the wheel. 

The vehicle drifted across the northbound lane, traveled off the east shoulder of the road and struck several small trees, overturning.

A passenger in the vehicle, 73 year-old Richard Whitman of Tupper Lake was pronounced dead at the scene.  His wife, Beatrice Whitman, was transported by Potsdam Rescue to the Canton-Potsdam Hospital for treatment of an injury to her right arm. 

The crash occurred on State Route 56, eight-tenths of a mile north of Trim Road in the Town of Colton, in the area known as the “snow bowl.”

State Police say driver fatigue is believed to be the cause of the crash.

-Chris Knight

SCHUMER REPORTS BREAKTHROUGH ON PASSPORTS

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may be backing down from a requirement that travelers show a passport when entering the country at the northern border.

That’s what Senator Charles Schumer told a group of about 20 business and civic leaders during an economic development roundtable in Lake Placid on Friday.

Schumer described a recent meeting with Homeland Security officials where they received an “informal commitment” that the passport requirement will not be imposed if a plan to work with the state to develop more secure driver’s licenses is successful. 

Schumer called it a “real breakthrough.” “I think in our meeting it was clear that while Secretary Chertoff didn’t want to back off and do nothing, he realized passports was not the way to go and driver’s licenses was,” he said.  “The bottom line is – a “real ID” law that we’re passing federally, which makes a driver’s license much harder to forge, could be for everybody.  It would take a few years, it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers anything and would work.”

A test of the secure driver’s licenses is ongoing in Washington State.  “And it’s working,” Schumer said.

The news was welcomed by those attending Friday’s event like Garry Douglas, President of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce.  He says he’s cautiously optimistic that the passport requirement will be withdrawn. “Our friends are working for us,” he said.  “I like our situation today better than I did a year ago.”

The loss of doctors and other medical professionals in the North Country was also discussed on Friday.  Stephens Mundy, President of CVPH Medical Center, said the shortage is “worsening.” “We expressed that very strongly to the Senator today and he’s working on several different issues.  One would be designating this area as a physician shortage area, which helps us recruit physicians and gives additional Medicare reimbursement to the physicians that are here so they don’t leave.”

The doctor shortage could also be eased by a federal program that pays for a physician’s medical school if they commit to working five years in an underserved area, Schumer said. “This has been a huge success in Watertown which has a greater problem than the Plattsburgh area.  But we’re going to try to see if we can adjust the formula so Plattsburgh can benefit from this program too.”

A number of other issues were brought to Schumer’s attention on Friday including the need for affordable housing and broadband service in rural areas.

Jeremy Evans, Saranac Lake’s new Community Development Director, described the mandate the village has been placed under to build a water filtration plant within 18 months, even though village water quality hasn’t really changed.

Schumer directed his staff to work with Evans.  “Some of these regulations are just dumb and this is one of them,” he said.

-Chris Knight

SCHUMER VISITS TUPPER’S WILD CENTER

Senator Charles Schumer’s visit to the North Country on Friday also included a stop at the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake.

The senator toured the Wild Center accompanied by museum staff, local and county leaders, and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis.

It was Schumer’s first visit to the museum since it opened in July of 2006.  He asked questions about each exhibit and took time to greet museum patrons along the tour. “This is incredible,” he said. “It’s even better than I envisioned.”

Later, he sat down to discuss issues the region is facing with Franklin County Manager Jim Feeley, Village Mayor Mickey Desmarais, Town Supervisor Roger Amell and Police Chief Tom Fee.

Schumer was asked what he could do to help extend railroad service between Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake.

The senator said he’d look into earmarking funds for the project, but cautioned that some politicians are trying to eliminate “earmarks” because of abuse. “I make them public and I debate them but they want to cut back,” he said. “That’s the only way a small county like Franklin County can get mainstream help as opposed to a big federal program that might drop a few drops of them.”

Schumer recommended Next Stop! Tupper Lake Chairman Dan McClelland apply for a federal grant for the next round of funding.  Schumer also said he’d check with the state DOT on the status of $5 million promised by former Governor George Pataki for track rehabilitation.

County Manager Jim Feeley raised concern about the rising price of fuel oil, especially with winter approaching. He asked if Schumer could press his colleagues in the Senate to allocate more funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. “The warm weather senators kind of outnumber the cold weather senators and we know it’s a fight,” he said.

Schumer pledged to get more money for the program.  “It is a fight and we’ll get it back,” he said.  “We’re going to increase it. The new Senate is going to be more sympathetic.”

Police Chief Tom Fee asked how much a rural police department could expect to receive from the federal COPS program, which offers assistance to hire and train police, acquire crime-fighting technology and develop and test policing strategies. “There’s 25-percent set aside for rural areas, so you don’t have to compete against Albany or New York City,” Schumer said.

The senator also advised members of the Adirondack Public Observatory to contact his office to see how he could help with their mission. 

While in Tupper Lake, Schumer commented on a recent Government Accountability Office report that found large gaps in security along the northern border with Canada. “They put far too much emphasis on the southern border compared to the northern border where now we’re trying to get shifted,” he said. “We’re pretty good at our checkpoints. You go up to the Champlain checkpoint and everything is good but if somebody wants to smuggle something they can go ten miles east or west and get through so they’ve got to do much more with border patrol and with on the St. Lawrence River Coast Guard.”

Following his visit to the Wild Center, Schumer made another stop in Indian Lake.

-Mike Fritts

SENATE TO CONSIDER APA NOMINATIONS

The state Senate was expected to consider possible confirmation of three Adirondack Park Agency commissioners today.

Governor Eliot Spitzer has named Upper Saranac Lake resident Curt Stiles to serve as chairman of the park agency.  Stiles is a founding member of the Upper Saranac Lake Foundation and has been actively involved in the issue of invasive species.

A third generation summer resident of the area, Stiles has been living in the Adirondacks full time since 1996. He worked as a senior executive for Xerox Corporation for 35 years.

The Senate is also expected to act on the nomination of Dick Booth, an environmental attorney and author from Ithaca, to an outside-the-park seat on the APA board. 

Booth was initially named by Spitzer as the agency’s chairman.  But his nomination as chair was withdrawn after concerns were raised by some who felt the chair should be an in-park resident.

Spitzer has also reappointed Lake Pleasant supervisor Frank Mezzano to serve another term on the agency board.  He returned to the board earlier this year after a brief hiatus.

All three nominations were scheduled to come before the state Senate for possible confirmation this afternoon.

-Chris Knight

LITTLE BACKS RACING INDUSTRY OVERHAUL

Senator Betty Little says she’s backing a proposal that would reinvigorate the state’s thoroughbred racing industry by creating an independent corporation to guide management of racing and gaming at Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont racecourses.

Little, a member of Senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, listened to and read testimony garnered during hearings over the past few weeks in review of Governor Spitzer’s proposal on the future of racing.  Little said the public hearings have led to strong ideas that will ensure the best result for horse racing fans and taxpayers.

“Our hearings reaffirmed the importance of the need for accountability,” said Little. “Of particular concern to me is the interests of property taxpayers in the three communities that host these tracks. Our plan would guarantee the communities receive from the state the property tax revenue they deserve.”

Little said a new Racing, Gaming and Equine Sports Development Corporation would provide additional oversight and transparency to improve the integrity of racing.  Its members would include representatives of NYRA, horse owners and breeders, along with up to four additional representatives of the racing, gaming and commercial development industries.

The Senate plan would also establish community advisory groups to amplify local concerns, and to implement changes and improvements.

-Chris Knight

MEET THE CANDIDATES EVENTS PLANNED

The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Resources Committee is spearheading a Meet the Candidate event on Thursday, November 1.

The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at McKenzie Grill in Saranac Lake.

“In an effort to ensure that our members and the business community at large know where candidates stand on issues important to our communities, we have invited all of the candidates who are running in our immediate area to meet their constituents,” said Executive Director Sylvie Nelson.

Invited to the events are those running for public office in the towns of Harrietstown, North Elba, Brighton, Franklin and St. Armand.  Also invited is Tim Burpoe, who is running unopposed for Franklin County Legislator in Saranac Lake.

“The Chamber does not endorse candidates,” Nelson said.  “But we are in the business of bringing information to our members so that they can best decide who will have their business interests at heart.”

For more information about the event or to RSVP contact the chamber at 891-1990.

There will also be a “Meet the Candidates” meeting for North Elba voters at the North Elba Town House on River Street in Saranac Lake.  The session will be held Tuesday evening, October 23, from 7 to 9 p.m.

-Chris Knight

POLICE AND FIRE REPORT

Three people were taken to the hospital after a one-vehicle rollover accident Sunday afternoon in Tupper Lake.  State Police in Tupper Lake say 16 year-old Rebecca Choate of Tupper Lake was traveling north on Kildare Road in a 1994 Chevrolet pickup when she lost control of the vehicle.  The truck exited the road and overturned, ejecting two passengers – 16 year-old Kayla Fletcher and a 13 year-old male, whose name was not released due to juvenile status.  The 13 year-old complained of pain throughout his entire body and was flown by helicopter to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.  Police say his injuries were not life-threatening.  Choate suffered a fractured arm and Fletcher complained of head pain.  They were transported to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake where they were treated and released.  The accident remains under investigation.  32 members and one truck from the Tupper Lake Fire Department responded to the scene and assisted rescue personnel.

A Plattsburgh man was arrested Friday after Saranac Lake Police investigation a report from an off-duty state trooper of a driver committing numerous vehicle and traffic violations.  Police responded to Lake Flower Avenue and found 23 year-old Dustin A. Provost was allegedly operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs.  He was also allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance and hypodermic syringes for which he did not have a prescription. Provost was charged with DWAI-drugs, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally possession a hypodermic instrument.  He was also issued traffic tickets.  Provost was arraigned and remanded to the Essex County Jail in lieu of $2500 cash bail.

Lake Placid Police arrested 52 year-old Grant A. Goegan of Carrying Place, Ontario at 3:08 a.m. Saturday morning and charged him with driving while intoxicated, operating without headlamps and being an unlicensed operator. After being stopped for multiple vehicle and traffic law violations he was allegedly found to be intoxicated. Goegan was released on cash bail to appear in village court at a later date.

Saranac Lake firefighters were called to Airport Road in Lake Clear at 9:20 p.m. on Friday for a report of a transformer fire on a utility pole.  Three members and one truck responded.   They stood by until a National Grid crew could arrive on scene and returned to the fire station by 10:54 p.m.

Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department members responded to a smoke condition on Route 30 in Saranac Inn at 2:13 p.m. Saturday.  Six members and one truck responded and found a property owner burning brush without a permit.  The fire was extinguished and the Department of Environmental Conservation notified.  Firefighters returned to the fire station at 3:28 p.m.

Saranac Lake firefighters responded to a report of a small grass and brush fire on Sunday at 1:45 p.m.  10 members and one truck responded to Manning Hill on Route 86.  They used 100 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze, returning to the fire station by 2:11 p.m.

Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department members were called to a report of power lines down on Charland Road at 3:22 p.m. Saturday.  23 members and one truck responded.  They stood by until Tupper Lake Municipal Electric Department workers arrived on scene, returning to the fire station by 3:59 p.m.

Tupper Lake firefighters were also called to a transformer fire on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. 25 members and one truck responded to the intersection of Marion Avenue and Bushey Avenue.  They stood by until municipal electric crews arrived on scene, returning to the fire station by 4:45 a.m.