Editorial» Now it is General Motors’ turn
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This Week IN WESTPORT
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Saturday, April 12, 2014
SCHOOL CHALLENGE
Senate green lights home rule speed law Would allow town’s to set speed limits on town roads
Youth take part in public participation day.
By Pete DeMola pete@denpubs.com ALBANY Ñ If the state legislature steps on the gas, local officials will soon have the ability to hit the brakes when it comes to setting speed limits in their towns. Current law requires most towns to petition the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to change speed limits, an arduous process that some officials say isn’t always responsive to the needs of the community.
PAGE 2 COURTS
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Brandon Martinez sentenced for animal cruelty PAGE 3
Norma Goff, High Peaks Hospice and Palliative Care Board member, and Ingrid Roemischer, Development Coordinator, presented students at AuSable Forks Elementary School with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts in the Essex County & Town of Hague School Challenge fundraiser. According to AFES nurse Brooke A Sorrell, the students and staff sold Purple and Pink pins for a $2 donation. They made it a competition against faculty/staff and the students ended up raising $10 more than the faculty/staff. See page 3 inside for a related photograph. Photo provided/HPHPC staff
County talks radios, building repairs By Pete DeMola
KIDS COUNT
pete@denpubs.com ELIZABETHTOWN Ñ Lawmakers in Essex County expressed dismay at their regular board meeting on Monday, April 7 over what they perceived as drifting expenses for several public works projects, including the ongoing public safety radio installation project, roof inspections for the Government Center and improvements to the town highway garage in Lewis.
Bullying is still an issue in our schools PAGE 7
HIGH VOLTAGE Emergency Services Director Don Jaquish asked the board to authorize a purchasing agent to go out to bid for an emergency power installation at the county public safety building in Lewis. During Hurricane Sandy, issues arose that called the existing power supplyÕ s
stability into question, he said. Ò We need to make sure our 911 and emergency operations center remains powered in the event of another disaster,Ó he said. The emergency power supply is slated to cost $134,691, most of which will be covered by homeland security and emergency services grants. Jaquish asked the county for $16,300, the financial gap that won’t be covered by the grants. He requested the funds be pulled from jail bond funds so the budget wouldnÕ t be upended. While the emergency power installation project is not part of the ongoing public safety radio project, some lawmakers expressed dismay at what they perceived as an endless stream of expenses: Ò This seems like a runaway train,Ó said North Elba supervisor Roby Politi. Ò ItÕ s troubling Ñ it seems like thereÕ s always something.Ó
Ò When you go out to bid, it can be a real crap shoot,Ó said Jaquish. Ò This should have been engineered in the original project, but it never was,Ó said county manager Daniel Palmer. Ò We werenÕ t happy that they removed it,Ó said Jaquish. Jaquish also asked the board for $7,900 for design work at the Belfry Mountain site, the latest in a stream of similar requests that have dotted county meetings this past year. The larger project, which has been in the works since 2008, and came with an initial price tag of $10 million (itÕ s now creeping toward $15 million), involves the installation of telecommunications infrastructure at 13 sites across the region on both private and state land. ItÕ s designed to replace an antiquated, CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Graying population facing dementia epidemic By Pete DeMola pete@denpubs.com WILLSBORO Ñ Is the world going slightly-gray during the drift into your golden years? Local medical experts want you to know while lapses in memory are a normal part of the aging process, itÕ s crucial to be proactive in preventing what may become AlzheimerÕ s disease or other forms of irreversible dementia, a blanket term used to describe the CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
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