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ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron

87080

Saturday,ÊA ugustÊ27 ,Ê2016

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www.SunCommunityNews.com

In WARRENSBURG | pg. 2

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Here kitty kitty

In OPINION | pg. 6

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Pay raise? Earn it!

Local tree service to the rescue!

Legislative salary increase excessive

In ENVIRONMENT | pg. 3

Invasive found in Indian Lake Spiny water flea detected

York: Blood tests indicate boat pilot used drugs By Thom Randall

thom@suncommunitynews.com

LAKE GEORGE — Blood samples taken from the speedboat pilot facing charges in a fatal hit-and-run boat collision on Lake George July 25 indicate he had taken drugs before he was apprehended, Warren County Sheriff Bud York said at an Aug. 23 press conference. York said toxicology tests of blood samples taken about 14 hours after the mid-evening crash that killed an eight-yearold California girl showed that the alleged speedboat pilot, Alexander M. West of Queensbury, had ingested three different classes of drugs at some point before his parents brought him to police the following morning. York said that the tests indicated positive results for three classes of drugs, which he declined to identify, citing that he didn’t want to compromise the prosecution’s case. York did

say that two of the drugs indicated in the blood tests were illegal. West was arrested and arraigned several days after the incident on two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident, one relating to the girl’s death and the other, to her mother’s injury. Charlotte McCue of Carlsbad Cal. was a passenger along with six family members near Cramer Point on a leisurely cruise in her grandfather’s 28-foot antique wooden boat, when a power boat piloted by West hit the wooden boat and flew up and over the middle of it where the girl and her mother, Courtney McCue were riding, police said. The girl died from her injuries, and her mother was hospitalized. Police have said that despite the collision and resulting screams from passengers in the antique wooden boat, West immediately started up his stalled, damaged craft — and he and his four passengers fled the scene, parking the boat at a

dock, summoned a ride, and West hid from police overnight, authorities said. In statements to police, several witnesses described the mayhem stemming from the crash, and detailed the activities of West and his friends when they docked the boat after fleeing. Their statements describe the group talking about evading detection as they docked their damaged speedboat. Several of West’s passengers said in their statements to police that they didn’t know what had happened and they merely left in the power boat. But witnesses to the collision described a scene with mayhem and screams, that left no doubt that anyone present would have known the crash was very serious. The four passengers in West’s boat were arrested on misdemeanor charges accusing them of lying to police and impeding the investigation. Authorities have said that prior to the crash, West and his >> See ACCIDENT | pg. 5

DECÊ closesÊ MillionÊ DollarÊ BeachÊ (again)

By Thom Randall

thom@suncommunitynews.com

Lake George’s Million Dollar Beach was closed Friday Aug. 19 for one day last week when unusually high levels of fecal coliform bacteria were detected in a routine water sample. A water sample taken Friday and reported Saturday, however, indicated that the water was well within quality standards — and the beach was reopened. The beach was closed again on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Photo by Thom Randall

LAKE GEORGE — Here we go again. The state Department of Environmental Conservation shuttered Million Dollar Beach on Tuesday evening due to coliform counts that exceed state Department of Health guidelines. DEC is also closing all waters in the area known as Dog Beach, which lies between West Brook and the Lake George Beach facility, the agency announced Tuesday evening. This is the second time in five days the beaches were closed due to elevated coliform levels, resulting in a touch-and-go situation

for one of the region’s most popular beaches. Results from water sample taken last week showed 1160 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 ml, which exceeds the Department of Health’s 1000 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 ml risk level. Additional testing over the weekend showed levels that were below DOH guidelines (22 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters) and the beach was re-opened. At that time, the DEC appeared to chalk that incident up to a fluke: “We don’t know for sure what caused that high of a spike,” David Winchell, a department spokesman, told the Sun. “To cause that >> BEACH | pg. 5


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