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November 7, 2009
A Denton Publication
Improvements
Get Lucky
Sports
Lots of changes are on the way for the Ski Bowl Park.
Family returns to hometown to run local restaurant.
Jaguars and Orange fall short in sectionals tourney.
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Local elections decided, Long Lake supervisor race a close call
District Attorney race remains too close to call Unofficial results show Sprague with narrow lead
By Lindsay Yandon lindsay@denpubs.com The evening of Nov. 3 was a busy and late one in local town halls as voters took to the polls to decide between 34 candidates in 13 races. Results ranged from landslide wins to victories still to close to call definitively. The race between Independent Gregg Wallace and Republican Clark Seaman for supervisor of the town of Long Lake was a tight one. Wallace received a slight edge with 236 votes, while Seaman garnered 229. The addition of absentee ballots may still have a strong impact on the outcome of this race. In Indian Lake, Republican James Roblee only secured a one point advantage over Independent Brian Wells for the office of highway superintendent at 354 and 353. These results will be unofficial until Nov. 13 when the absentee vote is considered. A complete list of general election results is as follows. In Johnsburg Highway Superintendent Republican Daniel Hitchcock 330 Independent Frederick Comstock 176 Town Council Democrat Ronald Vanselow 292 Republican Arnold Stevens 299 Independent Roger Mosher 81 In Minerva Town Supervisor Democrat Sue Montgomery Corey 216 Republican David LaBar 160 Independent Paul Clickner 15
See ELECTIONS page 9
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Kristy Sprague By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com ELIZABETHTOWN — The race between the candidates for Essex County District Attorney is still too close to call after Election Day.
Unofficial results reported after polls closed Nov. 3 show Republican-backed candidate Kristy Sprague with a 75-vote lead over incumbent Julie Garcia in the county-wide race. The margin remained close as individual towns reported their counts throughout the evening. With only Minerva and North Elba left to report, the count showed Garcia with a 110-vote lead. Final tallies gave Sprague a tentative win, however, claiming victory by a margin of 6053 votes to Garcia’s 5978. “It was a close race,” said Sprague, “but I won, and I’m very pleased with the result.” Sprague, an Assistant District Attorney in Clinton County, received the endorsement of Essex
County Republicans and went on to a narrow victory over fellow Republican Garcia in the party primary, but not before Garcia had secured the endorsement of county Democrats. “I knew it was going to be tough,” Sprague added. “[Garcia’s] a four-year incumbent who ran on a major party line, but we won, and I’m happy with that.” The towns of Elizabethtown, Westport, Moriah, Essex, and Schroon all broke heavily in favor of Garcia, but Sprague claimed significant victories in Chesterfield, Ticonderoga, Minerva, Newcomb, North Hudson, and her new hometown of Willsboro. Sprague said the presence of the Congressional race in the 23rd district contributed heavily
Julie Garcia to the closeness of the District Attorney race. “The Democrats definitely got out the vote,” she said, surmising that many supporters of candidate Bill Owens also voted for Garcia on the Democratic line.
See DA RACE, page 9
Hommes elected easily to fourth term as sheriff By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com ELIZABETHTOWN — Henry Hommes has been the Essex County Sheriff for 12 years. Now, it appears he will have the chance to add four more. Unofficial election results released Nov. 3 showed Hommes with a commanding lead over his two independent challengers with nearly 55 percent of the total vote. The final tally credited Hommes with 5,280 votes. Westport town councilman Michael “Ike” Tyler came in second with 3,086, and former Wilmington town justice Robert Kirby third with 1,319. “I think it speaks for itself; that I must be doing what the people want,” said Hommes. “I’m very
appreciative of the support I’ve received tonight and over the past 12 years.” The convincing victory for Hommes parallels his win over Tyler in the Republican primary. There, he claimed 54.2 percent of the vote in a two-way race. Tyler continued to run as an independent, but could not pull enough voters away from Hommes. He did put forth strong showings in Elizabethtown, Moriah, and Westport, however. Tyler could not be reached for comment at the time of this report. Kirby, another independent, was also able to draw many of the voters who were seeking change. Though he had significant support in Wilmington and surrounding communities in Keene and Jay, it
was not enough to challenge the incumbent. “Naturally, I'm disappointed,” said Kirby. “I believe that we have some serious problems at our sheriff's office, and I presented some very specific solutions to them.” Kirby said he had felt a positive response from people he met throughout the county, but admitted his self-funded campaign may not have allowed him to reach enough people. “Although the end result was not what I'd hoped for, it was still a positive experience overall and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to run,” he added. The wide margin of victory for Hommes means he has no reason to doubt his re-election. Less than
Henry Hommes 1,200 absentee ballots have been issued county-wide. “We will continue to do the job we’ve been doing of trying to keep the burden of the tax rolls off the backs of the taxpayers,” Hommes said.
Locals walk to fight breast cancer By Lindsay Yandon lindsay@denpubs.com QUEENSBURY — Walkers from all over Warren County met at Queensbury High School on the crisp fall morning of Oct. 25 to make some strides against breast cancer. The American Cancer Society sponsored the 2009 Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk of Warren County to honor breast cancer survivors, remember those who were lost to the disease and to raise funds for and awareness of breast cancer. North Creek’s Creative Stage Lighting brought a team of walkers to the event and they were ranked as the number one fundraising company in Warren County for this years walk. So far, they have raised more than $1,400. “We named our team ‘Team Creative’ and with the help of our team members and donors, we were able to give a substantial donation towards assistance and programs for those fighting breast cancer,” said team member Dan Studnicky. The money raised from the event will go
toward investing in research, promoting prevention and detection, providing services, and advocating for lifesaving laws. Last year, nearly 600,000 walkers from across the country joined the American Cancer Society in a united fight against breast cancer and raised more than $60 million. In New York and New Jersey, walkers at 28 events raised more than $18 million. Students and staff from both Minerva and Newcomb Central Schools also participated in the event for the second year. The Mountaineers boys soccer team coordinated the team and helped to raise more than $400. Making Strides events are noncompetitive walks ranging in distance from 3 to 5 miles that strive to unite people of all ages in the common goal of supporting breast cancer victims and raising money for a cure. For more information on Making Strides events, visit http://makingstrides.acsevents.org.
Walkers from Minerva and Newcomb joined in the walk at Queensbury High School. Photo by Mike Corey