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Saturday,ÊJ ulyÊ15,Ê2017
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In MINERVA | pg. 12
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What’s on the line?
In opinion | pg. 6
Invasives mascot
Annual fishing derby held
More needed to get the word out
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In lake george | pg. 2
Band festival returns Events start this weekend
Broken sewer line discovered near Million Dollar Beach Infrastructure damage caused by National Grid, supervisor says By Thom Randall
thom@suncommunitynews.com
LAKE GEORGE Ñ An ongoing investigation to identify the source of E. coli contamination at Million Dollar Beach yielded results last week, as a major breech in the townÕ s sewer system was discovered by a task force of municipal workers.
Town of Lake George Supervisor Dennis Dickinson described the break in a sewer main under Beach Road to town board members at their July 10 meeting. He said it was likely the primary source of this yearÕ s recurring bacterial contamination of water at the popular beach. Dickinson said the workers discovered that the hardened-clay sewer pipe, about 10 inches in diameter, had a large hole it Ñ and that a natural gas line ran perpendicularly through it. He said the sewer main had apparently been shattered inadvertently by National Grid
workers while they were installing the gas line under the road several years ago. The workers found the broken sewer main July 5 as they were running a robotic camera through sewer lines in the area. After discovering the breech, workers then blasted smoke into the sewer line below the break, and the vapor emanated from local storm sewer drains Ñ indicating that sewage flowing from the underground sewer breech could have migrated to nearby storm sewers which
drain into Lake George near Million Dollar Beach. Dickinson said that several years ago National Grid had driven the gas line horizontally under the road, hammering the line through the pipe, which punctured and shattered it. Dickinson reported that National Grid had earlier asked Warren County officials for permission to dig up the road to install the line, but the county had denied their request because the road had recently been reconstructed. >> See BEACH | pg. 15
Possible central sewage system for Halmet of North Creek explained Two of four options essentially ruled out By Christopher South
chris@suncommunitynews.com
Shown at left are North Creek resident Renate Wildermuth and her daughter, Emma, receiving input from Kate Hartley (center), lead artist for Photo by Chris South the North Creek Mosaic Project, as passersby enjoy seeing the project’s progress.
Tickets to place mosaic piece being raffled By Christopher South
chris@suncommunitynews.com
NORTH CREEK Ñ The North Creek Mosaic Project is raffling the chance to place the final piece in the second panel of the mural being created on Main Street. Kate Hartley, the projectÕ s lead artist, said the mural, with the
theme of Ò Nature and Recreation in Our Area,Ó began in 2011 as a project of the Johnsburg Fine Arts League. The project is sponsored by the Friends of the Town of Johnsburg Parks. She said what she imagined would be a three-year project is now in its seventh year. The raffle will be part of a Ò Last
Piece PartyÓ with the drawing scheduled for Thursday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m., at mural site on Main Street. Hartley said the raffle will help fund the continuation of the project, which started with a grant out of the Johnsburg occupancy tax account. >> See MURAL | pg. 15
WEVERTOWN Ñ Sewer Commission Chairman Matt Parobeck presented the Johnsburg Town Board last month with the engineerÕ s report containing options and the recommendation for a centralized wastewater system in the Hamlet of North Creek. Parobeck outlined a draft report, created in March by Cedarwood Engineering Services, Inc., containing four possible options and estimated costs for each. Parobeck said the nine-member Sewer Commission basically ruled out Options No. 1 and 4. The first is a conventional septic tank and absorption bed system. Parobeck said this was the least expensive option, but according to the report, it would require approximately 4.8 acres of land. The estimated cost for this option is nearly $1.6 million, and annual operating costs would be about $32,000. Option No. 4 would be the construction of a force main system to pipe wastewater to the existing Gore Mountain Wastewater Treatment Facility. This would be the most expensive to construct at over $5 million, and the most expensive to operate ($167,500 annually). Option No. 2 would be to construct an in-ground advanced system, which would be similar to Option No. 1, but smaller. It would require approximately 1.6 acres, >> See NORTH CREEK | pg. 15