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Saturday,ÊS eptemberÊ10,Ê2016
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | pg. 15-16
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Fall season is underway
In OPINION | pg. 6
Teach youth to vote
Regular season set to begin
Education needed on right to poll
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In JOHNSBURG | pg. 9
Top campers
Johnsburg YC names outstanding youth
DEC sets Interim Access Plan to Boreas Ponds lands
In time for autumn hikes, biking and paddle trips, new parking areas allow entry to former Finch Pruyn timberland By Kim Dedam
kim@suncommunitynews.com
NORTH HUDSON — State officials have opened former timberlands in the Boreas tract property to public access. The interim move comes as fall colors begin the slow march through the mountains. The newest addition to the Adirondack Park State Forest, Boreas has not been formally classified by the Department of Environmental Conservation in collaboration with the Adirondack Park Agency. But state officials completed purchase of the 20,758-acre former Finch, Pruyn & Co. timberland last April. The real estate transaction with The Nature Conservancy cost New York state taxpayers $14.5 million.
“The gate on Gulf Brook Road will open tomorrow,” DEC spokesman David Winchell told the Sun last Thursday, as Labor Day weekend got underway. Called an Interim Access Plan, public use includes entrance via Gulf Brook Road and seven miles of bike roads. The Gulf Brook Road winds 3.2 miles from Blue Ridge to the newly opened gate and an area that North Hudson Town Supervisor Ronald Moore calls “the four corners” at LaBier Flow. The marshy flow is where the Boreas River flows out of a sequence of four ponds, an impoundment created by two existing dams built by Finch Pruyn. Roads throughout the property were established for logging truck traffic, fitted with culverts and bridge crossings. DEC said their interim plan also opens 25 miles on seven former logging roads to horse and “horse-drawn” wagons. “Paddlers will be able to access Boreas Pond and other waterways by carrying their canoes and kayaks 2.5 miles from the gate on Gulf Brook Road to LaBier Flow and then another half-mile between the flow and Boreas Pond,” DEC said in an-
AdirondackÊ raceÊ celebratesÊ 20thÊ year The Adirondack Marathon at Schroon Lake kicks off Sept. 25 By Lohr McKinstry
lohr@suncommunitynews.com
SCHROON LAKE – Registration is coming down to the wire for this year’s Adirondack Marathon, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary at Schroon Lake. Originally started as a small-town event, a run around the lake, it is now so much more than that, race board member Bob Singley said. “It has become a means of uniting students, community members and summer residents in a common cause, and fostering lasting friendships between townsfolk and the athletes they support,” he said. “For the runners, it provides a challenging, yet doable course, where they can test their abilities
and enjoy the Adirondack atmosphere and a small-town feel.” The Adirondack Marathon starts at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 in downtown Schroon Lake. The race is limited to 500 entrants. “We’re planning on a bigger and better race day, weather permitting, to commemorate the 20 years the race has been held,” Singley said. The Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival Weekend begins on Saturday, Sept. 24 with Chestertown 5K and 10K races to benefit the Helper’s Fund. There is also a special Kids 1K Fun Run in Schroon Lake at 2 p.m. on Saturday, for 4 to 12 year olds. “Incredibly, some die-hards opt to go for a double, with the Chestertown race on Saturday, and the marathon, half-marathon or relay on Sunday,” Singley said. “With the 1K, >> See MARATHON | pg. 12
nouncing the plan. “All roadways and lands are open to hiking, hunting, trapping, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing except for oneacre around leased (hunting) camps. “All of the lands are open to camping provided campsites are more than 150-feet from any roadway or body of water, but at this time no specific tent sites have been designated.” DEC and the town of North Hudson have established a total of eight parking areas, some large enough to park horse trailers, Moore said. The Town of North Hudson was contracted by DEC to build five of the parking lots. “There are two on Elk Lake and two across from the Hoffman Notch Trail off of Blue Ridge (Road). You go up further at Gulf Brook Road, and we are building another parking area that is a loop, for a larger vehicle, like a trailer for horses,” Moore said. The parking areas and interim use plan do not indicate what DEC and APA will recommend for classification, Moore said. >> See BOREAS | pg. 12
To the dogs
A good crowd came out on Saturday, Aug. 20 at Minerva Lake for the 4th annual Minerva Fire & Rescue Goes to the Dogs celebration, which included the Iron Dog Run and Fun Dog Show events. A special thanks goes to everyone who worked so hard to get this event organized and implemented. Thanks also to all the groups that came to present bowser demonstrations and to the vendors that set up on that beautiful and sunny day. Thanks too, to everyone who donated gifts and attended this celebration. All proceeds will benefit the Minerva Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad. Pictured above: Sarah and Diedre Palmatier enjoy a moment at the Iron Dog Run competition in Minerva with their family dogs.. Photo by Mike Corey