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Turn to page 4 to see how you can support community journalism. Published By Denton Publications Inc.
February 8, 2020
Times of Ti
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Ti schools in transition Budget, enrollment triggers move By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
TICONDEROGA | Ticonderoga Central School seventh and eighth graders will be moved from the middle school to the high school next fall as the system seeks ways to avoid a repeat of last year’s budget woes. The move will affect about 100 students, and is expected to save money by requiring fewer staff positions. How much money will be saved and how many positions will be affected are still open questions at this point, said Ti School Board President Mark Russell. Because of declining enrollments, the high school has enough space that the former middle schoolers will be kept largely segregated from older students, which was a primary concern of parents. Russell said Ticonderoga had been one of the last school districts of its size to adhere to the middle-school model. The move will also allow younger students to take advantage of high school facilities and programs, such as the planetarium and college- and career-readiness classes. See TI SCHOOLS » pg. 3
Spring break discussion
There will be an informational meeting for the 2021 spring break educational tour of Paris and London on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Ticonderoga High School board conference room off the cafeteria. The trip is open to those who will be in grades 7-12 next year and any interested adults. The tour itinerary, cost and fundraising opportunities will be discussed. Contact Maria Bagneschi at 518-585-7925 if you have any questions. Photo provided
Moriah fund drive succeeds Effort will lead to miner statue By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
A bronze statue of a Moriah iron miner, simulated here, will help ensure past is not forgotten. Photo provided
PORT HENRY | True to its past, Port Henry has an ironmining museum packed with artifacts, photos and documents, some of which are still in boxes waiting to be cataloged. It’s been nearly a half century since the mines closed, and Town Historian Betty Lamoria said for years former Republic Steel employees would come in and paw through the materials, reliving old times. But as time has passed and the miners have died off, those visits have become fewer and further between. Today, a traveler might drive through Moriah without getting any sense of that history, unless perhaps they happened to see the other-worldly sized mountain of tailings northwest of Port Henry. But a group of residents who do not want the past forgotten came up with plans for a bronze statue of a miner in the heart of town to clue motorists into the Moriah’s past. Those plans, however, had been slow to materialize, owing to the statue’s price tag, which was upwards of $40,000. But last month the four women driving the cause
— Gail Pilger, Linda Haran, Linda Smyth and Tootie Mends — announced the goal has been reached and the dream will become a reality. “I am so excited that we have met our goal,” Haran said. “I am so very thankful to the people in our community who came through again, along with people with ties to our community.” Haran said she’ll be in touch with the sculptor to plan the next move, and that a ceremony will be planned for its installation. “The mines are what made our town, and the miners deserve this tribute,” Haran said. The sculpture was designed by Vermont artist Joseph Lupiani, and depicts a minter holding a pick in work clothes and hard had, complete with a working headlamp. It will be located at the intersection of Broad and Main streets. “These ladies are to be commended,” said Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava. “They worked extremely hard, and for a time they didn’t think it would happen. (The sculpture) “will certainly enhance the town of Moriah. It’s a symbol of the hard work of our ancestors.” “ I am very proud and impressed that we reached our goal,” said Smith, one of the project organizers. “The donors who contributed and believed in this project were amazing. Now the Town of Moriah can have a highly visible tribute as a reminder of its historic past and those who toiled in the mines.” ■
Moriah plans transition to LEDs By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
PORT HENRY | Politicians mess with street lights at their peril. Early in his career, Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava said there was a plan to remove one such light near a farmhouse out in the boonies. The farmer called Scozzafava to his house and explained that he was too far out to get any benefit from any other public service such as sewer and water, and the street light was the only indication that he was getting something for his tax money. The street light stayed. But now the town board will consider a plan that they hope the public will be amenable to: Replacing the town’s nearly 700 low-pressure sodium vapor street lights with cost-saving LEDs. If approved by the board, the town will pay National Grid $30,000 for the switch, but will be reimbursed $33,000 under an incentive program
sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA. National Grid will contract with a third party to do the work. Once completed, the LEDs will save taxpayers between $8,000 and $10,000 a year on its light bill, which runs between $65,000 and $80,000 a year. It will also mean that all the street lights will work. Because of our large number of street lights, we could have a hundred that are out at any given time,” Scozzafava said. “The life expectancy of the LEDs will be so much greater.” The last changeover, about 20 years ago, was not universally popular, because it meant transitioning from the white mercury vapor lights to the yellow low-pressure sodium. Mercury vapor lamps fell out of favor because they were not as efficient, took a long time to warm up and, indoors, gave human skin an unflattering, zombie-like cast. But some people found the unnatural orange glow of the sodium lights to be pretty creepy in their own right, so for them the LEDs should be an upgrade. “It’s a better quality of lighting,” Scozzafava said. See LED STREET LAMPS » pg. 4
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St. Mary’s School coed basketball team: shooting hoops through mid-February
Front row: Eli Dromgool, Qwyn Hurlburt and Garrett Beebe. Back row: Coach Ryan Wendell, Curtis Cruickshank, Ian Lender, Madelyn Holman, Madeline Lender and Coach John Budwick. Camera shy: Brady Leerkes. Photo provided
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