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HOMES EVERY WEEK! Times of Ti
March 2, 2019
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
North Country
REPS RAIL AGAINST PROPOSAL
The 180-foot communications tower at Belfry Mountain in Moriah is one of several built new as part of Essex County’s radio communications system.
to shutter state prisons
Photo by Kim Dedam
ESSEX COUNTY EYES COMPLETION OF EMERGENCY COMM. SYSTEM
North Country reps are up in arms about Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to shutter three state prisons this year.
Jones, Stec, Little decry governor’s plan
Connects towns with fire and highway personnel, EMTs, police
By Elizabeth Izzo STA FF W RITER
By Kim Dedam STA FF W RITER
ALBANY | Citing a decline in the state’s crime rate and prison population, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Feb. 15 that his administration plans to direct the shuttering of up to three state correctional facilities this year. Though it’s unclear at this time which correctional facili-
TICONDEROGA | Emergency communication needs assessment began in Essex County with a brief study in 2001, before Sept. 11. The county was working then with a radio system built in the 1950s. By 2008, a lengthy and detailed Final Needs Analysis Report was provided to Emergency Services and county planners, working with partner telecommunications agencies. In 2009, Essex County bonded $10 million, which has been matched with some $8 million in grant money. And in less than a decade, emergency communications here are state-of-the-art with four new county-owned towers that feed signals to the Public Safety Building and integrated with 17 towers plus paging and Land-Mobile Radio sites.
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ties are at risk of closure, the North Country’s Albany delegation is up in arms. “The governor’s proposal to close three prisons in New York is cause for major concern,” state Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay) said in a statement. “While no prisons have been specifically named, communities statewide will have to wait with bated breath to find out if a critical part of their economy will be shuttered.”
BUDGET SHORTFALL
Cuomo’s plan, which comes in the form of a budget amendment, would authorize the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to evaluate the operations at each prison and expedite the closure of up to three facilities. » Prisons Cont. on pg. 7
Officials take aim at youth vaping E-cigarette use rising among highschool students
A
ccording to the governor’s office, “more than half of teens falsely believe that e-cigarette use is harmless.”
By Elizabeth Izzo STA FF W RITER
95 PERCENT COMPLETE
MORIAH | The use of e-cigarettes in schools continues to increase, even as traditional smoking declines among students in New York state. A raft of legislation designed to curb that trend is currently making its way through the state legislature. Bills being considered by various state Senate and Assembly committees include measures that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco and e-cigarette products from 18 to 21 statewide; impose a tax on the sale of vapor products; allow for the prohibition of the sale of flavored e-liquid; end the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products in pharmacies;
Officially called a “Digital Conventional Multicast System,” communications systems designed by Motorola are integrated with an Alcatel Lucent microwave network that links county-owned towers, some transmitter locations and repeaters. The dispatch center at the Public Safety Building is formally called the “Prime Site.” The entire emergency communications system is about 95 percent complete. This year, the final tower installation in Monkton, Vermont, will close areas of spotty coverage. The Monkton site will beam microwave in three directions at once, according to engineering profiles. » Emergency system Cont. on pg. 5
require certain warnings on e-cigarette packaging and advertising; and restrict the use of coupons to lower the price of certain products.
The measures were proposed last month as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal. » Vaping Cont. on pg. 3
Solar companies interested in Ticonderoga Officials: long way to go before any solar farms approved By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER
TICONDEROGA | Renewable energy companies are lining up to build solar farms
in Ticonderoga, but it may be awhile before any come to fruition, and town officials are warning landowners it is premature to sign any contracts for the lease of their property to energy concerns. To date, f ive solar companies have shown interest in the area, including three — Borrego Solar, Lodestar Energy and Cypress Creek Renewables — that have also f iled pre-applications with
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the Adirondack Park Agency. Approval is needed from both the town and the APA, which is currently writing its own renewables regulations. Ticonderoga code officer Bill Ball said most of the properties are in the Streetroad area of Route 9N on land that has historically been agricultural. It’s popular with solar companies because the land is flat and big transmission lines are nearby.
DETAILS TO IRON OUT
Superintendent Joe Giordano said property owners are eager to get moving with the projects, but a number of details need to be ironed out before they will be able to move forward. There is currently no provision under Ticonderoga law that allows for solar farms. But before any such law can even be considered, the town has more background work to do. “I’m not sure that everyone is aware of all the pieces that need to come together,” Giordano said. » Solar Cont. on pg. 3