Patriots run past Saranac; MVAC all-stars are named.
Ronald Jackson falls behind in his bid to repeat as Essex supervisor.
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November 7, 2009
Town laments over closed grocery store
District Attorney race remains too close to call Unofficial results show Sprague with narrow lead
By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com WILLSBORO — The town’s largest grocery store has closed despite feverish efforts to keep it open for a dwindling number of customers. Store owner Mark McKenna and his wife, Wanda, cited lack of community support as the main reason for closing down the Willsboro Country IGA. Ultimately, he said, they could not compete with larger supermarkets in Plattsburgh. “We did have a lot of regular shoppers that we’d really like to thank for their support,” said Mark, “but all in all, people went to Plattsburgh.” The McKennas, who also own the Country Store on Route 22, began leasing the grocery store in 2005 after the Tops market there had closed down. Now, they say, they just can’t make it work anymore. “There’s been a big grocery store in this community for 50 years, so it’s a big change for people,” said Wanda. “It’s just hard to imagine how such a big store like that impacts so many people.” The store is the latest institutional casualty in downtown Willsboro, which over the past 12 years has lost a school, bank, and a handful of other businesses. “It’s a shame to lose another business because that’s not good for the marketplace,” said Willsboro Supervisor Lori LincolnSpooner. “I do want to thank Mark and Wanda McKenna for their effort to keep it going. We just don’t have the numbers here to support it.” In June, the McKennas switched distributors, swapping the IGA label for a line of ShurFine products that offered more competitive prices. “It did make a difference for a little while, but it just wasn’t enough,” said Mark. The McKennas will now seek to consolidate some of their services. Plans for expansion at the Country Store include adding a full line of produce and a better selection of meats and other grocery items. “Everything we had downtown is going to come here,” Mark said. “If somebody wanted to do their regular shopping here, they would be able to.” Lincoln-Spooner said expanding the Country Store would help fill the void left by the loss of the IGA, also noting the presence of Village Meat Market as a source for food items in Willsboro. The McKennas expressed concern for senior citizens within the town, which made up much of their customer base and may find it hard to shop out of town. In response, they are instituting a grocery delivery program similar to the one they had at the IGA. “We’ve always done it, and we will continue to do it,” he said.
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
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. Garcia has yet to concede, but certainly acknowledged the initial deficit in a race many had painted as a referendum on the decision of Republican party leaders not to back the candidate they had chosen four years prior. “I’m very proud of our campaign,” said Garcia. “People stood up for what they believed in.” Garcia pointed to early results in the race for Essex town supervisor as evidence that the political strength of ranking Essex County Republicans is fading. There, long-time incumbent Ronald Jackson, chair of the county Republican Committee, showed a preliminary loss to challenger Sharon Boisen by a margin of more than five percent. “When Ron Jackson takes a hit, it speaks volumes for the state of the Republican Party in Essex County,” Garcia said. “It shows the unrest in the GOP and that people aren’t just going to vote for the person the Republi-
Julie Garcia can Party wants them to vote for.” The candidates now await an official result following the count of absentee ballots. There have been 1,167 absentee ballots sent out, of which, at last report, 787 have been collected. The remaining 380 must have been postmarked by Nov. 2, but have until Nov. 10 to be received. Still, Sprague is confident her victory will stand. “I think that once the absentee ballots are counted, they will increase our margin further,” she said, adding that her campaign has actively targeted absentee voters.
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 re-
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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 to the closeness of the District
Nov. 5th - Nov. 11th
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ceived 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 1,200 absentee ballots have been issued county-wide. “We will continue to do the job
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California Plums................................$1.99 lb. Pears...............................................59¢ each Cantaloupe....................................$1.89 each 1/2 Gals. Local Cider..............................$2.49 Quarts Local Cider.................................$1.69
Henry Hommes we’ve been doing of trying to keep the burden of the tax rolls off the backs of the taxpayers,” Hommes said.
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