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See photos from all the game action last weekend.
HOMES EVERY WEEK! August 17, 2019
Valley News
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Daughters of American Revolution place marker on veteran’s grave
Coroners’ last hearing Essex County coroner law discussed before final vote by board By Laura Achouatte
Buried at the Old Post Cemetery, Elisha Frisbie served in the Revolutionary War
STAFF WRITER
ELIZABETHTOWN | A third, and final, hearing on the local Essex County Coroner Law reform was held recently after a Board of Supervisors Ways and Means meeting. The law that was voted in Aug. 5, is the fourth to pass this year by the current board. The most recent: a local law to recover the impact costs of the opioid epidemic in the county. The changes to the previous county coroner law have been a long time coming; talks about changes to the law have been going on for nearly a decade. Francis Whitelaw, one of four Essex County coroners, and his wife, Donna Whitelaw, also a trained coroner, were in attendance, as well as John J. Kelly of Edward L. Kelly Funeral Home in Schroon Lake. Lake Placid and Saranac Lake Police chiefs also submitted a letter to be read at the hearing on the law propositions. Chairman of the Board Shaun Gillilland opened the hearing. “This will be strictly a hearing. I will remind all to refrain from debate,” he said.
TRANSPORTATION
The greatest concern and discussed change was transportation of the dead and dispatch of coroner simultaneously with a funeral home. Under Section VII of the new law, the coroner no longer transports but the task is handed to a contracted funeral home. Currently, the coroner has the ability to remove the deceased from the scene. Each of the coroners had expressed they were well-enough equipped with vehicles for transportation to a funeral home or hospital morgue. In addition, the dispatch of a coroner did not coincide with the call of the funeral home to the scene. The worry for law enforcement and the coroner in this new provision is that the processing of a scene and timely removal will be hampered by waiting for a funeral home to respond to the scene, too. Dispatch will also be centralized and come from the Emergency Medical Services dispatch in Lewis rather than law enforcement calling in the coroner.
By Kim Dedam STAFF WRITER
The Revolutionary War gravesite marker features a patriot with a tricorn hat. The medallion was purchased by the DAR here from the Veterans of Foreign War marker collection.
ELIZABETHTOWN | A few years ago, the Champlain Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set about work to remove dirt and debris from veterans’ gravestones in local cemeteries. Many of the stones they monitor are very old and worn, dating back to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. While working in the Old Post Cemetery beside State Route 9, Champlain Chapter DAR Secretary Janet MacDougal Cross found the grave of early pioneer Elisha Frisbie was missing a war marker. Cross, who is a longtime historian in Elizabethtown, knew Frisbie had served in the Revolutionary War.
Photo by Kim Dedam
See CEMETERY » pg. 2
Adirondack Health Fitness Center opens Facility offers cardio, strength-training equipment, 25-yard lap pool By Laura Achouatte STAFF WRITER
ELIZABETHTOWN | Torrential downpours forecasted for the afternoon of the grand opening of Adirondack Health’s new Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness center held off for the facility’s dedication Aug. 7. New York State Sen. Betty Little, New York State Assemblyman Dan Stec, Adirondack Health CEO Sylvia Getman, Adirondack Health Foundation Chair Kevin Brady, Adirondack Health Board Chair Ray Agnew, Orthopedic Surgeon William Smith and North Country Regional Economical Development Council
co-chair Jim McKenna spoke at the dedication ceremony of the new fitness center to an audience of locals, stakeholders, facility partners and local officials. The facility’s design incorporates fitness into the health-care setting. Adirondack Health opened a new medical facility in January, and the fitness center opening is the fi nal puzzle piece to a twoyear-long project. The $22 million was invested to equip the “41,000 square-foot state-of-the-art medical facility, complete with a three-lane lap pool, offering sports medicine and therapy services, in addition to traditional health care and treatment options for residents,” a statement from Empire State Development (ESD) said. Of the $22 million, $2 million was from a performance-based grant from ESD supporting Adirondack Health’s vision. The majority of the funds invested in the facility, $16 million, was raised locally.
The 25-yard, three-lane pool is one of the featured additions to the health and wellness mission of Adirondack Health at their new facility on Old Military Road.
See HEALTH CENTER » pg. 5
Photo Adirondack Health
See CORONER » pg. 5
Why Tell th e Story Sharing • an apprec1.J t ion for the
leng·th and breatfie of the s truggl e Respect for ~eterans of the caus e
Recognition that some issues s till remain
North Country suffrage Women’s voting rights a contentious issue more than a century ago By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
A delightful musical revue that includes a long list of 50s favorites in tight harmony, FOREVER PLAID tells the tale of four childhood friends who, after paying their dues performing at weddings and anniversaries, have an opportunity to do a real gig.
*
Written and Originally Directed & Choreographed by Stuart Ross Musical Arrangements by James Raitt • Originally Produced by Gene Wolsk PO Box 414 • 6705 Main Street, Westport, NY 12993
518.962.4449 www.DepotTheatre.org Sponsor: Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union
2019 Season Sponsor
See SUFFRAGE » pg. 2
Depot Theatre 2019
224750
AUGUST 9 - 25
Helen Allen Nerska, director of the Clinton County Historical Association, speaks on North Country suff rage issues to a gathering at the Keene Valley Library. Photo by Tim Rowland
KEENE VALLEY | Better than a century ago, a merchant in Plattsburgh took out an advertisement in the paper, using copy that must have seemed hilarious at the time. The ad posited that if women were as excited about voting as they were about shopping at this particular store, they’d have had the ballot by now.
But seriously. Helen Allen Nerska, director of the Clinton County Historical Association, speaking to a gathering at the Keene Valley Library last week, said the ad demonstrated the degree to which women’s suff rage was on the minds of North Country residents as states and the nation lurched toward equal voting rights. Articles show that as the debate heated up, there were many clubs, meetings and visits from prominent suff ragists in Clinton and Essex counties, Nerska said. This is the 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the vote; it was ratified by the people a year later.