{ title: 'Press-Republican. (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) 1966-current, November 13, 1995, Page 13, Image 13', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074101/1995-11-13/ed-1/seq-13/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074101/1995-11-13/ed-1/seq-13.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074101/1995-11-13/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074101/1995-11-13/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Northern NY Library Network
FRANKLIN CLINTON MCJNPAY, NQVE#\BER13,1995 PAGE 13 PRESS-REPUBLICAN Seeing the world through books Photo/P. Maicus Author Sheri Amsel talks with third-grade students in the AuSable Forks Primary School-about the nature books she has written and illustrated. Her visit was part of a program to encourage children to read. APA committee OKs rail-service plan By USA FORREST ondLOHRMeKINSTRY Staff Writers RAY BROOK - State officials may be fielding private sector. proposals for the 119-mile-long Remsen to Lake Placid railway corridor by spring. A study developed by a 25-member adviso- ry committee that included representatives of the Department of Environmental Con- servation, the Department of Transportation and the Adirondack Park Agency was com- pleted this fall after five years of work and three public meetings. On Thursday, a management plan and environmental impact statement derived from the study was presented to the APA Park Policy and Planning committee for ap- proval. Park Planning and Policy Committee Chairman James Frenette of Tupper Lake said the Remsen-Lake Placid rail corridor plan conforms to the agency's resource- management plan. Commissioner Eleanor Brown said she would vote against the corridor plan. \Legalizing motor-vehicle use on the edge of wilderness areas is inappropriate,\ she said, referring to snowmobile trails in the plan. Approval was given to the plan, with commissioners Brown and Katherine Roberts voting no and Department of En- vironmental Conservation Adirondack Liai- son Sandra LeBarron abstaining. Speaking for the DEC, Richard Fenton said that the committee, after reviewing sev- eral alternatives, has decided the most viable plan would be to keep the corridor open over its entire length for rail transpor- tation and compatible recreational trail use. The DOT and DEC will be preparing a bid package offering the opportunity to private organizations to rehabilitate the rails and operate service on the line. Should no viable proposals materialize within five years, the planning process would be re-opened, Other alternatives considered by the study group included: • dismantling the corridor and either sell- ing or annexing the land as appropriate; • preserving the corridor for possible future use, but not allowing any public use; • preserving. the corridor with some maintenance and allowing public use by short-term permit only; • opening the entire length to compatible recreational uses and prohibiting rail use; • or dividing the corridor into separate or combined rail and trail segments, meaning some parts would be used for recreation only, other parts for rail service only and some parts for both. The recommended option to attempt resto- ration of rail service and compatible recre- ational use would have the most positive economic impact. Depending upon proposals, rail use would be allowed over the entire length or on specific segments, with recre- ation trails constructed parallel to the tracks as appropriate. During the winter the cor- ridor would be available for snowmobile use. The agency committee voted Thursday afternoon to recommend adoption of the document by the full APA board. One member, Eleanor Brown, voted no. She said she wanted it clear that she was not against reviving rail service, but she was alarmed part of the recommendations might en- courage the use of motorized vehicles in wilderness areas. The corridor is a swath of at least 100 feet, and wider in some areas, stretching from the rail-line origin at Thendara, up through Old Forge, Lake Lila, Piercefield, Tupper Lake, Lake Clear Junction, Saranac Lake, Ray Brook and terminating at Lake Placid. It was built by William Seward Webb in 1892 and was operated by the New York Central and later the Penn Central railroads. Passenger service ceased in 1965 and freight service in 1972. The DOT acquired the line in 1974 and gave a 99-year lease to the Adirondack Railway Corporation in 1977. The corpora- tion filed for bankruptcy in 1981 and the state re-acquired clear title after ten years of litigation. The committee to study future uses of the corridor was then convened in 1991. The effort has received two state grants of $400,000 each for rehabilitation of the rail bed, bridges and general restoration. Estimates to make the line fully functional run from $9 million to $14 million. As part of the 1992 Park Centennial ac- tivities, the Adirondack Railroad Preserva- tion Society brought four miles of track and an excursion train into service at Thendara. Although it was originally projected to run only a year or two, the train ride was so suc- cessful the track was extended to ten miles. This past summer it carried more than 50,000 passengers and more than 60,000 the summer before. Reportedly the Preservation Society is interested in resuscitating and operating the line between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. DOT representative Stephen Slavick told the agency members that the immediate goals are to garner as much interest in the plan as possible through advertising and contacting railroads and recreational inter- ests. He hopes, he said, that the travel cor- ridor committee will be reviewing proposals by the middle of next summer. IREGIONAL ROUNDUP! Hospital Association prepares teens for babysitting MALONE — The fall session of the Alice Hyde Hospital Associa- tion \Safe Sitters Class\ will be held Saturday Nov. 18 in the AHHA third-floor classroom from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Members of Malone Call Firemen, Malone Police Department and healthcare professionals from Alice Hyde Hospital will offer this class as a public service to prepare teens to be well trained,-safe, responsi- ble baby sitters. To register please call AHHA public relations at 483-3000 ext. 248. How to reach us in Essex The Press-Republican's Central Essex Bureau staff writer, Alison Calkins, has taken another job out of the area. Residents who would like to speak to a reporter may now call our Ticonderoga bureau at 585-4070. For information about advertising or circulation, call the Plattsburgh office at 1-800- 288-7323. State drops plan for assaults on reservations By DEE BROWN Staff Writer Malon* luraau ST. REGIS MOHAWK RES- ERVATION - Plans to conduct unprecedented military-style assaults on the state's Indian reservations over tax collection existed for about an hour, then were scrapped. Mohawk Tribe spokesman Joe Gray said he and Tribal Council representatives met with members of Governor George Pataki's staff earlier this week to discuss the plan, which was made public in a report by Gan- nett News Service. And, in the process of the talks, clogged lines of com- munications between the state's highest elected official and the Mohawk Tribe's elected leaders were opened. Gray said they were satisfied that the plan to send New York State National Guard units to reservations in case tax-collec- tion efforts turned violent was a matter of policy examination and was not meant to be im- plemented. \It was basically brought to the table as a part of an overall policy review on a number of dif- ferent policies including emergency preparedness, evacuation, emergency response. All those policies were being reviewed in sort of 'what if situa- tions. This one was brought for- ward, and, according to Gov. Pataki's people, dismissed nearly immediately, within a few hours. And, I think the chief (Norman Tarbell) and the council chair- man (Philip Tarbell) were satisfied with the explanation,\ Gray said. But, when tribal officials first heard about the plan, code- named \Gallant Piper,\ they were \very concerned,\ Gray said. \They were concerned enough to go to Albany, and the gov- ernor's people were apparently concerned enough to meet with the tribe on a 24-hour notice,\ he said. According to the Gannett report, authorities did draft and circulate a \warning order\ July 10 for an unspecified number of National Guard troops, backed by helicopters and armored vehi- cles, to prepare to assist State Police in collecting taxes from businesses at St. Regis; Cat- taragus, near Niagara Falls; and Onpndaga Nation, near Syra- cuse. Quoting Pataki's press secre- tary, the report said: \The matter is not under consideration by the agency in any way, shape or form, and it was never officially circulated outside of National Guard headquarters.\ Gray said when community members heard about the plan, reactions \ran the gamut.\ Some people found the plan humorous while' others were truly frighten- ed, he said. The report stated that last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the state can collect taxes from businesses on reservation lands. Gray disagreed with the inter- pretation of the decision. He said the ruling allowed the state to collect taxes from distributors, not from the individual businesses that sell tax-free pro- ducts. Native people have resisted the ruling, citing treaty rights that guarantee tax-free enter- prise on native lands. The talks between the gov- ernor's staff and tribal repre- sentatives were \very frank and open,\ Gray said. If there was any \silver lining\ to be found in the situation, Gray said it would be the fact that di- alogue was opened. He said the tribe and state now know a little more about each other and each other's in- tentions. \I think they came away with a good feeling. And, I think the people from the Pataki ad- ministration did also. There's no doubt that the dialogue was good and should foster a very positive relationship down the road,\ he said. Elizabethtown inn vandalized, robbed By SAUL G. FERRER Staff Writer ELIZABETHTOWN - State Police are investigating a Sun- day-morning burglary at the Cobblehill Inn on Route 9. Sometime between 1:25 and 9 a.m., an unknown person or per- sons forced open a rear window leading into the inn's bar. \They trashed the place,\ said Jim Cashin, 51, owner of the inn. \They ruined everything: the pool table, bar, kitchen, offices and vending machines.\ \The beer taps were left on, so beer spilled everywhere. Several bottles of liquor were emptied throughout the establishment and food was thrown,\ said In- vestigator Robert LaFountain, who estimated damage at several thousand dollars. The vending machines were also raided and several hundred dollars taken, police said. This is the third burglary there since July 22, when bur- glars forced a rear door open and took money from the vending machines. At the second burglary on Sept. 17, the rear door was forced open. Cash, credit card and check receipts were stolen. Police later recovered the receipts in the town of Lewis. \We put new systems in the door and they still come in,\ said Cashin, who purchased the inn in 1991. Sunday's incident was the first time the inn was vandalized. It is possible all three crimes were commited by the same indi- viduals, police said. The inn was open for business Sunday afternoon, but the ven- ding machines could not be used. They will be repaired today. \The neighbors and my family came down to help get it re-open- ed,\ Cashin said. \They were very helpful.\ Police are following leads and increasing night patrols in the area. Anyone who may have seen anything or has information is asked to call Westport State Police Bureau of Criminal In- vestigation at 873-2111. Tell us about your business The Press-Republican ataff u hard at work prepanof rta an- nual Progress edition, an inventory of economic progttf «»*d» during the past year in the North Country and a look ahead to 1996 We encourage participation from business owner* m Clin- ton, Essex and Franklin counties If you have achieved mile- stones, introduced changes, added new product lines or asrvicea, or attained any other noteworthy god that might be of interest to our readers, send us the information and we will include it in the Progress edition Please follow the following format IIHIMM nema: Hew long In BMIMM: IWA^LB^A AM ai^aatsldhaBaB aaMsaaskfll* rlViK I w HlflW i wn^KWmm la 100 woida or lew, taN w Send the information to Bruce Rowland, busineaa editor, in care of the Preaa-Bepublican, P O Box 469, Platteburgh, N.Y , 12901 In service Malone Callfiremen have a new pumper to add to their fleet Firefighter Wayne Hutchins, shows off the new 1995 Freightliner, which can hold up to 2,000 feet of 5- inch hose. The new pumper br- ings to 10 the number of fire- fighting vehicles. Staff Photo/Dee Brown J^-
