Patrick Perkins of Old Forge has announced his candidacy for Town of Webb Councilman in the Republican Primary in September and the general election in November.
Pat, who is a life-long resident of Webb, said, “I want to add some common sense to what we’re doing here in town. It seems we are spending money kind of foolishly and maybe I can do something about it. That’s my reasoning for running for the board.”
Born and raised in Webb, Continue reading
The Raquette Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. (RLPOA) recently secured a grant from the Nature Conservancy in Keene Valley, NY to install a launch ramp monitoring system at the Village Boat Launch Site in Raquette Lake.
The system, installed over the Fourth of July weekend, is the first of its kind to be installed in the Adirondack Park, as well as the first in New York State.
Developed in 2006 by the Minnesota Company Environmental Sentry Protection, I-LIDS or Internet Landing Installed Device Sensors has had great success in monitoring boats for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
This tamper-proof technology offers an unmanned, stand-alone system that will continuously monitor boat launch activities through the use of a solar powered, wireless internet video camera that transmits the images to a local access point for review by enforcement officials.
According to Pat Deyle, Chairman of the Raquette Lake Property Owners Association, I-LIDS will go to work any time the launch is not staffed by a steward. Continue reading
Cooling off on a hot summer day at Limekiln Lake
It was a humid July morning on Limekiln Lake and I decided to take my dog Mutt for a swim. I rolled out the old truck tire inner tube from the garage and shouted, “Do ya wanna go for a walk?”
Mutt wagged her tail so fiercely that her entire body began to convulse. I reckoned that she was more than happy to join me.
I skipped around to the back of the house to the clothesline where I had hung my beach towel the day before.
It was a bit damp from the morning dew, but I pulled it from the line anyway.
I draped it around my neck, grabbed my tube and began rolling it down the hill. Mutt nipped at it as we moved along. Every nose poke made it wobble in a different direction.
I rolled up my towel and used it like a whip to help balance the other side so it would head straight down the roadway.
I lost control of it and it careened over the shoulder of the road, down the hill and into the lake.
Mutt, in hot pursuit, followed it into the water.
I tossed my towel over a white pine log and peeled off my socks and sneakers. I slowly waded out into the dark black water and belly-flopped onto the tube.
With just a few paddles and kicks I found myself well away from the shore. Mutt swam around in circles as if she was looking for something on the water’s surface.
She tried to climb up on the tube a couple times but could only manage to get her front paws on-board.
I could see that she was tiring, so I grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up.
We floated along until she decided she had had enough and scrambled off.
As I followed her back to the shore, I noticed a build-up of yellowish foam along the shoreline.
When my tube eventually bobbed onto the sand, some of the foam was clinging to the surface of my floating island.
I swirled my finger into the foamy mass. Unlike those in my bubble bath, the bubbles seemed to be more resilient—and much dirtier.
All of a sudden Mutt splashed up beside me and laid down in the water.
I could tell by her stance that she wanted me to throw her a stick, so I flipped out of the tube and searched for one worthy of a game of fetch.
I found a good one and flung it out in the water as far as I could. As I awaited Mutt’s dutiful return, I poked my toes into the frothy mass that had accumulated along the shoreline.
Lake foam was a pretty cool thing for a boy growing up Adirondack.
Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller,
lives at Big Moose Lake.ltmitch3rdny@aol.com
Jason Perkins, a first year student at Mohawk Valley Community College has been named to the Presidents List for the Spring 2011 semester.
Jason is a 2010 graduate of the Town of Webb School and the son of Patrick and Carol Perkins of Old Forge.
Beginning July 20, Raquette Lake Navigation Company will host family-friendly Pizza Cruises on Wednesdays featuring veteran face painters Susie and Lloyd.
As two of the first commercial face painters, Susie and Lloyd have been painting faces together for over 35 years in the outdoor amusement circuit.
Spending their time between Florida, Switzerland, and Bluff Island on Tupper Lake, Susie and Lloyd have painted thousands of faces around the globe.
In addition to being great artists, Susie and Lloyd share a love for the outdoors and the Adirondacks.
The cruises will continue weekly until the end of August. Boarding for the cruises begins at 11 a.m. and they set sail from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Raquette Lake Navigation Company.
The Town of Webb Office of Code Enforcement tackles some frequently asked questions
Protecting our waters
The annual dye testing program has started. Anyone who has owned water front property for a couple of years is familiar with the program.
Some property owners can remember the program back into the 1960’s… and that includes yours truly!
Not trying to divulge age, many fond memories were lodged in this old head, of my Dad and I going around Big Moose Lake and using a liquid dye and testing the septic systems of willing neighbors.
And in those early years dye was revealing contamination more often than one might think.
Recently, a test was completed on a camp on Fourth Lake. The owners can recall the ’60s and the whole reason for starting the testing program… there was substantial pollution of the lake, some of it floating visibly like little bogs or plumes with sludge and greasy looking yuk sticking to boats, docks, fish and yourself if you tried to swim or water ski.
Not a good visual, is it?
Back in those years many direct pipes to the lake were discovered. The more of these situations that were discovered the more awareness as to the issue.
And more awareness created more peer pressure to correct the problem.
If it was not for the foresight, efforts, time and expense incurred by the Fulton Chain of Lakes Property Owner’s Association and the Big Moose Lake Property Owner’s Association back in the 1960’s, the cleanliness of our waters may not be as good as it is today.
For almost fifty years both lake associations have been actively involved in hiring staff, overseeing the work and monitoring the results.
The program has always been supported by the town.
Through the years, as the program gained momentum and started to show results, the town’s role became clearer.
Now, for the past six years, the program is substantially administered through the Code Office.
This does not mean that the lake associations are out of the picture. Not at all!
They administer many other tests and projects that are beyond dye testing.
If it were not for the continued support and help of key members of the associations, the town could not do the program very effectively.
This support comes in the form of money & funding, helping to find staff, and some physical help by getting to some boat-access-only properties.
Dye testing is a small piece, in a huge puzzle, of an ongoing effort, by the lake associations and the town, to protect one of our most valuable natural resources…our lakes.
Some other issues that the associations deal with are invasive species (milfoil), water clarity, acid rain, water testing and lab work.
Dye testing clearly is not the only method to check a septic system.
There are way too many other variables that can impact the proper treatment of wastewater. The age and condition of septic tanks, proximity to ground water or the depth of bedrock and impervious soils are all contributing factors.
The depth of a drywell or a seepage pit usually is well into ground water… think about that for a minute. There should be a four foot separation minimally!
The program benefits everyone, whether you have waterfront property or not.
Have you considered joining your lake association and supporting the ongoing efforts to maintain the quality of water that you swim, ski, boat or otherwise enjoy?
You should.
Nancy Pulling Best, a native of Thendara, has published a cook book, Learning to Cook Adirondack.
A fourth-generation Adirondacker, the Town of Webb graduate has loved writing since junior high school.
“I credit my junior high school English teacher, Annette Eyre, with my love of writing,” said Best.
Her cookbook includes 48 recipes, historic photos, and many memories.
“Recently, as I was looking through my recipe box, I realized I have some wonderful Adirondack recipes that people who love the mountains would enjoy,” Best said. “I have included in my book recipes and my memories of the people who shared them with me.”
Best’s great grandfather, David Charbonneau, was one of the first settlers of Old Forge. Her grandfather and grandmother, Cliff and Edith Charbonneau, lived in Old Forge almost all of their lives.
Her parents, Betty and Bill Pulling, were brought up in Old Forge and raised their family in Thendara.
Best was born in the area as were her children and her first grandchild.
For more information or to purchase a book, contact Nancy Pulling Best at 2985 Powell Road, Blossvale, NY 13308; email: nandidit@twcny.rr.com; visit: www.nancydidit.com; or call (315) 533-0816.