What has 23 tongues, 19 tails, four nubs, and a whole lot of wet noses? That’s the question photographer Becky Barrett teased  her Facebook fans with a few weeks back.

The answer came Wednesday, June 27 with the delivery of her new themed calendar, Old Forge: Dogs About Town. The four-color calendar features 23 canines that have risen to local celebrity status  by patrons of their owners’ businesses.

Barrett’s inspiration for the calendar came after years of working at the Strand Theatre. Continue reading →

You know where you are, but will emergency responders find you?

A local volunteer firefighter / EMT suggested I write about the importance of homeowners posting 911 numbers on their property. This means visibly posting the property’s street number so police and other responders can locate the property in an emergency.

Is there anything more important to our communities than public safety? Don’t we all have expectations, such as timeliness, after dialing 911? If my family were needing police assistance, I would sure hope top-shot Kate could find the house.

My friend’s story. Recently, a local ambulance was called to an address. Sort of. The ambulance was unable to locate said residence due to the lack of 911 house numbers. The fire department was called out to assist. Continue reading →

You know where you are, but will emergency responders find you?

A local volunteer firefighter / EMT suggested I write about the importance of homeowners posting 911 numbers on their property. This means visibly posting the property’s street number so police and other responders can locate the property in an emergency.

Is there anything more important to our communities than public safety? Don’t we all have expectations, such as timeliness, after dialing 911? If my family were needing police assistance, I would sure hope top-shot Kate could find the house.

My friend’s story. Recently, a local ambulance was called to an address. Sort of. The ambulance was unable to locate said residence due to the lack of 911 house numbers. The fire department was called out to assist. Continue reading →

Stairs: It they don’t feel right then they probably aren’t 

Stairs are among the many fundamental components of a building that are quite important, but often not built correctly.

Whether the building is a single family dwelling, or a commercial building, the stairs are usually a part of the ‘means of egress’ from the building.

Some have argued that the stairs in their home should be allowed as steep as they want.

Actually they can be if the stairs are to access a storage loft, attic or some other space not used as habitable space.

The primary stairs, the ones providing access to and from any kind of habitable space, have very specific maximum and minimum dimensional requirements.

There are two basic features of stairs, rise and run.

To measure the run (depth) use a horizontal distance from the face of one riser to the face of the next, or from the edge of one nosing to the edge of the next.

The nosing is always added to the tread depth which then determines walking surface.

The rise is measured from one horizontal surface to the next, including each floor level.

Straight from the Residential Code of NY…

Section R311.5 Stairways… R311.5.1 Width: Stairways shall not be less than 36 inches (914 mm) in clear width at all points above the permitted handrail height and below the required headroom height.

Handrails shall not project more than 4.5 inches (114 mm) on either side of the stairway and the minimum clear width of the stairway at and below the handrail height, including treads and landings, shall not be less than 31.5 inches (787 mm) where a handrail is installed on one side and 27 inches (698 mm) where handrails are provided on both sides.

R311.5.2 Headroom. The minimum headroom in all parts of the stairway shall not be less than 6 feet 8 inches (2036 mm) measured vertically from the sloped plane adjoining the tread nosing or from the floor surface of the landing or platform.

R311.5.3.1 Riser height. The maximum riser height shall be 8 ? inches (209 mm). The riser shall be measured vertically between leading edges of the adjacent treads. The greatest riser height within any flight of stairs shall not exceed the smallest by more than 3/8 inch (9.5 mm).

R311.5.3.2 Tread depth. Continue reading →

On February 27, my husband Scott passed away due to complications from a fall.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who were there for me—Dr. Socash and the staff at the Health Center, the ambulance crew, Dave Berk-stresser and Peter Ferris.

I especially want to thank Dave who would not leave my side until family arrived; Jim and Diana Huss for giving up their planned High Peaks hike to stay with me; George and Becky; and my family on both the McCurn and Stuart sides.

Scott truly loved this area. He gave very generously to the community, however, he got back much more than he gave. He was always happiest when he was here.

He was a creature of habit, starting every day with breakfast in his corner chair at the Tamarack Café. Then, taking his dogs on his errand runs and spending the rest of the day on the dock directing activities. And no matter what, he always ended his day with a late afternoon nap.

Cazenovia was where our house was, but Inlet has become our home. I can’t thank you all enough for the love and support given to me during these difficult times.

I, like Scott, am happiest when here. I feel truly blessed to be living here and to have all the wonderful people in my life.

Thank you.

Penny Stuart, Inlet

Kudos to Patrick Venetz and Sam Phaneuf! The Freedom March of the Adirondacks was a great success! The young men came very close to their $5,000 goal.

Our team, Molly Harrington, Jo Maly and myself, raised $759 toward that goal. We finished the walk (according to Jo’s GPS) in 3 hours, 12 minutes, covering 13.4 miles at an average speed of 4.1 mph.

WooHoo! It was a great event and a super day!

I would like to thank the sponsors of our team. Thank you to: Patrons of Adk Physical Therapy, Lance Maly, Matt Martin, Kirsty Sutherland (Ozzie’s), Bob Cohen (Meyda), Jim and Leanne Helmes (Slickers);

Sheriff Chris and Kathy Farber, John Harrington, Bob Hollandt, Jill Hollister, Ron Dubray, George Meeker, Dan Rivet, Justin Marolf, Nick Bankert, Bernie Green, Doug Green, David Green, Darryl Green and Classmates from West Canada Valley 1976.

Barbara Green,

Old Forge 

by Dr. Adam Seigers

Giardia or Beaver Fever is a parasite which infects the small intestines of humans and other mammals.

The infection is transmitted after contact with contaminated food, soil, or water.

It is important to mention that most cases of giardia are a result of person to person transmission and are associated with poor hygiene.

Diaper changing in children and fecal oral routes are common modes of transmission.

Diarrhea is the most common presenting symptom usually beginning two days after exposure.

Diarrhea is often accompanied by excessive gas, abdominal cramping, stomach upset and nausea.

Left untreated it results in dehydration and nutritional deficiency.

With the subsequent dehydration, constipation usually ensues between days four through seven, with the entire illness lasting between two and six weeks.

Antibiotic therapies with tinidazole or metronidazole are used for treatment.

To reduce the risk of exposure, always wash your hands when they are potentially contaminated.

When in the outdoors avoid drinking stagnant water whenever possible and purify all water used for drinking.

More information can be found at www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia or by talking with your primary care provider.

—

Dr. Adam Seigers is a physician with Faxton St. Luke’s Adirondack Community Physicians (ACP) Boonville Medical Offices on Rt. 12.