Former supervisor speaks out on Lake George
Criticizes Warren County board for not doing more
The Front Page
Evening update
Monday, June 7, 2021
By Ken Tingley
Lots of other people are wondering what Lake George supervisor Dennis Dickinson is thinking in dragging his feet on septic reforms.
I received plenty of emails over the weekend from readers angry and frustrated by the Warren County Board of Supervisors lack of action.
One of them was former Dresden Supervisor Joe Rota.
“The closing of Million Dollar Beach is the canary in the mine cage for Lake George,” Rota wrote. “How all elected representatives don’t realize the significance of this is beyond ignorance of the subject. It is so shortsighted not to correct an escalating health problem while it be accomplished.”
Rota put forth his own story about local sewage, but just to be clear, I’m not talking about the local politicians.
Rota retired and moved to Huletts Landing in 1979. Unfortunately, he was welcomed with an occasional foul smell emanating from the nearby Washington County park.
Rota recalled the Dresden Town Board was aware of the problem, but believed the only solution was to pump sewage over 2,000 feet of elevation over Black Mountain. That made it a dead issue for the town.
But not for Rota. Instead, he decided to run for office over the sewage issue. He said in his email this weekend the Huletts Landing community backed him and he got just enough votes from Clemons to have the election end in a tie. Rota said the tie was broken in Washington County court, which sounds like another interesting story.
“I thought two years would be long enough to correct the problem, but it took 10,” Rota said in his email. “I stayed as supervisor for 12 years and left with a fine working, year-round sewer system for over 70 homes.”
Perhaps, Dickinson and the other members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors should talk to Rota.
Rota remembered there was plenty of opposition to the sewer project from local residents who said they didn’t have the money for the improvements, as well as concern from residents in Clemons who didn’t think they should have to pay for the improvements in Huletts Landing. Sounds a lot like what we are hearing today.
“I look back now and realize why it took 10 years,” Rota wrote me. “Had the Washington County legislators been shortsighted as some of the Warren County members are now, the high healthy lake readings in Huletts Landing area now would never have appeared.”
After 12 years as supervisor, during which he was also chair of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, Rota went on to serve as executive director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board.
“Bad health will eventually win out on Lake George,” Rota wrote, “if these first steps to correct the home sewer problems are not acted upon.”
It is sound advice from someone who should know.
Sound track of my summer
There is only one way to follow baseball - on the radio.
I grew up in Connecticut listening to Phil Rizzuoto call games - “Holy Cow!” - when few games were broadcast on television. These days I like to turn on the radio while doing chores outside or relaxing on my patio or porch and listen to the radio broadcast.
The more I listened this weekend, the more I realized I get far more interesting and valuable information from the radio broadcasts than I ever do from the personalities on TV who seem more concerned about joking with each other and talking about where they are going to dinner afterward.
The baseball broadcasts are the sound track of my summer.
I turned on the ESPN telecast of the Yankee game Sunday night, but before too long, I had retrieved my radio and turned off the sound on the television.
New signups
I got more than a dozen new signups for the newsletter on Sunday, so thank you to all of you who shared my latest work. And welcome to all the new subscribers. If you like what you read, share with it your friends and family.
The sad reality is that the local news outlets just don’t have the resources anymore to weigh in on the significant issues of the day, so I’m hoping what I’m doing helps.
I agree, the best way to watch a game is on TV with the sound off and the radio on! I do remember asa kid the Yankee games with balls and strikes being called by Mel Allen and later Phil Rizzuto calling balls and strikes.
As to Lake George, it is only the beginning of June and already they had to close the beach. Action must be taken now!
As a Supervisor from Glens Falls, I serve on this committee.
We need to speak.