In just 7 months, Lake Luzerne lost its library - it’s a warning for all of us

Jailing judges and reporters has happened before in the U.S.

By Ken Tingley

Seven months ago, the Rockwell Falls Public Library in Lake Luzerne scheduled a drag queen reading event for kids.

The goal was to show there are different types of people in the world. These children’s events have been happening for about eight years nationally and have been the subject of significant public debate over whether they were appropriate for children.

When community members objected to the event in Lake Luzerne, it was canceled.

But it didn’t end there. The controversy has escalated and has taken on a life of its own, leaving the community divided, the library closed with no staff and and only two board members remaining. It now lacks a quorum to conduct business.

This month at another meeting to brief the public on how it would move forward, police were called after a fight broke out and one man admitted to a Post-Star reporter, “When he hit me in the chest, I hauled off and I hit him in the jaw.”

At a library meeting.

That should get your attention.

It shows how quickly our institutions can be undone.

It shows how a disagreement can turn into a war.

And how civic-minded people wanting to serve their community decide it isn’t worth it anymore.

It is a warning and it should remind us of what is at stake in the next election.

Maybe in every future election.

Over the past seven months, there has been enough controversy in Lake Luzerne to fill several library bookshelves.

At one point, the library board proposed a resolution about its core values.

“Rockwell Falls Public Library believes that diverse, accessible, and culturally inclusive programing, services, and collections, advance the mission of the library as a publicly funded educational resource for all members of the community it serves,” is what the resolution said.

It went on to say it “must celebrate the freedom of expression, the right to read freely, and the First Amendment.”

Maybe most importantly, it said that individuals are free to pick and choose what ovverings they and their children should utilize.

The resolution passed, 4-1.

That’s a win for all of us, except what concerned me at the time was one member of the board - Josh Jacquard - voted against the resolution.

The board was not unanimous about banning books.

I suspect that vote is what led board member Kathleen Jones to resign her position this month after she was left as one of three board members - Jacquard and Hall were the other two - on the board. With the board about to vote on new board members, Jones launched a preemptive strike.

“My resignation came after realizing the only way to open this library was to have the state step in and govern,” Jones wrote on Facebook. “Certain trustees do not have a monopoly on who they want or don’t want to serve in the library. Now it is out of their hands, period. Had another trustee been appointed that library would probably have been opened right now.”

She obviously was referring to Jacquard - a pastor at the Baptist church in Porters Corners - and Hall.

Future board members will be appointed by the New York State Board of Regents which oversees the Southern Adirondack Library System, a consortium of 34 libraries in Saratoga, Warren, Washington and Hamilton counties.

If you use your local library, you probably have used SALS to acquire a book you wanted at another library. The organization was chartered in 1958 by the New York State Board of Regents. I don’t recall it ever being in the middle of any controversies.

During a Zoom call at the last meeting, SALSs representative Sara Dallas explained how the process will work for choosing new board members. That didn’t sit well with Jacquard either.

Jacquard voiced concern about the selection process.

“I think they’ve turned into a political organization that’s pushing an agenda,” Jacquard said during the board’s Oct. 17 meeting, according to The Post-Star.

Jacquard has talked a lot about “agendas.”

Jacquard said Jones had an “agenda.”

As well as SALS.

And the New York State Board of Regents.

On the other side, Jacquard has been accused of bringing his own religious beliefs to the table. He has said that library officials are guilty of sexualizing children.

The last seven months have been ugly in Lake Luzerne. I don’t know how they recover without good people stepping forward. Strong people. I can’t imagine anyone would want to put themselves into the middle of this controversy.

And if the town eventually does get a new library board, it will be of like-minded individuals who probably do have an “agenda” and that’s when the books start disappearing off shelves.

That’s not America.

What we considered unimaginable seven months ago could come to fruition in less than a year without one elected official standing up and saying, “This isn’t right.”

This may be just the beginning.

What happens when this happens to the board of education in a small community?

Or the town council?

Recent reports from the New York Times revealed what a second Trump administration would look like and how institutions would gradually be hollowed out and occupied people who will do the bidding of one person.

It doesn’t seem possible that our freedoms could be at risk in the near future.

But we’re seeing it played out right before our eyes locally in Lake Luzerne.

It started with a library in Lake Luzerne.

And if anyone is brave enough to stand up and object, well, I suspect someone will be there to “haul off and hit them in the jaw.”

The Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans housed one especially disturbing pice of information about Andrew Jackson.

Jailing a judge

If you don’t think reporters and judges can be jailed, here is one instance from the past you might find interesting.

After the Battle of New Orleans effectively ended the War of 1812, Gen. Andrew Jackson - who would later be president - refused to end martial law in New Orleans until he got official word of the war’s end.

“When a local newspaper dared to criticize his reluctance, Jackson had the writer thrown in jail. When a judge insisted that the writer had a right to a public trial, the judge landed in jail as well. Both men were ultimately freed and Jackson paid a $1000 fine for contempt of court, but the incident led to charges of despotism and haunted him throughout his career.”

I found those words in the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans chilling. I also remembered many in the Trump administration compared Trump to Jackson in the early days of his administration.

Glens Falls photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard was a big deal not only in Glens Falls, but around the state.

More on Stoddard

The Chapman Museum will be holding a talk about the famous Glens Falls photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard.

The Chapman currently has an exhibit on Stoddard and his influence on the Adirondacks.

Maureen Folk, curator at the Chapman, will speak about Stoddard on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.

The program is free but does require a reservation. Call 518 793-2826.

More on Maury

Former Post-Star reporter Maury Thompson continues to be everywhere. He was recently a guest on the political history podcast “The Also-Rans” discussing his fascination with Glens Falls native and political heavyweight of another era - Charles Evans Hughes.

Kind words

After promoting my latest book - The Last American Editor, Vol. 2 - recently, I received this kind comment from MaryAnne Brown:

“As a presenter about self-care for caregivers, I point out that if we immerse ourselves in negativity, not matter what the source, it is unhealthy. I encourage participants to “go local” and discover the goodness of others. We need these good news stories to balance the toxicity of bad news that can overtake our thinking if we allow this. Emerson once said, “You are what you think about all day long.” Learning about hometown heroism nurtures one’s resilience. Thanks, Ken. Keep on keeping on.”

What I’m most proud of with both “Last American Editor” books is that it preserves the stories of regular people who often did extraordinary things in their lives.