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FRANKLIN CLINTON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6,1995 SSEX PAGE 15 PRESS-REPUBLICAN Hunter health Tests find ills beftke hunters take to woods By AUSON CALKINS Staff Writer Ctntrol EIIM Surxiu ELIZABETHTOWN - Hunters belong in the woods. In an effort to keep them there this hunting season, the Elizabethtown Hospital recently sponsored its first Hunter Health Screening Pro- gram. Hospital Administrator Tony Deobil said the event was in- spired by a similar program at a Pennsylvania hospital where he used to work. \I thought it would be a neat idea here,\ he said. During hunting season, emergency departments and doctors offices across the coun- try see an increase in patients suffering from hunting-related injuries. \There's about a 25-percent increase in patients and a significant increase in the number of sprains, strains and chest pains,\ he said. \There's gunshots as well. But the big- gest problem is people who aren't prepared physically to go out there.\ To that end, 40 professional hospital staffers volunteered to check out the health of area hunters. About 74 hunters showed up for the free battery of tests, which included blood pressure, height and weight checks as well as visual, pulse, lungs, heart and cholesterol checks. Also on hand were lecturers, videos and information displays on outdoor health and safety issues. Bow safety, hypother- mia and survival techniques, hunter safety, getting in shape, outdoor first aid, rabies, Lyme disease and \Beaver Fever\ were covered. Hunters also learned about • • • • . . . ' / \ Photo/Alison Calkins Steve Karkowski of Moriah has his lungs tested by licensed-practical nurse Vicki Conklin as part of the Elizabethtown Hospital's first Hunters Health Screening. constructing a birch-bark canoe and search-and-rescue tech- niques from Forest Ranger Gary Hodgson. Hunters such as Scott Decker of Elizabethtown learn- ed a \lot\\ during tKe~ Health screening. His wife, Lisa, said she came along just to make sure he got there. Mr. Decker said he's never had any hunting injuries, but is concerned about Lyme disease and was glad to get informa- tion. \The more you know about it, the better,\ he said. Mike Baldwin of Elizabeth- town has been hunting for 34 years. He was asked what he'd do if a health problem emerged during the screening. \If it was serious, I'd have it looked at. I learned that if you've got something wrong, check it out and get it taken care of. It doesn't do much good if you find out about it in the woods,\ he said. \It's too Bad I couldn't get my old hunting partner down here, but he wouldn't come.\ Charlie Martin from Lewis said he's been hunting for 40 years. \I've learned here that I'm a little bit out of shape,\ he said, laughing. \I'm going to be heading out to Colorado, and I'll be backing out of eating the high-fat stuff. They'll probably make fun of me, but that's OK. \I really appreciate that the hospital is doing this. I can't say enough for it. The guys who don't come here are missing out.\ Deobil said the test results would be sent to each hunter's personal physician. The hunter and doctor could then discuss any further steps that need to be taken. . \Dr^ Charles Moisan Jr. is the medical director of the Hunters Health Screening. If someone doesn't have a doctor, he will contact anyone with a serious problem. We also have a list of physicians available to the hunters,\ Deobil said. The success of the Hunters Health Screening bodes well for the future, he said. \This is a tough group to get to, but I think we've done that. Some of these guys haven't had their cholesterol or heart checked in years. I expect that next year's screening will be even bigger,\ he said. \We will do it again. Absolutely.\ Feeley touts accomplishments; Gokey critical By DEE BROWN Staff Writer Malon* lunai! MALONE — Mayor James Feeley wants to keep the job he took from Richard \Joe\ Gokey two and a half years ago. He took to the streets Thurs- day to talk about his ac- complishments during his first term in office. Standing on the Main Street bridge sidewalk, where his first campaign was kicked off some 30 months ago, he responded to ac- cusations made by his opponent in June when Gokey announced he was running. Responsiveness Gokey had accused the Feeley administration of not helping village residents when they needed it. In one case, he said, a resi- dent's home was flooded because of an error in street construction. He accused the village gov- ernment of not being responsive to the needs of the people because they didn't help. Feeley said the village is responsive and did help the fam- ily. He said he went to the resi- dence himself to evaluate the problem and subsequently assigned village personnel, James Faday Richard \Jo* 1 Gokey equipment time and materials to the tune of around $1,130. He.said the contractor couldn't be reached at the time, so he talked to the village attorney to see if it was OK to use public employees on private property. \We came to the determination that it was our problem, and we went about rectifying that,\ he said. On Thursday, Gokey again said he feels the village gov- ernment is \too far away from the people. Big-city government may be different, but this is Malone, N.Y., and we're all neighbors.\ Taxes Feeley said the current gov- ernment has become more effi- cient and effective. \For the first time since 1987- 88 fiscal year, we have a budget that reflects a tax reduction ... A little better than 13 cents per $1,000 less in taxes had to be raised this year as a result of the, efficiencies and economies tKat were instituted by this ad- ministration.\ Gokey agreed Feeley had reduced taxes but said that he had also raised taxes before. Gokey said Feeley was \fooling the people\ into thinking he's re- ally lowering taxes when taxes are more than $1 higher than be- fore he took office. Infrastructure Feeley outlined the work his administration has accomplish- ed. He said that in his one term 6,300 tons of blacktop were put down on Malone streets com- pared to 2,400 tons of blacktop in two terms of the previous ad- ministration. Feeley's tertn was extended a bit because village elections were moved from March to November, but he said it was a \stark con- trast\ anyway. Gokey said the work was done with CHIPS funds and that Feeley has no control over that. Feeley said he has used grant workers and workfair and people assigned to community service through the court system, where the previous administration had not. \Maybe one of the reasons a little more work is getting done is because we access those individ- uals to the tune of, since May of 1993, ... the equivalent of 4.1 full-time personnel working within the DPW,\ he said. Grants Gokey had criticized Feeley's administration as failing to go after grant money. Feeley said grants are very competitive, but that HUD funds have been secured in the past and that the Police Department received grant money that allow- ed an increase in personnel. He said they just received notification that they've received a $5,000 Troops to Cops grant to help defray training_costs._ In response, Gokey says Feeley is taking credit for things he has no control over, such as HUD and federal grants. Feeley feels his administration has been successful. \We now have a government that's effective and efficient,\ he said. \I think we're responsive to individuals, and we try to do what's right. \I think above all, we're mak- ing fair and consistent decisions in terms of how the taxpayers' money is spent,\ he said. Pataki to push for blowdown recovery aid By KENNETH LOVETT Ottaway News Service ALBANY — Gov. George E. Pataki said he will appeal per- sonally for federal officials to reverse their decision not to pro- vide money for the July 15 blowdown in the Adirondack Park. The Federal Emergency Management Agency ruled last month that the \impact of this event is not of a severity and magnitude that warrant a major disaster declaration.\ Pataki disagreed. ' \I don't feel it's justified,\ Pataki said Thursday of the deci- sion. \It was a very freakish once v or twice in a century storm that in our opinion justifies funding.\ He said he will personally talk to federal officials in hopes of changing their minds. At stake is who pays for the majority of the clean up and repair costs resulting from the storm. If FEMA had approved the spending, the federal gov- ernment would have paid 75 per- cent of the cost of cleaning up and repairing storm damage to roads, bridges and other public structures, while state and local governments would each chip in 12.5 percent toward those costs. The government would also help private property owners re- cover their damages with low- interest loans. The destruction was caused by a fast-moving line of thunderstorms that blew through the region on 80-mph winds in the early morning hours of July 15. Five campers were killed in their sleep when trees fell into their tents. And the hurricane- force winds flattened homes and knocked down timber on tens of thousands of acres. Most of the damage was focus- ed within a 900,000-acre triangle formed by Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton County, Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County and Lyons Falls in Lewis County. At least 184 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged while 343 houses suffered minor damage. A FEMA spokesman had said the agency also, turned down New York's application for more relief because most of the dam- age was covered by insurance. He added that there are disaster relief funds available in the form of low-interest loans from other federal agencies. AMC employees asked to join United Way campaign SARANAC LAKE — Adirondack Medical Center employees are asked to be part of the United Way of Franklin County's 1995-96 campaign through payroll deduction. This is the first year that AMC has participated in the United Way campaign since Franklin County formed its own chapter in 1990. An employee information day will be held Friday Oct. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Saranac Lake site. Employees and visitors will have a chance to talk with various representatives from United Way agencies to learn more about programs. AMC's campaign will run from Oct. 9 through Oct. 23. The county-wide fundraising goal is $170,000 with the campaign concluding the end of November. Fall Foliage Weekend coming in Westport WESTPORT - Westport Fall Foliage Weekend, sponsored by Westport Chamber of Commerce and Westport Rescue Hose Com- pany 1, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 7 and 8. Events on Saturday will include a silent auction for the chamber at Federated Church, children's poster judging, a flea market, pumpkin decorating, a book sale at the library from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., music in the park and a dance at the school in the evening featuring Cold Brook Ramblers. Sunday's activities- will include demonstrations by the Fire Department, a parade beginning at 1 p.m., a flea market and live music. Landfills to be closed for holiday MALONE — The following trash facilities will be closed Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 9: County of Franklin Solid Waste Management Authority, Main Landfill (Trout River Westville Road), Malone Trans- fer Station (Cady Road), Tupper Lake Transfer Station and'Lake Clear Transfer Station. The main landfill be open at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10. All facili- ties will otherwise follow their regular schedule. Saranac Lake after school program begins again SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake Youth Activities Program's After School Program' has begun its third year with a varied, daily schedule 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Games, outdoor activities, music and arts projects and a study room are regular features at the Presbyterian Church in Saranac Lake. The program is open to children age 6 to 12 years old. Pre- registration is required. There is a $10 per family program registra- tion fee. The weekly fee for St. Bernard's School students is $35 and the daily is $8. Fees for Saranac Lake Public School students weekly is $25 and the daily is $7. There is a multiple child rate and partial scholarships are available to eligible families. SLYAP will also offer three full days of program on no-school days Oct. 20, Nov. 10 and Nov. 22. Local artists from the Arts Council for the Northern Adirondacks will be there. For more information, call Brian McDonnell at 891-1176. Adirondack Council: North Elba 'gutsy', Senate 'the worst' By MARY THILL Staff Writer Sara-Placid lunau ELIZABETHTOWN - The Adirondack Council had plenty of praise for local governments in its 1995 State of the Park report. The environmental group lauded North Elba Town Super- visor Matthew Clark and the Town Board for a \gutsy stand\ in giving the Adirondack Park Agency jurisdiction over retail stores of greater than 40,000 square feet, namely Wal-Mart. It's only the second time in the state agency's 23-year history a town has invited its intervention.. North Elba Town Board Clark, a Republican who is retiring from a lengthy career in town service this year, often but- ted heads with the environmen- tal group. But in recent years, his Town Board has twice fallen on the \thumbs up\ side of the Adirondack Council's annual assessment of policies that affect the 9,000-square-mile park. \I think we're working in the interest of the people of North Elba and the area,\ Clark said. \I think I am aging and leaning towards, not all the way, but quite a bit,towards what they're thinking.\ The move doesn't mean the Town Board opposes Wal-Mart, Clark added, only that it recognizes it would have regional impacts. Review Board Among six thumbs-ups for local governments, the council gave the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board credit for opposing an application to the APA for variance to put a septic system nine feet from the shore of Cranberry Lake. Essex County Supervisors The Essex County Board of Supervisors, however, got two thumbs-downs for favoring a new concrete and steel bridge in Jay after the state had agreed to rebuild a wooden bridge, and for attempting to import trash or in- cinerator ash from outside the park. The Worst Under a new category for es- pecially offensive moves entitled, 'The Worst\ is the state Senate, for appointing Mark Barie of Plattsburgh and Plattsburgh Chamber of Commerce Director Garry Douglas to the Lake Champlain Management Con- ference. According to the council, both have stated publicly that they were against the planning and environmental protection ef- fort in the lake basin. The governor Gov. George Pataki has been in office for less than.a year and is still sending mixed signals on his commitment to the Adiron- dack Park, the council reported. It praised him for softening APA cuts and putting the Olym- pic Authority into the hands of the Department of Economic De- velopment, but criticized him for raiding the Environmental Pro- tection Fund and walking away from a Vermont-New York- Quebec water quality agreement to reduce phosphorus discharge into Lake Champlain. Here are a sampling of the en- vironmental group's other high and low points of the year. Thumbs up: • To the Adirondack Park Agency' for setting a clustering precedent in the controversial Oven Mountain subdivision in Warren County, and for not suc- cumbing to demands to use chemical herbicides to control the aquatic weed Eurasian milfoil, issuing hand-harvest permits in- stead. • To the APA's Visitor Inter- pretive Center for becoming the first state agency to limit access to a hiking trail. • To the Department of En- vironmental Conservation for urging people not to overreact to increased bear activity in towns caused by a dry summer and lack of natural food. • To DEC forest rangers for res- cuing dozens of hikers and campers. • To DEC Commissioner Michael Zagata for telling town officials not to expect a reversal in the state's policy of closing small unlined landfills. • To Commissioner Zagata and Congressman Jerry Solomon, R- Queensbury, for working toward an end for acid rain in the Adirondack Park. Thumbs down: • To the State Legislature for letting Pataki raid part of the Environmental Protection Fund. • To the Legislature for not of- fering any bills to improve land- use protections in the park for the first time in four years. • To the Adirondack Park Agency for announcing the departure of Executive Director Robert Glennon late on a Friday after no one was left to respond to queries from the media. • To some DEC staffers for overstating the danger of fire posed by this summer's wind- storms. • .'.••I
