28 YEARS AGO — 1997
• Hoping to ease court backlogs in Clinton County, state lawmakers are pushing for a new full-time county judge there. Clinton County has two judges, Patrick McGill and Kevin K. Ryan, who split time in county, family and surrogate courts. Their number has not increased since the early 1970s, but the court caseload is up by more than 430 percent, officials say. Family Court cases have increased as education on child physical and sexual abuse has become more common. An increase in divorce, custody and paternity cases also adds to the total, says Terry Gordon, chief clerk of Clinton County’s county and supreme courts. In criminal court, state efforts to crack down on drunk driving and drug use through tougher laws, as well as more aggressive prosecution of crimes committed at state prisons in the county, have led to an increase in cases, Gordon said. Under legislation proposed by Sen. Ronald B. Stafford and Assemblyman Chris Ortloff, both Plattsburgh Republicans, the new judge would be primarily responsible for Family Court and make the same $100,200 a year the two other Clinton County Court judges make. Passage may be difficult, however. For one, the measure so far doesn’t have a majority sponsor in the Democrat-controlled Assembly. In addition, since 1990, when 40 new judgeships were created, the Legislature has authorized only one new county judgeship despite numerous requests, according to the state Office of Court Administration. Still, supporters of the Clinton County proposal are hopeful.
• Dogged by criticism that it’s losing its hold on the title of Winter Sports Capital of the World, Lake Placid proved Monday it still has what it takes to attract big-time events. The Olympic Regional Development Authority has nabbed the U.S. Ski Team Olympic Trials — a four-day affair that will bring nationwide television exposure as well as a possible economic boon to the Adirondacks. “This should be a major morale booster for Lake Placid,” said ORDA spokesman Mike Rolnick. “This is a major event.” Whiteface Mountain is the site of the trials Dec. 30 through Jan. 3. It is one of the biggest competitions to be held at Whiteface in more than a decade and one of the largest multi-day sporting events to come to town since the 1980 Winter Olympics. Via nationwide network and cable-television exposure, the trials will also thrust back into the spotlight Whiteface Mountain, a ski center that lately has fallen behind others in the Northeast. “This will bring Lake Placid a tremendous amount of exposure at the very beginning of the ski season,” Rolnick said. “This will show people that the upper mountain is in world-class shape.”
50 YEARS AGO — 1975
• A representative of The Saratoga Associates unveiled a master plan of action for restoration of downtown Plattsburgh Thursday. The immediate action plan is being dovetailed with Operation PRIDE, and will involve cleanup of downtown property, unification of downtown merchants, planting of trees and repair of building facades. Robert F. Bristol of The Saratoga Associates, the firm contracted by the Downtown Merchants Association to draw the master plan for restoration, presented schematic drawings of the plan of action in various stages – to a design pack, a guide for all downtown merchants. The design is 19th-century Victorian. The Saratoga Associates’ plan calls for planting 200 or more trees in downtown Plattsburgh over the next two years. The only cost of the project would be for the actual purchase of the trees. Plans state that once the trees are paid for, either by the city or by private organizations, they will be planted in stages by volunteers. This has been done in other cities, Bristol said, specifically Saratoga and Troy. The first 15 or 20 trees will be planted this fall. Aside from actions like that, which give immediate impact, the majority of the plan will take place gradually. Building facades will be restored as they need it. When an old, gaudy sign wears out, it will be replaced with one conforming to the plan. When storefronts need repainting, it will be done in colors of beige, buff, blue and so on.
• More than 40,000 people came politely through this village built for 3,400 Saturday to see how the Green Mountain Boys routed the British from Fort Ticonderoga 200 years ago “to the hour.” Ticonderoga officials were delighted over the conduct of the throngs that gathered 6,000 strong to watch the bicentennial re-enactment of the British surrender of the fort to Ethan Allen’s men Saturday. More than 34,000 attended two more re-enactments later in the day. The late-morning and afternoon crowds could be described as docile, apparently interested only in taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the 18th-Century costumes, displays, demonstrations and barbecues. The early-morning scene, sprinkled with the occasional odor of marijuana and the more-than-occasional sight of youths and others swigging beer and liquor, was less docile but hardly rowdy. About the only demonstration of crowd wrath was directed to several dozen newsmen, who scurried into the fort’s courtyard in front of the 3,000 or so spectators seated in bleachers. When Col. Allen’s men had swept the “British” from their quarters and were about to lead the enemy out of the fort, numerous spectators vigorously tried to take the newsmen along with them. “I don’t know who you work for, but whatever product it is, I’ll never buy it again,” someone yelled.
75 YEARS AGO — 1950
• The cornerstone of the new residence hall and student union building of Plattsburgh State Teachers College was laid yesterday with ceremonies which had interesting preliminaries in the college auditorium, terminating with the actual placement of a memento-filled receptacle into a recess in the cornerstone. The ceremonies at the college, where hundreds of students, faculty members and guests assembled, teemed with optimism over the future of PSTC as a teacher-training center. The keynote was given by the college president, Dr. Charles Ward, who was master of ceremonies. The ceremony, he said, was commemorating an achievement which has been the vision of educators for many years; it having been long recognized that the living conditions, the social opportunity afforded, the advancement of student government and participation in college affairs, can reach complete development only through adequate residence halls and student facilities. The new residence hall will be a material representation of the faith of people in the education of teachers, he stressed.
• Plattsburgh is scheduled to be bombed at three p.m. Saturday, but there will be no need to take cover. The “bombs” will be pamphlets telling about America’s first Armed Forces Day which will be celebrated here and elsewhere on Saturday, May 20. The pamphlets will be dropped from an airplane of the Tri-Rite School of Aviation from the Plattsburgh airport through the cooperation of Manager John Colver, assisted by Warner Clark of the Champlain Valley Leatherneck Detachment of the Marine Corps League. Issued by the Department of Defense, the pamphlets describe the department’s organization, outline the functions of the units of the department — Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force — and point out that these services have been “Teamed for Defense.” A large number of organizations and business firms have indicated to the local Armed Forces Day committee, which is headed by Dr. H. B. Hillegas, that they will enter floats and marching units in the parade competition for prizes, totaling $500, awarded by Plattsburgh merchants.
100 YEARS AGO — 1925
• At 2 o’clock this morning, the entire town of Ausable Forks was threatened with extinction by a fire that broke out around 1 a.m. in the basement of H. Smith & Co., the largest merchandise establishment in this section of the country. The fire was discovered by James McDonald, who lived in the upper part of the building. McDonald was awakened by smoke seeping into his room from the basement of Candyland, a confectionery store located in the building. McDonald rushed in alarm, and soon a stream of water was shooting into the basement of Candyland—but by the time it was in action, flames were already shooting from the roof. It was apparent that the firemen had the worst fire in the history of Ausable Forks to fight, with little hope of conquering the devouring flames. By 2 a.m., the three-story Smith building was doomed, and while streams were played into it, firemen were forced to focus on saving the other buildings on the street that were threatened. One of the heaviest stockholders in the company was E.W. Featherston. The loss on the Smith building alone was estimated to be at least $200,000. The Bridge Theatre, owned by the Marshall Brothers, stood on the burning side of the street, adjoining the bridge over the Ausable River. It had already burned once the year prior, but had been rebuilt. As of 2:45 a.m., little hope was expressed for saving any of these structures. A slight wind was blowing the flames toward the remaining buildings, adding to the threat of spreading the fire. By 2:30 a.m., all telephone communication was lost, and it became impossible to gather further details.
• Officer John Frederick over the weekend solved the theft of a quantity of jewelry from the home of Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Laing of 68 Oak Street and last night turned over the property to Mr. Laing. Mrs. Laing reported that while she was downtown Wednesday afternoon someone had stolen three watches, a chain, Masonic ring and nickel-plated flashlight from the house. Investigation by Mayor Cross, acting police chief during the illness of Chief Eli Senecal, and Officer Frederick, disclosed that a newsboy had traded a watch for a jack-knife. The mayor and Officer Frederick went after the lad. He produced two watches from under a bed, but denied knowing anything about the rest of the property. After a severe drilling from the officer, the lad broke down and admitted burying the rest of the stolen property in yards adjoining his home. As the boy is only twelve years old, the authorities are withholding his name. He is not employed by the Press, however.
— Compiled by Contributing Writer Ben Rowe