28 YEARS AGO — 1996
• Hyakutake has already given us a splendid astronomical show, but the viewing should continue as the comet rockets toward the sun. “We might have some bad weather over the next few days, but come early April, we should have another good view of it,” said SUNY Plattsburgh Physics Professor George Flynn. “As the comet moves closer to the sun, it will start to warm up and emit more clouds and gas. It should become spectacular.” Hyakutake made its closest approach to the Earth Monday night, when it came within 8.5 million miles. It was also passing near the Big Dipper, making comet gazing easy for just about anyone. Now that it’s moving away from the Earth, the comet will become a little dimmer over the next few days. “As of (Wednesday), it’s a little to the west of the North Star, Polaris,” said Glen Myer, who coordinates astronomy programs for the SUNY Plattsburgh Physics Department. “It will continue to move toward the western sky, and it will appear dimmer as the moon moves toward a full phase. “But as it moves farther from us, we should have a better view of the tail,” he added. “Right now, we’re seeing the comet head-on, and the tail isn’t really that perceptible. As it moves toward the sun, we’ll have a better side view, and it will look more like the typical comet we’re familiar with.”
• Residents of the Cumberland Bay shoreline want PCB-contaminated debris removed from the bay and taken out of the area for disposal. At an informational meeting, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation laid out its options for removing the contaminated sludge bed. About two dozen residents and lakefront business owners attended. “I’m definitely in favor of removing the sludge, but I don’t think we should build a landfill for it,” said one resident, referring to an option that would require construction of a landfill near Wilcox Dock to hold the waste removed from the sludge bed. DEC officials discussed several options, including transporting the debris to a local or commercial landfill. That idea was looked upon more favorably by the residents on hand, even though it would cost nearly $5.5 million more to complete. The sludge bed, located between the breakwater south of Wilcox Dock and the developed area south of Scomotion Creek, consists of about 34 acres of wood pulp, wood chips, and other debris. The bed is about one to two feet thick in most areas but is as much as 10 feet deep around the dock where it had been dredged for barge traffic.
50 YEARS AGO — 1974
• It may not be a 747, but it’s not a balsa glider, either. It’s a model airplane that took 2,500 hours to build, can go 50 miles an hour and won a contest over model builders from all over the east. The creator of the plane is Maynard Jubert, a science teacher at the Plattsburgh Middle School. Earlier this month he entered his project in a contest sponsored by the Westchester Radio Aero Modelers in White Plains and brought home a large mounted silver cup for first place. Jubert, a model plane buff since age 4, entered the contest once before. But he didn’t place, he presumes, because he entered a plane built from a kit instead of one built from scratch. On that presumption, he decided to pick the most difficult subject to construct and to mold it from his imagination. The rules of the contest in the category of Jubert’s interest are that a plane of World War I vintage must be constructed to exact scale. Every detail of the plane’s construction must be replicated to the extent that Jubert had to figure out some way to make valve cover spring caps one-sixth the size of those on the German plane he eventually chose. (He did it by using some of his daughter’s sequins.) He chose a German Albatros DVa, a fighter plane. That, he believed, would be among the most difficult to duplicate.
• The failure of bleachers to arrive on time has forced the city to postpone the opening of the Crete Memorial Civic Center another two weeks to May 14, according to its director. Al Grissino, who heads up the Plattsburgh-Lake Champlain Recreation Complex of which the Crete Center is a part, said he has arranged a horse show as the inaugural feature May 14. It’s possible, he admitted, that even that date is not positive, “It’s as firm as we can get,” he said. The problem is that bleachers for 2,384 people were not built to specifications. A Maine firm built them, but they were deemed to be unsafe, Grissino said. Additional construction was necessary, moving the scheduled arrival back to April 15. The minimum installation time is two weeks, he said. Otherwise, the center is complete, he noted. The other major obstacle to opening, installation of a transformer, was effected this week. Full power is expected to be available Monday. He has scheduled the Royal Lipizzan Stallions trained white horses specially to highlight the $2.5 million center’s kickoff. If the opening has to be rescheduled, he noted, he will have to pass up the horse show. Plans for the evening call for a dedication ceremony at about 6:30 p.m. The ceremony will be preceded by an elaborate buffet.
75 YEARS AGO — 1949
• Seven-year-old Duane Griffin suffered a scalp wound yesterday in what police termed “a William Tell shooting.” He was taken to Glens Falls Hospital where his condition was reported as “fairly good.” State police said the Griffin boy was wounded by a .22 caliber bullet from a gun fired by James Harrison, 12. Harrison, a Peekskill Military Academy student home on vacation, told police he thought the safety catch was in place when he simulated shooting a cowboy hat off Griffin’s head.
• The newest idea in the typewriter world is the “color vision” keyboard, A. J. Graham said following his return from Syracuse, where he attended a preview conference of the Smith-Corona Co. After a scientific study of what makes a typewriter keyboard hard to read and uncomfortable to the Smith-Corona touch, developed rimless plastic keys shaped to the curvature of the fingertips and colored them a special non-glare green, Graham said. The key tips actually cup the fingertips and their restful green color clearly silhouettes the letters without annoying reflection. Secretaries and professional typists say it’s not only a big aid in their work, but actually bring a new, smoother “touch” to typing. Departing from the traditional black, the new Smith-Corona is finished in two tones of gray and besides the “color vision” keyboard, features an exclusive automatic margin set, also a new three-position paper bail, improved line registration, and a touch selector that eliminates the usual heavy resistance at the beginning of each keystroke.
100 YEARS AGO — 1924
• Work on the erection of the new A. H Marshall Company store here will begin in about one week. A. H. Marshall, president of the company, stated yesterday. The building will be one of the most modern in Northern New York when completed and is in line with many other improvements to start in Plattsburgh this spring. The new building will have entrances on Margaret and Bridge Street. The bank will adjoin the 10th wall while the building ends in the rear of Frank A. Finn’s clothing store and Myron J. Gordon’s shop and will have a T shape. A very artistic and convenient entrance on Margaret Street was outlined in the architect’s plans. A fine plate-glass front on Margaret Street will add greatly to the building with large swinging door at the entrance. Colonial windows will be installed on the front on both the second and third floors with a handsome design which will harmonize nicely with a deep red tapestry brickwork and granite stone trimmings.
• With the approach of the Military Training Camp Season, Plattsburgh is beginning to loom strong in the news of the day. We understand that the camps this year will be twice the size of those of last year, which is also encouraging. Albany has already held several meetings in connection with the camp and other cities in the east are doing likewise. For the first time since the camps were organized, Rochester is taking an active interest in the military training camp movement. Wm. H. Campbell, secretary of the Rochester Rotary Club, in a recent letter to Mayor W. E. Cross stated that Major Montgomery E. Leary and others of that city who were interested were very much impressed with the attitude of the Plattsburgh people and that they “are doing a mighty good piece of work.” Mr. Campbell concludes by saying that “a good bunch of Rochesterians in camp is certain.”
— Compiled by Night Editor Ben Rowe