“Casinos, if they come here or if they go to competing resorts, could determine the future of Lake George,” said Lake George Village Mayor Bob Blais. “If it’s put to a vote, it’s going to be the biggest decision ever made in Warren County.”

In December, Blais and the Village’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to help fund a study of a casino’s likely impacts on Lake George.

“If we’re to determine the effects of gaming on infrastructure, taxes, employment and the quality of life, we need information. We have to get the ball rolling,” said Blais.

Blais said he would ask Warren County and the Town of Lake George to contribute to the costs of the analysis, which would be conducted by an independent consultant.

But according to New York State Senator Betty Little, a 2004 agreement between New York State and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe may preclude Lake George casinos.

“That law grants the St. Regis Mohawks the right to operate slot machines in exchange for a portion of the proceeds for the State,” said Little. “The law prohibits the state from allowing others to operate slots in an eight county region, which includes Warren County.”

Little continued, “How would a constitutional amendment legalizing gambling address that? Would the State have to change the 2004 statute and what interest would there be in doing so?”

But, Little said, “The legislative leaders and governor have agreed to work toward an amendment. There is public support for doing so and given the state’s
financial challenges, a strong desire to act.”

According to Dan Macentee, Little’s spokesman, the Senator would support Warren County’s efforts to bring gaming to the area, if, that is, Warren County wants casinos.

The group held its first public event on Friday May 6 at Bolton Landing’s Conservation Club at Edgecomb Pond in Bolton Landing to discuss the formation of a transition effort for the community in anticipation of the anticipated significant changes in the local community that will result from dramatically increasing energy costs.

On Tuesday, May 24, the group will sponsor a talk at the Bolton Free Library at 7 pm by Transition US trainer Tina Clarke.

Tina Clarke has been an advocate, educator, consultant, and director of nonprofit programs since 1985. She was recently a consultant with Bill McKibben’s global 350.org initiative and the Sustainability Institute. She has been providing professional training and support for community leaders and campaigns for over 20 years. In Washington, D.C. she directed national citizen advocacy training programs for faith communities, and directed Greenpeace USA’s citizen activist network. She has consulted with over 400 NGOs on organizational development, public outreach, coalition-building, and energy and environmental issues. In Massachusetts she directed a regional nonprofit assistance center, training leaders in strategic planning, fundraising, and organizational development. As a Campaign Director for Clean Water Action, she initiated and helped lead coalitions on environmental justice, toxins and energy. Tina has an M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, a B.A. in urban studies from Macalester College, and is certified for consensus process facilitation and mediation. She is popular speaker on energy and environmental issues, creative frugality, and social change. She has trained and advised over three dozen Transition Initiatives. Tina lives in a below-zero energy, passive solar-heated, Platiunm LEED, low-toxic “Power House” that she helped design and build. In 2009 the home won the Massachusetts utility company-sponsored competition, the Zero Energy Challenge, and in 2010 won the NESEA award for zero energy buildings. The house is free of all fossil fuels and wood-burning, and generated 2.5 times more energy than needed in 2009.

For more information about Transition Bolton Landing, contact Bill Campbell at 744-0341.

With the warmwater opener, most of the New York sportfish seasons will be open. This includes catch and release fishing for black bass (largemouth and smallmouth bass) in many waters across the state. Muskellunge fishing season and the regular (harvest) season for black bass open on the 3rd Saturday in June (June 18).

“New Yorkers are fortunate to have such a large variety of popular sportfish to chose from,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “We hope that all anglers find the time to enjoy these fishing opportunities in 2011 and encourage them to share their enjoyment by introducing someone new to the sport.”

Walleye are very popular springtime targets and fishing opportunities now exist in over 100 waters throughout the state. As part of ongoing management and research programs, DEC has stocked 60 waters with walleye fry or fingerlings over the last 5 years in almost all regions of the state. Anglers are also encouraged to take advantage of the black bass catch and release season for many state waters as well as the early season for black bass in Lake Erie, which also opens on May 7. Spring also provides outstanding fishing opportunities for yellow perch, sunfish and crappie, valued for their tasty flesh. These species are common throughout the state and provide easy fishing for even novice anglers. A popular sportfish in southern and Midwestern states, channel catfish also flourish in many of our larger lakes and rivers, provide a very tasty meal, and are underutilized by New York anglers. A complete listing of 2011 warmwater fishing hotspots recommended by DEC biologists can be found at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/64710.html.

DEC will be initiating a number of bass studies in 2011. These studies include an effort to assess black bass populations statewide, the investigation of black bass movements following bass tournaments on Lake Champlain and a tournament monitoring program on Oneida Lake. Participation from bass anglers will be requested for both tournament studies.

Warmwater anglers on Lake Champlain are requested to report any catches of sauger to Emily Zollweg at the DEC Region 5 office in Warrensburg at (518) 623-1264. The status of sauger, a close relative of the walleye, has been unknown in the lake for a quite some time, until a single sauger was caught in a DEC survey last spring. Sauger can be distinguished from walleye by the three to four saddle-shaped dark brown blotches on their sides, the distinct black spots on the first dorsal (back) fin and the lack of a white tip on the lower lobe of the tail fin.

Use Baitfish Wisely

Anglers using fish for bait are reminded to be careful with how these fish are used and disposed of. Careless use of baitfish is one of the primary means by which non-native species and fish diseases are spread from water to water. Unused baitfish should be discarded in an appropriate location on dry land. A “Green List” of commercially available baitfish species that are approved for use in New York State has now been established in regulation. In most cases, these fish must also be certified as disease free. For a complete discussion of these regulations and how to identify approved baitfish species, download the brochure “Baitfish of New York State” at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/74079.html. Personal collection and use of baitfish other than those on the “Green List” is permitted, but only on the water from which they were collected and they may not be transported overland by motorized vehicle. Anglers are reminded that new regulations for transportation of baitfish are currently under consideration, and these proposed regulations can be viewed at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/73305.html .

Preventing Invasive Species and Fish Diseases

Anglers are also reminded to be sure to dry or disinfect their fishing and boating equipment, including waders and boots, before entering a new body of water. This is the only way to prevent the spread of potentially damaging invasive plant and animal species (didymo and zebra mussels) and fish diseases (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) and whirling disease). Methods to clean and disinfect fishing gear can be found at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/50121.html.

Anglers 16 years of age and older must have a New York State fishing license available on line at www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6101.html or by calling 1-86-NY-DECALS. Fishing licenses can also be purchased from the 1,500 license issuing agents located throughout the state (town and county clerks, some major discount stores and many tackle and sporting goods stores). By law, every dollar spent on a fishing license helps fund the DEC fish stocking program and other programs conducted by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources.

Commissioner Martens also encouraged all outdoor enthusiasts to consider purchasing a Habitat/Access Stamp, an optional stamp that helps support the DEC’s efforts to conserve habitat and increase public access for fish and wildlife-related recreation. For more information on the Habitat/Access Stamp Program visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/329.html

Frances Ulric Naughton Herman, 82, passed away April 12, 2011, surrounded by her loving family and friends at the Hospice Care Center in Grand Junction, Colo., eight days after suffering a stroke.

Born in the American Hospital in Paris, France, on June 25, 1928, she was the only child of Alexander Edward Anthony Naughton and Frances Ulric Cole. She came to New York City with her parents as a baby. After their divorce when she was seven, she moved back and forth between their various homes in New York City, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Chicago and Paris as they pursued their respective careers: her father a French professor at Yale University and later Stanford University, and her mother a professional musician, composer and music educator.

Frances attended many schools during her childhood, including studies in Paris. As a teenager, she attended Lincoln School in New York City and later went on to Barnard College at the tender age of 16, studying for a liberal arts degree. She later received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Teaching from Goddard College in Vermont.

During her early years traveling with her father, she visited many museums and developed a passion for art. Her exposure to music began early as well, starting at age seven, when she began singing with her grandparents, Gustave Ulric and Emilie Cole, for various performances around the country. As a girl, she spent summers working for Winifred Tuttle on a farm in Bolton Landing, N.Y., now known as the Bixby farm on Federal Hill. During college, she was a medical research assistant at Barnard College, and a life model at New York University and at The Art Students League of New York. While looking for modeling jobs, she met Alfred Stieglitz who suggested she take up painting rather than pursue a career as a life model, which offered little opportunity. She worked for a while for Politz Market Research compiling data and translating proposals. At age 18, she married Peter Ceike, and set aside the idea of being an artist when the first two of her three children, Julian and Myra, were born. They later divorced and she married Evans Herman on Aug. 31, 1957, in New York City.

In 1958, they moved from the bustle of New York City to a quiet farm in Bolton Landing. In 1959, her third child, Katherine, was born.

It was not easy making a living in Bolton Landing, a resort town on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains, especially during the winters, so, besides being a wife and mother, Frances wore many hats: she worked as a nurse for Dr. Leonard Busman; French and reading teacher at Bolton Central School and Chestertown School; tutor and advisor; art instructor; French translator assisting Canadian visitors at the Bolton Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center; waitress; and a Program Coordinator at the Glens Falls Senior Center. After retiring in 1983, she returned to art, creating close to 200 oil paintings, pastels and quilts of scenes from around her Federal Hill home and Lake George, many of which she entered in various art shows both in the Adirondacks and in New York City, including at the Ward-Nasse Gallery. She also served on the Friends of the Crandall Public Library board of trustees in Glens Falls, N.Y. as the gallery coordinator from 1991-97.

After her husband, Evans Herman, passed away on July 31, 2010, Frances moved to Fruita, Colo., to live with her daughter, Katherine. There she had a chance to see the magnificent landscapes and blue skies of the West and enjoy her two grandsons, Teagan and AJ. An excerpt from her journal reads, “This very powerful scenery – vast vistas that practically sneer at attempts to render them, are at me almost wherever I look.”  Though she missed her friends in New York, she made many new friends in the Grand Valley and delighted in the art and music scene, as well as the Mesa County Public Library and her family.

Frances is survived by her two daughters; Katherine Herman Lopez of Fruita, Colo., and Myra Herman South and her husband, Robert, of Oregon City, Ore.; her son, Julian Peter Ceike and his wife, Fredda of Townsend, Mass.; six grandchildren: AJ (Alexander) Grasso, Teagan Lopez, Colton South, Colin Wells, Seymour Ceike and Lauren Ceike.

Frances will be remembered as an unconventional thinker, a wonderful artist, photographer, mother, grandmother, teacher, poet, writer, avid reader, adventurer, conservationist, lover of animals, and a defender of those less fortunate. She will be greatly missed, but her shining light will go on forever in the brush strokes of her art, family and friends.

There will be no service. Cremation has taken place. All who knew her in the Grand Valley are invited to share a toast at Naggy McGee’s Irish Pub to the music of Stray Grass the evening of Friday, May 13, 2011. There will be a celebration of her life and art July 11, 2011 in Bolton Landing, N.Y. Contributions in Frances’ memory can be made to Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado, 3090 B North 12th St., Grand Junction, CO 81506, the Bolton Free Library, P.O. Box 389, Bolton Landing, N.Y. 12814, or the Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen St., Glens Falls, N.Y. 12801.

Special thanks to the Hospice Care Center staff, Callahan-Edfast Mortuary, Dr. Rebecca Mashburn, Annie and Michael LeVan, Teagan Lopez, Jessica Nelson, Don Russell, Jacquie Chappell-Reid, The Daily Sentinel family, Legends Historic Sculptures committee, and to everyone who offered flowers, cards, food, kind words and support.

The seminar is free and intended for land use professionals, area review board members, regulatory agency staff and the development community. The seminar runs all day, from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM and lunch is provided.
The FUND for Lake George, program sponsor for the Lake George Waterkeeper, is an approved sponsor of continuing education for professional engineers in New York State and will be offering continuing education credits. In addition, the seminar will provide education credits for municipal review board members. Although there is no registration fee, all participants must register in advance as space is limited.

“We are excited about the upcoming full day seminar on Low Impact Development, which will be the first of its kind in the area. We have been able to provide some of the most informed and experienced professionals involved with Low Impact Development since its inception in the early 1990s” said Chris Navitsky, the Lake George Waterkeeper. “This program is designed to provide solutions utilizing Low Impact Development measures to various issues encountered during development, from the design 2
process through construction. It is my hope this will challenge the professional land use community to raise the quality of development in relation to stormwater management and show the usefulness and applicability of Low Impact Development.”

The intent of the seminar is to raise the awareness of Low Impact Development measures to land use professionals, municipal review board members and the development community, to answer questions regarding their implementation and increase the comfort level with these measures. The format of the seminar will be a focus on problems that are typically encountered during site development and how Low Impact Development can provide solutions.

The seminar will be divided into three sessions along with a keynote speaker and end-of-day panel discussion. The session topics were chosen to provide a general introduction to basic concepts of Low Impact Development. Soils, which are the topic of the first session, are extremely valuable for stormwater management and treatment and very often are overlooked and not understood. Land use and construction activities can completely removed or alter the characteristics of soil, which are important for runoff reductions. As soil becomes compacted, it loses porosity and organic content and runoff will increase and water quality will decrease. The topic of the second session is the impact of impervious cover on stormwater runoff and water quality. There are simple design methods to reduce impervious cover, which has an overall benefit for water quality as well as the landowner or developer through cost reduction. These methods include reduced driving surface widths, green roofs and stormwates conveyance methods. These discussions are essential because designs may appear good on paper, but it must be known that they can be effective and economical when installed. The third session will focus on examples from the field of how Low Impact Development measures are constructed and implemented. This will include a design comparison with standard practice models as well as a perspective from the construction industry. Each of these components are necessary for the progress and acceptance of Low Impact Development.

The approach of the seminar is to bring several perspectives on the site development process for a comprehensive discussion. Presenters will include representatives of state and local agencies (regulatory and non-regulatory), research experts, professional engineers and the building industry. Through this discussion the full potential and benefit of Low Impact Development can be realized.

The keynote speaker for the seminar will be Larry Coffman, who has been referred to as the “Father of Low Impact Development.” Mr. Coffman is currently the President of LNSB, LLLP Stormwater Services Group, but is better known as the pioneer and developer of the Low Impact Development concept, which he started during his days as Associate Director of Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources, Maryland. Mr. Coffman was the principal author and architect of Low Impact Development Strategies, An Integrated design Approach, which is the initial design manual for the implementation of Low Impact Development. His concept of creating hydrologically and ecologically functional landscapes is the basis of Low Impact Development.

Other recognized presenters will be Shirley Clark, Ph.D., P.E. a associate/Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at Penn State Harrisburg; Deb Caraco, P.E., Senior Wastershed Engineer for the Center for Watershed Protection; Paul Mankiewicz, Ph.D., Executive Director with The Gaia Institute; Steve Trinkaus, P.E., principal engineer with Trinkaus Engineering, LLC and Lewis Dubuque, Executive Vice President of the New York State Builders Association.

This seminar is being made possible through a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s public education program.
For more information, contact Chris Navitsky at the Lake George Waterkeeper at (518)668-5913 x301. For registration forms, please visit www.lakegeorgewaterkeeper.org.

To support Jimmy and his family, a benefit will be held at Lakeside Lodge on Saturday, Aprl 30 from 1 to 4 pm. Admission is $15 per person; children admitted free.

A live auction, a Chinese auction and a raffle are among the features of the event.