Tupper Lake PressTupper Lake Pressand Tupper Lake Herald Tupper Lake Herald established 1895

Tupper Lake Free Press established 1931

Volume No. 119 Number 33 USPS 644-140 Tupper Lake, New York Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Home delivery price: $1.00 per copy Price: $.75 per copy

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TheThe

by Dan McClellandA collection of Rotary

Club and Wild Center officials gathered mid-day Friday at the site of the new Wild Walk to watch Rotary President Rick Dattola present a check for $5,000 to Wild Center Director Stephanie Ratcliffe as a Rotary gift to the project that is currently under construction.

The gift was the idea of Rotarian Mike Hunsinger, retired superintendent of schools here and a member of the Wild Center’s board of director. Another Rotarian, Sandra Strader, also serves on the museum board.

Wild Center plans for its new Wild Walk, which will take museum-goers into the tree tops on the local campus to observe the birds and other creatures that lives there, includes the addition of native species of trees and shrubs in and around the towers and other facilities that will comprise the network of aerial walkways.

According to Mr. Hunsinger Friday, the site

Rotary gives $5,000 to help Wild Walk projectis now populated in large part with Scotch pines which were introduced to the land on the former Pisanchin farm after farming was abandoned there decades ago. The non-native species have since proliferated.

The generous gift from the Rotary Club will be part of the money used to replace the non-native vegetation like the Scotch pines with native species of trees and shrubs on the new site.

According to President Rick Dattola, the gift is just one small part of the service club’s long tradition of “giving back to the community.” The money was generated by the Rotary Club’s many fundraising activities and events here in past months.

Dave St. Onge, the Wild Center’s director of facilities, led the guests into the construction area pointing out a new pathway called the Forest Bird Trail, that will eventually be the main route into the new Wild Walk.

For now a

construction road leads to the site to enable the heavy equipment to enter, but that will eventually be only for museum use.

Mr. St. Onge said at the beginning of the Wild Walk will be a new kiosk, where tickets will be sold directly to patrons, among other things. Tickets to that specific part of the Wild Center will also be sold in the main building, he explained.

During this construction period, great care has been made by the builders to retain as much of the mature trees and vegetation as possible, the museum official told the group of 30 or so people Friday.

In the above photo, Mr. Dattola presents the Rotary’s gift (in large check form) to Ms. Ratcliffe, surrounded by the group of well wishers in front of one of the Wild Walk’s new towers which will support the aerial walk.

The Wild Walk, described as an iconic structure that weaves through a living forest, allowing visitors to experience the natural work in compelling new ways,” will feature five, plus other aerial platforms called things like the giant spider web, the raptors’ nest, a two-story tree house called the Uber Twig and a giant dead tree truck called the Snag.

Museum officials say the $5 million fundraising goal to build the new state of the art facility will hopefully be met by the Wild Walk’s grand opening set for Independence Day next year.

by Adam St. PierreGenerations of

nostalgia and camaraderie set the tone for a noteworthy class reunion festival at Little Wolf Beach on Saturday.

Little WolfStock 2 was held for 30 graduate classes of Tupper Lake High School, ranging from the ‘60s to 80’s, but people of all ages were welcome to the melting pot of age and experience.

A variety of live music played from 1 to 10 p.m., surrounded by canopies and picnic areas for food, games and fundraisers. Songs from different eras paired well with hundreds of memories shared among more than 1,000 schoolmates and friends.

Paul Chartier was the event’s coordinator, making a Facebook event page and enlisting the help of Dan Carmichael, volunteers and sponsors to prepare for an expanded version of the reunion.

“Two years ago we did a reunion for everybody in the ‘70s, and that was a big success,” Chartier said. This inspired him to triple the event’s range of classes this year.

Musicians played free of charge and included Legend, Reflections, Jim Boucher & Friends, The McClelland Clan, Jim LeBlanc, Chuckie Mozdzier, Angela Jessie Miller, Clark Blanton, The Jones Boys and All Star Jam. Acts played for 45 minutes each with eight smaller acoustic performances in between.

Mark Pratico, drummer for the McClelland Clan, said they prepared a lot of classics for the show, trying to touch up on popular music from each decade.

Admittance was free, but each attendant was encouraged to bring items to donate to the local food pantry, which also had a 50/50 raffle.

Sabrina Shipman, Diane Marquis and Mike Bujold stood under a canopy selling alcohol infused treats, baked goods and games of “bra pong” to raise funds for the fire and ice festival. There are plans to hold the festival at the Municipal Park to accompany the Fire and

Three decades of graduates converge at Little WolfStock 2

Ice Golf Tournament in February.

Bujold, a ‘92 graduate, said the event is still in the planning stages, but hopes it will include music, art and snowmobile races at Big Tupper.

Greg Jessie from the class of ‘74 set up two foosball tables for some vintage gaming at the event to benefit the Boy Scouts in Tupper Lake.

“It used to cost a quarter to play a game of foosball back in the ‘70s and that’s how much it costs to play one today,” Jessie said. He noted that the profits were minimal and said they were mainly there to provide fun for visitors.

Tupper Lake Supply provided signs, banners and a box truck to transport food pantry donations.

Chef Tom Sciacca and volunteers working the Lion’s Club vending trailer to raise money for the Fire and Ice Festival kept food coming at what many people called great prices. There were also portable grills scattering the picnic area, where participants cooked their own food.

Parking was scarce, with hundreds of vehicles sporting plates from different states filling nearby roads and lots. Sherman LaLonde offered free parking across from the picnic area to assist the influx of cars.

“I saw all the cars down here and knew it was gonna be a big turnout,” said ‘84 graduate Dale Reandeau, who first heard of the event through social media.

Several people chose not to drink and offered rides over social media and by word of mouth to anyone who brought their own alcohol.

Mike Russell said the “whole concept of volunteerism in Tupper Lake,” made the event a profound reminder of communal spirit among graduates.

During the event Gordon Duval and Marc Staves gave two free tours of the Public Observatory located right up the road at 3 and 4 p.m.

Mike Mead, class of ‘64, said, “Had it not been for social media we would Continued on page 2

by Mary PeryeaMayor Paul Maroun,

in response to a question from the Free Press, provided a copy of an email from Whitney Russell of the New York State Department of State Building Standards and Codes.

The email reads in part “…the proposed building must be assigned an ‘Occupancy Category’ of ‘IV’ as shown in table 1604.5 of the Building Code. By being required to comply with a Category IV classification the building must be designed to higher structural requirements in categories such as wind load, snow load, seismic and flood loads. It is the responsibility of the

ESB will be built according to Essential Facilities Code

New canopies dress up Bima’s Restaurant storefrontInterior and exterior renovations to several commercial buildings on Park Street

that are tied to the holdings of Tom and Susan Lawson are continuing with each passing day. Among those new refurbishings Friday were new and attractive cloth canopies hung about the windows and entranceway of Tupper Lake’s new fine dining spot- Bima’s Restaurant. The decorative canopies were installed by a company called Otter Creek, an Addison, Vt. firm which specializes in the unique craft. Between the canopies of Magnus Stalhammer’s Bima’s Pizzeria and the new restaurant on the brick exterior will be a new hand-carved and lighted sign telling the world of the gourmet cuisine available inside. Two large wooden planters, filled with flowers, which were still to be placed in front of the new restaurant Friday, will add more color to the place.

design engineer to show that ‘Essential Facilities’ include the increased design considerations to assure they will be intact in the event of natural disasters and will therefore be a ‘safe-haven’ for the essential operations and equipment that will be needed in the event of extreme conditions.”

Occupancy Category IV of Table 1604.5 of the building code applies to buildings and other structures designated as essential facilities, including but not limited to: hospitals and other health care facilities having surgery or emergency treatment facilities; fire, rescue and police stations and emergency vehicle

garages; and designated earthquake, hurricane or other emergency shelters.

The mayor also provided a copy of a part of Heuber-Breuer’s presentation to village residents that says, “Chapter 16 of the New York State Building Code defines essential facilities as ‘Buildings and other structures that are intended to remain operational in the event of extreme environmental loading from flood, wind, snow or earthquakes.’”

In summary, then, the mayor has assured the Free Press that the emergency services building is being constructed in accordance with all applicable building codes.

This past Saturday’s second Little Wolfstock at the Little Wolf Lake town-owned picnic area joined friends from across a number of graduating classes here and from many miles apart. There were plenty of grins and hugs and just plain old good times at the very successful event. See editorial and more photos inside this issue.