NCPR News Staff: Chris Knight, Reporter

The former mayor of the city of Plattsburgh will be the next mayor of the village of Saranac Lake. Democrat Clyde Rabideau, who served as Plattsburgh’s mayor from 1990 to 1999, defeated Republican village trustee Jeff Branch in one of the most closely-watched village election campaigns on Tuesday.

Rabideau won the mayor’s race in Saranac Lake Tuesday, defeating Jeff Branch by an unofficial count of 704 to 578. But Rabideau will not be in the majority on the village board as the Republicans took one of the two village trustee seats on the ballot, giving the GOP a 3-2 advantage.

A huge crowd turned out Friday afternoon in Saranac Lake for a parade through the village's downtown to honor the North Country athletes who competed at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Organized by the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Women's Civic Chamber and the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the event brought together eight local Olympians, led by nordic combined gold and silver medalist Bill Demong of Vermontville. As Chris Knight reports, the parade was just as important to the athletes as it was to the local residents who cheered them on in Vancouver.

While North Country athletes competing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver have been grabbing the headlines, and rightfully so, another group of local residents has been making a quieter contribution to the games.

People from the Saranac Lake and Lake Placid area have been working at the Olympics, helping to run bobsled, luge and skeleton races, setting up interviews and photo shoots for athletes, organizing events for sponsors, and playing a host of other behind-the-scenes roles. Chris Knight reports.

Village elections will take place across the North Country in just over three weeks. One race that’s drawing attention is the campaign for mayor in the village of Saranac Lake. Former Plattsburgh Mayor Clyde Rabideau, who moved to Saranac Lake six years ago, faces three-term village Trustee Jeff Branch. Branch is making his third bid for the mayor’s seat. Chris Knight has a preview.

A diverse group gathered yesterday to look at ways to keep the Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers in Newcomb and Paul Smiths going.
The meeting was hosted by Paul Smiths College, and came just over a week after Gov. David Paterson announced plans to close the two VICs by next January.
Local and state elected officials, business owners, tourism officials, environmental groups and other NGOs came. No decisions were made, but as Chris Knight reports, the VIC-boosters had plenty of ideas for how to keep the popular facilites open, either in whole or in part.

The Adirondack Park Agency's Visitor Interpretive Centers in Paul Smiths and Newcomb would be closed under Gov. David Paterson's proposed 2010-11 budget.

The proposal says closing the two facilities will save the state $129,000 in the next fiscal year and $583,000 each year thereafter.
The VICs provide environmental education programs to school children and adults, and offer miles of trails for hikers, skiers and snowshoers.
As Chris Knight reports, supporters are shaking their heads.

The village of Saranac Lake lost one of its most dedicated volunteers and community leaders over the weekend when Don Duso died at the age of 78. Duso was a member of the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department for almost 54 years, serving as the department’s chief four different times. He also was chairman of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee for more than 20 years. But it was an unexpected encounter with a famous scientist when Duso was just a boy that many people will remember him for. Chris Knight reports.

The Adirondack Park Agency convened the first of four public hearings on new rules for boathouses last night at its headquarters in Ray Brook. The proposal limits new boathouses to 900 square feet in size, 15 feet in height, and sets a minimum roof pitch for a boathouse. Contractors, architects and environmentalists turned out to comment. Chris Knight reports.

(The APA has scheduled three more public hearings on the revised boathouse definition: tonight in Old Forge and Thursday in Albany and Lake George.) More...

Three years after securing $5 million in taxpayer funds to try and attract world-class winter sports events, including another Olympics, the Lake Placid Regional Winter Sports Committee has spent a little more than $300,000 and hasn't brought a single event to the area. But members of the committee, made-up of prominent Lake Placid resort owners and allies of former Governor George Pataki, say much of their work has been happening out of the public eye. They also say they're being conservative with the $5 million as they work on a plan to possibly bring a Youth Olympics to the Lake Placid region. Chris Knight has the story.

A Plattsburgh-area man has announced he will challenge incumbent Assemblywoman Janet Duprey's re-election bid this year. David Kimmel, a former Marine and Army National Guard soldier who owns his own alarm company in Cadyville, plans to run against Duprey in the Republican Party primary. Chris Knight reports.