HISTORY IS COOL: 30 years ago

Aug 17, 2023

Jay bridges close

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As one enters the town of Jay from Wilmington, one sees the sign “Welcome to the Historic Town of Jay,” complete with a picture of its wooden covered bridge.

That bridge, along with the steel span Stickney Bridge, were “redlegged” by the state Department of Transportation for structure problems and subsequently closed by the Essex County Department of Public Works. Redlegging is a procedure by state officials when serious structural problems exist, according to Paul Kuehn, DOT bridge inspection team supervisor.

“If inspectors in the field find a problem that can’t wait, we put a red flag and tell the owner of the bridge about the severity of the problem,” he said, adding that the owner has 24 hours to repair the problem or close the span.

On Wednesday morning, Aug. 11, state inspectors told county DPW Superintendent John Brusko that steel welding material used for beams supporting the covered bridge had two 1.5-inch cracks in it.

At about 4 p.m. that day, Brusko was told that two steel beams on the Stickney Bridge had cracks in the welding in their bottom flanges and holes in the deck. At each report of cracking, Brusko ordered the bridges closed.

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Radio lawsuit

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The current and former owners of Lake Placid’s radio stations are heading to court, amid accusations that the current owners, Adirondack Network Systems Inc., violated contract agreements.

In papers filed in June with the Essex County Court, Donald and Kathryn Nardiello, who sold the stations to ANS for $1 million, said ANS violated several requirements in the purchase agreements, including the couple’s right to hold onto ANS’ ownership certificates as collateral.

The Nardiellos also allege that ANS has claimed ownership of the radio tower, which belongs to their son and daughter-in-law, for a second FCC license under the name Adirondack Wireless Systems, Inc.

In early August, ANS filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Albany, just months after applying for Chapter 11 status.

Unlike Chapter 11, which provides the applicant business with protection from creditors in resolving its debts, Chapter 7 leads to the liquidation of all assets.

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‘Today’ show in town

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Early holiday shoppers will be able to get a pre-Christmas peek at what is new and nifty at Nieman Marcus in addition to seeing Lake Placid and Wilmington on the “Today” show next month.

Gene Shalit, known to early morning television viewers as the critic for the “Today” show, was in Lake Placid last week with the NBC production team to film a preview of holiday gift ideas from the Nieman Marcus Christmas catalog. The segment will broadcast on Sept. 13.

With Whiteface Mountain in the background, the crew filmed a special boat on Lake Placid and toys were highlighted at Santa’s Workshop in Wilmington.

Kathryn Reiss of Santa’s Workshop said one of the members of the production team visited the area and had thought it would make a good backdrop.

The whole deal was hush, hush and even Santa’s Workshop employees were not allowed around the set while the campaign for the department store’s Christmas catalog was filmed.

Lake Placid residents became curious when their walks around Mirror Lake were shadowed by a large Flarecraft boat. The boat, which was said to be able to fly 6 feet over the water and a pilot’s license is not needed, was parked next to the Lake Placid Club on Mirror Lake Drive. Also, an electric car was used in the filming.

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Browse past issues of the Lake Placid News from 1914 to 2008 online at nyshistoricnewspapers.org.

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