By ALISON HAIN
Contributing Writer
---- — Derrick Pierce, a recent graduate of a six-year program in Pharmacology at Albany College, grew up in Willsboro. Despite available post-graduate offerings in Vermont, he wanted to practice in the Adirondacks.
Pierce found an opening at Kinney Drugs in Lake Placid.
"I'm very happy here," he said. "I'm out on the floor helping customers. After work or on my days off, I'm out fishing on the Boquet River or on Lake Champlain."
Pierce is fortunate. He grew up in the Adirondacks, left to secure his professional degree and returned to the North Country and landed a well-paid professional position.
But jobs and career positions are still scarce in the North Country for many high-school and college graduates. A wide spectrum of significant challenges greet even the most determined young applicants. They are aware of the magnificent landscapes existing in the Adirondacks, its unique role in history and the recreational offerings that also appeal to people living outside the North Country.
But roadblocks stand in the way of these young people and have for more than a century. What's being done to change that picture? And how effective are the efforts being made now and will they be so in years to come?
Assemble all these concerns and the basic question becomes, what is the socio-economic future for all those living in the Adirondack Park?
Emphasizing the dire nature of this serious challenge, Dr. John Jablonski, president of Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, said, "Clinton County will not have enough residents in the age bracket from 20 to 55 to sustain our economy and maintain our current quality of life … unless we act now to create a different future."
Serious efforts are now under way to meet those socio-economic needs. First and foremost, said Jim Martin, director of the Adirondack Park Regional Assessment Project (APRAP), developed to assess a broad range of park data, "an awareness of socio-economic needs among park communities is growing."
APRAP was conceived by member communities of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages in collaboration with the Adirondack North Country Association.
Jablonski said that in education the future must include "an emphasis on 21st century programs such as sustainable energy development and other training destined for local industries now and into the future."
Jablonski called attention to courses now being given by the college in his address to college trustees, faculty, students and the public recently. He said the college offers the first and only degree program in wind energy and turbine technology in New York State and in the Northeast.
"Our Electronics program and our Industrial Technology program are preparing students to work on photovoltaic energy systems and learn manufacturing."
He pointed to the college's existing nursing class and its 12-month software-conversion project to improve their software data to attract young professionals. The college's goal is "to play a prominent role in leading the North Country along a path of economic, energy and social sustainability," he said.
In a recent phone conversation, he emphasized that there is reason for optimism.
"Despite the negatives, we are not predestined to fate," he said. "If we seize the day, there are opportunities to go down a different path."
Jeff Allott is a co-founder and president of General Composites now located in Willsboro. He sees General Composites as a model for other businesses in the Adirondack Park. He believes others like it can succeed in the North Country.
"We are a niche, high-technology company focusing on aerospace and medical devices. All sorts of these rural opportunities are happening nationally and internationally," he said, adding that broadband and the Internet have made this possible.
"My family has been able to live here and enjoy this place," he said. "I'm optimistic. We can live up here and enjoy it. That is a large reward."
Critical to the economic viability of the North Country economy and the well being of its residents is further development and completion of low-cost and available broadband. Broadband is a fiber-optic based speed communications system. Broadband already exists in some areas of the Adirondack Park.
In a May 13 presentation at the Essex Town Board, Peter Schultz, an Essex resident, who originally found the means to mass produce fiber-optic cable, described his efforts.
"I've been working on it for five or six years with a goal of building a state-of-the-art, open-access, high-speed fiber optic network communications system for the North Country," he said.
"The network would include Franklin, Essex and Clinton counties, plus three more adjoining counties. Pieces of the network already exist. We are scheduled to meet with interested local banks for financial discussions."
Schultz said these systems would provide requirements for companies who would like to settle up here and send their files back and forth to wherever they're needed.
"We'll connect non-profits, town halls, hospitals, fire departments, schools and others," he said.
The company involved, CBN Connect, is a non-profit 501c(3) company.
"Our whole idea is to help connect non-profits and stimulate the economy," Shultz said. "The broadband network is becoming a reality. It's not a dream anymore."
North Country legislators Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward and Sen. Betty Little have introduced legislation to establish a unique special economic zone for the Adirondacks. The program would include tax credits, a loan fund and seed-capital funding to develop job creation. The focus will be on the economy and is urgently needed, Sayward said.
However, affordable housing for those just starting off in the career world is scarce.
Alan Hipps, executive director of the Housing Assistance Program for Essex County (HAPEC), reviews two programs offered by HAPEC and several other similar organizations in the Adirondacks. HAPEC offices are in Elizabethtown.
Approximately 100 residents annually participate in the HAPEC buyer-education program. Eligible applicants may qualify for a $20,000 loan or grant for a home purchase. HAPEC also helps finance repair programs.
In Essex County, 400 to 450 qualified families receive housing assistance per year, Hipps noted.
"The real help that families need is customized to help their situation," he said. "Given this number, there have been no foreclosures."
And where does the Adirondack Park Agency fit in the picture?
Martin, director of the APRAP report, said the economic development arm at the APA is about to change with the retirement of Steve Erman, the APA's special assistant for economic affairs.
"Although Steve has brought a lot to the position, this opening also creates opportunity for a direction … that reflects future needs," he said.
That position, in the words of recently appointed APA Executive Director Terry Martino, is the economic position at the agency that is critical to balance environmental protection with economic development.
"Filling this position is a priority for the agency and we are discussing internally how best to proceed," he said.
