Press-Republican
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25 YEARS AGO — 1985
▶ In an unexpected move which sent political shockwaves through Essex County, Gifford Cross of Lewis, chairman of the Essex County Board of Supervisors, resigns the seat he has held since 1983. He stepped down because of a dispute over raises in the Social Services Department.
▶ Victor Putnam, Essex County's local Civil Service Employees Association president, says the Board of Supervisors' decision to give pay raises to 23 Social Services employees is illegal, and the union will file a grievance with the county.
▶ A local group's dream of keeping Camp Topridge near Saranac Lake from being sold is shattered when the State Office of General Services officially awards the Adirondack retreat to a wealthy New Jersey businessman. Roger Jakubowski bid $911,000 for the Great Camp.
▶ Clinton County legislators may commission another study before deciding whether to renovate the existing jail or build a new one.
50 YEARS AGO — 1960
▶ Plattsburgh bottled-gas dealers tell the Public Service Commission they cannot convert all manufactured-gas users to bottled gas by the Oct. 31 deadline. New York State Electric & Gas tells the PSC it is not sure its deteriorated gas plant will last until Oct. 31.
E Authorities are still looking for two Montreal women who broke out of the Clinton County Jail. Both women were awaiting grand jury action on forgery charges. The women are believed to have used bobby pins and a small file or hacksaw to make their escape.
▶ The sale of the former Veterans of Foreign Wars Block on City Hall Place to Ralph C. and Anna M. Wells is recorded. Mr. and Mrs. Wells, operators of the Royal Grill adjoining the VFW premises, plan to convert the main floor to a tavern.
▶ A modern Post Office is authorized for Port Henry. Specifications call for approximately 2,000 square feet of floor space with an adequate area for parking and truck maneuvering.
75 YEARS AGO — 1935
▶ More than 20,000 people have ascended the Whiteface Memorial Highway since it was opened to the public in July. The use of the highway by an average of 560 people per day is far more than expected before its construction.
▶ The property at the corner of West and Rennie streets in Malone is acquired by the new St. John Bosco Parish as the site for the new church. Work on construction of the new edifice, built of sandstone, will start at once.
E Malone Mayor Ralph L. Cardinal announces surveys of the prospective new municipal airport are being made, and the sum of $250,000 of Works Progress Administration money will be sought.
▶ Joseph Pilon, 24, of Wilmington and a native of Altona is fatally injured when he falls 25 feet from a ledge while at work on a bridge and road construction job near Keene.
100 YEARS AGO — 1910
▶ The prisoner who fractured his guard's skull two weeks ago and escaped from Plattsburgh Barracks is captured. He was found hiding in a barn about eight miles from Hudson Falls. The guard is rapidly recovering.
▶ All records for attendance for the second day at the Clinton County Fair are broken when a crowd conservatively estimated at 20,000 pass through the gates. In fact it is claimed by many that attendance was the largest ever at the fair.
▶ The hay crop in Franklin County is said to be immense. One Malone dealer is shipping several carloads a week to eastern markets.
▶ The U.S. government architect at Washington advertises for proposals for the construction of the public building in Malone, its bids to be opened Oct. 12.
— Compiled by Contributing Writer Sue Botsford, who can be reached at 834-7201 or suebotsford@hotmail.com
