Writog

Support Your Public Library

2009-11-05T22:17:00.003-05:00

On some days it takes three clerks to keep up with the patrons at the Plattsburgh Public Library.

If you appreciate the Plattsburgh Public Library and its services, then show your support by showing up at the library budget hearing on Tuesday, November 10th, at 5:30 PM in the PPL second floor auditorium. This meeting is open to the public and city councilors will also be in attendance.

I wonder how many city councilors haven't stopped by PPL lately and seen the work that has been done, including the two art galleries on second floor. (I wonder how many have never visited at all.) The library has been making do with less for too long.

Compare Plattsburgh to the community of West Lebanon, NH. As reported on WCAX-TV, West Lebanon has almost completed a new multi-million dollar library that will offer more services. To quote from the WCAX story: “Library officials hope the building will be an anchor in revitalization efforts taking place in this part of the city.”

Unfortunately for downtown Plattsburgh, at times the only news about “revitalization” involves a new bar opening up.

PPL deserves restoration of its budget so that it can work with the proposed Arts Corridor to offer a more upscale venue than brewholes.

Where's The Crosswalk?

2009-11-04T19:06:00.005-05:00

There used to be crosswalk markings running across Oak Street from the entrance to the Robert S. Long Apartments to Clinton Street. This crosswalk was helpful to elderly and handicapped people trying to get across the sometimes busy street. Oak Street has been repaved and most of the old markings have been repainted -- but not that crosswalk.

Of course, pedestrians are third class citizens in Plattsburgh. Years ago there used to be crosswalk buttons to control the stoplight at the intersection of Brinkerhoff and Oak streets. But those buttons are long gone. Vehicles, not pedestrians, have priority at that intersection.

And if no one pays attention, the crosswalk that used to be near the Long Apartments will turn up missing. That will indeed make Oak Street a better speedway: no reason to for cars to slow down.

Paranormal Investigators Eliminate Known, Encounter Unknown

2009-11-02T01:03:00.003-05:00

Mysterious sounds. Eerie sensations. Shadowy glimpses.

What is going on?

I was curious how Northern New York Paranormal Research Society investigators conducted investigations into such incidents. I spoke with Carmon Rust, NNYPRS lead researcher/equipment technician, at the Paranormal Expo the society sponsored last month and also followed up via email.

Unusual occurrences could be paranormal activity. But investigators of the NNYPRS don't immediately jump to that conclusion. Step by step they rule out alternative plausible explanations. If those rational alternatives don't fit, then what remains can be labeled as unknown.

Carmon is a retired Certified Surgical Technologist and a disabled American veteran who pursues various interests: genealogy, metal detecting, and electronics. This mix of hobbies has given him a background that comes in handy with NNYPRS investigations.

He estimated that approximately twenty percent of all cases remained unexplainable by normal means. Almost all of the investigations fall into the haunting/ghost category. While the investigators are not scientists, they use some scientific method in their work. An investigation can reveal a practical cause. For example, one case involving ghostly footsteps turned out to be people passing by on the sidewalk outside, the sounds carried into the building by unusual acoustics.

If various alternatives are considered and don't fit, then a paranormal explanation has to be considered.

Carmon stressed that NNYPRS doesn't try to push a particular viewpoint on a client. The investigators gather data, draw conclusions, and then share their findings.

“We'll keep going back to a location until the client and team are satisfied that all that could be done, was done,” said Carmon.

Sometimes a client might not agree with the investigator's report.

One case involved a room in a family home that made the children afraid for no obvious reason. The on-site investigation revealed a nonparanormal explanation: there were high readings of EMF (electro-magnetic field) radiation in the room. High EMF levels over a period of time can cause medical issues, said Carmon.

An alternative possibility was that the children were reacting to the high EMF, not anything paranormal. The team concluded there was a problem with a fluorescent light ballast, which was the source of the high EMF. One of the clients preferred the supernatural explanation over the team's conclusions.

NNYPRS members prefer the term “paranormal investigator” over the more popular “ghost hunter.”

“We prefer to call ourselves Paranormal Investigators because that what is what we do,” said Carmon. “We investigate claims and seek answers. We don't enter into any of our cases assuming the place is haunted, that is what 'Ghost Hunter' implies. The term of Ghost Hunter has gained much popularity, due to the numerous reality shows on television today. We don't take offense, but we are happy to explain the difference in the two terms.”

Unlike a television program, an investigation isn't wrapped up in a hour. Many hours are spent gathering data from various sources: personal interviews, photographs, EMF readings, audio recordings, historical research, etc. More time is spent looking over that data. The review process might be long and trying but it's part of the job for NNYPRS investigators in the effort to seek out the truth.

More information about NNYPRS can be found at www.nnyprs.com .

Property Values

2009-10-27T23:24:00.002-04:00

This time of year I scan the ground as I walk along, searching for fallen leaves to photograph, especially those backlit by the low autumn sun.

Sunday afternoon I spotted a few interesting leaves among the many strewn along a median lawn between the street and the sidewalk. The nearest house was a stone's toss away; behind me was an empty lot and a billboard.

I got down on my knees and started to take close-up shots. At one point I noticed a man watching me, standing in front of the house down the street. I just kept concentrating on my photography.

After a while the man approached me. He asked what I was doing on “his property.” I didn't say this to him but my understanding is that the sidewalk and the median are city/public property.

Instead of getting into details about who owned what, I just explained my interest in the backlit leaves, showing him one shot on my camera's preview screen. Obviously I placed a different value on his property. To him what I was photographing was just leaves. To me it was art.

He was satisfied that I wasn't in distress or up to no good. He was just curious, not confrontational. Before the homeowner walked away, he commented that the leaves had blown over from the trees from his neighbor's yard across the street.

So it all worked out. The neighbor's leaves on his property became my images.

Paranormal Expo 1

2009-10-25T23:04:00.005-04:00

The Northern New York Paranormal Expo held on Saturday, October 24th, turned out to be a popular event despite the rainy weather. The Expo was sponsored by the City of Plattsburgh and NNYPRS (Northern New York Paranormal Research Society). The location: City Recreation Center, AKA the old gym at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. Upstairs in the gym area were a variety of vendor tables.

Psychic counseling.

The line for two popular psychics.

Keeseville Girl Scouts Teen Troop 4233
had seasonal goodies for sale.

Carmon Rust, NNYPRS Lead Researcher/Tech Department, explains how a digital camera has been modified to record infra-red images, a tool used in his organization's investigations of hauntings and ghosts.

All sorts of interesting faces
were seen at the Paranormal Expo.

Paranormal Expo 2

2009-10-25T22:47:00.006-04:00

Besides the activities upstairs, the Northern New York Paranormal Expo also featured guest speakers in the downstairs community room at the Plattsburgh Recreation Center.

Ufologist Dan Lowenski talked about encounters with alien craft and even their occupants. The slide in the background is a drawing of a being that allegedly was seen by a family in a rural area.

Emmy Michell, a Native American reader (psychic), during her presentation asked her listeners if they could see her white aura. She backed away from the lecturn and stood against a wall. A couple of people said they could see her aura.

Attentive and appreciative listeners during Emmy Mitchell's presentation.

Christopher Nye spoke about the haunted house he owns in Fort Covington, NY. In the background are his two young daughters and his brother-in-law, Merrill McKee, of NNYPRS (Northern New York Paranormal Research Society).

Listeners both young and old were fascinated by Nye's presentation. He spoke about the unusual events that caused his conversion from a skeptic to a believer.

Paranormal lovers.

Zombie Walk

2009-10-25T02:34:00.007-04:00

They gathered at the Champlain Monument at 8 PM Saturday night, the unearthly crowd growing into a critical mass of horror.

The first slow step: signing in. Paperwork is such a drag.

Family fun.

Then the walk began...

For one little zombie with short legs, it was hard to keep up, but she kept trucking - I mean, shuffling - on.

The zombies cried out for their particular form of nourishment:

"Brains... we need brains."

For some reason they didn't seek that food item at city hall.

Plattsburgh Forum

2009-10-23T23:27:00.001-04:00

I just created a new blog where your input is valued: Plattsburgh Forum, found at 12901forum.blogspot.com . The set up features a series of topics – such as City Services, Neighborhood Watch, If I Were Mayor – where you can comment on subjects pertaining to Plattsburgh. Scroll through the topics, use the Comment link to share your POV, and check back later to see what others have to say.

My role with Plattsburgh Forum is mainly as a moderator. It's your opportunity to voice your concerns and suggestions. If you have any ideas for other topics, please email me at luketbush[at]yahoo[dot]com .

Eye of the Beholder

2009-10-20T22:36:00.001-04:00

I look through my camera's lens, composing. A passerby sees me taking the shot. Two POVs, sometimes completely contrary.

One time I'm shooting a close-up of peeling paint on a wall; an art image. Two women walk by. One woman says to her friend, judgmental tone: “That's not a good picture.”

It's comes with the territory as a photographer: outside observers who don't understand what you're doing.

Yesterday I noticed orange springs holding up a temporary road sign. The springs are Halloween orange; bits of paint have flaked off, revealing the rust underneath. I squat down, get in close, intrigued by the color and texture, the lighting, the unusual subject matter.

A man walks behind me, crossing the street. I'm concentrating on the shot when he makes a passing comment:

“A good day for Plattsburgh when that's the only problem around here.”

At first his remark doesn't register. What did he mean by that?

I thought about it for a moment, then sorted out this explanation:

The man was probably a “fan” of my blog. He recognized me from around town, the guy on the Web who posts images of bad stuff. The stuff that needs attention: vandalism, garbage, dogshit, etc.

In that context his comment makes sense. He's assumed that I've photographed the rusty springs to show another problem.

Who was commenter? I don't know. I couldn't get a good look at him with the sun in my eyes. Maybe he was a city pol or employee.

Whoever he was, he was wrong. Not all my shots document the bad side of the Burgh. Some are simply “art” shots, images I take because a subject has caught my eye. Why should I care as a concerned citizen if springs holding up a road sign have chipped paint? No problem there. I'm just trying to create art.

As for the non-art images on this blog, if it's not there – busted beer bottles, damaged property, piled up garbage, ossifying dogshit, whatever needs attention – I can't document it.

Like my mother used to say:

The truth hurts.

Haiku

2009-10-16T18:13:00.000-04:00

A Haiku By Luke T. Bush

Up there on that ledge

Sits a stoned hippie pigeon

Enjoy his high coo

Tempus Fugetaboutit

2009-10-15T22:47:00.008-04:00

These images – shots of both sides of an antique clock on Durkee Street – were taken at around 1:05 PM.

Does this post seem familiar? I wrote about this same problem back in January 2008. This clock still doesn't meet the basic function of a timepiece: to tell the correct time.

Taxpayer funds, well invested.

Art From Adversity

2009-10-11T12:03:00.003-04:00

“Don't worry,” the Border Patrol officer reassured Kim Leclaire about her husband.

“We're doing you a favor,” the officer continued during the phone conversation. “We're sending him to the Buffalo detention center. He'll be processed even quicker in two or three days.”

Those few days turned out to be three long weeks for Kim's husband, Gharan Burton.

Gharan grew up in Dominica, a small Caribbean island. He attended college at Plattsburgh State with a student visa. After he graduated from PSUC, he had a one year work permit and when that ran out, he started the paperwork to become a citizen. Since the paperwork was being processed, Gharan thought that there would be no problem until his citizenship was finalized.

One day in July he was with his wife Kim, a passenger in her car. A state trooper pulled Kim over for a seatbelt violation. He also ran an ID check on Gharan.

This ended up with Gharan being taken into custody by the Border Patrol. He was transported to an immigration jail in Buffalo.

While incarcerated in the detention center, Gharan was worried about his future, whether or not he would be deported. He spent part of his time sketching, drawings of his environment that would become the basis of the exhibit, “Three Weeks Revisited,” now at the Plattsburgh Public Library. The exhibit also features works by his wife.

Some of the paintings based on the Gharan's sketches are stark, a large white sun in the background while detainees stand near a prison fence topped with razor wire. The images are drenched in red, an intense color to reflect his feelings at the time, anger and despair. The sun beyond the fence symbolizes his hope for a bright future, freedom.

Gharan is a quiet, soft-spoken man. Not the type one would associate with dangerous individuals.

He was finally released from the detention center after Kim hired a lawyer and the charge was dismissed. The problem was that Gharan hadn't notified the Department of Homeland Security about his status. He would have done this if he had known about it. Just a matter of communication.

Another example of bumbling bureaucracy. The story of red tape – and the red images it created.

Fabriccation

2009-10-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

For artist Darlene Joy Virgin it starts with the fabric.

Her fascination with fabric started at an early age, making cloths for her little troll dolls. A piece of cloth cut to size with armholes so that the attire could easily slip on the doll.

That interest as a young girl has led to her as an adult creating intricate fabric designs. Her materials are sorted into bins by type: solids, plaids, Asian, etc. She looks at the various designs and colors, drawing inspiration. One design might suggest tall grasses by a lake during sunset. She places the strips down, seeing how they form an overall pattern, “auditioning” each component. When the pieces fall into place, the pattern is glued down.

Fabric is her palette. Darlene creates a variety of work from her choices, just like a painter who uses a range of colors and textures to create an image.

Darlene grew up in an Air Force family, traveling around the world. Some of her images have a tropical motif, memories of a young girl living in Guam.

Darlene and her husband moved to Plattsburgh in 2005. A new environment, new inspirations.

Her fabric artwork is now on display in the Textile Gallery at the Plattsburgh Public Library. Also her work can be seen at her website, http://www.2purejoy.com/ .

BOP Fireworks 2009

2009-10-11T11:55:00.003-04:00

A plethora of pixels. I have too many images on file to sort and edit. Anyway, here are some shots of the Battle of Plattsburgh fireworks back in September. (Click on each image for larger view.)

Found On The Trail: Plattsburgh's Heritage?

2009-10-07T16:22:00.002-04:00

No Notice: City Screws Up

2009-10-07T16:04:00.003-04:00

Apparently the City of Plattsburgh failed Communications 101 in college.

Many people were caught off guard on Monday morning when a construction crew started to rip up the southern end of Oak Street.

Chris Dominianni, owner of the Adirondack Soup Company, didn't know about the street work until Sunday night after he saw a sign posted. He contacted the city and found out that notices went out a week ago to building owners who were in turn supposed to contact their tenants.

I did a quick survey of five shops in the area where the work is being done. No shop owner had been given advance notification.

June Defrane, owner of June's, didn't know about the construction work until Tuesday morning because her shop is closed on Monday. She tried to park in front of her business to unload some materials but was told by construction workers she had to park elsewhere. She was forced to park temporarily across the street in the Plattsburgh Public Library parking.

The PPL staff was also surprised by the lack of notification. When Brinkerhoff Street was being upgraded earlier in the year, the library had a week's warning. It put up signs to let patrons know about the upcoming work. Police officers had to enter the library on Monday morning to tell patrons who had parked on Oak Street to move their vehicles. Officers also went to the shops across the street, trying to locate car owners.

So what should the city learn from this stupid dust-up?

Communication is key. Contacting the building owner apparently doesn't work, especially if the owner is out of town. Efforts should be made to personally contact people who work in the area. If a shop owner isn't in, a sign could be posted on the front door.

Signs posted along the street shouldn't go up a day before. They should be up a few days before the roadwork is to begin, giving people enough notice.

Time To Haul It

2009-10-07T16:01:00.002-04:00

June Defrane, owner of June's on Oak Street, doesn't want rodents to show up in the alleyway behind her shop. For too many days she has been trying to get garbage picked up, refuse left behind by other tenants in the neighborhood. The trashcans for her building are emptied but the rest of it from others just keeps accumulating.

What is it about Plattsburgh and trash? Sometimes you have to invoke the name of the gods to get it properly disposed.

Burton – LeClaire Exhibit

2009-10-05T16:31:00.001-04:00

There's an intriguing art exhibit now on display at the Plattsburgh Public Library featuring the works of local artists Gharan Burton and Kim LeClaire. “Three Weeks Revisited” will run until January 4, 2010 in the Helen Wilcox Ianelli Gallery located on the second floor of the PPL. A reception will be held Saturday, October 10th, from 5 – 7 PM. For more information, call (518) 297-2616.

Hey, Man - What's In The Bag?

2009-10-02T07:37:00.003-04:00

This plastic bag with unknown contents has been hanging around for over a month, three stories up on a Clinton Street building. I don't know how it got there. How it is attached to the wall is also a mystery.

Library: More Hours, More Service?

2009-09-29T09:11:00.000-04:00

In the good old days the Plattsburgh Public Library was open for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. A warm, comfortable place to hang out during the long North Country winter. Another day to use the public access computers, do research or to check out books and other media.

Then whack went the budget ax.

Stan Ransom, PPL Director, has proposed a budget for 2010 that would bring back those Sunday hours. Also, he wants to add another librarian by promoting from within the library staff: one of the clerks will finish her MLS degree in a few months and she could become a Local History/Reference Librarian.

Mayor Donald Kasprzak has proposed a library budget minus these two items. Keep in mind that the library years ago had its budget whacked by 15 percent, $100,000 less than what it had before. It has done its part, keeping costs under control, and should have at least some of its previous budget restored.

For the most part the final say on the budget is in the hands of six people who sit on the Common Council. Competing with other municipal departments, Ransom has to convince the councilors that his proposals are reasonable and needed. Public support on this issue would help. Speak to your ward rep or attend the upcoming hearings on the budget. Email the mayor at mayor@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov or call 563-7701.

The mayor will still have an opportunity to influence the outcome if the council is evenly split and he has to act as the tiebreaker. Key to approval of the library’s 2010 budget plan is approval by a majority of councilors.

As I’ve detailed before, usage is up at the library across the board. For those councilors who haven’t visited the library lately, they should stop in during “rush hour” or at least talk with patrons for feedback.

Another point: Ransom has done his part to cut costs. For example, the library is surveying its patrons to see what magazines and newspapers are being read to eliminate any titles not being utilized.

The proposed library budget would be money well spent, unlike some of the boondoggles the city has promoted before like the still intangible hotel/conference center by the lake.

In fact, these budget changes beat out anything WIRY radio commentator Ducky Drake has ever proposed on any topic. (Nothing personal, Ducky.)

Narrow Street, Narrow Options

2009-09-27T02:35:00.003-04:00

As detailed in a previous post, more people are parking on Miller Street during the weekdays between the intersections of Delord and Lorraine Streets. When large vehicles park on both sides, it creates narrow sections less than two lanes wide.

Apparently the owner of this extra-wide pickup truck came up with a solution.

This isn’t the first time I’m seen someone with a large vehicle do this. A better solution would be restricting parking to one side of the street. Less wear and tear on the curbs, unlike this (illegal) option.

Big Brother Tracking Cough Syrup

2009-09-25T01:22:00.004-04:00

Background: I have allergies and sometimes need to take a decongestant, pseudoephedrine, known by the brand name Sudafed.

As part of a Homeland Security bill, Congress made it harder customers to pick up this drug. It’s no longer OTC (over the counter) because it’s one the main ingredients used to manufacture meth. There a different formulation available over the counter (Sudafed PE) but to get the real stuff, you have to ask a pharmacist, show ID, and sign a form stating that the info about your purchase is available to law enforcement officials. Pharmacist as policeman.

Of course, this inconvenience means that there are no more meth labs; the scourge of this horrible drug has been eliminated by making law-abiding customers jump through a hoop.

So the other day I’m at a big box store and asked the pharmacist what he recommended in the way of OTC cough syrup. I had a lingering cold for days and the cough was getting worse. The friendly pharmacist recommended the DM formula.

I picked up a bottle and with some other items went to the front register. The young clerk said she needed to see my driver’s license. I asked why. She said because I was buying the cough syrup. She told me I had to take the ID out of my wallet so that she could scan it.

Once I had my ID scanned, I was allowed to buy the cough syrup.

I doubled back to the pharmacy and asked the druggist if my “processing” at the front counter was some sort of Homeland Security regulation.

He explained that the DM cough syrup could be abused; kids were known for glugging down a whole bottle to get high. The clerk was checking my driver’s license to verify my age. The pharmacist said he wouldn’t have ID’d me if I had purchased it from him. He didn’t have to explain the obvious reasons why he would’ve given me a pass.

If you’ve met me, you know I certainly don’t look younger than 18 years old. Besides my gray sideburns and the gray in the thinning mess on top of my head, I hadn’t shaved that day.

While I’m being hassled over cough syrup, some criminal is selling it by the ton in a back alleyway, bottles that “fell off the truck.”

And with Plattsburgh being one of the main way stations for drugs between New York City and Montreal, the younger-than-eighteen crowd can score better stuff easily on the street than kid stuff cough syrup.

So why am I being ID’d? What difference does it make, besides getting customers annoyed by the meaningless inconvenience?

See what happens when morons enact laws and regulations?

Spider With Time On His 8 Hands

2009-09-23T04:51:00.002-04:00

Progress

2009-09-23T04:45:00.003-04:00

As mentioned in a previous post, there was a dilapidated building on Millet Street – jut a short walk away from City Hall – that was a home for unsanitary pigeons. Work is being done on the structure; the porch ceiling was torn out, removing the roosting area.

Like I said before, why go all the way out to Lakeside Apartments when there are problems right in the downtown area?

Word on the street: the property-owner was fined by the city, thus motivating him to make overdue repairs.

Nothing To Smile About

2009-09-23T04:42:00.002-04:00