News stories tagged with "croghan"

(04/05/12) At one time, there were four mills located at the Croghan Dam, on each side of the Beaver River. John Martin is owner and operator of the last remaining, the Croghan Island Mill.

He specializes in custom windows and doors...things you can't get at Lowe's or Home Depot.
Up until the stop logs were removed from the dam, Martin's machinery was powered by water, which drove pulleys and belts in the historic mill. He's had to rely on electricty since then, but he's had to cut back.

Martin's glad the dam has been reclassified as a lower risk. "Hopefully we can go back to water power," he said, and "business will pick back up and I can get back to normal life again."
Martin gave David Sommerstein a tour of the mill a year ago.

Martin says his father bought the mill from Lehman & Zehr, the original owners, in 1969.

(07/27/11) State environment officials won't remove stop logs from the village of Croghan's historic dam - at least for now. As David Sommerstein reports, the delay comes as Croghan won a $100,000 grant to begin rebuilding the dam. more

(07/12/11) Today, we continue our week-long series Farmers Under 40 with a look at the young people getting into what many consider a shriveling industry.

Dairy remains one of the biggest overall drivers of the North Country economy. Yet half the dairy farms there were twenty years ago are gone. The average age of a dairy farmer is almost 60 years old. Some years it costs more to milk a cow than you can sell the milk for.

till, young farmers are going into dairy. And as David Sommerstein reports, they're bringing a sharp business acumen and a passion to the barn. more

(07/08/11) The Department of Environmental Conservation says it's on schedule to remove the last stop logs from the Croghan dam any day now. That'll lower the pond on the Beaver River by some five feet. That's after the pond in Lewis County was lowered two feet last summer when stop logs were removed.

DEC engineers say the dam's a hazard. But local officials say it's part of history and there's no rush while they seek money to save it. David Sommerstein reports. more

(06/20/11) The Lewis County village of Croghan is mounting a last-ditch effort to save its dam on the Beaver River as well as the historic sawmill it powers.

The dam is crumbling and is considered a high hazard by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. State officials said they'll remove the stop logs next month and may breach the dam completely. Local officials say that will leave shoreline residents high and dry, and hurt a grassroots effort to rebuild the dam. David Sommerstein reports. more

(04/14/11) Across the North Country, school districts are wrestling with deep cuts to their budgets - the result of Albany's efforts to rein in billions of dollars in deficit spending.

Governor Cuomo has stood firm on his belief schools have the finances to absorb a $1.2 billion cut in education funding. But those cuts are hitting rural school districts especially hard. Educators blame a byzantine and outdated school funding formula. David Sommerstein reports. more

(04/13/11) The latest Siena College poll found Governor Cuomo enjoying the support of near three-quarters of New Yorkers even after his austerity budget cut $1.2 billion to schools. Now reality's setting in as districts finalize their budget plans. And in many North Country districts, the news is ugly, with teacher layoffs and program cuts the norm.

The news is so bad, students themselves are fighting back. Today we have two stories from opposite ends of the region. We start in Croghan in Lewis County, where the Beaver River school district may cut or reduce a third of its staff, including several music and art teachers. Students organized a talent show last night to raise money. David Sommerstein was there. more

(03/23/11) Our series on New York's aging infrastructure continues this morning with a look at a crumbling dam in Lewis County and why it threatens a community's identity and culture.

There are more than 5,000 dams in New York State. They're mostly used for flood control, to provide drinking water, for hydropower, and to create lakes and ponds for recreation.

Even dam safety officials don't know how many need repair. But they do know 50 of the most potentially hazardous ones need to be fixed or dismantled.

One of those is on the Beaver River in the village of Croghan. If it can't be fixed, it may force the closure of one of the state's last water-powered sawmills. David Sommerstein reports. more

(03/23/11) David Sommerstein spent some more time with John Martin, the owner and operator of the Croghan Island Mill, and went on a tour. Martin specializes in custom windows and doors...things you can't get at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Martin says his father bought the mill from Lehman & Zehr, the original owners, in 1969.

(12/07/10) An historic North Country sound is in danger of disappearing, the rhythmic sound of the wheelhouse of the Croghan Island Mill, one of the only operating mechanical sawmills left in New York. It's dam has been crumbling since the 1980s. And the Department of Environmental Conservation says it needs to be removed. But local residents and St. Lawrence University students are teaming up to try to save it. more