News stories tagged with "franklin"

(01/15/08) For centuries, nations sent ships in search of the elusive Northwest Passage, a short-cut to Asia through the ice-laden seas above Canada. Perhaps the most famous attempt was led by Sir John Franklin, an experienced explorer left who England on his third Arctic expedition in 1845. With a crew of 129 volunteers, he set out in two specially-outfitted ships, with enough provisions to last for at least three years. They never returned. Over time, tantalizing clues emerged: a brief message, left in a stone tower, stating Franklin died in 1847. Oral accounts from natives who encountered sick and dying foreigners. The possibility of cannibalism, which shocked Victorian sensibilities. A modern exhumation of three frozen graves suggesting bodies and minds had been affected by lead poisoning from improperly tinned food. The hunt for evidence and answers continues to this day.

Retired geophysicist and Arctic researcher Dr. George Hobson has spent decades studying the Franklin Expedition. These days, he's a popular speaker on tourist expeditions to Beechy Island and other points of Arctic interest. Hobson will give a lecture Wednesday night in Manotick, Ontario. Ottawa correspondent Lucy Martin chatted with him among a local library's collection of books about Franklin and his fate.

(01/24/07) Actor Burdette Parks brings to life one of America's most personable Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, next Wednesday night (6:30) at Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek. Parks, renowned for his performance in Frankly, B. Franklin, told Todd Moe that his new one-man show, Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Etc., began as a tribute to the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birthday last January.

(12/15/06) North Country Public Radio has begun a series of reports on large-scale real estate developments in the region. Yesterday, two of the most prominent and controversial projects moved a step closer to reality. At their meeting in Ray Brook, the Adirondack Park Agency approved a 21-lot development on Union Falls Pond, in Franklin County, that was opposed by local government leaders. The APA also signaled that a 700-unit resort development proposed for Tupper Lake has cleared a major hurdle. Brian Mann has details.

(06/13/06) A town board in the Adirondacks unanimously withdrew its objections Monday night to a massive state land deal announced by the governor in January of 2005. The Town of Franklin had blocked an agreement to protect over 100,000 acres of former Domtar Industries land in Clinton and Franklin Counties. As Chris Knight reports, Franklin finally said OK after the state came up with an interim recreation plan for 21,000 acres in the town.

(12/06/05) Next year marks the 300th birthday of one of America's Founding Fathers - Benjamin Franklin. To celebrate, a new one-man show, written and performed by Burdette Parks, opens Thursday night (7:30) at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake. Parks, renowned for his performance in Frankly, B. Franklin, told Todd Moe that his new show, Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Etc., brings our most personable Founding Father back to the stage.

(04/26/05) How many times have you heard this: "If you don't have a car, you can't get around in the North Country." Buses are few and far between. Taxis are scarce and expensive. Most towns are not designed with the pedestrian in mind. It can takes hours, or even a whole day, to run an errand or make an appointment that in a car would take minutes. And limited transportation options restrict job opportunities. For people with disabilities, and especially people who use wheelchairs, these problems are magnified. Accessible vans and ambulettes are plentiful for Medicaid funded trips to the doctor or case manager. But there are few - if any - options for the errands and visits and excursions of everyday life. People with disabilities are too often restricted to their homes, isolated from and invisible to their communities. As part of our series Disability Matters, David Sommerstein reports on one man's efforts to get around on his own. more

(02/23/05) When you think of soybeans, you generally think of sprawling farms and giant combines in the Midwest. But a local soy processor has an ambitious plan to make soybeans a cash crop in the North Country. Ag Pro Limited, based in Massena, wants to contract with local farmers for up to 15,000 acres of the crop. That's about 5 times the amount grown in the region last year. Ag Pro is holding workshops across the region to teach farmers about how to grow soybeans. David Sommerstein attended one and has this report.

(01/15/03) The Unitarian Universalist Church of Canton is sponsoring a local history essay contest with a goal of unearthing hidden history in the North Country. Todd Moe talks with Bart Harloe, one of the coordinators of the writing contest that looks into history "from the bottom up".

(09/30/02) The Raquette River has seen several incarnations of economic development in the North Country: first fishing and logging, then sandstone mining and hydroelectric generation. A group of businesses and citizens want to start a new economic era for the state's second largest river based on tourism and recreation. David Sommerstein reports.

(07/08/02) Frankin County was one of the last counties in the state to be designated an Empire Zone. The new zone covers more than 1200 acres and offers tax breaks and other incentives to incoing or expanding businesses. Marth Foley reports.