Throughout the year at St. Bernard’s School, we hold positivity as a light by which we are guided in our words, actions and decisions. Hope is both a result and a cause of positivity. During the month of November, we are focusing on the virtue of hope. We teach the children that to offer ...

“Chirp,” the latest work by North Country author Kate Messner, is a children’s chapter book that explores the topic of sexual harassment in an age-appropriate way. It’s relatively short, yet packed with timely themes layered within engaging story lines. The main character, Mia, ...

Please, help protect our community so our kids can get back to school. In-person learning is important to our local children getting the education they need to prepare them for the world. That’s especially true of students in our BOCES programs, which put an emphasis on hands-on, ...

Newton’s third law of physics states that “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This perhaps provides a framework for examining the standoff that exists between the forces of Donald Trump and the forces of Joe Biden. When applied to human behavior, we hope the ...

In 2007, University of Michigan professor Ronald Inglehart and a colleague analyzed religious trends from 1981 to 2007 in 49 countries comprising 60% of global population. In 33 of these countries — including former communist, developing and wealthy nations — people had become more ...

Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs annually on Nov. 20. It is a day to memorialize those who have been killed or murdered as the result of transphobia (hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming/non-binary people). We also remember those who died as a result of suicide. This day ...

In Oct. 27’s “Sand versus salt” article, author Dave Werner does a fine job outlining the many variables that a highway department must take into account when determining the best treatment for a particular road in the winter. He then weighs the pros and cons of using sand to treat road ...

Those of us who live in the North Country know how harsh the winters can be. Our road managers have a great responsibility to keep our roads open and safe for emergency responders, school buses and commuters to travel. Unfortunately, the current strategies for keeping our roads open for winter ...

For the past few years the Tupper Lake Public Library, aka the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library, has sent out an annual appeal letter seeking donations from our community members to help us install a new HVAC system. This year we will not be sending out a letter. Having received a considerable ...

If you struggle to get through the day, you’re not alone. The stresses and strains of life challenge everyone from time to time, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more of us feel overwhelmed. Those most at risk for emotional distress include: ¯ Disaster survivors ¯ People ...

The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating in the United States. Since the start of the pandemic, over 8 million Americans have been infected. Nearly a quarter of a million have died, and many more continue to suffer lingering symptoms of the illness. Millions of people have also lost their ...

A nine-member Supreme Court is a small sample size to judge issues. Each judge represents a data point to weigh in deciding the result. For every new case, this process starts over. With just nine judges, the opportunity for bias and skewing each judgment becomes very real. And that, along ...

Closing out my career in the state Senate this year is bittersweet, as I have enjoyed and appreciate so much about the past 25 years in elective office. It has just been an incredible honor representing and advocating on behalf of the constituents of the 45th Senate District. Having been ...

Dear colleagues and students: Voting is the touchstone of our democracy — so I want to encourage all to vote.  As everyone knows, this election season is very contentious with strong emotions on both sides. However, this year in our Smitty Pledge, we vowed to be “a good neighbor, ...

“I stood out front. I led. ... I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger.” You can guess who said that. But a responsible leader wouldn’t march us toward a cliff. We’re not his lemmings. Trump is the primary culprit. He’s modeled terrible behavior for his entire career by ...

This is a difficult letter to write. It’s difficult because it’s just one more about politics, the election, democracy, all subjects we are either obsessed or fatigued with. It’s also difficult because most of us are locked into our respective positions on candidates, and it’s unlikely ...

A little over two weeks ago, I was lying wide awake in my sleeping bag in the middle of the Debar Mountain Wild Forest, flinching at every snapping twig and raindrop that fell on my tent in the night. It was a far cry from my warm bed back in Saranac Lake, but I tried to remember the reason ...

In today’s divisive political atmosphere, it’s surprising to find legislation that enjoys widespread bipartisan support. Here’s one: the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force and Pilot Program. If signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, this pilot program will set the course for clean water and ...

As we all know too well, COVID-19 has affected our lives on so many fronts — losing employment, determining how to safely educate our children, and having limited access to family and friends, to name just a few. Underlying all of these changes are additional stress, anxiety and emotional ...

I was saddened and disappointed at the Tupper Lake town board’s decision to be silent on whether displaying the Confederate flag on one’s private property is in the interest of the community. I make no judgments about the rights of individuals to do so. It’s their property, and the ...