Fire Destroys Schroon Lake Community Church

Photographer Andrew Gushee.

The Schroon Lake Community Church, a spiritual gathering place for so many, has been destroyed by fire.

The heart breaking image above was captured by Andrew Gushee, via his drone. Andrew was working across the street renovating the old Red Horse Antique Store which is the new home of 9 Mile Coffee, in which he is a partner.

The blaze broke out around 3 pm . As of this writing there appears to be no injuries to civilians or fire fighters. Schroon Lake Volunteer Fire Department were first on scene at around 3:15 pm along with Ticonderoga and Chilson fire departments.

Photos of the fire show just how quickly it spread. The image below is from Darren Woods, as the fire is just beginning, before firefighters arrived en masse.

Photo Darren Woods

Tonya Whitford Condon captured a series of pictures as the fire gradually engulfed the wood structure. You can view them by clicking here. Another dramatic image was captured by Lindsay Taylor.

Photo Lindsay TAYLOR

Mutual aid was provided by North Hudson, Chilson, Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Horicon, Chestertown, Pottersville and Warrensburg all responded from Warren County, as well. Mineville stood by at North Hudson's station, and Putnam stood by at Ticonderoga's.

The Essex County Sheriff's Department and State Police were on site for crowd and traffic control. This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

Paradox's Peaches N' Cream

The smile says it all. This is the first batch of beer brewed from scratch by Quattro, of Big Time Kitty fame.It’s part of the Paradox Weather Series. Quattro’s Peaches-N-Cream is a milkshake style NEIPA brewed with lactose and peaches. It’s an awesome brew and the longer it warms to room temperature, the more milkshake notes you can taste. It dropped last weekend and the cans are going fast. Brewery founder Paul Mrocka says Quattro did an outstanding job. “He natured this from start to finish. We are very proud of his accomplishments.”

PDX HOLIDAY WEEKEND HOURS:

Saturday 12/29: 12-6
Sunday 12/30: 12-4 
Monday 12/31: 12-6 
Tuesday 1/1: CLOSED

Skating in Schroon in the New Year

Santa will be delivering a late Christmas gift to Schroon in the weeks ahead: a brand, spanking new skating rink.

The roof on the new rink’s pavilion was completed on Christmas Eve and today Town Supervisor Mike Marnell will take delivery of a bladder, which will hold thousands of gallons of water which will form the rink’s ice surface. It measures 50 feet by 100 feet and is six inches deep.

Marnell says he hopes the rink will be ready to use in the weeks ahead. If all goes to plan the rink will be open 24/7.

Mr. Marnell says the rink’s budget is about $140,000. “We had $80,000 left over from the tennis and basketball court renovation,” Me. Marnell told Schroon Laker. The $60,000 difference will be covered by the town. “We have the budget for this.”

Next year Mr. Marnell says the town will build a large, Adirondack style lean-too with an infrared heating system to keep skaters warm. He says the structure will be used year-round and serve multiple purposes.

 “We may have basketball hoops and picnic tables installed”.

And there’s the potential for the town to rent the space out for weddings.

“It’s an amazing view from up there.”

The space where the pavilion stands is on the grounds where the Leland House Hotel once stood. “We found old concrete slabs from the hotel when we were pouring the footings.”

What other uses do you see for this new space. Tell us in comments?

View from the new rink.

Schroon a Stone's Throw From a Potential Trail to North Dakota?

Outdoor adventurer Herb Terns, the digital advertising manager at the Times Union, recently took a walk in the woods west of Schroon Lake in an area known as the "Corridor of opportunity” not far from Hoffman Notch. It's what Herb refers to as the label on a shaded area of a Department of Environmental Conservation map of the Hoffman Notch Wilderness. This is where a trail starting (or ending) in North Dakota, could be a huge part of an east-west corridor hike.

 Reports Herb:

“For more than a decade, the state and a group of dedicated volunteers have worked on a route for the North Country Scenic Trail (NCST) through central New York and the Adirondacks. They've sought to combine existing sections of trails with new trails to complete the 4,600-mile NCST from near Lake Champlain through the upper Midwest to North Dakota. Read more about Herb’s adventure, by clicking here.