Columnist
Kindergarten teacher Temnit Muldowney and Nicky Hylton-Patterson pose with a basket filled with donations from local businesses to welcome a new family in Saranac Lake. (Provided photo Naj Wikoff)
On Dec. 2, 2019, Nicole Hylton-Patterson was hired as the Adirondack Diversity Initiative’s first director. A year later, she’s now providing a bundle of gifts gathered from area shops to an African American family that’s recently settled in Saranac Lake. This is one of many initiatives she’s launched to make the region more welcoming to visitors of diverse backgrounds and, in this case, a family that’s taking up residence.
acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
Nicole Hilton-Patterson, director of Adirondack Diversity Institute, accepts an award from the environmental advocacy group Adirondack Wild in Saranac Lake. (News photo â Aaron Cerbone)
SARANAC LAKE Adirondack Wild awarded Adirondack Diversity Initiative Director Nicole Hylton-Patterson the 2020 Wild Stewardship Award on Nov. 27. “We’re just getting started,” she said, saying she has a lot planned for 2021. David Gibson, managing partner of the environmental advocacy group, said this award is usually given to individuals doing work in the wilderness, but this year he felt it was necessary to recognize someone working to bring in a new, diverse generation of wilderness stewards.
Hope for the Forum
Bravos to George Pensel for considering the Lake George Forum for an expansion of his boat-selling business, Boats by George. Boat sales were reportedly strong during the pandemic, as people who had tired of being cooped up indoors sought ways to recreate outside safely. Formerly a hockey rink and more recently a big, underused space, the Forum is an attractive venue in a great location. It seems ideal for a boat sales showroom. If Pensel buys it, he intends to sink a lot of money into renovations and to seek some tax breaks from the Warren-Washington Industrial Development Agency. Although we are sometimes skeptical of the need to give tax breaks to established, successful businesses, we see the value in helping Pensel bring to vibrant life what is now a frequently empty building in a prominent location leading into Lake George.
By Ryan Shepard
Former police officer
Sean McKown has pleaded guilty after being charged with fabricating a story about firing his gun during an altercation with a group of Black teens. The incident in question took place in June when he was at his upstate New York residence. McKown claimed that he fired his weapon towards a group of Black teens who had fired first. Further investigation found no evidence of an altercation, but rather McKown had returned from a night of drinking and fired his weapon.
After the state police began looking into the matter, McKown reportedly admitted that he fabricated the story. According to the Albany Times-Union, the 19-year veteran police officer admitted to firing his gun into a tree stump and then getting rid of it. Adding on, state troopers said that McKown s stories were inconsistent and they never believed him. The former police officer never came in contact with a group of Black youths and an altercation occurred.
Associated Press ALBANY A white former police officer has been charged with falsely reporting a gunfight with a group of Black youths at his camp in the Adirondacks while he was off duty last summer, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday. Sean McKown was arraigned last week on four misdemeanor charges, including falsely reporting an incident and illegally discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, District Attorney Kristy Sprague said in a news release. “The charges filed stem from allegedly false reports of an incident (which did not occur) that were allegedly made to 911 by Sean McKown,” Sprague said in a statement. “The discharging of the firearm charge was also allegedly shots fired within 500 feet of a dwelling by Sean McKown, with no specific dwelling or victim named.”