Cover up in Fort Ann!

Gayle Hall is the supervisor of the Town of Fort Ann, in upstate New York. Next month, she is running for re-election. If you live in Fort Ann, please don't vote for her. I'd encourage you to write in someone else's name.

On July 2, the dam at the town's Hadlock Pond failed. This lead to devastating flooding and massive property damage. Several people lost their homes, though thankfully no one died. The dam failed only weeks after it had been re-built and the pond re-filled with water. The new dam that failed replaced an older dam that had been around for over half a century, without the slightest problem.

According to The Post-Star newspaper's analysis of a state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) report on the failure

In October 2003, DEC issued the Town a dam safety permit authorizing the repair and rehabilitation of the dam. In addition, the Town received approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Adirondack Park Agency.

Construction began in September 2004. DEC staff conducted four site visits during construction to observe the construction and site conditions. The last DEC site visit was on April 13, 2005. DEC did not receive a notice of completion or the engineer's certification, and did not conduct a final inspection or issue a letter of approval to fill.

In other words, the town did not ask the state to inspect the dam's safety or to refill the pond, as it should have. If that had been done, the dam's lack of stability would have been blindingly obvious to state engineers. Even an ordinary teenager who lived near the dam recognized that there was something wrong but no one took his concerns seriously.

The Post-Star and other media organizations have filed a Freedom of Information request from the Town of Fort Ann for documents relating to the dam failure. The town denied the request, citing security reasons. Supervisor Hall even had the audacity to make an allusion to 9/11 to justify the denial; to invoke a murderous terrorist attack to defend such a self-serving decision is profane.

The daily correctly savaged Supervisor Hall's attempts to insult people's intelligence. Even if terrorists in an Afghan cave wanted to blow up a dam in this tiny town in upstate New York farm country, the dam no longer exists!! If she were really so concerned about people's safety, she would've paid a little more attention BEFORE her town ok'd the unsafe dam to be filled up without state approval.

The only thing being protected by Hall's decision is her own rear end.

Hall doesn't seem to realize that she's acting as guilty as sin even if she isn't. Or since she is (to the best of my knowledge) running for re-election unopposed after winning the Republican primary, perhaps she simply doesn't care how ethically dubious her actions appear.

I've been very critical of The Post-Star in the past but they've been dogged in pursuit of this story despite Hall's obstructionism. They are absolutely right to blast the town's secrecy. The paper has promised to appeal the Freedom of Information request denial and, if necessary, to take legal action so that the public can know why this devastation occurred.

If the Jihadists blow up the non-existent dam as a result, then the paper can give its mea culpa. Until that happens, it's Supervisor Hall who owes the apology.