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Camping on Hope Falls and Pumpkin Hollow Roads

Andy | August 17, 2011

There are several campsites a on side roads, little ways off of NY 30, as you head North from Northville towards Wells NY. These campsites are nice if you starting off into the Adirondacks, and are looking for a convenient place to camp for the night, and want campsites quieter then those on NY 8 / East Sacanadaga River.

These sites are all designated with official “Camp Here” discs.

Road	Number of Sites
Hope Falls Road	3 Vehicle 3 Tent Sites
Pumpkin Hollow Road	2 Vehicle (Between Willis Lake and Inholding) 1 Vehicle (Beyond Inholding)

Hope Falls Road.

From Northville on Hope Falls Road, you drive north and north. The paved road goes on for several miles, until you finally reach the “Seasonal Use Only” sign, and hte pavement ends it becomes a one lane road.

Click the map above to print it.

None of these campsites are particularly fancy, although there is a single outhouse for the first grouping of campsites on the southern port of the road.

All of the campsites run along Stoney Creek …

Pumpkin Hollow.

The campsites are a ways back on Pumpkin Hollow Road, a dirt road, beyond Willis Lake and the camps along it. Pumpkin hollow is a short ways south of the Sacanadaga River DEC Campground, it starts out as a paved road by a white house, then eventually a mile or two back becomes unpaved and one lane.

You can print the above map by clicking on it and printing it.

Here’s sample designated campsite on Pumpkin Hollow Road.

And Pumpkin Hollow Road…

Home Rule vs Dillon’s Rule

Andy | July 11, 2011

There are two categories of state governments as it relates to local governments:

Home Rule: States that give local governments wide latitude to decide which policies are appropriate for their communities
Dillon’s Rule: States that give limited powers to local government to make decide which policies are appropriate for their communities

No states fall clearly in on category or another as it’s more of a continuum then definite categories. Indeed, when states choose how much to empower local governments they must consider a variety of factors such as:

Impact of one town or city’s decisions on surrounding communities
Citizens that travel through one community or reside their temporarily for work, recreation, or other activities, but due to lack residency have no voice in that government
Involvement and awareness of a community’s citizens in governments
Fairness between wealthier and poorer communities
State-wide goals for various programs

Certainly some things really ought to be decided on a local level, under Home Rule, by an informed citizens and their representatives:

The rate of property taxation and structure of fees paid exclusively by local residents and businesses
The level of government services provided to local citizens and businesses
The design and management of local service roads and streets
The creation of local laws and policies, as long as much local laws and policies are made clear to visitors using signs or other documentation

On the other hand, there is a compelling case to reserve some powers to states under Dillion’s Rule to ensure fairness both to local residents and more importantly, largely voiceless visitors to a community.

A state bill of rights must exist to ensure that local governments both treat their citizens fairly, and most importantly visitors to the community fairly
Local laws need to consistent enough so that visitors know what to reasonably expect when visit a community and require
Inter-community highways need to be regulated by the state to promote the quick and convenient movement of goods and people.

Municipal Cash Incinerators

Andy | June 2, 2011

There is a new high-tech device coming to communities across America. It’s being billed as a solution to reduce government waste, create jobs, create “green” electricity, and best of all provide a great way to use taxpayer dollars. It’s called municipal cash incinerators.

Many people have not heard of the concept of burning taxpayer dollars to create electricity. Yet, studies have shown it’s a remarkably good way. Why burn perfectly good coal or natural gas, when you can burn municipal cash? We all know that renewables like solar and wind can not power a society. So there is only one real choice: Municipal Cash Incinerators.

How does this advanced technology work? Using a high-tech process, $1 bills bought using municipal tax dollars, obtained through property taxes and government grants, are burned in a large furnace that heats water to steam and turn a turbine. This turbine generates electricity. Best off all, because money is green in color, it is a green process. Moreover, money spend on cash burners will not be wasted on less productive governmental purposes like roads and schools.

There are many good reasons to burn municipal cash:

For one, if government starts hoarding $1 bills rather then storing the money in a normal bank account, city halls across the country would be overwhelmed with all this paper cash.
If this cash was used for productive purposes it would continue the money in the economic cycle and help drive inflation up.
Many conservatives feel that inflation is the biggest risk facing our society today.

Some activists are complaining about municipal cash incinerators. They say it’s stupid to burn taxpayer dollars. Some are even suggesting that constructing municipal cash incinerators is an outright fraud, a stealing of people’s hard earned dollars. So what? Government has to spend the public’s money somehow.