Top Stories from NCPR

According to a recent study by the New York State Health Department, the number of teens lighting up cigarettes in New York state has dropped dramatically in the last 16 years.When Chris Owens, who runs a tobacco health program at St Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, saw figures showing an 84 percent drop in the teen smoking rate since 2000, he was ecstatic."That made me feel so good when I saw it, that drastic decrease in cigarette use by adolescents, because that’s really the key to long term tobacco abstinence,” said Owens.But the next set of figures weren’t so great, showing total teen tobacco use on the rise. [full story]

We’re reaching that time of year when it can be tough getting outside, with trails often crusted with ice. Microspikes can extend your spring hiking season. [full story]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is warning that the state might not be able to add more money for schools this year because of uncertainties in Washington over federal funding.Just days before the state budget is due, Cuomo is urging the state Legislature to pull back on additional spending for school districts beyond the $1 billion increase he’s already proposed, saying there’s too much uncertainty over federal funding right now. [full story]

An old schoolhouse seems to be the perfect home, really, for a historian like Ian MacMillan. He bought the 19th century one-room building 25 years ago, while finishing his doctoral work at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. MacMillan is an expert on the life of New York conservationist Robert Marshall, principal founder of The Wilderness Society. MacMillan's little home sits near Bell's Crossing, in rural Ontario, about equal distance between Brockville, Smiths Falls, Kingston and Ottawa. "Centrally isolated," he says. Last fall, Todd Moe tagged along as photographer Gordon Beck gave him a tour of some of the small hamlets and farmlands in eastern Ontario. Beck, a photo-journalist, is using his camera to document the rural landscapes of Leeds & Grenville county with a special project to record historic barns, farmsteads and old houses.MacMillan says turning an old stone schoolhouse into a home has been his passion. He gave Todd a tour as he was finishing some front yard landscaping. [full story]

You know it by the silver buckets hanging on trees, and the steaming sugar shacks - it's maple sugaring season! Today we’ve got a quick North Country at Work story from two photos donated by the Colton Historical Society, in which you can see two boys, a horse, and Colton’s smallest maple sugaring operation of the 1940s. [full story]

The head of New York state's corrections officer union says a North Country prison was in partial lockdown earlier this month after an unmanned drone hovered over the facility. [full story]

This month was epic for women’s hockey in the North Country.The Clarkson Golden Knights won their second NCAA Division I national championship in four years, shutting out favorite Wisconsin, 3-0.Another collegiate hockey program has achieved an historic milestone. SUNY Plattsburgh's women's team won another NCAA national title in Division III - their fourth in a row. [full story]

Oral “Nick” Hillary’s trial against the village of Potsdam and its police department has been scheduled for July 10 in Albany. U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe made the date official in court documents filed last Thursday.The former soccer coach was found not guilty last fall in the 2011 murder of 12 year-old Garrett Phillips in Potsdam. Hillary claims his civil rights were violated during the murder investigation. [full story]

The art of one of the nation's best watercolorists is on display at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls. Marking the Moment: The Art of Allen Blagden, features 47 of the distinguished artist's works. The exhibit continues through April 16th. On Thursday at 6:30 pm, Caroline Welsh, curator of exhibit, will talk about her longtime relationship with the artist, and about his art, inspiration, and influences while touring the exhibition. Erin Coe, executive director of the Hyde Collection, said the museum is "thrilled" to have the works of one of the nation's top watercolorists. She says Blagden combines a naturalist's love and respect for his subjects with a mastery of watercolor.Allen Blagden has spent summers in the Adirondacks since he was a child. He lives in Connecticut and began painting with his artist father, Thomas Blagden. His work is on permanent display at galleries and museums across the country, including the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake and the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Blagden's realist style is often compared to Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth.A couple of years ago, Todd Moe spoke with him about his art and long-time Adirondack connections. Blagden's family stayed in a log cabin built by his grandfather on Upper Saranac Lake. [full story]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders plan to meet all week, but no agreements are finalized yet on a state budget that’s due Friday. [full story]