Where in the Valley is Reed Sparling? (June 2009)

And the ANSWER IS...

Our congratulations to Louisa Finn of High Falls, for being the first to respond to the June "Where in the Valley is Reed Sparling" contest. Louisa recognized Reed as being in Fort Edward, NY at the site of the General Electric PCB cleanup .

On May 15, I was eyewitness (minus my Tilley) to what one speaker rightly called “a historic day for a historic river.” Standing on the banks of the Hudson across from the small upstate village of Fort Edward, I watched as a dredge removed the first scoop of PCB-laden sediment, ending a 25-year environmental battle -- led by Scenic Hudson -- to compel General Electric to clean up these toxins it had dumped at two nearby plants from the 1940s until 1976. Someday (actually, in six years if all goes according to plan) the project will be completed and the Hudson a much healthier river, both for us humans who enjoy it and the creatures that inhabit it.

Our congratulations to Louisa Finn of High Falls, Ulster County, for being the first to respond with the correct answer. She won an autographed copy of Reed Sparling's Hudson Valley Voyage: Through the Seasons, Through the Years. Try your luck with our July challenge!