25 YEARS AGO -- 1983

The Montreal businessman, Victor Podd, who bought the 338 acres known as "The Commons" near Rouses Point plans to build two 10,500-square-foot manufacturing plants on the property as early as this summer.

A few days of rain turns the tide, so to speak, and Lake Champlain is on the rise again. The lake level at King Street Dock in Burlington was 101.20 feet above sea level, up from 101.16 feet the day before.

Four prisoners escape from the Federal Correction Institute at Ray Brook. The four men walked away from a work detail near the entrance to the prison.

Essex County's support for the idea to build a bridge connecting Plattsburgh with Burlington fails to materialize when Supervisor Donald McIntyre proposes instead a bridge at Split Rock in the Town of Essex.

50 YEARS AGO -- 1958

Clinton County may be able to build a new jail for roughly twice the $210,000 limit now being imposed by the Board of Supervisors. The county may be able to build a jail costing roughly $450,000 without adding more than a few thousand dollars to future annual budgets.

The Franklin County sheriff says he will consider any proposal to house Clinton County prisoners in his jail rather than send them to Onondaga County. However, the decision is up to the Franklin County Board of Supervisors.

Fire believed to have started by a furnace explosion destroys the W.W. Finnney and Sons feed and machinery store on Riley Avenue. Damage to the building and its contents was estimated at close to $100,000. Insurance reportedly covers most of the loss.

No immediate attempts will be made to remove Altona Town records from a fire-damage safe. Altona Supervisor Walter Averill says the Town Board and Town Clerk Cecil Gero think the records are unharmed and safe inside the heavy vault.

75 YEARS AGO -- 1933

Immigration Patrol Inspectors John J. Healey and Henry A. Dube are indicted for second-degree assault by a Franklin County grand jury. The two are charged with assaulting Herman Keefe of Malone April 18.

It cost the County of Clinton $11,129.18 to keep highways clear of snow this winter. The state kicked in about $8,700 above that.

The Jews of Malone are anxious to acquire the old Weed Library building for a synagogue. The building is owned by the School District and was vacated when the new library was completed.

According to new regulations, all persons handling food products for public consumption in Lake Placid must have a health certificate issued by a physician in that village.