Placid May Ban Phish Shows November 3, 1996 - Plattsburgh Press-Republican By Lisa Forrest School opposes more shows LAKE PLACID - The Lake Placid Board of Education does not want Phish to play here anymore. The internationally popular Burlington Vt-based band attracted an estimated 9,000 people to town last week when it launched a national tour at the Olympic Arena. But amid reports of blatant drug use, the School Board passed a resolution this week asking its next-door neighbor -- the Olympic Regional Development Authority -- to no longer host the band. Board President Cathy Johnston said Thursday she believes a Phish concert is "inappropriate as a community event. Bringing in such a crowd, knowing they're doing drugs, is like condoning it. The board agreed it's not a good role model". High School Principal Robert Shiller contacted ORDA before the concert objecting to staging the event on a school night. But it was too late by then for ORDA to cancel. School Superintendent Gerald Blair said concert fans brought a disruptive influence to his students. "A Wednesday concert is a distraction to us because it pumps our kids up. The people are arriving, and that's kind of a show itself", he said. "We're trying to teach physics and here's a van full of people from Hackensack. If it had been a Friday or Saturday concert, it probably would have been different." During a fire drill the day after the concert, a chemistry teacher found a syringe on the ground, Blair said. His High School is a "drug free zone. We're not claiming to be Goody Twoshoes here, but added problems are not what we're looking for. "I've been Superintendent since 1980, and there's never been an affair where drug and alcohol use was so blatant. I think we need to talk as a school and community". Representatives of the school, ORDA, the village, town and Visitor's Bureau are expected to meet Nov. 7 at the Town Hall and part of the agenda will include whether or not to invite Phish to return to Lake Placid. ORDA will also discuss the matter with its Board of Directors at a meeting in late November. David Werlin of Northeast Productions -- the concert's sponsor -- said he was disturbed by reports of blatant drug use. He said no one from ORDA has contacted him, but "I'd be willing to attend the community meeting in November if they ask me to". Phish likes to perform in Lake Placid, he said, nd he hopes he band isn't penalized for the behavior of a few people. "As the band becomes more mainstream, it unfortunately is beginning to attract an element not as sophisticated as it should be. The vast majority of fans are well behaved. I would hate to see things ruined because of a few bad apples." Phish staged a successful two-day concert here last December without incident or objections from the school. But that was a two-day, weekend event and was not sold out. Crowds of fans did not roam the village as they did last week. ORDA Chief Executive Officer Ted Blazer said Olympic Arena employees and a group called the Green Team worked until 7 a.m. last Thursday and returned at 10 a.m. to pick up litter left after last week's concert. But despite organizers' efforts, debris around the school has fueled objections to Phish. article © 1996, Press-Republican.