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Although the movie “Lake Placid” bears the Olympic village’s name, it actually has nothing to do with Lake Placid at all. However, that is not stopping Lake Placid residents from wanting to see Hollywood’s latest creation.

The youth of Lake Placid have spoken, and many of the people interviewed by the News said that the movie looked cheesy and stupid, but many also said they will still go see it. The movie opens at 7 p.m. Friday, July 16 at the Palace Theatre.

The movie, being released by 20th Century Fox, features a giant alligator creature that attacks people in a Jaws-type fashion. The creature is described as an eating machine that has an appetite for humans. It supposedly lives in a tranquil lake in Maine.

“It looks like a carbon copy of every movie trying to be a horror movie,” said Mike Heller, a 17-year-old from Lake Placid.

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Ironman on horizon

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The history of triathlon and a great part of its fame depends on what Hawaii Ironman heroes were capable of doing mile after mile on the Kona lava fields.

Since the first event in 1978, many things have changed; now there are various distances and championships. World and European cups have been organized, and competitors are all waiting for the triathlon Olympic debut in Sidney, Australia in 2000.

Navy Cmdr. John Collins is credited with inventing the Ironman triathlon, a triple-endurance event he framed around three existing long-distance races: the Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles); the Around-Oahu Bike Race (112 miles), originally a two-day event; and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles).

Fifteen men participated in the first Ironman competition, held on Feb. 18, 1978, and 12 managed to complete the race.

The year 1999 will mark the latest significant development in the history of the Ironman, as the competition comes to mainland United States for the first time in Lake Placid on Aug. 15.

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New supermarket?

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While many unanswered questions remain, one thing is for certain: With two corporations definitely interested, Lake Placid may soon be home to a new large-chain grocery store.

Currently, Price Chopper and Hannaford supermarkets are investigating the possibility of locating a store just outside the Lake Placid village limits.

Grand Union, in Cold Brook Plaza, is currently the only large grocery store in Lake Placid.

At this time, there are two desirable sites to locate a large grocery store, and both properties, located across the road from one another, are competing to attract one of the grocery chains.

One site, on the north side of state Route 86 in North Elba, is owned by Vern Lamb Jr., and the other parcel, on the south side of the road, at the present site of Holly Hill Motel, is owned by developer Joseph Barile.

(In 2001, Price Chopper opened in Barile’s Placid Outpost retail development, and Grand Union became Tops Friendly Markets, which closed in 2005. Hannaford opened a store in the Tops’ Cold Brook Plaza space in 2011.)