The Peru Gazette

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The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports 

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports 

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports 

The Post Star reports 

The Press Republican reports 

The Times Union reports 

By John T. Ryan

Infrastructure spending is often mentioned as necessary for our nation’s future well-being. The Town of Peru will complete a major improvement to its infrastructure this week when the new 3,000 foot long River Road water line is connected to the Main Street line. When the connection is made Peru will have modern, twelve inch pipes delivering water from the Reservoir Rd. filtration plant to the Cross Street water tower. Water Superintendent Greg Timmons says the new lines are very important.  He commented, “The line will bring more water to the hamlet as the community grows. It will also mean less overtime, because we’ll have fewer line breaks. Also, the cost of cast iron pipe is always increasing. The longer we wait, the higher the cost will be.”

Ed Garrow and Sons Construction of Plattsburgh was awarded a $307,390 contract in October of 2010 to perform the River Rd. work. Timmons said the water line being replaced was installed in 1926.  New lines were installed along Elm Street in the mid- 1970’s with other portions of the line being installed in 2000, 2003 and 2008.

The Town Board continues to allocate monies to infrastructure improvements.  This week they authorized advertising of bids for the installation of new water lines on McDonald Place and new sewer lines on Locust Drive and the North Bend Street Extension.

The Times Union reports 

By Donald McBrayer

Democrats Brandy McDonald & Kregg Bruno won both the Conservative & Independence lines in Peru’s September 13th primary elections. Republican Candidate Geoffrey Spear was on the Conservative ballot, but came up short in a write-in campaign. There were no Independence Party names on the ballot making that primary an all write-in campaign.

The unofficial breakdown is as follows:
Conservative – 3 total voters with 6 total votes –  3 for McDonald, 3 for Bruno, and 0 for Spear.
Independence – 16 total voters with 25 total votes – 11 for McDonald, 11 for Bruno, and 3 for Spear
Each voter could vote for two, however, some voted for only one. Winners are the top two vote-getters for both parties.

Final tallies and absentee ballots will be available from the Board of Elections in coming days.
The Board of Elections can be found at: http://www.clintoncountygov.com/Departments/BoardOfElections/BOEHomePage.html

James Downs receives congratulations from Supervisor Peter Glushko

By John T. Ryan

The Peru Town Board recognized Boy Scout James Downs at its September 12, 2011 meeting. Town Supervisor Peter Glushko thanked Downs for completing his Eagle Scout project in which he constructed attractive flower boxes, filled them with beautiful flowers and attached them to the four welcome signs entering Peru.  Downs addressed the Town Board thanking the Board for giving him the opportunity to do his project. Downs is the son of John and Robin Downs of Peru and is a member of Peru Troop 149.  Downs’ parents and Scout Master Thomas Gwinn were present to witness the occasion.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports 

The adirondack almanac reports 

By John T. Ryan

Town Highway Superintendent Michael Farrell told town counselors at last night’s town board meeting that road repairs following Hurricane Irene flooding will cost the town about $300,000.  Farrell hopes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse the town for at least part of those expenses, but FEMA still has to assess Peru’s damages.  The roads requiring extensive repairs include the Reservoir Road, the Patent Road, The Mud Pond Road and the McGarr Road.  Two culvert replacements on the Patent Road were very expensive.

The Board approved the seeking of bids for three water and sewer projects.  A new water line will be installed on McDonald Place and sewer lines will be replaced on Locust Drive and the North Bend Street Extension.  Bid opening will take place at 10 a.m. on September 23, 2011 and work will begin on October 4, 2011.

The Town Board recognized Eagle Scout candidate James Downs for his Eagle Scout project. Downs constructed attractive flower boxes, filled them with flowers and attached them to the four signs on Route 22, Route 22B and the Bear Swamp Road. Downs thanked the Board for giving him the opportunity to do his project.

Elmore SPCA representatives Carol Solari-Rusco and Laurie Parsons brought the Board up to date on the organization’s mission, accomplishments and goals.  The SPCA plans to relocate from the Arthur Road to its former Telegraph Street building during October.  Phase I renovations are underway at this time.  Phase II will begin after the shelter is operating smoothly on Telegraph Street. Ultimately the SPCA needs more space, especially for the larger dogs.

Several towns, including the Town of Peru, contract with Elmore SPCA for its animal rescue services. However, the town contracts only cover about 25% of SPCA expenses.  Other revenue comes from fund-raising, donations, adoption fees and redemption fees.  It costs an average $200 to house each animal. The towns pay for the first ten days of care. Elmore pays for all the remaining days. Animals are housed for an average of 30 days. Staff, food and veterinarian charges are the shelter’s primary expenses.  All animals are neutered and receive rabies shots before adoption.

In other actions the Board:

• Adopted a Records Management Plan and Guidebook.  They were part of the town’s recently completed records management project.
• Reviewed two thank you letters from town residents for the excellent work done by the Highway department and the Water and Sewer Department following Hurricane Irene.
• Conducted an Executive Session to discuss the work history of a town employee.
• Set dates for developing and approving the 2012 town budget. A tentative budget will be ready for September 30. Budget workshops will be held on October 5 (Water and Sewer); October 12 (Highway); October 17 (General); October 19 (Salaries and Benefits); October 26 (an additional meeting if needed). A public hearing must be held by November 3^rd. The Board plans to adopt the budget on November 14.
• Approved renaming the Taylor Rd. in the Quaker Springs subdivision to Denali Drive.  This road no longer connects to the Taylor Rd.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

The North Country Regional Economic Development Council met today and conducted its third meeting, which was open to the public.   The meeting at SUNY Potsdam was attended by Lt. Governor Robert Duffy and led by North Country Regional Economic Development Council co-chairs Garry Douglas, President of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, and Anthony Collins, President of Clarkson University.

During today’s session, the Council presented and adopted its vision statement, which is intended to guide the council’s long-term strategic planning process moving forward. The vision statement can be found on the North Country Regional Economic Development Council’s website at www.northcountryopenforbusiness.com and is as follows:  “The North Country will lead the Economic Renaissance of New York State’s Small Cities and Rural Communities by: Read more »

2010 Walk of Faith on Pleasant Street

The Catholic community of St. Augustine’s and St. Patrick’s and the Peru Community Church are sponsoring the 5th Annual Walk of Faith on Sunday, October 9th.  The entire 2.7 mile walk takes place within the Peru hamlet.  Proceeds will benefit the North Country Mission of Hope and the Peru Community Church’s Jamaica Project. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. followed by an opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine immediately behind the St. Augustine’s Rectory.  After the walk, participants will gather in the St. Augustine’s Parish Center for a closing ceremony and refreshments.  Everyone is invited to participate.

The Town of Peru Planning Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, 2011 has been cancelled.

Lake George Mirror reports 

By John T. Ryan

Usually a Peru Gazette story includes a picture of the person or persons featured in our story. This story is a little different because by the time this reporter arrived on the scene the task at hand was complete. Instead, several bags of trash and a long metal object were neatly placed adjacent to the entrance gate of the New York State D.O.T. storage area on  the Bear Swamp Road. While most Peru residents were still sound asleep last Saturday morning members of the Peru Lions Club were picking up roadside trash for 4.5 miles along the Bear Swamp Road between Route 22 and Route 9 including the entrance and exit ramps of the Adirondack Northway. Some Lions arrived at about 6:30 a.m., others at 7 a.m. The job was finished about 8 a.m.

Larry Ewald Sr. has led this Peru Lions Club activity since the beginning. Ewald commented, “Duane Waterman, one of our members, brought the idea back from Texas. I know we were one of the first groups in this area to take part in the Adopt a Highway Program. It’s been at least twenty-five years.”   Ewald said about ten to twelve members usually participate each month from April or May through November.  Each person is assigned about one-half mile segment of highway. Ewald said, “We can usually complete the job in about an hour, except when we do our first pick-up in the springtime. That usually takes at least two hours.”  Very few Lions Club activities are all work and no play. The Lions usually meet at McDonald’s for coffee when their work is complete.

Ewald says they pick up all manner of trash. Some items you’d expect such as cigarette packages, paper cups and bags, cans and bottles.  Used baby diapers aren’t unusual. Sometimes it’s bigger items such as car and truck tires.  Occasionally, money is found. This past weekend five one-dollar bills were blowing in the breeze. Another time it was tens and twenties totaling $100.  Ewald said, “We donated that money to a good cause in Peru.” Let’s hope the $5 they found Saturday went to pay for the coffee at McDonald’s!

The Watertown Daily Times reports           See the hometown newspaper report on the death of one of these American heroes

The Post Star reports 

The Watertown Daily Times reports

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports 

The Press Republican reports 

AGENDA TOWN BOARD REGULAR MEETING, September 12, 2011, 7:00 PM Read more »