The Peru Gazette

Homemade Ground Beef Meatloaf with Ketchup and Spices
** Note: Shallow depth of field

Meatloaf 

Potatoes

Vegetable 

Bread 

Dessert

Served 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., take-out only, at St. Augustine’s Parish Center, 3030 Main St., Peru, NY 12972 

All are invited and welcome!

Steven “Steve” Bacon – US Air Force 1972-1999 Vietnam, Cold War

One year out of high school, and after numerous jobs, Steve was looking for career stability.  He would enter the Burlington recruiter’s office, seeking a unique experience away from being a farm kid from Vermont.  The Army recruiter wasn’t there that day, so Steve would join the Air Force after talking to their recruiter.  This would take him to Lackland AFB for basic training, followed by Castle AFB for 5 months of training as a Boom Operator.

After AIT, Steven would have a brief assignment at Westover AFB for 4 months before receiving a 3-year assignment at Plattsburgh AFB.  Having an excellent and encouraging mentor, Steve would go back to California as an instructor.

Steve’s 27 years of military service would lead him to a position as Aircraft Standardization and Flight Examiner, and In-flight Refueling Chief Enlisted Manager.  His specialty would take him through a year of foreign service, an assignment to Offutt AFB, the Northeast SAC Headquarters, for their active status out of war plans, an 11-year return to Plattsburgh AFB, four years at Fairchild AFB, then finalizing his career at McGuire AFB.

His service would provide him with an abundance of training, strong mentors promoting and inspiring his service, a long list of commendations, as well as many close friends.  He is most grateful to his wife, Lynn, for her commitment and dedication.  His service is a partnership rooted in her support of 52 years.

Donald “Don” Berkman – US Army 1968-1970 Vietnam

Don would be drafted into the US Army at age 19, leaving behind a job at Alcoa.  A number of his friends would be called into service with him.  He would report to basic training at Fort Dix, then receive 6-months AIT training at Fort Belvoir for an MOS as a Power Generator Equipment Operator.

After AIT, Don would receive his orders for Vietnam.  He would arrive at Cam Ranh Bay by Chinook.  On a deuce ½ Army truck with a big tent, that is where he would stay.

As his first task, Don would be given two small generators and told to wire them. Within 3 to 4 months, he had moved up to above-ground wiring of 15 KW to 50 KW generators. While on guard duty, he would be needed as generator power would shut down.  After that, he would not be assigned guard duty, but would be on call for 24 hours.

On only one occasion, Don would get the assignment of “Poop Duty.”  This duty involved the removal of poop-filled drums from the makeshift outhouse, stirring in diesel fuel, and setting them on fire. This was not a duty that anyone wanted to be assigned.

At Phu Bai, within 3 miles of the DMZ, Don would run for generator fuel.  Held in tent posts, these fuel posts would continually move so they could avoid being bombed.

Don values his military experience, and sees the importance of service to this country by its citizens.  He is making this trip today with his son-in-law, Jeff, a Marine Corps veteran.

Gary Breyette – US Navy 1971-1975 Vietnam

Gary’s father and brothers all served in various branches of the military. Receiving a low draft number, Gary enlists in the Navy.  This choice allowed him to see the world from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

He would head out to basic training and AIT at Great Lakes Naval Base, spending 13 weeks in AIT as an Operational Specialist. With a home base in Mayport, Gary’s first two years would be assigned to the destroyer USS Lawe DD-763.  While aboard the ship, they would provide gunfire and aircraft support off the coast of Vietnam.

Gary would also serve aboard the ammunition ship USS Suribachi.  Here too he would find his ship off the coast of Vietnam providing arms and refueling to the combat units.  He would travel to world ports, including Taiwan, Subic Bay in the Philippines, and Japan.  While on leave in Taiwan, he would become lost, and his cab driver didn’t know where his ship was.  Gary would finally return late to the ship.  Glad to be back and facing disciplinary action, he was not quite as amused as his deck mates, who found great humor in his late return.

During his service, Gary missed the privacy of civilian life, but had tremendous appreciation for the mail call letters he received from home.

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Michael “Mike” Ashline – US Air Force 1972-1988 Vietnam Era

After signing up for the Air Force, Michael, together with his friend Tom, would arrive in San Antonio for basic training.  Parting ways after basic, Michael would head to Lowry AFB to receive training as a Material Inventory Management Specialist. While completing his technical training, Michael would get married. 

Newly married, his first assignment would send him for 4 years to North Truro AFB, which he describes as a small base in the middle of nowhere.  From there he would spend his next 7 years at Loring AFB, with a new specialty assignment as Open Mess Management Supervisor.  Michael would exit the military at the end of his time at Loring AFB.  Deciding to re-enlist he would spend 5 cold years at Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota.  

Moving from the cold, Michael would head south, joining the Texas Air National Guard at Fort Bliss as a Security Specialist.  Here, in his final 3 years he would get to set up foxholes, conduct Air Guard desert training, and taught Claymore mine classes.  

Edmund “Ed” Baker

US Army 1966-1968 Vietnam

Ed’s life would find direction from his guardian uncles after the passing of his parents at the age of six.  Although his Dad served in the Navy, his uncles were Army men, serving in WWII and Korea.  He would follow their path into the US Army.

Ed completed Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He achieved Expert with M-14 rifle and was Pugil stick champion of his company.  In AIT, he competed in Boxing. With an 11Bravo MOS, Infantryman, he received his orders for combat operations in Vietnam with the 1st Division.

He remembers many close calls, but two stand out. The most vivid was an ambush. He was riding in the open rear of a deuce and a half truck. The driver was hit, and the truck stopped and began backing down a hill. Lying flat, face up, he saw tracers zip right by his nose and heard the clink of metal all around him. When the enemy stopped to reload, he jumped off the truck, returning fire. The men with him, new recruits, started firing back and the enemy disengaged.

Another time, when pulling point, Ed’s squad was radioed back to check their weapons.  When he test fired his M16, it fired one round and jammed. The company that went out instead of his was hit hard and took many casualties.

During the TET offensive of 1968 he remembers frequently sitting in bunkers listening to exploding mortars and rockets. With less than a month left in Vietnam, he wondered who among his fellow soldiers would make it home.

Ed finished his enlistment at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, NY. There he was met with anti-war demonstrations. On a visit to Plattsburgh, he was greeted with a slap in the face from a girl he knew. In contrast, his service was recognized when he was honored by the Massapequa VFW. They asked him to carry the colors in a 4th of July parade. This exemplified how divided Americans felt about the war in 1968.

Gerald “Jerry” Bates – US Army 1954-1956 Cold War

Volunteering for the US Army, Gerald would report to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, followed by Fort Bliss for AIT.  Preparing for a rigid inspection by the Top Sergeant, Gerald would find that he had run out of Army shorts.  The PX didn’t have any, so he would resort to drawing on what he hoped would have the appearance of snaps, which of course didn’t work. He would be sent out for sign painting duty.

Expecting to be shipped overseas after training, the Army would instead send him to New Jersey to be part of the crew to close down the base.  While there, they would be called to give blood to a crew hit by an artillery round.

Assigned to Frankfurt, Germany, Gerald’s crew would be the first common crew of enlisted to be airlifted to this destination. As part of the 4th infantry division, Gerald was assigned to drive recon by the Captain.  Gerald would ask “What if I don’t want this assignment.”  The Captain told him “they could find something else for him.” Gerald thought it was best to do as the Captain asked, knowing a new assignment would not be to his liking.

While on a joint military exercise in the mountains, his platoon sergeant witnessed aggressors looking to withdraw. His vehicle would not start.  He had to stay alone until they could arrange to get him down the mountain. He had a machine gun, and they told him to fire off rounds if he had a problem.  It would be an interesting journey being towed down the mountain, snapping the rope twice, running on narrow roads between 30 to 40 miles per hour.

While in East Germany, Gerald witnessed a tangible resentment by the East Germans and their struggle to be occupied by Russia. Click “Read More” to continue. 

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The Carpenter Flats Bridge on Route 9 will be formally renamed in his honor

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Peru Dock, U.S. Route 9 – May 17, 2025 –  At 6:30 this morning, the weather was perfect for fishing on Lake Champlain. This gentleman, accompanied by his son, drove six 6-hours from Long Island to fish in Lake Champlain. The dad is a 1998 Environmental Science, SUNY Plattsburgh grad who appreciates all the North County offers, especially its great fishing. They’ll be camping and fishing here all weekend and visit one of the dad’s SUNY Plattsburgh classmates.  The Gazette hopes they have a wonderful time.

Note: Your reporter recorded both their names; unfortunately, my recorder did not activate.

Following years of planning and fundraising, Waterfront Park readies to open

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

The Babbie Rural & Farm Learning Museum is thrilled to announce the unveiling of its new museum sign. Peru School students, along with their teacher, designed and painted the new sign. The sign will be revealed during a special 10:00 AM ceremony on the museum’s opening day, Saturday, May 17th.

To celebrate this special occasion, the museum invites the public to its 250 River Road, Peru location, to join the unveiling ceremony. Complimentary cider and donuts will be served from 10 – 11 AM.

For further information, please contact Lee Ledesma, Museum Director, at (518) 643-8052.

Peru Gazette 2024 tour photo

Join Town of Peru Historian Helen Nerska with Bob McGee and Christina Irwin Mullen for a history walk through downtown Peru from Main Street to Pleasant Street to Elm Street and concluding at the Heyworth/Mason Park. Share your stories of Old Peru and hear new ones.

Should weather be a concern, call Helen at 513-582-7246 or Chris at 518-335-3639.

Assemblyman Jones News Release

The State Budget passed last night that included several victories for economic development, older adults, recreation, agriculture, veterans, education, and local governments. This includes $1.7 million increase in library aid, $21.4 million for teacher resource centers, a $1.4 billion increase to foundation aid for local school districts, $2.5 billion in capital funding and an additional $8 million in operational funding for SUNY campuses, $8 billion to eliminate the state’s unemployment insurance debt, $90 million for workforce development, $500 million for financially distressed hospitals, $30 million in additional funding for nursing home rates, $55 million for Nourish NY, $58 million for the Hunger Nutrition Assistance Program, $400 million in additional funding for child care subsidy enrollment, and an additional $100 million for CHIPS funding to improve local roads and highways.

            Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) is relieved that the budget includes funding to cover the state’s unemployment insurance debt. “It is about time that New York State addressed the unemployment insurance debt instead of making businesses across the state pay higher premiums,” Jones said. “It is great news that this relief was included in this year’s budget so that businesses can have relief from these unemployment bills. I have been pushing for the payoff of the unemployment insurance debt along with the North Country Chamber of Commerce, Business Council, and NFIB, because I know it will help businesses in the North Country and across the state deal with mandated higher cost and give them some relief to help with their bottom line. This is a major victory for our business community.

Additionally, the state budget includes tax cuts and inflation checks for working New Yorkers, and an expansion of the STAR property tax program. The state budget also allocated funding for the New York Opportunity Promise Scholarship program for free tuition to community colleges for degrees in manufacturing, cybersecurity, and nursing, and the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Veterans Support Program, and free school meals for all.

Jones pushed for $3.5 million for the local tourism matching grants program in the budget, as well as $500 million for water infrastructure projects and $25 million for the volunteer fire department capital grant program. As chair of the Local Governments committee, Jones fought to include $758 in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) funding, including an additional $50 million for temporary relief. To further support North Country residents, Jones also secured.

• $251,000 for the Maple Producers’ Association;
• $300,000 for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program;
• $200,000 for the Older Adult Technology Services that operates Senior Planet;
• $100,000 for Enlisted for Life veterans program;
• $225,000 for NAmTrans;
• $500,000 for Visitor Interpretive Centers at Paul Smith’s College and SUNY ESF;
• $250,000 for the Adirondack Mountain Club visitor center;
• $100,00 for the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA)

“While it was a frustrating process to get the final state budget passed, I am proud to have secured funding for important programs in the North Country,” said Jones. “Between funding for road infrastructure, childcare, water infrastructure, education, and economic development, this budget will be beneficial to the district in many ways.”

There were aspects of the budget that Jones did not support, including the closure of up to three correctional facilities this fiscal year. “I voted no for prison closures because that is not the solution to the problems with safety and staffing at our correctional facilities,” said Jones. “Overall, I was very disappointed that there was absolutely nothing included in the state budget to increase safety and staffing at correctional facilities. This is no way to support the hardworking men and woman who continue to work at these facilities and leaves them feeling abandoned by the state.”

Enacted SFY 2025-26 Budget Includes $37.6 Billion in School Aid

Enacted Budget Includes $1.4 Billion Increase in Foundation Aid and Changes to the Foundation Aid Formula

Speaker Carl Heastie, Education Committee Chair Michael Benedetto and Libraries and Educational Technology Chair Robert Caroll today announced the Enacted State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26 Budget provides $37.6 billion in funding to the General Support for Public Schools (GSPS), a $1.7 billion increase from the 2024-25 school year (SY).

“This enacted budget highlights the Assembly Majority’s commitment to providing our students all the resources they need to thrive in and out of the classroom,” said Speaker Heastie. “By securing additional funding and new policies to make our students and educators lives easier, we’re providing our schools the ability to foster a supportive and complete educational environment.”

“As a former educator, I understand the tools our teachers need to create a space for all children to grow,” said Assemblymember Benedetto. “By expanding coverage to universal school meals and restricting cell phone usage within the classroom, we’re providing our educators the resources they need to focus students on learning rather than external factors.”

“Libraries are among our most vital and democratic civic institutions and as Chair of the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I am especially proud of the critical funding we are providing for libraries in this budget,” said Assemblymember Carroll. “At a time when the federal government is cutting funds for libraries and cultural organizations, this support is all the more necessary so libraries can fulfill their mission as centers of learning and community engagement.”

The enacted budget includes $26.4 billion in funding for Foundation Aid, a $1.4 billion increase over SY 2024-25. There will also be changes to the Foundation Aid formula by:

• Increasing the English Language Learner factor increases from 0.5 to 0.53;
• Updating the Westchester Regional Cost from 1.314 to 1.351;
• Further changes to improve the State Sharing Ratio (SSR);
• Changing from the 2000 Census Poverty Data to Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data;
• Changing from Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) data to Economically Disadvantaged Data; and
• Providing a 2 percent minimum increase.

The enacted budget also includes:

• $59 million to expand Special Services Aid to include ninth grade students, and a commitment to increase the BOCES reimbursable teacher salary cap over the next four years;
• $21.4 million restoration for Teacher Resource and Computer Training Centers;
• $1.5 million additional funding for Schools for the Blind and Deaf, a total of $115 million, and a restoration of $4.4 million in funds for individual schools;
• $4 million in restored funding for nonpublic schools;
• $1.5 million restoration for the Consortium for Workers Education (CWE), for a total of $13 million; and
• $1 million restoration for Adult Career and Continuing Education Services (ACCES).

Universal School Lunch

The enacted budget also provides $340 million for expanded universal school meals, a $120 million expansion to ensure all children can thrive within the classroom without worrying where their next meal will come from.

Restricting Cell Phone Usage in School

The enacted budget includes a “bell to bell” restriction of smartphones or other internet-enabled personal devices in K-12 schools across the state. This total restriction ensures schools are distraction-free zones where students can focus on learning and socializing with their classmates during class, lunch and study periods.

To aid schools in developing their own plans, the enacted budget secured $13.5 million to support the purchase of storage devices.

My Brother’s Keeper

Since 2016, New York has secured almost $200 million for the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to provide professional, developmental and educational opportunities that seek to address issues related to restorative justice and racial disparities in education. The enacted budget provides $28 million to the program.

Libraries and Cultural Education

The enacted budget also makes critical investments in our libraries, increasing Library Operating Aid by $1.7 million for a total of $106 million. Additional investments include:

• $10 million in additional Library Capital, for a total of $44 million;
• $1.2 million restoration for Summer School for the Arts;
• $125,000 restoration for Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, for a total of $500,000;
• $110,000 restoration and increase for the Langston Hughes Community Library, for a total of $222,500; and
• $100,000 for the Brooklyn Public Library Center for Brooklyn History.

Interfaith provided 11 to 12 tons of food monthly last year, their 60th

Click here for the Sun Community News Story 

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Click here for the Mountain Lake Story 

Click here for the Mountain Lake Story