The Peru Gazette

Peru Gazette File Photo

By John T. Ryan

Highway safety was the primary topic at the Monday, March 9, 2015 Peru Town Board meeting. The board appears to be determined to do its best to curtail accidents at the Brand Hollow Road – Military Turnpike Extension intersection. The board will request that the Clinton County Highway Department conduct a traffic study at the intersection and recommend a course of action. The board discussed installing improved signage, flashing lights or a traffic light. Some improvements are already underway at the town’s request. NYSEG is installing improved streetlights in close proximity to the intersection. More complex lighting would be expensive for the town. Installing flashing lights would cost at least $30,000 while a traffic signal would cost more than $130,000. The board’s actions follow a serious January 31^st accident and several previous accidents. A four-way stop was introduced a few years ago; nevertheless, many motorists continue to ignore the stop signs.

Superintendent Farrell spoke to the New York State Department of Transportation regarding safety concerns expressed by Peru resident Michael Blaine about the Main Street- Maiden Lane intersection. Route 22 is a state highway; therefore any changes would have to be approved by New York State. The State Police have stated that any vehicle proceeding west on Route 22 past Stewart’s should signal left prior to proceeding on to Maiden Lane. Motorists unfamiliar with the confusing intersection are undoubtedly at greatest risk.

The next phase of the Safe Routes to School Program should proceed in the near future. Bids were solicited for the second time and came in at $143,729, much less than the last time bids were sought. The project, which is totally funded by the Safe Routes to Schools Program, will proceed as soon as NYS Department of Transportation approval is received. A pedestrian activated electronic crossing signal from Lafleur Lane to the school campus is one of the project’s major improvements.

Increased school bus traffic on McIntosh Drive resulted in a complaint being made to Supervisor Peter Glushko. Approximately nine buses are traveling to the Peru Central campus via McIntosh Drive, a significant increase over past practice. Holden Avenue is wider and is the most direct route to the school entrance. Counselor Brandy McDonald said the buses are trying to avoid Holden Avenue’s dips and heaves. Supervisor Glushko will be calling School Superintendent Grimstein to discuss the situation. Highway Superintendent Farrell agreed that the street needs to be improved. He would like to repave Holden Avenue, narrow the street and install an asphalt sidewalk. Cement sidewalks have become almost prohibitively expensive.

Town Historian Ron Allen informed the board that the Mason family is donating a painting to the town. It depicts the Little Ausable River Falls and adjacent buildings as seen from Heyworth Mason Park. Phil Mason Jr. said the painting had hung in his father’s office for many years. The artist was Harold Lapham (1878-1919) who worked at the A. Mason and Sons lumber mill. The painting is being restored at this time, but it should arrive in a few weeks. The board plans to hang the painting in the town hall’s main meeting area.

The painting is being restored at this time.

The Board approved Local Law #1 of 2015, otherwise known as the Revised Dog Control Law. No one testified on the proposed changes at the public hearing that preceded the board meeting. LOCAL LAW #1 OF 2015 DOG CONTROL

Councilman Brandy McDonald encouraged Peru residents to attend the Oil Train Task Force’s monthly meetings. Rail shipments through this region have doubled raising public concern. Counselor McDonald is working on Wednesday and unable to attend the meetings.

In other actions or news the board:

• Designated the law firm of O’Connell and Abramowitz as the town’s Zoning and Planning Board legal counsel, replacing the law firm Stafford, Piller, Murnane, Plimpton, Kelleher and Trombley. O’Connell and Abramowitz is also the legal counsel to the Town Board.
• Discussed an insurance claim by Champlain Boat Works which occupies space underneath Dana’s Rusty Anchor Restaurant at 4016 Route 9. A control fuse in the town’s sewer system blew on a Friday evening last summer resulting in a sewage backup and damage at Champlain Boat Works. Sewer Superintendent Greg Timmons said the town’s insurance carrier would not cover the damage. The board left the matter for the town’s insurance company to resolve with the property owner’s insurance company.
• Approved the 2015 fuel agreement with the Peru Central School.
• Scheduled interviews with the five parties submitting applications to become the town’s new IT maintenance provider.
• Received a ‘Thank-you” letter from Life Flight for the town’s longtime support of the Life Flight Air Ambulance program. This year the town donated $750 to the program.
• Received a letter from William O. Morgan requesting reimbursement for replacement of a mailbox which he said was damaged by a highway department plow. Supervisor Glushko will respond to Mr. Morgan outlining the board’s mailbox policy; the town will pay for repair or replacement of a damaged mailbox, but only if the property owner can prove that the mailbox was installed in conformance with U.S. Postal regulations. The highway superintendent should be called to inspect the situation prior to performing repairs or erecting a new mailbox.

Counselor Bruno was not present at the meeting.

Saturday, March 14, 2015 

3 to 6 PM at St. Augustine’s Parish Center 

Corned beef, cabbage, ham and all the trimmings. $9.00 adults, $4.00 child 4-12, 3 and under Free. Traditional Irish music, songs and dance. Sponsored by the Catholic Daughters of the America’s. 

4th Sunday Breakfast,  Peru Memorial VFW
710 Pleasant St, Rte 22B
Peru, NY 12972
March 22, 2015 @ 9:00 a.m. – Noon
Bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits & sausage gravy, corned beef hash, pancakes with “real” maple syrup, juice and coffee.
ONLY $8.00
Proceeds to benefit Veterans and their families.

Medaille College in Buffalo has named Steffany Farrell of Peru to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2014 semester.
Students who take a minimum of 12 credit hours and who earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for all credit hours carried during that semester are placed on the Dean’s List.

With campuses in Buffalo, Rochester, and Online, Medaille College (www.medaille.edu) is a dynamic, private college committed to serving the higher education needs of western New York. Medaille is known for its flexible delivery systems, offering master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees through day, evening, weekend, and online programs.

The Clinton County Health Department and the Action for Health Consortium are working to increase healthy opportunities for Clinton County residents. We’d like to better understand what people want and need for the local trails in Clinton County. We ask you to take our 5-minute survey (see link below). Answers will help us carry out the Community Health Improvement Plan and our work towards a healthier Clinton County.

To take survey visit: surveymonkey.com/r/gotrails

From the Office of Assemblywoman Janet Duprey

Assemblywoman Janet L. Duprey (R,I – Peru) joined Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,C – Canandaigua) at a press conference yesterday to present a 17-point reform package that would bring openness and accountability back to state government. The 17 rules reform proposals include measures such as term limits for legislative leaders, committee chairpersons, and the Speaker of the Assembly.

“These common-sense proposals are exactly what the Assembly needs to rebuild the public’s trust in state government,” said Duprey. “There is a great urgency for greater transparency, openness, and accountability in the Assembly. I hope my colleagues across the aisle will commit to joining us in enacting these necessary reforms immediately. It’s our job as elected officials to best represent the needs of the people; we must give the public a reason to trust state government again.”

Duprey has long supported ethics reform and has repeatedly co-sponsored legislation that would require convicted public officials to forfeit their state taxpayer-funded pensions, impose term limits on legislative leadership positions and committee chairs, and create harsher penalties for those who violate the public’s trust.

One dead in Dannemora house fire – Press-Republican: Local News.

L-R Rob Wright, Supervisor Peter Glushko, Highway Superintendent Michael Farrell and Counselman Donald McBrayer traveled to Albany Wednesday, March 4th, to lobby for increased state highway aid or CHIPS monies.

Capitol Confidential » Lawmakers call for more local road funding in state budget.

Batavia ranks 4th and Plattsburgh, Ogdensburg and Massena tie for 8th place in Site Selection magazine’s rankings for Corporate Facility Investment

Empire State Development today congratulated communities in the Finger Lakes and the North Country regions receiving national recognition by Site Selection magazine, a corporate real estate and economic development publication, as Top Micropolitan Areas for Corporate Facility Investment in 2014. According to the magazine’s report, Batavia in the Finger Lakes ranked 4th and Plattsburgh, Ogdensburg and Massena in the North Country have tied for 8th place for the number of projects in the communities that have led to additional investment or job creation.

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Nominee Howard Zemsky said, “This is a great honor for Batavia, Plattsburgh, Massena and Ogdensburg, and for New York State as a whole. These communities were competing against several hundred micropolitans around the country Read more »

Plattsburgh, NY—March 3, 2015—The Plattsburgh Noon Kiwanis Club announces that it will award up to $10,000 in grants to Clinton County organizations submitting grant proposals by April 17, 2015. As the motto of Kiwanis International is “Serving the Children of the World,” priority will be given to requests for projects that serve children – neonatal to age 18.

Grant requests must be a minimum of $3,000. Organizations that are not eligible to submit a proposal for funding from this Special Community Service Fund include individuals requesting funding of personal projects as well as national organizations.   Requests for operating budget items, salaries, and administrative costs are also not fundable.

Grant requests must be received no later than April 17, 2015, and funding decisions will be made by May 4, 2015. All requests should be sent to: Chair, Special Community Service Fund, Plattsburgh Noon Kiwanis Club, PO Box 2064, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.   To obtain a copy of the “Special Community Service Fund Request Form,” or to ask questions, please contact: Kathy Snow at (518)-593-3042 or kathygarysnow@yahoo.com.

The Plattsburgh Noon Kiwanis Club was chartered in April, 1929. The club meets on Thursdays at 5:30 pm on the first Thursday of each month and all other Thursdays at 12:15 pm at Perkins Restaurant in the breakfast room between Perkins and the Comfort Inn.

Police: Jay man robbed bank, son drove escape car – Press-Republican: News.

Washington, DC – With consideration of funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) scheduled for later today, six Republican Members of the New York Congressional Delegation released the following statement:

“We will be voting in support today of legislation to fund DHS for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015. While we strongly disagree with the unilateral actions that President Obama has taken, we believe the courts – not cutting off funding for the entire Department – is the most effective way to stop his actions. We support the federal lower court decision that put an injunction on the executive actions taken by the President, and we believe it should be upheld. Furthermore, moving forward, we hope to work in a bipartisan way to reform our broken immigration system through legislative action.

“However, DHS is critical to our national security – Read more »

Because the snow is scheduled to start at about 6 pm. the Peru Knights of Columbus bingo scheduled for tonight (Tuesday, March 3rd) is cancelled.

Washington – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress:

“Today I was honored to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress.

“As our nation’s greatest ally in the region, hearing directly from the Prime Minister of Israel about the existential threat they face from a nuclear Iran was a powerful experience.

“A nuclear Iran is simply unacceptable, and our nation must work with our allies in the region to do everything to prevent this from happening.

“I thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for addressing my colleagues and I today, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to maintain our strong alliance.”

Most affordable small towns – Business Insider.

Glens Falls National Bank robbed in Plattsburgh – Press-Republican: News.

Peru – February 23, 2015

A comment made on the Peru Gazette website appears to have encouraged the Peru Town Board to do more than install a streetlight at the intersection of the Brand Hollow Road – Military Turnpike Extension. At the Monday, February 23^rd board meeting Town Supervisor Peter Glushko mentioned comments by Lisa Davis on the Peru Gazette website:

“My daughter, son-in-law, and my grandson were almost killed at that intersection on January 31, 2015. It was a beautiful sunny day with 100% visibility when they were t-boned on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. I will never forget the heart stopping phone call from my son-in-law moments after the accident. My daughter sustained severe injuries, my grandson and son-in-law thankfully had minor injuries and they all suffer with emotional and physical pain endured by this horrible accident that may have been prevented with a traffic light. I speak out to hopefully prevent someone else from dying at this dangerous intersection. God was with my family that day…”

At the Board’s February 9^th meeting, Highway Superintendent Michael Farrell informed the board about the accident and requested permission to install a streetlight to better illuminate the intersection. The board approved his request, but at tonight’s meeting Supervisor Glushko and other board members asked Farrell to look into installing either flashing red lights or a traffic signal at the intersection. Many people, including this reporter, have witnessed drivers simply “blowing though” the intersection’s four-way stop signs.

Reacting to a suggestion from Town Justice Lawrence Cabana, the board is proposing changes to the town’s Dog Control Law. Judge Cabana wrote to the board stating that the Dog Control Law’s misdemeanor penalties are unenforceable because the Clinton Country District Attorney’s office does not have the resources to prosecute misdemeanors related to town laws. The board responded by reducing the penalties to violations rather than misdemeanors and scheduled a public hearing for March 9^th at 6:30 p.m. A few changes in the Dog Law’s fee schedule are also being proposed.  PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #1 OF 2015 DOG CONTROL

Responding to a recent article in Denton Publications’ The Burg no highway department is permitted Read more »

AGENDA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, WEDNESDAY, March 18, 2015 @ 7:00 PM, TOWN OF PERU

APPLICATIONS:

1. SEQR & Use Variance: Alyson Curry –  Use Variance, 3085 Route 22, Z-2015-00  (Peru Gazette Note: A party desires to purchase the former log home sales office at 3085 Route 22 (adjacent to the Dollar Store). The property is zoned commercial, but the individual would like to use the building as a residence.) 

7. ANY FURTHER BUSINESS:
8. CEO REPORT:
9. ADJOURNMENT

AGENDA

PLANNING BOARD

WEDNESDAY, March 11, 2015 @ 7:00 PM

TOWN OF PERU

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL of January 14, 2015 minutes.
5. OPEN FLOOR to public hearing
6. APPLICATIONS: 

1. SEQR & Minor Subdivision & Merge: Champlain Valley Apple Storage Inc.

2 lot Subdivison & 2 lot Merge, 333 Route 22b, P-2015-001                                                                                    

7. ANY FURTHER BUSINESS:
8. CEO REPORT:
9. ADJOURNMENT

Oil train shipments expand under Cuomo | Capital New York.

By John T. Ryan

Many North Country residents know Reverend Kenneth Parker as the man who brings loveable miniature donkeys to our parades, nursing homes, hospitals and senior facilities. Members of a Methodist Church and a Presbyterian Church in Moriah know him as their minister. Others have known him as a Naval Reserve Chaplain, a Peru Central School board member or as a board member of a community service organization. Members of the Peru Community Church know Reverend Parker as the man who served as their pastor from 1970 to 2003.

It’s hard to believe that it was almost 45 years ago that Reverend Parker accompanied by his wife Helle and their three young children Scott, David and Kaari arrived in Peru. Ken Parker could have easily pursued another profession. His father, Norman A. Parker, was a successful funeral director in Little Falls, New Jersey. Ken recalled, “Funeral directors are #2, only behind farmers, in children following in their parent’s footsteps, but I grew up with a strong faith and I very much felt a call to ministry. I felt that’s where God wanted me to be. I decided I would be more use to God with the living.” 

Ken made his career choice while he was a student at Middlebury College. In 1962, just eight weeks before graduation, he made another important decision when he decided to ask a classmate, Helle Thomsen, for a date. The date must have gone very well because about a year later, while Ken was a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, Ken and Helle Parker became husband and wife.

In 1965 Reverend Parker was ordained a Presbyterian minister and became pastor of churches in East and West Hebron, New York, small Washington County communities about 110 miles south of Peru. He enjoyed serving those communities, but by 1969, he decided it was time for a change. He recalled, “I really wanted to be in a church where I could lead people to do mission, to do things for other people. We didn’t have the mass in Hebron to do this.”

At about the same time the Peru Community Church was seeking a new minister. The church’s search committee included Dorothy “Dot” Finney, Janet Alexander, Rodney North, Dwane Waterman, Everest Allan, and Donald Cromie. One Sunday they traveled to Hebron to hear Reverend Parker deliver a sermon. Following the service a Hebron church member remarked, “I don’t think you made much of a hit. They got up and walked out before the last hymn.” Actually, the committee left so they could travel to Saratoga in time to hear another minister’s sermon. Ken was named Pastor of the Peru Community Church effective May 1, 1970.

Reverend Parker and his congregation turned out to be a near-perfect match. Just a few days after arriving in Peru he worked with Paul Calkins and George Burrell to organize an auction that raised $3,000 for earthquake victims in Peru, South America. He recalled, “Afterwards people said to me, ‘How come you got into this big project so fast?’ I wanted people to know that if they have me we’re going to be active and it’s not going to be for them. It’s going to be for others.”

That auction was a sign of what was to come. Ken recalled, “The highest compliment we received over the 33 years was an unbidden editorial in the Press Republican. It was a moving editorial.” The Peru Gazette found that 1999 editorial online. One sentence read, “Did you ever notice whenever there is a great need in our community or on the other side of the world, the Community Church of Peru is among the first out there doing things…The fact is that, no matter what the circumstances are, that congregation invariably opens its hearts and wallets to try to ease somebody else’s burden.”

The church’s response to the devastating 1998 ice storm will go down in history. The ice felled thousands of trees, downed power lines and knocked out electricity for days. The Community Church set itself up as a disaster center. Volunteers served hundreds of meals, entertained the children and fifty to one hundred people lived in the Fellowship Center. A doctor even ran a clinic out of one of the offices. Reverend Parker recalled an especially poignant incident. “About six or seven days into the disaster, a man walked in and said, ‘My father lives out in Peasleeville. I understand he’s here. We’ve come to take him back to New Jersey.’ His father was up on the stage playing checkers with the kids. When he saw his son he said, ‘What are you doing here?’ The son responded, ‘We’ve come to take you back to New Jersey.’ The father replied, ‘ I’m not going back to New Jersey. This is more fun than anything I’ve done in my whole life. I’m up on this stage playing checkers and teaching the kids how to play monopoly. Why would I want to go back to NJ and sit in your house while you go to work?’”

Utility workers found a good meal at the Fellowship Center

Reverend Parker’s office served as his bedroom for two weeks.

L-R Helle Parker, Roy Perry, Senator Ron Stafford

Being a success in any chosen profession is complex and involves many gifts. Reverend Parker cited two important attributes of a pastor, “Always be honest with people. I think one of the advantages I had was that I was very comfortable with people in all stages and places in our society. It really doesn’t matter much to me whether you were the president of Plattsburgh State or if you were the janitor. Everyone should get the same attention and understanding. The other one is being available. I’ve run into clergy who turn off the phone at night. I don’t think that’s a good idea. If you get word tomorrow that you have pancreatic cancer, I’m not going to send somebody in my place to talk.”

At one point Reverend Parker realized that he needed to improve his counseling skills. In 1978 he earned a Masters Degree in Counseling at SUNY Plattsburgh and in 1980 following several two-month summertime on-campus classes, he was awarded a Doctorate Degree at Sewanee University of the South. His doctorial thesis examined “professional burnout” and concluded that most professionals should take a career break every seven to ten years. Shortly thereafter, he participated in a minister exchange program with Reverend Noel Butler of Invercargill, New Zealand. Ken and Helle packed up their family and moved to New Zealand for one year and Reverend Butler came to Peru. Ken said, “That year had a tremendous impact on our family. It gave us an entirely different outlook on the world. Helle and I have been back three or four times.” In 1990 he entered a “preaching contest” conducted by a Presbyterian Church in Newcastle, NSW Australia. The church received recordings of sermons from 135 ministers from six countries and chose Reverend Parker as its six-month guest preacher.

In 2003, following multiple medical problems for many years, Reverend Parker decided it was time to retire as pastor of the Peru Community Church. He explained, “I decided I couldn’t do it any more. It wouldn’t be good for the church.”

A Thera-Pets visit to Apple Valley Senior Housing

Retirement, however, has many meanings and the man who came to Peru with a mission wasn’t about to sit back and relax. A few weeks after retiring he founded Thera-Pets Inc., an organization dedicated to improving the health of children and the elderly through activities with farm animals. Its miniature donkeys, miniature goats, Alpacas and other animals are housed at Butternut Ridge Farm, only a few yards from Ken and Helle Parker’s Calkins Road home. He explained, “The donkeys are so friendly. If you could see the look on somebody’s face when a donkey wants into his or her bedroom in a nursing home where life just never changes.” All the Thera-Pets activities are run by volunteers and provided at no charge. The organization relies on donations to fund its many programs.

Three years ago Reverend Parker agreed to be the part-time pastor of the Moriah Methodist Church and the interim pastor of the Moriah Presbyterian Church. Each Sunday he makes the 45-mile trip southward to conduct services in each church. On June 12, 2015 he will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of his ordination. As he looks back on his 45 years in Peru he can take pride that he accomplished his mission to keep people active, not for themselves, but for others. As he stated at the close of our interview, “I try to follow in the steps of Jesus. I feel God has called me to this community and I never felt I should be any place else.”

St. Augustine’s Church Pastor Father Alan Shnob and Reverend Parker. Peru’s Catholic community and the Peru Community Church work together on many programs.

Dear Mission supporters:

Upon my return from Nicaragua yesterday, we were notified that we must vacate the storage facility that we’ve been using for the past several years. Due to the extremely cold winter we are having, serious damage has been done to the sprinkler system and with no access to water or heat, we’ve been notified that we must vacate absolutely no later than March 31st.

We are in urgent need of a temporary or perhaps even more long term storage facility in order to comply with the owner’s request. We do want to emphasize that the Titherington Family has been incredibly generous to us for many years and we are hopeful that someone else in the community can step forth and assist us with this urgent need.

The space needed would be in the vicinity of 5,000-10,000 square feet. It is also important to note that we would be most willing to provide a tax donation letter to anyone who could assist us with this need.

Please contact James Carlin at 518-593-9718 or me at 570-5443 if you have any way of assisting us.

And most importantly, please pray for a quick and efficient solution to this most urgent need. Without a warehouse, we cannot ship much needed medical and community development equipment to Nicaragua to serve the poor. These shipments also facilitate our being an agent within the regional communities in terms of providing a viable alternative for others to donate quality equipment and supplies.

The Peru Central School Board of Education will gather Tuesday, March 3rd at 6 PM in the Jr/Sr High School Community Room for their third public session budget workshop. A Community Budget Forum will also be held. Anticipated topics include:

General budget overview
Gap elimination adjustment
Public comment related to the community budget forum

The full agenda is available on the Peru CSD website at www.perucsd.org.

PAUL SMITHS, NY (02/26/2015)(readMedia)– The following students were named to the Dean’s List at Paul Smith’s College during the fall 2014 semester.

Emily Brosseau of Peru, N.Y., who is majoring in hotel, resort and tourism management, earned a semester average of 3.3 or higher to receive this distinction.

Grace Mayhew of Peru, N.Y., who is majoring in environmental sciences, earned a semester average of 3.3 or higher to receive this distinction.

Washington – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) released the following statement:

“I don’t support government shutdowns, and this impasse is an example of the kind of Washington dysfunction that I pledged to help stop.

“The Department of Homeland Security provides critical services to help keep our nation safe. In New York’s 21st district, DHS funding is crucial because of the broad economic importance of our Canadian border, and the need to make sure that the thousands of North Country DHS employees are paid on time for their hard work.

“Therefore, when brought up for a vote in the House, I will vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security and I support the clean Senate bill.”