The Peru Gazette

Eyeing a Raise, Albany Lawmakers Are Negotiating Reforms With Cuomo – NYTimes.com.

After Ethics Panel’s Shutdown, Loopholes Live On in Albany – NYTimes.com.

Same-sex marriages at least 9% of total in N.Y..

Peru, NY – The impending storm has forced the Peru, NY Knights of Columbus to cancel its bingo for tonight, Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Bingo will resume next Tuesday at 7:10 p.m.  The K of C urges everyone to drive safely and to stay off the roads tonight.

The 49th Annual Keeseville-Peru Ecumenical Choir Concert will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at St. Augustine’s Church in Peru and on Sunday, December 14, 2014 at St. John the Baptist Church in Keeseville. Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free!

FALL INTO WINTER CRAFT FAIR – OVER 30 VENDORS.

BROWSE CRATE & CHRISTMAS ST. VINCENT’S THRIFT

FATHER ALAN’S THRIFT SHOP WILL BE STORE WILL BE OPEN

CHRISTMAS SHOP OPEN (Misc. Treasures) (slightly used clothing)

SCRATCH-OFF LOTTERY TREE RAFFLE

HOT LUNCH- SPONSORED BY THE CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS (Hamburg-Macaroni Soup & Chicken Soup, egg, tuna, ham salad sandwiches; chips, coffee, soda & water)

GET YOUR DECADENT DESSERT FROM THE – ALSO SPONSORED BY THE CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS.

Peru Community Church members were singing Christmas carols for Peru residents today! Thanks to Joanne Kennedy for the photo!

Regular Mtg Agenda 12082014

Peru firefighters thrill kids on Washington Street and throughout the community! Their dedication is amazing!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204453564811876

Children’s Christmas Party
Who: Children from 1 to 12 years old
When: December 21, 2014 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Where: Peru Memorial VFW/Ladies Auxiliary
710 Pleasant St, Rte 22B
Peru, New York 12972

Peru Central’s Board of Education will conduct its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 5:45 PM at the school district’s Community Room, adjacent to the main entrance of Peru Jr/Sr High School. An executive session associated with particular personnel matters will take place immediately following the 5:45 PM start. The school board is slated to reconvene for public session business at approximately 7:00 PM. Anticipated topics include:

· Career Connect Skills Initiatives and Business Partnerships
· Peru 2020
· Adoption of multiple proposed policies

Click here for complete Board Agenda

The Strand Center for the Arts and First Weekends in Plattsburgh are excited to announce that the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting will happen on Saturday, December 6 in downtown Plattsburgh. The Holiday Tree Lighting will take place on The Strand Center’s front lawn at 23 Brinkerhoff Street with family activities planned from 5:30 to 8:00 pm.

The Tree Lighting ceremony will take place at 6:00 pm and will be officially lit by Santa. Holiday Tree Lighting events this year will also include street musicians, bonfire pits, caroling, horse-drawn carriage rides by Country Dreams Farms and free hot cocoa by Smooth Moves – all on the front lawn of The Strand Center from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Also during this time, the SCA Artist Market and the Holiday Members Exhibition will be on view in the Main Gallery inside The Strand Center. The SCA Artist Market will feature a variety of handmade items available for purchase from local artisans. Additionally, visitors to the Holiday Tree Lighting are encouraged to bring an unwrapped new toy, to donate to charity as The Strand Center for the Arts is a drop-off location for “WPTZ’s Toys for Kids” program.

This event is FREE to the public! For more information on the lighting, registering for the Artist Market, toy drop-offs or general information please visit our Website at plattsburgharts.org, contact us by phone at 518.563.1604, in person at 23 Brinkerhoff Street, or by email at outreach@plattsburgharts.org.

The Crane Symphony Orchestra from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has been invited to perform at the New York State School Music Association Winter Conference in Rochester, N.Y. Eighty students will present Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the opening concert.

The performers include Emily Allen of Peru, NY, on violin.

The Crane Symphony Orchestra will perform in the opening concert, to be held at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the Rochester Convention Center Lilac Ballroom. The NYSSMA Winter Conference attracts 4,000 participants each year, for nearly 200 workshops and showcases on music education.

The Crane Symphony Orchestra is the premier performing ensemble at The Crane School of Music. Directed by Dr. Ching-Chun Lai, the ensemble presents great orchestral masterworks from the standard and contemporary orchestral literature. The Crane Symphony Orchestra has traveled to perform at Lincoln Center, and in tours across New York State, in addition to working with major guest conductors from around the world each year. For more information, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/crane.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. To learn more, visit http://www.potsdam.edu.

A message from the CVPH Foundation

Our annual Candlelight Ceremony will be Saturday, December 6 at 4 p.m. at the Circle of Healing & Hope on the front lawn of the Hospital, 75 Beekman St., Plattsburgh.  The Candlelight Ceremony will provide people with an opportunity to remember their loved one.

We are accepting names to be read during the ceremony. To submit a name, call the Foundation Office at 562-7169 or send us an e-mail. As part of the tradition with all organizations that have an Angel of Hope, similar ceremonies will be happening all across the country on this same evening. We hope you can join us!

Capitol Confidential » Skelos: Immigrants’ new status will raise Medicaid costs.

Look up how many people in your county are too mentally unstable to have guns 

Cuomo: Time for feds to act on oil trains | Crain’s New York Business.

Melvin Irwin with the Irwin family farm in the background

By John T Ryan

The face of agriculture in our community continues to change. On November 27, 2014 Melvin Irwin started cutting trees at his family’s orchard at the corner of the River and Jarvis Roads, not far from the Peru Elementary School. When he’s finished about 120 of the orchard’s 800 trees will be gone and forage corn will be planted in its place.

While Melvin, Jim and Bob Irwin are known as very successful dairy farmers, their small 1000-tree McIntosh/Cortland orchard has been a profitable business. Melvin explained, “My father Kermit planted these trees at least 60 years ago. Several local dairy farmers got into the apple business about that time. Some even left dairy and became orchardists. We could make money in a good year. Back when everyone made pies, cars would line up when people stopped to buy drops.”

Finding apple pickers is difficult especially for a small orchardist. This year the Irwins hired three Crown Point men to pick the crop and ended up helping to complete the job. An abundant apple crop across the country resulted in low prices. Melvin said, “We were fortunate enough to sell the crop to a Massachusetts wholesaler.”

It wasn’t hard to sense that Melvin Irwin enjoys the apple business and resisted cutting more than twenty percent of the orchard’s trees. Apple prices and labor availability will undoubtedly dictate the orchard’s future. The apple wood that Melvin was piling high today will eventually warm the Irwin brothers’ homes and families.

Mike Hanlon and Matt Houser were busy this morning decorating the Gazebo at Little Ausable River Park. All will be ready for the Friday, December 5th Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. Caroling begins at 6:45 p.m. Santa arrives at 7 p.m. or shortly thereafter.

10k winner Mitch Ryan and 5k winner J. Matt Meraros

Story updated with race & walk results at 4:40 p.m.

Hundreds of hearty folks began their Thanksgiving Day celebration by participating in the Peru Lions Club’s 37th annual John P. Adams Memorial Turkey Trot.  Yesterday’s snowfall made walking and running a little treacherous, but that didn’t seem to deter the congenial families and supporters from having a great time. Lets face it, the Turkey Trot is a Peru tradition. A total of 362 runners braved the first snow of the season to help support the Peru Lions Club in the running of their 37th annual event. The Lions would like to thank the local community for their continued support.

See many photos.   See slideshow with music.  

Mitch Ryan and Sara Dunham were the male and female winners respectively, in the 10K event. Ryan ran in 31 minutes 44 seconds, while Dunham finished in 35:34.

The 5K winners were Matthew Meraros for the males, and Carly Graham for the females. Meraros finished in 17:10 while Graham turned in a 20:24 time.

Here are the detailed race results: Click here for 5k results   Click here for 10k results. 

5K and 10K Runners head for Pleasant Street

Fun Run/Walk participants got off to a fast start

By John T. Ryan

The Monday, November 24^th Peru Town Board Agenda was brief, but the Board’s decisions will have both a short and long-term impact on Peru residents.

The Board approved a November 24-December 31 contract with North Country SPCA Inc. in Elizabethtown. Supervisor Peter Glushko indicated that he hopes a 2015 contract can be negotiated with Elmore SPCA. Dogs having to be confined will be transported to Elizabethtown until December 31.

With economic growth in mind, the Board extended the boundaries of Water and Sewer district #1 from the Dashnaw Road to I87 along both sides of the Bear Swamp Road. Engineering studies will be conducted to determine the cost of any eventual construction. The Bear Swamp Road is Peru’s most highly traveled highway. It is used by vehicles traveling to and from Peru and many other communities.

Town Park Ordinance #1 of 2014 was approved. It will regulate activity in Peru’s Town Parks and Walking Trail. Its many provisions prohibit alcoholic beverage use in/on all parks and trails. Dogs must be leashed 100% of the time. Poop must be scooped and motorized vehicles are not permitted on the Walking Trail. The Ordinance will take effect 10 days after its publication in the Press Republican. Town officials will schedule a meeting with Clinton County Sheriff David Favreau to request that his department enforce the ordinance. Click here to review Ordinance #1

Public Hearings on the water district expansion and the Park/Trail Ordinance were conducted prior to Monday’s meeting. No one other than this reporter testified. Very few if any residents attend either public hearings or town board meetings.

In other actions/news the Board:

• Delayed scheduling the public hearing for raising water–sewer rates. The rate increase is not related to the water district’s expansion.
• Appointed David Drollette as Dog Control Officer. Drollette has completed a 90-day probationary period. All the Board members have been effusive in their praise of Drollette’s performance to date. Drollette can be reached at 518-643-5076 (home) and 518-578-2217 (cell)
• Briefly discussed the December 5^th Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Little Ausable River Park. Caroling will begin at 6:45 p.m.
• Learned that two town employees have elected to drop out of the Town’s health insurance program. Both are eligible for a buy-out, but the Town will save money even when a newly eligible employee joins the program.
• Closed bank accounts established for the Fuller Road Bridge project and the Town Hall Entrance project. NYS monies received for or expended for a capital project are maintained in a special “H” account.
• Highway Superintendent Michael Farrell reported that the Town’s new snowplow-equipped tandem truck should arrive by Christmas.

Representative-elect Elise Stefanik (R-NY) today announced new staff hires for her incoming office in the 114th Congress.

Lindley Kratovil will serve as Chief of Staff. Ms. Kratovil has served as Legislative Director to Representatives Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Todd Rokita (R-IN). She came to Capitol Hill after serving in the George W. Bush Administration where she served in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Legislative Affairs, and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Ms. Kratovil holds a B.A. in Political Science and History from Vanderbilt University.

Emily Hunter will serve as Scheduler. Ms. Hunter, a native of Michigan, attended the University of Rochester, where she studied Political Science, English, and International Relations. Prior to joining Ms. Stefanik’s office, she served as Scheduler to Representative Kevin Yoder (R-KS).

“I am pleased to announce that Lindley will join my team as Chief of Staff. She brings a wealth of experience from both the Legislative and Executive Branches, has a mastery of key policy issues and has helped start up a new office before,” Stefanik said.

“I’m honored to be joining the Congresswoman-Elect. We will focus on a seamless transition, the committee assignments we need to be most effective, and superior constituent service and response”, Kratovil said.

Ms. Kratovil and Ms. Hunter will officially begin work on January 3, 2015.

Cornell Cooperative Extension/CCE has planned ‘Management Systems to Fit Your Life’ workshops for sites in Watertown, Malone, Plattsburgh, and Canton to focus on ways producers can structure their operations to accommodate both their farm business goals and lifestyle.

Workshop presentations and discussion will consider how frequently to lamb or kid, growing versus buying feed, how different marketing channels may conflict with off-farm job commitments, and how different management systems impact costs, time and labor requirements.

‘Sheep and goat farmers have lots of options for different management systems to meet unique business and lifestyle goals. For example, lambing and kidding can be once a year or multiple times as well as at different times of year. For some producers, profitability is important but not the first priority. These workshops are designed to help small livestock producers develop the right management system for each individual operation,’ says CCE Northern New York Livestock Team Leader Betsy Hodge, a small livestock specialist with CCE St. Lawrence County.

The 2012 Census of Agriculture counts the six Northern New York counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence with 184 sheep farms, 5,975 sheep, 261 goat farms, and 2,206 goats.

The 2014 NNY Sheep and Goat Week Management Systems to Fit Your Life workshops will be held:

Tuesday, December 2, 6:30pm, CCE Jefferson County office, Watertown, $5/person, contact Ron Kuck, 315-788-8450, rak76@cornell.edu;

Wednesday, December 3, 10:30am, CCE Franklin County office, Malone, free, bring a dish to pass for lunch, contact Diane Dumont, 518-483-7403, drd9@cornell.edu, and

Wednesday, December 3, 6:30pm, CCE Clinton County office, Plattsburgh, free, pre-registration appreciated, contact Peter Hagar, 518-561-7450, phh7@cornell.edu; and

Thursday, December 4, 6:30pm, CCE St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm, Canton, $5/person, contact Betsy Hodge, 315-379-9192, bmf9@cornell.edu.

Empire State Development’s (ESD) Board of Directors met recently in New York City and approved nearly $12 million in funding for nine projects that are spurring economic growth and opportunity across New York State. These targeted investments will leverage over $144 million in private and other public funding to support small businesses, community and downtown revitalization, regional tourism, and projects that are building a strong foundation for future economic growth and job creation. The State’s investments will directly create at least 706 new jobs and retain more than 1,640 existing jobs in the Empire State.

The Board approved the following Regional Council award grants:

Bombardier Mass Transit – (North Country Region – Clinton County) -$2,500,000
Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation, a rail car manufacturing company and a division of Canadian public corporation Bombardier Inc., will use a grant of up to $2,500,000 for a portion of the costs required to expand its train manufacturing and testing facilities in Plattsburgh, Clinton County. Bombardier manufactures airplanes and trains and produces rail cars and public transportation equipment for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and many other major mass transit systems. Worldwide, the company employs over 70,000 people, and in the U.S. it employs 36,000 people at 37 facilities in 15 states.

Bombardier determined the need to expand and upgrade its Plattsburgh facility to provide for future growth and meet production demands resulting from increased sales of its rail cars, but required assistance to help finance its manufacturing expansion. The company applied for funding through the Regional Council CFA process and received a $2,500,000 grant, without which the project would not have been possible. Bombardier has constructed a 57,000-square-foot manufacturing building, including the installation of equipment upgrades for a welding robot, and has expanded its test facility by 2,100 square feet. The expansion project will increase productive capacity by 40% and increase production flexibility, efficiencies, and cost competitiveness.

North Country Cultural Center of the Arts – (North Country Region – Clinton County) – $250,000
The North Country Cultural Center for the Arts, a performing arts center created to save the historic Strand Theater, will use a grant of up to $250,000 for a portion of the construction, renovation machinery and equipment costs to renovate the Strand Theater.

North Country Cultural Center for the Arts (NCCA) was formed in 1987 by community leaders to acquire and save the historic Strand Theater building from complete deterioration, and plans were made to raise funds, restore the facilities, and restart operations as a community resource for entertainment. In 2005, new volunteer leadership began fundraising for additional renovations and expanded programming opportunities, and NCCA sought ESD’s assistance to help finance the improvements. NCCA applied for funding through the Regional Council CFA process and received a $250,000 grant, without which the project would not have been possible.

The Theater renovations and installation of new equipment have been completed, and the Theater is now operating as a performance and cultural arts center with a 1,326 seat auditorium. This project will provide an enhanced quality of life and new venue for cultural entertainment in the Plattsburgh community, and is consistent with the North Country Regional Economic Development Council’s plan to enhance the quality of life and expand economic development in North Country communities.

Other Approved Funding Included:  Read more »

Developer Pitches $200 Million Burlington Town Center Overhaul