The Peru Gazette

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Cancelled due to cold weather issues with the Donor Center Truck 

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Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup 

Chicken Salad Sandwich 

Snack Mix

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!

The city has contracted the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department to have an officer monitor the Marketplace parking garage every weekday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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From layoffs at federal agency offices, furloughs at private contractors and international volunteer callbacks, Trump administration action is hitting Vermonters in waves.

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SUNY students encouraged to apply by March 20 for one of 150 paid internships

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Cow Kissing Team

Social Services Commissioner Christine Peters, a Peru resident, was a team member

There’s no better way to spend Valentine’s Day than hanging out with cows at Miner Institute and raising money for an incredibly important cause! Thank you to our all-star cow-kissing team and our always supportive event sponsor, Dannemora Federal Credit Union! Thanks to all of those who donated, the United Way raised over $13,000 for ALICE/Homelessness Prevention Services!

$680,000 raised!!!!!!!

United Way of the Adirondack Region, Inc. has completed its 2025 Fundraising Campaign to help support high-priority health and human service programs in Clinton, Essex, and Franklin Counties. The annual campaign is conducted primarily during the fall months and concludes in February. This year’s campaign raised $680,000.00, including proceeds from special events and projections of pending results from businesses and individuals not yet received but anticipated. John Bernardi, President & CEO, said, “We are so delighted to deliver this exciting news to our three-county region. It is once again a testament to the generosity and caring nature of the North Country. It was very challenging this year and we are proud of our achievements. It was a valiant team effort among campaign team volunteers, United Way staff and employee campaign representatives, but most of all, it was the generosity of businesses, organizations and individuals that made it successful. I am always so impressed to see how people in our region come together for their friends and neighbors.” Campaign team members include: James Monty (Co-Chair Essex County), Sandra Young-Brady, Sue LeBlanc-Durocher, Tony Searing, Gerry Morrow, Hannah Provost, Jody Carpenter, Holly Black, Amanda Doyle, Tabitha Fletcher and staff members John Bernardi, Holly Lafountain, Heather Seguin, Nikki Buck, Julie Kildee, and Bryan Hartman.

The State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA), a campaign for state employees that runs parallel to the United Way campaign, also wrapped up recently and raised approximately $140,000.00, which is included in the campaign total. A regional committee of state employees, chaired by Terri Laplante of Franklin Correctional Facility, conducts the annual fund-raising campaign in state facilities across the region.    

The mission of United Way, which serves Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties, is to be a leader in community partnership building and to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another. The funds raised from this campaign will be allocated to local community partner agencies based on donor designations and agency applications for additional funds to support high-priority health and human service programs. A committee of community members will review requests for undesignated funds and recommend to the board of directors the awarding of grants based on prioritized community needs throughout the region. Chris Mazzella, Chair of the United Way Board of Directors, said, “Funds stay local and go toward supporting critical services for our friends and neighbors here in the North Country.” Last year, the health and human service network supported by United Way provided service to nearly eighty thousand people throughout Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties.

DEC’s Forest Health Research Lab recently confirmed the presence of red pine scale, an invasive insect, in Hague, NY and in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness in Adirondack Park. Native to Japan, red pine scale was first detected in New York on Long Island in 1950. Red pine scale nymphs feed on a red pine tree’s sap, eventually causing the tree to die. Infestations can be identified by the insects’ cocoons, which look like white, woolly masses around the base of red pine needles.

Until 2024, red pine scale had not been identified in upstate New York, possibly because colder temperatures kept populations low enough to remain undetected. However, increased winter temperatures could cause red pine scale to expand its range northward. DEC plans to conduct surveys in 2025 to determine the locations and abundance of red pine scale in New York.

If you see signs of red pine scale, send pictures and location information to foresthealth@dec.ny.gov. For more information on red pine scale, visit the Vermont Invasives website.

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Peru, NY – February 10, 2025 – Several dog tethering law advocates addressed the board, asking it to support a county tethering law, something the board previously declined to do in early 2024. Spokeswoman Jennifer Jewett said County Legislator Robbie Timmons voted against enacting the law because “Peru is against the law.” She stated that Timmons would change his vote if the town board changed its vote and claimed Clinton County Sheriff David Favro favors the law because he can’t enforce seventeen separate town laws.

Today, Legislator Robbie Timmons denied Jewett’s statement. He told the Gazette that he and all but two county legislators favor town laws, not county-wide ones because town dog control officers are responsible for enforcement. He agreed that Sheriff Favro favored the law, but only if the county legislature gave him additional resources, something Timmons doesn’t favor because he believes local dog control officers can do the job without burdening the county with additional expenses. 

Jewett said that under current law, dogs could be chained up for a lifetime, sometimes becoming bored, aggressive, and a danger to public safety, especially to children. She also claimed chained dogs are associated with illegal drug sales and use, illegal gambling and firearms, and dog fighting.

The group gave the board a copy of the county law they’d like to see enacted. Councilman Kregg Bruno said the board would look it over and consider their request. Essex County enacted a tethering law in 2016. Click to review the proposed Supervised Dog Tether Law 2:3:2025

Jennifer Jewett Statement of 2:10:25 (Note – several people read the statement because of the board’s 3-minute comment limit. 

In other actions, the board:

• Supported a Verizon Corp. request that it back Verizon’s efforts to extend internet and FIOS service to underserved areas of the town.
• Approved the water and sewer department’s request to purchase a 2025 F250XL Ford Pickup for $46,694.33 under state contract prices. It replaces a high-mileage 2006 Ford F350.
• Noted a thank-you letter from the Babbie Rural and Farm Learning Museum for its 2025 support of $4,500. The Babbie Museum celebrates its 15th year of operation this year.
• Councilman Bruno congratulated the Highway Department on excellent highway conditions following recent storms.
• The board questioned the town court’s recent very high electric bill. Courtney Tetrault noted that an electric coil backs up the building’s heat pump system and only one heating zone exists. Tetrault will review the situation, and Councilman Bruno will ask Hogan’s Refrigeration to investigate the issue.
• Highway Superintendent Mike Farrell reported that the state asked all towns to assess what they need to do to introduce all-electric vehicles. The cost will be substantial. The state did not mention funding sources.
• Deputy Superintendent Tyler Jarvis said that maintenance problems sidelined two snowplows last week. Flu also put two plow operators out of work for a few days. The department got the job done. Mike Farrell operated one plow. 
• Dog Control Officer T’CT’Chakakelianos reported checking on the welfare of two dogs.

2/13/25 5:25 p.m. Correction: The board considered the law in early 2024, not 2014, as initially stated. 

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