The Peru Gazette

By John T Ryan 

Peru, NY, December 30, 2024 – At this morning’s Town Board meeting, a C&S Engineering Project Status Report of the Telegraph Road bridge project elicited an opinion no one wanted to hear. Highway Superintendent Michael Farrell told the board today, “The mussel study set the project back. With bid-letting scheduled for August, it’s my gut feeling the project won’t happen in 2025.” He added, ” I hope I’m wrong, but this is my gut feeling.” For several months, Farrell appeared confident that construction would occur in 2025. Farrell said this is the first project where a mussel study has come into play.

Supervisor Craig Randall asked if installing a temporary bridge would be feasible. Farrell said it wouldn’t be because a temporary structure must satisfy the same environmental requirements as a more permanent structure. Farrell had some positive news, saying he was thankful that the study had located only one mussel. If more mussels had been present, the town would have had to relocate them to another stream. August is also the end of the construction year so that bids might come in lower. This discussion is at the 18:25 to 22:00 minute mark of the video.

Other meeting Highlights included:

Scheduling the 2025 Organizational Meeting for January 13 at 5 p.m. and the Regular Meeting for January 13 at 6 p.m.

Reviewing the 2024 board meeting schedule. The schedule includes regular board meetings on January 13 and 27, February 10 and 24, March 10 and 24, April 14 and 28, May 15 and 29, June 9 and 23, July 14 and 28, August 11 and 25, September 8 and 27, October 9 and 27, November 10 and 24, December 6 and 30.

Scheduling a January 7, 4 p.m. work session with AES Engineering related to the wastewater treatment plant improvements.

Approving a $1,375,000 contract with Barton and Loguidice to design and engineer the mandated water filtration plant upgrade.

Reappointing James Falvo as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals

Appointing James Francesconi as Zoning Board Vice-Chairman

Accepting Shawn Lucas’ resignation from the Zoning Board of Appeals.  The board will send Mr Lucas a letter thanking him for his outstanding board service.

Appointing Lucas Tooker to the Zoning Board of Appeals

Appointing the Planning Board Chairman and Vice-Chairman is delayed pending a meeting quorum.

Approving budget line transfer related to the General, Highway, Peru Sewer, and Valcour Sewer accounts.

Note – The Peru Gazette did not video the board actions on items 4-9 of the meeting agenda because of tripod issues. The items are covered in this meeting story and will appear in the meeting minutes.

Editor’s Note – September meeting dates corrected 1/5/25 and 1/6/5

Note Meeting time is 10 AM

1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call 

4. MOTION:  Acceptance of Minutes for the Regular Meeting of December 9, 2024.

5. Community Input. 

6. DISCUSSION/MOTION:  Set Date of the Organizational Meeting at 5:00 PM and First Regular Meeting of 2025 at 6 PM January 13, 2025.

7. DISCUSSION/MOTION:  Review Regular Meeting Schedule of 2025.

8. DISCUSSION/MOTION:  Schedule AES Work Session for January 7.  

9. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Approval of Barton & Loguidice’s Contract for the Water Treatment Plant Upgrade.

10. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:   Reappoint James Falvo as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

11. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:   Reappoint James Francesconi as Vice Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

12. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Appoint Lucas Tooker as Member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

13. DISCUSSION/MOTION:  Keep Chairman and Vice Chairman of Planning Board the Same Until a Quorum Votes.

14. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Line Item Transfers for General Fund 2024. 

15. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Line Item Transfers for Highway Fund 2024. 

16. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Line Item Transfers for Peru Sewer Fund 2024. 

17. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Line Item Transfers for Valcour Sewer Fund 2024. 

18. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Line Item Transfers for Water Fund 2024. 

19. DISCUSSION:  Other Business.

20. DISCUSSION:  Public Comments on Agenda Items Only.

21. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Pay December 2024 Bills.

22. MOTION: Adjourn Meeting.

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Tuesday, December 24, 2024 – Sunday evening Steve Collier was the pianist for the Ecumenical Choir. Today, he’s bringing more goodwill to passers-by along Main Street with is sausaphone. Steve said, “My grandfather played this sausaphone.  He passed it on to my father and my father passed it on to me”

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

Legislation aimed at helping to get assistance and information to EPIC participants

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUN COMMUNITY NEWS STORY 

Different regulatory environments in the two states have led to contrasting situations on either side of Lake Champlain.

Click here for the VTDigger story 

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Health Department wants to assess and update your healthcare needs 

Clinton County – Through the end of February, the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) and the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) are asking residents what they see as the most pressing health concerns in our community. Residents can take part by responding to the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CHA2025. 

The survey is one of the first steps in the year-long Community Health Assessment process, which CCHD and UVHN-CVPH undertake every few years. 

“A community health assessment is an opportunity to take a close look at our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to health, to acknowledge the progress we’ve been able to make collectively and to talk about what has prevented change,” stated Mandy Snay, Director of Health Planning & Promotion at CCHD. “The assessment tells our community’s health story while identifying the direction we want to go to make our programs, systems and approaches more accessible, equitable and aligned with residents’ needs.” 

Residents are invited to participate in the process through a community survey. The survey asks residents to weigh in on health challenges for themselves and their families as well as what they see as health issues in the community. “To truly improve the health of our community, it’s important that we receive input from all stakeholders – the residents of our county. This Community Health Assessment will help collect valuable information and insight as we partner with the Clinton County Health Department and other agencies to create a roadmap for a stronger North Country,” added Michelle LeBeau, Alice Hyde Medical Center & CVPH President. 

For the first time in many years, NYSDOH is updating the Prevention Agenda, the State’s health improvement plan, to better align with social determinants of health and common factors like housing, education, and access to care known to affect health outcomes. “This adds new excitement to our process and means resident and partner input is more important than ever as we identify health priorities and develop an improvement plan for the next three years,” added Ms. Snay. 

The anonymous survey takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. It is available online and can be completed on a computer, tablet, or phone. Residents can find the link to the survey on the Clinton County Health Department’s social media pages or on the Department’s website at health.clintoncountyny.gov. Paper copies of the survey are also available for those without access to the internet. For more information, please get in touch with CCHD’s Division of Health Planning & Promotion at 518-565-4993. 

CCHD will share the results directly with the community this summer and will use them to help identify health priorities in the 2025 Community Health Improvement Plan.

St. Augustine’s Parish Center, Monday, December 23, 3-6:30 p.m.

PLATTSBURGH, NY (12/20/2024) –   The Adirondack Regional Blood Donor Center, a program of the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), offers multiple opportunities in January to donate blood and support the health and wellbeing of the North Country.

In addition to meeting the needs of CVPH patients, blood and blood products collected by the Center help patients at Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, Elizabethtown Community Hospital (including the Ticonderoga campus), Massena Memorial Hospital and Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

Donors at drives held in January will be entered into a drawing for a Starbucks gift card. Here’s the schedule:

• Thursday, Jan. 2, Champlain Centre, 1 to 5 pm
• Friday Jan.  3, Lowe’s Plattsburgh, 10 am to 2pm
• Monday, Jan. 6, Riley Ford, Chazy, 1 to 4 pm
• Tuesday, Jan. 7, Brushton-Moira American Legion, 4 to 7 pm
• Wednesday, Jan. 8 Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, 11am to 3 pm
• Thursday, Jan. 9, Dannemora Community Center, 10 am to 2 pm
• Wednesday, Jan. 15, Massena Hospital, 11 am to 4 pm
• Thursday, Jan.  16, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, 1 to 4 pm
• Friday, Jan. 17, Monaghan Medical, Plattsburgh, 9 am to noon
• Monday, Jan. 20, Essex Fire Department, co-sponsored by the Masonic Lodge, 4 to 7 pm
• Tuesday, Jan. 21, Malone Fire Department, 2 to 6 pm
• Thursday, Jan. 23, Holy Name Church Hall, Ausable Forks, 4 to 7 pm
• Friday Jan. 24, Clinton County ARC held at West Side Ballroom, 9 am to 1 pm
• Monday, Jan. 27, Champlain EMS co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, 3 to 7 pm
• Tuesday, Jan. 28, New York State Department of Environmental Services headquarters, Ray Brook, 10 am to 2 pm
• Wednesday, Jan. 29, Ticonderoga Methodist Church, sponsored by Sylvamo, noon to 3 pm
• Thursday, Jan. 30, Franklin Academy, Malone, 10 am to 2 pm
• Friday, Jan. 31, Franklin County Court House, Malone, 10 am to 2 pm

The Adirondack Regional Blood Center also welcomes donors to its Donor Center located at 85 Plaza Blvd. The Donor Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.  Walk ins are welcome.

Blood donors must be at least 16 years-old (16 and 17 year-old donors must have written parental/guardian consent), in generally good health and weigh at least 110 lbs. A screening questionnaire addressing personal medical, social and travel history is completed prior to donating and a donor card or another form of identification is also required. Donors must wait 56 days between donations.

Learn more about the Adirondack Regional Blood Center, giving blood and becoming a sponsor at UVMHealth.org/GiveBlood or call 518-562-7406.

Aubrey Ford, RN Receives DAISY Award

Aubrey Ford, RN was surprised as CVPH’s 24th staff nurse DAISY Award honoree during a ceremony with her ICU co-workers.

PLATTSBURGH, NY (12/20/2024) – Christine Porter worried about what each passing hour could bring as her mother battled a life-threatening illness in the ICU at the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH).

While she’ll never forget the fear she felt during her mother’s stay in the hospital, Porter also says she’ll always remember the difference Aubrey Ford, RN, made for her and her family.

“Aubrey took her time to not only educate us but, most importantly, to comfort us during one of the most terrifying times in our lives,” Porter recalls.

That compassionate care led Porter to nominate Ford for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, which Ford received during a surprise ceremony with her ICU colleagues this week.

Porter’s mother was admitted to the ICU after suddenly becoming seriously ill and needing dialysis. As her mother continued to receive care, Porter says there was so much going on that she didn’t know what the days ahead would look like for her mother. However, she and her family felt secure whenever Ford was there, adding she knew her voice was being heard no matter the question she asked.

“Like a breath of fresh air, Aubrey came in with confidence, skill and compassion. She managed that dialysis machine with exquisite expertise. She knew the answers to our questions with great understanding and conveyed such with great ease and professionalism,” Porter writes in her DAISY nomination.

While a loved one’s stay in the ICU can be filled with stress and anxiety, Porter says it turned into an experience that will stay with her and she wants to make sure Ford knows how much her care means.

“I will always remember the difference she made for me and my family,” Porter says. “From one nurse to another, thank you for taking such great care of my mother, Aubrey!”

During the award presentation, Ford received a certificate commending her as an extraordinary nurse. Like all honorees, she also received a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which was hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

CVPH launched the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in 2018 to recognize and reward licensed nurses for making a meaningful difference in the lives of their patients. Nomination forms and boxes are located at each of the hospital’s main entrances and online at UVMHealth.org/CVPHDaisy. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues.  A committee reviews nominations and awards a deserving nurse each quarter.

The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System). The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. More information is available atDAISYfoundation.org.

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Twenty-nine nursing students graduated from North Country Community College’s inaugural Jan. to Dec. RN program

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