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More About The Peru Gazette

The editor is John Ryan at email: perugazette@gmail.com. The Peru Gazette is a free community, education and information website. It is non-commercial and does not accept paid advertising.

Comment Policy

The Peru Gazette welcomes comments on posted stories. The author MUST include his/her first and last name. No  foul or libelous language permitted. The Peru Gazette reserves the right to not publish a comment.

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ICE arrests over 100 people in Upstate NY

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

Man shot and killed by New York state police after he opened fire on their Malta barracks

Click here for the AP story 

Dannemora FCU donates $10,000 to local non-profit North Country Veterans Association

(Plattsburgh, N.Y.) – Dannemora Federal Credit Union (DFCU) is excited to announce a $10,000 donation to the North Country Veterans Association, a local non-profit in the community.

Dannemora FCU President and CEO Chris Hay said, “We are extremely passionate about donating to the North Country Veterans Association, and it has been an honor to do so for the past 11 years. We feel fortunate and grateful that we can donate to their organization, which is dedicated to enhancing the lives of local veterans in our community.” 

Over the last 11 years, Dannemora FCU has donated $160,000 to the North Country Veterans Association. The donations profoundly strengthen the nonprofit organization’s services and support for local vets and their families. 

Dannemora FCU Business Development Manager, Anna Hewitt-Channell, said, “Commitment to our local veterans has always been at the heart of DFCU and something we are extremely proud of.”

The North Country Veterans Association has been operated by community veterans since 1983. 

Feds freeze more than $1 billion in funding for Cornell University

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

President Trump is dismantling the Dept. of Education. What does that mean for the North Country?

“But the biggest pots of federal funding are to support children with physical and learning disabilities and for rural and/or low-income schools. The North Country has a lot of those.” 

Click here for the NCPR story 

May 14 Chamber of Commerce Job Fair

Looking to grow your team? Don’t miss the Spring Job Fair on May 14th—your chance to connect with potential employees and showcase the opportunities within your organization!
Finding the right talent is crucial for every business, and the North Country Chamber of Commerce is committed to helping our members fill their open positions. Take advantage of this prime recruiting event and meet motivated job seekers in person!
📅 Employer Registration:
🔹 By April 30: Members $200 | Non-Members $350
🔹 After April 30: Members $300 | Non-Members $500
🔹 Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
💡 Job seekers attend FREE! No registration required—just bring your résumé.

NY lawmakers take aim at Musk: Bill could claw back Tesla incentives

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

Nearly Decade After Brutal Beating by Auburn Correctional Prison Guards, Man Gets $1.2 Million Settlement

Click here The City story 

NYS DMV encourages New Yorkers to get a REAL ID or Enhanced ID before May 7 deadline

Will Impact All Domestic Flights, Entrance to Many Federal Facilities
The NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) encourages New Yorkers to get a REAL ID or Enhanced ID before the upcoming federal deadline on May 7, 2025. Starting then, everyone flying in the US will need a REAL ID, Enhanced ID, Passport or another form of federally compliant identification to fly domestically and enter certain federal facilities. There is no additional cost beyond the renewal fee to get a REAL ID.

“If you have a flight in your near future, the time is now to get a REAL ID,” said DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder. “We are just a few short weeks aways from the REAL ID deadline, and you can prevent the burden of delays by getting yours now. Making an appointment online is the best way to get in and out of a DMV office quickly.”

Passed by Congress in 2005, the federal REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver licenses, permits and ID cards. It also requires customers to bring certain documents to the DMV to prove who they are and to have a new photograph taken before their REAL ID can be issued.

DMV offices strongly encourage customers to make a reservation, which can be done online. To assist New Yorkers, the DMV has implemented several online tools such as a document guide and an online application pre-screening process to help them prepare.

To avoid mistakes and prevent further delays, DMV advises customers to make sure that they provide appropriate proof of residency, with two items such as a current driver license or non-driver ID or a utility bill or pay stub with a current New York State address. Also, bring proof of your full legal name, and if you have had a name change through marriage or divorce, provide a marriage license or divorce decree that shows the connection.

In addition to the REAL ID, the DMV offers an Enhanced ID which meets federal REAL ID standards. An Enhanced ID costs $30 extra and can be used as identification when returning to the United States by land or sea from Canada, Mexico and some countries in the Caribbean. A passport is also acceptable as a REAL ID-compliant document.

For more information about REAL ID and Enhanced Driver Licenses, visit Enhanced or REAL ID and watch DMV’s REAL ID instructional video on YouTube.

To learn more about the NYS DMV online at Facebook, X, and Instagram.

 

Peru students awared Stem Fair Highest Honors Commendations

L- R Josie Sabella and Lauren Davey

April 8, 2025 – This past Saturday, two Peru Science National Honor Society members presented their year-long research project at the judged TERRA Northeast Regional STEM Fair at Paul Smith’s College. After multiple rounds of presenting to judges, Lauren and Josie were awarded Highest Honors Commendations, the Association for Women Geoscientists Student Award for Geoscience Excellence and the Stockholm Junior Regional Water Prize. Lauren and Josie were also selected to represent Peru at the prestigious International Genius Olympiad at RIT or Cornell University this June, where they will again present their research project.

Upstate NY woman draws on immigrant experience to diversify Adirondack trails

Click here for the very interesting NCPR story 

New York corrections officers to receive extra overtime pay until May 9

Click here for the MYNBC5 story 

Olympic Skeleton Racer Katie Uhlaender: A Powerful, Determined Leader & Advocate

Click here for the Adirondack Almanac story 

Sackets Harbor family detained by ICE is returning home to the North Country

Click here for the NCPR story 

New Organization’s motto is “Veterans 4 Veterans”

L-R VONMA members Jim Brown, Kevin Burrell, Brian Ojida, Ken Gladd, Bryan Lincoln, Joseph Palmer, Terry Peters

L-R VONMA President Kevin Burrell, Bonnie Devan, Jimmy Devan, VONMA Sergent at Arms Jim Brown

By John T Ryan (Please share) 

Peru, NY, April 6, 2025—Last year, a small group of local veterans formed The Veterans of the North Motorcycle Association (VONMA), adopting the motto “Veterans 4 Veterans.” On Sunday morning, the Association’s President, Kevin Burrell, exemplified this motto by presenting a check for $14,244 to veteran Jimmy Devan. 

On February 27, a vehicle struck Devan while walking with his seeing-eye dog, Ryder, near his Route 22B home. Following the incident, Jimmy spent several days in intensive care at UVM Medical Center in Burlington and then underwent rehabilitation at the Fanny Allen Hospital in Colchester. He returned home on March 18, but it will take several weeks for him to resume his daily routines. On Sunday, Ryder rested in a nearby room, escaping the accident without injury. 

Devan lost his eyesight in Vietnam in 1968 while serving as a U.S. Marine when a booby-trap explosion left him completely blind and with a body filled with shrapnel. VONMA Sergeant at Arms Jim Brown reported that hundreds of people, locally and from across the country, generously donated personally and through a GoFundMe/PayPal campaign to raise the $14,244 gift. 

Over the past several months, the 21-member VONMA has assisted homeless veterans in finding temporary shelter, built handicapped ramps, widened doors, acquired ferry tickets for veterans traveling to Vermont for medical treatment, and helped a veteran whose home suffered severe fire damage. Jim Brown noted, “There are several people and organizations assisting veterans, but sometimes there’s a gap in getting help, filling out paperwork, and receiving approvals. Our goal is to provide immediate assistance to veterans and their families to fill that gap.”  VONMA strives to serve Clinton, Essex and Franklin County veterans. 

For more information on VONMA, call its president Kevin Burrell at 518-300-0910.

Enjoy the Palm Sunday Brunch at the PCC Fellowship Center

St. Augustine’s Community Meal/Soup Kitchen Menu for Wednesday, April 9, 2025 

Chicken & Biscuits 

Salad 

Fruit 

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!

CCHA awarded $5k grant by Saranac Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution

L-R Katherine Duesbery and Geri Favreau

Early in 2025, the Clinton County Historical Association received a $5,000 grant from the Saranac Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to promote studying our country’s history. The internship is intended to provide a student with training and education within the organization. CCHA uses the internship to make hundreds of historical documents and photographs of local interest available on the CCHA website, which are only currently available on paper. The intern’s project will result in a searchable collection that researchers and the public can look forward to accessing online. At the end of the grant period, the intern will formally present all aspects of the project to DAR members. The check was presented to Geri Favreau, CCHA President, by Katherine Duesberg, 1st Vice Regent of the Saranac Chapter, NSDAR. SUNY Plattsburgh Junior Lillian LaValley accepted the internship.

PERU CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – NOTICE OF ANNUAL DISTRICT MEETING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the ANNUAL MEETING of the inhabitants of the Peru Central School District, Peru, New York, qualified to vote at school meetings in the district will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the High School Community Room, from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. for the transaction of such business as is authorized by Education Law.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that the ANNUAL BUDGET HEARING of the qualified voters of the Peru Central School District, Peru, New York, will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 7 p.m., in the High School Community Room.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that the ANNUAL MEETING shall include the following three (3) propositions:

Budget Proposition No. 1

Shall the Board of Education of Peru Central School District be authorized to expend a sum not to exceed (an amount to be determined) for the 2025‐2026 school year, and to levy the necessary tax therefor?

Bus Proposition No. 2

Shall the Board of Education of the Peru Central School District be authorized to purchase and, at the option of the Board, finance up to three (3) standard 65-passenger school buses, including related and ancillary equipment, for a total aggregate maximum cost of $626,738.68, and to raise the necessary funds therefor by a tax upon the taxable property of said District to be levied and collected in annual installments in the years and in the amounts as the Board of Education shall determine, with such tax to be partially offset by State aid available therefor and, in anticipation of such tax, by either the issuance of debt obligations of the said School District or by a lease/purchase financing for such school buses, in either case in an amount not to exceed such estimated aggregate cost?

Library Proposition No. 3

Shall the Board of Education of the Peru Central School District be authorized to levy taxes in the amount of $20,000.00, separate and apart from the annual school district budget, for the support and maintenance of the Peru Free Library, which said appropriation shall be the annual appropriation until changed by further vote of the District voters? The Library requests a tax levy limit which exceeds the Library’s statutory tax levy increase limit of 2% for this fiscal year, which has been approved by at least sixty percent (60%) of the Trustees of the Peru Free Library.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that a copy of the statement of expenditures which will be required in the ensuing year for school purposes, exclusive of public monies, may be obtained by any taxpayer in the District during the fourteen days immediately preceding the ANNUAL MEETING and on the day of this meeting, except Saturday, Sunday or a School Holiday, at any District schoolhouse, during the designated hours of 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education must be filed in the district clerk’s office no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 21st day of April 2025.    There are currently two (2) vacant seats on the Board of Education, due to the expiration of the terms of Ms. Sarah Graves and Mr. Steven Peters.  The seats are at-large for a full three-year term from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028.  The petition is available in the District Office at 17 School Street on Mondays through Fridays, except school holidays, or via the web at http://www.perucsd.org.  Each petition must be directed to the School District Clerk, signed by at least twenty-five (25) qualified voters of the District, and state the name, residence, and phone number of the candidate.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that applications for absentee and early mail ballots will be available from the District Clerk, except on Saturdays, Sundays, School Holidays, and April 28th and May 2nd (school closed), or via the web at www.perucsd.org.  Applications are obtainable from the District Clerk between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., except on April 22 – 25, 2025, when they will be available between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk no later than 3:30 p.m. on May 13, 2025, if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter.  Completed absentee and early mail ballots must be received in the office of the District Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.  A listing of all persons to whom absentee ballots or early mail ballots were issued will be available for inspection by any qualified voter of the District at the Office of the District Clerk during regular office hours (between 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.), from May 15, 2025 through May 19, 2025 (Saturday by appointment).  Such listing will also be posted at the polling place on the day of the vote.  Any qualified voter present in the polling place may object to voting of the ballot upon appropriate grounds for making his/her challenge and the reason thereof known to the Inspector of Election before the close of the polls.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that members of the military, who are qualified voters of the District, may apply for a military ballot by contacting the District Clerk via email at sprovost@perucsd.org; or by phone at (518) 643-6002 or in-person at 17 School Street, Peru, NY, between the hours of 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM, except on Saturdays, Sundays, School Holidays, and April 28th and May 2nd (school closed).  The phone and in-person contact hours for April 22 – 25, 2025 shall be between 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Military voters must return their completed military ballot application to the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2025.  A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military ballot application and/or ballot by USPS mail, facsimile transmission, or electronic mail.  If a military voter does not designate a preference, the District shall transmit the military ballot application or military ballot by mail.  If a military voter designates a preference for facsimile transmission or electronic mail but does not provide the necessary facsimile number or e-mail address, the District shall transmit the military ballot application or military ballot by mail.  Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by a military voter, a military voter’s original military ballot application and military ballot must be returned by mail or in person.  No military ballot will be canvassed unless it is received in the office of the District Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on May 20, 2025.  A listing of all persons to whom military ballots were issued will be available for inspection by any qualified voter of the District at the Office of the District Clerk during regular office hours (between 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.), from May 15, 2025 through May 19, 2025 (Saturday by appointment).  Such listing will also be posted at the polling place on the day of the vote.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that the qualified voters of the School District shall be entitled to vote at said annual budget vote and school board election.  A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen years of age or older, and (3) a resident within the School District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the annual vote and election.  The School District may require all persons offering to vote at the budget vote and election to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law §2018-c.  Such forms must include a driver’s license, a non-driver identification card, a utility bill, or a voter registration card.

AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN, that voting on the budget and for two members of the Board of Education will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., in the COMMUNITY ROOM of the HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING of the Peru Central School District.  Voting will be via machine.

By:  Peru CSD Board of Education

        Sherri Provost, District Clerk

 

Border Czar Tom Homan addresses ICE visit close to home

Click here for the NCPr story 

Town of Plattsburgh celebrates 240 years on Charter Day

Honoring the past, celebrating the present, and investing in the future

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Peru Central School student Connor Baehre selected to attend Students Inside Albany Conference

Plattsburgh, NY- Connor Baehre, a high school junior from Peru Central School, has been selected to attend this year’s Students Inside Albany Conference sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation, Inc. Annika Pair from Northern Adirondack Central School has been chosen 1st alternate and Lino Caputo from Boquet Valley Central School has been chosen 2nd alternate. The 23rd annual conference will run May 18-21 and brings forty-five students from across the state to Albany to get a first-hand education about New York State government. The program is designed to increase high school awareness of their responsibility in representative government and provide information about the tools necessary for meeting that responsibility.

While at the conference, students will join their peers in a hands-on learning experience about how state government works. Students will participate in a series of interactive lectures on topics such as the state budget process, the role of lobbyists in the legislative process, citizen rights to access government information, the role of media in politics, and the move to reform state government. While in Albany, the students will have an opportunity to tour the New York State Capitol. The highlights for most students include shadowing their Senator and Assembly Member for an afternoon and attending sessions on the Chamber floors.

For more information on the League of Women Voters of the North Country, please contact Helen Nerska at allenhomestead@gmail.com. For more information on the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation or the Students Inside Albany program, please visit www.lwvny.org.

Final structural beam placed in Buffalo Bills’ new stadium: Here’s the latest

Click here for the Democrat and Chronicle story 

Regular Monthly School Board Meeting April 8, 2025

The Peru CSD Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 6:30 PM in the High School Community Room. It is anticipated that an executive session will take place immediately following the 6:30 PM start, and that the Board will reconvene for open public session business at approximately 7:00 PM. The meeting will be recorded and will be available on the District’s website at www.perucsd.org.

The meeting is open to the public and current District, County, State and Federal safety procedures and protocols will be followed.

Currently, two (2) public comment opportunities are planned as follows:

First public comment:  Related to items on the agenda.  Comments are limited to three (3) minutes per speaker.

Second public comment:  Comments are limited to three (3) minutes per speaker.

Individuals who cannot attend the regular meeting in person may submit public comments by emailing perucomments@perucsd.org no later than 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, April 8th. Online comments are also subject to the conditions stated above.

Anticipated topics include:

  • Budget Workshop #3
  • Meal Services
  • Personnel Appointments
  • Transportation Procedures
  • An Interagency Agreement
  • Internal Audit & Corrective Action Plan
  • SEQR Resolution
  • Property Tax Report Card
  • Ex Officio Student Policy

The complete agenda will be available via BoardDocs on the District’s website (perucsd.org).

 

Plattsburgh Bublic Library to host Creative Writing Group

Writers of all levels are encouraged to let their creativity shine

Click here for the Sun Community News story