The Peru Gazette

Casey Frankoski, a graduate of Columbia High School, and New York State Trooper John Grassia, of Schenectady, named by local officials as fatalities

Click here for the Times-Union Story 

Unified basketball welcomes Peru at premiere assembly game

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call 

4. MOTION/DISCUSSION:  To Accept Reports from all Departments: (Water/Sewer/Valcour; Highway; Town Clerk; Dog Control; Youth Department; Code/Zoning; Supervisor’s Report; Court; Website; and Banking Reports, JCEO);

5. MOTION:  Acceptance of Minutes for the Regular Meeting of February 20, 2024.

6. Community Input. 

7. DISCUSSION/MOTION: Request for Town to Apply to NYS Pro-Housing Communities Program.

8. DISCUSSION/MOTION: Allow Water/Sewer/Parks Dept. to Advertise for a Seasonal Laborer.

9. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Accept Resignation from Highway MEO I.

10. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Approve the Hiring of New Highway MEO I.

11. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Acceptance of Wastewater Sand Bed Decommissioning Proposal.

12. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Approval of Handbook Change for Maximum Compensation Time.

13. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Approval of Handbook Change for Highway CDL Licensing.

14. DISCUSSION/MOTION: Set Dates and Times for Engineer RFQ Interviews.

15. DISCUSSION:  Other Business.

16. DISCUSSION:  Public Comments on Agenda Items Only.

17. RESOLUTION/DISCUSSION:  Pay March 2024 Bills.

18. MOTION: Adjourn Meeting.

Click here for the WCAX story 

Click here for the NCPR story 

TOWN OF PERU

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL of December 20, 2023 minutes
5. OPEN FLOOR to public hearing 
6. APPLICATIONS:
   1. 1. 1. Z2024-08 AreaVariance

John Andre, 279.2.1-38,  7 Washington St                                                       

7. AN FURTHER BUSINESS               
8. CEO REPORT
9. ADJOURNMENT

Click here for the Mountain Lake PBS story 

Concept drawing of station after renovations

New space in yellow and pink

By John T Ryan

March 6, 2024 – If voters approve, the Peru Fire Station will be undergoing a significant expansion. Fire Commissioner Chairman Greg Timmons unveiled preliminary plans at the fire station last night. Engineers from Architectural Engineering and Design Associates (AEDA) also responded to questions. The department’s plans include:

• Expanding the building’s five bays by fifty feet toward Bear Swamp Road.  
• Adding a decontamination room.
• Adding a filling station/room.
• Adding a parking area east of the building
• Expanding equipment storage space and include a locker room with nearby showers and restrooms.
• Using the existing social room to expand space for ambulance EMS personnel
• Constructing a new social room
• Improving building drainage.
• Installing new furnaces/boilers.
• Adding a fitness room
• Including space for the public to see its historic fire truck

The changes would add about 5,900 square feet to the fire station and cost an estimated $3.8 million based on 2024 construction costs. Engineers estimated the additional burden on taxpayers to be just under $.52 per thousand of taxable value.

The department’s bond council is currently researching borrowing costs. After that, taxpayers will have their say in a referendum. If approved, AEDA will develop more detailed plans, advertise bids, and begin construction, hopefully no later than early 2025.

Greg Timmons summarized why the expansion is needed: “The department built the original structure in 1973. It’s aging and deteriorating. We have drainage issues. We need to get water away from the building. We started planning this about two years ago.”

Fire trucks are changing. Timmons explained, “Today’s trucks are bigger, longer, and taller. We want plenty of room for the trucks because we anticipate Peru’s future growth. We also want to meet national and state decontamination standards.”

Discussing the decontamination room, Timmons said, “Fires can leave carcinogens, toxins, and organisms on a firefighter’s gear. The skin can be affected. Departments are going to what is called the clean concept.” The new decontamination room will enable firefighters to immediately clean and blow dry their equipment while keeping contaminants isolated from the rest of the station. The locker or turnaround room will give them much more room to stow gear. It will also have an outside entrance for emergency personnel from the new parking area east of the building. All firefighters report to the station before responding to a call.

As an incentive to attract and retain members, the department purchases gym memberships for firefighters if they want to join. The fitness room will include several aerobic machines so personnel can work out at the station rather than join a gym. The room currently serving as a social room will be converted into additional space for EMS crews. There will also be a new room for social gatherings, trophies, antique nozzles, and other memorabilia. The department’s twice-restored 1926 Brockway fire truck will have a home in the glass-enclosed room facing the highway at the western end of the building. Planning for these upgrades has been taking place for over two years. Note correction of March 14, 2024. The original story stated 6,100 sq. ft. 5,900 is the correct sq. footage. 

Corrections of August 20, 2024: The original story stated a 40-foot bay expansion. A 50-foot expansion was actually being planned. It also stated gym memberships were mandatory. They are used as incentives, but they are not mandated. 

Current station’s original structure was erected in 1973.

A Canine Gem animal rescue operator is facing more than 50 charges including six felonies and 48 misdemeanor counts.

Click here for the Press-Republican story 

I should have shared this excellent February 3, 2024, Kim Dedam, Sun Community News story. It traces Plattsburgh City Hall’s history. Its architct designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

The Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) and North Country Public Radio (NCPR) have announced the first five Howl Story Slams of the 2024 season.

“Anyone can sign up to tell a story. Stories must be: true, under five minutes, adhere to the night’s theme and told without notes.”

The first event is set for Wednesday, Mar. 27, at 7 p.m. at Olive Ridley’s in Plattsburgh, NY. Additional story slams are scheduled in Morristown at the Iron Horse Grill on Apr. 23; Upper Jay at the Upper Jay Art Center on May 16; Indian Lake at the Indian Lake Theater on June 21 and Saranac Lake at the Waterhole on July 9. The theme for these five slams is “Risky Business.” More information for each event can all be found on ACW’s events page at adirondackcenterforwriting.org/events.

Anyone can sign up to tell a story. Stories must be: true, under five minutes, adhere to the night’s theme and told without notes. Storytellers are judged by a few audience members and a winner is announced at the end of each night. All of the 2024 winners will be invited to tell a story at the Grand Slam at the end of the year.

No tickets are needed; each slam is a suggested $10 donation which is split between ACW and NCPR, two North Country nonprofits dedicated to inspiring the love of storytelling.

You can listen to past storytellers on NCPR’s The Howl Podcast at northcountrypublicradio.org/pages/the-howl. Videos from last season’s Grand Slam at St. Lawrence University can be found on NCPR’s YouTube channel and on The Howl Story Slam Facebook page.

The Adirondack Center for Writing has been bringing people and words together for 25 years through provocative events and meaningful programs. For more information about ACW, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org or follow @adkctr4writing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Find all the latest on Town Meeting Day here.

Click here for the VTDigger story

Blood collected by CVPH program helps thousands of North Country residents 

The next drive in Peru is Monday, April 1. 

PLATTSBURGH, NY (3/05/2024) – The Adirondack Regional Blood Center,  in collaboration with numerous generous sponsors, will conduct several blood drives open to the community in March.  The Blood Center is a program of the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH).

Here’s the March community blood drive schedule:

• Adirondack Helping Hands, Thursday, Mar. 7, 2 to 6 pm
• Clinton County ARC, Friday, Mar. 8, 9 am to 1 pm
• Willsboro Fire Department, Monday, Mar. 11, 3 to 6 pm
• St. Lawrence Human Services Center, Thursday, Mar. 14, noon to 3 pm
• CVPH Auditoriums A & B, Friday, Mar. 15, 7:30 am to 2 pm
• Champlain EMS, Monday, March 18, 3 to 7 pm
• Brushton – Moira American Legion, Tuesday, Mar. 19, 4 to 7 pm
• Adirondack Medical Center, Redfield Room, Monday, Mar. 25, noon to 4 pm

Blood collected at these drives and at the Donor Center, located at 85 Plaza Blvd stays in the North Country, helping hundreds of people in this region. The Donor Center is open Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4 pm and walk ins are always welcome.

Blood donors must be at least 17 years-old (16 years-old with written parental/guardian consent), in generally good health and weigh at least 110 lbs. A screening questionnaire addressing personal medical, social and travel history must be completed prior to donating.  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.

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Click here for the Press-Republican story 

Peru Gazette photo of March 6, 2024 at 7 a.m.

The Progressive state representative beat out Democratic City Councilor Joan Shannon.

Click here for the VTDigger story 

Click here for the NCPR story 

The recent investigation of A Canine Gem has boosted awareness of animal rights

Click here for the Sun Community News story