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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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CVPH Blood drive March 19 in Keeseville

PLATTSBURGH, NY (03/12/2025) –The Adirondack Regional Blood Donor Center, a program of the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) will hold a community blood drive at Mountain Lake Services, 100 Industrial Parkway in Keeseville on Wednesday, March 19. The event will take place from noon to 4 pm. 

All eligible donors are encouraged to give. In addition to benefiting patients at CVPH, blood collected by the Donor Center also supports those in need at Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, Elizabethtown Community Hospital (including the Ticonderoga campus), and Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

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

Retired Teachers of NY offering $2K grant to active Clinton & Essex County Educators

Retired Educators of New York (RENY) is offering a $2000 grant to active educators in Clinton and Essex counties to assist them in their classroom endeavors. To be eligible for the grant, an
educator must be a full-time teacher, nurse, counselor, or administrator in a public school district in the RENY Northeastern Zone (NEZ). For a list of the eligible school districts, refer to the RENY NE website, httos://yorenynez.com

RENY (the statewide organization) provides the Hudson-Kramer Memorial Grant, which has been increased to $2000, to an educator in the Northeastern Zone. The grant honors Ross
Hudson and Florence Coulter Kramer, dedicated and devoted members of the New York State Retired Teachers Association, now known as RENY. The Northeastern Zone and four other RENY Zones will receive this grant every other year.

The grant is designed to assist academic educators in developing and implementing an innovative program or project. The grant is for the 2025-2026 school year. The application process will
begin March 14th, and conclude May 16th. The grant winner will be determined by the end of the 2025 school year.

Informational packets with directions and contact information will be emailed to the District Administrators by March 3rd, to be forwarded to staff electronically. Interested applicants may
review the list of eligible school districts in the Northeastern Zone and the 2025-26 grant application and rubric online at the Northeastern Zone website.

Grant proposals must be submitted electronically to the RENY-NEZ Award Committee by May 16, 2025. Applicants must use the 2025-26 Grant Application Form. Thank you and good luck!

Should seniors only be eligible for rebate checks? NY lawmakers think so

Click here for the NCPR story 

2024-25 Winter Season Snowfall Totals

National Weather Service – Burlington
Here’s our map of reported snowfall totals for the 2024-2025 winter season (December through February). Most places saw near-to-above-normal snowfall, with the highest deviations from normal concentrated in the northern Green Mountains and the Adirondacks.

Schumer decries massive NOAA layoffs

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Ti’s Judge O’Bryan retires after 30 years

Story about a man who appears to be a very special person 

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

EPA to review landmark 2009 finding that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health

“We are driving a dagger through the heart of the climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal

Click here for the CBS News story 

Town Board votes to sell Jenkins Street tennis court property

By John T Ryan

If all goes as planned, the 7 Jenkins Street tennis courts will soon be private property.  At its Monday, March 10 meeting, the town board declared the property surplus and will list it for sale as soon as the market value is determined. In 2016, residents proposed repairing the courts for pickleball; however, after receiving a $30,000 repair cost estimate, the board did not take action. In September 2022, the board discussed selling the property. Now, it’s moving forward.

Awarding bids for the state-mandated sewage treatment plant project should occur very soon; however, when the board opened general construction and plumbing bids a few days ago, no contractor submitted a bid for the mechanical (heating/air conditioning) phase. Monday evening, the board voted to readvertise that portion of the project. Board members want to know the project’s total cost and tax impact to determine its scope. The Water, Sewer, Parks Department would like to relocate its office, equipment & vehicle garage from Cross Street to the treatment plant. The department and the highway department would then use the Cross Street garage for storage and demolish an old River Road storage building that needs a new roof.

New York State approved reducing the Roadwell Road speed limit to 45 MPH from  55 MPH. The town will erect new signs when ground conditions permit.

Peru Girl Scout Leader Michelle Calkins and her daughter Olivia asked the board’s permission to set up several children’s activities at the Little Ausable River Park. They would include frog hotels, frog huts, bird feeders, birdhouses, a flower garden, a fairy garden, and a painted rock snake chain.  The scouts would phase them in and ask for community support to maintain them. The board gave its blessing but asked Calkins to update them on what is happening with photos.

Verizon requested the Zoning Board’s permission to locate a communications tower at the Peru I-87 rest stop.

The Telegraph Road Bridge approval continues at a slow pace. Mike Farrell reported that DEC granted preliminary project approval, but he hasn’t heard from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Supervisor Craig Randall appealed to residents to complete the community survey online.  The Planning Board is revising Peru’s plan for future development and is doing its best to seek public input.

In other actions, the board:

Reappointed Ashley Akey and Alexis Grennan to three-year terms as members of the Peru Youth Commission.

Approved purchasing a steam jenny for the highway department for $9,218.  The department uses the steam jenny to thaw and remove ice from culverts.

3/12/25 – 5:31 PM – Correction made to the speed limit change reported. The state approved the reduction for the Rockwell Road, not the Rock Road.

Excessive rise in bee deaths are impacting local honey producers as well as crop pollination on a national level

Click here for the Adirondack Explorer story 

Big Tupper’s new owner sets sights on next project: Transforming a Tupper Lake tavern

Click here for the Adirondack Explorer story 

Snowmobiler travelled approximately 150 feet in the air on the vehicle before being ejected and travelling another nearly 150 feet

Town of Indian Lake
Hamilton County
Snowmobile Accident: On March 4 at 11:30 a.m., Hamilton County received a 911 call about an unconscious snowmobiler on Indian Lake. Environmental Conservation Police Officer (ECO) Newell arrived first at the scene, followed by Forest Ranger Milano and an Indian Lake Paramedic. The 55-year-old from Hillsdale had hit an ice heave while snowmobiling and travelled approximately 150 feet in the air on the vehicle before being ejected and travelling another nearly 150 feet after bouncing off the ice a couple of times. The subject suffered a traumatic brain injury and injured his left arm. First responders and bystanders wrapped the snowmobiler in a hypo wrap and transported him in a snow ambulance. Indian Lake Fire and EMS carried the subject to a Life Net helicopter, which flew him to the hospital. Resources were clear at 1 p.m.

Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On March 8 at 4 a.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from the family members of two overdue hikers. The last known location for the 25- and 30-year-olds was the summit of Upper Wolfjaw Mountain. The pair from Queensbury had left an itinerary with their family members with instructions not to worry until 3 a.m. The pair were planning to complete five peaks of the Lower Great Range. Wolfjaw was their fourth peak with strong winds, whiteout conditions, and temperatures as low as –40 degrees with the windchill in higher elevations. At 6:30 a.m., Forest Ranger Lewis located the hikers’ vehicle at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve parking lot. Rangers hiked the Wedgebrook Trail and A.W. trail. As they were about to hike the south side trail of Johns Brook Valley at 10 a.m., Johns Brook Lodge called to report the two hikers were at the lodge and in good condition. The hikers had lost the trail and could only find the trail to Johns Brook Valley. They encountered other hikers in the morning who told them about the lodge. Rangers explained how the hikers could get to the Garden parking lot and at 12:30 p.m., the pair met up with Rangers and family.

The pair had multiple electronic devices for navigation, but the batteries all died. Rangers encourage hikers to always travel with a map and a compass.

Common Sense Media supports Hochul’s ‘bell-to-bell’ smartphone restraints

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Peru Drama Club set to take the stage

A cast of 28 dedicated students will bring the stage to life March 20-22

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

‘Where were you?’ Family of teen who died by suicide demands action on bullying

Click here for the Vermont Public story 

Vermont’s small-town schools struggle to stay alive

Ripton school’s recruitment efforts fall short, compounding worries about its future

Click here for the Vermont Public story 

Former corrections officers speak out after being fired for strike participation

Click here for the MYNBC5 story 

Assemblyman Billy Jones: Statement on Governor’s Executive Order No. 47.3

            “I strongly oppose the Governor’s recent Executive Order declaring a state of emergency at correctional facilities and barring terminated New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS) from future employment at other state, county or local government agencies. This is an absolute ridiculous usurpation of local control and an overreach of executive power. The Executive Order is vindictive and must be reversed immediately.”  

Helen Nerska: “We always enjoy it when people come to visit. We want people to know they can share their history with us, and we’ll share ours with them.”

By John T Ryan

Peru, NY – March 11, 2025 – “We do what we have fun doing.” That’s how Peru Town Historian Helen Nerska and volunteers Chris Mullen and Jackie Madison describe their work at the Peru historian’s office. The women, including Nerska, are unpaid volunteers who love local history and want to share it.

Helen Nerska, who also directs the Clinton County Historical Association, has been Peru’s Town Historian since August 2022, succeeding longtime historians Ron and Carol Allen.  Nerska commented, “Peru has an incredible history to share. I want people, especially future generations, to learn how hard those people worked, how important family was, and how they communicated. We want to share it and make it more available to people.”

Helen Allen Nerska grew up and resides at the Jabez Allen Homestead on Jabez Allen Road. A sign in the front yard reads, “Allen Homestead since 1788.” Seven Allen generations farmed its land. Chris Irwin Mullen’s parents, Kermit and Bertha, operated the beautiful Maplegrand Farm on Jarvis Road. Kermit was a leader in the local and state dairy industry. Mrs. Irwin worked on the farm, was a mother to six children, and cared for her parents and Kermit’s parents as they grew older. Sundays, she was the Peru Community Church’s organist. Jackie Madison, a great friend to Nerska and Mullen, is President of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association.

Over the past several months, Nerska, Mullen, and Madison have been unboxing, examining, organizing, filing, and cataloging hundreds of historical Peru documents, photographs, and artifacts. Nerska is developing a computer database listing all the historical items in the town’s possession and their location. They’ve uncovered long-forgotten Peru history, including some somewhat scandalous behavior.

Last year Nerska and Mullen staffed displays at the Peru Town Market, the Applefest, and the Babbie Museum, organized a hamlet walking tour, and conducted a “History Chats” series with Peru senior citizens. They’ll host another walking tour this summer, an open house at the Lyons Street one-room schoolhouse, and participate in the America 250 Celebration. The Revolutionary War Battle of Valcour Island occurred in Peru on October 11, 1776.

The ladies are also developing what Nerska calls a “mini-museum” on the town hall’s lower level. Visitors will enjoy historic photographs and artifacts, such as medicine bottles from Marsha’s pharmacy and photos of the Mason lumber mill, Peru’s business district, and the Valcour Summer Camp.

Helen Nerska praises her town historian predecessors, Ron and Carol Allen, Cora Stafford, John Roach, Hilda Curtis, Jane Metcalf, Nancy LaMar, and Eleanor Spaulding, for collecting and preserving the town’s possessions. She also thanks Lincoln Sunderland for his many books detailing Peru’s history, which are invaluable resources. Nerska said, “We treasure everything they preserved.

Helen Nerska, Chris Mullen, and Jackie Madison warmly invite the community to visit the historian’s office. “We always enjoy it when people come to visit. We want people to know they can share their history with us, and we’ll share ours with them.”

The office is open every Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. Phone 518-643-2745 Ext. 108. Nerska’s cell number is 513-582-7246. Email: historian@perutown.com

New York prison strike ends after 22 days, DOCCS says, as 2,000 employees terminated

Click here for the MYNBC5 story 

Temp hits 60 at Burlington Airport

Square profile picture
NWS Burlington @NWSBurlington
The temperature at BTV (Burlington International Airport) has reached 60 degrees for the first time this year. This is exactly the date on which it first hit 60 in 2021, and it is earlier than the historical normal (March 27th).

AGENDA – Planning Board WEDNESDAY March 12, 2025 @ 6:00 PM

TOWN OF PERU

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL  February  2025 minutes
5. OPEN FLOOR to public hearing
6. APPLICATIONS:

1. P2025-0003   2-Lot Minor Subdivision
Ashley
Yanulavich
267.-1-3.21
606 Patent Rd
2. P2025-0004   2-Lot Minor Subdivision
Doreen James
280.-1-27.11
128 Barker Rd
3. P2025-0005  2-Lot Minor Subdivision
Doreen James
280.-1-46
2814 NYS Route 22
4. P2025-0006 Merge
Doreen James
280.-1-27.11 &280.-1-46
Barker Rd and NYS 22
5. P2025-0007 2-Lot Minor Subdivision
Ruth Relation
255.-2-15
85 Conners Rd
6.P2025-0008 Merge Michael
Wells
255.-2-18.22
57 Conners Rd

7.  ANY FURTHER BUSINESS
8.  CEO REPORT
ADJOURNMENT

AGENDA – Zoning Board of Appeals WEDNESDAY March 19@ 7:00 PM

TOWN OF PERU

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL of January 2025 minutes
5. OPEN FLOOR to public hearing
6. APPLICATIONS:

1. Z2025-104 Special Use Permit NY RSA2 Cellular Partnership
d/b/a Verizon Wireless
Valcour Rest Area

7. CEO REPORT
8. ADJOURNMENT

Clinton County Health Department and partners are monitoring Bird Flu

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) 

Clinton County, March 11, 2025. The Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) and their local partners are working closely to monitor Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as H5N1 or bird flu, in Clinton County and to share educational messages with poultry and dairy farms and workers, health care providers, and the community. 

HPAI has been widespread in the state for several years and is circulating across the country. This strain of influenza virus has spread from wild birds into poultry, dairy cattle, domestic cats and many species of wildlife. Rarely, it has passed to humans who had direct contact with infected birds and mammals, including dairy cows, and caused illness. At this time, there is no evidence that HPAI has spread from person to person in the United States. To date, in New York, there have been no human cases of HPAI and no detections in cattle. 

“HPAI has been present among wild birds in the North Country, in small numbers, since 2022. Clinton County has not seen HPAI cases in domestic poultry, cattle, or other mammals,” explained Director of Public Health Jeffrey Sisson. “While residents may be hearing about HPAI outbreaks in other parts of the state or country, in Clinton County, current activity among wild birds remains within expected levels for our community. The risk to the public is low.” 

In New York, Department of Health (NYSDOH), the Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSAGM), and the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are working together to protect the health of people and animals across the State. As part of this response, NYSDEC launched a web-based HPAI reporting tool earlier this year to identify the virus in novel bird species and locations. Residents can report any findings of dead birds, especially multiple birds in one place, using this tool. 

The DEC advises the public to avoid any contact with sick or dead birds and mammals that may be infected with HPAI. Residents can further minimize the risk of spreading HPAI by preventing contact between sick or dead wildlife and domestic animals. Limit contact with these animals unless necessary, and keep children and pets away. If carcasses need to be removed, use a shovel (if available) and wear disposable gloves, a mask, and eye protection; wash hands and clothing immediately after and triple-bag carcasses and put them in an outdoor trash receptacle. 

Residents that keep backyard poultry flocks can visit https://agriculture.ny.gov/animals/poultry for more information to help prevent the spread of the disease within their flocks. “While our commercial poultry farms have strict biosecurity and monitoring measures in place, we know we have many residents who keep poultry at their homes,” added Mr. Sisson. “These residents should review their biosecurity plans and take “Working Together for a Healthier Community” – 2 – 

precautions to protect their birds, including keeping their flock completely separated from wild birds.” To report sick or dead poultry, call the NYSAGM at (518) 457-3502. 

“Again, the risk to the public right now is low,” emphasized Mr. Sisson. “We want to assure our residents that we are paying close attention to the current situation and will share any updates on the impact to human health as appropriate.” 

For more information about H5N1 avian influenza, visit https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/avian/. 

Peru, NY, Monday, March 10, 2025, about 8:30 a.m. 32 degrees.

Tariffs on Canadian electricity could mean higher costs for dirtier electricity in New York

Click here for the Syracuse.com story