The Peru Gazette

Peru Gazette Note – Twenty people volunteered to donate blood on Monday, December 4 in Peru with eighteen units collected. 

If you couldn’t donate in Peru there are several other December opportunities.

The Adirondack Regional Blood Center, a program of the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), makes giving blood easy with drives planned throughout the region and convenient Donor Center hours.

The December blood drive schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, December 5, Malone Fire Department, 2 to 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, December 6, Essex County Department of Social Services, Elizabethtown, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, December 7, Mooers Fire Department, 3:30 to 7 p.m.
• Friday, December 8, Burke Adult Center, 9 to 11 a.m.
• Monday, December 11, Chateaugay American Legion, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, December 13, Bloomingdale Fire Department, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, December 14, Champlain Centre Mall, 2 to 6 p.m.
• Friday, December 15, Clinton County Government Center, first floor meeting room 8:30 a.m. to 12:30pm
• Tuesday, December 19, Ellenburg Knights of Columbus, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, December 20, Alice Hyde Medical Center, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Thursday, December 21, Franklin County Court House, second floor conference room, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, December 26, CVPH Laboratory Conference Room, Miner Medical Arts Building, 214 Cornelia St., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, December 27, Cumberland 12 Cinemas, 4 to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, December 28, Holy Name Parish Center, AuSable Forks, 4 to 7 p.m.

Walk ins are always welcome at the Donor Center, located at 85 Plaza Blvd. It’s open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Blood collected by the Adirondack Regional Blood Center stays in the North Country, helping hundreds of people in this region. Its success rests on the generosity of donors and sponsors.

A donor card or another form of identification is required to donate. Learn more about the Adirondack Regional Blood Center, giving blood and becoming a sponsor at UVMHealth.org/GiveBlood or call (518) 562-7406.

AGENDA – PERU Planning Board
WEDNESDAY December 13, 2023 @ 6:00 PM

CALL MEETING TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
APPROVAL of November 8, 2023 minutes
OPEN FLOOR to public hearing
APPLICATIONS:

P2023-012; Site Plan Approval with SEQRA
Leon Blair, 280.1-8-67; 817 Union Rd

P2023-020; Site Plan Approval with SEQRA
WJB Properties LLC, 269.-1-39, Town Park Rd

P2023-029; Major Subdivision Final Review with SEQRA
Rafferty/Korn Drive, 270.-1-50.1;Korn Drive

4. P2023-034; Site Plan Review with SEQRA/Convenience Store
Rad Alashwal, 269.-1-54 ; 3384 Route 22

5 . P2023-036; 2-Lot Minor Subdivision with SEQRA
Matt Furnia, 291.-1-20.134;472 Calkins Rd.

6 . P2023-037; Merge with SEQRA, Dorothy and Craig Wyman, 291.-1-1-20.132; 480 Calkins Rd.

ANY FURTHER BUSINESS
Elections
CEO REPORT
ADJOURNMENT

CALL MEETING TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
APPROVAL of November 15, 2023 minutes
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING/ELECTIONS
CEO REPORT
ADJOURNMENT

Click here for the NCPR story 

Disaster Loan Outreach Center to open at Ellenburg Town Hall today 

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Chris Mazdzer grew up in Peru, NY 

Click here for the MYNBC5 story 

Federal J-1 Visa program looks to ease physician shortage

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Students can be selected for paid internships at DEC, DPS, NYSERDA, OGS, Parks and SUNY System

Click here for the Sun Community News story 

Click here for the NCPR story 

Alison Webbinaro addressing the town board at its November 14 meeting. L-R Webbinaro, Councilmen Kregg Bruno and Melvin Itwin.

By John T Ryan

Peru – It’s time to hire a professional to update Peru’s zoning ordinance. That’s the message Planning Board member Ali Webbinaro delivered to the Peru Town Board at an October budget workshop and on November 14 at the board’s special meeting to adopt the 2024 town budget. Noting that she was disappointed the board didn’t include funding in its 2024 budget, Webbinaro said she realized she brought up the topic late in the budget process.

Webbinaro said two planning board members, two zoning board members, and Code Enforcement Officer Bob Guynup have been meeting informally to determine where the ordinance needs changes. She stated, “It’s too big an undertaking for the planning and zoning boards to do on our own. It will help shape the continued growth of our community in a way that keeps the integrity of what we want to continue.”

Supervisor Brandy McDonald mentioned having the zoning officer conduct an internal ordinance review. Webbinaro responded, “To do that would get us back to the point where we are now….”It’s getting difficult to move things forward concisely and professionally. Before you start piece-mealing it together, I would urge you to do the research.”

Councilman Kregg Bruno commented, “The last time we had a committee.” Webbinaro pointed out that getting the boards together for monthly meetings is difficult. She believes having them meet as a body at other meetings would add another layer of difficulty.

Webbinaro indicated that hiring a professional to do the update would cost the town about $70,000, but there’s a good possibility for state grant funding. She would do her part by researching state funding sources and hopes the board would include funding in the town’s 2025 budget.

Note – The above article is based on this video and telephone interview. 

Dear Editor:
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Peru Lions successfully completed their 46th annual John P Adams Memorial Turkey Trot. Over 500 people registered for the trot at the Peru Intermediate School on Thanksgiving Day to participate in the 5k and 10K runs. Many runners said of the event, “It’s a tradition”.All of the Lions Club’s efforts are supported by numerous volunteers and organizations throughout the area. The Peru NY Lions Club wishes to thank the following:

By John T Ryan

December 5, 2023 – Luck Bros. lived up to its targeted reopening date for the Carpernter’s Flat Bridge this morning at 8:48 a.m. when a northbound car crossed the bridge at 8:48 a.m. a few minutes before Luck Bros. had removed all the “Bridge Closed” signs. The gentleman driving the car may have been checking to see if the news reports about the bridge’s reopening were accurate. About five minutes later, he crossed the bridge headed southbound.

Luck Bros. will spend the rest of the day taking down the many detour signs in Peru, Chesterfield, and Keeseville. The NYS Department of Transportation closed the bridge to traffic on July 9. Based on the many comments to previous Peru Gazette stories, many local people are pleased that the bridge has reopened.

Click here to view a July 11, 2023 story on the bridge project. 

Click here to view a 2018 Peru Gazette story on an ice jam closing and damaging the bridge. 

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

Peru, NY December 4, 2023 – Luck Brothers will meet New York State Department of Transportation officials at about 9 a.m., and if all goes as planned, the Route 9 Carpenter’s Flat Bridge should reopen for travel about that time. Luck Bros. on-the-job foreman Travis Breyette commented, “It’s been a good project.” Asked if it resembled constructing a new Northway bridge, he responded, “This is more difficult. It was much like remodeling an old house.” The American Bridge Co. completed the Carpenter’s Flat Bridge in 1941. It appears on the National Register of Historic Places.

Work started on July 9 this year. Hopefully, the $6.2 million project to further elevate the bridge will prevent it from being damaged by the Ausable River’s frequent ice jams. The river is unpredictable. Breyette recalled that following heavy rains last summer, the water level rose eight feet in one day. 

Breyette’s pride regarding this project outcome is easy to sense, especially when he asked if he could borrow your reporter’s iPhone to take photos beneath the bridge where most of the work occurred. Fifteen to twenty Luck Bros. personnel have typically worked on the project at any given time.  

Luck Bros. performed the most significant portions, while subcontractors performed specialized aspects. A bridge painting contractor sandblasted and painted the bridge structure. As the project neared completion, another subcontractor raised the 2 million pound bridge 3.5 ft., assisted by Luck Bros. personnel. Luck Bros. personnel removed and replaced significant parts of the bridge’s concrete support structure. They used jackhammers to remove the old concrete pedestals holding the bridge before pouring new ones.  

People passing over the bridge will appreciate its broad approaches, new roadway, guardrails, curbing, and line striping. 

Click here for the Syracuse.com story 

This is a friendly reminder that there will be a Blood Drive today, Monday, December 4, 2023. The Drive will be held at the Peru St. Augustine Church Parish Center between 3pm and 6:30 pm. Come save lives and enjoy some snacks.

Peru, December 3, 2023 – Rev. Scott Seymour lights a candle on the St. Augustine’s Parish Advent Wreath at 9:30 mass this morning. Christians of most denominations observe Advent as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming.

Father Seymour asked parishioners to use this expectant waiting time for prayer, repairing broken family relationships, volunteering, and visiting or sending cards to homebound or lonely people. He said, “Tell them you are thinking of them and praying for them.”

Chicken and Biscuits
Fruit
Mixed Vegetables
Dessert

All are welcome. Take-out only, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Parish Center, 3030 Main St., Peru, NY 12972..

 Thanks to Katie Clark for the movies and photos.

Click here for the NCPR story