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Burgh/North Countryman
February 29, 2020
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
CITY MAYORAL RACE HEATS UP
Nadim Dergham
Photo provided
Chris Rosenquest
Photo provided
By Andrea VanValkenburg
Dergham, Rosenquest announce intentions; six candidates in race so far
STAFF WRITER
PLATTSBURGH | The city of Plattsburgh mayoral race is quickly heating up as two more candidates now seek a spot on the ballot. See MAYORAL RACE » pg. 3
Officials optimistic about Bombardier rail sale $8.2 billion sale of division expected in 2021 By Andrea VanValkenburg STAFF WRITER
PLATTSBURGH | Local officials are optimistic about Bombardier’s intended sale of its transportation division and the future of the Plattsburgh rail-car manufacturing plant. Montreal-based Bombardier recently announced the impending sale of its global rail division to leading French locomotive manufacturers, Alstom, for $8.2 billion. Signing an early Memorandum of Understanding, company officials expect to finalize the sale in early 2021. With the Plattsburgh plant now
switching hands, both company and local officials have expressed optimism about the plant’s future as a top employer in the region. “The resulting combination of these two companies has the promise of creating a new whole which is even stronger than the sum of the parts,” Garry Douglas, North Country Chamber of Commerce president, said following the announcement. “In North America and elsewhere, there has been a need for consolidation to create a larger and stronger competitor in the marketplace to face the growing presence of newer players from China and elsewhere. This combination should be able to compete even more effectively for more contracts in the future, keeping the already very busy operation in Plattsburgh even busier in the years to come.” See BOMBARDIER » pg. 6
MultiLevel double-deck coach, Montréal, Canada
Mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial makes history
Bombardier photo
Flu ‘widespread’ throughout New York; peak not hit Essex, Clinton counties mark 10 plus cases per 100,000 By Kim Dedam STAFF WRITER
Photo provided
Replica of D.C. memorial to travel to Northern Tier in August; community’s help needed By Andrea VanValkenburg STAFF WRITER
CHAMPLAIN | After months of planning, a mobile Vietnam Veterans memorial is making its way to the Northern Tier this summer. The rolling replica of the Washington, D.C., Vietnam Veterans Memorial will make its first trip to northern New
York in August when it comes to the Great Chazy River Memorial Post 1418. “We did a lot of work to get it here,” Post 1418 Quartermaster, Anthony King, said of The Wall that Heals, a 375-foot Vietnam War education center, featuring the names of more than 58,000 fallen soldiers. The memorial was unveiled on Veterans Day 1996 and has made it to nearly 600 communities across the nation since then. The Champlain memorial post was selected as one of just 35 communities slated for the 2020 traveling tour out of the nearly 400 applications submitted for this year’s stops. “I’m super excited to see it come in and I think it’s a great opportunity for the community,” said King, who missed a chance to see The Wall That Heals in 2015 in his native California and is looking forward to the local opportunity. The exhibit allows visitors to do name rubbings on its synthetic granite panels and features photos of hometown heroes, a map of Vietnam, an In Memory Honor Roll for those who died of Vietnam-related illnesses following the war, a display of memorial items left at the memorial and a digital kiosk and a Gold Star Harley-Davidson that pays tribute to mothers who lost sons in the conflict. Organizers are planning a widespread community celebration of its arrival, and are mapping out a parade route from Plattsburgh to Champlain to welcome the memorial. See MOBILE MEMORIAL » pg. 8
Classic styles!
ELIZABETHTOWN | Incidence of flu this season is widespread throughout New York, including Essex County. Susan Lopez Allott, R.N., M.S., is director of the Essex County Public Health Preventive Services. Allott said every county in New York State has greater than or equal to 10 cases per 100,000 population. “We get reports of flu on a daily basis,” Allott told the Sun. “The number of flu cases is very high. What is different this flu season is the proportion of Influenza B to Influenza A. We had Influenza B occur earlier in the season.” Allott provided the most recent data gathered by state Department of Health officials. It shows that influenza activity level was categorized as geographically “widespread” for the 11th consecutive week, a condition much the same throughout the U.S., except for “moderate” flu cases in Nevada and Oregon; “low” in the District of Columbia, Alaska and Florida; and minimal in Idaho. In Essex County, of 12 cases of flu reported last week, eight are Influenza B and four are Influenza A. In Clinton County, of 66 cases of flu reported last week, 51 are Influenza B and 15 are Influenza A. See FLU » pg. 5
Influenza B virus under an electron microscope.
Photos from U.S. Centers for Disease Control
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