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ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron

Saturday,ÊO ctoberÊ22,Ê2016

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www.SunCommunityNews.com

In SPORTS | pg. 6-7

‘Second season’ begins Playoffs start in football, soccer

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In opinion | pg. 4

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Staying Healthy

Local groups lauded for health initiatives

In politics | pg. 3

Major endorsement

NYSUT backs NY-115th candidate

Essex County: Expect 5% tax hike next year Budget planning still underway; tentative tax increase comes as county nears end of five-year fiscal plan By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County is making progress on hashing out next year’s tentative spending plan. Taxes will almost certainly increase next year.

“We’re in the 5 percent neighborhood,” Essex County Manager Dan Palmer told lawmakers on Monday. But the increase is expected. Essex County is now in the fourth year of a five-year plan implemented to course correct their finances, which were teetering on insolvency after years of reliance on their fund balance. Lawmakers have been holding budget workshops for much of this month. One giant question mark is the annual renewal process of employee health insurance policies. Palmer estimated a 10 percent increase in premiums, but hopes that can be whittled

WhiteÊ CaneÊ AwarenessÊ DayÊ celebratedÊ inÊ Ê Ê Ê Elizabethtown

Annual event designed to bridge awareness gap between visually-impaired, sighted residents

down to 7 or 8 percent depending on how discussions with four different providers play out. “So we will have four quotes to look at to see where we are in terms of that,” Palmer told lawmakers on Monday. Health insurance “experience ratings” are complicated, Palmer said, and rates and premium renewals are driven by shifts in the Affordable Care Act and state tax surcharges, among other variables. “Health insurance gets to be really complicated when you go to the experience rate,” Palmer said. “But hopefully, we’re looking at that 7 to 8 percent range.”

Additional details will be available next week after the county’s purchasing manager returns from vacation. “We have to file by (November) 15th, which we fully intend to do,” Palmer said. The county is right where it needs to be following the five-year plan, Palmer said, and the county’s reserves have returned to a “more acceptable level.” “We’ve managed to go from nearly a $7 million deficit to a healthy fund balance. How we choose to use that moving forward makes a big difference,” Palmer said. >> See COUNTY | pg. 13

Students part of Assembly town hall forum ADK P-TECH students say they were pleased with civil tenor of forum, which took place under raging national backdrop By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

PLATTSBURGH — Students got a crash course in political civility last week as candidates from three local races converged at a town hall-type meeting sponsored by ADK PTECH. In their first joint appearance, state Assembly candidates Billy Jones and Kevin Mulverhill outlined their respective policies using questions posed by the students, who are enrolled in a six-year vocational program that runs concurrent with a degree from Clinton Community College.

ELIZABETHTOWN — The group moved slowly down Hand Avenue, their white canes making wide, uncertain arcs on the sidewalk. Moving two-by-two, they unsteadily traversed several hundred yards, stopped and made their way back. Amy Kretser urged the group to relax. “Every once in awhile, shake your shoulders,” Kretser said. Pay attention to sound and feeling. Stay on the left. Be alert. And don’t look down. “The cane allows you to get information so you’re not looking at your feet,” Kretser said. The goggles came off, and their sight immediately returned. The group buzzed.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Jones said college affordability is key to addressing workforce development issues. “We need to help colleges become affordable for our people,” Jones said in response to a question on how employers can aid workers between the ages of 25 and 40 to achieve the higher education that is becoming increasing necessary for

>> See WHITE CANE | pg. 13

>> See TOWN HALL | pg. 11

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