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Saturday,ÊNo vemberÊ5,Ê2016
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In SPORTS | pg. 13-15
Boys, Girls Eagles soar to titles! Chazy kids win Class D crowns
www.SunCommunityNews.com
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In POLITICS | pg. 5
Final week until elections
Candidates on last efforts to snag voters
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In ARTS | pg. 9
Creating stable communities
Involvement in events enriches quality of life
Champlain spending plan to exceed tax cap
But taxes to be kept flat in 2017 proposed budget By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
CHAMPLAIN — Town officials recently hashed out next year’s tentative spending plan, which will keep taxes the same for the residents. The tax rate will remain the same at $2.23 per $1,000 in assessed value. But the town will exceed the tax cap by $42,061 due to paying off a $61,000 short-term loan for the municipal water project, which was implemented this year to provide a new water supply for residents.
GetÊt ested
“We worked hard to keep it there,” said Supervisor Larry Barcomb of the tax rate. “Everything seemed to work out quite well.” Proposed appropriations clock in at $2,138,706, an increase of $56,000 from last year. The increased expenses are chiefly due to $50,000 payment toward a $100,000 plow truck for the highway department. Money was also put aside for the Northern Tier Recreation Trail — a new trail system going from the village of Rouses Point, through the town and into the village of Champlain. Revenues also increased by $30,000 up to $1,248,921, due to increased CHIPS funding and fees from the town court. The town’s overall assessed value of $374,892,846 increased by $1 million due to the construction of a Dollar General and several new homes. Highway Supervisor Alan Racine said the costs for tar and
Free clinic to be offered this weekend at American Legion Post 1619 in Morrisonville
‘PERFECT STORM’
>> See Champlain Budget | pg. 11
Clinton County to replace bridges in Mooers, Peru
forÊ Hep-C
MORRISONVILLE — The boot camp ritual was robotic in its precision. Soldiers lined up for their vaccination shots. Needles were outdated, “jet guns” were in, and soldiers received high pressure blasts of an 18-drug cocktail before Pete being shipped off to Vietnam. DeMola Editor The U.S. military saw the pneumatic devices as an exercise in modern efficiency. “These guns were made for cattle originally,” said Danny Kaifetz, a U.S. Marine who served from 1970-72. “This thing hurt.” The flinching led to ripped skin. Blood sprayed onto the gun, where it mixed with fluids from others. And kapow — the process repeated for the next guy, with no sterilization of the device between uses. Now 40 years later, growing evidence suggests the guns, banned since the 1990s, acted as a vessel to transport diseases, including hepatitis C. “The VA is backing off and is even allowing disability claims,” Kaifetz said. “Everybody knows it’s this gun.”
salt also saved the town over $10,000. Over $9,000 of savings also came from the landfill due to the change in days and hours in operation. The town plans on using 40 percent of its $732,000 fund balance. “I’m not concerned with going over that percentage,” West said. “We’ve never had an issue with it before and it’s a healthy amount to sustain us.” This leaves $749,785 to be raised by taxes. Retirement costs decreased by almost $10,000 due to the retirement of two staff and hiring of three new people on a lower tier of the town’s plan. Union workers will receive a raise of $2.75 per hour. Health insurance costs increased by 5 percent, in compari-
Other municipalities in different phases of new bridge construction By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
Kaifetz, who serves as the medical officer for American Legion Post 1619, is spearheading an effort to get all Vietnamera veterans tested. He called the factors that led to the mass spreading of the virus a “perfect storm.” War, the draft, the lifestyle, culture — and the gun. The 1960s and early 1970s was a period of high recreational drug use. The draft saw an eclectic cross section of the population being pulled in, including low-level criminals who signed up to U.S. Marines to wipe away their pending charges. Hepatitis C was not discovered until 1989 — and testing wasn’t developed until 1992 — making it possible for those
MOOERS — Clinton County is preparing to go out to bid to replace two bridges in Mooers and Peru. The legislature voted 10-0 when to move forward with both replacements on Jarvis Road in Peru and Lamberton Road in Mooers. “They are both safe to use, but they have been chosen for updates,” said County Legislator Robb Timmons. Every year, the county’s highway department chooses one to two bridges in need of upgrades to be worked on each summer. This summer, the county focused on the Rand Hill Road Bridge in Morrisonville. Next summer, the focus will shift toward the bridges in Mooers and Peru. Bids will open for the Peru structure on Dec. 21. Timmons said the Mooers replacement is to be determined but should open sometime early next year. Once open, bids won’t close until 45 days after. Timmons said the legislature is looking at a spring 2017 construction
>> See Hep-C Testing | pg. 16
>> See Bridge Replacements | pg. 4
The U.S. military saw “jet guns” as an exercise in modern efficiency. But mounting evidence suggests the technology was responsible for spreading hepatitis C. “These guns were made for cattle originally,” said Danny Kaifetz, a U.S. Marine who served from 1970-72. “This thing hurt.” Photo by Teah Dowling