Massena Town Supervisor Joe Gray

Stop The Needless School Capital Projects to Cut NYS Deficit

2011-12-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/States-Financial-Challenges-Continue-In-2010-136220418.html

Watch the television story at the link above, then read this blog post.

My alma mater, St. Lawrence Central, recently passed a capital project vote. It will supposedly perform some much needed improvements to school buildings and will undoubtedly include some frivolous, costly expenditures - widening the swimming pool for example.
Canton Central is poised to hold a similar capital project vote in the not to distant future. This one will include some "necessary" upgrades to the school's heating system. One has wonder why something as important as a heating system wasn't fixed sooner.
The Massena Central District, where I live, is finishing a capital project that seems like it started a decade ago and included a million dollar artificial turf athletic field and fancy scoreboard that flashes important messages around the clock and year 'round - like the vitally necessary "Seasons Greetings" art work we see up there currently.
But how many millions of dollars could NYS save if these capital projects were trimmed down dramatically or ended altogether?
Many, many millions, that's how many.
I worked for the NYS Senate for over 12 years for two different Senators: first Ray Meier, the Joe Griffo.
One time during the perennial budget battle I said something like, "Senator, I could trim a lot for money from the state's budget in a hurry."
"How?" the Senator asked. (I'm not going to say which one, by the way.)
I said, "Stop all non-emergency capital projects. If you roof is failing or part of your school was blown down by a tornado, then you can do a capital project. But if you want a new artificial turf field or wider swimming pool, it's not eligible for 90-percent-plus state aid. Would that save any money in the state budget?"
The Senator assured me it would make a huge impact.
Unfortunately, he never had the guts to put my idea forward though.
So, we continue with these follies. The architects design bigger and bigger projects to line their pockets, and district voters approve them because "it's free money. The state is paying almost the entire thing," we hear.
And "If we don't take this money and do the capital project, it will just go to someone else."
Well, that pretty much sums up the problem, doesn't it?
This money isn't free! We're paying for it! If it were eliminated, no one would get to waste it on middle schools, or bigger gyms, or fancy baseball fields.
Whenever I hear that stupid argument that someone else will waste it in their district if we don't waste it in ours, I hearken back to my childhood: "Why can't I?," I used to whine. "Everybody body else is doing it!"
To which my parents would predictably reply, "Well, if everybody else was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?"
Unfortunately, when it comes to capital projects, a whole lot of people are jumping off the bridge too and we're all paying for it.
Too bad my Senator never had the guts to put the idea forward, but it probably would have been voted down anyway. After all, somebody's going to spend it....

Why We Can't Legalize "Pot"

2011-12-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

On a regular basis, I hear people say, "Why don't we legalize marijuana? It's no worse than alcohol and the government could use the money that would come from the taxes on it." Of course, the ones making the comment are probably regular consumers of the "herb."

You know, the argument seems pretty sound.

Pot isn't a "hard" drug and it is used recreationally by plenty of people. And there is the "medicinal" use of marijuana. (In reality, most of that is just an excuse to get stoned because it makes you feel better, although some symptoms are lessened by smoking some dope.)

Why not legalize it, tax it and bring its sale and use out of the shadows? Just like alcohol.

Because.

There is one HUGE difference between booze and pot, and that difference is why no reasonable person can support the legalization of marijuana.

Simply put, we have no way to measure the level of intoxication from smoking marijuana.

When Charlie tokes up, jumps into his car and hits a kid riding a bike, we have no way to know if Charlie smoked one joint or one ounce. How high is he? What do we charge him with if the kid dies?

So, until someone invents a test to quantify the how high a marijuana smoker is, we simply cannot legalize the substance.

Here's another difference between alcohol and marijuana: I can consume alcohol and not get drunk.

Can you smoke dope and not get high? If you can, why smoke it? I may enjoy the taste of a beer, but can anyone truthfully say he/she enjoys the taste of a doobie?

But that's an argument for another post.

Until we can measure the level of marijuana intoxication, the debate over legalizing pot is just a lot of hot air.... Or maybe it's smoke.

Hey, "Occupiers," Guess What? Wordlwide You are "The 1%"!!

2011-11-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

What started as two-bit protest has become a worldwide movement, the liberal media claim. Trouble is, no one really knows what it's all about and the protesters can't seem to tell us.

I continue to be puzzled by this "Occupy Wall Street" effort, which has since popped up in a handful of cities. What exactly is their point?

Oh, I know, the rich are getting richer and these guys aren't getting their share of the pie, right? Well maybe if each one of them got a life and did something positive they would have less time to protest.

They also need to take stock of their lives in America.

Compared to the rest of the world, the poorest Americans are probably still among the richest one percent in the world.

I can't take credit for this thought. It comes from my cousin, Susan, who told me the other day that she was thinking about how fortunate we all are as free Americans. She pointed out that she doesn't have to walk 10 miles to find clean drinking water. Nor, according to Susan, does she have to fear being gang-raped by soldiers in the perverted 21st century version of war carried out in some countries. She also said she doesn't have to worry about finding a way to get her children to the safety of a refugee camp.

Over the past two weeks, I've thought a lot about my conversation with Susan. And I've watched the no-so-articulate "occupiers" try to justify their tent cities. I listen to them complain how "the man" is tearing down their shanties because normal people can no longer tolerate the drumming, and the filth, and public urination and defecation, etc.

So, maybe it's time for the "occupiers" to take a step back and assess exactly what they possess compared to most of the world around them. I'm sure thousands of refugees around the world would love their tents, their blankets, their coats, their food,...even their drums.

How about the protesters and the unions, anarchists and left-wing splinter groups who them support band together and do something positive to help the real poor of this world.

The '60s are over.

Get real, stop feeling sorry for yourselves and make a difference in our world, not just a whole lot of excess noise.

What is the Point, Don?

2011-11-27T20:40:00.001-05:00

If self-proclaimed anti-cancer guru Don Hassig ever had any credibility in the public's eyes, he loses more of it ever time he is arrested for acting goofy. Although he is still revered and admired by some of the far-out left wing and tends to be worshiped as a Pied Piper by immature students on some local college campuses, Hassig's continued foolishness makes him nothing more than a one-dimensional cartoon character.

The latest target is the Post Post Office.

The Post Office? Really Don? Is that the best you can do?

Looks like it's time for you to fold your carnival tent and head back under you rock. You are apparently retreating further from the parameters of normal life and further marginalizing your message and your phoney "movement."

Give it up, Don, you're looking desparate.

But then again, it's really not about pollution, or chemicals or cancer with you, is it Don? It's all about you and

you quixotic quest for attention and money. The more you're out there, the more publicity you get and the more opportunity you have to capitalize on everybody's worst fear - cancer.

How much money do you make on this Don? And who's paying you to do it?

It's time for you to come clean and be honest with the public for once about who you are and what you're really after.

Here's a summary of Don's latest escapade:

This news item is lifted from the NorthCopuntryNow website.
"Environmental activist, Congressional candidate arrested at Potsdam post office

Sunday, November 27, 2011 - 9:34 am

POTSDAM – A long-time environmental activist was arrested Saturday for refusing to leave the Potsdam Post Office, according to village police.

Donald L. Hassig, 56, Colton, was charged with trespassing at 12:10 p.m. He is known for staging one-person protests in public places.

In October, he was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest at the St. Lawrence County Courthouse after he allegedly was verbally abusive with county personnel and, after being asked to leave the building, refused.

In August, Hassig said he has founded the Kick Ass Revolution Party and will run for the 23rd Congressional seat on a platform of “good changes that will immediately spark the poisonous dislike of nearly all members of the corporate-government tribe.”

Just recently, Massena Town Supervisor Joseph Gray said he and the town council were duped by Hassig into passing a resolution now being used as 'outlandish propaganda' against local business and industry.

Gray, in a letter to NorthCountryNow.com, said Hassig issued a self-serving press release to the media after the town council 'adopted a resolution in support of federal and state government educational outreach programs to warn citizens of the cancer hazard imposed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) exposure from food contamination.'

Earlier this month, in a letter to the editor, Hassig maintained it is time for an environmental revolution in the county."

2011 Local Election Failures: Media, Political Parties, Citizenry

2011-11-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

Well, as I write this, the 2011 local and county elections are history. Unfortunately, this just past election season highlights plenty of failures on several parts.

Failure #1) Media - Let's face it, the two candidates for St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge ran stealth campaigns that never really discussed the role of Family Court or the need to overhaul this bloated, over-reaching judicial bureaucracy...and the media let them get away with it.

There were no real debates or candidate forums. We heard virtually nothing about how either of these candidates would perform their duties had they been elected, and the media, along with the League of Women Voters, New York Professional Women, or any other typical sponsors of forums did nothing to correct that.

Family court is by nature secret. In fact, far too many of our court proceedings are done outside of public view. Why, for example, does Family Court assign "case workers" to kids who habitually get into trouble in school? These kids aren't in the legal system or the Person In Need of Supervisor (PINS) system, yet Family Court sees fit to assign them a case worker. Why? And how much does that cost the taxpayers of this county?

What else does Family Court do? I don't know and no one, especially my former colleagues in media, lifted a finger to educate us. That's truly unfortunate.

Failure #2) The political parties' failure to field candidates in many, many elections across the county and the state is deeply disappointing.

My town and party is indicative of the problem. We had one Town Councilman run unopposed and, while I enjoy working with this particular individual, voters should be offered a choice. The worst failure in Massena was the Republicans' inability to field a candidate in the race for a vacant seat on the Town Council. With only two unopposed races, there was no discussion on where either of the candidates stood on any issue or what his plan was for Massena's future.

But Massena is not unique, go the county's Board of Election website and see just how many races were unopposed. Part of the blame for that lies with the political parties themselves.

Failure #3) The citizenry takes the rest of the blame for unopposed elections. As a former political party chairman, I can tell you it is damn near impossible to find candidates. Almost everybody likes to bitch about the government and their taxes being too high, but when it comes time to actually put their time and money where their collective mouth is, the citizens run the other way.

It's easy to call politicians crooks or good old boys, but it's a little tougher to get off the couch and go out and do something for your community and its government.

Heck, it's extremely hard to even get people off their duffs to go cast their ballots. The privilege to vote in free and democratic elections is probably our greatest right as Americans. Sadly, too many people don't even register to vote, let alone step out to actually cast a ballot.

What do you have to say on the matter?

Governor Cuomo Starts His 2016 Presidential Campaign Already

2011-11-11T20:43:00.001-05:00

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently told the Public Radio audience that his foolish tax cap legislation was a "wake-up call" for local governments. How ridiculous.
The Governor obviously has no sense of what local governments are up against. Why would he, he has spent his entire political career in the marble halls that are Albany and Washington, DC.
If he's really concerned about local governments having to "...deal with the same economic reality the taxpayer has to deal with" then why doesn't the state have to deal with the tax cap, or New York City or New York City school districts.

Why doesn't it apply to the state, or NYC or its school districts like the rest of the districts in New York State? Why doesn't the Governor cap his own budget at two-percent?
This tax cap legislation was poorly conceived and even more poorly implemented. It fails to take into account some the restrictions placed on local and county governments by New York State.
I attended a workshop on the tax cap legislation a couple of months ago in Plattsburgh. It was to explain the legslation and offer tips on dealing with the tax cap.
One of the "tips" offered to local governments by State Comptroller Dinapoli is to "grow you rtax base." Thank you Captain obvious!
Try doing that in New York where no sane company wants to do business because of crippling state taxes and uncontrollabe bureaucratic regulations.
The tax base in my town decreased by $10 million last year due to the closure of the GM plant here, but the geniuses who created this foolish legislation in the Governor's office and the Legislature never considered a scenario like that. Their answer is to cut local government but they do nothing to lift the burdens they place on our communities and our economy.
This bill was purely political, designed to cater to the Tea Party, ensure re-election of the incompetents who comprise our state Legislature.
It is also intended to burnish Cuomo's credentials for a future run for the presidency.
When is the "wake-up call" for those of us who are struggling to rouse ourselves from the suffocating slumber imposed on our communities and our economy by the "experts" who are running New York State into the ground?

Some Powerful Arrogance In Potsdam!

2011-11-04T23:32:00.000-04:00

If anyone wonders why the Village of Potsdam is on the verge of dissolution, he or she need look no further than the sheer, unbridled arrogance most recently on display in former Potsdam Village Trustee Helen Brouwer's letter to North Country Now.

She goes so far as to say it is the Town of Potsdam, and other towns as well, that should be dissolved not villages. She even mindlessly states that the New York State Constitution and its resulting state laws which created towns over two hundred years ago are wrong and should be changed.

Now that's some powerful arrogance.

But it's really nothing new for Mrs. Brouwer, or other Potsdam officials like current Mayor Ron Tischler or Trustee Steve Yugartis. These people display an actual disdain for having to deal with the voters, taxpayers and media that allow and enable them to serve in public office.

Their actions seem to say, "Why don't all of you ignorant people get out of our way so we can run things the way we see fit? After all, our background is in the university world and we are obviously much more intelligent than you, the unwashed masses!"

You'll remember that it was Trustee Brouwer who, along with the toadies on the village board and in appointed positions with the village, continually thwarted attempts to start businesses in Potsdam, especially if they were located around the corner from Mrs. Brouwer's home. That location is the current site of Mr. Robar's toilet garden, which sprang up after Mrs. Brouwer and her cronies killed every effort to grow the local economy at that location.

Now she actually has the chutzpah to call town government "superfluous" and say that multi-millions dollars local governments can easily "be run by the highway superintendent and the clerk. ... It makes very little sense to destroy the core governmental unit, the center of population and services and turn over the responsibility to the larger unit that has little expertise and less interest in taking on the additional burdens."

Can you believe the unmitigated gall?

Have you forgotten, Mrs. Brouwer, that villages aren't really governments?

They are merely corporations who were originally incorporated to deliver services like water, sewer and trash pickup. Villages were never intended to be the burdensome, expensive, archaic little pseudo-governmental fiefdoms that most of them are today in St. Lawrence County and many other rural areas of New York State.

Mrs. Brouwer says it "does not make sense to dissolve the village of Potsdam."

But ultimately it is the voters who will decide that; not Helen Brouwer or her out-of-touch buddies who have kept their collective foot on the throat of new business and progress in Potsdam over the past few decades and allowed taxes to escalate to the point that any new residential growth in the Potsdam area happens outside the village or in places like Colton and Hanawa Falls.

Joe Kennedy Flap Example of What's Wrong w/NYS & SUNY

2011-08-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

I don't know SUNY Canton President Joe Kennedy very well. In fact, my first few meetings left me with the impression that he was arrogant and aloof, like many stereotypical academics.
Well, my first impressions were wrong.
As I spent more time around Mr. Kennedy I found him to be intelligent, forthright, and personable, with a tendency to cut to the chase to point out bad policy and governmental/educational shortcomings.
That's probably what got him taken to the woodshed by the toady SUNY bureaucrats in Albany.
Now that it has become obvious these bureaucrats lied and obfuscated the truth about Mr. Kennedy's status, today they come forth with the bold announcement that he will be a lame duck president at SUNY Canton for one more year and then will be shuttled off to Albany to molder away at SUNY Central.
I guess all of this is reward for bringing Canton ATC out of the dark ages with better technology, spanking new campus facilities, exchanges with other universities around the world, doubled student enrollment and a huge variety of new four-year programs.
In short, he was making his colleagues and SUNY bureaucrats look bad by making SUNY Canton stronger than nearby SUNY Potsdam or any number of other campuses in the state university system that used to be the best in the country and on the leading edge of academia.
Now SUNY is overrun with and strangled by politcal hacks, pseudo-academics and a bunch of so-called educational experts who are completely out of touch with the real world.
When we learned that Mr. Kennedy was being ridden out of Canton on a rail, the college council was up in arms and Assemblywoman Addie Russell was adamant that she would get to the bottom of the conspiracy. Today the Assemblywoman is full of praise for the Kennedy plan which will put the Canton campus under the control of Dr. Fritz Schwaller, president of SUNY Potsdam. Russell now says this underhanded, cowardly action is an example of "working collaboratively to implement shared services between the two campuses over the next academic year, which will become a model for other SUNY collaborations."
Holy crap! If this is the model SUNY aspires to we might as well pack it all in right now!
Let's be honest: this was another example of Albany bureaucrats deciding what is best for the yokels in the North Country and elsewhere. Addie Russell knows it too, but apparently she also was taken on a little trip to the woodshed where she was set straight on the "Ways of the All Powerful New York State Bureaucracy."
I don't care what Gov. Cuomo and the political phonies in the state Legislature say, the bureaucrats are still running the state. Running it into the ground, as a matter of fact.

Hats Off To St. Lawrence County Highway Department!!

2011-07-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

Hats off to Superintendent Bill Dashnaw and his crew at the St. Lawrence County Highway Department for the quick and efficient replacement of the bridge on County Route 40, or West Hatfield Street Road as it is called in Massena.

The bridge was closed just four weeks ago for a replacement project that was supposed to take six or seven weeks. It opened at 10 a.m. on July 7.

County Route 40 runs from State Highway 56 north of Raymondville in Norfork, through a corner of Louisville and into the town and village of Massena where it turns into West Hatfield Street. It eventually becomes East Hatfield Street and then the North Raquette River Road.

People to the south know it as a shortcut to the St. Lawrence Centre Mall in Massena and the Mohawk Casino in Akwesasne.

I call it the street that runs in front of my house.

As I understand it, the type of bridge that was put in place is faster and cheaper to construct than more traditional bridges and this is only the second one of its type in New York State.

Mr. Dashnaw gets special credit for the creative and cost-effective work done on this bridge. Unfortunately, he will soon be leaving the county job to pursue other opportunities. His background before the county was working in the private sector.

The county legislature would serve us well by remembering that when they hire Mr. Dashnaw's replacement. Government has a tendency to promote someone to fill a job like this rather than bring an "outsider" in. The private sector background is important because it means the new hire will have spent a great deal of time working to make improve things for his or her employer. It may be a gross generalization, but I feel many public sector officials tend to have a "this is the way we've always done it" attitude and don't look for newer ways to do things.

Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens when Mr. Dashnaw retires at the end of the year.

Here We Go Again: St. Law. Co. Says "More Money, More Money!! Snort. Snort."

2011-06-28T11:03:00.000-04:00

My wife has an electronic piggy bank. When you put a coin in the bank's slot, the pig snorts a few times and says, "More Money, More Money!!" The St. Lawrence County Legislature reminds me of that bank.
About once a year, county officials start to salivate thinking about a 1% sales tax increase when they look at their budget shortfall and the bloated programs they've put in place over the years. Oh, these programs were well intentioned and probably met a need in an impoverished county like ours.
So, the county legislators and bureaucrats started a new service (read new program with its own office and staff) here and there because "there's a state grant for that" or "the federal government has money to cover that."
Trouble is, those grants require a local match from the county and many times the state and federal program funding (read government welfare) ends but our county program continues at local cost because we don't want to lay anyone off or end a "very worthwhile" service.
So, how do you pay for the bloat, the additional jobs and the resulting health insurance and pension costs for those programs?
You snort a few times and say "More Money, More Money! Raise the Sales Tax! It's only one percent!", snort, snort.
I don't want to pay more taxes; sales, property or otherwise.
But think about this for a minute: This year, I paid 871.75 in county taxes. If, God forbid, my county taxes go up 30% as officials speculate might happen next year, that will be an increase of $261.54. That a lot, to be sure.
But then, look at a sales tax increase of "only one percent." That's one percent of almost everything I spend my money on over the course of a year: clothing, gasoline, heating oil or natural gas, a meal at my favorite restaurant, a beer, a soda, most of my bill at the grocery store or Wal*Mart, a new car, etc., etc., etc.
The $261.54 I could possibly pay next year in more county taxes is equivalent to to one-percent of $26,154 I will likely spend on everything else in my daily life in that same year.
Meanwhile, county and state politicians continue to argue and insult one another over the best way to pick our pockets. The county politicos want to raise sales tax to save special projects and programs. State politicians want to claim the moral high ground against higher taxes but refuse to cut waste and eliminate fraud on their end. (And they're far too busy debating same sex marriage to do any real work anyway.)
Everybody continues to spend more and government grows and grows.
Wealthy people, farmers, developers and others who own large amounts of property would rather we all pay more sales tax so their property taxes don't go up. No one wants to pay more taxes and the average tax payer won't even consider losing some government provided services, no matter how costly or unnecessary.
As the piggy bank says, "More money, more money, more money. Snort, snort, snort."

Property Tax Cap Just More Albany Political Crap

2011-06-21T22:42:00.001-04:00

Democrats and Republicans alike in Albany are just spouting more political crap when they call for a two-percent local property tax cap.
How can they possibly keep a straight face uttering this nonsense while the ruins of New York State's finances are smoldering in the background?
For decades they haven't been able to pass a budget on time, until this year. Why? Pure politics.
This state is still billions of dollars in debt, but they're going to tell those of us on the local level that we can never raise taxes by more than two percent? Give me a break!
Excuse me Gov. Cuomo, Majority Leader Skelos and Speaker Silver, but your arrogance is showing.
I'll stand behind the Town of Massena's budget now and in the future. And, I'll let local voters decide if taxes are too high and whether the town budget is responsible.
We don't need a bunch of jokers in Albany lecturing us on fiscal responsibility.
Sens. Griffo and Ritchie, stick to state politics, and Assembly Members Russell and Blankenbush, stay the hell out of local government. Unless you guys are going to do something about the ridiculous cost of state pensions or help us rein in the ever-increasing level of public employee benefits, forgive me if I ignore your hand-wringing about the cost of local taxes.
Frankly, it's none of your damn business until you do something to improve our economy, stop the growth and waste in state government, and put an end to the strangulation of small business and hometown events by the out of control bureaucrats in agencies like the NYS Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation.
Clean up the governmental and political messes that litter Albany and our state before you brazenly demand that local governments toe your arbitrary line on tax caps.
It's time to get real.
Stop grandstanding.
Stop wasting our valuable time and tax dollars debating meaningless legislation like same-sex marriage.
Will that do something to help our economy or create jobs?
No.
But, like your proposed tax cap legislation, it makes great headlines.
And that's what most of you are about - headlines and soundbites, Facebook posts and Tweets.
Those things all accomplish very little, but they do keep the voters at home preoccupied while you do next to nothing to get us out of the financial crisis you helped create.

Thanks North Country Now & Your Readers!!!

2011-06-15T13:05:00.000-04:00

Well, last week's North Country Now reader poll offered some pretty strong support for my recent criticism of the foolishly loud motorcycles. Guess I'm not the only one sick of the annual, juvenile display of some people's version of freedom. To those people, remember this: Your rights end where my hearing begins.

Read on for NCN readers comments: http://northcountrynow.com/survey

Good News! Massena BDC Asking Questions, Seeking Answers

2011-06-08T22:49:00.000-04:00

I was pleased to see in yesterday's Daily Courier-Observer that some members of the Massena Business Development Council are stepping up to ask their executive director for some more detailed reports on what business contacts he has had in the recent past.
One board member, Ron Bacon, with back-up from fellow member Mark Reagan, pressed Jason Clark for additional information on his work recruiting new businesses/employers for the Massena community. Mr. Bacon went so far as to say that last months report looked very similar to the current month's report.
Of course, we heard the same old, same old from Mr. Clark and his chief protector, BDC President Dan Pease, that this work is "confidential" and to even discuss it might jeopardize pending deals.
What a bunch of hogwash!
The truth is, unfortunately, there are no deals pending. If there were, we'd hear the redundant, hushed-voice reply, "well, we're working on something very exciting with great potential, but we've been asked not to talk about it just yet."
We all know there would be plenty of things to talk about if there was any real economic development activity coming out of the BDC office. Mr. Clark is quick to fire off a press release to criticize Massena Village Mayor Jim Hidy or tell us about the latest, greatest supposed triumph for the fictitious I-98 super highway.
But he's not quite so quick to tell us what he's working on for job creation in Massena.
There are ways to update his board and our community on his work. Here's one I've suggested to the past few economic developers we've had in Massena: give us an accounting of contacts and potential deals that DID NOT pan out!
Nothing to be ashamed of in that. You say something like, "I talked to a plastics manufacturing company about possibly coming to Massena but we couldn't secure enough low-cost hydropower to meet their needs." Or, "we had a company on the hook but they were scared off by DEC regulations."
I also received an e-mail from a local marketing expert who suggested that every contact made by the BDC be given a tracking number. Only two or three people would know what company is assigned a number but the board could be given information like "We're sorry to report that No. 262 didn't work out, but 257-261 are still in the hopper."
That way people would have some level of confidence that activity is indeed taking place.
We're big boys and girls, we know you can't close every single deal. Those of us who are realists know that only a very small percentage of contacts ever materializes.
Add the latest scrutiny to the financial questions and analysis by BDC board member Larry Ralston a couple of months ago and it seems that the board is indeed dialed in and watching.
So, things may end up getting interesting at the BDC in coming weeks if this keeps up.
The questions is: What will we all see in the end?

Interesting Letter About "I-98" On North Country Now....

2011-06-02T22:52:00.000-04:00

I don't know this gentleman, but he makes some very interesting points.
J.

Read on.....

"Rooftop Highway Asks for Faith with No Proof

Thursday, June 2, 2011 - 1:54 pm

To the Editor:
If someone came to you with an offer to let you in on a great investment scheme on the conditions that you give him; a huge amount of money, not ask questions, take his word for everything, and be prepared to wait decades for the payoff, most prudent people would run as fast as they could in the other direction.
So I would have thought, before I started following the ongoing saga of the, “Rooftop Highway” a few years ago.
I cannot recall a time when I have seen an advertising and promotion scheme, based on next to no actual information or data, lead so many people to buying into such a far-fetched, costly and overreaching concept.
The entire foundation of this idea is based on the shared article of faith that, “... if we build it, they might come.”
To date, several highway studies have been referenced by the, “Roof-Toppers” main promoters, in support of spending what was originally said to be four billion dollars, which by today’s prices is likely to be significantly higher, (not to worry; it’s only Government money).
Coupled to this is the continuing claim that the project will create 27,000 jobs. These numbers have not been substantiated to the public, except for vague references to ‘DOT Reports,’ ‘a GAO study,’ none of which anybody seems to be able to produce or find, much less the source data that must exist to generate these kinds of reports.
There was a transportation analysis of the Rt. 11 corridor, the main corridor of commerce across the region, created and published by the Development Authority Of The North Country and The New York State Department Of Transportation in December of 2008.
That report studied every village town and county along the route. It did economic profiles, population profiles, traffic counts, traffic patterns, travel times, strategies to modernize and through-bypass ‘choke-points’ where needed.
It spoke in detail about environmental impacts and a total cost analysis of the project. The costs, incidentally, were about one-sixth of the “Roof-Top” estimates. Moreover, the report stated that these Rt. 11 upgrades were all upgrades that would be required to be done to support a full interstate highway, should growth and infrastructure needs ever indicate such an expansion.
So, it would seem that we’re supposed to build an interstate highway that completely divides towns and communities across Northern New York in half.
It takes scarce resources away from badly needed maintenance and improvements to our eroding current transportation infrastructure, which supports our local economies across the region.
Finally, it creates a third economic development corridor, based, apparently, on no hard data, for $4-8 billion of money that we don’t have. Incredibly, we are supposed to do all of this on faith and a bet. So far, that’s all that the public has been offered.
John Danis, Rensselaer Falls"

Re-Printed from NorthCountryNow.com

God, Country, Family, Self: What Are Your Priorities This Memorial Day?

2011-05-29T23:48:00.000-04:00

It's Memorial Day.
A day when we remember those loved ones who have passed on from this life. It's also a time when we take stock in what we have as a nation and why we have it. We take time to remember the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces, and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and way of life.
The priorities I mentioned in the title are those taught me by my father, John J. Gray. He died last November and we buried him just a few days ago. We went to the cemetery on a cold, damp Friday afternoon and stood in the steady drizzle, next to my grandparents' grave and that of my uncle, who was the second oldest boy in a family of eight. My father was the first born, in 1926.
He survived the Great Depression, the Battle of the Bulge and saw the liberation of Dachau Prison Camp.
He was tough, a bit rough around the edges, but he had a big heart and big laugh.
He wasn't an openly philosophical man, and he never detailed his priorities for us. He just lived them.
Here's what those priorities mean to me:
Whether you're religious or not, whether you believe in God or not, you're first priority should be God. God means always doing the right thing morally. Before you take any action you must think if it's the right thing to do. Does it hurt anyone else? Does it deprive them of their life, or liberty or pursuit of happiness.
Take a look at the 10 Commandments. Even if you don't believe, you have eight or nine pretty good rules for living a quality life.
So, morally speaking, your first priority must be God-like.
Next comes your country. Does that mean your country is always right? Not necessarily so, but you must give it the second highest priority because of what it stands for, what it means to other Americans and even people in other countries of the world. It is an ideal. A rather successful experiment that was undertaken more than two centuries ago to allow men and women to live in freedom. You might find it odd that country would take precedence over family, but just think of the case of Uni-bomber. His own brother turned him in to the authorities because it was the right thing to do for our country and our society. I can't imagine how difficult that call was to make for the brother.
Next, your must protect your family before yourself. Almost any parent will tell you that. They would willingly sacrifice their lives so that their children could live.
Lastly, your fourth priority is yourself.
Unfortunately, there are far too many people today who make themselves their first priority. Are you one of those? I hope not.
So, as we mark this important holiday this week, ask yourself: What are my priorities and what is their order of succession?
I know what mine are thanks to my Dad.

R.I.P.
John James Gray
838th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, Battery C

Loud Motorcycles Dangerous, Obnoxious, Immature and Illegal

2011-05-24T11:04:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, Potsdam Village Police issued a couple tickets for obnoxiously loud motorcycles. Kudos to them for trying to do something about the annual summer sound pollution we must endure because some immature biker likes his "hog" loud.
I believe the ticket was for a "modified" exhaust, which just enforces the point that the owners of these cycles have to tinker with the exhaust pipes to get them to be that loud.
Let me get this straight: you spend $12,000 to $15,000 on a motorcycles and then spend more money so either you or some mechanic can tear apart the exhaust to make it louder.
Oh, that makes perfect sense.
We keep hearing warnings to "watch out for motorcycles" because it summer time.
Well how about the owners of these machines grow up and look out for our hearing and the peacefulness of our communities?
I've said for years that if my car exhaust was that loud I'd get a ticket. It high time for all police agencies to follow Potsdam's lead in dealing with this seasonal menace. How about we check the decibel levels of motorcycles at one of these "highway safety checkpoints" we see all the time? If your bike is over 100 decibels when you rev the engine, you should get a ticket.
And that's another thing, if you have to "rev" you bike while you are stopped at a traffic light to keep it from stalling, get a tune up!! You obviously have a problem with your engine.
Then again, if you rev it just because you like the sound and the feeling between your legs, then you've got a bigger problem.

PS - Hats off to those owners of big bikes who keep the exhaust intact. I love seeing someone go by on big Harley, Honda or Yamaha and all we hear is a gentle purr. That's the way it ought to be. Thank You Very Much!

Let's Help Waddington Out With The Fishing Town Contest

2011-05-23T00:32:00.000-04:00

Note From Joe: I stole this from Waddington Town Supervisor Mark Scott's e-mail. He told me it was okay to do so.....

Dear Friends,

As you may have already heard, Waddington is a finalist in WFN’s Ultimate Fishing Town! Downstate NY town, Roscoe, is leading Waddington at this time; they volley back and forth for first place. Waddington has received over 100,000 votes so far but could really use your help!!!!

The publicity that winning this competition would gain for the entire region would be tremendous. Winning would give us all an economic lift and morale boost.

The voting is in the final phase. It is really easy to vote. Visit http://www.wfnfishingtown.com/town/waddington-ny and click VOTE NOW. You will need to fill in your name, your email address, answer a simple math question and click submit.

You will then need to go to your email (check your spam folder!) and open a message from WFN to confirm your email address. You only have to do this part once. That’s it! You can vote up to 4 times a day during the designated voting blocks. (However any votes you can give Waddington will be much appreciated.) Please note that you can vote with more than one email address. If you can’t vote during one of the time slots, email the Waddington Chamber at virtual1@twcny.rr.com and they can proxy vote for you.

Voting ends at 6:00pm ET on May 31^st, so let’s get moving!

Anything you can do to help spread the word will help. The more people you can tell about Waddington, the more votes we will get! You can forward this email to anyone you think will vote.

A vote for Waddington is a vote for the entire North Country!

You can make a difference with the click of a mouse.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Massena Teachers Union's Vote Against Budget Backfires

2011-05-22T00:32:00.002-04:00

Word on the street in Massena is that the Massena Federated Teachers union organized a block of votes against the local school budget.

The budget was defeated by just over 140 votes. In past votes and school board elections, the teachers have been able to mobilize about 500 votes one way or another. If that happened this year, then the budget would have easily passed if the teachers union had stayed on the side lines.

Looks like the voting block backfired this time, though.

You see, the teachers opposed the budget because they lost jobs and the proposed 1.8% tax increase "was too small."

Go figure.

The truth is the 30-plus jobs were lost because the union bosses refused to even consider a wage freeze to save some of them.

As usual with union politics, the members were not allowed to vote on the proposed wage freeze. Instead, the officers and the executive board decided what was best for the members without actually asking for their opinions.

No freeze, no way, the bosses said, although many members felt the freeze was an acceptable way to save the jobs.

To their credit, the school's administration and board of education stuck to their guns, ignored union pressure, stood up for the taxpayers and called the union's bluff.

The teachers then went to work to defeat the budget.

It looks like that tactic backfired this time, though, because the board's president now says there will not be a second budget vote because the district will simply adopt an austerity budget. That means the job cuts will stand and the "too small" tax increase will be put into place for the coming 12 months.

So, here's the question of the day: what did the unlucky, soon-to-be-laid-off union teachers get in exchange for their years of paying union dues?

A pink slip, that's what.

Guess solidarity isn't a two-way street in the eyes of the Massena Federated Teachers. Perhaps MFT President Chad Simpson and the rest of the union leadership will be the next crew looking for new jobs.

The Politics of I-98: Won't Help, Bound to Hurt

2011-05-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

There seems to be some very interesting internal politics going on with the I-98 project and it pseudo-front organization called the Northern Corridor Transportation Group. I say "pseudo-front" because there is no real organization. It's just Jason Clark and a few of his political cronies who claim to be a vast, far-reaching network of staunch supporters for the hopeful interstate project.

But the internal rift between Clark and big labor guru Ernie Labaff boiled over publicly last week when the former took a potshot at the latter during a press release in which the former was attacking Massena Village Mayor Jim Hidy.

Sounds confusing, I know, but it's just the latest shenanigans from Clark who has been not-so-adroitly mixing his titles of economic developer, interstate promoter, aspiring politician, good old boy Democrat and snake-oil salesman.

Amidst the huffing and puffing between Clark and Labaff steps up lame duck St. Lawrence County IDA director Ray Fountain, another frequent target of Clark's potshots. Fountain questions the NCTG spending practices and lack of documentation. Why does he get involved, you ask? Well, the IDA controls the NCTG purse strings.

Getting more confusing, right?

The next player to step into the box is St. Lawrence County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Bellardini. Don't question the expenditures and lack of documentation, he says, because "this is the closest the project has ever been to becoming a reality. We're very lucky to have Jason Clark championing this project. He's done a heck of a job."

Apparently Bellardini forgot to add, and "we're grooming Jason to run for office in the not too distance future so we've got to make him look good. Don't criticize his failure to keep proper books or disclose how he spends the NCTG money, for God's sake."

In fact, Clark has used the NCTG and I-98 to club non-Democrat politicians and candidates who are "slow to endorse the project" in Clark's eyes. Much like many leaders in the labor movement, there are really no good Republicans.

Clark even went so far as to testify in Albany that of all of the nicknames the project has had in the last 40 years the "moniker that we don't like at all; the Northern Tier Expressway" is the one devised by a Republican - former Gov. George Pataki.

Careful Jason, your partisan slip is showing!

The reality is, contrary to Bellardini's claims, I-98 is nowhere near reality. No politician has brought any significant funding for the project in a decade, New York is flat busted broke and the NYDOT and Gov. Cuomo have yet to sign on to the project. Even the folks in D.C. can't seem to find the $8-10 billion needed for the highway laying around anywhere.

So, it will be fun to watch the political machinations around I-98 in the coming months. Will Clark prevail" Will Labaff get his revenge or ultimately get kicked to the curb by the party elite? And will the party in control of the county legislature throw out another twenty-grand to fund the future of the NCTG with no accountability as has been the case for the past few years?

Stay tuned. This could get very interesting!

Once Again, Business Writer Claims Gas Producers Aren't Gouging Us

2011-04-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

It doesn't matter the source - Fox, CNN, MSNBC - news outlets continue to try to convince us that the oil companies aren't really gouging us at the pump. Baloney!!!
Look, I'm an unabashed capitalist. Businesses are supposed to make a profit and give that revenue to their owners/shareholders.
But I've grown weary of so-called "business journalists" apologizing for the gas companies. For example, this guy readily admits that gas goes up at the drop of a hat but prices at the pump "lag behind" as oil starts falling.
Really? The wind changes direction in a Middle East state and the price of gas increases, even though that gas was refined from oil purchased at the old, lower price. Then, after the price of crude starts to fall, gas remains high for several more weeks, or months, or never goes back to the price it was. That's what has happened to us over the past two years.
In short, we're getting ripped off! We'll see in President Obama's high power committee draws the same conclusion I have. I doubt they will because oil companies make huge campaign contributions and, as the President demonstrated in 2008, it takes a $100 million campaign to win a $400,000-a-year job.

Take a look at the link below and see if you're convinced. (I've included the text below but if you click the link you'll see some neat little graphics, charts, etc. that are supposed to prove the point.)

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/21/markets/oil_gas_prices/index.htm?hpt=T2

Why gas is so expensive, when oil isn't?

Prices at the pump may soon set a record, but analysts say U.S. oil prices and gas prices from 2008 don't reflect the true cost of crude.

By Steve Hargreaves, senior writerApril 21, 2011: 7:38 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gasoline prices have been rising for months and are within striking distance of their 2008 all-time high of $4.11 a gallon. But while oil prices are above $100 a barrel, they're still 24% below their 2008 all-time high.

So why is gasoline so expensive, when oil is so far off its record price?

Prices at the pump can vary widely among states due to a number of factors. More The answer is that the price of oil Americans see every day has little to do with the price of gasoline at the pump.

Those prices are for a particular type of oil -- West Texas Intermediate -- that's stored in Cushing, Okla.

Thanks to increasing supplies from the Rocky Mountain states and Canada's oil sands, plus a lack of pipelines to move that oil out, there's currently a big glut of oil in Cushing. That's pushing the price of West Texas crude down.

Prices for most other types of oil, which make up the vast majority of oil that refiners use in U.S. gasoline, are much higher than West Texas Intermediate. London's Brent crude, for example, was closer to $124 a barrel on Wednesday.

"It's really a broken benchmark," Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said of the West Texas price.

Also, it's important to remember that oil and gasoline prices don't move in lockstep with one another. Gas prices lag behind oil prices by a couple of weeks.

During the oil price spike of 2008, gas prices were still trying to catch up as oil prices had already started falling.

That put refiners in a tight spot.

"[Refiners] couldn't sell their product for as much as crude was increasing," Rayola Dougher, a senior economic advisor for the American Petroleum Institute. "People lost money."

Kloza, who crunches numbers for motorist group AAA, agrees. "Crude went up," in 2008, he said, "but gas prices did not follow."

The difference between what refiners pay for a gallon of oil now and how much a gallon of gas sells for -- excluding taxes -- is about 78 cents, said Dougher.

That's slightly higher than normal, but not terribly so, said Dougher.

That's little consolation to drivers, who can expect the price of gas to continue rising. Gas prices have jumped 29 cents over the past 29 days to a nationwide average of $3.84 a gallon, according to AAA.

Plattsburgh Paper Not So High On "Rooftop Highway"

2011-04-14T08:41:00.003-04:00

First off, have I ever told you I hate the term Rooftop Highway? Anyway, forget about that for now.
It was just about one year ago, that the Plattsburgh Press-Republican published an editorial that seemed to whole-heartedly support the "I-98" concept. At that time, the paper even talked about an expected announcement from Sen. Gillibrand of very significan federal funding to move the project forward.
Of course, that announcement never came, Sen. Gillibrand was easily re-elected in November (and isn't that really what the supposed announcement was supposed to ensure?) and now we hear nothing more about the funding.
As a result, it would seem. the paper has changed its tune.
Read the editorial at the link below and you decide.

http://pressrepublican.com/0200_opinion/x1041535134/EDITORIAL-Half-century-of-lethargy

Putting Japanese Nuclear Situaion in Perspective

2011-04-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2988/is-nuclear-power-safe

Here's an interesting assessment of the problems at the nuclear plant in Japan. No matter where you stand on the nuclear issue, this column puts the risks in perspective. It looks at the damage of Chernobyl and the present and future impacts of the Japanese situation.

Take a read and throw out some comments.

"Fish Wars" Not Good for Us

2011-04-08T09:04:00.002-04:00

You guys are kidding right? We're going to fight over which town in St. Lawrence County is the "Ultimate Fishing Town?" I was e-mailed a link to this site and its competition last week but I intentionally avoided nominating Massena because I figured we'd get into this kind of a tussle with someone else close by. I find it hard to believe that Waddington was "really hoping for a regional approach" to this contest. If that's the case, why didn't they ask any of their neighbors to join in their effort? Why does their entry only refer to Waddington's attributes? No doubt, they were the first to enter the contest and it looks like Ogdensburg is now trying to play catch-up and maybe even steal Waddington's thunder. But it doesn't have to be us-vs.-them. Here's an idea: how about Ogdensburg and Waddington both withdraw their nominations and we'll nominate St. Lawrence COUNTY as the "Ultimate Fishing Town." Surely we can make a convincing argument how at 110,000 people our county is smaller than many towns. We can also argue (bite your lip) that we all get along so well and don't want to compete with one another that we might as well be one single community. So, who wants to join me in nominating our whole county as the ultimate place to fish? After all, that is what FISHCAP is all about isn't it? And let's not forget the old saying (paraphrased at least) that "a rising tide lifts all (fishing) boats."

Positive Thing #1

2011-04-07T20:52:00.002-04:00

Kudos to Massena Village Mayor Jim Hidy's suggestion to postpone Spring Cleanup days until after Easter. The mayor says holding them earlier means the piles of junk will be an eyesore during the Easter holiday, when some people will be visiting the village. He's right. It won't hurt anything by delaying it a couple weeks and then the village won't look like a dump for teh holiday. However, I don't agree with delaying it until Fall. The biggest issue I see is the village's failure to cite those residents who refuse to abide by the rule of putting stuff out to the just one week before pick-up. These bozos dump the stuff out front way in advance either because they can't be bothered to find out when their stuff will be picked up, or they just don't care. Maybe a ticket from the code enforcement officer and trip before the village court bench would wake them up. It high time we hold these negligent residents responsible for their behavior. And a couple hundred dollars in fines might be just what is needed to straighten them up. What say you?

This Might Be Of Interest....

2011-03-14T23:35:00.003-04:00

Here's some perspective on the Japanese situation from the "pro-nuclear" crowd:

American Nuclear Society Backgrounder:

Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami; Problems with Nuclear Reactors

3/12/2011 5:22 PM EST

To begin, a sense of perspective is needed… right now, the Japanese earthquake/tsunami is clearly a catastrophe; the situation at impacted nuclear reactors is, in the words of IAEA, an "Accident with Local Consequences."

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami are natural catastrophes of historic proportions. The death toll is likely to be in the thousands. While the information is still not complete at this time, the tragic loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami will likely dwarf the damage caused by the problems associated with the impacted Japanese nuclear plants.

What happened?

Recognizing that information is still not complete due to the destruction of the communication infrastructure, producing reports that are conflicting, here is our best understanding of the sequence of

events at the Fukushima I‐1 power station.

 The plant was immediately shut down (scrammed) when the earthquake first hit. The automatic power system worked.

 All external power to the station was lost when the sea water swept away the power lines.

 Diesel generators started to provide backup electrical power to the plant’s backup cooling system. The backup worked.

 The diesel generators ceased functioning after approximately one hour due to tsunami induced damage, reportedly to their fuel supply.

 An Isolation condenser was used to remove the decay heat from the shutdown reactor.

 Apparently the plant then experienced a small loss of coolant from the reactor.

 Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) pumps, which operate on steam from the reactor, were used to replace reactor core water inventory, however, the battery‐supplied control valves lost DC power after the prolonged use.

 DC power from batteries was consumed after approximately 8 hours.

 At that point, the plant experienced a complete blackout (no electric power at all).

 Hours passed as primary water inventory was lost and core degradation occurred (through some combination of zirconium oxidation and clad failure).

 Portable diesel generators were delivered to the plant site.

 AC power was restored allowing for a different backup pumping system to replace inventory in reactor pressure vessel (RPV).

 Pressure in the containment drywell rose as wetwell became hotter.

 The Drywell containment was vented to outside reactor building which surrounds the containment.

 Hydrogen produced from zirconium oxidation was vented from the containment into the reactor building.

 Hydrogen in reactor building exploded causing it to collapse around the containment.

 The containment around the reactor and RPV were reported to be intact.

 The decision was made to inject seawater into the RPV to continue to the cooling process, another backup system that was designed into the plant from inception.

 Radioactivity releases from operator initiated venting appear to be decreasing.

Can it happen here in the US?

 While there are risks associated with operating nuclear plants and other industrial facilities, the chances of an adverse event similar to what happened in Japan occurring in the US is small.

 Since September 11, 2001, additional safeguards and training have been put in place at US nuclear reactors which allow plant operators to cool the reactor core during an extended power outage and/or failure of backup generators – “blackout conditions.”

Is a nuclear reactor "meltdown" a catastrophic event?

 Not necessarily. Nuclear reactors are built with redundant safety systems. Even if the fuel in the reactor melts, the reactor's containment systems are designed to prevent the spread of radioactivity into the environment. Should an event like this occur, containing the radioactive materials could actually be considered a "success" given the scale of this natural disaster that had not been considered in the original design. The nuclear power industry will learn from this event, and redesign our facilities as needed to make them safer in the future.

What is the ANS doing?

ANS has reached out to The Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) to offer technical assistance.

ANS has established an incident communications response team.

This team has compiling relevant news reports and other publicly available information on the ANS blog,

which can be found at ansnuclearcafe.org.

The team is also fielding media inquiries and providing reporters with background information and

technical perspective as the events unfold.

Finally, the ANS is collecting information from publicly available sources, our sources in government

agencies, and our sources on the ground in Japan, to better understand the extent and impact of the

incident.

Anti-Nuke Reaction Swift, Unrelenting

2011-03-14T21:32:00.005-04:00

The bodies of the thousands of victims of Japanese tsunami weren't even cold yet when the anti-nuclear crowd and the old guard media started taking aim at the nuclear power industry and the U.S. government's renewed interest in it.
Of course, we still don't have any details on exactly what may have gone wrong, although everyone pretty much agrees the reactor survived the initial earthquake and resultant aftershocks.
Foreign media reports conclude that, ironically, it is the lack of electricity that is causing the failures in the plant. As a safety precaution, the generators shut down when the quake started and because they shut down there is no electricity available to run the cooling system, the reports indicate.
Now the plant is heating up and failing.
So, the rabid opponents immediately start yelling. Of course, they will seize any opportunity to beat their drum. Doesn't surpise me much.
But let me pose this question: if, God forbid, an earthquake caused the collapse of a huge hydro dam in China and forced the evacuation of thousands of people, would we be expected to decommission the St. Lawrence/FDR power project and give up on building another hydro dam?
Shouldn't we apply the same rationale to the situation in Japan?
If we can even be rational about nuclear energy, that is.

BOCES Super Needs to Wake Up to Reality

2011-03-10T09:57:00.006-05:00

Thomas R. Burns, superintendent of St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services, is miffed because Gov. Cuomo wants to curb spending rather than raise taxes.
He says the Governor should just raise taxes on "rich" people rather than force a bloated educational system to show some restraint in how it spends money.
"Just Tax The Rich" really means "Just Let Us Keeping Spending and Spending".
It's the same old tired mantra we hear played out in Albany, or Madison, WI, or any number of locations throughout our country when it comes to education and benefits for public employees.
Don't mean to offend you, Mr. Burns, but wake up to reality and get a clue.
New York spends more per student on education than any state in the country, yet our results are still dismal. So just how much more should we be spending?
Right now, in my school district and many others we spend as much or more per pupil K-12 than it would cost to send that same kid to SUNY Canton for one year, including tuition, room, board, and other fees!!!
Can you justify that, Mr. Burns?
Maybe if we tax the rich: the "rich", by the way, are defined as households with $200,000 a year in income. Two veteran teachers, one of whom may work a second job in the summer, will probably hit that threshold. Are they rich?
A BOCES superintendent salary also qualifies as rich, so how much more are you willing to pay, Mr. Burns?
And when will we reach a level of educational spending that is adequate? And how do we measure those results?
While I give Mr. Burns credit for studying school district consolidation, more money won't fix our broken educational system.
But real reform, re-alignment and correction of past errors will do so. Do we have the courage and the guts to embrace those changes? ... Or should we just tax the rich a little bit more?

This Proves My Point Doesn't It???

2011-02-13T09:05:00.004-05:00

This story kind of proves my point about the Canton Office of the New York State Department of Health doesn't it?

12th Annual Chili Cook-Off Benefits the Volunteer Transport Center

by Timothy W. Scee II
Special to Newzjunky.com
Published February 6, 2011

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Despite midwinter temperatures Saturday, thousands of chili fans made their way to the 12th annual North Country Chili Cook-off to raise money for a worthy cause.

Thirty-six vendors lined the first floor of the Dulles State Office Building, 317 Washington St., as north country chili connoisseurs went booth to booth, sampling cups of the hearty, hot concoction being sold to benefit the Volunteer Transport Center

The cook-off, hosted by the Jefferson County American Legion Auxiliary, provides a much needed source of funding so veterans without their own methods of transportation are able to make it to necessary appointments, according to one organizer.

“One hundred percent of the proceeds go to transport veterans to medical appointments, who have no other way of getting there,” Linda J. Welsh, co-chair for the chili cook-off, said.

With amateur and professional categories of chili recipes, prepared by nonprofits, individuals and businesses, guests seemed to have no problem finding their favorites.

“The North Country Transitional Living one was good as well as, I would say, the mad scientist chili” Chad A. White, who attended the cook-off for the first time, said. “Myself, being an Independent voter, I hate to say it, but the Republican chili too was quite exceptional as well.”

Brian D. Peck, captain of the Jefferson County Young Republicans team, deemed the “Red Hot Republicans,” credited his wife, Maria, for cooking up gallons of the dish for the group’s second year at the event.

“Last year we had a lot of positive feedback. We were told we were good.” Peck, clad in a straw sombrero and Mexican attire, said. “We were better than the ‘Dems.’”

“Dynamic Donkeys” chef, Erica A. Leonard, however, said her Democratic chili is no match for her group’s Republican opponents.

“We had a lot of feedback that everybody loved our chili and they were coming back for more,” Leonoard, who was wearing a donkey hat, said.

Both political parties entered into the cook-off for the first time last year at the 11th annual event.

Those who may have had a sweet tooth or just wanted something for dessert after chili were also in luck, as Nephrology Associates of Watertown ran a bake sale to help transport patients of their own.

“We are a little different venue than just the chili. We are helping to defray costs for the transportation center that provides much needed rides for dialysis patients,” Ingrid M. Exford, who volunteered at the group’s booth, said.

Yet, with all the deliciousness available, the message of the cook-off was not forgotten.

“I think it’s a good reason for people to come out and support, as far as the troops, the local community,” White said.

As for attending the annual chili cook-off, White said it was his family’s first time and it won’t be the last.

Okay, this is Joe again. This story makes you wonder why organizations in our county are held to a different standard. Guess we should be calling our state politicians to see if we can start the sewage flowing down hill.

No Chili For You!!! Health Dept. Zealots Kill Cook-Offs

2011-02-12T21:02:00.004-05:00

For the second time in as many weeks, officials in the St. Lawrence County office of the New York State Department of Health put on their jackboots and stomped out a charity chili cook-off.

Why? Because they can.

Oh, they'll tell us it's for our own good. Someone could get food poisoning, they say, or even e-coli! These kinds of events are a public health hazards! Dozens, if not hundreds, of people could get sick! Or even DIE!!!!

Or maybe, just maybe, a bunch of people could get together, enjoy each other's company, share some good ol' homemade chili and raise a few bucks for a good cause - like we've been doing for decades - with no death, no mayhem, no epidemic of illness, no real problems whatsoever save for some stained shirts and stretched belts.

Please, save us the melodrama and over-reaching bureaucracy.

If these events are so dangerous, why are they still held all over New York State and the country for that matter?

More to the point, why can be held in far off exotic locations like Jefferson County, or Franklin County, or Clinton County?

Because those places are outside the jurisdiction of the St. Lawrence County office of the New York State Department of Health, that's why!

These people (well really just one in particular but her boss let's it happen) are extremists who are laughed at by health officials in other counties. They were trained by the no-less-extreme former director who now works in Albany.

You see, the problem is the chili is cooked in people's homes and the DOH can't control the conditions there. They say that leaves open the possibility of contamination.

But I thought if you boiled something for two minutes that would pretty much kill any offending bacteria? When did that part of elementary science change?

And if it hasn't changed, why can't we just boil the chili for two minutes and serve away? (I would serve mine like that at home anyway.)

A recent "Sound Off" on the North County Now website wondered if church dinners or fireman's field days would be the next targets.

Well, the truth is that our local health department extremists would love to shut those down too because God knows they are all just food poisoning "accidents waiting to happen." But the wily old bureaucrats know if they go that far, every state politician's phone would be ringing off the hook and those pols would then call the DOH bosses in Albany, and we all know that bureaucratic sewage flows downhill to the county level.

That's why they have left those venues alone to date. They can get away with killing a chili cook-off or two, but church suppers and field days are a different matter.

Here's a true case that illustrates my point:

A few years ago, I worked as a volunteer at the county fair. Our booth was located across the midway from a downstate barbecue vendor who served up some mighty tasty chicken and ribs. On the last day of the fair I asked him how he did. He said business was great, couldn't ask for better.....but he'd never come back up here.

"Why's that," I asked.

"Because your health department up here is crazy!" he said. "I cook at 40 county fairs and no where have I ever been harassed like I have been up here!"

Isn't that sad? And aren't we worse off as a county because of it?

The heavy-handed approach by the state health officials is bad for business and totally unnecessary.

That's is why I have asked and will continue to ask the St. Lawrence County Department of Health to take over the food inspection duties from the zealots at the state health department.

If our county officials did that, as many other counties do, we could send the extreme bureaucrats packing down to Albany where they can try to justify their existence instead of hassling local businesses and not-for-profit charitable events like chili cook-offs.

I would encourage you to make a similar call to our county health department.

At What Point Does He Go To Jail...?

2011-02-09T20:02:00.002-05:00

Here's the most recent example of the criminal justice's system's failure:

Daily Courier-Observer: "Massena Teen Charged Again With Stealing Vehicle"

http://www.mpcourier.com/article/20110209/DCO01/302099892/-1/dco

At what point does this guy spend some time in jail? Three arrests in the past 10 months? Why isn't this punk in jail? How many more strikes does he get? Oh, he probably hasn't been convicted of anything yet, and it takes forever to get people like this before the court. But then again, he'll probably get a plea bargain to roll all of these alleged crimes into one. He'll maybe enter treatment if he has a drug abuse history, or he'll get probation and "counseling."

In the meantime, our community continues to get terrorized by his ilk and we all have to look over our shoulders to see where they're at.

Nuclear Addendum

2011-02-06T21:57:00.002-05:00

This event, a webinar, happened a couple of weeks ago in Albany but re-affirms what Mayor Jim Hidy, many other people and I have been saying: The rest of the world is much further along with developing nuclear energy than we are in the U.S. And unfortunately their technology when it comes to finding uses for radioactive waste is way ahead of ours as well.

Guess that's what we get for keeping our heads in the sand for the past 30+ years.

Here's the webinar info:

Can the U.S. Catch the World in the Nuclear Power Race?

Excelsior College webinar brings together nuclear scholars and practitioners from across the country

Albany,N.Y (Jan.24, 2011) -- Excelsior College will host a webinar entitled "Can the U.S. Catch the World in the Nuclear Power Race" in recognition of the American Nuclear Society's (ANS) National Nuclear Science Week.

The January 26th webinar begins at 7:30 pm. It brings together scholars and nuclear tech practitioners from across the country and will use recent Chinese claims of a major breakthrough in nuclear fuel reprocessing as a starting point for a discussion on America's potentially diminishing role in the technology it pioneered and the consequences of falling further behind France, Russia, Japan, and others who continue to expand their investments in clean nuclear power generation.

Who: Excelsior College's School of Business & Technology
What: "Can the U.S. Catch the World in the Nuclear Power Race?" webinar in recognition of National Nuclear Science Week
Where: RSVP to Excelsior College's Tina Perfetti at tperfetti@excelsior.edu for login information
When: January 26, 7:30 - 8:30 pm EST

Excelsior College is one of only 18 schools nationwide and the only distance learning institution to be approved for a student chapter of the American Nuclear Society. For more information or to interview Dr. Jane LeClair, Dean of the School of Business and Technology, about the webinar and other innovative approaches Excelsior College is using to connect - and teach - students, email Mike Lesczinski, Public Relations Manager for Excelsior College, at mlesczinski@excelsior.edu.

If You Think Nuclear Power Is "Bad Mojo," Just Be Honest About It

2011-02-05T21:44:00.006-05:00

This past week I received a letter from two people who are opposed to the idea of a nuclear power plant in Massena, or apparently anywhere else for that matter. I welcome this opinion and carefully read their reasoning, but it just didn't seem very sincere.
If you are philosophically opposed to nuclear power for whatever reason, that's fine. Some people are fearful of it, some people don't want to live anywhere near a nuclear plant, heck one guy said he didn't like it because nuclear power was "bad mojo," whatever that is.
Say you just don't like it and don't think it would be good for our area? Fine. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about this one.
But the letter I received, which was also featured as a guest editorial in the Daily Courier-Observer, just didn't seem very sincere or honest. It was written by Dr. Jon Rosales, an environmental studies professor at St. Lawrence University, and Ann Heidenreich, an "energy consultant" living in Pyrites. (I remember when Ms. Heidenreich was executive director of Community Energy Services, Inc. CES was one of those not-for-profits that we seem to have a lot of in St. Lawrence County. You know the ones I mean right? They use government grant money to help us help ourselves - or save us from ourselves - but all they really do is create a couple high-paying consultant jobs for a small group of friends.)
Anyway, Mr. Rosales and Ms. Heidenreich apparently want to save Mayor Jim Hidy and me from ourselves - or at least save the North Country from us. In their letter, they put forth some spurious reasons why nuclear power is not good for us or the world at large. They make the usual weak claims that a nuke plant will make us a terrorist target, or that the costs are just too great, or that the taxpayers can't afford it.
Well, taxpayers dollars won't be used to build a nuclear facility. Nuclear plants in the U.S. are built by private companies with their own money. The government only oversees construction and operation, and while it may guarantee some loans for construction, it does not fund it. Certainly Mr. Rosales and Ms. Heidenreich must know better, so why would they say something different?
The authors say the reasons they put forth in their letter are exactly the reasons why no new nuclear facilities have been built in the U.S. for the past 30 years. But they fail to tell us that hundreds have been built elsewhere in all parts of the world in that same time frame. And President Obama, and many, many other people, want more constructed here in the very near future.
In fact, America is decades behind the rest of the world in nuclear development. Why? Because of irresponsible fear-mongering like that being perpetuated by Mr. Rosales and Ms. Heidenreich.
They want us to give up the idea of nuclear power and instead embrace solar, biomass and wind energy. They forget to tell you that solar, biomass and wind energy are only viable if they are financed with large government subsidies - millions of taxpayers dollars spent to make us feel good about alternative energy without any tangible results.
Well, heck, they say, we can even build the turbines and photovoltaic units here, thus creating jobs and helping our economy. But those things are already being built elsewhere and imported to the U.S. We have yet to be able to build them as cheaply or efficiently as foreign companies.
Mr. Rosales and Ms. Heidenreich even use some very tortured logic to claim that nuclear power would actually "result in fewer jobs and higher costs...." They don't really explain why, they just make the wild claim.
I could go on all day about this, but here's the point: if you oppose nuclear energy, I'll accept that. But please be honest about your opposition. Just say you don't like the idea or that you think it's not good fit for our area.
Don't try to fool me into believing your false reasoning and bad science. When you do, you lose credibility. And you ultimately give the "nuclear energy is bad mojo" argument much more credence than I can give to your sensational rhetoric.

Where's the I-98 Funding???

2010-12-16T12:27:00.002-05:00

Right now, literally as I write this, Congress is doling out billions in the lame duck spending spree and there are hundreds of "earmarks" - the nice new term for pork barrel spending. Seems odd that there's not even a whiff of money for the I-98 project.

Wasn't Sen. Gillibrand supposed to announce new funding a few months ago? Must be lack of any real opposition in the election made the announcement politically unnecessary.

And where's Sen. Schumer? The Number Two guy in the U.S. Senate is unable to snag a billion or two for the Rooftop Highway? Is it unable or unwilling?

Lastly, couldn't Rep. Owens at least put a few million in the I-98 pocket as Rep. John McHugh did from time to time?

If we've made such great progress over the past few years and "everyone" is steadfastly behind this effort, why is no money forthcoming?

Oh, I forgot. This portion of New York State really doesn't matter when it comes time to tally up votes in November. Isn't that the real reason Sen. Schumer and Gov. Patterson took our steel mill to the Buffalo area?

Hope I'm not being too negative here, but I try to be realistic. True support for the highway project is manifested in funding to make it a reality. Despite huge local investments of time and money, the project remains on the back burner in Washington, if it is still on the stove at all.

PERFECT TIME TO FUND I-98

2010-11-07T17:08:00.003-05:00

One would think this is the perfect opportunity for U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Bill Owens to move forward with legislation to fund, plan and build the Interstate 98 project.

Now they can deliver on their big promises.

We've heard many times about their strong support and the Northern Corridor Transportation Group has endorsed them and assured us all now is the time this project actually gets done.

So, let's see everybody put the federal government's money where the politicians' and local officials' mouths have been.

It's a lame duck Democrat Congress in a federal government under complete control by their party. Sen. Schumer is the No. 2 man in the U.S. Senate, and Sen. Gillibrand has assured us that she's got more clout than a typical inside party appointee.

It's time to deliver on the hype: move I-98 to the front burner, get it funded and start to build it. Assure us you mean what you say. Don't disappoint us again.

Extreme Albany Bureaucracy Run Amok

2010-09-03T23:05:00.007-04:00

The Massena Electric Department's decision to kill its hydroelectric dam project on the Grasse River is disappointing and troubling at the same time. While I understand and support the Electric Utility Board's decision to pull the plug on the dam, I am troubled by the circumstances that forced them to make the decision.

You see, this very creative and positive project was killed by the bulletproof bureaucrats in Albany, Watertown, and points in between - the so-called civil servants who control almost all aspects of our broken, counterproductive state government.

Oh sure, the politicians play their part in fouling things up when it comes to the budget, runaway spending and foolish laws. But it is the insidious meddling and control by power hungry "lifer" bureaucrats that are the real problems with the state (and federal) government.

The MED dam project is a perfect example of this. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the NYS Department of State threw up roadblock after roadblock to this project, for no meaningful reason other than they could.

The bureaucracy is so deep and so poisonous it extends far beyond Albany. In fact, with the DEC it comes as far North as Watertown; maybe even as far as Canton.

You see the DEC's Watertown office is headed by a lawyer named Judy Drabicki. She started with the DEC as their environmental attack dog attorney who persecuted businesses big and small as well as local governments all over the North Country.

When the Massena downtown dam failed the first time in the 1980s, the DEC refused to let the owners or the village government repair it. That decision was made by extreme environmentalists who wanted the Grasse River to "return to it natural state" although the river was doing just fine with a dam that had been built a hundred years earlier.

So Ms. Drabicki was part of the team that turned a once-vibrant portion of the river through Massena and Louisville into a slow-moving marsh that all but dries up every summer.

Bet that's good for the fish and other animals who call the river home!!

Back then, Ms. Drabicki worked for the M. Cuomo administration and was handed her walking papers when Pataki took over. When Lothario Spitzer became governor, Drabicki was back, this time as the head honcho for DEC in this region because she had great ties with the Democratic machine.

There was one message to be taken from that appointment: Look Out, local government and businesses.

Look, I know DEC has an important job to do. But we don't need more oppressive bureaucracy in the state that is known far and wide for having the most dysfunctional government in the country.

That kind of foolishness just cost MED rate payers $5 million.

And can someone tell me why the Department of State has such influence over our rivers and waterfronts? I thought these guys were a bunch of clerks whose jobs centered around licenses and corporations. But not in Albany eyes. They are the keepers of the river.

Doing a great job in Massena, huh? This portion of the Grasse is all but dead. No more salmon, not much in the way of fish at all, from what I am led to believe.

But forget about our portion of the river, or MED's money, or the dam that would have restored our riverfront downtown. What kind of message does this send to businesses that might be looking to come to NY or our North Country?

Here's what kind of message: don't cross swords with the bullet-proof bureaucrats because it will only cost you millions of dollars and lots of headaches.

Is it any wonder there are no jobs for our young people? Is it hard to see why thousands of people and dozens of businesses are pulling up stakes and leaving the once Empire State?

Things will never change if we sit back, shut up and let the bureaucrats beat us into submission. The system is broken, plain and simple, and the inmates are running the asylum.

It's time to "put up our dukes and get down to it," as the song goes. Something has to change and we are obligated to make sure it happens.

Remember all of this when you head to the polls next week and on Nov. 2.

A New Development in Essential Air Service War!!

2010-08-31T08:37:00.006-04:00

Here's a little piece of info that is directly related to the local airline service discussion we've been having in this space lately. It seems some Wall Street types are willing to take a chance on Gulfstream Airlines as well.

Too bad we've seen no mention of this in the local media. They were quick last week to throw Gulfstream's latest SEC filing on the front page with banner headlines, but they seem to be ignoring this story.

Will the neglect continue?

Here's the update:

August 30, 2010 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Gulfstream International Group Receives Strategic Investment Commitment

Investment Will Strengthen Company’s Financial Position and Enable the Company to Execute an Expanded Strategic Plan

Scott R. Silverman, Managing Partner of Sah-Vul Strategic Partners, to be Named Vice Chairman of Gulfstream’s Board of Directors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gulfstream International Group, Inc. (“Gulfstream” or the “Company”) (AMEX: GIA) announced today that it has received a commitment for an investment of up to $2.5 million from Sah-Vul Strategic Partners, LLC (“Sah-Vul”) that will enable the Company to strengthen its financial position, and enables it to expand its strategic plan with an increased focus on growth and maximization of stockholder value. The commitment includes an initial $1.5 million in the form of a secured convertible note, and provides an option for Sah-Vul to invest an additional $1.0 million.

Consummation of the transaction is expected to occur shortly and is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of third party consents and approvals.

Gulfstream International Airlines currently operates more than 150 scheduled flights per day, serving nine destinations in Florida, 10 destinations in the Bahamas, five destinations from Continental Airline’s Cleveland hub under the Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service Program, as well as licensed daily charter flights to Cuba. A sixth destination from Cleveland is scheduled to start October 1. Gulfstream has code-share and alliance agreements with Continental Airlines, United Airlines and Copa Airlines of Panama.

With this investment, the Company will look to expand service in its current geographic markets and open new regional markets that are underserved by larger carriers. In addition, Sah-Vul plans to work with the Company to refinance its fleet of aircraft from Raytheon Aircraft Credit Corporation and lower its operating costs.

Sah-Vul Managing Partner Scott R. Silverman will assume the role of Vice Chairman of Gulfstream’s board of directors upon consummation of the investment. Commenting on the investment, Silverman said, “Based on our evaluation of Gulfstream’s operations and its unique model in its geographic markets, we believe the Company presents a compelling growth opportunity that can return significant value for Sah-Vul and all GIA stockholders. We believe that our capital and vision can help Gulfstream as we work to unlock its potential value.”

Silverman is currently the Chairman and CEO of PositiveID Corporation, and has led public companies including VeriChip Corporation and Digital Angel Corporation (formerly Applied Digital Solutions, Inc.). Silverman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 and Villanova University School of Law in 1989.

Thomas A. McFall, Chairman and Senior Executive Officer of Gulfstream, said, “We look forward to bringing in Sah-Vul as a partner and new investor, with its significant capital markets experience, a proven track record of enhancing shareholder value, and its belief in the prospects of Gulfstream. With the continuing consolidation of larger airlines, the Company has an unprecedented number of growth opportunities available to it and we are excited about proceeding to develop those, particularly as we expand our initial base in the Northeast.”

About Gulfstream International Group, Inc.

Gulfstream is a regional air carrier based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, operating for more than 20 years. The Company specializes in providing travelers with access to niche locations not typically covered by major carriers. For more information on the company, visit the company's website at http://www.gulfstreamair.com.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release contains forward-looking statements. Gulfstream may, from time-to-time, make written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things: its business strategy; its value proposition; the market opportunity for its services, including expected demand for its services; information regarding the replacement, deployment, acquisition and financing of certain numbers and types of aircraft, and projected expenses associated therewith; costs of compliance with FAA regulations, Department of Homeland Security regulations and other rules and acts of Congress; the ability to pass taxes, fuel costs, inflation, and various expenses to its customers; certain projected financial obligations; estimates regarding capital requirements; the likelihood that Gulfstream will receive any of the committed funding; and any other plans, objectives, expectations and intentions contained in this release that are not historical facts.

These statements, in addition to statements made in conjunction with the words "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future financial performance and only reflect management's expectations and estimates. All forward-looking statements included in this release are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to Gulfstream as of such date. The following is a list of factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: changes to external competitive, business, budgeting, fuel cost or supply, weather or economic conditions; changes in its relationships with employees or code share partners; availability and cost of funds for financing new aircraft and the ability to profitably manage its existing fleet; adverse reaction and publicity that might result from any accidents; the impact of current or future laws and government investigations and regulations affecting the airline industry and its operations; additional terrorist attacks; and consumer unwillingness to incur greater costs for flights.

Gulfstream assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions which could cause actual results to differ from management's current expectations are contained in Gulfstream's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Form 10-Q filings.

Isn't Competition Wonderful??

2010-08-18T08:12:00.004-04:00

It's great watching Massena's Essential Air Service process unfold. It's proof that competition and capitalism are wonderful things when it comes to the public getting the biggest bang for their buck.

When the new round of proposals came out this year, at least four air carriers considered submitting bids to provide air service to Massena, Ogdensburg and Watertown. In the end only three sent them in, and all three were different.

Because of the increased interest, the state of the airline industry and the economy, everybody sharpened their pencils and went to work. As things played out, the proposals got better.

First, Cape Air said it would add a connecting flight from Albany to Boston. The flying public would benefit from that.

Now, Gulf Stream Air says they are willing to take a regional approach to St. Lawrence County air service; fly directly from Massena to Boston for the people that want that connection and fly directly from Ogdensburg to Albany for the folks who want/need that. Cape Air has also offered to open local ticket offices to sweeten their pot.

So, now we find ourselves with multiple possibilities. In the end, the flying public and the taxpayers will benefit from this competition, and one airline will get a rather lucrative federal subsidy.

Then we can all look two years down the road when this contract is up and the competition starts again for the next round. We'll all be a little smarter, more experienced and in a position to demand a little bit more from everyone involved in the process.

Isn't competition wonderful??

Massena's Most Important Decision?? Probably.

2010-08-15T22:46:00.002-04:00

In less than a week, the Town of Massena has to decide which airline proposal to support for future service at the Massena International Airport. It is likely the most important decision the Town Board will make this year, if not for a few years to come.

Let me give you a little background. The commuter air service at our airport is made possible through a subsidy from the U.S. Department of Transportation. That means the federal government pays a company to provide what is called "Essential Air Service" to rural areas like Northern New York

Without these EAS subsidized contracts, Massena and dozens of airports around the country would be unable to attract the small airlines that provide these services because our routes are simply not profitable.

For the past three years Massena, Ogdensburg and Watertown have been very capably service Cape Air, which flies nine-passenger planes from Massena to Albany three times a day. Cape Air came to town and took over the service when our former EAS provider, Big Sky Airlines, went out of business and left us with no air service

Massena's current EAS contract with the Hyannis, MA-based Cape Air expires on Sept. 30. A couple of months ago, the USDOT asked for proposals from airlines who are interested in providing the service.

We're fortunate in that we have to three applicants for the new contract period: Cape Air, Florida-based Gulf Steam Airlines and Charter Air. We've been courted by Cape Air and Gulf Stream but have yet to hear from Charter Air.

Cape Air will continue in thrice-daily trips from Massena to Albany, according to its proposal. The company has since said they want to add an Albany-to-Boston connecting flight.

Gulf Stream is proposing Massena-to-Boston direct flights for under $50.

Last month, only one day after the DOT deadline for proposals to be submitted, the Massena Town Board voted 4-0-1 to support Cape Air, although we really hadn't had a chance to review the proposals or hear presentations from the three applicants.

In my opinion, that decision was made too soon and without proper research. That's why I abstained from the vote. I felt we simply did not have enough information to make an intelligent decision.

We have since reviewed the applications and heard a presentation from Gulf Stream at a special meeting two weeks ago.

The town board meets again this Wednesday, August 18, at 5:30 p.m. and we will hear a presentation from Cape Air this time. The deadline for the town to submit its opinion to DOT on any service provider is this Friday, August 20.

Will the board reconsider its support for Cape Air in light of the information presented by Gulf Stream or will Cape Air solidify its base of support among the majority of the board?

We'll have to wait and see. But if you have an opinion or prefer one proposal over another, you should plan on attending our meeting this week.

I think it is safe to say this is the most important decision the town board will make this year.

What do you think??

Thinking "Inside" the Economic Development Box

2010-07-26T20:31:00.004-04:00

When it comes to government and that ever-elusive economic development, we are often encouraged to "think outside the box" to find different ways to do things.

Well, God knows I'm all in favor of taking a different approach to how we do business.

But lately I've been thinking that maybe we should just be taking a look at doing the same old things just a little differently in order to get a different result. In short, we need to look inside the box for answers.

For example, we have lots and lots of trees, but how much do we do with wood products or by-producst? Seaway Timber recently started a wood pellets manufacturing plant here in Massena, but what other "value added" wood products do we produce?

Any furniture? Nope. Chip board? Nope. Hardwood veneer? Not anymore. Custom building products? Not that I know about except for vintage doors in Hammond.

We grow fruits and vegetables, but none on a scale to have a real impact on our economy. Across the border in Canada, they grow sweet corn for canneries and huge volumes of apples, but we don't have produce in that quantity anywhere near by.

Our dairy farmers and their cows crank out thousands of pounds of milk but there is only one yogurt plant in North Lawrence, and three cheese plants in Ogdesnburg, Chateaugay and Lowville.

In short, dairy farmers know how to get their cows to put out milk in bulk but they have no control over the price they get for it and there are few options for someone locally to turn it into other products.

We must find new ways to do what we know how to do but make them economically more viable and create additional jobs.

I've written a lot about the BION project, but why can't we do something similar on a smaller scale? Why can't our dairy farmers convert to beef and why not start processing that beef for market? We know how to care for and grow livestock so maybe we need to find a new bent on that business.

All of the beef in our supermarkets comes from western states. Why? Does that make sense? And have you priced a good porterhouse lately? Not cheap.

So, it's time for us to head back to the drawing board and retool our local economy. And there's no real need to start over from scratch.

Click here and see what people in the Hudson River valley are doing:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100718/BIZ/7180307

It's Our River! Our Power! We're Owed This!

2010-07-23T20:09:00.003-04:00

Here's the testimony I e-mailed to NYPA this afternoon:

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am writing to express my support for the plan to allocate $16 million and 20 megawatts of electricity to the newly created St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency. I am forced to submit my testimony in writing because the public hearing in Massena on July 23 was ended before the published time of 9 p.m. and I was not allowed to testify in person.

When Robert Moses, founder of the New York Power Authority, first travelled to Massena decades ago to promote the construction of the St. Lawrence Power Project he promised it would be transformational for our community and the entire region.

An indeed has been. The St. Lawrence Power Project truly changed our way of life.

While certainly there have been significant negative impacts on our community and its natural resources, the majority of the Project’s impacts have been positive. For over 50 years, Massena has been a gracious host to NYPA and NYPA, for the most part, has been a good neighbor.

Because St. Lawrence was the first of NYPA’s hydro projects to become operational, I believe a good portion of the Authority’s success has been built on Massena’s back.

This Project has generated millions and millions of dollars for the Power Authority and the State of New York. It has allowed bureaucrats and politicians to take credit for improving our region and has supplied incalculable megawatts of electricity for New York City, our state, and even a handful of neighboring states.

The RVRDA agreement between NYPA and local municipalities was negotiated in good faith and will return a minuscule amount of NYPA’s profits and bit of hydropower to the communities who sacrificed much to help make the Power Authority what it is today.

Plainly and simply, this agreement provides to us a portion of what is owed to us for being gracious hosts. The St. Lawrence is our river and for over five decades it has been used by NYPA to generate our power. Now we have a chance to reap some of the benefits of our largesse.

Last week I was told by a NYPA official that the RVRDA proposal and the allocation of the 20 megawatts was encountering some opposition on “the Second Floor” – Gov. Paterson’s office. Certainly that opposition is misguided and unwarranted. Those expressing such opposition are obviously ignorant of the history here and the burden we have carried as a host of this magnificent hydroelectric project.

So, as the elected Supervisor on the Town of Massena, I want to go on record as supporting this allocation of money and electricity to the RVRDA. While I have publicly expressed my opinion that this agreement does not go far enough and that we should actually expect more from NYPA, I realize that the agreement is in place and must be recognized and respected.

In conclusion, please proceed with due haste to strongly, even forcefully, recommend that Gov. Paterson sign and finalize this agreement so that it may be executed and our citizens may start receiving greater benefits from the presence of NYPA and its St. Lawrence Power Project in our community.

Please remember, it is our river and our power. We are owed this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Joseph D. Gray, Supervisor

Town of Massena

Town Hall

60 Main Street

Massena, NY 13662

315-769-3588

315-769-0578 - Fax

I Missed NYPA's Calling Hours!

2010-07-22T21:53:00.003-04:00

Today in Massena the New York Power Authority held two public hearings on the allocation of 20 megawatts of hydro power to the St. Lawrence River Valley Re-development Agency or RVRDA. The hearings were scheduled this afternoon and evening from 2-4 and 7-9. You know, the same time frame funeral homes traditionally set aside for calling hours at wakes for dead people.

Unfortunately for me, I arrived at approximately 8:50 because I had another meeting to attend. Well, when I got there the hearing was closed and I was told I could submit written comments until 5 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, July 23.

When I looked at my watch in frustration and asked if the public comment period would be extended because the hearing was closed early, I was told "it was only five minutes!"

Right, and it's only the future of our local economy that is at stake, so why not close up shop early?

Anyway, I will submit written comments via e-mail and you should also, but you only have a few hours left to do.

It is vitally important for two reason: only a small handful of people showed up at the hearings, and Governor Paterson is allegedly opposed to the power allocation.

I've been told by someone who knows much more about NYPA and Albany than I, that the "Second Floor" (of the New York State Capital Building in Albany, where the Governor's office is located) doesn't think all that power should be given to our area.

These are the same folks who tried to close the Ogdensburg Prison and who can only find Northern New York at election time, if then.

So please take a few minutes to drop them a line and set them straight. It's our river and our power. They owe it to us.

Written comments may be submitted until 5 p.m. Friday, July 23. Send them to: secretarys.office@nypa.gov For more information, contact NYPA Corporate Secretary Karen Delince at 1 (914) 390-8085.

More Trouble for BION...??

2010-07-17T10:37:00.002-04:00

Will Oswego County chase BION out as well? It seems some folks at the university and the Farm Bureau (aren't they supposed to work to stimulate and grow agricultural business?) have lots of problems with the size of the BION project.

Of course, those very smart professors have problems with anything that is too large for their idea of utopia and may employ lots of people - you know, things like Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

The Farm Bureau representative's stance? Go figure. "It will be more cows than we have right now in the entire county!" she says, fretfully. And that's a problem for farmers why?????

Anyway, read it for yourself. Here's the link:

http://www.palltimes.com/articles/2010/07/15/news/doc4c3e79e254538574341791.txt

Another BION Update...

2010-06-30T13:05:00.001-04:00

The latest from Oswego County:

Copied and pasted from www.oswegocountytoday.com

SUNY Oswego to Host Forum July 14 on Proposed Cattle and Energy Project

Written by: Contributor

Jun 29, 2010 at 6:00 am

OSWEGO — SUNY Oswego’s Office of Business and Community Relations will host a public issues forum July 14 for the greater Oswego community about the Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. proposed integrated beef cattle processing, ethanol and renewable energy project. Reservations to attend the forum are requested by July 9.

Presenting at the forum, which is set for 7 p.m. in the Campus Center auditorium, will be three Bion representatives: Dominic Bassani, vice president of strategic planning; Jeff Kapell, vice president of project development; and Dr. James Morris, chief technology officer.

If completed, the proposed integrated and closed-loop processing project would be the largest cattle livestock facility east of the Mississippi River. The facility would provide an estimated 500 to 600 full-time, skilled and semi-skilled jobs for the Oswego County regional economy.

According to project information, the facility design is based on a business model anchored in environmental sustainability, including a patented comprehensive waste treatment technology that would result in the smallest per-head environmental footprint of any large livestock operation in the world.

Bion representatives will present on the full range of “green tech” features designed into the project. Details about the project can be found at www.biontech.com.

Members of the public attending the forum will be welcome to comment and ask questions.

For reservations and information about parking, call 312-3492 or e-mail obcr@oswego.edu.

Time To Re-Think Economic Development

2010-06-20T21:51:00.005-04:00

The St. Lawrence County Legislature and its Industrial Development Agency continue to shoot themselves in the foot over what the future of economic development will be here in the Big County.

The County Economic Development Office wants to be independent, the Legislature wants to retain control and issued a request for proposals, and individual communities, big and small, hold onto their turf in desperate hope that "something big" will come to town to rescue their shrinking tax bases.

Maybe it's time to head back to the proverbial Square One. Maybe we should just pitch the whole lot of alphabet agencies we have and start over. Maybe it's time to pull our heads out of the sand, quit waiting for something or someone to come calling with a cure for our woes - woes that are afflicting all parts of the Once-Empire State and many parts of our Northeast region.

Maybe it's time to head out on the road, talk to companies, other communities and other states and try to create our own cure.

Quite honestly, we don't need something big. We need a whole bunch of something smalls.

If desperate times call for desperate measures how about we take a few chances.

First, we need to reduce the number of balding and grey-haired men sitting at the Econ. Dev. tables.

Let's get some younger men and WOMEN to sit down and map our future.

Let's do away with the IDAs, and the BDCs and the host of other "economic development" (I challenge someone to tell me exactly what the hell that term means) offices from Stockholm to Star Lake, from Piercefield to Pitcairn, and all points in between.

What if we had one super agency which covered the whole county without regard for turf and jurisdictions? What if we got away from our obsession with manufacturing and the 1960s mindset of "industrial" development.

Face it folks, the days of making widgets, or automobiles, or whatever are almost over in the northern U.S.

But there are a host of new opportunities out there if we just quit banging our heads against our crumbling concrete walls, take a step back, inventory our assets (of which there are many), and plot a new course - and then tell the world about us and what we have to offer!

It won't be quick, it won't be easy and success won't come without some significant failures. But at least we'll be in control our own destiny.

We've been doing the same things over and over for decades and yet we still expect different results.

In short, we have to ask ourselves the same question TV's Dr. Phil asks the gambling addict who has frittered away the mortgage money at the casino week after week: "How's that workin' for ya???"

Feeling Like Rodney Dangerfield...

2010-06-02T21:18:00.004-04:00

Remember comedian Rodney Dangerfield's old shtick: "I get no respect I tell ya, no respect at all!" Well now I know how he feels, thanks to my buddies at the New York Power Authority.

In a post the other day I lamented NYPA's lack of respect toward local government officials in the recent RVRDA "negotiations." Well, at least they're consistent in their disrespect.

Today, NYPA President and CEO Richard Kessel hosted a signing ceremony for the RVRDA agreement. Now this agreement is between NYPA, the town and village of Massena, the town and village of Waddington, the town of Louisville, the town of Lisbon, St. Lawrence County and the County's Industrial Development Agency.

So, wouldn't you think that the focus would be on local governments and NYPA? Well, if you thought that then you'd be "thinking screwball" as my father once told me.

Instead, Mr. Kessel emceed a lineup of state officials: Sen. Joe Griffo, Sen. Darrel Aubertine, Assemblywoman Addie Russel and Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava; NYPA Trustee Eugene Nicandri; and County Treasurer Bob McNeil who wears a total of three hats as treasurer, Chairman of the Local Government Task Force (although he's not really a local government official), and Lisbon's representative on the RVRDA (although all parties agreed beforehand that no "politicians" would be appointed to the RVRDA).

The way people chose to seat themselves may have been telling about NYPA's attitude toward local officials. The county IDA, legislators, and a lawyer and his wife sat toward the front. Local government officials sat in the back. Don't know how it worked out that way, it just did.

With what I affectionately call the "Uncle Richie Show" in overdrive, Mr. Kessel lauded the Albany pols for all they did to bring about the RVRDA (still scratching my head on that one because I don't recall the Albany guys and gals driving the car on this one) and piled praise on Mr. McNeil, IDA honcho Ernie Labaff, and Task Force Attorney Eric Gustafson (the only guy getting paid for the work he did on the RVRDA.)

Sounds good, right? Except that nobody even bothered to introduce the local government officials - mayors, supervisors, deputy mayors, councilmen and trustees - who were present.

Ask any of us to speak? Heaven forbid! Thank the locals who spent countless hours over the last few years putting this thing together? Didn't hear any gratitude for that forthcoming.

In my head I heard Rodney say, "No respect I tell ya. We get no respect at all!" I had to stop myself from laughing out loud.

But that's okay. We all had a yummy, catered lunch beforehand to soften us up. Hey can't blame NYPA. After all, those three years of free lunches did wonders to soften up local officials during the re-licensing negotiations!

In the sake of fairness, I must point out that when the time came - after the free lunch, the Uncle Richie Show and the Albany politicians' and Mr. McNeil's speeches - to sign the documents, each of the local town supervisors and village mayors were called forward, by name, to put our signatures on the agreement.

I, too, dutifully stepped up when my name was called to sign on behalf of the town of Massena. Out of respect for the democratic process and the will of the majority of the town board, I picked up my pen and signed my name.

But I must admit, I kinda had to bite my lip to keep from writing "Rodney Dangerfield" in the allotted space.

It's Not About the Re-Licensing.....

2010-05-17T23:10:00.004-04:00

Tonight I cast the lone vote against the proprosed St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency. My colleagues on the Massena Town Board all voted in favor of it, thus approving the plan and letting the New York Power Authority off the hook once again.

Two newspaper editors in Ogdensburg (Chuck Kelly and Jim Reagen) had accused Waddington Town Supervisor Mark Scott and me of "risking our future" by asking questions about the RVRDA and insisting that NYPA pay us interest on the money we should have received seven years ago when the Power Authority received its 50-year license renewal.

I can't speak for Mr. Scott, but my vote against the proposal tonight had nothing to do with the crappy deal the towns and the county got out of the relicensing process.

The following is the general text of my comments before I voted tonight:

"This is not about re-licensing. It’s about respect, fairness and good business.

"The founding of the town of Massena predates the NY Power Authority’s arrival by more than 150 years. We are the government of record for the town of Massena and this board represents the town’s duly elected representation. That stands for something and sometimes I get the feeling that NYPA doesn’t respect the authority vested in this government by law and the NYS Constitution. I’m not looking for NYPA’s love, just their respect.

"When our proposals are dismissed out of hand, as is often the case with NYPA, I feel the Power Authority shows disrespect to this government, and our neighbor municipalities.

"Massena has been a cash cow for NYPA for many, many years. Because the St. Lawrence Project was the first facility on line for the Power Authority of the State of New York, I believe a great deal of NYPA’s financial success has been collected on Massena’s back.

"It continues to be a huge source of revenue for the Power Authority.

"I certainly am not ignoring the good things NYPA provides our community, especially the many, good-paying jobs at the facility over the years. I don’t hate NYPA. In fact, I have friends and relatives who work there, and I believe NYPA jobs are probably the best our area has to offer.

"But I also can’t ignore some other things:

"Since relicensing in 2003, NYPA rates have increased and those increases have cost MED rate payers an additional $500,000 every year. You want to know why your MED bill is going up – that is a big reason for it.

"MED pays over $1 million a year to have our power transported here from Niagara, but does our electricity really come from Niagara, or does it come from St. Lawrence?

"The improvements at the dam mean that NYPA is now generating anywhere from 32 to 90 more megawatts from this dam. More power generated means more money for NYPA.

"We have been a good host for over 50 years, and FERC says host communities are supposed to get extra benefits from utilities like NYPA. The money for the now defunct aquarium was part of that and state law says we’re supposed to get the 20 megawatts of power for local economic development.

"Be very clear on this one issues, this $16 million and electricity are not a gift. They are what is due this community for decades of being a gracious host.

"There are no details of how the 20 megawatts will be sold and there is a strict limitation on their sale. That’s unfair and, in my opinion, cannot be justified.

"If we had received the $16 million when it was due in October of 2003, it would have grown to $19.5 million if invested at 3% interest. I feel strongly that amount should be included in the RVRDA proposal – it is only fair and let’s be honest, it is a minuscule amount when you are talking about NYPA profits."

At Least They're Readin'!!

2010-04-19T20:11:00.002-04:00

When I started this blog I vowed to run any comment that wasn't libelous or vulgar.

I lied.

It seems that rude and stupid should have been on that list as well

You see, last week I received a comment from an anonymous nimrod that said, "quit spending the money mr gray at the buffet. call jenny craig" Apparently ee cummings will never be dead as long as the Internet and unidentified illiterates are still around.

I deleted this comment and didn't post it because it had no real substance to apply to the discussion about the RVRDA.

I guess this was supposed to be some witty comment on my physical size. You see, I'm a little on the heavy side, or as we used to say in more polite days, "husky" or "big boned". Although I really don't have a hard time with the term "fat". (I do, however, object to that term when it is coupled with "and lazy".)

Guess my blog post upset Mr. or Ms. Anonymous to the point where taking a shot at me personally was the best alternative, probably because he or she was too stupid to make a solid argument on its merits. Guess that's a little beyond your grasp.

What are we? In fifth grade?

Just remember, Dear Anon, I can lose weight and trim down, but you will still be rude, obnoxious and too cowardly to put you name to a blog comment.

Grow up and come back when you're acne has cleared up.

RVRDA: Where is it at??

2010-04-11T22:57:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that I have been critical of the St. Lawrence River Valley Re-Development Agency, or let's say RVRDA for short. The latest developments, as of a few weeks ago, show us that NYPA is willing to go along with the idea of us "monetizing" the 25 megawatts of hydro power, which means we can sell the any power (like NYPA does) that is not being used by local companies and then use the money for local economic development projects.

Of course, the wrinkle is that NYPA will keep the money for us "in a separate account" that we can then use as we see fit supposedly. This idea, which sounds good at first, brings about a whole bunch of new questions: How did we get from NYPA CEO Richard Kessel saying in December that NYPA wanted no "day-to-day involvement with the RVRDA and would only want to see an annual report and audit" to the power giant keeping our profits from the sale of our power into one of their separate accounts? How do we access our money in NYPA's account? Will NYPA have some kind of input on how we spend our money? How will our money be protected from the state (i.e. the governor and the legislature) the next time they want to raid NYPA's surplus to fill one of the huge, gaping holes in the state's budget?

All of these details still need to be worked out by the Local Government Task Force, but the task force, under the leadership of St. Lawrence County Treasurer Bob McNeil, hasn't met in over two months. The NYPA board is supposed to pass judgement on this latest plan at its meeting in May, but the local governments haven't approved it yet because the task force has failed to meet. Word is we haven't met because we're waiting for NYPA's mid-level bureaucrats to forward to us a draft contract.

How long does it take to draft a relatively simple contract? How far in advance of the May meeting will the local governments see it and be asked to approve it? Do you notice a pattern here?

It seems when it comes to the RVRDA and our power and our money, there are a whole lot of unanswered questions. Guess we should just wait for NYPA to pat us on the head and tell us what good children we are!!

What an Interesting Meeting!!!

2010-04-10T21:37:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning I attended a meeting in the Massena Town Hall at the invitation of Congressman Bill Owens (D-NY23), who also invited his Canadian counterpart, MP (Member of Parliament) Guy Lauzon and Bob Kilger, mayor of the city of Cornwall, Ont. (my Canadian counterpart, for lack of a more accurate description). Massena Town Councilman John Macaulay was also in attendance.

The meeting's primary focus was the Massena/Cornwall border crossing and how best to address the issue of the location for the Canadian port of entry which was located on Cornwall Island until it was closed last year during a dispute with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne over Canada's decision to arm its border personnel for the first time. After the closure last year, the Canadian port was relocated temporarily to the ramp at the end of the bridge in Cornwall. It's till there, I believe, although I haven't visited Cornwall in a few months.

As is stands right now, the Canadians are trying to decide the best location for their port. According to Mr. Lauzon and Mr. Kilger, local officials in Cornwall and MCA Grand Chief Mike Mitchell like the idea of moving the Canadian operation to the US side of the border so that sits alongside the Massena Port of Entry and its bevy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in Rooseveltown.

To make a long story short, the Canadians were wondering how Congressman Owens and Massena Town officials felt about this idea of "co-locating" US and Canadian border officials in Rooseveltown. Congressman Owens, Mr. Macaulay and I all said we saw no problem with that idea and that it made sense. Now Mr. Owens and Mr. Lauzon will be very busy back in Washington and Ottawa trying to convince their respective federal agencies of the merits of this plan.

I hope they are successful and pledge to do whatever I can as Town Supervisor to assist the process.

Needless to say, all of this was very interesting and holds great potential for future developments that should ease the crossing at our border. And with the strong possibility of the Canadian Loonie and the US Greenback staying at par, this could be a very positive way to keep Canadian shoppers coming to Massena to spend their money.

This was my second meeting with Congressman Owens and I was again impressed with his knowledge of our area and his apparent hands-on approach to his office. I'm still very discouraged by his vote for "healthcare reform" but that's a topic for a different day.

And while all of the border discussion was interesting, the most entertaining aspect of the whole session was the Lauzon/Kilger relationship. You see, Mr. Kilger used to be the MP for the Cornwall area until he was defeated by Mr. Lauzon! The two of them remain friends and even rode together from Cornwall to the meeting in Massena. They joke about the election when Mr. Lauzon won. After his defeat, Mr. Kilger ran for and was elected mayor of Cornwall. The two men have known each other for years and even played together on the same hockey team as teenagers. It was wonderful to watch the two of them interact with the teasing and playful jabs of old friends.

Part of the discussion turned to Mr. Kilger's former work as a linesmen and eventually a referee in the National Hockey League. After nine years in black and white stripes, Mr. Kilger coached Cornwalls Junior A hockey team for a number of years.

In the back-and-forth between the old pals, Mr. Lauzon said, "Bob, tell them who your linemate was (as a player) during Junior Hockey." Mr. Kilger then told us his blueline partner in Junior hockey was none other than the great Bobby Orr. He said when he was the on the ice and found himself with the puck on his stick, "I didn't look for anyone else. I just made sure to get the puck to Bobby. That was my game plan!" Needless to say, we all found that entertaining and rather funny. Who wouldn't take the same approach if you were wearing the same jersey as Bobby Orr?

One last interesting sidebar to Friday's meeting: as we were breaking up, I asked Mr. Owens if he had heard the recent breaking news that one of his colleagues, Bart Stupak, had just announced he wouldn't seek re-election. "Stupak's not running?" he asked incredulously. Mr. Macaulay and both acknowledged that we had just heard the announcement within the hour. Mr. Owens said he had not heard the news before we told him.

Guess that gives you an indication of what the 24-hour news cycle means today. We heard about Stupak's announcement before his colleague Mr. Owens.

Amazing.

Sorry for the Absence, but I'm Back!

2010-04-05T23:22:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I last posted. Things have been very busy in the Supervisor's office, my home computer was in the shop for two weeks, I had a 24-hour bug and then the Easter holiday week kicked in.

I have neglected this space but I will try to make up for it in the coming few days because a lot has been happening. For us Catholics and other Christians, Easter is a time for spiritual renewal and rebirth. Our Jewish friends just celebrated Passover and the weatherman has been delivering some VERY spring-like weather.

All of these things look to the future and new beginnings. We'll put this blog in the same category as I make a new commitment to you, the readers, to post more frequently and in a more timely manner.

Until next time, keep the faith (whatever yours may be) and keep hoping that Spring really is here!

Final Word on "BION Blunder"

2010-02-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

This will likely be my final comment on what I am calling the BION Blunder. I've been thinking about the situation a great deal and discussing it with people and here's my final take:

My point in broaching this topic is not score political points for myself or do political damage to others. While BION blames two or three people for their decision to leave the county, the entire county legislature and county government staff dropped the ball on this one.

We're all really to blame - Republicans, Democrats, Independence Party, Conservatives, even those of you who for some inexplicable reason choose not to vote or even register to vote.

While a few people opposed this project, how many of us spoke out in favor of it?

I didn't at the time.

Did you?

So ultimately, we are all at fault for this failure and we all must live with the fallout.

BUT, we can all learn from this and make sure it doesn't happen again. Let's get off our duffs, hold elected officials accountable, and more importantly tell them what we want them to do for us and with us.

Let's do something ourselves to promote our area and support new projects when they arise!!

Let's put down the remote controls, computer mice, etc., and attend town, village, city and county board meetings!

In short, let's be better, more responsible citizens of our democratic republic.

The "Stink" of the County Legislature - BION: Part II

2010-02-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

I recently obtained the following essay which BION submitted to the Syracuse Post-Standard in response to the article the paper published last week about why BION left our county for Oswego County. I'm sure you'll remember that I published a link to that article in a post on this blog last week.

Well, here's the latest info to come out on this sordid little affair, and it comes directly from a BION representative. It's kind of long, but worth the read (all emphasis you see here is from BION's original text:

"Summary Bion spent more than two years in St. Lawrence County seeking support for development of an industrial project conditioned on its successfully completing a full, public SEQR review and other appropriate due diligence assessments. The Bion project will deliver significant regional economic benefits. Chief among these benefits will be:

- Hundreds of full-time, non-transferable, permanent jobs;
- With benefit packages including health insurance; . And with local and regional training programs developed to ensure that those among the currently unemployed who wish to find employment with the project will be able to learn the necessary skills to qualify
- Bion intends to work with appropriate local educational institutions to develop those training programs.

After two years of effort communicating with the community and directly responding to questions and concerns, St. Lawrence County chose to protect the status quo rather than encourage the development of a fully regulated “green” jobs project with significant additional regional economic benefits. Despite a 12-2 vote of tentative support for the project from the St. Lawrence County Legislature, the personal opposition of the Chair and Vice Chair of that body insured that political opposition would remain a serious obstacle. Those two officials then appointed a task force, which was supposed to work with Bion for project development, but instead assumed the role of making the project unwelcome and unworkable without letting facts get in the way. Please consider the detailed examples of this attitude such as requiring Bion to essentially pass a “local SEQR” review long before the project had developed sufficiently to do so and ignoring the favorable report of their choice of environmental scientist because his conclusion --that Bion’s project would not pose an odor problem-- conflicted with their agenda.

Let me explain in more detail in the following response to the Post Standard article of January 16, 2010.

Bion Response to Syracuse Post Standard Article of January 16, 2009 Why Bion Left St. Lawrence County

On January 16, 2010, the Post-Standard published an article asking the question “What made Bion pass on St. Lawrence County site?” The article quotes a number of individuals from St. Lawrence County expressing their perspective on what happened. Given that almost all of those quoted were opposed to the project throughout, it is remarkable that the article actually comes as close as it does to uncovering the real answer to the question posed –close, but not quite there.

The article states that “after more than a year of meetings, presentations, discussions and questions and answer sessions, Bion pulled out.” Actually it was after more than two years! So what did really happen, particularly in light of the fact that the County Legislature passed a resolution to provide tentative approval for further development of the project by a vote of 12 to 2 as correctly stated later in the article?

Jon Montan, the chair of the Integrated Agriculture Task Force is quoted as correctly identifying that “They would eventually be subject to SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) questions…” In fact, Bion had identified to the community that the project would be subject to a rigorous, public SEQR review and would ultimately be fully regulated as any other industrial activity would be prior to construction and operation. Entry into the SEQR process requires the investment of millions of dollars to option sites, generate site planning, perform geotechnical studies and develop process designs, as well as to perform traffic, odor and other environmental impact assessments --all of which Bion was and is willing to do as long as there was at least some assurance that the community would welcome the project after successful passage through the SEQR process.

Unfortunately, one of the two votes in opposition to the County Legislature’s resolution was the Board Chair who subsequently appointed the Task Force that Mr. Montan was asked to lead. Mr. Montan is a planner. He works for the County Planning Department and well understands the process of project development and regulatory review as a professional in that field. Recognizing that the project would be subject to a full SEQR review but not until it had progressed sufficiently in its development to enter into that process, Mr. Montan reports that the Task Force said “let’s ask them now”! We do appreciate Mr. Montan’s honesty, because that’s exactly what they did knowing full well that it would be impossible for Bion to address those site-specific SEQR questions at such a preliminary stage of project development! The Task Force, appointed by the Chair of the Legislature who opposed even moving forward with project development concluded as Mr. Montan reports that “the problem was Bion officials never completely answered questions posed by members of the task force…” Of course we could not answer those detailed “SEQR” questions in full prior to identification of project sites and generation of the necessary engineering and process planning and environmental assessments specific to them, and Mr. Montan as a professional planner and the rest of the Task Force knew in advance that Bion could not!

And you ask why BION left St. Lawrence County?

But Bion did provide the Task Force with a significant amount of information, addressing questions and concerns that ranged across the full spectrum of public concern. On February 20, 2008, Bion provided a five page response to the process and initial questions of the Task Force, followed by a statement on transportation that laid out the traffic principles by which the project would be developed, a forty seven slide technical presentation provided by both the Bion VP for Project Development and Bion’s Chief Technology Officer, and a ten page detailed response to supplemental technical questions from a member of the Task Force. All of these documents are attached to this response for the benefit of the Post-Standard to review to determine first hand the extent to which Bion was responsive to the questions of the Task Force. And all of that information is supplemental to the several hundred page report containing the protocols, data, analysis and conclusions from Bion’s 18 month long, third-party reviewed demonstration project documenting the specific performance characteristics of the company’s state of the art waste treatment process. All of these documents and reports are available to the public online.

Mr. Montan’s reference to “odor fallout” among a list of concerns to which “they weren’t’ able to answer these detailed questions” is particularly disingenuous and typical of the treatment that Bion experienced in St. Lawrence County. The previous fall, Bion paid for three-quarters of the cost of an odor impact assessment, conducted by a team of scientists at the Clarkson University Center for Environmental Excellence and headed by a world class air emissions expert, Dr. Philip Hopke. Dr. Hopke and his team were the choice of the County Legislature. After release of an assessment that fundamentally concluded that implementation of Bion’s waste treatment technology in conjunction with careful site planning would preclude an undue risk for nuisance odors to the community, the report was ignored by those who did not want to see the project move forward. So Mr. Montan says, “they weren’t able to answer these detailed questions” in reference to odor concerns along with others in denial of that independent scientific assessment. Odor concerns were directly addressed in great detail by the County’s choice of independent scientist, but the conclusions were ignored in a determination to oppose!

And you ask why BION left St. Lawrence County?

We have also attached the full odor assessment report to this response for the benefit of the Post-Standard to see that the odor question was robustly addressed by the County’s chosen investigator!

The other vote in opposition to the County Legislature’s resolution supporting the Bion project came from then Vice Chair Tedra Cobb who had opposed the project from before we had the opportunity to sit down and address her concerns. Ms. Cobb now reports that “we could not support the project, because they were not forthcoming with information” despite her opposition from the outset and in conflict with the fact that Bion specifically responded to a comprehensive set of questions submitted by Ms. Cobb with a detailed memo referencing processes, procedures and studies to be implemented by Bion to protect the environment for a project that would provide substantial economic benefit to the region. That response to Ms. Cobb is also appended to this memo for the benefit of review by the Post-Standard.

And you still wonder why Bion left St. Lawrence County?

Others are reported saying that “they tried to push us and that’s not a wise thing to do.” To be clear, Bion spent more than two years seeking a community that was willing to say that they would work with the company to assist the project move forward conditioned on its successfully completing a full, public SEQR review and other appropriate due diligence assessments.

Bion was offering to St. Lawrence County, and now offers to communities in Oswego County, an industrial project that will be fully regulated as any other industrial activity would, that will deliver significant economic benefits to the region. Chief among these benefits will be:

- Hundreds of full-time, non-transferable, permanent jobs;
- With benefit packages including health insurance;
- And with local and regional training programs developed to ensure that those among the currently unemployed who wish to find employment with the project will be able to learn the necessary skills to qualify. Bion intends to work with appropriate local educational institutions to develop those training programs.

After two years of effort, St. Lawrence County turned down that offer as we continued to meet with ongoing resistance in favor of the status quo. Clearly the elements that direct public policy within St. Lawrence County valued protection of that status quo over the offer of good jobs with benefits from a fully regulated industrial activity.

And so Bion left St. Lawrence County despite the fact that there were and still remain major elements within the County who favored the Bion project although none of them appear to have been contacted for the original Post-Standard article. A prime example of support for the project within St. Lawrence County is provided on a blog by the elected Town Supervisor of Massena, Joe Gray upon reading your article from the 16th. Mr. Gray correctly points out that Bion “didn’t want our money, special treatment or a handout…” He goes on to say “the Bion project had plenty of support from town and other local officials, but it seems not so much at the County offices in Canton. Why? Did St. Lawrence County’s bad attitude kill this project? It sure looks that way.”

And finally Mr. Gray writes: “They say the company couldn’t answer some of their questions. Why were they asking for environmental data months, if not years, before this project would materialize? Is there some secret plan in Canton or tests that a prospective business must pass before we’ll embrace them?”

On the other hand, as the Post-Standard article correctly reports: “Oswego County officials are excited about the possibility of 300 new jobs in the county, but also want to research the - 5 proposal fully.” In reality there will be many more than 300 jobs upon full development of the project and Bion commits to working closely with local and county officials to support their due diligence research. Legislator Morris Sorbello is reported to have said “there’s a lot of good about it” and “it would mean a lot of decent jobs, but when you’re putting in that much cattle, you have to do it in a proper way.” Bion understands Mr. Sorbello’s caveat, completely agrees with his comments and intends to not only “do it in a proper way” but to work with community leadership to address the concerns that he has expressed.

As for the concerns of others for whom our response seemed to be overly technical, the error - if it was an error - stems from a desire to fully provide answers to questions raised. This is a complex undertaking which is fundamentally enabled by a "green" waset treatment technology invented and successfully demonstrated by BION and incorporatwed into a closed-loop technology platform that generates renewable energy while treating livestock waste. It is very difficult to explain the nature of that process without getting technical, but BION will continue to communicate to teh community at bother a technical, scientific level as well as for the non-technical.

And finally, as correctly reported, “The Schroeppel town board recently passed a resolution supporting the … [Bion project]…subject to Bion receiving all permits it needs and meeting all the environmental review requirements.” This is precisely the kind of support that Bion had been unsuccessfully seeking throughout its several year of effort in St. Lawrence County! Bion appreciates the support of the Town of Schroeppel and completely embraces the basis upon which their support has been conditioned. In a follow up signed statement further explaining the position of the Town Board in its passage of the Bion resolution, Town Supervisor Paul Casler states the following:

And so BION looks forward to working with the Town of Schroeppel and any other in Oswego
County that is interested in seeing the development of an industrial project move forward in their community, subject to full environmental standards and the same regulations as any other enterprise, in anticipation of the good jobs and other economic stimulus that the ensuing business wil generate."

(This is Joe again.... So, my friends, it seems the more we poke BION's St. Lawrence County Experience, the more it stinks - kind of like that week-old dead skunk you want to remove from the road in front of your house. To draw a parallel, the BION debacle is akin to a dead skunk middle of our economic development roadway. Did you ever notice that after the skunk is removed from your road, you still smell it every time it rains. Let's just hope the stench from the BION brouhaha will fade before another possible job creation project to comes to our county.)

Correction!!

2010-01-30T18:46:00.000-05:00

Eric James from "The Northern Radio Show" sent me an e-mail reminding (more accurately, correcting) me that their show does air live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10-11 p.m. Here's what he had to say:

"Hey Joe, Just saw your blog! thanks for the coverage...

We do air live 10pm - 11pm... and once the show is over, a recorded version of it is available on the website. We are soon to be on Massena cable access ch 1501 WNTS...

again.. thanks for coming on.. welcome back anytime!

Eric"

This show's a great idea. You might want to think about contributing to its continued success or even buying an ad if you have a business or service to promote. Thanks again, guys!

Internet Radio Show

2010-01-29T23:05:00.000-05:00

Just got off the "radio" with Eric James and Rob Williams from "The Northern Radio Show".

It's another of the "new media" now available for the residents of Massena and surrounding area. Eric and Rob do this show three nights a week and have been doing so for the past few months. You can find them at http://thenorthernradioshow.com/default.aspx

From what I can tell, these guys are just a couple of Regular Joes (no pun intended) who spend some of their spare time producing this Internet radio show. It will soon be available live but for now you can visit their website and listen to previously recorded shows. Tonight's show will be available very soon, I'm told

I want to thank Eric and Rob for their hospitality and for giving me a platform to discuss Town of Massena business. I would encourage my readers to visit "The Northern Radio Show" and see what the guys have to offer. You might actually learn something in the process!

Rescue Squad Mess Straightened Out

2010-01-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

At a meeting 10 days ago, an agreement was reached to make the Massena Volunteer Rescue Squad the primary responder to all emergency calls in the towns of Massena and Louisville. It effectively ended two-weeks of a "dual dispatching" policy put in place by St. Lawrence County and its Emergency Services Department.

Under that policy both the Massena Volunteer unit and the private, paid Seaway Valley Ambulance service would be dispatched when an emergency services call was received at the County's 911 dispatch center. Then, the first agency to pick up the phone and say they were "out of service" and on their way to the call meant the other agency would "stand down" and let the first agency handle the call.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea until you discover that when Seaway Valley responds to a call at your house and you have no insurance to pay their bill, you will be expected to cough up about 1,500 bucks to pay for their response. That's not something people around here are accustomed to doing when they call 911 for help in an emergency situation.

When the unpaid, but no less qualified Massena Volunteer Rescue Squad responds to a call at your home, your insurance company (if you have insurance or some other "third party payer" like Medicaid or Medicare) will be billed for the service. BUT if you don't have insurance, you will not be on the hook for $1,500! In fact, no one will be billed for that call because its cost will be absorbed by the volunteer unit.

Prior to our meeting last week, no one was saying why this abrupt change to "dual dispatch" came about. The county sent a letter dated Dec. 28 saying the new policy would go into effect on Jan. 1. The county said it had to do with the NYS Department of Health and "certificates of need" issued by the Department to the two local rescue/ambulance units.

Come to find out, this ball started rolling when the Department of Health received an "informal" complaint about emergency response time from someone "who didn't want to be identified."

All of this brouhaha from an informal complaint filed by someone who was unwilling to put their name to it? Yup, as crazy as it sounds, that's the way it happened. And after the call, the county bureaucrats went into "cover your butt" mode and started dispatching both units, although there was no real proof provided of a problem with emergency response time. It seems the county was concerned about "liability" because of the mystery complaint.

So the simple solution was for the town board to step up and take on the responsibility of designating the Massena Volunteer Rescue Squad as the primary responder that will receive the emergency call first. We officially did that last night and the confusing, controversial "dual dispatch" policy is a thing of the past.

As far as rapid response to your emergency, Massena/Louisville residents shouldn't worry: if for some odd, unusual reason the volunteers are not out the door on the way to you house within four minutes, Seaway Valley will be dispatched. But if you don't have insurance or some other source of "third party" payment, you will get a bill for the call.

So, we still have some work to do in that regard. A few months ago, Seaway Valley told the town they would enter into a contract to back up the volunteers and for $50,000 no individual would get a bill for their service. That option has not been explored, although it is interesting to note Seaway Valley recently agreed to a contract with the Town of Brasher to back up their volunteer rescue unit for $1,000.

So the obvious question to Seaway Valley now becomes: Is Massena 50 times larger than Brasher?

Is St. Lawrence County Open For Business??

2010-01-16T22:35:00.000-05:00

I've been saying for a longtime that New York State is not an attractive place to do business, but what if that state problem was actually being made worse by our county officials? I would never have believed that was true.

Now, I'm not so sure.

Remember when a group of venture capitalists came to St. Lawrence County (more specifically, Massena) and threw out this idea (some said it was crazy) to build a huge livestock facility that would raise upwards of 10,000 head of cattle for meat, by-products and methane? The company was called BION and although the scale of the plan was huge, the businesspeople said it was viable.

All they needed was lots of land, a good supply of hay and corn, and a means to get the animal food in and the meat products out. They didn't want our money, special treatment or a handout. It was a little far-fetched, but kind of exciting at the same time.

I assumed a while ago that project was dead and gone, either collapsing due to its own failings or going to a more business-friendly state. Obviously, neither of those scenarios is true.

The failure it seems, was ours.

Click on this story from the Syracuse Post-Standard:

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/what_made_bion_pass_on_st_lawr.html

The BION project had plenty of support from town and other local officials, but it seems not so much at the County offices in Canton. Why? Did St. Lawrence County's bad attitude kill this project? It sure looks that way.

If that's true, shame on county officials - elected legislators and appointed bureaucrats in the planning department!

They say the company couldn't answer some of their questions. Why were they asking for environmental data months, if not years, before this project would materialize? Is there some secret plan in Canton or tests that a prospective business must pass before we'll embrace them.
Shouldn't we wlecome any potential employer to our county, especially when they first come in with an idea and ask for nothing more than a receptive ear and open mind?

First the steel mill, now this.

It's high time we start asking St. Lawrence County some tough questions of our own.

Whew!! Hectic so far!

2010-01-08T00:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm heading to bed in a few minutes but I wanted to give you a recap of the past few days. My learning curve has been steep but I'm making progress. Now, if I can just figure out how to retrieve my voice mail.....!

I spent a lot of time on the phone and some more time in meetings. This part-time job could probably be full-time, but it isn't.

My meetings with the town staff went well. They seemed to like the donuts at least! A number of the employees expressed their appreciation that the meetings were actually taking place. I explained that work would resume on establishing a personnel policy for the town. Work was begun last year but not completed for a number of reasons, and I pledged to make sure the employees are involved in that process.

I also asked for their suggestions and opinions on how the town could improve its operation and how we can better serve our customers - you the public. I reminded the employees that we have literally thousands of bosses in the people who pay the taxes to pay our salaries.

My first board meeting was the special organizational meeting which is held every year. This year's installment was held Wednesday. The usual business of renewing policies, designating official newspapers, making board appointments, etc.

A visit by County Legislator made things interesting when he brought up the suspicious "dual dispatching" debate that involves the Massena Volunteer Rescue Squad and the for-profit Seaway Valley Ambulance service. This one will rage on for a while, although a meeting Monday may resolve some of the issues surrounding it. I'll write more about this in a future blog.

Guess I'll wrap things up for now. Please spread the word about this post and get some more people reading it. Things haven't been too juicy yet but I'm sure that will change as time rolls on.

Thanks for being here.

Here We Go!!!

2010-01-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official! Today, before throngs of thousands of adoring fans.....

Okay, the truth: before a small crowd of family and friends brave enough to fight cold winds and blowing snow, Albert Nicola, Charles Raiti and I took our oaths of office to begin our terms as town councilmen and town supervisor respectively. It was old hat for Mr. Nicola and Mr. Raiti, who have held their offices for years.

But is was a first for me, having never held elective office before.

As our spouses held the Holy Bible for us, we each took our separate turns repeating the oath as dictated by Town Clerk Georgette Davis. We pledged to uphold the U.S. and New York State constitutions and to perform our official duties "to the best of our abilities." Our swearing-in is the first of the new decade for the Town of Massena.

It was for me both humbling and empowering. After I took my oath I mentioned how since the election of number of people - some friends, some acquaintances, some strangers - had congratulated me and some very specifically told me of their concerns and expectations. "We need jobs," one said. "I know you'll ask lots of questions," another said. Still another pointedly told me it was time to do some things differently and get Massena headed in another direction.

I reminded the people present today that there are three "H"es we need to focus on as we move forward - Hard work, Honesty, and Hope. The hard work is easily defined. The honesty, well, we need to be honest with each other and ourselves. We have to acknowledge our strengths and our weaknesses, and have an honest discussion of where we are headed. Lastly, we must never give up hope. I'm confident that if we work hard and are honest, our hopes will be realized.

But we must work together. And I need your help as well. I can't do this job by myself. I need people to help me; advise me of their feelings, concerns, suggestions, ideas and even criticisms. That is what this blog will be all about. I'll explain more about that later.

For now, let's get this show on the road!