Vol. 169, No. 5 • CLINTON, NEW YORK • August 12, 2015
The Courier to Cease Production, New Vision Underway By Staff After 169 years of regular publishing, The Clinton Courier will cease production next month. The Sept. 9 edition of the paper will be its final issue. Emily and John Howard, owners of St. Porcupine LLC, which publishes The Courier, have decided to retire the publication to make way for a new email newsletter service to be called The Signal.
“It’s a financial decision, but also a decision that reflects the changing times and trends,” said Emily Howard, publisher of The Courier. “People are consuming media differently now and it’s clear with the numbers we are seeing. We need to stay competitive.” The new service, which was named “The Signal” in honor of The Courier’s original title in 1846, will be a daily letter delivered to subscribers for
free. Each letter will feature original writing and news coverage, as well as links to stories other area outlets are covering that day. The Howards received inspiration for the idea of a local, daily newsletter by similar services like theSkimm, the Politico Playbook and writer and actress Lena Dunham’s new Lenny Letter, which have been gaining popularity nationally and internationally. The Signal will continue covering the Clinton and Kirkland municipalities, as well as the greater Mohawk Valley region as a whole. Daily letters are expected to also include editorials, sports scores, important announcements and calendar events. “We’re starting from scratch and we have a lot of ideas that I think people will be excited about. Readers will recognize our storytelling style, but with new and improved features,” said John Howard, editor of The Courier who will now oversee The Signal. “It’s something new and exciting for our area that we think people will like. This kind of thing really doesn’t exist here yet.” Advertisers and current subscribers of The Courier will be notified about the process of the transition in the coming weeks, however, it is expected that there will be a brief publishing hiatus after the Sept. 9 edition of The Courier as The Signal prepares for its official launch. To stay informed about the project, readers are asked to subscribe to The Signal at http://wearethesignal.com. See page 2 for editorial.
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Clinton Man Charged in Shooting By Mark Warren A Clinton man has been arrested and charged with assault in the first degree, a class B felony, after shooting another man in the leg on Aug. 10. Devin T. Nelson, 21, was taken into custody and arraigned for shooting Chad Czternastek, 41, at close range. Nelson was remanded to the Oneida County Correctional Facility and his bail has been set at $30,000. The incident took place at approximately 2 a.m. on Kellogg Street in the Village. A 911 call came in reporting a gunshot wound, and Town and County responders found Czternastek injured at the scene. The victim was air-lifted to Upstate Syracuse Hospital, where he is undergoing surgery for his leg injury. His condition is unknown at this time, but the injury is not believed to be life threatening. Although Nelson fled the scene of the shooting, he was found by state police a short time later at the residence of a relative on Utica Street in Clinton. The incident is currently under investigation and ongoing.
Paul (left) and Phil White pose with the Poetry Path prototype they built. It is currently on display at the Kirkland Town Library.
Scout Brings Poetry Path to Clinton Written and Photographed by Mark Warren
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his fall, 12 landmarks around the Village of Clinton will be accompanied by signs with different poems that describe the area. The Poetry Path, as it’s being called, has been in development since last winter—when Paul White undertook the project with the help of his father, Phil. Paul, 16, is a Life Scout with Troop 44 out of Clark Mills. The Poetry Path is his Eagle Project, which must be completed along with other requirements before his 18th birthday to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. According to Phil, Eagle Projects
typically involve making minor repairs such as repainting a building. Paul’s project has grown greatly since the beginning, and now many in Clinton are getting involved. The Kirkland Town Library is sponsoring the project, and they’re organizing all of the fundraising for the signs. The Clinton Historical Society advised those involved on the history of the area and helped select the sites along the path. A poetry contest at the Clinton Middle and High Schools took place to incorporate student work into the path, and a Poetry Committee was established to select which poems would be used for the 12 sites around the Village. Paul said the project has gotten larger than he originally thought, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing on. POETRY, page 10
Plans are in motion to tear down a long-unused bank building on the busy Village corner.
Demolition Planned on Corner Bank Building By Staff During a Village Board meeting last week, plans were announced to demolish the unused bank building at the corner of College Street and Chenango Avenue in the Village. The building, a former drive up and walk up ATM kiosk, previously occupied by M&T Bank, has sat abandoned for several years. Commercial realtor Pavia Real Estate Services is serving as the contractor for the work. The company decided to demolish the building after struggling to find another business that could use the existing building in the prime Village location. “It’s just to make it more appealing to potential buyers,” said Dominic
Pavia, founder of Pavia Real Estate. “Nobody seems to be able to use the structure as it is.” The corner location is currently listed as a .31-acre vacant lot, for sale or lease, on Pavia’s website. According to Gary Schreppel, the codes enforcer for the Village of Clinton, Pavia has a demolition permit in hand and will likely begin and complete the work before the start of the upcoming school year. “[The process] is pretty simple,” said Schreppel. “It was built after asbestos was allowed, so there’s no asbestos survey that has to be done. … It’s a small building, so it should only take them a couple of days.”