Harmony
Canadian Pacific Holiday Train brings money for JCEO, Toys for Tots Train bringing toys this Sunday.
Keeseville-Peru Ecumenical Choir prepares for their annual concerts.
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...Also, look inside for our holiday section featuring local businesses!
December 5, 2009
Church collecting Christmas presents for local teenagers ‘Toys for Teens’ drive accepting donations through next Sunday By Jeremiah S. Papineau jeremiah@denpubs.com
Harold G. and Betty A. Benjamin, owners of Benji’s Café and Bakery in downtown Plattsburgh, are opening their doors for a free Christmas dinner Sunday, Dec. 20. The Benjamins are welcoming the less fortunate and those who would otherwise be alone this holiday season to enjoy a warm meal at their establishment.
CADYVILLE — Cadyville Wesleyan Church is working to make sure even older kids get what they want for Christmas. The church is holding its second “Toys for Teens” drive, collecting new, unwrapped toys and other gifts for local teenagers. Church parishioner Dawn Badger came up with the idea in time for Christmas last year, collecting several donations for The Christmas Bureau, a nonprofit organization which helps provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged families in Clinton County.
Last December, Badger and her fellow parishioners decided to forego the traditional exchanging of presents during their adult Sunday School Christmas gettogether and, instead, give back to the community, she said. “I thought, rather than exchanging gifts amongst ourselves, we could bring in an item for a youth and bring them to The Christmas Bureau,” said Badger. “I wanted to focus on teens because they seem to be the ones that are kind of left out.” Some other collection drives focus on donations for younger children, but Badger, a mother of two See TOYS, page 11
Photo by Jeremiah S. Papineau
Benji’s Café and Bakery to host free Saranac eyes Christmas dinner for those in need town garage
Business seeking donations from the community to help host event By Jeremiah S. Papineau jeremiah@denpubs.com PLATTSBURGH — When Harold G. and Betty A. Benjamin look out the window of their Margaret Street business, they see a growing number of people who either live on the streets or who need assistance in some form or another. And, they’re planning to do something to help. Their business, Benji’s Café and Bakery, will open its doors Sunday, Dec. 20, for a free Christmas dinner. The idea behind the dinner is to help less fortunate members of the community by giving them a warm meal and some companionship for at least one day, said the Benjamins. “We were talking about doing this
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last year but we were still a pretty new business, and we just ran out of time,” said Betty. “This year, we’ve started a little earlier.” The Benjamins discussed the idea of hosting a dinner after Harold started noticing the number of people downtown who didn’t seem as well off as others. “During the day, you look out front and you see there’s a lot of people who are homeless or who maybe just don’t have a lot of money,” said Harold. “They’re going through garbage cans and, especially in the winter, they don’t have seasonal clothes like a heavy jacket or even a sweater.” “It’s sad,” said Betty. Even with the number of outreach
programs in the area, the Benjamins said they have still seen people sleeping in the nearby park or under bridges. And, they’ve seen firsthand the difference one random act of kindness can do, said Betty. “One day, not long after we first opened, a man came to the door after we had closed,” recalled Betty. “He told me he didn’t have much money but he wanted to know what he could get with the change he had.” Noticing the man was “obviously very hungry,” she said, Betty told Harold about the man at the door and Harold put some fresh sandwiches and chips in a container for him. See DINNER, page 11
going solar By Jeremiah S. Papineau jeremiah@denpubs.com SARANAC — The town of Saranac is looking to the sky — and the federal government — to help produce power for its highway department garage. The town has applied for nearly $345,000 in funding from the federal government through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop a solar panel system that would power the town garage on State Route 3. Councilman Gerald
W. Delaney, who has been overseeing the application on behalf of the town council, said the town submitted its application in time for the Nov. 23 deadline and is awaiting word of its approval. Delaney said the council has been examining ways to make buildings owned by the town more energy efficient, especially the highway department garage, a 12,000 square-feet building which utilizes a great deal of electricity on a regular basis. See SOLAR, page 11
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