Lt a 0099 0312

Page 1

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

Saturday,ÊM archÊ12,Ê2016

>>

www.SunCommunityNews.com

In SPORTS | pg. 13

>>

The Final Four the best move on

In OPINION | pg. 4

Refugee crisis

Lake Placid, Ausable, Moriah remain

>>

One local group is brimming with ideas

In ARTS | pg. 7

A Terrible Beauty

will be presented at the Ti Historical Society

Debut installment of Irish Festival coming to Plattsburgh Day-long event on March 12 will be filled with Irish-themed music, food, fun and plenty of drinks to wet your whistle

wet your whistle. Tom Frey of ADK Hard Cider and Elfs Farm Winery & Cider House plans to turn the Farmer’s Market into an Irish pub with tables, chairs and a bar stocked with local wines, beer and cider. Blue Line Brewery of Saranac Lake will be providing the By Teah Dowling brews, while wines and cider will come out of Frey’s kitchen. teah@suncommunitynews.com A new beverage Frey calls the “Irish Diplomacy” will make its grand debut. PLATTSBURGH — Grab a pint and take out your Shillelagh because the first ever Irish Festival is coming to town. “It’s a cider fermented with a dark beer sugar,” he said. “It The day-long event on March 12 will be filled with Irish- will be very festive, just like the rest of the day.” Green running gear and leprechaun hats are fair game for themed music, food, fun and, of course, plenty of drinks to

the Shamrock Shuffle 5K. The run/walk will begin 11 a.m. on Durkee Street, going through Bridge Street, Jay Street, Club Road and the US Oval. This 5k is the last race of the Fleet Feet Frozen 5k Race Series. “We’re really excited for it,” said Steve Peters, recreation superintendent for the city. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.” In the center of the lot, there will be an Irish Village filled with Irish-themed games. The Clinton County ARC will host a scavenger hunt and a bouncy house will be available. >> See Irish Festival | pg. 8

TaxÊ creditsÊ

to hunt and fish

Woman steals money raised to build playground

Money would provide license rebates to volunteer firefighters, EMS

Treasurer nabs more $50,000 from Saranac Elementary Family Support Organization

SARANAC LAKE — A stagnant state senate bill, once sponsored by Thomas Libous, former Senator for the 52nd District, has been resurrected. It’s new form should offer a statement of gratitude for volunteer firemen and volunteer ambulance workers, while maintainBy Christina ing full funding for the state’s ConservaScanlon tion Fund. Writer Sen. Sue Serino, 41st District, took over the cause after Libous was found guilty of lying to the FBI, and vacated his senate seat. The original bill, if passed, waived fees for fishing and hunting licenses for the volunteers. The waived fees would cover both small and big game licenses. Serino’s office, however, fielded some concerns from the public, that the gesture would impact the state’s Conservation Fund. Data from the state in 2013 showed 1.5 million in hunting, fishing and trapping license sales generated approximately $47 million annually that goes directly to the state’s Conservation Fund. Therefore, the revised bill offers a tax credit to those volunteers for the cost of the licenses which would not impact the

By Teah Dowling

Proposed state legislation would offer ...

teah@suncommunitynews.com

Volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel would be eligible for a reimbursement of the cost of their hunting and fishing licenses under a bill currently being considered by the state legislature.

Conservation Fund. Serino’s staff noted a recent Firemen’s Association of the State of New York study found the state’s 100,000 volunteer firemen save taxpayers more than $3 billion annually. The full report can be found at goo.gl/g1AsdR. State Assmeblyman Dan Stec was not surprised by those figures. “They have to have 80 hours of training just to become a firefighter,” said Stec of the volunteers. That’s before the men and women ever respond to a fire, taking time away from their own families and risking their lives for others. >> See Tax Credit | pg. 8

SARANAC — A Cadyville woman has been arrested and charged with embezzling $50,000 from a fund dedicated to raising money to build a playground at Saranac Elementary School. Bethany Cliche, 42, was arrested March 1 following a investigation and charged with one count of grand larceny 2nd degree. According to police, Cliche was was entrusted as treasurer for the Saranac Elementary Family Support Organization (FSO) from September 2011 until Feb. 10, 2016. During that time, the FSO was focused on raising enough funds to purchase and build new playground for its students. Cliche was also a member of the Saranac Board of Education up until Feb. 10 when she resigned. Superintendent Jonathan Parks said the investigation was not related to her role as a member of the school board, in which she has served since June 1, 2015. Parks said district personnel have assisted FSO officers in >> See Bethany Cliche | pg. 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Lt a 0099 0312 by Sun Community News and Printing - Issuu