ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
Saturday,ÊO ctoberÊ1,Ê2016
>>
In FEATURES | pg. 2
First-ever pride parade on tap Inagural event to take place Oct. 1
www.SunCommunityNews.com
>>
In NEWS | pg. 9
Combating opioid abuse
Locals sound off on plans to seize epidemic
>>
In NEWS | pg. 4
Vermont Green Line update
Beekmantown signs road license agreement
Mooers stops accepting bids for current library building Despite setback, town and library officials determined to get into new structure before winter By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
MOOERS — Strike three... or is it? Last month, the town board resolved to stop accepting bids for the Mooers Free Library. The third round of soliciting offers for the property assessed at $27,000 was deemed unsuccessful by who since nobody made one when. Resident Justin Sample retracted his previous bid of
$16,000 during this round. The only other offer made for the two-floor, old brick structure located on Main Street was by Brad Vassar for $8,000. Both were shot down during previous town meetings on the grounds that they were too low. Library board officials stated they planned on using the funds from the library sale to cover the water and sewer expenses for the new facility near the elementary school. Board President Tim Gonyo said they don’t plan on throwing in the towel just yet. “We’re are going to do whatever it takes to complete the building,” he said. “We’re determined to get in there before snow falls.” During last week’s library board meeting, members signed
Rutland mayor briefs New Yorkers on refugee resettlement
expanding
As he navigates the storm over a controversial program on his home turf, Chris Louras offers local leaders some tips from the trenches
$15 million project to add 80 beds, expand rehab gymnasium in Plattsburgh nursing home
>> See Meadowbrook Expansion | pg. 8
Photo by Teah Dowling
>> See Mooers Library | pg. 7
Meadowbrook
PLATTSBURGH — Meadowbrook Healthcare is now putting finishing touches on the new addition. Walking through the private nursing home entrance and looking down the long, narrow hallway, a door with a green Teah velvet rope in front blocks the way to the Dowling new living area. Writer The layout, Community Relations Coordinator Laurie Marvin said, strays away from the stereotypical arrangement of nursing homes with “long, institutional-like hallways like a hospital.” Instead, this addition was designed with a circular layout divided up into four 20-bed neighborhoods. The center of every neighborhood contains a dining area, lounge, library and parlor with a fireplace. Each living quarter is surrounded by walls covered with earth-tone paint and black-framed nature paintings giving off a “hotel-like feel,” said Marvin. “We wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable.” The private, one-bedroom rooms circle around the amenities, which all come equipped with piped-in oxygen, walk or
Last month, the town board resolved to stop accepting bids for the Mooers Free Library. Instead, town officials are discussing converting the space into an office for Town Historian Jennifer Bulriss.
By Pete DeMola
pete@suncommunitynews.com
The center of every 20-bed neighborhood contains a dining area, lounge, library and parlor with a fireplace. The private, one-bedroom rooms circle around the amenities, which all come equipped with pipedin oxygen, walk or wheel-in showers, a flat screen TV, overhead lighting, sliding bathroom doors and a dresser short enough for someone wheelchair bound. Photo provided
KEESEVILLE — The outcry over Syrian refugees has shaped much of Rutland’s discourse this summer. The dispute over whether to accept 100 asylum seekers has cleaved the city, pitting Mayor Chris Louras against constituents, city aldermen and other elected officials. As the five-term mayor waits for the Department of State to sign off on the expansion of the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program into his city — a roadblock thrown up by peeved aldermen — Louras ventured to New York last week, where he briefed local leaders on his push to make the state’s third-largest city a host for escapees of the war-torn nation. A decision may come as soon as 10 days, he said, with the first family arriving as early as December. Bringing refugees into the city, he said, goes hand-in-hand with urban revitalization efforts. Their entry, Louras believes, would breathe new life into an ailing city. >> See Refugee Resettlement | pg. 17