ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
HEATING FUEL KEROSENE • LP GAS CROWN POINT, NY • (518) 597-3444
―
WILL DEYO - FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED
241445
Turn to page 11 to see how you can support community journalism. Published By Denton Publications Inc.
Times of Ti
March 7, 2020
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
NCCC Ticonderoga to host Career Fair, March 12
Flood loans available Money can be used to repair Halloween Storm damage From staff reports
From Staff Reports
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
TICONDEROGA | The U.S. Small Business Administration has granted the New York’s request for a Physical Disaster Declaration for three counties impacted by last year’s Halloween storm, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced last week. The storm caused more than $10 million in damages in local communities and affected nearly 400 homes, businesses and nonprofits. Essex, Herkimer and Oneida Counties are included in the declaration, and the contiguous counties of Clinton, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington are also eligible for the program. Under the declaration, impacted individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits in eligible counties can now apply for lowinterest loans from the Small Business Administration to aid in their recovery. “I’m glad our federal partners at the SBA have made these low interest loans an option for New Yorkers affected by the devastating Halloween storm,” Cuomo said in a media statement. “At the same time, it’s extremely disappointing that FEMA denied our request for emergency funding for the three hundred homeowners impacted by the floods. When natural disasters strike, the federal government and FEMA in particular
A water rescue in Schroon during the 2019 Halloween flooding. need to step up and help.” FEMA approved reimbursement for damage caused to municipalities, but not to individuals. State and federal response teams did confirm that there was major damage to 145 homes and
Photo by Tim Rowland
29 businesses totaling $5.6 million and $1.5 million respectively, as well as minor damage to 193 homes and 17 businesses/nonprofits totaling $2.6 million and $380,000, respectively. See FLOOD LOANS » pg. 7
TICONDEROGA | Job seekers in the Ticonderoga area will get the chance to meet with employers and learn about employment opportunities in the region when North Country Community College hosts a Career Fair on Thursday, March 12. The Career Fair, which is free of charge and open to the public, will take place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the college’s Ticonderoga campus, located at 11 Hawkeye Trail. “This is a great opportunity to see what jobs and careers the community has to offer,” said David St. Germain, NCCC Business Department Chair and Coordinator of Strategic Academic Initiatives. “If you’re looking to start a new career, or just want to see what the possibilities are, you’ll get a chance to meet with a variety of employers, learn about their opportunities and find out how to take the next steps.” Additionally, it’s not too late for businesses looking for employees to participate in the Career Fair. To register, contact David St. Germain at dstgermain@nccc.edu or 315-566-1376. All participants in the Career Fair will be eligible for door prizes. Light refreshments will be served. The Career Fair is sponsored by the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce, Essex County Social Services and North Country Community College. ■
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TALKS UNDERWAY Essex may create land bank to rehab, sell houses By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
ELIZABETHTOWN | A panel of Essex County leaders intent on putting working people into their own homes held their initial meeting last week, even as they acknowledged that the problem is one that extends beyond income and employment. The tourist economy affects the ability of low- and moderate-income people to obtain good housing, as do social and cultural issues. Some residents simply don’t know what goes into maintaining a house,
while others have never had the financial training it takes to draw up a budget and make mortgage payments, committee members said. Increasingly in Essex County, housing is being bought up by investors who rent them out short term to vacationers. That in turn drives up the cost of houses and the cost of rents. “Most of the people who are renting their housing are one flat tire away from disaster,” said Committee Chairman Jim Monty. Even what is typically viewed as a good salary is no guarantee of home ownership in a county with tight housing inventories. “If you’re making $40,000, you’re not going to be able to afford a house,” said Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava.
Job seekers meet job providers at a North Country Community College Career Fair held last fall. Photo by Tim Rowland
See HOUSING » pg. 3
Fire training center moves ahead Supervisors agree on location, but funding no longer assured By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
An architectural rendering of a proposed fire training building in Essex County.
Photo provided
ELIZABETHTOWN | Essex County will look to build a new fi refighting training center at the site of the old landfill in the town of Lewis after neighbors objected to plans to locate it on county land across from the Elizabethtown fire hall. The delay, however, may have jeopardized funding for the project, which is to come in the form of a $500,000 grant from Sen. Betty
FORT ANNE ANTIQUES WHITEHALL ANTIQUES MALL
10120 Route 4 Whitehall, NY 12887
HEATING & PLUMBING, LLC
Heating • Plumbing • Air Conditioning Electrical • House Opening & Closing Well Pump Replacement • Mini Splits Sewer Rooter & Camera Services
10,000 SQ. FT. MULTI DEALER SHOP
236960
236947
24-Hour Service www.CVHP.net
10% OFF
ANY BRAKE REPAIR OR SERVICE WITH THIS AD
Randy Patnode, Sr. - Owner $45.00 Per Hour
QA Services (518) 585-6325 Credit Cards Accepted NO MONKEY BUSINESS HERE!
NY DMV Inspection Station 7106932
R&R
CONSTRUCTION General Contracting Plumbing • Heating Electrical
BRAKE SPECIAL
280 Alexandria Ave., Ticonderoga, NY 12883
See FIRE TRAINING CENTER » pg. 7
Fully Insured 518-597-3692 Office 518-524-0333 Cell 1858 Creek Rd., Crown Point, NY 12928
randr.construction@yahoo.com
240969
(518) 585-3600
FLEA MARKET Every Sunday JUNE-OCTOBER OPEN DAILY 10-5 • 518-499-2915 fortannantiques@verizon.net
2 Year, 24,000 Mile Nationwide Guarantee Servicing All Makes & Models
240583
TICONDEROGA, NEW YORK
AUTO REPAIR
REPAIRS DONE RIGHT!
Little’s office. “Right now it’s a 50-50 deal,” said Don Jaquish, director of Essex County Emergency Services. A supervisors’ committee agreed to a resolution moving the project forward last week. The county should know in another month if the funding is still viable, and if so the center would be built later this year, Jaquish said. The project has been about two-and-a-half years in the making, and was originally slated for a different site at the old landfill, which was rejected because it was determined to be too close to existing landfi ll cells. After that determination, a study indicated the Elizabethtown site would be the next best option, but it was opposed by the neighborhood.