ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
Saturday, October 17, 2015
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In OUTDOORS | pg. 23
Local youth take to the woods Youth hunt held Oct. 10-12
www.SunCommunityNews.com
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In OPINION | pg. 4
Behind the Pressline
Why would anyone want these jobs?
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In SPORTS | pg. 11-13
Road wins for football teams Moriah, Ticonderoga win CVAC tilts
Final Port Henry dissolution meeting set for Oct. 21 Vote on fate of village set for Oct. 27 By Keith Lobdell
keith@suncommunitynews.com
PORT HENRY — The final chance for the public to hear about any impact the potential dissolution of the village here could have will take place next Wednesday. The third in a series of public information meetings on the topic will take place Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. at the Port Henry Knights of Columbus, less than a week before the Oct. 27 referendum vote on whether or not to disband the incorporated municipality. Last month was the first chance members of the commu-
nity had to hear from the LaBerge Group, who is overseeing the updating of the 2010 dissolution survey. “I feel it went as good as it could go,” said trustee Matthew Brassard. “We had a pretty large crowd, which is nice to see because that shows me that people are not listening to rumors and want to get the correct information.” Brassard said there were some questions which could not be answered at the September meeting. “Some of the public seemed to be upset they didn’t have some tax rates at the meeting,” he said. “This is really not their fault. The state has put the whole dissolution process in overdrive and when you have to gather information not just from the village, but also the town, three fire departments and meet with the department heads along with the supervisor, mayor and deputy mayor, it takes time to get all the information you
need to get the tax rates.” Brassard said the LaBerge Group will have the information on projected tax rates at the Oct. 21 meeting, as well as offer answers to questions the public may have. However, Brassard said some questions could not be answered until the dissolution process moved forward and involved town government. “Will trash pick up continue? Will recycling pick up continue, will the sidewalks be plowed in the winter:” are all questions they should be asking the town board members and the supervisor, as it is going to be completely up to them the town if these things continue or stop if the village dissolves,” Brassard said. “It’s not up to the village board if these continue or are stopped.” >> Story Continued | pg. 9
Humble Hero
“I can’t see why I did anything out of the ordinary,” says World War II vet
ELIZABETHTOWN — Before he heads to Washington, DC this Saturday, Thomas Buckley just has one question: “Why is my opinion important?” Buckley says his stint in World War II was nothing more than a vacation — a way Pete for a self-described hick like himself to DeMola Editor spend a week in Switzerland before heading off to Italy. The honor and accolades — a police escort to Plattsburgh, parade and day spent taking in capital memorials — is unwarranted, he said. Buckley, 89, first heard about Pearl Harbor as a teenager cruising back from his uncle’s place on Silver Lake. But the Plattsburgh native was too young to be drafted. That had to wait until July 1945, just before Japan quit. After making his way through a series of stateside camps for training — Shanks, Jackson — the 19-year-old found himself headed to Italy on the SS Blue Ridge Victory. Buckley arrived in a destroyed train station in Naples. The windows and roof were blown out and survivors took refuge in the remnants.
Thomas Buckley heads to Washington, DC on Saturday, Oct. 17 as part of North Country Honor Flight, the program that shuttles World War II and Korean War veterans to the nation’s capital to honor their service. Photo by Pete DeMola
From there, he took a troop train to Cividale, a mountain town on the border with Yugoslavia. “It was pretty bleak,” Buckley recalled. “The railroad tracks were shot to hell and there wasn’t too much left of them.” His assignment was to drive a truck hauling materials used for reconstructive efforts, bridges and roads. Buckley would watch food rations come into Trieste, the northeastern seaport. Gift to the People of Yugoslavia from the People of the United >> Story Continued | pg. 9
MARATHON MAN: Jay List of Holland, NY, took first place in the 19th annual Adirondack Marathon. In January, he won the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson. See more on the Adirondack Distance Festival on page 8. Photo provided