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; u LAST WEEK'S WEATHER Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon. Hi 37 16 40 32 46 40 40 VOL. 136 NO. 46 % *» • ,s •*« *\ ; t k • < Lo 24 6 7 15 8 30 32 0.55rsn A PARK NEWSPAPER Have a problem? Ombudsman may have a solution. See story this week. Village Must Understand How Best To Utilize River BYTHOMPARDOE Potsdam may have \turned its back\ on the Racquette River in the past, but the village needs to posed to being shelved.\ As of Wednesday's meeting) Sitler said about 20 per cent of the living in a village of this size with two colleges and a river. ''Potsdam is a lot of big town ,. , . , . -„ -•• oiuci sum UDOUI zu per cent of the \Potsdam is a lot of big town the past, but the village needs to information gathering had been things in a little town,\ said zoning better understand now to utilize tne completed in the few weeks since board member Brian McNamara. river in the future. the steering committee hecran !*«.«..<\ * ~—-—'*--•*•*'* \*****^ ^ _ __.. ..— „ •••^^* uiinu iui;if amain. river in the future. the steering committee began If the village wants a community That was part of the general con- sensus of opinion after the village's planning and zoning boards met in joint session Jan. 25 with two prin- meeting, but that as yet, no ideas had been formulated. \It is the feeling of this board that Potsdam has turned its back that is more attractive to businesses and potential residents, the boards suggested the village government also be willing to .— _„_„—_... — „»•*. vnu j\«i- •„.„..,..,. U ua IUIUCU no uaun government also be willing t( cipals of Saratoga Associates, the on the river,\ said Planning Board change quite a bit and if necessary Saratoga Springs architectural, chairman Richard Johnson. to get tough. ing firm doing One nf ths nmHomc tho h/m-Jc *-• planning and consulting firm doing a study of riverfront development in the village. One of the problems the boards Johnson suggested that a better dicussed was the lack of housing in use for riverfront property would the village. They identified several be recreational uses, specifically „— -^ - .v» IXEIUUIU liiUJJCJliy WUU1U ~~mC •\\*•>*-• .. .. . the village. They identified several be recreational uses, specifically The joint meeting was the second reasons for the lack of upscale walkways alonmg the river for ofummer the boards.ise The boardse are housing and builders in the village, pedestrians to use to walk along meeting in joint session until the including the high tax rate arid the and across the rivm- n *™,i*t~« summer to revise t.hp viiiaoo •»««- -° - PARADE THEMES — There were a variety of themes for the various floats in Sunday's Ice Car- nival Parade; some ranged from very simple, and Tax Revolt May Be P'ropertyTaxCE iefS ays well, stupid, to the noble and heroic. Above, a knight from Alpha Chi slays a dragon for his love, The Princess. (Thorn Pardoe photo) BY RYNE R.MARTIN CANTON — Gov. Mario Cuomo's proposal to cap the tax dollars the state pays to local municipalities could lead to a tax revolt, in New York State, the director, of the county's Real Property Tax Office says. \The governor is proposing to cap the amount of money paid to towns, counties and school districts at last year's payment, regardless of the assessment or the budget. Local budgets may very well end up with a shortfall,\ according to Jane Powers, director of the St. Lawrence County Real Property The governor has made a number of budget proposals that would reduce the amount of state aid funneled to local governments. Those local governments will pro- bably look., to their taxpayers to make up for those lost state revenues. \If town budgets go up 10 percent due to the lack of other resources, the difference has always got to be made up in real property taxes,\ Powers noted. \What the budget proposal is, in effect, doing is giving the state an exemption, leaving the remaining property owner;; to pick up the dlf- Nature Conservancy in the form of fee title and conservation easements. The Nature Conser- vancy is now in the process of transferring its acquired interests to the state of New York. \By Gov. Cuomo placing a cap on real property tax payments made, these parcels, previously taxable, would, in effect, become exempt. There is no provision in this budget to pay real property taxes on newly acquired lands,\ Powers said. Diamond International -sold 35,462 acres in nine St. Lawrence County towns to • Lassiter, ac- cording to the director of the tax of- meeting in joint .—. uu . u m« s to rev the villag zon- ing codes. The meeting with Daniel C. Sitler and John Behan of Saratoga Associates works toward an end for both the riverfront development study and the joint board's revision effort. Sitler said the purpose of meeting with the boards is a way of deter- mining community sentiment on riverfront development. Since the boards have a hand in determining the development of the village, working with the riverfront study steering committee could also help the boards determine how to better revise the zoning^ codes^o~:en>- \courage development. The riverfront development study is being undertaken by the village, at a cost of $44,000, to deter- mine how best to use the riverfront property in the village. The study encompasses all of the property between Pierrepont Avenue and Clarkson Avenue at the southern border of the village, and between Market Street and Lower Pine at the northern border of the village. Community Development coor- dinator Steven C. Hychka said this land comprises a total of one-third of all the land in the village. Hychka has also said the proper- ty along the river in Potsdam is ex- tremely undervalued as well as be- ing underutilized. While in some areas of the state, prime riverfront , sells, for $300 to $5Q0 afoot, , O -— ^MAAVCVAO All I>UC VXlja£G , o , including the high tax rate arid the and across the river, providing perception that there is.no place to more access to the river. build in the village. But to make park and recrea- \The general perception is that tional land, the village would have there isn't any land to build on,\ to condemn some less than Johnson said. He said there is also \desirable properties and tear down a fear among landowners of \the any structures, .tax man> cometlr\ if an expensive home is built or if a home is renovated. Planning board member Theodore Prahl agreed with Johnson, saying that people don't want to build a new $100,000 home w. ..„« »i«v,uw Hume mciuae more land could be ano in Potsdam and pay an outrageous way of reducing the tax rate, amount Of mnnm in favoe «.rV,«v. T-i •• •• amount of money \in taxes \when they can go to Hannawa Falls and -WM-U-J-L L * \The boards could act as forces of condemnation to make it hap- pen,\ Johnson said, adding that the village hadn't condemned a proper- ty in over 30 years. Expanding the village limits to include more land could be another way of reducing the tax rate, but Johnson said the village trustees tend to feel that there \is a taboo -butW-the^amelromeraTSTowertax feeling that the town wouldn't go rate and still have all the ad- along.\ \Expanding the village limits would make sense,'' he said. The issue of illegal fraternities and sororities and of old apartment houses also, came up as one of the major problems facing the village housing stock. As a joint group, the planning and zoning boards are already discussing ways of tighten- ing up the zoning laws that would prohibit fraternities and some apartments in certain areas of the village. The boards are already in favor of the creation of an R-4 zone for group dwellings that is Intended to be provide incentives to the Greek groups to move to other areas of the village and build vantages of living in Potsdam: good schools, culture, places to shop and the two colleges. The boards didn't just discuss the problems of the village; they also outlined some of the advantages of Tax Hike Next Year? BY RYNE R.MARTIN, CANTON — If Governor Mario Cuomo has his way, St. Lawrence County couldJEace/a 38 percent tax hike next year, county officials say. areas oi me vt: County officials were considering fraternity houses, the impact of aid cuts proposed in \The village may have to take a the governor's proposed budiiet. ——\ *• x - County and an addition-. ,wv~,.~» in taxes to the towns and county. The majority of the state land is In the Adirondack Park. If the state legislature backs the governor's proposal, Powers sug- gested local governments will have lost control of their taxing powers. \State lands all ought to be taxed. Assessments should be set at market value,\ she charged. \At the end of the line, it looks to me like state lands will go on the atres oi iorest land ftpi exempt portion of the roll, and the in neighboring counties, state will make payments in lieu of i-accitpr tnmpH am taxes. They canchooseif they want sevfralfeousand * to pay nothing or pay what they have been paying, regardless of the •**• bill,\ according to the director of the tax office. She suggested the rest of the tax- payers in the state would jump at the opportunity to choose between those two options. \The state paid each town more this year than last year. I related it to a property owner getting a tax bill and saying, 'I'll only pay what I did last year,' and getting away with it,\ ac- cording to Powers. government entities in the Adirondack Park could have their local budgets hammered, under the terms of the governor's budget pro- posal. Powers pointed to the recent sale of Diamond International land in the Adirondack Park. Diamond sold several thousands acres of land in St. Lawrence County to Lassiter Properties, Inc. Lassiter also purchased several thousand acres of forest land from Diamond i n i— t-i—i - - •- ' and sold ; to the dwards, 2,590; Fine, 2,001; Fowler, 782; Hopkinton, 20,064; ParishVille, 508; Pierrepont, 30; Pitcairn, 1,645; and Lisbon, 127. Powers placed the full value of those parcels at $85 per acre. \Tak- ing an average tax of three percent of full value, these towns stand to lose up to $90,200 in real property taxes due to the easements alone,\ she said. The Nature Conservancy has also acquired fee title to 5,881 acres of land in St. Lawrence County, in- cluding 2,433 acres in the town of Hopkinton and 1,519 in the town of Colton. uonon. Oswego Incinerator A Health Risk: Resident BYDENISERAYMO VOLNEY, N.Y. - Two years ago, a sign painter from an Oswego suburb did most of his work outside so the wet-surfaced projects dried easier and faster. He began to notice, after a while, Lawmaker Pushes Abortion 'No' Vote BY RYNE MARTIN CANTON — Louisville Legislator Donald F. Smith (D-Louisville) is continuing his push to have the county legislature oppose using Medicaid funds to pay for abor- tions. The Louisville legislator has said he opposes the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which, in ef- fect, legalizes abortion. The Supreme Court is expected to review a related decision this year, and court watchers say it is likely that there will be changes in the court's ruling on the abortion issue. Smith had attempted to have the , county legislature's Health Com- mittee go on record opposing the Roe v. Wade decision, but his pro- posal died when it failed to garner the support of any other legislators on the committee. The Louisville Democrat has asked Phelan to determine how much money the county spends for Medicaid-funded abortions. The social services commissioner said he would research the issue and make those figures available to Smith. poor. , Betsy Kirby, a spokesman for the department, noted the grant would include dental care, which is in short supply for Medicaid patients in the North (Wintry. \The only Medicaid orthodontic care available is in Rochester,\ she said. County officials hav i noted that only one dental clinic i l the county accepts Medicaid patients. That clinic is located in Gou\ erneur. \I get several calls ei ery week — adults and children —; ust have no place to go,\ Kirby sai 1. She noted she had spoken with an individual this week who had checked into the emergency room on two separate occasions over the weekend due to problems with his teeth. She said the 23-year-old was in (xcrutiating care and simply could! 't find den- tal care. There is also a shortage of doc- tors in the county who will accept Medicaid patients. The problem is most serious in the Massena and Gouverneur areas, according to Kirby. , — The county will contribute $2,500 to a nurse's ajde extender is aimed at program. The training for a catastrophic health care demonstration grant. St. Lawrence County is the only rural county in the state to submit an application for the grant dollars, according to Phelan. Five urban counties have also submitted applications for the pool of $7 million. The state is expected to establish demonstration projects in three counties. The program is aimed at assisting the working :'s nurse's aide , gram with additional] nurse's aides will be that each time he had a new project outside, a grayish film would ap- pear in the freshly painted signs and there were black specks on the pure white backgrounds. At first, he dismissed them as flukes, but as it happened more often, he knew something was wrong. Today, Howard Rose does his work inside because he claims the Oswego County garbage in- cinerator, located about a half-mile from his home, spews ash and other materials, ruining his livelihood and endangering his family's health. Rose and others from his com- munity will speak at the Ogdensburg City Hall Wednesday at 7 p.m. and discuss first-hand the .problems involved with living near an incinerator. Their appearance is sponsored by Work On Waste (WOW). \We didn't get involved (in fighting it) until after the in- cinerator was built because we didn't know what they were building,\ said Rose. \We were aware they were building something at the end of the road, but if you didn't read the newspapers, you wouldn't have known what it was. \There was no public hearing about it and there wasn't a base health study done,\ he said. \They just built it without asking us. We asked our legislator to look into it, but of course he didn't.\ He said the stacks from the in- cinerator can be seen from his front window and that this wife, Christine, started developing respiratory problems and allergies llhi * U- A I— 1 __._.u B « nsuwiaics wiui inenelp of a 28-member steering committee and a group of consultants from Clarkson University and Potsdam College. Sitler told the boards one the first parts of the study is to gauge com- munity sentiment about jiverfront development and to look at land use in general in the village. The pur- pose of gathering the information about the community and the river is to then be able to project the future needs of the community as it pertains to the river. The end result of the study will be a land use plan which lays out bet- ter ways of using the riverfront property and ways in which the plan can be implemented, ac- cording to Sitler. \We like to make these working documents,\ Sitler said, \we like to see our work implemented as op- Social Services Commissioner Peter Phelan told members of the county legislature's Social Services Committee that preliminary in- dications show the county would need to add nearly three-quarters of a million to its social services budget if the governor'is-proposalts\\ adopted. He said the governor's plan to in- crease welfare benefits by 15 per- cent next year would mean county taxpayers would need to cough up an additional $430,000, which ac- counts to more than 50 cents per thousand of assessed value at full value. Cuts in state reimbursement for staffing would trim approximately $100,000 in revenues from the budget, while a proposal to in- crease the county's portion of home health care would add up to $220,000 to the local budget. ,,-iess on »..., jnu » VI H board to give to get back.' Smith To Seek training pro- 1 skills. The given more specialized training. , The program is oelng set up by Canton-Potsdam Hospital. The goal of the training place IS individuals —...»..,» ing lobs with fringe benefits, graduates of the nurse's aide train- ing program generally start out in low-paying part-time positions, with little or no benefit ' w- » |fVBlUV PVkage. \When she started becoming sick, she went around and took a survey of the neighbors and asked them .if they had any health pro- blems,\ Rose explained. \She only asked about 60 people, but SO of them signed a petition saying they wanted, the (local government) to look into it.\ Rose said they took their petition to the town board who In turn gave it to the county legislature. •» NORWOOD — Former Mayor Willard Smith has tossed his hat in- to the political, ring in Norwood, saying he \would like the op- portunity to lead Norwood into the •90s,\ In a letter delivered to the Courier and Freeman on Monday, Smith announced that he will be a candidate for mayor in the March 21 election. Smith said, \Norwood can not be content to let things happen as they will. This method of handling business leads to a deteriorating community of crisis with no plans for financing future needs and replacement of breakdowns.\ Norwood Democrats have chosen their slate of candidates. Last week the Democrats caucused and pick- ed Trustee Rupert Palmer to run for mayor; Trustee Richard Boprey to run for re-election; and Patricia Gilbert to run for the se-- cond trustee slot. Village Republicans will caucus tonight (Tuesday). The local GOP is expected to tap Trustee Mark Tebo for mayor; Trustee John Murray for re-election; and Rod Cota for trustee. O'NeilOnTheMove Assemblyman John G. A. O'Neil (R-St. Lawrence County) has an- nounced his next \Office On The Move\ will be travling to Brasher Falls, Parishville and Stockholm on Feb. 3. Assemblyman O'Neil will meet with constituents in Brasher Falls at the LBS Housing Nutrition' Center on Feb. 3 from 9:30-10:15 a.m. The Assemblyman will then travel to the Parishville Town Hall where he will hold office hours from 11-11:30 a.m. Assemblyman O'Neil will then continue on to the Stockholm Municipal Building where he will meet with constituents from noon until 12:30p.m. As always, the public is invited to attend the \Office On The Move\ program in their respective com- munities to discuss legislation and problems they have with various departments of state government. • 4 NEW EQUIPMENT — Dr. Ahmed Busnaina looks through the eyepiece of an electron microscope in Clarkson'i new clean room. Much of the equipment used in the room and the money to design and build the room were donated by IBM. Busnaina and the graduate students working with him In the clean room us the microscope to study the reasons why mteroeontamlnants become attached to the silicon wafers. Busnaina uid the physical forces which bud the lub-micronic particles can be 10 to 100 times stronger than gravity. (Thorn Pardoe photo) In The Courier •Arts Page 7 -n Church Page 11 •Classifieds Page 20-23 •Editorials Page4 •Events Page 2 •Letters Page 4 •Local News Pages 1,5,13 •Obituaries Page 11 •Sports Pages 17-20 •Weddings Page 6 4 i,
