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a blank Area soccer teams shut out in state semifinals. Page 17 The Hometown Newspaper of Clinton, Essex, Franklin Counties Vol. 103 - No. 89 © Pldt^burgh, NY 12901, Saturday, November 1.8, .1995 Suggested Price: 50 f 28 Pages '•• •',••' ''' ^^Sfe^^fe^'Vl^w^^lM^'fei^^a continue AP Photo House Budget Committee Rep. John Kasich, flanked by House Speaker Newt Gingrich (left) and Senate Ma- jority Reader Bob Dole meets reporters on Capitol Hill Friday to discuss the budget impasse. , (AP) .- tb shrink gon and cut taxes, con- gressional Republicans muscled their:^hii|oi;ic; ^balanced-budget bill 16' the brink of passage Fri- day and reacted tepidly to a White rlouse proposal to end a four-day partial federal shut- down. GOP Lawmakers; cheering the vote, the House Ratified tfife seven-year balanc- ed Iju^gefc 237-189, almost ex- clusively along party lilies. A few hours later, the Senate con- curred, 52-47, but with one minor change that requires another vote in the House on Saturday. Even so, Republicans cele- brated. Rep.. Newt Gingrich, the first GOP speaker in four de- ' cades, it fshe:;thost significant vote since 1933, when the New Deal was Launched. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole call- ed it \the most important\ vote of a 34-year career in Congress. The measure would squeeze hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and other social pro- grams, while leaving room for tax breaks for families and businesses. Democrats said it was tilted unconscionably toward the rich, and President Clinton threatened a veto. The Senate voted in mid- evening, at the same time key GOP lawmakers were politely turning aside a White House proposal to end a four-day im- passe that has idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Democrats offered to agree to talks with a goal of balancing Continued Page 14 to head Social Services By MITCH ROSENQUIST Staff Writer PLATTSBURGH -Area 7 Legislator Jay LePage will likely be appointed Department of Social Services commissioner Wednesday. LePage, a three-term Democrat from the Peru-Keeseville area, just won his fourth term by 115 votes against challenger Jim Blaise. Legislature Chairman Bob Bruno issued a statement Friday saying LePage is \unques- tionably qualified\ for the five-year appoint- ment. Bruno has placed the appointment oh Wednesday's agenda for a vote. With seven Democrats currently serving on the legislature, LePage is expected to win the appointment easily, even if he does not cast a vote himself. LePage holds a bachelor of arts degree from St. Bonaventure University and worked in the U.S. Department of Health,,Education and Welfare's Social Security office in New York City from 1977-84. And as a three-term legislator, helping oversee the locai Social Services office,'he has the \^'perspective of the job from the highest level, that of the chief elected official of Clinton County,\ Bruno said. Jay LiPag* \The workings of the legislative system, the expectations of manage- ment and the responsi- bility to the taxpaying public are elements of the job that Jay is very fa- miliar with,\ said Bruno. \These unique founda- tions provide the basis for an excellent candidate for the post.\ If approved, LePage will take over running the $28 million-a-year department starting Dec. 4. Social Services employs about 170 full-time workers who administer services to nearly 10,000 residents a year. Lepage's salary will be just over $50,000. LePage, 46, replaces Rose Pandozy, who officially announced last month'that she was taking a ghnilar state-level job, in Albany. \i?m flattered' and.; honored that my col- leagues have the cbftfidence in me'toVftppoint me to this-p1?iiiti6n, v ' lelPage said Friday. \I'm verv eiScited, and I'in looking forward to the challenge.. I've enjoyed representing the citizen^, tiff toy area and look forward to serving the public\ in this new capacity, he said. LePage said he does not expect to make any changes in the department, although changes will likely come in the form of feder- al and state mandates or cutbacks. LePage's seat will be filled by special elec- tion within 90 days. Democrats do not yet have a candidate, party Chairman Arthur LeFevre said Friday. \It's too soon yet. We'll be canvassing the area for a good candidate who wants the job and who can win, which is a hard combina- tion to find,\ said LeFevre. On the Republican side, Blaise is the probable candidate. During the campaign, Blaise criticized LePage because he was planning to take the job after the election. Blaise said it would shortchange the voters if LePage were re- elected, only to resign his seat. LePage has countered that voters went to the polls knowing his interest in the county job and so could have chosen to vote for Blaise instead, Republican Party Chairman Chris Ortloff was in Washington Friday and could not be reached for comment. Thickening, clouds with light snow likely |y \rhj$lafternoon. Little ac- cumulation; Highs around 35. South winds around 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. 2NDEX Bridge. 24 Business News 8,9 43tafiM» 22-2$ ,.. 12 Ent^irirhent ; U) Ann Landers ,........i.Vii,12 Family*, ; ;..... wt.$ ; Religion .vjf/ ! Public Record. 2T,2§ Sports 16-20. Weather..^..; ;'. \. II* N.Y. Lottery: 242. Pick 4': 0869. Take 5:4,5,13, 14,16. Pick 10: 9, 15,16,20, 34, 39, 43, At, 55,53,59/, 66; 70,72,73, 74, 76,78,79,80. N.w England: Pick 3': 258, Tick 4': 1557. ••' . •.•;..-rfli't:-.,--.-.-'- 1 • V-* 1 /\ • -.v^.ys ~ '; •'•- ' -' Missing man turns himself in By MARCY GORDON Aid)gS|§si'yVtte WASHIN&TW'UP) '- A. Utah congresswfom&h's estranged husband, after vanishing for six days,' surrendered Friday for questioning in what the FBI calls a $1.7 million check-kiting .scheme; Joe Waldholtz, 32, walked into the U.S. attorney's officer here with his l&fayer in response to a federal warrant seeking his ar- rest as a material witness in a . j^kfijIfE'jury's bank-fraud in- yestigatiQh. •\ ^ lifij^ifej first-term Republican Rep. Enid Greene Waldholtz, fil- ed for divorce Tuesday, saying her husband of two years was guilty of \an incredible level of deception\ and saying she wanted her maiden name back. \I have every confidence that R.p. Enid Waldholh JotWaldholtx By STEVE MANOR Staff Writer Northern Clinton BUMOII ROUSES POINT - The State Attorney General's Office has been asked to investigate allega- tions of official misconduct by Rouses Point Mayor Tom Batha. He is accused of using village property, employees and build- ings for his personal use. Trustee Elaine Dupras says Batha should resign and make restitu- tion to the village for whatever benefits he has received. Batha denies any wrongdoing, claiming Dupras is \on a witch hunt,\ laying the groundwork for a political campaign for mayor in the spring. Former Rouses Point Administrator Steven G. the Department of Justice will get to the bottom of the fraud and deception he. has perpetrated on me, my family, his family, friends and others,\ Rep. Waldholtz, 37, said in a. state- ment Friday. \I know that they all share my hurt and sadness as Continued Page 14 Tom Batha Press-Republican Staff Writer Steve Manor has been looking into allega- tions of misconduct by Rouses Point Mayor Tom Batha. This article and three others appearing on the Regional page detail the story. MORE PAGE 15 • Not all Village Board members convinced. • Memo details seven alleged misuses. • Employee kept log on mayor, trustee. Elain* Dupras Dworsky and Dupras both con- firmed that information — in- cluding a log kept by a village employee — about alleged im- proprieties have been turned over to Assistant Attorney Gen- eral Katherine Lawliss of Platt- sburgh. \She has turned the matter over to the Attorney General's investigative unit,\ said Dupras, who chairs the village Personnel Committee. Lawliss would confirm only that she has the information. Cementgate' The allegations were triggered by the purchase of concrete and the pouring of a sidewalk at Batha's home in early October. Dupras, who collected the in- fo r mat ion about the im- proprieties over a two-week period with Dworsky's assistance, maintains that the concrete purchase and sidewalk installation, which she calls \Cementgate is just one exam- ple of \village materials, person- nel and facilities being used for private purposes.\ Sidewalk poured This is what Dupras and Dworsky say they discovered when they looked into allega- tions: On Oct. 10, the village ordered concrete from R. Deso Inc. to pour a pad for a Vietnam-era tank to sit on at the new Mont- gomery Street park. Batha allegedly told Tim Lin- S court, a village employee who is also the code-enforcement officer, to order an extra yard of concrete to pour a sidewalk at Batha's home, a short distance from the park. \By having the extra yard put on the truck with the village con- crete, the mayor benefited by not having to pay a $50 small-load charge,\ Dworsky said. The day the pad was poured, a village employee told the driver of the concrete truck to take one of the two truckloads to the mayor's house. Once at Batha's home, the driver poured concrete into a sidewalk form at the north-side entrance to the mayor's house. \Furthermore at least one village employee, on village time, leveled the cement for the new sidewalk,\ Dupras said. Asked for review In an Oct. 23 report, Dupras told other village trustees she thought the incident should be \fairly and thoroughly reviewed\ by the Personnel Committee. \It would appear questionable, at best, for an elected official to use village personnel to order cement more cheaply through village purchasing, which in turn Continued Page 14 SUNY series starts Sunday Once a rather loose network of liberal-arts schools and state teachers colleges, the SUNY system has mushroom- ed into a 34-campus educa- tional megaplex. In the past this size and scope was praised, but SUNY is now criticized. And recent funding cuts have led to tu- ition increases of more than 150 percent, raising the ques- tion \What is SUNY's future?\ Marc Violette and Kenneth Lovett, Albany-based reporters for Ottaway News Service, examine this question in a 5-part series starting Sunday in the Press- Republican. SUNDAY An overall look at SUNY with a focus on the Crane School of Music at Potsdam State Col- lege. MONDAY Those who foot the bill for SUNY — average taxpayers — have their own ideas about SUNY. Also, a look at the mortuary-science program at Canton College of Technology. TUESDAY New York is cutting direct operating aid to the state's private colleges, too. WEDNESDAY More SUNY schools seek donations as an alternative to raising tuition. FRIDAY Geneseo State College may serve as a model for creating specialty campuses in the SUNY system. 1 '•'M
