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il Northern New York's Greatest Weekly A Prize Winning Town & Country Newspaper Vol. 102 No. 40 - Gouverneur, N.Y. © 1989 MRS Printing Inc. Wednesday, May 24, 1989 24 PAGES — TWO SECTIONS — 35 C ents \A Hidden Tragedy\ Help Literacy Volunteers; Locally 20% Can Not Read Illiteracy in Gouverneur is too bigto ignore. Twenty per cent of the population of the Town of Gouverneur can't read well enough to function in every day life, according to heartbreak- ing statistics cited by Marlene Nault, Gou- verneur Town Outreach Worker for Literacy Vol- unteers of St. Lawrence County. For far too many of these people, reading a job ap- plication is too compli- cated. They can't read a tax return, decipher a driver's license exam or follow written instruc- tions. If you can't read, you're out of luck. National research indi- cates that in St. Lawrence County there are 15,000 adults who are unable to read directions on labels, read signs, read the news- paper, read a story to their children, vote or protect themselves financially. Many of these people have been able to get by in school and find a job with- out every letting on that they can't read, said Can- dace D. Kuhta, literacy- Volunteer fundraising chairwoman. \It is a hid- den tragedy \ Mrs. Kuhta added. \It's not'something you can tell just by looking at a person.' u Thefederal government now has new legislation concerning class 1,2 and 3 drivers licenses requiring reading ability. \The people working know the roads and the signs but can't read. Those people have families and will lose a job. These are the people we are trying to help,\ said S.A. Rodriguez, Literacy Volunteer field outreach worker. Literacy Volunteers is an organization that is working to remedy the problem by providing vol- unteer tutors trained to help adults whose read- ing ability is below the fifth grade level. Tutoring is done on a one-to-one basis and lessons are geared to the interests, pace and ability of the student. The service is free and confi- dential. This organization grew out of a concern for the tniilions of people in the United States who cannot read or who read so poorly that their non-reading is a problem in everyday life. Some have never had an opportunity to attend school. Many have become skilled in covering up their problem. It is embarrass- ing for an intelligent per- son to admit the lack of this basic skill, so guess- ing and finding many ex- cuses covers up the prob- lem. The outcome of instruc- tion for each student is different. How do you measure success?By prog- ress in reading, of course, but also by changes in attitudes, by the evidence of new self-confidence and determination, or perhaps by new job opportunities. Lives can be changed and new dimensions gained when adults learn to read. Do these stories make you wonder how many of your neighbors are unable to read? Tutor training, assistance and moral sup- port is provided in free tutor training workshops. Technique! in teaching bask reading are taught so that average individu- als can become skilled tutors. Volunteers will find the instruction they need to provide basic read- ing skills to non-readers. Gouverneur has a fine tradition of volunteer serv- ice. It is fitting that the dedicated efforts of Liter- acy Volunteers be given support in Gouverneur, where there is such an urgent need for tutors. As soon as the tutor is acquainted with the indi- vidual student, that per- son ceases to be a statistic. Problems and successes are shared. New friends are made. Cultural and perhaps racial barriers are broken down. There will be an infor- mation meeting at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 31, at the Methodist Church Parish House in Gou- verneur for those who are interested in becoming a tutor. There will be a tutor training workshop start- ing June 5. For more in- formation call Marlene Nault, Gouverneur Town Outreach Worker, at 287- 4371. . BRUCE TEBO from Russell catches his breath after a 102-foot run at the mud bog. Sunday, May 21 at DeKalb Junction. \The best thing about this sport is jpttin' dirty/* he says. Tribune Photos/ Jan Phillips Prison Officials Taking 2nd Look By Lisa L* Reape It looks like once is not enough for state Correc- tions Department officials. After visiting Gou- verneur last week, Correc- tions Department officials will be back in town next week to take a closer look at potential prison sites. Deputy Corrections Commissioner Kevin Travis and six staff mem- bers from his department and the Office of General Services were in town last week to view 17 proposed sites for a prison, along with the water filtration plant and the sewer treat- ment facility. : The 17 sites had been identified by the village and town as meeting the Corrections Department's 10 Seeking Posts Today on Board bare requirements for a potential site. They were also known to be available for purchase. Mr. Travis and his en- tourage arrived in town Thursday morning and made a preliminary tour of the sites. They then gathered for lunch at the Clearview Restaurant with Village Mayor Laura M. Slate, Administrator Scott A. Hudson, Town Supervisor Donald A. Peck, Eldon Conklin, rep- resenting the Greater Gouverneur Chamber of Commerce, and county legislators Stan Morrill and Robert Hayden. After lunch, the experts visited the water and sewer facilities and all 17 sites. From their initial See Prison Pg. 3 AJ THE MUD BOG In DeKalb Junction Sunday, Bruce Tebo, Russell, makes a nm. Voters in the Gou- verneur Central School District will go to the polls today to cast their ballots on a proposed $14.7 mil- lion budget for 1989-'9O. Residents will also be asked to choose four can- didates to fill vacancies on the school board. Ten con- tenders will vie for the slots. They are Gary L. Mclntyre, Scotch Settle- ment Road; Ralph Brun- gard, 154 Park St.; Robert Bush, Depot Street, Richville; Cecil T. Steele, Spragueville; David A- Gourd, Wegatchie; Isaiah (\Ike\) Serviss, 112 Depot St.; Sharon Villeneuve, Wilson Street; Linda Nixon, town of MaComb; Harold vonColln, Hailesboro Road, and Al- exander MacKinnon, Farm Market Road. And, for the first time ever, local residents will be asked to vote on a pro- posed $25,000 separate line item to support the Gouverneur Public Li- brary. The spending plan pro- vides for additional teach- ers at the elementary school level, as well as two additional staff members at the secondary level, in the areas of science and Foreign language. With a smaller increase in state aid than in previ- ous years, residents face the first tax rate increase in eight years. The pro- posed package would see the tax rate go up 8.5 per- cent. Voting will take place from 1 -9 p.m. today, Wed- nesday, in the junior-sen- ior high school cafeteria. Group Claims Low-Level Flying EndangersChildren By Lisa L. Reape Today is the deadline for public comment on the AIT Force's environment as- sessment of proposed low altitude flights over St Lawrence County, but a local citizen's group is determined that the pub- lic's involvement should not end there. Members of the •Coali- tion on Low Altitude /lights in St. Lawrence County* this week have been distributing copies of a prepared statement to the media, raising the question of the affect of low altitude flights on chil- dren The Strategic Air Com- mand's proposed flight pattern would be directly over the Hermon-DeKalb and Colton-Pierrepont schools, not to mention Araish schools and hone The statement, titled \Children Threatened by Jet Noise,\ prepared by Sue McTaggart, a mem- ber of the coalition, cites a report by the Federal Health Office in Berhn, West Germany, which concludes \the noise oflow- flying military jets can lead to health and behav- ior problems in children \ The coalition received information on the study on Saturday, from Skyguard, a Nevada- based group of citisens. •The noise of low-flying military jets can lead to health and behavior prob- lems in children, aays a report by the Federal Health Office m Berlin, Wset Germany,* thestet*- • According to the report, one of the ftr* on the of hearing, high blood pressure, and behavioral disturbances\ Representatives of the coalition are hoping to set up a meeting with New York State Assistant At- torney General John Priv- itera later this week to discuss the report The statement contin- ues as follows. The research for the report was done in Area 7, a krw-flying region in West Germany where NATO jet pilots fly as low as 228 feet, up to 70 times a day, creating a peak noiae level «f 125 decibels ~Tt>e Air Force Environ- mental Aieciiment for Low Altitude Flights in St Lawrence County project* flight levels as low as 500 feet, up to 300 tines a month, with peak noiae leveb of 114.7 decibels, of the Coab- minimum 30-day exten- sion to the official com- ment period allowed by the Air Force Assessment in order to obtain further in- formation on the studey and how it would relate to St. Lawrence County. \According to the report, girls and boys up to the age of four, and girls in general, are most likely to Ibe affected *In tests for fitness to attend school, children in Area 7 were found more often to be hard of hear- ing, to suffer from upsets of the motor nerves, to feel frightened, and to be bed- wetters. \First graders in Area 7 were also found to suffer more often from mumps and measles \The report also says that noise from the low level aircraft can cause nightmares, fright and anxiety. The study exposed adults to the noise level of tH* overflight?™ a laband taen are requesting a 1 \TIM 8tr*tofic Air C<Mri 1 flight patters would bo 1 HotmoaDoKAlb and Cd 1 wheels. Mrt to aKvtte* 1 ^mA. ^MM ftckoola* m '& 1 .*-j&<~i.* -jf LMttft^^iSl L^ pmmwu proposed •ie^Uj over U>» ttm Fi>ii»puiit MMAeehools • E^V/'\-'' wnk' * V .\- • - found that the noise pro- duced more of the hormone cortisol in their bodies It is the production of this hormone which upsets the immune system. \Kindergarten children had the same reaction, and according to the report, showed such strange be- havior that they had to be sent to a child psychia- trist for treatment. Twenty-four children undergoing psychiatric treatment with these and other symptoms were checked in greater detail. In 19 of those 24 cases, doctors felt there was a link with low-flying air- craft noise •Of the 433 children asked whether their ears rangs for any length of time as a result of aircraft noiae. two out of the three in Area 7 said they did. •Four out of 10 children in another lowflying area included in the reportCounty stated that their ears rang. In this area, jets are only permitted to fly as low as 492 feet. \Blood pressure read- ings produced similarfind- ings. The blood pressure of Area 7 girls in particu- lar, but of boys, too, was much higher. *Chronic long-term af- fects of low-flying aircraft noise on the heart and on blood pressure cannot be ruled out, according to the report The study was reported in an article by Dieter Schwab, The German Tribune, August 1*1988. . The study was then translated and published in the March 1969, Up- date No. 5 edition of *NATO in Labrador/Que- bec -Members of the Coali- tion on Low .Altitude Fhgrita in St Lawrence are questioning why the report, which was published ^ts early as August 1988. in a NATO alligned country, is not included in the Air Force's Environmental Assess- ment dated in April of 1989* T^e coalition's call for a 30-day extension of the public comment period echoes resolutions passed by the St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council asking for a 30-day exten- sion of the comment pe- riod and that a full Envi- ronmental Impact State- ment be prepared with public hearings to be car- ried out. The St Law- rence County Legislature and a couple dl town 11^1^-,-^ . V • .1. - -*_qjT-t - -» minii, wv •QopvQQ urging the Air Force to conduct Aeoraon- 80* Grtntp Pg. 3
