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tZBB Northern New York's Greatest Weekly A Prize Winninq Town & Country Newspaper Vol. 103 No. 9 - Gouverneur, N.Y. C1089 MRS Printing Inc. Wednesday. October 18,1989 2 Sections - 24 Pages - 36 Cents With Some Modifications Parking Laws Adopted : By Lisa L. Reape In one of the longest board meetings in recent history, the Gouverneur Village Board Monday night adopted three pro- posed parking laws after hammering out some modifications the major- ity could agree on. The first law considered, Local Law 5, was adopted as written. The law estab- lishes a minimum $5 fine and a maximum $25 fine for parking violations in the village, with the ex- ception of violators who restrict access to fire hy- drants and handicapped parking spaces, and those who double park. (Those violations are covered under the provisions of Local Law 6.) Local Law 5 also sets a schedule for penalizing those delinquent in pay- ing their fines, along with a possible added penalty of up to 15 days in jail. Police Chief David C. Whitton defended the provision of jail time writ- ten into the law, saying \What is a court to do with a persistent violator or someone who refuses to pay a fine?\ He said the threat of going to jail may convince a violator to pay his fines rather than face the alternative. Village Trustee Eldon Conklin reiterated his belief that double parking should be punishable under Local Law 5, rather than under the stricter provisions ofLocal Law 6. Chief Whitton, who had input on how the proposed laws were written, said he recommended the tougher penalties for double park- ing, which he said he re- garded as \a safety hazard to the public—both vehicu- lar and pedestrian alike.\ He added the provisions under Local Law 6 are within New York state mandates. Local Law 6 sets a mini- mum $25 fine and a maxi- mum $50 fine and/or five days in jail for a first of- fense; minimum $50 and maximum $100 and/or 10 days in jail for a second offense, and minimum $100 and maximum $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail on a third offense within 18 months. Trustee Fred Hopper said he supported the tough penalties for double parking, saying **I think double parking causes a greaterhazard than either (blocking a fire hydrant or handicapped parking space.)\ In the end, both meas- ures passed by votes of 4- 1, with Mr. Conklin voting against. In response to questions on service contractors receiving parking tickets while working out of their vehicles, the chief said the department has always worked with contractors who must work out of their ' vehicles. \We're not saying we're not going to use our dis- cretion in utilizing these laws,\ he said. \If a roofing contractor is working his vehicle, I think it would be my dis- cretion to allow it to park there, but if the contractor unloads materials and leaves the vehicle in a no parking zone, he can ex- pect it will get a ticket,\ the chief said. **Discretion is the key,* said Chief Whitton. \I think the public should expect police officers to use their discretion in enforc- ing any law, whether it b«t parking or otherwise.\ ;: In the case ofLocal Law\ 7, which deals with park- ing restrictions in the municipal parking lot, the board decided to eliminate a provision to ban trucks in excess of 18,000 pounds from parking in the lot. The proposed law sought to restrict such vehicles from the lot except while making local deliveries, after the village received numerous complaints of truck fumes and noise from trucks left idling. Opposition was raised at last week's public hearing on the proposed law, with opponents saying the truckers often must wait for stores to open before they can make their deliv- eries. It also was noted that the drivers need a place to park while taking a break for meals or cof- fee. The proposed Local Law 1 also sought to establi^x See Parking Pg. 6 CUfton-Fine Hospital, Oswegatchie Trail, Star Lake State's Tiniest Hospital Fights To Survive Into Next Decade By Lisa L. Reape What do you do when you're the smallest kid on the team and you're ex- pected to keep up with all the other kids? jr You get tough, dig in, and come out fighting. That's exactly the posi- tion Clifton-Fine Hospital in Star Lake finds itself in. Although it is the small- est hospital in the state with only 20 beds, the •hospital must comply with the same stringent state and federal regulations that apply to every other hospital. While that's a demanding challenge, the hospital administration, its medical staff and its board of managers are all ^dedicated to serving the residents of the Towns of Clifton and Fine, as well as the community within a 35-mile radius. - Meeting the challenges of the next decade head on is the approach the board of managers, headed by President Arthur E. Chick, has decided to take. The hospital has re- cently emerged from a somewhat rocky period. After a period of slability spanning six years, Mr. Chick said the board of managers has seen a turn- over of six of its nine members in the past year. The former president moved away, other mem- bers resigned for various reasons, but the bottom line, according to Mr. Chick, was an increasing time commitment de- manded of the board members. While board members once enjoyed a monthly meeting lasting an hour to an hour and a half, the present board is faced with two meetings a month lasting an average of three hours, Mr. Chick said. The reason for the in- creased time commitment can be traced back to Jan. 1,1987, when the federal government changed the way hospitals may bill for patient services. At that time, hospitals began op- erating with DRGs—Di- agnostic-Related Group- ings—wKIch put a cap on the number of days a hos- pital may charge a third party provider such as Medicaid or Medicare for See States Pg. 6 AARON BISHOP, 12, son of Wayne and Kathy Bishop, Gouvamtur, puts his musds into wishing • car for a fundraiser for ths Btua Denlmt-HCIub. Tribuna Photo/Jan PhttMpa School System Makes Strides At Excellence, Accountability By Usa L. Re*pe When the school y began just six short weeks ago, Gouverneur Central School District Superin- tendent Gary Buchler said his goal was to make Gou- verneur *an exemplary rural high school\ That's a rather bold statement for a marv who's beginning his first year hading the district, and yet, Gouverneur has al- ready begun working on a program that may help set the ^.arytards of excellence for schools throughout the fUtl Gouvarneur Centra] has been selected as one of four schools districts in Sc Lawrence County to par- ticipate in a two-year pilot program to develop an Excellence and Accounta- bility Program CEAP). EAP is deaacMd by iht state Board of Regents to introduce exactly what the program states—excel- into every school district Participation will be mandated by the state Education Department (•ometune after 1992. According to Mr Boehler, the EAP is part of s foUowup to the state's Regents AcUtn Plan m- troducad five rears ago. changes in the educational (Standards for every stu- dent across the state T*»e state ^ !has pumped more money into education in the last five years than eveT be- fore,' Mr BueWer S*KL •Yet, in looking around the state, the Board qfRegents •till aaw a lot of prob- lems—like the h lgh school drop out rate The EAP * an effort to introduce son* School Pf • * TWO-YEAR-OLD BHAH JONES, aon of a
