CANTON — The former The Club at 25 Court Street owned by the Christian Fellowship Centers of New York, Inc. will be used as a church following a settlement agreement between CFC and the village of Canton.

At a special meeting held Monday, the Board of Trustees authorized Mayor Michael Dalton to sign, on behalf of the village, a settlement agreement that now concludes the action taken by CFC against the village in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The settlement will allow the CFC to continue meeting at its property at 25 Court St. and require the village to pay attorney fees of $60,000, the majority of which will be paid by the village through its insurance company.

“Our settlement offer for a modest amount of attorney’s fees and damages has been accepted by the Village of Canton,” said Sorin Leahu, an attorney for the church in an email. “We are grateful to Judge Lawrence E. Kahn for acting swiftly in this case and are pleased that the congregation can now focus on its ministry.”

CFC previously offered to waive all legal fees and damages in a settlement proposal to the village sent on Feb. 18, but warned that it would seek fees and damages going forward if Canton refused to allow the church use of its property. The village rejected this initial offer.

In an email response to the settlement, Jamie Sinclair, pastor of CFC, said, “We are very thankful to the village for recognizing our right to use 25 Court St. as a church, and we are grateful for opportunities to make humble appeals to proper authorities. Although our civil right to worship in this building has been debated for months, the justice system has been faithful to this essential liberty. With this matter permanently resolved, we are eagerly exploring the best ways to use this building as we continue to proclaim the truth that there is forgiveness, hope and life in Jesus Christ. We love our community and are optimistic about what the future holds for Canton and the north country.”

Mayor Michael Dalton said the case is closed and the village will now continue its work on completion of a comprehensive planning process.

“The settlement allows CFC to use its property at 25 Court St. in the village of Canton for church use. The village and/or its insurer will pay $60,000 to counsel for CFC for all alleged damages, including legal fees and expenses in the federal proceeding. CFC and its litigation counsel will provide the village a ‘stipulation of discontinuance,’ which ends the federal action,” said Mr. Dalton. “CFC will issue a general release to the village and its officers and employees, including members of the Village Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.”

He noted the board took this action following review of the decision issued on March 29 by U.S. District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn, which prohibited the village from enforcing its zoning ordinance to prevent CFC from using 25 Court St. as a church, including religious assemblies like those permitted at other churches on Court Street.

“Although we appealed Judge Kahn’s decision, based on thoughtful legal counsel and after a great deal of consideration, the board determined that continuing this action in the face of Judge Kahn’s directive and anticipated future rulings would not serve the village’s interests,” the mayor said.

“This has been a long and arduous process, but we felt we had to consider the long-term best interests of the village — its residents and taxpayers. The board now looks forward to completion of the comprehensive planning process, which we are undertaking in cooperation with the town of Canton and village of Rensselaer Falls. We will pursue the zoning review required by law following completion of a comprehensive plan and will make reasonable revisions to the village’s zoning code consistent with that plan.

“We are grateful for the hard work of many in addressing the CFC lawsuit. We received excellent attention and guidance from our litigation counsel Gregg Johnson, Esq., of Johnson & Laws in Clifton Park, New York, and from our municipal attorney Gerald Ducharme.

“Throughout the process we were consistently impressed by and grateful for the efforts of members of the Village Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, who worked diligently to interpret and apply the village’s zoning laws in a fair and common-sense manner. Their willingness to volunteer for our community is invaluable,” said Mr. Dalton.

The mayor said he and board members applaud the village staff who worked long hours to meet the demands and deadlines of the lawsuit.

“The case is closed and we will move on. The village board and staff will remain focused on ensuring that Canton is a thriving place for all who live and work here,” he said.

With more and more Americans attending college and taking professional jobs, while working-class baby boomers are simultaneously retiring in droves, a recent study found that low-skilled workers have the most leverage in the job market.

The new analysis showed employers are finding it more difficult to fill positions in both high-wage and low-wage occupations dominated by individuals with high school diplomas and technical certifications than white-collar occupations that require an advanced degree. But as the pool of blue-collar workers has shrunk, the demand for their services has continuously grown since the 2008 financial crisis, the study stated.

Conducted by The Conference Board, a nonprofit business membership and research group organization, the study predicts significant shortages in blue collar work to continue into 2019 and beyond, most notably in transportation, health care support, manufacturing, agriculture, mining and construction.

To combat it, companies need to increase wages, reduce education requirements for certain jobs and find locations with greater availability to blue-collar labor, the report stated.

“In certain instances, companies looking to attract enough blue-collar workers will have to continue increasing wages and, as a result, possibly experience diminished profits,” said Gad Levanon, lead report author and chief economist of North America at The Conference Board. “But the picture looks very different for the workers themselves. Compared to a few years ago, blue-collar workers are now much more likely to have a job they are satisfied with and experience rapid wage growth.”

Stephen J. Todd, superintendent of Jefferson-Lewis BOCES, said this report only reiterates what instructors of career and technical education programs have been telling students for years. “People are coming to the realization that career and technical education is just as important and valuable as college,” Mr. Todd said.

Across the state, more than 37,000 students were enrolled in the career and technical education programs in the 2016-2017 academic year. Of the 95 percent of those who graduated, 56 percent went onto college, 34 percent entered the workforce and 6 percent joined the military, according to the BOCES website.

The north country BOCES programs have seen significant increases an enrollment in recent years, Mr. Todd said, especially when compared to other state BOCES programs. Roughly 38 percent of juniors and seniors are enrolled in Jefferson-Lewis BOCES, nearly double the number in other state programs.

St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Mr. Todd added the programs involved in career and technical education are much different than 25 years ago. Though they are still offering traditional trades, such as carpentry or electrician work, they now also include programs like 3D modeling and design, graphic arts, culinary and veterinary practices.

“If people are basing what they think they know on career and technical education on what they heard 10, 15, 25 years ago, there is a lot more to be seen and heard...it’s constantly evolving,” Mr. Todd said.

To show the evolution, Mr. Todd said, BOCES, in partnership with various industry partners, will be hosting its annual Career Jam for eighth- and ninth-grade students on May 16 at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds. Representatives from several major business sectors, including agriculture, business, construction, healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing, will demonstrate and offer hands-on career-related activities for area students to explore.

Jefferson-Lewis BOCES also, in partnership with the Northern New York Community Foundation and WPBS-TV, launched the free online resource GPS for Success. The source provides young adults with information on the 16 career clusters, with local representatives explaining the variety of jobs in the respective fields.

“It shows no one agency or organization can solve the problem of filling these critical careers ourselves. We all do it in partnership,” Mr. Todd said.

High-paying jobs for High school grads

Listed with median pay:

Construction project manager$81,335

IC technician$66,837

Machinist $56,436

Truck driver $49,192

Warehouse manager $48,548

Maintenance worker $43,712

Police officer $43,551

Data from PayScale, Sept. 2018

WATERTOWN — The lack of a prison sentence for a Watertown school bus driver convicted of raping a teenager has touched off outrage across the country and beyond as the news has gone viral on the internet.

A petition has been started on moveon.org’s website calling for the “recall” of the sentencing judge, state Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the site had gained more than 20,000 online signatures. A similar petition on the Care2.com site had about 7,000 signatures.

Shane M. Piche, 26, was sentenced Thursday in Jefferson County Court to 10 years’ probation and ordered to register with the state as a Level 1 sex offender after pleading guilty Feb. 21 to third-degree rape.

At the time of his plea, Piche admitted that on June 10 he had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl in the town of Watertown. He had also been accused of providing alcohol to the victim and two other minors.

According to state police, Piche had met the victim through his job as a bus driver for the Watertown City School District, a job from which he was fired after his arrest. Chief Assistant District Attorney Patricia L. Dzuiba said he maintained contact with the victim through social media and then met with her at his Ridge Road home, where the rape occurred.

“I want to dispel that there was any kind of violence in this rape charge,” Ms. Dzuiba said. “The implication from some of the headlines make it sound like this was a violent act or happened on a school bus. That was not the case here.”

It was a crime for Piche to have sexual relations with the youth because she is too young to legally give consent to the act. The age of consent in New York state is 17.

Piche’s defense attorney, Eric T. Swartz, expressed frustration that the crime is being portrayed online as violent and as having occurred on a school bus.

“There was no assaultive element. It was an act that can’t be consented to because of the age of the victim,” Mr. Swartz said. “I think people are misguided. Rather than do the research, they are just reacting emotionally because of the word rape, without looking at the statute and the facts of the case.”

Ms. Dzuiba, who was not involved in Piche’s prosecution, and Mr. Swartz said it was the county Probation Department that recommended probation supervision rather than incarceration for Piche. The department conducts pre-sentence investigations of defendants that include a multitude of factors, including things such as criminal history, family circumstances, physical and mental health and acceptance of responsibility for actions.

Prosecutors had recommended that Piche spend six months in jail, but not state prison, followed by 10 years’ probation, but Judge McClusky opted to follow the Probation Department’s recommendation of straight probation. The judge also determined that Piche is a Level 1 sex offender, a designation that deems Piche a low risk to re-offend and negates the requirement for him to be included in online sex offender databases.

Prosecutors argued that a Level 2 designation was more appropriate, contending that there were multiple victims involved, as Piche had allegedly endangered the welfare of the two additional minors by providing them alcohol. Under the Sex Offender Registry Act, a risk assessment instrument is used to calculate a score that determines the level a sex offender is assigned. Multiple victims are one criteria that can increase an offender’s score. Judge McClusky ultimately determined that there was only one victim included in the rape plea, which resulted in a lower score for Piche than calculated by prosecutors.

Judge McClusky declined comment on the matter Tuesday.

“Judges are not allowed to comment on cases they handle,” he said.

Ms. Dzuiba said even though Piche avoided a prison sentence, he is going to be under probation supervision “for a long time” and will be receiving court-ordered sexual offender counseling in addition to being registered as a sex offender, which will also affect the type of employment he can undertake.

“He is not going to be in a position where he will have contact with children and that is something we hope will deter any future behavior like this,” she said. “I’m hopeful that he will get the most out of his treatment through probation and he will not return to be involved with the criminal justice system.”

Ms. Dzuiba said she is aware of some national reports of other rapists getting probation rather than prison, accompanied by public outcry, but is otherwise unable to explain why Piche’s case garnered so much attention.

“We don’t know what’s going to excite the public; we can’t foresee that,” she said. “I can’t explain why this case started a firestorm. That’s part of the frustration. We don’t really know why this case prompted that kind of response.”

Ms. Dzuiba pointed out that, while sentencing parameters for a rape conviction such as Piche’s include prison time on one end of the spectrum, it can also include an unconditional discharge, meaning no form of supervision, on the opposite end.

“If people are upset with the sentencing parameters, they need to contact their legislator in Albany. This is the legal construct we have to work with,” she said.

MASSENA — There’s a very popular room at Massena Central High School.

What was once a classroom and also a room used by the school’s yearbook staff is now a garden room with growing racks and towers that are producing flowers such as sunflowers, vegetables including lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, and herbs including thyme, rosemary, sage, cilantro and parsley.

It’s a peaceful atmosphere, with the soft sound of water constantly circulating to keep everything fresh and growing, and the aroma of fresh herbs that are growing on the towers. House plants sit on the window sills, gathering sunlight.

“Everybody wants to have meetings in here,” Principal Sarah Boyce said.

The growing towers came from different sources, including one purchased by the district and another donated by Cornell University.

“Cornell came in and planted,” she said.

Another growing tower came from SUNY Potsdam, and Professor Ray Bowdish came to the district to set it up.

“(Science teacher) Jodi LaGarry applied. He came in and set it up first,” Ms. Boyce said.

The growing towers have a base that holds water, which is sprayed with the use of a timer.

“It circulates constantly,” she said.

The items that are being grown serve different purposes. Different varieties of lettuce, for instance, can be used for salads in the school’s cafeteria.

“The ladies from the kitchen come down with scissors,” Ms. Boyce said.

There’s also an associated curriculum. As one of their projects, students can pick lettuce, herbs or other items and measure how long it took for them to grow.

Every item has its own characteristics. Lettuce, for instance, doesn’t take long to grow before it can be used again for salads or other dishes. After about three cuts, it can be composted and new lettuce can be planted.

“Thyme grows like a weed. Thyme and sage hold their flavor when they’re dry,” Ms. Boyce said.

She said students also want to build growing plots, where they can plant items like tomatoes and peppers. The items in the garden room and outside in the growing plots will be tended year-round.

“Jodi will take care of them in the summer,” she said.

A new cooking club recently approved by the district’s Board of Education can take advantage of the vegetables and herbs sprouting in the garden room. The proposal was submitted by Ms. LaGarry, AnneMarie Miller and Kristin Colarusso-Martin. Interested faculty include Ms. LaGarry, Ms. Miller, Ms. Colarusso-Martin, Tammy Blanchard, Peter Bertrand and Bill Todd.

The club is open to all students in grades 9 through 12 who are interested in learning how to cook good food. The intent is to teach students to cook healthy food and the enrichment and fulfillment that comes with preparing food from scratch and sharing a meal with others.

The club will meet during 12th period on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of alternating weeks, with Tuesdays as prep days and Wednesdays as cooking days. Students will be involved in selecting recipes and cooking the food, as well as cleanup. Produce will be donated from Martin’s Farmstand and from advisors until fundraising efforts begin.

WATERTOWN — The recovery from Saturday’s cyberattack is continuing at the Watertown Daily Times.

A skilled and resilient staff has been working to rebuild critical digital infrastructure necessary for doing business. No timeline has been set for full recovery, but each day progress has been made to allow for the publication of news and advertising for north country readers.

Servers targeted by criminals over the weekend were encrypted by a virus that spread quickly throughout Johnson Newspaper Corp., affecting servers used for internal sharing of content used to produce newspapers in Watertown, Hudson and Massena. Servers that host the newspaper website, subscriptions and email were not affected, according to an analysis by company information technology professionals.

The virus, which left only the calling card “Ryuk: Balance of the Shadow Universe,” is the same one that crippled Tribune Publishing in December, according to published reports. It also crippled the data infrastructure of the municipality of Stewart, Fla. on April 13.

So far this week the servers necessary for printing newspapers have been repaired and the information technology staff, by dividing and conquering, has identified next steps to bring more of the company back online.

As a result of the attack, the newspaper has lost its digital archive of news pages and advertisements, and the classified advertising system used to publish the line ads in the newspaper has been crippled. The newspaper has found alternative methods for publishing necessary legal notices and by the end of the week classified advertisements are expected to reappear in the daily and weekly papers. The paper will be offering a special rate to classified advertisers. The advertising graphics team is designing and building advertisements for advertisers.

The archive of NNY Business, Outdoors and Living magazines has been lost. The magazine division is working to rebuild the glossy publications from scratch to return them to the newsstands.

The information technology team reports that no personal information, such as credit card or other billing information, has been compromised.

The virus was meant to encrypt files on data servers so the company could not use them. Information was not stolen.

The newspaper has reported the attack to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The attack remains under investigation and the newspaper will provide another update as the situation improves.

In the meantime, newspaper staff appreciates the support of the community, which has responded with kind gestures and appreciation for the news and advertising produced daily.

CANTON — Jury selection began Tuesday morning in St. Lawrence County Court for the third-degree criminal mischief trial of Patrick F. Whitehill, 29, of 801 Morris St., Ogdensburg.

Mr. Whitehill was originally indicted on charges of first-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and third-degree assault.

The indictment charged on Oct. 12 at 433 Pickle St., Stockholm, Mr. Whitehall entered the building with the intent to commit a crime and caused physical injury to a person who was not a participant in the crime. He is also accused of intentionally damaging property in an amount that exceeded $1,500.

The burglary and assault charges were dropped after the alleged victim died due to unrelated causes after the case was taken to grand jury and the indictment was handed up, District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua said,

The second-degree criminal mischief charge was later reduced to a third-degree count when it was learned that the cost of the damages were not as high as originally believed, Mr. Pasqua said.

According to a statement about a prior felony conviction attached to the indictment, Mr. Whitehill was previously convicted on Dec. 15, 2011, in St. Lawrence County Court, of felony third-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced on Sept. 17, 2013.

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District to prepare the potential activation of its emergency operations center for possible flooding along Lake Ontario.

Lake Ontario reached 246.94 feet last week, about a foot higher than the historic average for that time, which is 245.87 feet. Sen. Schumer said in a statement that the Great Lakes basin received above average precipitation last week, and with forecasts predicting more rainfall, he believes shoreline communities along the lake could be in danger of flooding like in 2017.

The senator sent a letter to Lt. Col. Jason A. Toth of the Army Corps. requesting he ready the emergency operation center, which in 2017 aided communities, many of which sustained extensive water damage, by deploying technical assistance teams to construct emergency flood control measures, disseminating more than 170,000 sandbags and conducting flood reconnaissance.

“After experiencing devastating record flooding in 2017, Lake Ontario communities are once again being threatened by rising water levels — so it is critical for the Army Corps of Engineers to get their ducks in a row now, before flooding happens,” the senator said in a statement.

WADDINGTON — The state chapter of a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization on Monday echoed the request of St. Lawrence County lawmakers for the resignation of legislator Rita E. Curran, R-Massena, who is accused of reposting an anti-Muslim sentiment on Facebook. The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) in a release Monday said Ms. Curran should resign “for posting an Islamophobic post on Facebook that may incite violence against New Yorkers and all Americans who are Muslim or perceived as Muslim.”

The demand by the organization came following a Monday night call for Ms. Curran’s resignation by the St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee after its condemnation of the language and message in the post.

The post, since removed, showed an image from Sept. 11, 2001 of a smoldering North Tower at the World Trade Center as a second plane is about to hit the South Tower.

Misreported by the advocacy group as being text Ms. Curran wrote herself, the shared post stated “Every time a Muslim stand up (sic) in Congress and tells us they are going to change the Constitution, impeach the president, or vote for socialism, remember you swore you would never forget. They swore they would destroy us from within.”

Following the first of what will be quarterly meetings to discuss county issues with the Waddington Village Board Wednesday evening, Ms. Curran said she didn’t write the post, but just shared it, something she said she has seen all over the social media site.

“I didn’t mean anything Islamophobic or racist in my post,” Ms. Curran said. “I didn’t feel it was and that wasn’t my intention. It‘s just a quote from what people have said.”

She said that the incident has led to her receiving threats, one in the form of a video that she said she didn’t want to discuss. She said she showed it to St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua but wants to put the whole incident behind her.

“Basically, when you think about 9/11 and what was done, were not supposed to say anything about anybody,” she said. “Basically (Rep.) Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) can stand there and say ‘the Jewish people are horrible, we shouldn’t give them money, Hamas should get them,‘ and all this other stuff, and that is fine. But if somebody mentions 9/11 it’s this big thing and you get all these CAIR people and everybody else . . . CAIR never spoke up and said how horrible 9/11 was.”

According to a 2014 Washington Post report, CAIR, “was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 trial of the Holy Land Foundation in Texas.” While foundation officials were later found guilty of diverting funds to Hamas, CAIR has never been charged with any criminal activity and operates in a tax-exempt status, The Post reported.

A Federal Elections Commission complaint has been filed by a resident of Warren County against Democratic congressional candidate Tedra L. Cobb for an alleged election campaign finance violation from last year. Ms. Cobb is running again against incumbent Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, in 2020.

The complaint was shared with the media by the National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday, but was filed by John A. Bast of Silver Bay earlier this month. The complaint relied on reporting by the Times on a cross-district trip that Ms. Cobb conducted in the final days of the 2018 Congressional campaign in borrowed recreational vehicles. Mr. Bast charges that the use of these vehicles was never registered with the FEC as an in-kind donation.

“Rather than disclose these benefits to her campaign in unknown amounts, Cobb submitted inaccurate and incomplete reports to the Commission,” Mr. Bast writes in his letter. “As it stands, the public does not know who provided these in-kind contributions, the value of these contributions, or if there were any corporate in-kind contributions created by use of the RV’s.”

Mr. Bast’s letter,dated April 15, was notarized on April 18. Although the Times received a copy of the complaint previously, it was unable to verify that it had been officially filed with the FEC prior to Tuesday. The FEC did not comment further, and has not reached any decision on the complaint.

Mr. Bast’s connection to the NRCC, if any, is unclear, and the Times was unable to find contact information for Mr. Bast.

Ms. Cobb’s campaign responded to the complaint by dismissing it and pivoting to an attack on Ms. Stefanik.

“This is a partisan attack completely lacking in credibility,” the Cobb campaign wrote in a statement. “Stefanik is losing momentum and she knows it. This is just the latest in a desperate attempt to try to distract the public from her voting record ... Rather than addressing the needs of her constituents, Stefanik and her party lead with mis-information and distraction.”

While the NRCC supported Ms. Stefanik’s campaign, the two organizations are separate. The NRCC did work to help Ms. Stefanik, including paying a teenage tracker during the campaign, who secretly filmed Ms. Cobb saying that she supports an assault weapons ban but cannot take that position publicly and get elected.

Lenny Alcivar, spokesman for Ms. Stefanik’s campaign, called for transparency from Ms. Cobb. “Today’s report on the failure of Tedra Cobb’s 2018 campaign to legally disclose contributions in violation of Federal Election Commission law is disturbing, and requires a full investigation,” Mr. Alcivar wrote in a statement to the Times. “As a publicly declared candidate, yet again, in 2020, North Country voters expect Tedra Cobb to fully cooperate with the FEC, and to publicly address the legal and ethical questions raised in the complaint. Tedra Cobb’s wild attacks in response to questions about her flagrant campaign finance violations reflect a continued pattern of repeatedly blaming others for her own failures.”

The FEC complaint appears to be completely based on a story from the Times. At the time, the Times reported that Annette Craig and her husband Sherman loaned Ms. Cobb their RV for part of the trip and another, unnamed donor loaned one for the rest of it. Ms. Craig serves as president of the foundation supporting the Clifton Fine Hospital, Star Lake, and last summer Mr. Sherman retired as chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency board.

n WANAKENA — The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry — The Ranger School, in Wanakena, will host an open house on Saturday. It is a full-day event. To register please visit: http://www.esf.edu/admissions/rsvisit.asp

This open house program will include presentations from the director on the unique academic and student life experiences, admission and financial aid, a campus tour with students, lunch in the dining hall and a mini-field experience.

The Ranger School offers students a unique educational experience in a spectacular natural setting in southern St. Lawrence County, and is also a part of the 6-million acre Adirondack Park. The school offers three Associate in Applied Science degrees. These degrees may open doors to forest, natural resources conservation or land surveying technology careers, or serve as a hands-on, experience-based step toward a Bachelor of Science degree.

Within the curriculum, there are three areas of study: forest technology, land surveying technology, and environmental and natural resources conservation.

The Ranger School’s one-plus-one plan allows students to complete their first year of higher education at the college of their choice, then complete their second year at The Ranger School. Students wishing to continue on for their bachelor’s degree may do so at ESF’s main campus in Syracuse.

LAKE PLACID — This village made animation history for the second time Sunday night. That’s right: Lake Placid, among many other upstate New York communities, was referenced in “The Simpsons.”

America’s longest-running prime-time television family took a trip to Niagara Falls in their latest episode, “D’oh Canada.” Along the way, Bart and Homer laugh at tired towns and empty storefronts. Lisa asks how they can be so enthusiastic about a declining country.

“Cheer up, honey,” Homer says. “We’re heading to the one place that can never decline because it was never that great: Upstate New York.”

Homer then sings about the lovable mediocrity of upstate New York to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” As he highlights upstaters’ affinity for Fox News, hot wings and booze, he stops by the Anchor Bar in Buffalo for some wings, gets his degree at Mohawk Valley Community College and becomes mayor of Oriskany, a village of 0.8 square miles in Oneida County.

At one point, Roni the Raccoon, the mascot for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, dances in a kick line along with a lotto ticket, an opioid pill, a jar of borscht, a dime (FDR was from Hyde Park) and Otto the Orange from Syracuse University.

Other gags include Homer sitting in a nearly empty New Era Field home of the Buffalo Bills and a scene of the Kodak Park in Rochester getting demolished. However, the logic of Homer’s montage through upstate New York comes into question when he’s seen drinking a Duff beer with the Headless Horseman of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Sleepy Hollow a village in Westchester County, only about a 45-minute train ride to Yankee Stadium — downstate in many people’s minds.

This isn’t the first time “The Simpsons” referenced Lake Placid. In the 2004 episode “She Used to Be My Girl,” Marge imagines what her life would be like if she pursued her dream of journalism, reporting on the “Miracle on Ice” that never happened.

Emmy winner Tim Long of Ontario co-wrote Sunday’s episode with his wife Miranda Thompson. According to the Canadian Press, Long said for years the show has been making fun of Canada.

“I remember the day when we taught them that the Canadian one-dollar coin was called a loonie and the two-dollar coin was called a toonie. Oh, that shut down work for several hours because nobody could believe it,” Long told the Canadian Press. “So you’ll often find that the references on the show to Canada haven’t been written by Canadians, but they’ve been written by Americans looking across the table at a Canadian and thinking, ‘What the hell is with that guy?’”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s senior adviser Rich Azzopardi responded to the episode on Twitter.

“There always remains work to be done but — dumb cheap shots aside — facts are facts: jobs are up, unemployment is down, millennials are coming back and it’s clear that Poochie was an uncredited writer on that episode,” he said. “However, I still want a Fighting Hellfish tattoo.”

Any seasoned “Simpsons” fan would know Poochie is the cartoon dog Homer voiced in the season 8 episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.” He was a joke on the influx of radical, edgy and extreme comic book and cartoon characters that wound up being way less cool than intended.

Azzopardi mistakenly wrote “Fighting Hellfish” in his tweet when it’s actually “Flying Hellfish” that was Abraham Simpson’s military unit in World War II.

Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism CEO and President Jim McKenna laughed at the idea of “The Simpsons” spoofing Lake Placid, but he didn’t want to comment until he’s seen the episode.

One of “The Simpsons’” more popular upstate New York references was in season 7 when Principal Skinner served a plate of Krusty Burgers to Superintendent Chalmers and called them “steamed hams,” despite the fact that they were obviously grilled. Skinner claimed the expression is from upstate New York. Chalmers, a Utica native, says he’s never heard it before. Skinner replies that it’s an Albany phrase. It’s since become an internet meme.

WATERTOWN — The county stopped accepting tires at its transfer station in the town of Pamelia last week until it can strike a deal with a company to take them.

Joseph Gould, solid waste maintenance supervisor for the station, said the county submitted requests for offers from companies willing to take its tires several times in the past six to eight months, but no one responded. With about 100 tons of tires at the station, 27138 Route 12, Legislature Chairman Scott A. Gray said the county placed a temporary moratorium on tire collection.

The Development Authority of the North Country cannot accept tires at its Materials Management Facility in the town of Rodman due to restrictions in its landfill operating permit and state regulations said Laurie A. Marr, director of public affairs for DANC.

“There are very few places around that do (take tires),” Mr. Gould said.

Seneca Meadows Inc., which shreds tires at its Waterloo landfill, accepted the county’s tires for several years and repurposed them as drainage material, pads and covers, said General Manager Kyle Black. When the county’s deal for the service expired and it had to send out requests for a new one, however, the firm made no offer.

Mr. Black said the county searched for companies that could pick up tires at its transfer site, but Seneca Meadows lacks that capability. Mr. Gould, however, said the county sent out requests for firms that could collect its tires or need them delivered to their locations, and still received no offers, even from Seneca Meadows.

“Usually, we’re more than happy to quote any county or customers prices, but they have to be delivered,” Mr. Black said.

The Town of Clayton learned of the county’s moratorium after a shipment of tires was returned to it.

Deputy Supervisor Lance L. Peterson Sr. said the town has reached an agreement with Kimco Steel Sales Ltd., which also has a recycling operation at its Kingston site, to accept the town’s tires. The town will set up a separate dumpster for tires, but residents will have to pay more per tire, possibly $7 instead of $5, Mr. Peterson said.

“We’re going to do the right thing and get rid of these tires for the residents,” he said.

A burglary, a baseball-bat beating of a truck and shots fired, all allegedly Monday afternoon within the span of about 25 miles, led to the arrest of five people.

St. Lawrence County sheriff’s deputies on Monday charged Jerome T. Dobbs, 30, of 226 Wood Road, Lisbon, Samantha L. Herbick, 28, of 422 Belmont Courts, Ogdensburg, and Todd J. Tyo, 30, of 2633 Route 37, Brier Hill, each with a count of second-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny, both felonies, and a misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Ms. Herbick and Mr. Dobbs were also charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal mischief.

Also charged were Brandy L. Tyo, 49, and Andrew W. Mason Jr., 44, also of 2633 Route 37, Brier Hill, each with misdemeanor second-degree reckless endangerment. Ms. Tyo was additionally charged with felony third-degree criminal mischief.

Deputies and detectives charge at 2:54 p.m. Monday at her residence, Ms. Tyo reported that Mr. Dobbs and another man had been at her house and, when they refused to leave, she smashed two mirrors and attempted to break a window out of a pickup truck with a baseball bat while three occupants, one a child, were inside the truck.

Deputies said that her boyfriend, Mr. Mason, also discharged what is alleged to be a firearm multiple times in the general direction of the truck while it was occupied.

Deputies said the pickup truck Ms. Tyo damaged belonged to the victim of a home burglary that happened at 101 Front St. in the village of Rensselaer Falls and was reported after the fact, at 3:31 p.m.

The alleged victims of the burglary decided to take matters into their own hands, leading to the Brier Hill confrontation, detectives said.

At the time of the belated 3:31 p.m. burglary report, deputies said they received a call from the spouse of the alleged victim involved in the Brier Hill incident. She told deputies their home had been burglarized and there were items missing.

Upon arrival at the Front Street residence, deputies said, it was discovered that Mr. Dobbs and Ms. Herbick entered the home by significantly damaging a door and window while Todd Tyo, Ms. Tyo’s son, remained in a motor vehicle nearby.

The three, all previously convicted felons in the state, allegedly had a .22-caliber rifle in their vehicle, leading to the weapons possession charge.

“Dobbs had made multiple trips to the motor vehicle that Tyo was operating, bringing multiple items from the home to the awaiting getaway vehicle,” deputies wrote in a release issued after midnight Tuesday. “At which time, one of the homeowners arrived to catch Dobbs and Herbick inside their residence.”

Deputies reported that Mr. Dobbs rode with the alleged victim of the home burglary from Rensselaer Falls to the Tyo residence in Brier Hill in pursuit of the getaway vehicle, with Ms. Herbick and Mr. Tyo inside.

It was when they arrived at the Brier Hill residence that Mr. Tyo and the unnamed alleged victim were encountered by both Ms. Tyo and Mr. Mason, who told police they acted in defense of Ms. Tyo’s son, detectives said.

All subjects were taken into custody at both the Brier Hill and Rensselaer Falls addresses and are being arraigned in Morristown Town Court by Justice James T. Phillips Jr. with all subjects due back in court at a later date.

State police and U.S. Border Patrol agents assisted.

FORT DRUM — Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann had one thought after hearing a shooter went into a synagogue near San Diego and killed a woman and injured three other people over the weekend.

His first thoughts didn’t turn to the rise of anti-Semitism. Instead, he called for all of us to come together to fight hatred.

“We shouldn’t fight just anti-Semitism,” Mr. Steigman said during a “Days of Remembrance” event at Fort Drum on Tuesday.

“That’s just one group. Hatred starts with anti-Semitism, but it doesn’t just end there.”

The minority Christian population was the target of bombings that killed more than 250 in Sir Lanka’s churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, he pointed out.

In March, a white supremacist from Australia shot and killed 50 people and injured 50 others in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Mr. Steigmann, who is Jewish, was 18 months old when he and his family were sent to a labor camp in Transnistria, where he was subject of Nazi medical experimentation.

He has no recollection of the time they were at the labor camp. The camp was liberated by the Russian army and his family was deported by the Romanians and sent to Transylvania, where he grew up, until his entire family moved to Israel in 1961, he said.

While he doesn’t remember that labor camp, Mr. Steigmann still has the emotional and physical scars from being a human guinea pig of the Germans.

“I still have pain to this day,” he said during an interview before he spoke to about 100 soldiers on Tuesday.

He became a motivational speaker after feeling a need to tell his story and to make sure people know about the Holocaust, in which six million Jews died in concentration camps.

“I fight hatred and (aim to see) that no human being or no group is persecuted,” he said.

He talks to young people so they learn about what happened. The Fort Drum speech was his first to a military audience; he told the crowd that it was an honor to share his story with them.

He told the audience that he faced a series of challenges and obstacles. He served in the Israeli Army as a squadron leader, moved to the United States and was, at one time, homeless in New York City.

A single sixth grader changed his life. She told him that his story was inspiring, and he knew that he had to share it.

“My main goal is to empower them to be the best people they can be in their lives,” he said.

He turned to a life of volunteerism, getting involved in a number of charitable organizations.

As a result of that life’s work, he recognized with the Harmony Power Award at the Museum of Tolerance in New York City. The state Assembly also recognized him as an example of courage and compassion for teaching young people about the Holocaust.

Mr. Steigmann said he has never asked, “Why me?”

“In all of my life, I’ve never said ‘why me?’ and only looked at what’s next,” he said. “You live forward.”

He will soon head to Germany to spend 10 days speaking to youth groups about the Holocaust.

GOUVERNEUR — Village police on Thursday charged Kristen L. Kulp, 38, Gouverneur, with driving while intoxicated.

Police charge at 8:51 p.m. Ms. Kulp struck the Dollar General store, 12 W. Main St., with her red 2011 Kia Forte, causing damage to the building.

She was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.10 percent.

State law says that a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher constitutes intoxication.

Ms. Kulp was also found to have a previous New York DWI conviction, in 2012, police said.

Ms. Kulp was issued tickets returnable to Town Court.

CANTON — Two sentencings in two days concluded with a Hogansburg man Tuesday morning in St. Lawrence County Court heading to prison for 9½ years.

Jeremy R. Francis, 31, of 12 Brown Road, was sentenced in St. Lawrence County to four years in prison for second-degree attempted burglary in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.

On April 18 in the town of Massena, Mr. Francis unlawfully entered the 479 Roosevelt Road home of his brother with the intent to cause him injury.

As part of the plea deal, remaining charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree burglary were satisfied.

But his four-year sentence won’t be served until he completes a 5½ year stint in prison he was sentenced to Monday in Franklin County Court, another aspect of the plea deal.

In both instances, Mr. Francis took plea offers in the shadow of facing scheduled trials in each county.

On Monday morning in Franklin County Court, Mr. Francis was sentenced to 5½ years in prison for second-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, his attorney, Peter A. Dumas, said.

As part of the St. Lawrence County plea deal, Mr. Francis will have to serve his four-year sentence after he completes the 5½ years he was serving for his Franklin County conviction.

Had Mr. Francis been convicted following a trial in St. Lawrence County, he faced a maximum of 40 years in prison, which would be added onto the time he was serving for his Franklin County conviction, totaling 45½ years.

He was also previously held in Albany County jail on an federal interstate gun charges, but those charges have since been dismissed, Mr. Dumas said.

GREIG — The Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers conducted division airboat training on the Black River in the town on Thursday and Friday according to the department’s news release.

Rangers from all over the state came to Lewis County to learn how to operate airboats in difficult water conditions and on frozen lakes and rivers. Airboats are often used for search and rescue missions, especially in communities where flooding is an issue.

“The Black River offers a unique opportunity to train on flood waters as the annual snow melt consistently brings the river to flood stage,” according to the release.

In the last few years, changing weather events have required the DEC to use watercraft more often.

There are five airboats in the forest ranger fleet located around the state, with 27 operators, nine of whom are trained in swift water rescue.

WATERTOWN — A former Department of Veterans Affairs physician has been indicted on counts that he committed sex crimes against multiple patients at the VA medical facility in Watertown.

Jerome F. Cuyler, 75, whose last known address was in Sackets Harbor, is charged with a single count of fourth-degree aggravated sexual abuse, five counts of forcible touching and four counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

The charges were contained in a grand jury indictment handed up Tuesday in Jefferson County Court.

The top count of the indictment alleges that on April 26, 2016, he had sexual contact with a man, who was incapable of consenting to the act, while practicing at the CANI Building on Washington Street. It is further alleged that Dr. Cuyler subjected four other adult male patients to sexual contact without their consent while treating them during April and May 2016.

Dr. Cuyler was fired July 6, 2016, and he was barred by the state Department of Health from practicing within the state pending further investigation.

Other indictments include:

Rudy Rios III, 28, Watertown, is charged with first- and third-degree rape and second-degree burglary. It is alleged that on April 7, 2018, he unlawfully remained in the town of Watertown residence of a 33-year-old woman and had sexual intercourse with her while she was physically helpless and unable to give consent to the act.

Joseph F. Thomas, 36, address not available, is charged with first-degree attempted rape. It is alleged that on Sept. 25 in the town of LeRay, he attempted to engage in sexual intercourse with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

Joseph C. Blankenship, 41, Carthage, is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; he is alleged to have possessed a gravity knife Oct. 26 in the village of Carthage.

Manuel G. Gandia, 35, Watertown, faces counts of first-degree criminal contempt and third-degree menacing. It is alleged that on Oct. 28 he violated a City Court order of protection held by Michele Gandia by threatening to strike her with his hands.

John R. Kellogg III, 36, Alexandria Bay, and Isabella M. Baird, 20, Clayton, are each charged with four counts of first-degree burglary, five counts of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, two counts of second-degree harassment and single counts of third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree menacing.

It is alleged that on Nov. 3, Mr. Kellogg unlawfully entered the East Lynde Street apartment of Michael T. Schaber and choked him and threatened him with an ice pick, with Ms. Baird allegedly aiding and abetting the acts. It is further alleged that the pair unlawfully restricted the movements of Caitlin McConnell, Tiffany Predmore and Brennon Stevens during the incident.

Travis C. Johnson, 29, Watertown, is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; he’s alleged to have possessed a knife with the intent to use it against another man Nov. 24 in Watertown.

Samantha N. Davis, 31, Hogansburg, faces counts of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny. It is alleged that on July 11 in Watertown she possessed a falsely made check which purported to be a money order issued by the United States government and used it to receive cash from Price Chopper.

Eddie V. Ghingoree, 42, Brooklyn, is charged with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, aggravated driving while intoxicated, having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and failure to signal to turn. It is alleged that he drove with a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent on Avery Avenue in Alexandria Bay on Jan. 6 without a valid driver’s license.

DWI is charged when a motorist’s BAC is alleged to be 0.08 percent or above, while aggravated DWI is charged when a BAC is alleged to be 0.18 percent or above.

Haley J. Recor, 19, Watertown, Patrick U. Ponzo, 33, Albany, and Robert I. Sawyer, 33, Philadelphia, are charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree menacing fourth-degree conspiracy and multiple other counts for their alleged involvement in a home invasion on March 8 on Moon Lake Road in the town of Theresa.

It is alleged they unlawfully entered the residence of Richard Villone and displayed a loaded Smith & Wesson .357-caliber handgun.

CAPE VINCENT — Corrections officers seized synthetic marijuana and methamphetamine in two separate incidents at the medium-security prison here, according to the state corrections officers union.

On April 17, a corrections officer at the Cape Vincent Correctional Facility found some meth residue in a pair of shorts that arrived in the mail, according to a news release from the New York State Corrections & Police Benevolent Association.

The unidentified inmate, who is serving a five-year sentence after being convicted in Suffolk County in 2017 for third-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, now faces additional charges.

A week later, a sergeant at Cape Vincent developed information that an inmate was in possession of drugs. The officer interviewed the inmate, who voluntarily turned over 2.5 grams of synthetic marijuana, commonly known as K2, and seven strips of Suboxone.

That unidentified inmate, 45, was placed in a special housing unit pending disciplinary charges.

He is serving a three- to seven-year sentence after being convicted in Westchester County in 2016 of first-degree reckless endangerment.

“Our members are working diligently to stop the flow of contraband that is flooding our facilities,” said Scott Carpenter, the union’s central region vice president.

“It shows you the depths that an individual will take to get drugs into a facility when they absorb methamphetamines into gym shorts so it will go undetected.”

Mr. Carpenter also is calling for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to do more to stop what he called daily seizures.

DOCCS could not be reached for comment on Tuesday night.