Citizen Advocates, Inc. announced it has found fresh faces to guide the organization, filling multiple board vacancies early in the year.

At its January meeting, the health and human service agency’s board of directors elected Martha Dishman as its new president, three new directors, and three executive committee officers. The board of directors is comprised entirely of community volunteers responsible for governing the agency.

“As Board President I intend to support the mission of the organization by ensuring that all governance needs are met and by empowering the Board to be innovative, creative and strategic as we continue to grow and meet the needs of the residents of the North Country,” said Ms. Dishman in a public statement.

Also elected were Paul Goodrow to vice president, Christine Venery to secretary and Nicholas Eells to treasurer.

New directors to the board are James Berns, Jennifer Bilow and Chastity Miller. Mr. Berns is a first-grade teacher in the Brushton-Moira school district, Ms. Bilow is an artist and yoga instructor and Chastity Miller is district manager for Franklin County Soil & Water.

Directors Tammy L. Gordon and Charles Mason continue to serve on the board.

Two board positions became vacant when long-time board members Laura Bessette and Sally Walrath each stepped down at the end of their term.

The agency, which employs 725 health professionals and supports 6,500 north country individuals, is working to open a crisis stability center in Malone.

Like many health organizations, said Director of Communications Joe Riccio, the agency is waiting to learn the fate of the Affordable Care Act, but will continue its local work in the meantime.

Citizen Advocates is also one of 13 clinics taking part in a statewide Certified Community Behavioral Clinic program. CCBHC’s are similar to Federally Qualified Health Centers, but serve and support behavioral health providers to comprehensively treat a range of mental health and substance use disorders. The clinics also hope to create more safety net parity for vulnerable patients, including those with developmental and behavioral health needs.

WEST CARTHAGE — According to the village Board of Trustees, Carthage Speciality Paperboard is in arrears on payments totaling more than $358,000 which they collect on behalf of the Carthage-West Carthage Water Pollution Control Facility.

However, Carthage Specialty Paperboard CEO Patrick J. Purdy said in a phone interview that it is a matter of accounting schedules not matching up.

“We are billed for future service so in that aspect we are not behind,” he said.

To address the situation, the paper plant has come up with a payment schedule which was presented to the management board for the waste water treatment plant.

“We support West Carthage — legally it’s up to them to collect,” said Michael F. Astafan, chairman for the waste water treatment facility management board. “Hopefully they’ll make payments. They made promises in the past and unfortunately were not able to keep those promises. We are concerned for the public and the workers. We are doing everything we can to keep them employed.”

Last fall, the paper plant and sewer management board also negotiated on delinquent payments.

“The West Carthage board has not formally approved the revised payment plan and will not without approval from our attorney,” Mayor Scott M. Burto said in a telephone interview.

He said the board wants a “contract agreement which will have more strength if we have to take official action.”

“We are willing to work with Carthage Speciality Paperboard — the jobs there are important,” the mayor said. “We are taking additional steps to protect the financial future of our residents.”

Mayor Burto said the paper company was billed quarterly as are residents and other industrial users.

He said Carthage Speciality Paperboard is a major user of the sewer plant and is billed on a percent of the total use from the previous year.

“We are looking at redoing rates,” said Mr. Burto. “We are following what has been done for 40 or 50 years — what was done when they bought the plant. There’s probably a more accurate, more up-to-date way to do it.”

Previously, the management board representatives said new billing structures would be considered after the planned renovations to the plant are complete.

Mr. Purdy said once the new payment plan is in place, they should be caught up by the end of the village’s fiscal year in June.

In addition, the paper company owes the sewer management board $16,500 for fines due to violating their pretreatment permit, said the sewer board treasurer Kristy L. O’Shaughnessy.

LOWVILLE — About 30 local, state and snowmobile club officials hit the trails Thursday morning for the annual Lewis County legislative snowmobile ride.

“The ride was great,” Christopher Fallon, director of snowmobiling at the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said following the roughly 50-mile ride. “Very nice conditions.”

Mr. Fallon said Thursday’s event offered a great opportunity for him and his assistant director to see the Tug Hill trails in person, which is important since this is such a hotbed for snowmobiling.

“It’s a really scenic ride and a nice pace where you could take it all in,” he said.

“There was a lot of other traffic out there,” added Michael K. Leviker, parks and recreation officer at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department. “The trails are in good shape.”

Douglas M. Dietrich, president of the Lewis County Snowmobile Association, said the group was able to stop at a scenic lookout spot atop the gorge at Whetstone Gulf State Park in the town of Martinsburg and also got to see just how much snow remains in the heart of the Tug Hill Plateau.

“It’s unbelievable how much more snow there is up there on the hill,” Mr. Dietrich said.

Along with showing off the Lewis County trail system to those who aren’t familiar with it, the annual legislative ride gives officials from various local snowmobile clubs the chance to interact informally and compare notes, he said.

“The idea is to discuss the trail system and ways to improve it,” said Brian T. Gillette from Valley Snow Travelers of Lewis County.

Mr. Gillette, who organized this year’s ride, said about 20 additional local officials joined the riders afterward for lunch at the Ridge View Inn and further discussion of the trail system. The event included representatives from the county, state, clubs, law enforcement and emergency services, he said.

WATERTOWN — A business owner whose restaurant made headlines after a melee occurred outside his Public Square bar will have to wait a little longer to see if he will get a loan for a new venture.

The Watertown Local Development Corp. board on Thursday took no action on a $40,000 loan that Edirin “Eddy” Igho-Akiti, who owns Mr. Bigg’s Restaurant and Bar, had requested to purchase a food truck.

After meeting for 20 minutes in executive session, members of the local development corporation, also known as the Watertown Trust, said that they tabled the $40,000 loan, adding they first want to review financial matters related to the food truck.

Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr., chairman of the Watertown Trust board, insisted that the Feb. 6 fight outside of the restaurant, 65 Public Square, had nothing to do with delaying the loan.

“That’s separate,” Mayor Butler said. “That’s not the reason it was tabled.”

Police were called to disperse a crowd of about 100 people during a large-scale brawl in Public Square about 2 a.m. on Feb. 6 that resulted in four people being arrested.

Mr. Igho-Akiti attended Thursday’s meeting to explain his side of the story while the board considered giving him the loan.

Calling it “an allegation,” he acknowledged police are investigating whether underage drinking occurred there before the fight. He also insisted underage patrons did not get served alcohol.

Mr. Igho-Akiti reiterated to the board that he’s taken measures to make sure the incident “will never ever happen again.”

Board members asked him a few questions about the incident and the status of the investigation. He told the board that he talked to Police Chief Charles P. “Chip” Donoghue about it.

As a result of the fracas, he decided to hire two more security guards, not to allow underage customers to patronize his restaurant and no longer hold nightclub-type events.

Board member Donald C. Alexander said he was glad to see Mr. Igho-Akiti was taking actions to prevent the incident from happening again.

However, Detective Lt. Joseph R. Donoghue Sr. said Thursday that the underage drinking investigation is continuing. Police contacted the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control board about the incident, so it, too, can investigate alleged violations.

If he receives the loan, Mr. Igho-Akiti plans to purchase a food truck, some equipment and inventory, and use money for working capital. The separate venture from the restaurant would employ three workers. He would park the truck in a couple of downtown locations.

CLAYTON — A Thousand Islands Central School District student was barred from suiting up for his basketball team’s playoff after he missed the team bus while helping a stranded angler as part of his work with the Clayton Volunteer Fire Department.

However, the district’s superintendent said the team bus rules were a long-standing policy, and the issue could have been easily averted with better communication.

Lucas Patchen, a 17-year-old senior, was among the firefighters that responded around 8:20 a.m. Saturday to a rescue call for an angler who had become stranded on a drifting block of ice in Chaumont Bay.

“The chunk of ice was already heading toward the lake,” Lucas said. “There was a good chance he would’ve lost his life if nobody had got out there.”

That effort did not, however, fit in with school rules.

The school district’s policies require players to travel to away games on the team bus, or to be checked in by a parent. The team’s bus left around 10:40 a.m. for Indian River for a game against Sandy Creek, which started at 1 p.m.

Lucas, who left his phone in the fire truck as he went out to the rescue in a wet suit, sent a text message to his teammates at 10:37 a.m.

Though Lucas said he had head coach Scott LaLonde’s phone number, he did not call or message him at the time he messaged his teammates.

“I figured the team would’ve told him on the bus,” he said.

First heading home to get clothes that met the team’s dress code, he then drove to Indian River, arriving late in the game being played before Thousand Island’s.

As a teammate pointed him toward a locker room, Lucas said his coach stopped him en route and told him he was not able to suit up for the game.

“I didn’t know what to say at that point,” Lucas said. “At that point, I couldn’t even say anything to him.”

Thousand Islands beat Sandy Creek 61-35 in the “C” Division consolation game.

After the game, Lucas said he showed Mr. LaLonde a photo from the scene, explaining that was why he missed the bus.

Lucas said his coach told him the decision was based on the administrative rules, and didn’t have to do with Lucas’ situation specifically.

“You’re kinda humiliating him by making him stay in street clothes and making him sit on the bench,” said Michael Patchen, Lucas’ father. Mr. Patchen met with school officials to discuss the policy Monday, during which time he suggested the policy should be changed.

Superintendent Michael F. Bashaw said the bus riding policy had been in place for years. He noted there was more than two hours between when Lucas returned from the rescue and when the game began that the coach could have been called.

“There’s a large window of time in which the player could have contacted the coach, either by text or phone call,” Mr. Bashaw said. “Communication between the two would have resolved the issue before it became an issue.”

Mr. Bashaw said the school fully supported students like Lucas who volunteer in the community.

“The school as a whole has been very flexible in not only allowing students to participate, but hoping they will,” Mr. Bashaw said. “It’s really important in communities as small as ours.”

Lucas joined the Clayton department as a junior member when he was 16, and is currently a full member.

“He’s very ambitious, willing to do anything that has to be done,” said Clayton Fire Chief Christopher Barton.

Lucas said he has missed a few games before when taking part in fire training events, but had not missed any practices as a result of his firefighting duties.

In his first year on the team, Lucas said, he mainly got on the court during one-sided games.

“He may have sat on the bench anyway,” Michael Patchen said.

Asked what he would do if he could replay the situation, Lucas said he would have called the athletic director or coach, and called his parents to get them to talk to the coach about the situation, since neither was available to drive him at the time.

“I think (the policy is) right generally, most of the time,” Lucas said. “I think in my case and other cases where that’s not possible, there could be a little more flexibility.”

Lucas defended his decision to respond to the call, even if it cost him the game.

“I would take helping somebody and saving their life over sitting out one game,” he said.

Following the benching Saturday, Lucas has returned to action, suiting up Wednesday for the team’s scrimmage in Sackets Harbor.

Thousand Islands, a 10-seed in the Section 3 Class C playoffs, will return to action tonight as they take on 7-seed Onondaga.

The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has released the new Empire Pass Card, which provides unlimited day-use vehicle entry to most facilities operated by New York State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches and trails.

The card, which can be shared among family members, is presented upon vehicle entry and includes QR code and embedded chip technology to allow for easier park access at select facilities.

The new wallet-sized family-sharing Empire Pass card will be offered for $80.

The office is also selling multi-year pass cards and car decals.

“The new Empire Pass card provides yet another affordable option for families to enjoy the millions of acres of some of the most spectacular public lands in the world,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos, in a statement.

More information about the card can be found at http://wdt.me/empire-pass.

OGDENSBURG — A group of Clarkson University students will help Ogdensburg officials create a conceptual design for a project to incorporate an abandoned railroad trestle over the Oswegatchie River into the municipality’s Maple City Trail.

Seniors enrolled in Erik Backus’ Civil and Environmental Engineering class at Clarkson will take part in a public meeting at 7 p.m. March 1 at the Dobisky Center, according to Ogdensburg Planning and Development Director Andrea L. Smith.

Ms. Smith said in a press release Wednesday that the students will help develop a design concept for the city’s proposed extension of the Maple City Trail using the old railroad trestle referred to by locals as the “black bridge.”

At the upcoming meeting, Clarkson students, along with city staff, will seek public input on how Ogdensburg area residents envision the trail helping their quality of life and improving the community.

“The Clarkson students are using the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure Envision rating system in developing the concept design for the extension of the trail and the reuse of the bridge across the Oswegatchie River,” Ms. Smith said. “This system helps guide projects along a path to improve quality of life as well as economic and environmental outcomes based on community member input.”

The total project cost to rehabilitate the old railroad trestle and incorporate it into the city’s 2.2-mile-long Maple City Trail, is expected to be approximately $2 million, according to Ms. Smith.

The city plans to eventually transform the railroad bridge not only into a pedestrian crossing, but into a bicycle extension as well. The Maple City Trail winds along the city’s northern shore of the Oswegatchie River, over the Spring Street Bridge, and continues along the southern shore of the river before looping back.

Officials are eyeing a number of grant sources to help pay for the project. The city applied to the Department of Transportation, Transportation Alternatives Program in October 2016, as well as the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process in July 2016. While the 2016 TAP awards have not yet been announced, the city did receive notification in December that Empire State Development awarded $250,000 towards the completion of the project.

For more information on the public meeting contact the city’s Department of Planning and Development Director Andrea L. Smith at 315-393-7150.

Visit http://sustainableinfrastructure.org/envision/ to learn more about the system Clarkson University’s students will use to help with the Ogdensburg project.

MASSENA — Massena village trustees are hoping they’ll be able to use a vacant piece of land owned by the town to store sand and salt, but the Massena Town Council wasn’t ready to make a decision this week.

Trustee Timothy J. Ahlfeld and Deputy Mayor Matthew J. LeBire attended Wednesday’s Town Council meeting to see if they could expect an answer by the end of the month because a deadline was fast approaching to move the material out of the old Department of Public Works site.

Trustees had agreed in November to rezone and sell four parcels of land at the former DPW site on South Main Street to St. Lawrence Soy, and they need to vacate the property soon. They discussed their options during a Village Board meeting earlier this month and came to a consensus that a piece of town-owned land on the Pontoon Bridge Road would serve their needs.

But they are waiting to hear back from town officials to see if a deal can be struck.

Mr. Ahlfeld said they’ve had meetings and shared correspondence with Councilmen Steven D. O’Shaughnessy and Samuel D. Carbone Jr.

“We’re under the gun as far as we have to find a place, a facility by September of this year. We’ve got to make a decision before the snow flies again next year. It seems like there’s surplus land on the Pontoon Bridge Road that nobody’s doing anything with that was discussed as it would be entertained. I was wondering how far the entertainment process has moved,” he said.

“We’re not going to do anything at our current DPW facility. We were hoping to possibly enter a shared facility with the town because I know that you guys need to build eventually. Getting a date when you’re going to build has been difficult because you guys have financial concerns too. Since we do have to make a move in the short term, you guys have land, we don’t have land,” Mr. Ahlfeld said.

He said they wanted a piece of property that would not infringe on residents, and the Pontoon Bridge Road site was a possibility.

“What I’m after is, can we depend on that piece of property?” he asked councilmen. “The problem is, we’re not a big community. We’ve got a problem, maybe you can help us out. That’s all we’re asking for. If you can’t help us out, let us know sooner rather than later.”

Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray, however, said he had some concerns. He said a resident near the site had called him to share concerns about salt and sand in that area, and it was also part of land they were trying to improve to attract more visitors.

“So I have some hesitation about that now,” he said. “Are we going to use the land within 15 years? I hope there’s something out there. We don’t have any plans right now.”

“I don’t want to put you on the spot. The clock’s running out on us. If we could get an answer by the end of February, that would be great,” Mr. Ahlfeld said.

Councilmen Thomas C. Miller suggested that trustees discuss what they believe is the best site, make a decision and come back to the Town Council.

“There’s no sense in voting until we know we have the property,” Mr. Ahlfeld said.

Mr. LeBire said his preference was to move the materials to the current DPW site on Robinson Road “with a lot of restrictions” because of concerns by residents on Urban Drive, East Hatfield Street and Bayley Road.

But, Mr. Gray said, living in the village didn’t mean that residents wouldn’t be impacted by something. He said he was a village resident and couldn’t control what would happen to a piece of property near his home.

“I think it’s a reach for people who live in the village to think they won’t be impacted by their neighbors,” he said.

“I respectfully disagree,” Mr. O’Shaughnessy said, noting that people living in a residential area expect residences and not dump trucks.

Mr. Ahlfeld said good and bad came out of the sale of the South Main Street property. The good, he said, was that they had sold the facility to a company that could potentially bring 60 jobs.

“The bad news is we have to make a move,” he said. “Depending on how things move with you guys, maybe we can eventually build a shared facility. But we have to move.”

“There is no way either one of us can have a permanent facility by the time the snow flies next year,” Mr. O’Shaughnessy said.

Mr. Gray said he believed it was in the best interest to locate the materials at the current DPW facility, which he said was geographically centered, but councilmen would take the request from the Village Board under consideration. Trustees meet again on Tuesday.

POTSDAM — College students, high school students and, for the first time, transitioning veterans will be able to compete in the annual North Country Regional Business Plan Competition at Clarkson University.

Young entrepreneurs and entrepreneur enthusiasts will pitch their business ideas to venture capitalists, investors, investment bankers and seasoned entrepreneurs comprising a panel of judges.

The event, hosted by the college’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship, will feature six business plan categories for college students, including information technology and software, social entrepreneurship and nonprofits, clean technology, advanced technology, products and services. Each team will have 10 minutes to present and five minutes for a question and answer session from the judges.

“It builds economic development for our region,” said Ashley M. Sweeney, assistant director of the Reh Center for Entrepreneurship. “If the students continue to grow and stay in the north country, that would be the goal.”

Prizes for the college competition will be $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. The top two teams in each category will go on to compete in the New York Business Plan Competition in Albany on April 28.

“The award money is so they can do those first steps of being entrepreneurial. It may be creating a website or getting their custom logo,” Mrs. Sweeney said. “Any of those starting steps to help encourage them to continue to move on is what the prize money is for.”

Aside from the college competition, two different tracks of the competition are available for high school students and veterans.

The high school track is for north country students in grades nine through 12 who either run their own business or are working on a business plan in school. The business plans can include any type of business.

The winners of this portion of the competition will not continue on to the state competition, but will compete for both cash prizes and scholarship money to Clarkson.

“We’re really encouraging entrepreneurship in high schools throughout,” Mrs. Sweeney said. “This year we hope to see about five high schools participate by sending teams, and we’re hoping to fill the category at 10 teams.”

For the first time, the competition will offer a competition for veterans who are pursuing start-up businesses in the area. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in a college to participate.

Partnering with Task Force Vetrepreneur LLC, Clarkson’s goal is to provide coaching assistance before and after the competition to encourage transitioning veterans to start businesses in the north country.

Cash prizes and incubator space will be awarded to veteran winners.

“Our hope by adding this track is to allow transitioning veterans to get support from the resources that are available both at Clarkson as well as the North Country Innovation Hotspot,” Mrs. Sweeney said referencing Clarkson’s entrepreneurial assistance program.

The North Country Regional Business Plan Competition will be held in Clarkson’s Student Center on April 7. The deadline to enter the competition is March 31.

For more information on the competition, visit www.clarkson.edu/bplan.

Sponsorship and judging opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Ms. Sweeney at asweeney@clarkson.edu.

CANTON — The Knights of Columbus have committed to donating 32 hockey helmets to the Canton Recreational Pavilion before the start of next skating season in an effort to help the recreation department offer a safer environment during public skating hours.

“They had a need so we said we would donate,” said Grand Knight Dan Sweeney, adding that the donation continues a tradition of supporting youth programs by the Knights of Columbus.

Recreation Director John S. Taillon said the donation is one of many the recreation department has received from the Catholic service organization and will go a long way in helping ensure safety at the Pavilion.

“They have been heavily involved in youth activities. They are big supporters of youth activities and have donated thousands of dollars to our facility. They have been really generous over the years,” Mr. Taillon said of the Knights of Columbus. “This contribution by the Knights of 32 helmets between now and the beginning of the next ice season will come in real handy around here for people that may not be able to have their own helmets.”

Mr. Taillon said the recreation department is looking to institute more safety measures during its public use times. He said a new policy has been proposed and may take hold as early as the fall.

“We are really leaning toward a fun, safe atmosphere on the ice. To keep it safe, especially for younger kids, we are in discussion right now of making a new policy effective next season that would follow the New York State bicycle law,” Mr. Taillon explained. “Anyone 13 years of age or under would be required to wear helmets during public skating.”

Mr. Taillon said the new rule is still in discussion and has not yet been finalized.

The 32 helmets donated by the Knights of Columbus will be combined with 10 helmets previously donated by Mark McKenna of Mac Sports in Canton. Mr. Taillon said he was hopeful more donations could be found to continue to build the recreation department’s stash of safety equipment.

“We would welcome any donations from any other service organizations in the community,” he said.

The helmets are not the only new safety measure instituted at the Canton Pavilion this winter. The recreation department hired eight “skateguards” in December who are tasked with monitoring skaters during open skate hours and ensuring safety for all participants. The skateguards are high school students who were picked by the recreation department based on recommendations from varsity hockey coaches Randy Brown and Anita Francis and who display similar levels of responsibility as those who serve as lifeguards during the summer months.

Both Mr. Taillon and Head of Maintenance Larry Olmstead touted the skateguard program as a huge success.

“It has been a great help,” Mr. Olmstead said. “It is long overdue.”

“We wish we had this years ago,” Mr. Taillon added. “We thank the town and village boards for making that happen.”

CHAUMONT — Chaumont first responders say a man is recovering well after falling through the ice on Duck Bay Thursday afternoon.

Chaumont Fire Chief Fred E. Jackson said the man was ice fishing when he fell into the water about one quarter of a mile from a private boat launch on Duck Harbor Road, between Chaumont and Three Mile Bay. Mr. Jackson described how small pieces of “chunk ice” can fuse together or to larger sheets of ice and break off easily.

First responders from Chaumont, Three Mile Bay, and the United States Coast Guard all assisted in rescuing the fisherman, who had managed to pull his upper body onto the ice by the time they arrived.

“It’s hard to hang on once you get that cold, you start to lose your dexterity,” Mr. Jackson said, “But the subject is OK ... his body temperature is back up to 96 degrees.” The fisherman was brought into a Three Mile Bay ambulance after he was pulled from the ice, which had arrived along with Guilfoyle paramedics, state and county police, and the Jefferson County Special Tactics and Rescue divers.

The ice rescue on Duck Bay was the fourth in 2017, and Mr. Jackson said he believed weather played a considerable role in the unusual number of accidents.

“The weather hasn’t been cooperating in terms of getting a good freeze, especially when it’s sunny like (Thursday).”

A statement issued by the Coast Guard on Thursday urged “everyone to use common sense and reminds people who venture out onto melting and weakening ice that they are not only putting their own lives in danger, but the lives of first responders.”

The statement also recommended telling loved ones if going out onto the ice, and to carry “visual distress signals, a sound-producing device, or screwdrivers or hand picks that can be used to pull yourself out of the water if you fall through the ice.”

Joseph D, Plummer, director of Jefferson County Emergency Management Services, said he felt there is little that can be done on the county’s part to prevent more accidents because they “can’t stop people from going out there,” as even closing public boat launches in the winter would still allow people to access private ones, or possibly encourage trespassing. He echoed the Coast Guard’s advice and said that people should “be smart out there” when going onto the ice.

WATERTOWN — Jefferson County’s 911 emergency dispatch center has received a bit of a face lift through state grant funding.

The current county dispatch center, which operates out of the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building, has been operating for the last 11 years. Joseph D. Plummer, director of Jefferson County Emergency Management, said that because the center is used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the space shows its wear much faster.

Much of the existing furniture within the dispatch center was upgraded and refurbished, rather than purchasing completely new items.

The upgrades included new counter space and replacing worn lift mechanisms used to adjust the height of each counter. Controls were also replaced. Mr. Plummer said there are five dispatchers working every eight-hour shift. Each dispatcher has several computer screens to monitor, with three keyboards and mouses. But with the upgrade, each dispatcher now only needs one keyboard and mouse. Larger computer monitors were also installed. The center also received a fresh paint job.

Excluding labor costs, Mr. Plummer said the overall costs of the project was roughly $100,000, which came out of a $198,500 grant from the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. Mr. Plummer said the leftover funds were spent on service and maintenance contracts as well as additional hardware.

He noted that Jefferson County Buildings and Grounds and the county Information Technology Department helped complete the upgrades. Mr. Plummer said the project could have cost an estimated $400,000, had they completely replaced existing furniture and hardware.

Throughout the upgrade process, Mr. Plummer said a back up 911 dispatch center was used. The back up unit is also used in case of power outages or other technological problems that could occur.

The upgrades, however, have nothing to do with next-generation 911, which involves the creation of a new, standalone internet network used solely for public emergency communications. The system would use digital communications such as text messaging, video, photos and GPS tracking.

Mr. Plummer previously told the Times that, when the county must upgrade to a next generation 911 system, it could cost over $1 million. But that depends on the entire state making the switch. Statewide, the transition could cost billions.

The 911 service is paid for through a handful of different surcharges. For cellphone bills, a surcharge of $1.20 is imposed on a user’s contract. State tax law requires that 50 cents of that $1.20 be put toward the state’s general fund, not including public safety initiatives. The remaining 70 cents is put toward public safety programs and state agencies, but counties see only a fraction of that amount. A large portion, around $75 million, goes to law enforcement coffers, including state police. The state police leaves 911 emergency dispatch responsibilities to the counties, however.

MASSENA — Massena Memorial Hospital’s chief executive officer says hospital officials may know on Monday who they plan to affiliate with as part of their conversion to a nonprofit facility.

“That will be a major topic of conversation at the board (of managers) meeting on Monday,” Robert G. Wolleben said during Wednesday’s Massena Town Council meeting, noting there are two potential affiliate institutions. “I’m hoping the board will at least give us some direction on who we should start talking to.”

A subgroup of Board of Managers members had made site visits to the two facilities in late December and early January.

Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray asked Mr. Wolleben if he was yet ready to identify the potential affiliates.

“I’m hoping after Monday’s board meeting we’ll be able to make some kind of reference,” he said. “One is on the western part of the state and one is on the eastern part of the state.”

Massena Memorial Hospital officials had initially contacted 17 health systems last year to see if they were interested in affiliating once the hospital privatizes. After sending out a request for proposal, they received six responses. Five of those RFPs were compliant with Massena Memorial Hospital’s requirements.

That list of five potential affiliates was then whittled down to two for further discussions about possible affiliation with Massena Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Wolleben had said in December that he hoped, once the site visits were complete, the Board of Managers would make a decision by the end of January and “focus in on one large system with which we’ll then have hopefully some fairly substantive conversations about how the affiliation might work.”

Even with the affiliation, hospital officials have said that the current services will be maintained at Massena Memorial Hospital, and maintaining the hospital’s staff was also a priority.

Finding an affiliate is one of the steps hospital officials must go through as part of their plan to convert to a nonprofit facility. They received $5.8 million in grant funding to pay off long-term debt, and establishing an affiliation with another hospital system was one of the requirements of the funding.

The long-term debt was paid off in mid-January, and state officials have approved the application to establish the nonprofit corporation. They’re now filing tax firms with the Internal Revenue Service to continue the requirements to become a nonprofit corporation.

“We are accumulating the documents required for the IRS filing. A series of documents have to be completed and submitted to the IRS,” Mr. Wolleben said.

They also continue to work on an asset transfer agreement that will determine what assets and liabilities carry over to the new corporation and what assets and liabilities stay behind.

He said they received their certificate of incorporation on Friday, but it was still a long road ahead in the conversion process.

In the interim, Mr. Wolleben said their admissions were busy in January, “so that’s a good thing,” and he planned to share the results with the hospital’s Finance Committee this week and the Board of Managers on Monday.

“I know we’ll be talking about admissions being the highest in a two-year period. We’ve been making some headway,” he said.

In addition, the hospital has brought in one new doctor, and they have signed agreements with others who will be joining them later this year.

“We continue to recruit for other positions, so there’s a lot of work going on,” he said.

WATERTOWN — Members of the Watertown Local Development Corp. believe they now have a key component in place to bring more businesses into downtown.

On Thursday morning, the local development corporation, also known as the Watertown Trust, unanimously agreed to hire a retail consultant from Tupelo, Miss., to recruit more retail establishments to the city’s downtown business district.

The consultant, The Retail Coach, will be paid $40,000 to complete the yearlong project to find retailers to fill storefronts and other downtown space.

For months, Donald W. Rutherford, the Watertown Trust’s chief executive officer, has been lobbying board members to bring the consultant on board.

The city’s core business district is dotted with vacant storefronts. Businesses often come and go quickly, even with the financial help of the local development corporation. And a large storefront in the Woolworth Building has sat idle since the downtown landmark was restored two years ago.

Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr. said the downtown plan is considered crucial because it will map out downtown’s future.

“It’s an important piece of downtown revitalization,” the mayor said.

Last month, C. Kelly Cofer, owner of The Retail Coach, made a presentation to the agency’s board members after first coming to Watertown last spring to talk about how the firm could help with the local development corporation’s efforts.

Under the one-year contract, The Retail Coach will analyze the downtown market, talk with local people about their hopes, complete a demographic profile and consumer survey, and put together a daily employment summary report that would be used to recruit retailers.

Board member Michael A. Lumbis, who is also the city’s planning and community development director, said he looks forward to using the consultant’s findings on the city’s $50,000 downtown revitalization plan.

“I think it’s a great first step in developing a comprehensive plans for downtown,” he said.

The city will use a $50,000 state grant to complete the blueprint for downtown.

Mayor Butler hopes to use that study and the downtown retail recruitment program to obtain other state economic development funding and help the city get over the finish line for $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding if the state offers a second round of that program. Last year, the city unsuccessfully applied for funding in the first round.

Before Thursday’s vote, the local development board approved a revised contract with The Retail Coach.

In a conference call before the vote, Mr. Cofer agreed to some minor language changes in the contract and a $3,250 cap on travel expenses for visits to Watertown while he completes his work.

The Retail Coach is working with about 40 communities across the country on retail recruitment efforts. For the past couple of years, the consultant has worked with the city of Corning. Mr. Rutherford first heard about the firm from its efforts in Corning.

WASHINGTON — Dozens of House Democrats are calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s review of contacts between President Trump’s associates and Russian government operatives.

Fifty-five lawmakers, led by House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., signed a letter sent to Sessions late Thursday asking him to withdraw based on his ties to Trump’s campaign and key figures who have been alleged to have ties to Russia. The letter comes days after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned under pressure following reports from The Washington Post and other news organizations that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.

“The revelations of the past few days regarding contact between high-level Trump Administration officials and Russian intelligence operatives have been a blow to public confidence in our institutions and to the integrity of our national security,” the letter reads. “These allegations must be met with a thorough, complete and impartial examination. Given your relationships with those who will be under investigation, we urge you to recuse yourself going forward.”

Sessions, a former GOP senator, was among the earliest and most ardent supporters of Trump’s presidential campaign. The letter cites news reports that have linked Sessions to Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager who has done consulting work for Ukrainian politicians sympathetic to Moscow. The Post reported Thursday that Flynn had denied discussing sanctions with Kislyak in a January interview with FBI agents, potentially exposing him to criminal charges.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the letter.

The House Democrats’ letter, signed by the ranking members on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, comes after the top Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, similarly called on Sessions to step aside.

During his confirmation process, Sessions was asked by Democrats whether he had any contact “with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election” - he said he did not - and whether he would recuse himself on various matters involving Trump and his associates.

Sessions answered most of those questions thusly: “I am not aware of a basis to recuse myself from such matters. If a specific matter arose where I believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, I would consult with Department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed.”

He was also asked by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., whether he would commit to proceeding with investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Said Sessions: “I believe all investigations by the Department of Justice must be initiated and conducted in a fair, professional, and impartial manner, without regard to politics or outside influence. The Department must follow the facts wherever they lead, and make decisions regarding any potential charges based upon the facts and the law, and consistent with established procedures of the Department. That is what I always did as a United States Attorney, and it is what I will insist upon if I am confirmed as Attorney General.”

Vice President Mike Pence will bear the responsibility of assuring Europe this weekend that the U.S. is a reliable ally despite the Trump administration’s “America First” strategy of a hard line on NATO contributions and trade relations.

His challenges in making the case at meetings of leaders in Munich and Brussels have been compounded by the tumultuous opening of Donald Trump’s presidency: a ban on travel to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries that riled much of the European public, and the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser over contacts with officials of a Russian regime many of them consider a rising threat.

Pence’s own credibility was damaged on the eve of his trip by the revelation that the White House kept him in the dark about Michael Flynn’s Russia contacts for two weeks -- causing some to question his sway within the Trump administration. As a deputy to a president who has displayed a knack for making foreign policy from his Twitter account, Pence faces some skepticism.

“Europe will not just take one speech and one meeting as the be-all and end-all,” said Wendy Sherman, a former undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Obama administration. “There are too many questions about the policy of this administration: Who’s in charge, who knows the truth of what’s going on, and what is the fundamental relationship between the Trump administration and Russia?”

In his first foray on the world stage since taking office, Pence will use an address to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday to vouch for Trump’s commitment to the trans-Atlantic partnership and the need to confront a resurgent Russia, an administration official said. He then travels to Brussels to meet with European Union leaders.

At the same time, he also will repeat demands that European allies contribute more to the alliance. At a NATO gathering in Brussels, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Wednesday that the U.S. is prepared to scale back its pledge to defend Europe unless ally nations increase military spending and do so quickly.

Questions about the new administration’s posture mounted this week after media outlets reported that the FBI is probing contacts between Russian officials and Trump campaign aides and associates in the months leading up to the November 2016 election. There are multiple investigations to determine the full extent of the contacts, according to four national security officials with knowledge of the matter.

Pence will have several opportunities to address the concerns of allies during his visit, which is stacked with meetings with Europe’s top leaders. During the three-day trip, the vice president will meet one-on-one with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, EU President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, among others.

In those private meetings, Pence is likely to face leaders seeking clarity on Trump’s positions, as the president has rocked European officials with incendiary and occasionally conflicting statements.

In an interview published in two European newspapers Jan. 15, Trump slammed the EU by branding it a vehicle for German domination, predicted other countries would follow the U.K. in leaving the bloc, and called NATO “obsolete.” He has made several overtures to Russia, calling President Vladimir Putin “very smart” and floating the idea of easing sanctions imposed on the country for its incursions into Ukraine.

European leaders have been vocal in questioning whether the U.S. will stand by its support of NATO in the face of aggression by Russia.

Pence’s public explanations of the thinking on Russia have been undermined by Trump in the past, including after an Oct. 4 vice presidential debate, when Pence called for U.S. military action to stop Russia-backed attacks on civilians in Aleppo, Syria.

Asked about those comments during an Oct. 9 presidential debate, Trump undercut Pence: “He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree,” he said. “I disagree.”

The administration’s relationship with Russia continues to stir controversy, with near-daily revelations and intelligence leaks casting doubt on Trump’s repeated claims that “I have nothing to do with Russia.”

At a surprise news conference on Thursday, Trump said that he didn’t believe any of his associates had been involved with Russia during the campaign and that the stories linking him to the Kremlin are “a ruse” and “fake news.”

Pence became ensnared in the controversy after he appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Jan. 15 and said Flynn hadn’t discussed sanctions in his calls with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak after the November election. He based his claims on a conversation he had with Flynn.

The Washington Post, citing nine unnamed current and former officials, reported Feb. 9 that Flynn had in fact discussed sanctions during those calls, including a conversation that came shortly after then-President Barack Obama imposed fresh penalties on Russian officials for interference in the U.S. presidential election campaign.

While Trump was briefed on the discrepancy in Flynn’s statements in mid-January, Pence’s spokesman, Marc Lotter, said the vice president learned about it from media reports on Feb. 9. Asked by a reporter why he didn’t inform Pence, Trump said Thursday he didn’t think Flynn’s discussion of sanctions with Kislyak was inappropriate.

Several European countries have elections this year, and officials have voiced concern about Russian attempts to boost far-right candidates in an attempt to destabilize the European Union. Several of those candidates have sought to link themselves to Trump, who has praised the Brexit vote and formed a bond with former U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.

“The Europeans have an increasing concern about their own elections and the prospects of Russian interference,” said Fran Burwell, distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative in Washington. “When they think about Flynn talking to the Russians, they have that in the back of their minds.”

Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign affairs chief, said last week after meeting U.S. officials in Washington that keeping multilateral sanctions on Russia, maintaining the Iran nuclear deal and dealing with the refugee crisis are areas where the EU will seek to work with the White House.

Reassurances from Pence will be a first step, but Europe’s leaders will want to see Trump’s actions back up any positive remarks they hear from the vice president, said Sherman, now a senior counselor at the advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington.

“Europe will be looking for the right signals, the right speeches, the right private reassurances,” she said. “But more importantly, they’ll be looking for constancy and for affirmation and action by the president of the United States.”

Tony Blair urged opponents of Brexit to “rise up” and fight to change the British people’s minds about leaving the European Union, in a speech that aimed to show U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May that she won’t get everything her own way.

“People voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit,” the former Labour prime minister said in a speech in London on Friday. “As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind. Our mission is to persuade them to do so.”

Blair, who ran the country from 1997 to 2007, explicitly set himself against May’s Conservative government, accusing it of being a “government for Brexit, of Brexit and dominated by Brexit.” As the most formidable election-winner in Labour’s history, his intervention isn’t to be dismissed, but opponents are likely to argue that his campaigning strength is diminished by his support for the Iraq War.

Blair set out his stall in a speech at Bloomberg LP’s European headquarters in London, the same place where, in January 2013, former Prime Minister David Cameron announced his plan to call a referendum on EU membership, unwittingly setting Britain on course to leave.

Now May plans to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin exit talks next month, with a view to completing them within two years.

She is steering the U.K. toward a so-called hard Brexit, saying she wants to withdraw not just from the 28-nation EU, but also its single market and customs union, both of which can accommodate countries that aren’t in the bloc. That’s riled opponents of Brexit, who argue it ignores the wishes of the 48 percent of voters who opted for Remain in last year’s referendum.

Blair said May and her Cabinet are in thrall to those in her party who want complete separation from the EU. “They’re not driving this bus,” he said of ministers. “They’re being driven. We will trigger Article 50 not because we know our destination, but because the politics of not doing so would alienate those driving the bus.”

“Those driving this always wanted a hard Brexit,” Blair argued. “Indeed even the term hard Brexit requires amendment. The policy is now Brexit at any cost.”

With the Labour Party now deeply divided and unsure of how to respond to the Brexit vote, the government has had a relatively easy ride from Brexit opponents in parliament.

“The debilitation of the Labour Party is the facilitator of Brexit,” Blair said. Last week, May won a series of votes on the legislation to allow her to begin departure talks. Blair’s aim is to rally those who want to stay inside the EU and get them to work together to change the terms of the debate.

“Our challenge is to expose relentlessly the actual cost, to show how this decision was based on imperfect knowledge, which will now become informed knowledge,” Blair said. “I don’t know if we can succeed. But I do know we will suffer a rancorous verdict from future generations if we do not try.”

Blair acknowledged there is little room in the public debate for talk of staying inside the EU. He said he wanted to reframe the questions before it was too late.

“The ideologues know that they have to get Brexit first, then tell us this is the only future which works,” he said. “We need to strengthen the hand of the members of Parliament who are with us and let those who are against know they have serious opposition to Brexit at any cost.’

He explicitly rejected May’s argument that her opponents are “citizens of nowhere.”

“How hideously, in this debate, is the mantle of patriotism abused,” Blair said. “We do not argue for Britain in Europe because we are citizens of nowhere. We argue for it precisely because we are proud citizens of our country who believe that in the 21st century, we should maintain our partnership with the biggest political union and largest commercial market right on our doorstep.”

Blair agreed with May that support for Brexit is driven by immigration, but argued that leaving the EU won’t deal with the immigration that concerns people.

“For many people, the core of the immigration question -- and one which I fully accept is a substantial issue -- is immigration from non-European countries,” he said. Nevertheless, the debate has changed in just a few months “to the primacy of one consideration -- namely controlling immigration from the EU -- without any real discussion as to why, and when Brexit doesn’t affect the immigration people most care about.”

Blair also questioned May’s claim that she wants Britain to be a bridge to the U.S. “How to begin this worthy undertaking?” he asked. “To get out of Europe, thus leaving us with no locus on the terrain where this bridge must be constructed.”

He said the break-up of the U.K. “is now back on the table, but this time with a context much more credible for the independence case.”

And he warned that May’s administration will be unable to focus on anything beyond EU matters. “This government has bandwidth for only one thing: Brexit,” he said. “It is the waking thought, the daily grind, the meditation before sleep and the stuff of its dreams -- or nightmares.”

Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka said his Social Democrats could create a ruling coalition with the opposition Communists to prevent billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babis from taking power after fall elections.

The prime minister signaled a possible break from Czech mainstream parties’ tradition since the fall of the Iron Curtain of keeping the third-placed Communists out of central government. Trailing in opinion polls behind the finance minister’s ANO PARTY, the Social Democrats are vying to win over leftist voters also targeted by Babis, the second-richest Czech. Sobotka said his party has already held a number of functioning coalitions with the Communists in regional administrations, Hospodarske Noviny reported on Friday.

“The political spectrum is changing,” Sobotka told the newspaper in an interview. “I don’t think there is an environment here to create a purely leftist government after the elections, but there may be a pro-European government that will respect social peace.”

Sobotka and Babis, the country’s most popular politician, are the main contenders to lead the next government, according to opinion surveys. While they have cooperated in what is now the longest-serving Czech government in over a decade, the two leaders disagree on key issues including welfare spending, taxes and the state’s role in the economy.

While the six-year-old ANO party advocates restrained fiscal policy and accuses traditional political forces of being corrupt and cumbersome, Babis has said he too may negotiate with the Communists after the vote.

Echoing the rise of anti-establishment forces across Europe, both the Communists and ANO are addressing voters disillusioned by leaders that have dominated Czech politics since the 1989 Velvet Revolution. The Communist Party’s manifesto envisages creating a Socialist economy based on Marxist principles and calls for the dissolution of NATO, to which the Czechs belong. It says it’s ready to rule on the national stage for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall pushed it to the political sidelines.

In an example of rising tension between Sobotka and Babis, the prime minister called on the chemical and food magnate this week to explain how and why he used a loophole to avoid paying millions of koruna in taxes by buying securities issued by his own company. Sobotka also presented a proposal to impose special levies on banks after the election to finance some social programs, which underscored his discord with Babis’s opposition to higher corporate taxes. Babis has said he has broken no law and wants to reinstate taxation on investment returns that are now exempt.

In 2011, the Florida state legislature passed a law called the Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act. The act prohibited Florida doctors from asking routine questions about their patients’ gun ownership, unless that information was deemed relevant to patient care or the safety of others.

It also barred physicians from making a record of whether a patient owned guns. Patients, too, could report doctors for “unnecessarily harassing” about guns. The law was a reaction to a handful of highly publicized cases, including an incident in which a health professional privately asked children if their mother owned guns and an Ocala pediatrician who, in 2010, dropped a patient after she called his query about her gun ownership an invasion of privacy.

A few days after Florida Gov. Rick Scott, R, signed the Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act into law, doctors challenged it in court. “Each year, Florida children are harmed when they or other children gain access to firearms that have not been stored properly,” said the 2011 suit. The case, which became known as “Doc vs Glocks,” wound its way from the state to the federal court system over the course of six years.

On Thursday, the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that the matter was not one of the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms, but the First. The Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act, the court ruled in a 10 to 1 decision, infringed upon doctors’ freedom of speech.

“[T]here was no evidence whatsoever before the Florida Legislature that any doctors or medical professionals have taken away patients’ firearms or otherwise infringed on patients’ Second Amendment rights,” wrote 11th Circuit Judge Adalberto J. Jordan in the first of two majority opinions issued on Thursday.

The judges concluded that three provisions of the law - those involving record-keeping, inquiry and anti-harassment - violated the First Amendment. One aspect of the law was judged constitutional; doctors could not discriminate against patients who owned firearms, wrote Jordan.

The suit was brought by the Florida chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics and other physician groups, including the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians.

Several large professional medical groups have said it is within the bounds of ethical medical care for doctors to ask about gun safety at home, in the way a physician might ask a parent of small children if they have a backyard pool. A May 2016 review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, noted that the majority of physicians believe that “they have the right to counsel patients about firearms.”

“Firearm violence is an important health problem, and most physicians agree that they should help prevent that violence,” Garen J. Wintemute, a co-author of the paper and a public health expert at the University of California Davis, told The Washington Post in May.

The American Medical Association, for instance, “encourages its members to inquire as to the presence of household firearms as a part of childproofing the home and to educate patients to the dangers of firearms to children,” as Judge Jordan noted. Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2012 policy on gun safety cites a 2008 trial, which indicated that physician counsel plus distributing gunlocks led to an increase in safe firearm storage.

Doctors are not wholly united on this front. Some, such as the Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, have voiced their dissent, believing that doctors should not discuss guns with their patients. (Medical groups had “declared a culture war on gun ownership,” the DRGO said on its website. It also warned that “your doctor may have a personal prejudice against gun ownership, shaped by her training in medical school or residency.”)

For their part, Wintemute and his colleagues did not argue that doctors should tell patients to stop owning guns. Rather, as Wintemute told The Post, doctors should educate themselves about gun ownership, in order to offer nonjudgmental advice on safe gun storage. Plus, no matter how many times a doctor asks patients about their firearm safety, as Eugene Volokh noted in The Post in December 2015, the guns will not vanish.

When the law was barely a year old, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke of Miami declared it to be unenforceable, as the legislature failed to “provide any standards for practitioners to follow.” She wrote that the law “aims to restrict a practitioner’s ability to provide truthful, non-misleading information to a patient, whether relevant or not at the time of the consult with the patient.”

Two years later, a panel of the appeals court reversed the ruling in a 2 to 1 decision. “The act simply codifies that good medical care does not require inquiry or record-keeping regarding firearms when unnecessary to a patient’s care,” Circuit Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote in the majority opinion, as the Associated Press noted at the time.

The court battle continued. In 2016, the federal appeals court allowed the case to be reviewed en banc - which is to say, before the entire circuit - leading to Thursday’s 10 to 1 ruling against the law, with Judge Tjoflat dissenting.

Circuit Judge William Pryor, floated as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, wrote in a concurring opinion to emphasize the defense of the First Amendment. He wrote that, the First Amendment “does not discriminate on the basis of motivation or viewpoint - the principle that protects pro-gun speech protects anti-gun speech with equal vigor.”

Docs vs Glocks may not be completely settled yet. As the AP pointed out, although the case will be sent back to Judge Cooke, it could be further appealed to the Supreme Court.