CANTON — The Small Business Development Center in Canton is helping organize a new way for small and large organizations to network together over possible business opportunities.

The agency at SUNY Canton is hosting an event being dubbed the “Buy Local Matchmaker” as a way to connect small businesses to representatives of larger companies and organizations like hospitals, colleges and non-profit groups.

The so-called business matchmaker will take place at the SUNY Campus Center from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 15. The business event is co-sponsored by Community Bank and the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

Small Business Development Center business advisor Michelle A. Collins said the matchmaking effort is aimed at helping develop meaningful and potentially profitable connections between the north country’s small businesses and larger businesses and organizations that might be looking for goods and services.

“The matchmaker will work a lot like ‘speed-dating,’” Ms. Collins said in a press release. “Small business participants will sign up for 10 minute meetings with the contacts of their choice and have that short time to network and share marketing materials. When the bell rings, participants move to the next table.”

There are two ways to participate, according to Ms. Collins — either as a business participant — or as a prime agency, contractor of purchasing officer looking for a service or goods provider.

Those looking for opportunities to provide goods and services to one of the agencies or organizations represented at the event, will be given a list of the purchasing agents present and on the morning of the event will sign up for 10-minute meetings with the agents of choice, according to Ms. Collins. Those business representatives will then be able to discuss the products or services they have available and highlight key selling points.

More information and registration information can be found at http://www.canton.edu/sbdc/matchmaker.html or by calling 315-386-7312 or by emailing sbdc@canton.edu.

Another way to take part in the business matching event is to participate as an agency, contractor of purchasing officer. In that case, those looking for small and medium sized companies to provide goods and services, will be assigned a table where they’ll be able to speak and network with small businesses representatives that have already signed up to network.

POTSDAM — A group of fourth-graders gathered around a square box covered with a banner saying “Potsdam Central Class of 1961,” as Potsdam Central School Superintendent Joann M. Chambers explained what they were about to witness.

“Seal it in your memory, two — zero — six — one,” Mrs. Chambers told the students Friday. That was the year when the time capsule, gathered from Potsdam’s 1961 graduating class, would be opened.

Several enthusiastic students, who had come from Lawrence Avenue Elementary School, carried the time capsule into the high school vault, where it will rest until 2061.

Margie R. Scoville, a 1961 graduate and the coordinator of the time capsule, gave the students a peek inside.

Among the items was a hard hat from Kathy Smith, one of the class members, which she wore on her first day at work, as well as class rings, a sweater, and lots of photos. “We had a class of 115 when we graduated in ’61, but now we’ve lost quite a few, and teachers, too,” Ms. Scoville said. “I took pictures of all of them and put it together, so they’re all in here, of all our teachers and classmates that have passed away.”

More recent items were included as well, including a signed baseball from last year’s champion baseball team, as well as a baseball signed by the alumni, a rotary phone bundled with a cell phone, and an empty branded bottle of wine given out at the class’s 40th reunion.

“We started from, ‘42, World War II, Pearl Harbor, and then John F. Kennedy dying,” said Ms. Scoville. “Everyone had an idea of what they wanted to bring back their memories with.”

“I put my great-grandchildren in there,” said Judy N. Coleman, the other alumnus to attend the capsule event. She hopes they will be able to return when it is opened and find their photos again.

The project began this summer at the class’s 56th anniversary, organized by Paul Andrews, who had never been able to attend a reunion. Twenty-eight alums gathered for it and they contributed the materials for the capsule.

Their hope is, when the capsule is opened in 2061, some of those fourth-graders — and perhaps their children and grandchildren — will remember it.

LERAY — A motorcyclist who was critically injured in a car-motorcycle crash Thursday was reported to be in stable condition as of Friday morning, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

Luke Grossman was airlifted to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and treated for internal injuries after he was struck by a car operated by Frankie Borja at 5:12 p.m. Both operators were driving south on State Route 3 when Mr. Borja, of Watertown, attempted to pass a slowing vehicle. Mr. Grossman, of Gobles, Mich., was struck by Mr. Borja and ejected from his motorcycle as he was attempting to turn left into a driveway.

Mr. Borja was issued tickets for following too closely and unsafe passing, police said.

The Black River Fire Department and Black River and Guilfoyle ambulance squads assisted at the scene.

FORT DRUM — Local advocates of the post received a sneak peek of the post’s newest cold weather gear, as 10th Mountain Division soldiers get ready for winter training ahead.

Among the cold weather items shown by the appropriately-named Sgt. Dustin A. Frost were jackets, gloves, boots, socks, prototype skis and a balaclava that he described as a major upgrade from previous models.

“It doesn’t form a big icicle on your face like it used to,” Sgt. Frost said.

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team sergeant demonstrated the new gear during a meeting of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization, which met Thursday afternoon at the post’s Heritage Center, which houses the 10th Mountain Division Museum and the Fort Drum USO.

The demonstration comes as the post was designated to receive $12.5 million in special cold-weather gear after the Army designated Fort Drum as an Arctic Zone for training purposes.

The north country has at multiple times in the last few years been recognized as having the coldest temperatures in the continental United States.

On Feb. 14, 2016, the city of Watertown held the crown as temperatures hit minus 37 degrees Fahrenheit. The city also earned the designation on Feb. 16, 2015, when temperatures reached 36 below zero.

Col. Kenneth “Dean” Harrison, the post’s new garrison commander, provided an update about troop movements and training happening in the area. He also stressed the importance of the post’s airfields.

“It’s a unique ability we need to preserve,” he said.

Fort Drum USO director Karen M. Clark told FDRLO members about the USO’s offerings, and how volunteers support every soldier homecoming at the post, including a group that arrived around 4 a.m. on Thursday.

CANTON — A Waddington man was sentenced to prison Thursday in St. Lawrence County Court as part of a plea deal stemming from his arrest in the “Operation Gravy Train” investigation.

Michael Berry, 30, of 427 Irish Settlement Road, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his Aug. 15 guilty plea to second-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He also was originally charged with second-degree conspiracy third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and attempted third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

During sentencing, James J. Mindell, assistant deputy attorney general and senior investigative counsel to the statewide organized-crime task force, said Mr. Berry’s case left an impact on him unlike the many other drug cases he has handled across the state.

“Operation Gravy Train” was an 11-month investigation which included covert surveillance and hundreds of hours of wiretaps aimed at rooting out heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine dealers operating in the St. Lawrence County area.

Among the evidence in the case, Mr. Mindell said there had been text messages that showed what kind of person Mr. Berry was. In the first of three messages Mr. Berry received, an unnamed individual who called him “Michael Berry the heroin dealer,” wrote that he was in the hospital with his girlfriend where she was overdosing on the heroin Mr. Berry sold her, Mr. Mindell said.

Mr. Berry’s attorney, Patrick J. McFarlin, said his client had been a drug addict since age 16.

“He has a long history of addiction,” Mr. McFarlin said. “To feed his addiction, he had to do some things he never thought he would do.”

County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards said Mr. Berry’s addiction and participation in drug sales in the community were both taken into consideration in the sentencing. He said if he had gone to trial and was convicted, he faced a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 74 years in prison.

“It seems to me that you have been given the consideration that you are an addict,” Judge Richards said. “From a realistic perspective, you know and I know it is far worse than that.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Mr. Berry was sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.

In other “Gravy Train” action Thursday:

Trista LaDue, 26, an inmate at the Albion Correctional Facility, Albion, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree conspiracy, the reduced first count of the indictment charging her with second-degree conspiracy, in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office.

From March 4, 2016, through mid-February, in St. Lawrence County and elsewhere, Ms. LaDue participated in the possession and sale of heroin and cocaine. Ms. LaDue said she had been provided narcotics by Shaka Williams for distribution.

As part of the plea deal, Ms. LaDue will be sentenced to 15 months to four years in prison, to run concurrent with a sentence of one to four years for her conviction on first-degree promoting prison contraband. She would also have court fines, fees and surcharges of $375 reduced to judgment.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1 and Ms. LaDue was returned to the custody of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Richard Sides, 23, of 147 Hermon Road, Gouverneur, pleaded guilty to the reduced count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office. He was originally charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

On Jan. 7, in the village of Gouverneur, Mr. Sides provided transportation for Tiffany Richway, Gary Brown and Travail Madison while they had four ounces or more of cocaine.

As part of the plea deal, Mr. Sides will be sentenced to a minimum of five years of probation or a maximum of three years of prison with two years of post-release supervision, depending on probation recommendation. He is also required to follow the jail rules prior to sentencing, otherwise the court will no longer be bound by its commitment and he could face nine years in prison with three years of post-release supervision.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1 and Mr. Sides was sent to St. Lawrence County without bail.

BobbieJo Stowell, 38, formerly of 84 West Hatfield St., Massena, currently staying at Catholic Charities in Oneida County, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of fourth-degree conspiracy in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office.

From March 4, 2016, through Feb. 17, in St. Lawrence and other counties, Ms. Stowell conspired in the possession and sale of heroin and cocaine. On Nov. 7 during a telephone conversation, Ms. Stowell ordered $500 worth of narcotics from Travis O’Neill to sell to another person.

As part of the plea, the court committed to sentence Ms. Stowell to five years of probation and $375 in court fines fees and surcharges.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1 and Ms. Stowell was released under probation supervision.

Kenneth Yerdon, 44, of 300 Cedar St., Ogdensburg, pleaded guilty to the reduced count of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office.

He was originally charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

On Oct. 29, 2016, in Ogdensburg, Mr. Yerdon agreed with his brother, James Yerdon, to supply cocaine to Jamie Gaines.

As part of the plea deal, Mr. Yerdon will be sentenced to five years of probation and will be ordered to pay $375 in court fines, fees and surcharges. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1 and Mr. Yerdon was released under probation supervision.

Lee Sattler, 21, of 478 Lost Village Road, Ogdensburg, pleaded guilty to the reduced count of third-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in a plea deal with the attorney general’s office.

On Jan. 14 in the town of Hammond, Mr. Sattler had more than a half ounce of cocaine.

As part of the plea deal, the court has committed to sentence him to one year of interim probation. If he is successful, he will be given credit for his one year and be sentenced to an additional four years of probation. If he is unsuccessful, the judge said he could face 5½ years in prison followed by two years of post-release supervision.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1 and Mr. Sattler was released under probation supervision.

Robert Kerwin, 66, of 75 Depot St., Gouverneur, was sentenced to five years of probation for his Aug. 15 guilty plea to the reduced count of fourth-degree conspiracy. He was originally charged with second-degree conspiracy and second-degree criminal facilitation, both felonies.

Robert Baker, 47, formerly of 1115 Lafayette St., Apt. 4, Ogdensburg, now of Morley, was sentenced to five years of probation for his Aug. 15 guilty plea to a reduced count of fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was originally charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy.

Dale Pryce, 30, of 30 Hospital Drive, Massena, was sentenced to five years of probation and time served for his Aug. 16 guilty plea to the reduced count of felony fourth-degree conspiracy.

Jennifer Kerr, 37, of 622 Kendrick St., Ogdensburg, was sentenced to five years of probation for her Aug. 16 guilty plea to the reduced count of felony fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

WATERTOWN — During his brief appearance in Jefferson County Court Friday morning, a Fort Drum staff sergeant accused of killing his wife and a state trooper pleaded not guilty to all 55 counts lodged against him in a grand jury indictment, including first-degree murder.

Justin D. Walters, 33, submitted the plea through his attorney. Walters is accused of shooting his wife, Nichole V., 27, multiple times at their Theresa home on July 9, and injuring her friend, Rebecca Finkle.

Trooper Joel R. Davis responded to the incident, and Walters allegedly shot him in the chest. Several of Trooper Davis’ colleagues and a relative were at Friday morning’s arraignment.

Walters’ attorney, Edward F. Narrow, said he would file a notice to use “mental disease or defect” as an affirmative defense for his client.

In the weeks leading to the shooting, Walters posted to Facebook about death, getting treatment at Fort Drum’s Warriors in Transition Unit and frustrations with the Army.

He had been in the Army for 10 years and was deployed to Afghanistan twice.

In July, Mr. Narrow said that he believed “The U.S. Army doesn’t spend all that much money on soldiers’ post-deployment suffering from psychological problems from being engaged with enemy combatants.”

On Friday, Mr. Narrow said, “The fact that he’s been indicted does not indicate his guilt. My client still enjoys a presumption of innocence, and it’s up to the District Attorney’s Office to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Walters will continue to be held in the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building without bail.

WATERTOWN — The owner of the building that houses the Crystal Restaurant faces foreclosure proceedings.

The mortgage holder has initiated foreclosure proceedings against building owner Ricky E. Frazier, who leases the iconic downtown restaurant at 85-87 Public Square to the Dephtereos family.

It’s the first step in the foreclosure process, which can take many months or even years. The mortgage holder, 85-87 Public Square Properties LLC, Deer Park, Orange County, is the former owner of the building. The paperwork was filed on Nov. 1. Mr. Frazier still owes $65,835.92.

Asked about the foreclosure on Friday, Mr. Frazier had little to say about it.

“That’s what they want to do,” he said. “I can’t talk about it right now.”

Mr. Frazier purchased the building Dec. 31, 2012, for $125,000 and arranged for a mortgage with 85-87 Public Square Properties a few days later, according to papers filed with the Jefferson County Clerk’s office. At the time, he made a $43,000 down payment for the building. The transaction left him owing $83,000, including interest.

He defaulted on the mortgage after failing to pay his $880.34 monthly mortgage on Oct. 1, according to the papers.

Peter J. Dephtereos, who with his family owns the Crystal, said Friday that he was surprised by the news.

“I know nothing about it,” the third-generation restaurateur said.

Mr. Dephtereos stressed the restaurant will continue to operate as it has for so many decades.

The building has an assessment of $88,500.

In 2014, Mr. Frazier filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, but the bankruptcy petition was dismissed in June 2016 after he failed to make required payments under a repayment plan. At the time, he still remained liable to his creditors for a total debt of $265,058.

Three years ago, Mr. Frazier put the building on the market. The Dephtereos family, who has run the Crystal in the same location for 92 years, expressed interest in acquiring the building then but no deal was struck.

Considered a Watertown landmark, the Crystal is known for its inexpensive dinner menu, seasonal Tom and Jerry rum-and-brandy concoction and its aged wooden booths. A sign in its front window reads, “The oldest established restaurant in Watertown.”

Alan Hillel, one of the former owners, could not be reached for comment at his Long Island home on Friday.

Foreclosure proceedings have also begun on another property that Mr. Frazier owns, an apartment building at 140 High St.

In June, Mr. Frazier opened the former Mardi Gras at 536 Arsenal St. and renamed it Shakers Bar. He’s leasing the property.

Though it simplifies the tax code, the House GOP’s proposed tax reform plan includes the repeal of several deductions, a change some lawmakers are reluctant to support.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday unveiled the $1.5 trillion tax reform plan, which would eliminate three out of seven tax brackets and a slew of tax deductions and rewrite the corporate tax code. But much of what’s included in the plan could change, depending on adjustments made by the House as well as the Senate’s own version.

Thus, for professional accountants, it’s all still up in the air. Nathaniel J. Carrol, CPA and tax manager with Watertown-based Bowers and Co. CPAs PLLC, said that the bill could see significant tweaks before becoming a reality. But in general, he said changes are imminent.

“We do expect some type of change for 2018,” Mr. Carrol said, adding that this is especially true for businesses.

The GOP’s tax reform plan slashes taxes for corporations, resulting in $1 trillion in net cuts and decreases the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.

For a large corporation like New York Air Brake, this is welcome news. But smaller businesses likely won’t see the same benefits.

Mr. Carrol said the plan’s effect on flow-through entities, including small businesses and partnerships, could depend on what the business is and how it pays its taxes.

“Those are the people that really need to be in here talking to us,” he said.

The proposal does include a 25 percent rate for some partnerships and sole proprietorships, but other small businesses, such as individuals offering professional services, would still follow the individual income tax rate.

On a more individual level, the tax plan would eliminate three of the seven current tax brackets, with the remaining four being 12, 25, 35 and 39.6 percent. How individuals and families are taxed (and what deduction they’ll receive) depends on where they fall within these brackets. For instance, individuals making up to $45,000, or $90,000 if married, fall in the 12 percent bracket, and so on. Millionaires will remain in the 36.9 percent bracket.

The bill also eliminates the alternative minimum tax, and the standard deduction for middle-class families, individuals and families would be doubled.

However, the bill eliminates certain deductions that taxpayers have relied on to make a living, including deductions for medical costs and student loan interest, leading to mixed feelings toward the bill from Republican lawmakers.

One of the bill’s largest roadblocks is its elimination of state and local tax deductions (known as the SALT deduction). In highly-taxed New York state, the provision deducts $68 billion in property taxes, income and other taxes for state residents, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayers could still file for a deduction of property taxes under the proposed plan, but that’s capped out at $10,000. Deductions for state and local income taxes and sales taxes would completely disappear.

In the 21st Congressional District, represented by U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, eliminating the SALT deduction would affect 23 percent of residents who benefit from it, with an average deduction of about $11,865.

Ms. Stefanik, though generally favorable toward efforts to rewrite the tax code, has said she does not support repealing the deduction. She voted against the $4.1 trillion federal budget bill last week over concerns about removing the SALT deduction. Other Republicans from the state’s delegation, including U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and John M. Katko, R-Camillus, voted against the bill for the same reason.

From an accounting standpoint, Mr. Carrol said eliminating these deductions means fewer line items tax professionals have to deal with. But for middle class families with multiple children and, say, a combined income of around $60,000, he said the changes don’t exactly put them in a much better position than under the current system. The standard deduction may be doubled for families under the proposed plan, but any gain there is essentially cancelled out or would result in only minor savings when thousands of dollars worth of personal exemptions are repealed.

“You’re back to the same base level,” Mr. Carrol said.

This has contributed to another point of contention among lawmakers: the child tax credit. The bill does increase the credit from $1,000 to $1,600 for each child under 17, but many federal lawmakers are pushing for an even larger credit to help middle class families. Additionally, a $300 “Family Flexibility Credit” for each parent is also included. But this credit will only last until 2023, if the bill is passed this year.

The proposed bill also requires that a filer have a Social Security number, rather than just a taxpayer identification card, to receive a child tax credit, meaning it may not be claimable for immigrant parents with children born in the United States.

MASSENA ­­— Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray issued a challenge late Thursday to his opponent for a debate, four days before the election.

In an interview with the Times on Thursday, Mr. Gray, the Republican incumbent, said he was challenging his Democratic opponent, Councilman Steven D. O’Shau­ghnessy, to a debate tonight in the Town Hall. He then issued a press release late Thursday night specifying that he had reserved Room 30 for 7 p.m. at the Town Hall to take community questions.

“This will be an unscripted, unfiltered, respectable event,” Mr. Gray wrote in the release. “Voters need to see how we speak in public, handle their questions and explain our positions,”

Mr. Gray said he had been waiting for a third party to organize a debate, but none had come forward. Mr. Gray said he would be in attendance regardless to meet with community members.

“It’s time for Steve and I to come together and face the public.” Mr. Gray wrote in the release. “It’s another chance to see voters face-to-face. I will be there, but will Steve show up?”

Mr. O’Shaughnessy will not show up. He will be attending his niece’s wedding today, which, he says, has been planned for over a year.

“This is why ­— one of the main reason’s I’m running,” Mr. O’Shaughnessy said. “(Mr. Gray) is never prepared, does everything at the last minute.”

Mr. O’Shaughnessy had read the challenge in the Time’s story, but said that as of Friday morning, Mr. Gray had neither called nor emailed him about the debate. He only heard about the press release when asked about it during the Friday interview. Mr. O’Shaughnessy also said there has been no prior discussion of a debate between the two.

The challenge was issued by Mr. Gray after he accused Mr. O’Shaughnessy of wavering on the decision to move Massena Memorial Hospital from the control of the town to a not-for-profit, private entity.

Mr. O’Shaughnessy has said he approved of privatization and would vote for it, given the information he has now, but cannot guarantee his vote until a final deal is reached, a statement Mr. Gray called “an equivocation.”

Mr. Gray has accused Mr. O’Shaughnessy of striking a deal to keep the hospital under town control in exchange for the endorsement of the Civil Service Employees Association Local 887, which represents over 200 workers at the Massena Memorial Hospital and opposes privatization. Mr. O’Shaughnessy has denied any such deal, and said Mr. Gray raised similar accusations that council members with state pensions would be under the control of Albany.

“He’s just got this aura of paranoia,” said Mr. O’Shaughnessy.

CANTON — State Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, has endorsed Republican candidate Gary Pasqua for St. Lawrence County District Attorney.

“St. Lawrence County needs a career prosecutor like Gary Pasqua who will bring a strong work ethic and our north country values to the criminal justice system,” Mrs. Ritchie said in a press release. “I am proud to stand with someone like Gary who will focus on restoring public confidence and bringing justice to victims and their families.”

“I want to thank Senator Ritchie for her support. As district attorney, I will fight for the hardworking families of St. Lawrence County,” Mr. Pasqua said.

Mr. Pasqua is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

DEXTER — In a Friday news release, the General Brown Central School District Board of Education announced it had selected a new district superintendent.

Barbara J. Case of the George Junior Republic Union Free School District in Freeville will assume her superintendent duties on Jan. 1.

The board will formally appoint Mrs. Case at its Nov. 13 meeting.

Mrs. Case is the current principal for grades 7 through 12 at her school and has previously worked in the Central New York Regional Information Center and Groton Central School District.

She was one of three finalists selected by the board in October, along with Aditya Joseph Dhara of the Syracuse City School District and Regina C. Yeo of Clifton-Fine.

Jamie A. Moesel was appointed interim superintendent in June after the district had to restart its search.

In recognition of National Diabetes Month, several November events aim to educate and help prevent diabetes in the north country.

According to data collected by the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, 10 percent of the population in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties combined — or 25,560 people — have been diagnosed with diabetes.

In Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, the rate of death due to diabetes is on the rise.

The Diabetes Coalition of Jefferson County announced it will host “Unwrapping the Mystery of Diabetes,” an evening of community education on prevention and treatment of the disease on Nov. 13.

Local agencies and businesses providing diabetes services and products will be on site.

“In Jefferson County over 11 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes,” Jefferson County Public Health officials wrote in a press release. “Many more of us have pre-diabetes and even more of us have risk factors to develop diabetes in our lifetime.”

The evening will also feature a cooking presentation by Maureen Larkins of Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the first 50 guests will receive a bag of food to make the dish at home.

Two doctors will also speak. Dr. James V. Stillerman, Samaritan Wound Care Center medical director, will present “Prevention and Care in Diabetic Wounds,” followed by endocrinologist Dr. Claudia Fish with “Medical Options for Diabetes Control.”

There will be information for those with Type 2, Type 1 and Gestational Diabetes along with prevention tips and free healthy tips provided by sponsor MVP Healthcare.

On Nov. 15, Carthage Area Hospital will provide a free, public luncheon to discuss the prevention and management of the disease.

The educational luncheon hopes to empower attendees with “information on the risks for diabetes, tips to prevent the disease and how those living with it can thrive.”

The American Diabetes Association estimates 1.7 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year.

“Knowing the risks for diabetes and making healthier choices can make a huge difference in preventing diabetes and living well with the disease,” Carthage Area Hospital Nutrition Services Director and Certified Diabetes Educator Carly R. Draper said in a public statement.

Along with Ms. Draper, clinical pharmacists Dr. Christopher Bradley and physical therapist Bill Blunden will speak during lunch.

If you go:

Unwrapping the Mystery of Diabetes

Jefferson County Diabetes Coalition

Monday, Nov. 13, 4:30 to 7 p.m.

Samaritan Summit Village

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/jcphs.

Carthage Area Hospital Luncheon

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Carthage Elks Lodge, 511 Fulton St.

Email nburnham@cahny.org or call 315-519-5209 to reserve your complementary today or register online at www.carthageareahospital.com/diabetes.

CANTON — The St. Lawrence County Legislature is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 5:50 p.m. Monday to get input on the proposed $231,287,976 county budget for 2018.

The hearing is in the legislative chambers, 48 Court St. Legislators are expected to adopt the plan that evening during the monthly full board meeting which follows the public hearing.

GOUVERNEUR — Gouverneur Hospital will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the hospital’s community room in the east wing.

Participants must be in good health, at least 16 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds.

If the donor is 16, parental permission is required. Please bring photo identification. Walk-ins are welcome.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Bonnie Porter at 315-535-9309 or bporter@gvnrhospital.org, or register online at http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation-v6. RapidPass is available online the day of the drive.

SACKETS HARBOR — Students at the Sackets Harbor Central School District were given a powerful lesson in the power of hope Thursday afternoon.

Gabriel B. Deng shared his story of escaping the violence of the second Sudanese Civil War in 1987, and talked about “using the power of hope to move mountains.”

Mr. Deng, 40, was forced to flee his home as a child during the conflict between the Sudanese central government and southern independence fighters.

Mr. Deng said he hoped to “show the students all that they can overcome,” and that “one day when they have their own struggles, they might remember my story, and what I overcame.”

“I hope that it might inspire them to be better people and better problem-solvers,” he said.

School librarian Janelle J. DeCicco said Mr. Deng’s presentation supports the monthly character themes of bravery and perseverance.

He said he relied on the belief in “the power of hope to move mountains,” positivity and sound decision-making during his journey from South Sudan to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

High school students at Sackets Harbor learn about refugees and conflicts like the one in Sudan as part of their social studies curriculum.

When Mr. Deng came to the United States in 2001, he settled in Syracuse and studied at LeMoyne College. He said he greatly values education, having had his interrupted by conflict often as a child.

“Education is the foundation of life and democracy,” Mr. Deng said, “and we need critical thinkers who participate in their own democracy.”

He said one of his goals is to emphasize the importance of education to students, who may sometimes take it for granted. “I hope the students realize that they are fortunate to have such an opportunity.”

Mr. Deng was able to bring the same opportunity to the children in his home village of Ariang, South Sudan, in 2011 with the opening of a new school building.

The school was funded by donations from his HOPE for Ariang Foundation. The foundation focuses on improving education in South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011.

Following the presentation, Mrs. DeCicco said several students told her they were “surprised at the scarcity” people in Sudan and other African countries may deal with.

“I think interacting with Gabriel and being able to put a face to refugee issues was a big takeaway,” said Mrs. DeCicco.

School officials estimated that more than 200 middle- and high school students watched the presentation Thursday.

A collaborative fundraising effort among the Sackets Harbor Teachers’ Association, Parent-Teacher Organization and the local chapter of the National Honor Society helped bring Mr. Deng to the Sackets Harbor School as part of his fall speaking tour.

COPENHAGEN — A town of Harrisburg woman was charged Tuesday with making meth at her residence.

Jaime Kloster, 34, of 3929 Vary Road, was charged by Lewis County sheriff’s deputies with third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine.

Deputies said they responded to the residence to assist a county probation officer and confirmed possible meth-making materials present.

The state Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response team was called in to remove the materials.

Ms. Kloster was arraigned in Lowville Town Court and sent to Lewis County Jail, Lowville, on $7,500 bail.

On Friday, she appeared in County Court on an alleged probation violation, and Judge Daniel R. King sent her back to jail without bail.

WEST CARTHAGE — The leaves are falling. The weather is turning colder. That means it is Turkey Bowl time in the Carthage area.

The annual Turkey Bowl pits players from Carthage against those from West Carthage in a friendly touch football game. Any Carthage Central School District graduate, any resident of the district or any high school student, 18 years of age or older, who has completed their high school football career may participate.

Players compete for the East or West team depending on which side of the bridge they lived in while growing up or now reside. The fee is $5 per player.


To play, contact Robert Brotherton at 315-408-6449 for the west or Joshua Howland at 315-681-3170 for the east.

The game will begin at 12:30 p.m. today at Donald F. Getman Memorial Park, 23 Franklin St. Players need to be at the field by 11:15 a.m. Announcing of players starts at noon.

Over the past dozen years, the East has won more games however, the West is on a two-year winning streak.

“We’re going to show up and do what we did the past two years — skunk them,” said West coach Robert J. Brotherton Jr.

He said they have not had any practices nor have actually formed a team.

“We don’t know who is going to show up but it’s usually the same bunch,” said the coach. “We decide who plays where when everyone gets there.”

For years he played in the game and took over the coaching position a couple of years ago.

“It’s what we do for the community and it’s a very good cause,” said Mr. Brotherton.

Proceeds from the game and associated fundraisers support the efforts of Cancer Services of Jefferson and Lewis Counties, Gouverneur Breast Cancer Fund, Ryan’s Wish and Fund for Hope. All of the beneficiaries directly benefit cancer patients in the tri-county region.

“Everyone should come enjoy a competitive game that we use as a tool to help our community,” said East coach Joshua Howland. “We have a wonderful committee that strives for success so that we can help those who need it most in their darkest hour. You never know when, God forbid, it is you or your family that needs our assistance.”

He noted the game is “more family friendly” and “any vulgarity will not be tolerated.”

“We are trying to set an example for the future generation so these games can and will continue for a long, long time,” Mr. Howland said.

As for the game itself, the East coach is looking for a win.

“We have a lot of guys returning and some new faces that should give us that extra push to get us over that hump,” said Mr. Howland. “We have a lot of guys that have a bitter taste in their mouths from the past and all I can say is it’s a new year and we will play hard every down. I am happy how hungry my guys are to get back out there and bring the W back to the East where it belongs.”

As has been the tradition, the event’s committee has chosen to honor several area residents who have battled cancer. This year’s honorees include Edie M. Gunderson Robbins, Jessica Adamosky, Sandra J. Weaver, Kimberlee McIlroy and the late Margaret A. “Peggy Sue” Thesier. All cancer survivors are invited to join the honorees in the Jana Patchin Walk of Hope to be held at halftime during Turkey Bowl XXXIV. Each participant will receive a free survivor T-shirt.

An awards ceremony and dinner dance will follow at Carthage Elks Lodge 1762, 511 Fulton St., Carthage. The dinner is sold out; however, the public is welcome to come to the dance which starts at 10 p.m. Tough Luck will provide music with no cover charge for admittance.

Something new at this year’s dinner will be the appearance of a young artist, Carter Crosby, 7, of Canastota, who wanted to help out by drawing portraits of attendees.

According to his father, Loran, Carter has been drawing for a number of years.

“I think he popped out of the womb with a crayon in his hand,” Mr. Crosby said.

Encouraged by Turkey Bowl founder, Matthew Tehonica, the young artist will be offering his talents for a donation to the cause.

“Matt told Carter he could be a famous artist some day and this was a chance for people to get his drawings before he is famous,” said Mr. Crosby.

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — Airstrikes carried out by the U.S. military killed at least 13 civilians on Saturday in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz, according to residents and officials in the area, a difficult battleground for both Afghan and American forces.

The airstrikes took place in the Chardara district, where Afghan commandos, often advised by the U.S. military and supported by American air power, had been carrying out operations for several days.

After overnight airstrikes against the Taliban, several residents said the fighters forced them in the morning to help them retrieve the bodies of their fighters from the rubble, at which point the airstrikes resumed.

Capt. Tom Gresback, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, said they were aware of the claims and were looking into them.

Ahmad Saved Salem, a spokesman for the Afghan commandos, denied any civilians had been killed in their operations and said that U.S. airstrikes had killed 25 Taliban fighters.

“Over the past three days of our operations in the village, we haven’t seen a single civilian,” Saleem said. “We have video of the eight people killed in the morning strikes, and all of them were armed.”

U.S. airstrikes have more than doubled since President Donald Trump announced in August a new strategy for Afghanistan. Afghan officials have praised the strikes, saying they have helped fend off Taliban advances, but others have said the civilian toll is unacceptably high.

Residents of Gharaw Qishlaq, a village in the Chardara district, said heavy fighting between the Taliban and Afghan commandos had continued for days, and Taliban targets in the village had been struck repeatedly.

“At night, they bombed many times in our area,” said Abdul Qayoum, a tailor in the village who lost three cousins in the airstrikes. “When I came out, I saw people carrying bodies on carts.”

Haji Mahmoud, a resident, said the Taliban forced people in the village to retrieve the bodies of militants who had been killed the night before.

“They told us, and we had to, particularly when they said we are all Muslims and we can’t leave bodies lying out there,” he said. “When the boys were trying to dig up those bodies, the plane struck again.”

In August, when Hurricane Harvey was bearing down on Texas, David Clutter was in court, trying one more time to make his insurer pay his flood claim — from Hurricane Sandy, five years before.

Clutter’s insurer is the federal government. As it resists his claims, he has been forced to take out a third mortgage on his house in Long Beach, New York, to pay for repairs to make it habitable for his wife and three children. He owes more than the house is worth, and his flood-insurance premiums just went up.

The government-run National Flood Insurance Program is, for now, virtually the only source of flood insurance for more than 5 million households in the United States. This hurricane season, as tens of thousands of Americans seek compensation for storm-inflicted water damage, they face a problem: The flood insurance program is broke and broken.

The program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been in the red since Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005. It still has more than a thousand disputed claims left over from Sandy. And in October, it exhausted its $30 billion borrowing capacity and had to get a bailout just to keep paying current claims.

Congress must decide by Dec. 8 whether to keep the program going. An unusual coalition of insurers, environmentalists and fiscal conservatives has joined the Trump administration in calling for fundamental changes in the program, including direct competition from private insurers. The fiscal conservatives note that the program was supposed to take the burden off taxpayers but has not, and environmentalists argue that it has become an enabler of construction on flood-prone coastlines, by charging premiums too low to reflect the true cost of building there.

The program has other troubles as well. It cannot force vulnerable households to buy insurance, even though they are required by law to have it. Its flood maps can’t keep up with new construction that can change an area’s flood risk. It has spent billions of dollars repairing houses that just flood again. Its records, for instance, show that a house in Spring, Texas, has been repaired 19 times, for a total of $912,732 — even though it is worth only $42,024.

And after really big floods, the program must rely on armies of subcontractors to determine payments, baffling and infuriating policyholders, like Clutter, who cannot figure out who is opposing their claims, or why.

Roy E. Wright, who has directed the flood insurance program for FEMA since June 2015, acknowledged in an interview Friday that major changes were called for and said some were already in the works. The program’s rate-setting methods, for example, are 30 years old, he said, and new ones will be phased in over the next 2 years. But other changes — like cutting off coverage to homes that are repeatedly flooded — would require an act of Congress.

“The administration feels very strongly that there needs to be reform this year,” he said. “I believe strongly that we need to expand flood coverage in the United States, and the private insurers are part of that.”

When Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968, about 130 private insurers gave it a shot, pooling their capital with the government. But there were clashes, and eventually the government drove out the insurers and took over most operations.

Since 1983, Washington has set the insurance rates, mapped the floodplains, written the rules and borne all of the risk. The role of private insurers has been confined to marketing policies and processing claims, as government contractors.

That worked for a few decades. But now, relentless coastal development and the increasing frequency of megastorms and billion-dollar floods have changed the calculus.

“Put plainly, the NFIP is not designed to handle catastrophic losses like those caused by Harvey, Irma and Maria,” Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a letter to members of Congress after the three huge hurricanes barreled into the United States this season.

Mulvaney called on Congress to forgive $16 billion of the program’s debt, which both houses agreed to do. The program, however, needs more than a financial lifeline: Without major, long-term changes, it will just burn through the $16 billion in savings and be back for more.

The White House is hoping to lure companies back into the market, letting them try to turn a profit on underwriting flood policies instead of simply processing claims for the government.

One measure proposed by the Trump administration is for the government to stop writing coverage on newly built houses on floodplains, starting in 2021. New construction there is supposed to be flood-resistant, and if the government retreats, private insurers may step in. Or so the theory goes.

“The private market is anxious, willing and completely able to take everything except the severe repetitive-loss properties,” said Craig Poulton, chief executive of Poulton Associates, which underwrites American risks for Lloyd’s of London, the big international insurance marketplace.

“Severe repetitive-loss properties” is FEMA’s term for houses that are flooded again and again. While they account for fewer than 1 percent of the government’s policies, they make up more than 10 percent of the insurance claims.

The Office of Management and Budget sent Congress an updated list of proposals in October, including measures that would remove certain obstacles to private-sector competition. Its plan would revoke an agreement that the program’s contractors — including about 70 insurance companies — must currently sign, promising not to compete against the government program.

But some members of Congress say bringing in private insurers would make the progam’s troubles worse, because the insurers would cherry-pick the most profitable customers and leave the government with all the “severe repetitive-loss properties.”

Poulton did not dispute that. In fact, he said that was exactly what should happen.

“We need the NFIP to be a full participant in this as the insurer of last resort,” he said. That means it would take the high-risk properties that the private insurers did not want, acting like the state-run insurance pools for especially risky drivers.

WASHINGTON — For nearly a decade, a vocal faction of Republicans have insisted that the United States’ civilian criminal justice system is the wrong venue for handling terrorism suspects. And for a moment last week, it looked as if President Donald Trump might vindicate their view by transferring the suspect in the New York truck attack to military custody at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Instead, the man, Sayfullo Saipov, was interrogated and charged in the civilian system. Explaining the outcome, Trump voiced a truth that Republicans have been loath to acknowledge: Civilian courts have been ruthlessly effective in bringing terrorists to justice, while the military commission system has floundered.

“Would love to send the NYC terrorist to Guantánamo but statistically that process takes much longer than going through the Federal system,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the horrible crime he committed. Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!”

With that, the president appeared to put to rest, for now, the question of whether he will soon fulfill his campaign vow to refill the wartime prison at Guantánamo with newly captured “bad dudes.” His 10-month-old administration has yet to send any captives there, even as it has brought several foreign terrorism suspects to the United States for civilian prosecution.

Those moves have been met by relative silence from many Republicans who emphatically opposed the Obama administration for taking the same steps. The reticence signaled that they may be quietly abandoning their stance now that a president who is a member of their party has to govern, thus draining partisan disagreement from an issue that was deeply politicized during the Obama years.

Republicans and conservative media commentators began attacking the use of the civilian system for terrorism cases in late 2009 and early 2010. They pushed back against a short-lived Obama administration plan to bring five Guantánamo detainees accused of aiding the Sept. 11 attacks to New York for a civilian trial, and deplored the FBI’s handling with criminal-justice system procedures ofa Nigerian who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound plane with a bomb in his underwear.

The critics maintained that the government would lose information if interrogators read suspects Miranda warnings that they had a right to remain silent and be represented by defense lawyers. They also argued that civilian trials presented a greater risk of spilling classified information and that terrorism trials could turn courthouses into targets.

The talking point that the military should exclusively handle terrorism cases persisted for years among Republicans, even as in scores of such cases, FBI interrogators proved adept at persuading suspects to talk and federal prosecutors swiftly won harsh sentences without security problems. That includes such high-profile cases as the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing cases.

At the same time, the Guantánamo tribunals — which had started slowly, after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier version in the Bush years — have repeatedly plunged into chaos. Contested cases, including the attempted prosecution of the five Sept. 11 defendants, bogged down in years of hearings without getting to trial.

“Time and time again, federal courts have proved to be more efficient and more effective than military tribunals,” said Nicholas J. Lewin, a former counterterrorism federal prosecutor. “On punishment, federal courts win. On length of time between capture and conviction, federal courts win. On certainty of upholding conviction on appeal, federal courts win.”

Amid those real-world complexities, the Trump administration has confounded expectations that it would swiftly bring new detainees to Guantánamo. It has brought to civilian court several foreign terrorism suspects, including an Algerian-Irish al-Qaida suspect facing trial in Philadelphia and a Turkish Islamic State suspect facing trial in New York.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who as a senator routinely attacked the Obama administration as foolhardy for not sending newly captured terrorists to Guantánamo, is now extolling the successes of civilian courts.

“Since 9/11, the Department of Justice has made fighting terrorism its top priority,” Sessions said in a speech Thursday in New York. “Our goal is not just to catch terrorists, but to prevent them from striking us. And in this fight against terror, we have gotten results.”

Sessions did make a nod to Guantánamo, citing it as another lawful tool that the Trump administration remains willing to use. But that fleeting and vague reference contrasted with the detailed praise he heaped on civilian terrorism prosecutions.

Sessions lauded the conviction last month of Ahmad Khan Rahimi in the September 2016 bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan; he faces a mandatory life sentence. Sessions pointed to charges unsealed last month against three men accused of plotting Islamic State-inspired attacks in New York.

And he cited the case of Mustafa al-Imam, the second suspect captured in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, who was seized by U.S. commandos in a raid there on Sunday and made his initial appearance Friday in a federal courthouse in Washington.

Imam had been identified to FBI interrogators by Abu Ahmed Khattala, the first suspect in the Benghazi attacks to be captured. Khattala was seized in Libya in 2014, then questioned by the FBI aboard a U.S. Navy ship — first for intelligence purposes, and then, after being advised of his rights, for information that could be used in court. He is now being tried in Washington.

“Mr. Imam, we didn’t know who he was until Abu Khattala told us,” the FBI agent who interrogated him testified Tuesday.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM.)

Several signs have emerged this year that Sessions has begun to view the practical merits of Guantánamo-style policies more skeptically in his new job.

In March, for example, he said in a radio interview that it was time to think through “to what extent we’re going to use military commissions” because they were not working “in an effective way,” although he expressed hope of fixing them. And in July, when Sessions visited Guantánamo, he privately expressed dismay at the expense of the prison operation, according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with his comments. Taxpayers spend millions of dollars a year on each detainee, roughly 100 times the cost of housing inmates in high-security civilian prisons.

Another senior presidential adviser, Thomas P. Bossert, the homeland security adviser, suggested at a meeting this year a compromise to make the prison somewhat more useful for new captives: take suspects to Guantánamo for a period of interrogation, then bring them to the United States for civilian trial. But he was told, according to a current and a former U.S. official, that a law passed by Congress to block Obama’s plan to close the prison barred the transfer of detainees to domestic soil once they have been held at Guantánamo.

A spokesman for Bossert did not comment, and a spokesperson for Sessions did not respond to an inquiry. But Matthew Miller, the Justice Department spokesman under former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., expressed vindication.

“Their opposition to trying terrorists in federal court was always based on nothing but politics, and it was always bound to collapse the minute a Republican became president and had to face reality,” Miller said.

He predicted that under the next Democratic president, some Republicans would revive the issue “to score political points.”

Among the Republicans who have been strikingly quiet on the topic this year is the majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He once led the charge, telling fellow Republicans in 2010 that they could reap political gains by campaigning on the issue. And he repeatedly followed that playbook himself.

In 2011, for example, when two Iraqi refugees in Kentucky were charged with committing terrorism offenses abroad, McConnell denounced the move. “The perfect place for these terrorists is at Guantánamo,” he told Fox News.

And at the time of the capture of Khattala, the Benghazi suspect, in 2014, McConnell maintained that interrogating him under law enforcement procedures would be a mistake because the United States needed to learn who else was involved in the attack.

In an email, a spokesman, Don Stewart, said that McConnell’s position on sending foreign terrorism suspects to Guantánamo had not changed. But Stewart also said that McConnell had never had a blanket policy. He pointed out that the truck attack suspect, Saipov, was probably ineligible for wartime detention because no evidence had emerged that he was part of an organization with which the United States is at war.

That did not stop Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., from saying that Saipov, who waived his Miranda rights and spoke freely to FBI agents, could and should be placed in military custody based on his support for the Islamic State.

Graham, a lonely voice in loudly criticizing Trump’s decision to stick with the civilian system, insisted in an interview that Saipov should have been interrogated in military custody. Graham scoffed at the notion that the FBI would learn all that Saipov knew — especially once he had a lawyer.

But Graham also acknowledged that some of his colleagues who once shouted in unison with him were now quiet.

“If Obama had done this,” he said, “there would have been a lot more Republicans out there.”