CHAZY — A total of 71 students at Chazy Central Rural School will be impacted by the pending Pfizer closures.
Of those, six have both parents working for Pfizer.
“The personal approach is what we are looking at first,” said Kevin Mulligan, superintendent of the school, which enrolls just under 500 students.
“We want to help them through this process.”
Families, business owners and school and public officials were shaken Monday by word of the pending Pfizer closures.
“At this point, we are looking and assessing and getting things geared up to deal with the personal loss,” Mulligan said.
The district will feel a revenue loss too, with, the Chazy facility assessed at roughly $10 million.
“That represents a sizable chunk, and that has a ripple effect,” Mulligan said. “But right now we are concentrating on the personal component.”
So is Sister Marie Cordata-Kelly, who plans to stand with her families.
The principal of St. Mary’s Academy in Champlain doesn’t know how many of her students have parents who work at Pfizer, but she’ll help in any way she can.
“We never deny anyone because of financial obligations.”
BLEAK HOLIDAYS
Chazy Town Supervisor Staub Spiegel said the news is especially tough with the holidays looming.
“Obviously, this had been rumored for some time. Still, when it hits, it’s shocking it has come true.”
Spiegel and the other members of the Chazy Town Council will work with the Pfizer Transition Coordinating Council to market the properties and help those affected.
“We’ve done it before with the (Plattsburgh) Air Force Base and Wyeth in Rouses Point. It might take some time.”
WORRIED
One of those families is Erich and Jenn Dustin, who moved to Peru more than five years ago when Mr. Dustin landed a job with Wyeth — now Pfizer — in Chazy.
They own a home in Peru and have children in kindergarten and third grade.
“I don’t know what we are going to do,” said Mrs. Dustin.
She works for the SUNY Plattsburgh Child Care Center, but they relied on Mr. Dustin’s salary for their mortgage, car payments and more.
“He is taking some Civil Service tests and trying to get his foot in the door somewhere else,” Mrs. Dustin said. “His degree is in biology, and it’s limited what he can do with his degree here.”
She worries about health insurance for their children.
“We don’t have anything in savings, with winter costs and everything else.”
They have family locally and would prefer to remain in the area, though for now Mrs. Dustin’s thoughts are focused on the cost of living.
“We have bills, just like everyone else. I don’t know what is going to happen.”
BIG DRAIN
Village of Champlain Mayor Jeffrey Moore sees the loss of jobs as “a big drain on the area. There are people in every community that work (for Pfizer). I just hope (the closing) takes awhile.”
His village will see loss of revenue directly for its wastewater-treatment plant processes sludge for the Pfizer facility in Chazy.
“That’s less income for us,” he said.
Pfizer had projected paying the village $80,000 for the service over the course of the current fiscal year, which will end May 31, 2010. So far, $42,636 has come in.
In tight times, Moore said, it’s rough losing any amount of money.
“The costs don’t change” for running the plant, he said. “Just the revenue has to be made up by everyone else in the (sewer) district.”
GOOD-PAYING JOBS
Champlain Town Supervisor Larry Barcomb said, “It’s a sad day for Rouses Point, the Town of Champlain and all of Clinton County.”
It’s not just the number of jobs eliminated, pointed out Brent Ladue, co-owner of Chazy Hardware Building Supply in Rouses Point.
“It’s a high-income job people are losing.”
He said his business will definitely suffer if people leave the area, but he was more concerned with the people losing their jobs.
WILL TAKE TIME
City of Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak was concerned for all employees and their families involved in a devastating decision for the North Country.
“My thoughts then focused on if Empire State Development Corp. was directly involved in attempting to help us keep all these positions here in the North Country.”
Kasprzak will be part of the Pfizer Transition Coordinating Council.
“It’s obvious the transition team focus will be to reach out to potential future employers for these facilities. I know there will be a lot of effort on all of our parts, but it will not be a quick result,” he said.
“We will all do our best to better this situation in the long term, as we have always done when we face these type of situations.”
— Features Editor Suzanne Moore contributed to this report.
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