Press-Republican

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
November 9, 2009

Pfizer impact on local families is huge

By STEPHEN BARTLETT AND DAN HEATH

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.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

Recent Article Comments
Albany Round-up

Photo of the Day
Strange News
Videos: Editor Picks
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48 Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48 Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion' 5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La. Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses