Tupper Lake PressTupper Lake Pressand Tupper Lake Herald Tupper Lake Herald established 1895

Tupper Lake Free Press established 1931

Volume No. 120 Number 17 USPS 644-140 Tupper Lake, New York Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Home delivery price: $1.00 per copy Price: $.75 per copy

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TheThe

By Rich RosentreterIt was more than

a jamboree, it was a jamboree with a purpose. And that purpose was exceeded as more than $10,000 was raised last week to help the Middle High School purchase a new grand piano during the Community Showcase Concert and Jamboree.

Elizabeth Cordes, a music teacher at the school, said that the goal of $10,000 was not only met, but exceeded after an anonymous donation put them over the edge near the end of the event.

Patty Reandeau has spearheaded the Grand Piano Fund.

Among the concert performers were current seventh-grade student Lauren Denis and five former Tupper Lake students, Jay Martin, Joe Peck, Chris Hughes, Beth Carpenter and Steph (Gachowski) Hample.

Mrs. Cordes said she was pleased that there was so much community support for the event that will benefit the music program at the school.

“This concert was the culmination of nearly two months of planning and organizing,” she told the Free Press. “When Jim Boucher, the concert organizer, put out the call for interested musicians, there was a huge response from people who felt strongly about supporting the music department and its student musicians.”

According to Cordes, the concert was an eclectic mix of musical styles – folk, country, rock, pop, classics, and originals – and the audience enjoyed it from start to finish. Four former students took part in the concert.”

Mrs. Cordes said she was especially proud of the current and former students who performed.

“They embody what Laura (Davison) and I hope for all of our students, that music be a part of their lives in a way that makes them happy, and we are so proud of them” she said.

Concert Organizer Jim Boucher, who also performed during the show, said he was pleased with the support and grateful to all those who performed at the benefit concert, many

Jamboree exceeds goal to help purchase new piano for school

The first shipment of structural steel that will go into the metal skeleton of the new Emergency Services Building on Santa Clara Ave. arrived in town yesterday morning and the large pieces were being offloaded by a crane brought to the site by General Contractor Bette Cring from the transport truck to the building site. At right Mayor Paul Maroun watches some of the work underway. According to Village Clerk Mary Casagrain most of the steel that was manufactured by Raulii Steel of Syracuse in recent months was expected to arrive yesterday and today. Also at the site that morning were Trustee David “Haji” Maroun and Fireman Joe Cormier. (McClelland photo)

Structural steel arrives at ESB

of whom have played at bars or clubs, but never on stage in front of a captive audience.

“I want to send out a great big thanks to all the performers and all their dedicated efforts and volunteerism over the last month or so!,” Mr. Boucher said. “A lot of work was done by the folks involved despite only having a commitment to playing three or four songs each.”

There was no shortage of talent on stage during Friday’s Jamboree at the high school, as many local musicians played to the delight of the audience. The event was a benefit for Patty Reandeau’s campaign to buy a new piano for the high school. Clockwise from top were Guitarist Leon Jessie, Larry Reandeau, strumming his banjo and Guitarists Eric Pasternak and Jim Boucher; Guitarist Jay Martin performing “Sultans of Swing”; Emcees Dorran Boucher and Noal Cordes and immediately above was Lauren Denis, a local talent who is only in seventh grade. (Rosentreter photos)

“I can say I was very impressed with all of the performers that evening. It was a nice mix of many different genres and showcased a lot of known and unknown talent in the Tupper lake area,” he added.

Mr. Boucher pointed out that some of the performers made a special effort to attend the fundraiser.

One of the members of the Jones Boys, drummer Josh Pratt, lost his father to a sudden

heart attack the previous week. He still was able to come back to town and participate in the event despite dealing with a difficult time in his life.

Jim’s sister Darcy (Boucher) Westover, who is from Tupper Lake but now lives in Vermont, drove from St. Albans, just to participate.

Kudos was also given to Emcees Dorran Boucher and Noah Cordes, who Jim Boucher said found

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by Dan McClellandTupper Lake will

soon have a new and unique hospitality business for many local residents and visitors to enjoy.

Last Wednesday the town and village planning board gave Mark Jessie and Joe Hockey, proprietors of Tupper Lake’s Raquette River Brewing on Balsam Ave., the go ahead to develop their land around the brewery into an outdoor refreshment area and produce/craft market. Expected to be at the site this summer is a beer garden tent, with live music occasionally, a food vending trailer owned and operated by Don Vaillancourt and a small vegetable and craft market with various vendors.

The business owners plan to raze an old mobile home on their land on Balsam Ave., as they did the Steve Boucher residence last year.

First to speak on the brewery owners’ plan was a next door neighbor, Ron Allen.

A resident of Tupper Lake for the past 16 years, Mr. Allen said he rents the house owned by Andrew Coleman which is next door to the former

Beer garden tent, craft and produce market planned by local brewers

Continued on page 2

Boucher residence. “I’ve been a model tenant for Mr. Coleman,” he told the planners.

In passing, he called Mr. and Mrs. Boucher “wonderful neighbors.”

He said he didn’t think the applicants have researched their proposal enough.

“I want to be responsible, and I don’t think our (residential) neighborhood is the right place for this to happen,” he told the board.

Mr. Allen said many neighborhood children routinely play sports on Balsam Ave. like baseball and road hockey.

He said that while he wasn’t against growing the business in that neighborhood, he did have big safety concerns.

Mr. Allen reminded the board members of the incident last year when the driver of a Wal-Mart 18-wheeler was apparently blinded by the early morning sun and collided with two cars in front of his house on Main Street. He said there have been several other pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents at the corner near his house.

He worried more