Tuesday’s Northern New York Daily Brief follows a housing project nearing completion in Ogdensburg, a change of plans for Watertown’s Ives Hill Country Club and a crash involving an Amish buggy in Lewis County. A proposed pay raise in St. Lawrence County and new food-pantry grants round out today’s five stories.
Ogdensburg supportive housing project nears opening
Step By Step expects its new 42-unit housing facility in Ogdensburg to open before Thanksgiving, according to its executive director, David Bayne. The building, across from the organization’s existing facility, is intended to serve people facing homelessness and related challenges. Most units are studio apartments. Residents with income will pay 30 percent of it toward rent; those without income may seek temporary assistance. A $10 million state grant is paying for construction, while operating costs may reach $1 million a year. The opening date remains an expectation, not a completed move-in.
Ives Hill owner withdraws Watertown rezoning request
Ives Hill Country Club owner Jake Johnson says he has withdrawn a request to rezone part of the Watertown property. The proposed change would have let the clubhouse restaurant operate separately if the golf course closed. Johnson cited new financial support from neighbors, members and friends, and said the property would remain dedicated to its existing operations without subdivision or commercial rezoning for now. The city planning commission had opposed the change. Johnson also said Shannon Exford would run the restaurant and golf operations for the 2027 season. These are the owner’s announced plans, not a guarantee of future operations.
Lewis County buggy operator hospitalized after Route 12 crash
A car and an Amish buggy collided shortly before 3 p.m. Monday on State Route 12 in the town of Lowville, sending the buggy operator to Wynn Hospital in Utica with injuries not specified in the sheriff’s initial report. Deputies said the car’s driver failed to yield. The car was reportedly gone when officers arrived, but deputies later located the driver north of Copenhagen and said the person cooperated. The collision remains under investigation, and authorities had not announced a final charging decision in the report.
St. Lawrence County lawmakers consider multi-year pay increases
St. Lawrence County legislators are considering a resolution that would raise their annual pay by $3,000 to $4,000 in 2027, bringing it to about $15,000 to $16,000, with proposed 3 percent increases in each of the following three years. The vice chair and chair would also receive larger starting salaries. The proposal was discussed at a finance committee meeting Monday, and it is not yet an enacted pay change. Some participants questioned the process and the timing as the county faces other costs. If the measure advances, the full legislature would still have to vote.
North Country food pantries named in state grant awards
New York has announced $8.3 million in capital grants for 59 food banks and emergency food programs statewide under its NY PLATES initiative. The governor’s published regional breakdown lists $243,395 for the North Country, including $125,000 for improvements at St. Joseph’s Community Outreach Center in Plattsburgh. The awards are intended for infrastructure such as storage, transportation and facility improvements. They are grant commitments, not a claim that construction is finished or that food assistance has already expanded. The state says the program is administered with its health department and the Dormitory Authority.
The National Weather Service’s 3:57 a.m. Tuesday update for Watertown calls for patchy fog before 10 a.m., then sunshine, with a high near 47 degrees and a north wind of 3 to 5 mph. It lists no precipitation in the daytime forecast. Tuesday night should bring increasing clouds, a low near 29 and calm wind. Forecast details may change, so check the current local forecast before travel.
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