Assemblyman Scott Gray

One ribbon, a whole lot of smiles. Honored to stand with the kids, families, officers, and the Police Activities League of Massena (PAL) team to officially open this terrific new playground.

Investments like this strengthen the North Country and give families one more reason to be proud of living in the North Country. Congratulations to everyone who helped make it happen.

I had the privilege of attending the 10th Mountain Division Artillery Change of Responsibility at Fort Drum.

A Change of Responsibility marks the transfer of senior enlisted leadership, and today we recognized Command Sergeant Major Folger for everything he has given to the division and to our North Country community.

CSM Folger has been a tremendous asset both on post and off. The strong relationship between Fort Drum and the communities that surround it is built by leaders exactly like him, and his professionalism, dedication, and commitment to the soldiers of DIVARTY will leave a lasting mark.

To CSM Folger and his family, thank you for your service and your example. You will be missed, and we wish you nothing but the best in the road ahead.

Climb to Glory.
U.S. Army Fort Drum & 10th Mountain Division
10th Mountain Division
Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion HHBN 10th MTN Division
hhb_havoc_10thmtn_divarty

Congratulations to the outstanding student athletes recognized this year by the Italian-American Civic Association.

The Clarence “Boots” Gaffney Award goes to Julianna Delaney and Jameson Lettiere of Immaculate Heart Central, and the William I. Graf Award goes to Marra Dickinson and Maddox Corey of Watertown High School. These four young people represent the very best of our North Country, on the field and in the classroom.

Here is a truth that holds up long after the final whistle. Your academics will take you places, but your athletics build the character you carry with you the whole way. You learn how to win with humility, how to lose with grace, how to push through when your body wants to quit, and how to show up for your teammates when it counts. Years from now, you may not remember every test or every grade, but you will never forget those moments in sport, the early mornings, the big games, and the people you shared them with.

A word to the families too. Behind every standout athlete is a parent in the stands, a sibling cheering from the sideline, and people who drove the early practices and believed in these kids before anyone else did. This recognition belongs to you as well.

Congratulations to all four. The North Country is proud of you.

A big day for the North Country. This week the North Country had the privilege of welcoming an entire team from the Department of the Army, including officials from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Installations, Energy and Environment, along with the Program Management team for the Janus Program and their regulators.

Project Janus is the Army’s effort to bring advanced nuclear microreactors to military installations, and the North Country and Fort Drum should be at the front of that conversation. This is not abstract policy that lives only in Albany. It is about energy reliability, national security, good jobs, and the long term future of this region.

It was an absolute pleasure to put this community’s best foot forward. When the Army team from the Pentagon comes north, they should see exactly what this region offers every day. A community that is ready to lead.

U.S. Army Fort Drum & 10th Mountain Division
10th Mountain Division

Honored to sponsor a team at the Old Glory Golf Classic. Thank you to NBC Watertown for a wonderful day celebrating our veterans and the North Country organizations that serve them. This is what community gratitude looks like.

Great to join the Adirondack North Country Association for their meeting this past week in Watertown. ANCA does tremendous work across our region, supporting small businesses and farms, advancing clean energy, strengthening local food systems, and helping our communities thrive. I appreciate everything this team is doing through their new Building Shared Prosperity plan to grow opportunity here in the North Country. Thank you Adirondack North Country Association.

Two hiring events are coming up right here in the North Country, and I want to make sure the word gets out.

The NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is holding direct hire events at two of our local facilities. Twenty five Correction Officer positions are available at each, with direct placement on the spot.

Gouverneur Correctional Facility
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17, 8 AM to 8 PM
112 Scotch Settlement Road, Gouverneur
Hot dogs, soda, and chips will be served.

Cape Vincent Correctional Facility
Monday, June 22
Tuesday, June 23, 10 AM to 8 PM
36560 NY Route 12E,
Cape Vincent

A $3,000 referral bonus is available for employees who bring a qualified candidate, paid after that candidate completes OJT and the one year probationary period.

These are good jobs close to home, but this is about more than filling a roster. Our officers have been carrying the weight of short staffing for too long, and that takes a real toll on work/life balance and safety inside the walls. Bringing these facilities up to strength means a safer environment for the men and women who show up for these shifts every day.

It also opens doors. There are officers serving far from home who are waiting on a transfer back to the North Country. When other facilities staff, it creates the openings that let people get closer to their families.

If you know someone who would be a good fit, or if you have been thinking about this kind of work yourself, stop by. Bring a friend. Help us strengthen the ranks and look out for the people already doing the job.

A meaningful day in Waddington.

Today I joined the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the Thousand Island Chapter, and the Waddington Historical Society for the dedication of a Pomeroy marker honoring the Revolutionary War Patriots buried at Brookside Cemetery, albeit rain moved us to the pavilion. As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, recognizing the men who won our freedom matters more than ever.

I also had the honor of attending the Waddington American Legion Post 420 Flag Day ceremony of the dignified retirement and burning of worn flags. There is no better way to spend Flag Day than alongside the veterans and neighbors who understand what that flag stands for.

Waddington honored their history today on Flag Day. Thank you to all who made Pomeroy marker possible.

I want to be very clear about where I stand, because my call for a veto of A11560 has been mischaracterized as advocacy for data centers. It is not!

I am not advocating for or against data centers. That is not my decision to make, and frankly, it is not Albany’s decision to make either. Whether a data center belongs in Massena, in Watertown, or anywhere else in the North Country is a local decision. Local governments, through their zoning, planning boards, and public hearings, are the appropriate forum to weigh whether the construction jobs, the electrical trades work, and the local revenue are worth it for their community. Some communities will say yes. Some will say no. Both answers deserve respect, and I will respect whichever answer a community reaches.

The state’s proper role is to provide a strong regulatory framework that addresses the legitimate concerns residents have raised, and I share those concerns. That means real standards on water consumption and discharge, protections so that ratepayers are not left covering the energy costs these facilities create, proper setbacks, and noise and environmental safeguards. Those protections should apply statewide so that no community, large or small, is left to negotiate them alone against a sophisticated developer.

My objection to A11560 was that a blanket statewide moratorium takes the decision away from the very communities that have to live with the outcome, in both directions. It overrides the community that wants to say no on its own terms just as much as the one that wants to say yes. I have studied this legislation extensively and happy to discuss it with anyone.

It is also worth noting that the Public Service Commission is already conducting a comprehensive study of data centers, covering energy demand, ratepayer impacts, water use, and siting issues, with a report due in February 2027. It makes little sense to impose a statewide freeze before the state’s own experts have finished the work that should inform any permanent framework.

I have heard the concerns raised by residents of Massena, and I take them seriously. Water quality, energy costs, and the health of the community are exactly the issues a proper regulatory framework must address, and exactly the issues I will keep pressing in Albany.

I welcome the continued conversation.

(Good article sans the couple cracks at IDA and Labor those points I take issue with)
Newzjunky NorthCountryNow.com
7 News

New York Has a Data-Center Panic, Not a Policy A proposed bill justifies a moratorium on construction by scapegoating the facilities for rising electricity prices.