Month: April 2022

April 23, 2022

ALLEGANY COUNTY, NY – According to the New York State Department of Health, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Allegany County is increasing slightly week over week. The 7-day average for individuals testing positive is 7.7 percent as of April 21, up from 3.9 percent on April 14. After seeing the case total decrease for 10 straight weeks from January through March, we are now seeing the total case number increase for the last four weeks. With this in mind, we recommend some actions that residents can take to protect themselves and their loved ones:

1. Get tested if you have symptoms

The Allegany County Department of Health offers free rapid testing clinics for COVID-19 every week in Belmont. If you have access to at-home test kits, test early and test often. If you need at-home test kits, please contact our office at 585-268-9250.

Wear a mask
Wear a mask (surgical, KN95, or N95 preferred) when feeling ill or when you may have come into contact with a positive COVID-19 case. We recommend that if you plan to attend large gatherings that you consider wearing a mask or at least testing before and after the event.

STAY HOME WHEN FEELING ILL
Get boosted when eligible
Contact your healthcare provider to discuss eligibility for treatment options if you have tested positive for COVID-19
Get your COVID-19 booster dose (1st or 2nd) when eligible
The Allegany County Department of Health is now providing the 2nd booster dose at upcoming clinics in May. The COVID-19 vaccine clinics will be held every Tuesday in May, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., at the County Office Building in Belmont.

Check the Community Transmission Rate where you will be traveling:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html

To view all upcoming clinics and to register for you appointment, please visit:
https://www.alleganyco.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-information/.

You can also call the Allegany County Department of Health at (585) 268-9250 for more information or for assistance in registering.

April 23, 2022

HARTSVILLE, NY – Hartsville is having it’s first very own clean up day today. According to Hartsville Town Supervisor Kriste Gerhard, a student named Gabby Steffey has gotten a bunch of volunteers to help out cleaing up the roads of Hartsville.

That work is going to be done, between 10 and 200pm and then they’ll be back at the Hartsville town hall at 2pm for food and refreshments.

April 22, 2022

By Jasmine Willis

CORNING — Rep. Tom Reed stood where it all began over a decade ago to say farewell to all those he has worked with and known over the years.
On Thursday, Reed talked to family, friends, and colleagues at the Corning City Hall about what he has accomplished, most proud of, and the pressing issues of today in the congress.

Corning Mayor William Boland Jr. said he was delighted to have Reed give his last town hall meeting where it all started. Reed was mayor of Corning in 2008. He joined the congress in 2010 and gave 12 years of service to his country. “It is our delight to have you here for your last town hall meeting. I express the sentiments of everyone else in this room to thank you for your contribution over the years,” Boland said.

After an emotional statement of thanks to all those who have supported him over the years, Reed talked about several big topics on everyone’s mind. He thanked family, friends, neighbors, staff, and local officials for all the love and support. He said it is people like his neighbors and friends who made Corning a good place to live and grow up. Reed said everything he did was for the people, and he hopes to stay in the political arena working for our freedoms.

Reed commented on being on the wall of mayors. He said he knew a lot of them from growing up in this city. He became friends with a few of them, and talked fondly about them. Reed talked fondly about growing up in the city. Reed talked about the last meeting that was held in Geneva getting a little passionate. There were some people who are passionate in disagreement with him that stood up for him at this meeting.
“That means the world to me to get respect from folks that may not agree with you politically, but at least respect you for having a conversation. They have a willingness to show up. That is something I always believed in. I always believed in order to represent people you need to listen,” he said. “That is what these town halls have always been about. It was always meant to show respect to the people who represent, and to show empathy on how to look at things from a different point of view. I can tell you from the town halls themselves I learned a lot. I learned a lot about the world, district, and people. Most importantly the best ideas in my head came from all of you.”

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano gave some final words to the respect he has for Reed.
“I have had the privilege of working with you. I have worked with you and been friends with you throughout the 12 years. I always admired your leadership, especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic. One thing people might not know is Tom (Reed) organized our region and communicating with all of us in legislation. He communicated with local and state officials,” he said. “The one thing that stood out to me was right after we finished the state budget and I woke up with my phone blowing up after Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo made the announcement he was coming for all of our ventilators. The national guard was going to come upstate and take all of our ventilators from our hospitals. Tom put out a message to the region saying this was unacceptable. From that moment on he made sure the communication in our region was strong. You did that when the state and local officials were working with the health care officials. I admire your hard work, your accessibility, your responsibly and the communication with the region. We all were working together to try to better our region.”

Palmesano said he was very impressed with how Reed handled leadership in the pandemic.
Reed said this community is all about good men and women who live here. He commented Mayor Boland Jr. and Corning City Manager Mark Ryckman for everything they have done for the city. Ryckman said that Reed was instrumental in creating a program for the first responders that has enhanced public safety and benefits those who put their lives on the line every day.

Reed talked about his visit overseas just a week ago. He was in Ukraine to see the impact of the war on the people. “Last week I was literally in Ukraine. I literally put my foot over the line as I stood in Poland. We went to Germany, Denmark and Poland. We ended our week at the Ukrainian border. It reminded me how important it is that we stand strong as the United States of America. Poland in particular right now is stepping up. They are accepting millions of people that are being devastated by the evilness of war,” he said. “To see refuges coming with their families across the border carrying their babies and bags with all their possessions. They had all the precious items they could carry and walk 100 miles. It impacts you when you see those people, and you can’t do anything but stand on your side of the line until they get to it. You can embrace them and try to comfort them. It reminds me about how we all want this to be an ideal world, but I am a realest and I know there is evil in the world.”
Reed said when he was overseas, he knew some people don’t like our way of life with freedom and democracy. “There are people who want to embrace communism and oppressive governments like Russia and China. One of the storms on the horizon that I truly see happening is that fight between democracy and freedom and governments like Russia and China. I have gotten briefing on what they are telling their people that they have already declared to President Biden’s face that America’s days are over. Putin has said we are in checkmate, and he has us there. He thinks it is their time to rise. That should be concerning,” he said. “It is going to take all of us coming together and setting aside these petty political differences. I see these petty fights in congress, and I go to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle telling them to stop. This is not the message we want to be sending the world. We want to send a message to our citizens that we are strong.”

Reed talked about the impact this war is having on infrastructure and food all over the world. Ukraine supplies a lot of the food, oil and fuel in Europe. This has been the cause of why food and gas prices have soared in our country.
Reed talked about the Capital Riot on Jan. 6 and how it impacted the congress.
“We don’t have the debate resorting to violence. Having lived through the Jan. 6 riot firsthand one of the debates at the Geneva meeting was one of the hard right individuals trying to defend the Jan. 6 riot. That was completely unacceptable. We were confronted about this when we were in Denmark. They were questioning us as a delegation, “he said. “Can America continue to be the strong democracy that it is. We all responded that what Jan. 6 should’ve told the world that yes it was difficult to watch, and it was a sign that we are not without weakness, but at the end of the day we did our job. We all went back into that chamber. We went back into the Capital. We don’t transfer power in America with bullets and weapons, or with death and destruction. We do the peaceful transition of power in America. We left a good message to our allies.”

Reed said he met with several international officials who are talking about turning their backs on America and leaning towards Russia and China. He said those who normally without question would be on our side and leaning towards the communist countries.
Denmark and Poland are standing firm with us and remain great allies. They are starting to see the wisdom of not putting all their eggs in one basket, Reed said.
A polish leader told Reed that Putin is keeping the line of oil and fuel through Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Putin sees the oil as the money maker and natural gas as political. Essentially what is being seen on the horizon is if you control the food and heat for Ukraine and Europe you are going to kill millions of people, Reed said about Putin’s control and power.
The question remains what will America do during all of this as the ambassador of freedom. Reed said when you put freedom against communism it is amazing what freedom can do.
Once freedom takes hold in China which would be their Achelous heel the people will revolt and not want to be oppressed, Reed said.
Reed said the thing he is most proud of and what he hopes will be his legacy in congress is the Problem Solvers Caucus. “It is a group of 29 republicans and 29 democrats. One of the things we are committed to is having a dialogue and commit to one another. We now have 20 senators working with us. Now we have institutionalized that and it will go forward. What I have seen is people on both sides of the aisle trying to inspire our country out of fear and hate. That causes a lot of people to disengage. I see an opportunity for the silent majority,” he said. “We have fractions of the republican and democratic party being taken over by extremists. This is why we need the silent majority to engage in the process and believe again. We need to get more men and women running for office on both sides with the local, state and federal level. This is what we have been working on. When we first started the Problem Solvers Caucus I was told to chase that windmill. Now I have shown this is what we came to congress to do, and we are in every single deal. Right now, after the work we did in building those relationships we can get our bills on the floor.”

Reed talked about the facilities getting the billions of dollars required to process children. He talked about the horror of children being found washed up dead, and how those in power in Washington wanted to use it for political gain. He took a stand for the lives of those children and showed politicians that these are human beings.
Reed ended the farewell meeting talking about the hope he has for the future and how he plans to stick around in politics to continue fighting for the people. He doesn’t know what the next chapter will be after his term ends in 2023, but he knows he will always have a heart for the people.

April 22 2022

The 4th Division Appellate Court in Rochester decided in a 3-2 ruling on Thursday evening, that the state senate and state assembly maps are valid, but that the congressional maps were gerrymandered and are unconstitutional.

So what happens with the new maps? The state legislature has until April 30 to come up with new congressional maps (the state senate and assembly maps were considered to be valid). If the state legislature does not design new maps by the April 30 deadline, then Judge Pat McAllister will be have until May 26 for his map maker to come up with new congressional maps for New York State.

However, that’s not the last word: this case will ultimately be decided by the state court of appeals.

April 21, 2022

From The NYS Comptrollers Office:
Audit Objective – To Determine whether the City of Hornell Common Council provided sufficient oversight of the Business Improvement District (HPG) to ensure it operated in accordance with the business district plan. The Hornell Common Council did not provide sufficient oversight of the BID and the BID Plan lacked sufficient detail to allow city officials to adequately monitor the use of BID funds. The council did not enter into a written agreement with the district management association or monitor how the association used BID funds, resulting in revenues of at least $3,915 that were unaccounted for and 138 questionable disbursements by the association’s executive director totaling $24,955. Based upon audit findings and a subsequent investigation, the executive director of the association was arrested in January 2020 and charged with Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. On January 7, 2022, the executive director pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and was ordered to pay $1,711 in restitution.

Audit Period April 1, 2015 – October 2, 2017.

From Mayor John Buckley: “While we agree with the findings in regards to the actions of the former executive and general lack of oversight, we strongly disagree with the assertion that the City Chamberlain and Common Council are responsible for the lack of oversight operations of the Business District (Hornell Partners for Growth).”

April 21, 2022

From NYSCOPBA: A sergeant and five officers were injured at Elmira Correctional Facility after two separate attacks at the maximum security prison last week.

The first incident occurred on Thursday, April 14. An officer observed an inmate at one of the facility kiosks without permission. The officer ordered the inmate to leave the kiosk and return to his cell. The inmate ignored the officer’s orders, suddenly turned and struck the officer in the face. The officer immediately grabbed the inmate in a body hold and forced him to the ground. Once on the ground and contained, the inmate became compliant. He was removed from the area and placed in a Special Housing Unit pending disciplinary charges.

The inmate, 25, is serving a 10 year sentence after being convicted in Kings County for Assault 1st and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4th in 2017.

The officer sustained abrasions and swelling to his face. He was treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.

The second assault occurred the following day. An inmate, already in a Special Housing Unit on disciplinary measures, made a suicidal gesture to a sergeant by swallowing small pieces of his feed tray cover and taking a piece of it and putting it against his neck. The sergeant ordered the cell door opened and five officers entered the cell. Before staff could contain the inmate, the inmate struck one officer in the face. The officers grabbed the inmate in a body hold and removed the piece of tray cover from his hand.

Still combative and attempting to kick officers, he was placed in handcuffs and removed from the cell.

During an escort to the infirmary, the inmate pulled away from two officers, spit and struck the sergeant in the body, and struck an officer in the face. Staff immediately grabbed him in body holds and forced him to the ground. Once on the ground, he became compliant again.

The inmate, 27, is serving a six year sentence after being convicted in Westchester County in 2018 for Strangulation 2nd, Attempted Robbery 2nd and Burglary 3rd.

He faces disciplinary charges in the attack.

Four officers and a sergeant were injured in the incident. One officer sustained a concussion, left eye abrasion and back pain. He was treated at an outside hospital for his injuries. He did not return to duty.

The sergeant and three other officers were treated by facility medical staff for shoulder, hand, swelling and abrasions and small laceration to an arm. They remained on duty.

“The violence in our prisons are at such high levels, that staff are now resigned to the fact that each day they enter a facility there is a greater chance of them getting attacked and injured than not. That is simply unacceptable for the men and women who swore to protect and serve our communities. All HALT has done is weaken an already failed disciplinary system that does not protect our members. Yet, here we stand reporting two more assaults without any meaningful action taken by our elected officials to protect staff. That is simply not acceptable. ” – stated Kenny Gold , NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President.

April 21, 2022

As reported by Forbes, Sean Hannity is now the longest-running prime-time cable news host in TV history. Today marks 25 consecutive years, six months, and 15 days at the helm of a primetime cable news program, breaking the previous longstanding record held by the late talk show host Larry King.

Hannity began working at Fox News in 1996, co-hosting Hannity & Colmes for 12 years before launching his eponymous primetime show. Hannity’s hour-long nightly commentary program has ranked number one in its time slot with both viewers and in the 25-54 demographic for 13 consecutive years. The program averages 3.1 million viewers each night.

Last September, Hannity marked the 20th anniversary of The Sean Hannity Show in national radio syndication. Attracting tens of millions of listeners on more than 675 stations nationwide, the program continues its decades-long dominance as one of the top talk radio programs in the country. In 2022, radio industry publication Talkers ranked Hannity No. 1 for the second year in a row on their “Heavy Hundred” list of the most important radio talk show hosts in America.

As host of The Sean Hannity Show, Sean’s provocative, informed and passionate commentary on politics has amassed a dedicated following that includes millions of listeners. Hannity’s political foresight and focus on the American agenda has made him one of the most popular talk radio hosts in America. For his efforts, he has been honored with two Marconi Awards for “Nationally Syndicated Personality of the Year” and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2017.

April 21, 2022

CANISTEO, NY – At the Wednesday night Canisteo-Greenwood School Board meeting, there were some elementary and high school student presentations. The CG Youth and Government students presented a song called “Outstanding Bill”, which they peformed in Albany recently.

In other school news, the two year capital project is wrapping up this month.

The Canisteo-Greenwood proposed budget for next year is $27,064,180 and there is a zero percent tax increase.

April 21, 2021

HORNELL, NY – The NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) announced that the City of Hornell has been awarded a $1.189M WIIA grant for improvements to the City’s Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). This amount represents 25% of the eligible project costs, which is the largest WIIA grant possible for this project.

Mayor John Buckley says that the funds will be applied to a large project that the City has been planning for several years which is broken into phases. Hornell was previously awarded a grant of $1 million dollars for Phase 1A which will be underway in the coming months and will add UV disinfection to the WPCP. This new $1.189M WIIA grant award will help address costs associated with Phase 1B which includes improvements to the digester and influent and return sludge pump systems. The Mayor also said, “We’re very grateful to receive this grant and thank EFC for partnering with the City on this important project. This grant will take some of the burden off our local tax base as the total project (Phase 1A and 2A) will be in excess of $5 million dollars.”