Oswego Daily News

A little more than a month after what he called an “incredibly intense” adventurous two-week stretch in Africa in June, which included climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, ascending to the fourth floor of the Oswego County Building was a piece of cake for Fulton native Tim Conners. “When I was sick (with cancer and eventually lost his sight), everyone came together for me. And that is why I believe in paying it forward and giving back. So I’d like to give a thank you to everyone who supported me, especially my parents,” he said.

Over the past several months hundreds of native trees and shrubs have taken root in selected locations in Oswego and Fulton through an urban forestry project coordinated by the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. The department and the Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. of Syracuse received a grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the USDA Forest Service to plant more than 600 trees and shrubs at brownfield sites in Oswego County.

Tempers boiled over at Thursday night’s Oswego County Legislature meeting as the Democrat representing Fulton nearly came to blows with his likely GOP (Conservative) challenger in this fall’s election. At the end of the meeting, Marc Holliday spoke at the public session. “I’m here today to speak about Michaud. Frank Castiglia is my representative for the 25th District. I am running against Frank. However, that’s not why I’m here,” he began. At that point, Legislator Dan Farfaglia (D-24th District) of Fulton jumped up and accused Holliday of campaigning on the floor of the legislature.

State Senator Patty Ritchie announced she has secured $100,000 in state funding for the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum at historic Fort Ontario in Oswego. The grant funding to the museum will help keep alive the stories of nearly 1,000 World War II refugees, mostly European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, who were brought into the United States as “guests” of President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1944 and 1946.

The Oswego County Legislature took several steps aimed at improving neighborhoods and enhancing the quality of life for residents during its June meeting. Legislators voted unanimously to authorize the transfer of nearly a dozen tax-foreclosed properties to the Oswego County Land Bank for rehabilitation or demolition. They also voted unanimously to authorize a reduction in tipping fees for the disposal of materials from both municipal residential demolitions and the former Nestlé site in the city of Fulton.

On the heels of news reports revealing that hackers may have launched cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants and other energy facilities, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today (July 12) said Upstate New York’s nuclear power plants like Ginna, FitzPatrick, Indian Point, Nine Mile, and The Niagara Power Project could be vulnerable to future attacks. Schumer said that we must do everything we can to mitigate threats like these and improve our critical infrastructure defenses.

The Addiction Awareness Group, started in 2016 by parents of addicts Cori Welch and Amy Pelow, are planning its second Addiction Awareness Walk for August 13 in Oswego. The walk is free and open to the community to spread awareness about the growing problem of addiction. The walk will start and end at the Oswego Elks Lodge with pre-registration now open.