“For our department, it’s devastating,” Fire Chief Jeff McCrobie told Oswego County Today Monday night after the mayor unveiled his tentative 2017 city budget. Mayor William Barlow’s proposed spending not only includes a tax hike, it also slices more than a quarter of the fire department in order to make ends meet for the city next year. There is no water or sewer fee increase, the mayor pointed out.
The Oswego County Paddlefest has proven to be an ever-growing event that allowed more than 1,000 people to paddle the Oswego River in its fourth year in existence. “This has always been the long term vision, I had always hoped it would turn out just like this,” said one of the event founders, Jake Mulcahey.
UPDATE: 1 a.m. Aug. 8 — The body of of missing swimmer, Brandon L. Gould, has been recovered.
Happy birthday, Minetto! Magic in Minetto will celebrate the town’s 100th year with a fun, family-friendly festival. The Aug. 13 celebration will take place at the Minetto Town Hall and River View Park along the Oswego River from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Oswego County Fire Coordinator Donald Forbes is asking people to be extremely careful with cigarettes, charcoal grills, campfires and other flame sources, and to stop all outside burning of hay, grass and brush in Oswego County. Forbes said the county has seen an increase in grass and brush fires this past week and that fire officials around the county report their water supplies for fighting fires are critically low.
Oswego County is now officially under a drought warning and County Legislature Chairman Kevin Gardner (District 13, New Haven) is asking citizens to voluntarily conserve water. Legislature Chairman Gardner said Oswego County was included in a heightened drought warning which was issued Thursday (Aug. 4) by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Recent weather conditions have caused major concerns with the local water supply, and have also increased the possibility of brush and grass fires. Dried vegetation that is normally green this time of year has become a fire hazard and a perfect fuel for a brush fire.
Mayor William Barlow announced today (Aug. 4) that due to severe drought conditions, the city’s ground water storage tank level is approaching a critically low level and continues to be depleted at a rate that could cause a significant health hazard if water conservation measures aren’t undertaken immediately by all water users. Mayor Barlow requests that all users of city of Oswego water, which includes the towns of Scriba and New Haven, curtail the use of water as much as possible for the next several weeks.
July 2016 was a warm, sunny and “dry, very dry month.” The average temperature last month was 73.0 degrees, according to Bill Gregway, local observer for the National Weather Service. However, he is quick to add that “it’s no biggie. We’re way down on the all-time warmest list of Julys.” Precipitation for July was a derisory 0.52-inch. Going back to 1844, July 2016 is the second driest on record.
The Oswego City School District’s central offices will likely relocate into a section of the Leighton Elementary School, pending the sale of the Education Center. The plan would also include relocation of the high school’s main office to make room for the technology department. “Certainly we’re not going to take a loss on the sale of the Education Center. If we don’t find a happy balance where we net a significant amount of money, we’ll hold on to it,” Superintendent Dr. Dean Goewey said.
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