Letters to the Editor

There are many reasons why it’s a bad idea to encourage kids to hurt and kill animals for fun (“Hunting, Fishing Education Has Place in Our Schools,” January 23). Hunting has driven numerous species to extinction or endangered status. The money generated by hunters’ license fees and other expenditures often benefits only the hunters themselves.

They say all roads lead to home and for a while I didn’t believe that; the reason being that I didn’t really know where “home” was. I grew up in a split family, sharing time with my parents throughout the years. … We were moving back to Fulton, no ifs, ands or buts about it. One day as we were in the midst of the buying process, we stopped into the Tavern on the Lock for a bite to eat as we enjoy doing, and ran into some of our previous teachers from GRB.

At the January 17th Common Council meeting, I asked the mayor about Aldi’s and Nestles. He said they’re still working on it and Aldi’s is still coming. I asked if there was anything else. He then said that they had been talking with Aldi’s in the past few weeks. He added that Aldi’s wants the building closest to Route 481 to come down. It blocks the view of the new store.

If you remember, back over a year ago I asked why Onondaga and not Oswego for the Inland Port. At that time, there was only one area in Onondaga County looking to be the site of the Inland Port and its almost 2,000 high-paying jobs. It was Jamesville. The residents spoke out against it and didn’t want it in their backyards. The people of Fulton and Oswego County want it.

I have noticed over the past few years more and more homeowners having problems with their sewer lines. There may be help in the form of a grant program that will help with the costs to repair your sewer lines. The grant program is CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), it has been used primarily in the rural areas of the county for wells and septic systems.

As 2017 quickly approaches, people may be wondering how they can improve their health and well-being in the new year. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage those who are considering quitting smoking to set a date to quit and stick to it in the new year.

In another couple of weeks the remaining 6 firefighters of the 17 positions cut from the department in the 2017 budget, will be laid off. This will be a first for Oswego and the largest cut to a fire department in recent history across the state. This equals a 33% reduction in the city’s firefighting force. As a result, the number of firefighters on duty at any given time has been reduced to 7.

This year has been a year of firsts at the Oswego County Legislature. In previous letters, I mentioned some of them. Well here is the biggest first I have seen in the three years I have been on the legislature. This year, the legislature approved budget reduction suggestions that were presented by the Minority Caucus.

I got stuck at the end of my driveway today (Dec. 13) and was attempting vainly to shovel myself out when along came two angels in the forms of Mr Williams and his son, Dylan.