Oswego County TodayPoliticsFREE Independent News for Oswego County

Save The Date For Central, Northern NY Senior Health, Wellness Fairs

September 8, 2015 Contributor

From advances in medicine to an increased awareness about the importance of healthy eating and exercise, there are a number of reasons people are living longer and more active lives. In fact, over the past two decades, global life expectancy for men and women has increased roughly six years. In an effort to help seniors improve their well-being, this year I’m once again hosting my annual Senior Health and Wellness Fairs in Oswego, St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties.

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Synthetic Drugs Continue to Plague New York State

September 7, 2015 Contributor

Over the past three months, The New York Times has covered stories on the local impact of synthetic drug use. In July, they published a story on the synthetic drug problem that has been growing in the Syracuse region. This week, due to the growing epidemic of synthetic drug use in New York City, they reported on the dramatic spike in the use of K2, synthetic marijuana, in Harlem and in other parts of New York City.

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Protecting Our Planet And Our Health By Saying Goodbye To Scrap Tires

September 1, 2015 Contributor

We’ve all seen them – piles of waste tires in yards and roadways. According to the EPA, roughly 290 million waste tires are generated annually. Not only can these waste tires be unsightly and expensive to dispose of, they present health and environmental hazards, too. Here are a few of the ways that waste tires can put your health and the health of others at risk:

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Infant Mortality Rates Remain Steady

August 31, 2015 Contributor

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month. According to the latest statistics available, New York’s rate has remained relatively steady since 2010 but unfortunately, 5 out of every 1,000 births in New York result in infant death, according to the State Department of Health. Some good news on this front is infant mortality rates have decreased about 16% from 2002 to 2012 but there is still more we can do to continue to improve those rates.

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Going Back To School On A Budget

August 25, 2015 Contributor

This year, the average family is shelling out $70.93 per elementary student for school supplies. The amount is even greater for older students, with the average cost of supplies for middle school totaling $91 and high school reaching $157. Combine costs for supplies like paper and pencils with other items students might need, such as new clothing, sneakers, backpacks and more and totals for most families can be hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

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State Fair Provides Tributes, Fun and Still Maintains Agricultural Traditions

August 25, 2015 Contributor

The Great New York State Fair will once again kick off on Aug. 27 and run until Sept. 7. The State Fair’s history in Syracuse is long and proud. The annual 12-day event has steadily expanded since its early days. In 1841, the nation’s first state fair was held in Syracuse and there was said to have been some 10,000 people who heard speeches, viewed animal exhibits, attended a plowing contest, and sampled goods for the farm and the home. Despite modern times, the mission of the fair hasn’t changed much.

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Fast Facts About The Fair

August 18, 2015 Contributor

For 175 years, the Great New York State Fair has attracted millions of people to Upstate New York; offering rides, food, exhibits that highlight New York agriculture, concerts from big name performers and so much more. If you’re planning on visiting the Great New York State Fair, here’s a look at some of the new exhibits, entertainment and food offerings that will help to make this year’s the best yet:

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Raising Wage for One Industry Sets Dangerous Precedence

August 17, 2015 Contributor

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Governor’s decision to convene a Wage Board for the purposes of considering increasing the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 an hour. It has been reported that the Governor convened the Wage Board in effort to placate advocates (mainly from NYC) who are pushing for various liberal causes to be enacted in the State such as increasing the overall state minimum wage. When the legislature failed to increase the state’s minimum wage, these advocates accused the Governor of not doing enough.

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Helping The Hungry In Our Communities

August 12, 2015 Contributor

Have you ever had to wonder where your next meal will come from? For more and more Americans, hunger is becoming a reality. Today, it’s estimated that one in six Americans relies on emergency food assistance, including thousands of people in Central and Northern New York. And, it’s not just the impoverished. More and more frequently, working families are finding themselves having to look for assistance when it comes to putting food on the table.

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Why is NYS Protecting Convicted Criminal’s Public Pensions?

August 10, 2015 Contributor

Joyce Mitchell, the woman who confessed to assisting two convicted murderers escape from Clinton Correctional Facility, will still collect a public pension thanks to Albany’s failure to pass a widely supported reform measure. In her retirement years, whether spent in prison or elsewhere, we can rest assured that she’ll be able to cash her pension checks. If you were wondering about the 30 or so lawmakers in the last 10 years that have been convicted of crimes, or sanctioned or resigned from office, essentially admitting their guilt or wrongdoing, they too are eligible to receive their pensions.

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