Oswego County Today Weekly News Roundup: 5/2 – 5/8/2021

OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County Today presents the top stories from this past week.

City of Fulton news:

• Beginning Monday, May 3, patrons may once again peruse the shelves of the Fulton Public Library. The library, which has been closed to in-person services for several months due to the pandemic, is reopening its doors to the public and has resumed these services, including picking out books and other items available for loans and computer use. Full story here.
• The Fulton Common Council met Tuesday, May 4, and approved to advertise for two public hearings to be held at the June council meeting in regards to two topics that had been discussed before and dropped following input from the public. Full story here.
• Members of the Fulton City School District Board of Education met virtually Wednesday, May 5, to present the district’s proposed budget to the public, which is a 3.3% increase from last year (2020-2021), but will not increase the tax levy from last year’s budget. Full story here.
• Thank a Service Member, Inc. (TASM), an Oswego-based not-for-profit organization, has partnered with the City of Fulton and the Fulton Memorial Day Salute Committee to hold a Watchfire event at Lake Neatahwanta behind Denesha Field on Friday, May 28, 2021. Full story here.

City of Oswego news:

• Early Sunday morning, May 2, a 21 year old male was discovered in the Oswego River around 3:45 a.m. by a passerby who called Oswego 911. He was quickly located, removed from the water by rescuers and transferred to an awaiting ambulance. He is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Oswego City Fire Department. Full story here.
• Mayor Billy Barlow announced Monday, May 3, the Independence Day Parade and Harborfest have both been canceled for the second consecutive year due to issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the parade, the City of Oswego, on Sunday, July 4, will hold a downtown block party with the annual firework display. Full story here.
• The Oswego City School District Board of Education met Tuesday night, May 4, via Zoom to discuss the budget for the 2021-22 academic year. The proposed budget for next school year is set to increase by 2.999% to $91,159,811. Despite the overall increase of $2,654,356, property taxes in Oswego are not projected to change from the current rate of 17.91%, and the budget does not anticipate any cuts from current departments. Full story here.
• City of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow has announced the schedule for the 2021 Oswego Summer Concert Series at Veteran’s Stage and the Water Street Square downtown pocket park. The free summer concerts are held on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. at Veteran’s Stage and Friday nights from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Water Street Square on Water Street. Full story here.
• To commemorate the Battle of Oswego, Fort Ontario State Historic Site hosted self-guided walking tours, which began on May 5, the first day of the battle, through Sunday, May 9. Full story here.

Oswego County news:

• Oswego County Workforce New York (OCWNY) is hosting a Spring Outdoor Job Fair to bring local employers, training institutions and job applicants together with a variety of career and training opportunities. It is scheduled to run rain or shine from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12 at the Oswego County Workforce New York Career Center at 200 N. Second St. in Fulton. Full story here.
• According to District Attorney Gregory Oakes, Friday afternoon, May 7, an Oswego County Jury returned verdicts of guilty and convicted Paul Allen, 58, of Mexico of two counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a violent felony. He was also convicted of five misdemeanors. Full story here.
• Oswego County honors nurses everywhere this week, especially its own at the health department and county jail. This marks National Nurses Week which started on Nurses Day, Thursday, May 6 and continues through Wednesday, May 12. Full story here.
• Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I-Pulaski) announced Friday, May 7, he will hold a pair of town hall meetings on Saturday, May 15, one in Central Square and one in Pulaski. Full story here.

State news:

• Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced Monday, May 3, a significant easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the region’s businesses, venues and gatherings given significant progress in vaccinations and sustained reduction in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Full story here.
• Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday, May 7, an additional $30 million is now available through New York State’s Drive Clean Rebate program to encourage more consumers to lease or purchase an all-electric car or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Full story here.
• State Police in North Syracuse are warning citizens of a scam that preys on grandparents after several local senior citizens lost over $24,000 in what is known as the “Grandparent Scam” or “Family Emergency Scam.” Full story here.

More daily news can be found here.

Oswego County Today’s weekly COVID-19 statistics update for April 28 through May 4 can be found here. The update for this week will be posted Tuesday.

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