2017 March In Review: DARE Program Returns To Oswego Schools

OSWEGO, NY – Here’s a glimpse of the some of the news from the past 12 months.

Mayor Barlow Announces Revival of D.A.R.E Program In City Schools
Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced March 1 that the Oswego City Police Department now has the capability to bring the D.A.R.E program to schools in the city of Oswego. Oswego Police Officer Thomas Grover recently completed his D.A.R.E instructor course.

“Working with Superintendent (Dr. Dean) Goewey and the Oswego City School District, I am excited to offer this program to be incorporated into the 2016-2017 school year as an educational component to the city’s on-going work being done with regard to reducing the negative impact of illegal drugs in the city of Oswego. As we all know, our children are the future of this community and we must do everything we can to protect them. I believe education is the first component of protection. I am proud to bring the D.A.R.E program back into our schools to better educate our youth to be safe and responsible, while making good decisions as they grow older,” said Mayor Barlow.

D.A.R.E.’s vision of “Teaching students good decision-making skills to help them lead safe and healthy lives” focuses on more than just the dangers associated with the use and abuse of illegal drugs.

Police Chief Tory L. DeCaire said, “The D.A.R.E. philosophy is that if you can teach our youth to make safe and responsible decisions, it will guide them to healthy choices, not only about drugs, but across all parts of their lives. As they mature to be responsible citizens and community members, they will lead healthier and more productive drug-free lives. That is a concept that I embrace and support for our city and that is why, under the leadership of Mayor Barlow, the Oswego City Police Department is pleased to offer this program to our community.”

Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame Driver John Torrese Sr. Passes at Age 93
John Torrese Sr., Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame driver and the patriarch of Oswego Speedway ownership since 2011, passed away March 1 at the age of 93.

Always seen with a welcoming smile at Oswego Speedway, “Pops” was a regular fixture at the Speedway in recent years – whether surveying the pit area on the “Steel Palace” golf cart with sons, John Torrese Jr. and Eric Torrese, or watching the action from his familiar seat in the Speedway’s VIP tower with family and friends – Torrese always had an eye on the action at the Port City oval.

In a relatively short Oswego driving career, Torrese was a force to be reckoned with, collecting four main event wins with two top five finishes in Speedway points in 1952 and 1953.

Always a versatile driver, Torrese was one of a select few to have won at Oswego Speedway on both the dirt and asphalt surfaces in the early 1950s.

In recognition of these accomplishments, during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Speedway in 2000, Torrese was named one of the Speedway’s Top 50 drivers of all-time.

A 2011 inductee into Oswego Speedway’s Hall of Fame, Torrese carried a love of the Speedway that was passed to his children, in particular son, John Jr., who himself would become a veteran of Supermodified action at the “Steel Palace.”
That love and passion for Oswego Speedway reached a pinnacle in 2011 as the Torrese family became the third era in ownership of the famed Oswego oval and has since returned the historic speed plant to a marquee name in motorsports across the country.

NRC Approves License Transfer of FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the transfer of the operating license of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in upstate New York from Entergy Nuclear Operations to Exelon Generation Co.

The transfer become effective March 31, once the NRC amended the license to reflect the plant’s new ownership.

Entergy had announced plans to cease operations at FitzPatrick in January, citing unfavorable economic conditions. Exelon agreed to purchase the plant and keep it operating after the New York Public Service Commission approved zero-emission credits for nuclear power plants.

The two companies jointly applied for the license transfer on Aug. 18, 2016.

Barclay: Federal Approval of Fitz Transfer Marks Final Step in Securing Local Jobs
Assemblyman Will Barclay released the following statement March 3 after it was announced that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the transfer of FitzPatrick from Entergy to Exelon.

“I applaud the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for approving the transfer of the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. This approval is the final step in the sale of the FitzPatrick plant and will ensure its continued operation, keeping hundreds of people employed and our energy sources diverse.

“This transfer brings to a close a difficult year for many. I want to thank everyone who reached out, wrote a letter to a state or federal agency, or signed a petition to keep the plant in operation. I would also like to recognize our local leaders and Upstate Energy Jobs Coalition who never gave up on this issue. Because we worked together and advocated for including nuclear power in the Clean Energy Standard, we not only changed energy policy but also secured the jobs at FitzPatrick and all of our Upstate nuclear power plants. Keeping the plant in operation was in the best interest for our area and for our state.”

Legislature Chairman Looking Forward To ‘A Promising 2017’
In a relatively short State of the County address, the chairman of the legislature praised legislators for a job well done in 2016 while stressing more needs to be done this year to keep Oswego County headed in a positive direction.

“What a difference a year makes,” Chairman Kevin Gardner said. At this time last year, the county was worried about losing about 650 jobs (at the FitzPatrick nuclear plant), he added.

“What we did as a legislature is we didn’t walk away … What we did was we were assertive and we chose different things to do to fill in the void that could possibly happen,” he said. “Every one of you (legislators) has made a difference in making Oswego County great. Every one of you stood together and helped.”

Great things have happened in recent years in Oswego County that have changed the perspective of how local government operates, Gardner said.

“We, as a collective team, have made great strides in securing the financial future of Oswego County. After many hours of meetings, debates, data studies, and interactive discussions we have been successful in several endeavors,” he said.

As examples, he pointed to:

• This legislature established the first-ever land bank in Oswego County. This will help all municipalities, from the cities to the towns clean up zombie properties.

• The county hired Bonadio financial consultants to help find ways to cut costs in the Department of Social Services. That effort produced savings of more than $100,000 for the taxpayers.

• The county needs to better understand the services provided by its public safety departments. Therefore, it’s requesting an RFP for a study that will gather data and help the legislature make effective changes.

The county has made many friends in Albany and Washington, the chairman said.

He thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his help over the years. Gardner also extended a big thank you to State Senator Patty Ritchie, Assemblyman Will Barclay and Assemblyman Bob Oaks. All three have worked to make Oswego County a better place to live, work and raise a family, he added.

Oswego Bows Out of NCAA Championships
The nationally-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team concluded its season with a 3-1 loss to No. 9/11 Hamilton College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship in early March in the Marano Campus Center Arena.

It was the Lakers’ 17th appearance in the national tournament while the Continental’s were in their first trip.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the final period, Oswego began controlling the puck and keeping pressure in its offensive zone.

The Lakers finally broke on to the scoreboard at 13:13 as senior Kenny Neil headed towards the goal line but stopped on a dime and spun back towards the blue line. He found defenseman Chris MacMillan sitting between the two faceoff circles and the freshman made the most of his chance, firing a score past the goaltender to pull the home team within one, 2-1.

Oswego closed the season with a 25-6-1 overall mark, a regular-season SUNYAC title and an NCAA Championship appearance.

Forget The Snow, Rudy’s Opening Heralds The Arrival Of Spring
There was four feet of snow on the ground. The calendar said Spring doesn’t arrive until on March 20. The windchill was near zero. None of that mattered any more. Rudy’s – The iconic lakeside restaurant – opened for its 71st season.

Old Man Winter conspired with Mother Nature to thwart the arrival of Spring. The best they could do was delay it 24 hours. Rudy’s was scheduled to open for the season Wednesday but the massive storm that dropped several feet of snow on some areas of Central New York altered their plans.

Doug Appleman has been a member of the Rudy’s family for more than 21 years.
This was only the second time that he remembered the opening being delayed by heavy snow.

“We were hoping to open as planned. But with the weather the way it was and all the travel advisories, we decide to hold off for a day,” he said.

The iconic eatery celebrated its 71st season. It’s being open by the third generation of the same family.

During a stong wind storm later in the summer, tons of rocks were heaved ashore by the huge waves. Many of the shoreline picnic tables were covered over by the rocks.

Mayor Barlow Issues Travel Advisory On Oswego
In mid-March, Mayor Billy Barlow issued a Travel Advisory in the city of Oswego due to heavy snow accumulations and white-out conditions in our immediate area.

A Travel Advisory means no unnecessary travel on city streets, and no parking on city streets between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

Motorists were advised to travel with caution if they had to drive and refrain from parking on city streets to assist the DPW crews in their snow removal efforts.

This Travel Advisorywais effective until 6 a.m. March 16.

First Rabies Clinic Of 2017 Draws a Crowd
Hundreds of people took advantage of the first rabies clinic of the year on March 22 to safeguard their pets from the rabies virus.

They had about 600 doses of the vaccine on hand at the County Highway Garage.

The Oswego County Health Department planned more rabies clinics at locations around Oswego County during the year. All of them were held on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

“Rabies continues to be a threat in Oswego County,” said Jiancheng Huang, Oswego County Public Health Director. “We did have one positive wild animal by the end of January this year. So far this is the only one we had this year. We had 11 positive animals in 2016 and six in 2015.”

Great Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Accepted by NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced March 24 that it has reviewed and accepted the nomination of southeastern Lake Ontario to become a National Marine Sanctuary.

Over the past two years the counties of Oswego, Jefferson, Wayne and Cayuga, along with the city of Oswego, New York State, and several community organizations developed a heritage nomination based on historic shipwrecks in the lake.

In his written notification, ONMS Director John Armor stated the federal agency completed “our detailed reviews and determined that this nomination meets the national significance criteria and management considerations. Thus, we have added the nomination to the inventory of areas NOAA may consider in the future for national marine sanctuary designation. We look forward to working with you, your colleagues and the community organizations that have proposed the Great Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary nomination as we consider possible national marine sanctuary designation.”

Acceptance of the nomination means that it will now enter NOAA’s final phase in the designation process, which will include additional research, public participation, and development of a draft management plan.

“The proposed Great Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary includes unique and significant shipwrecks and aircraft within one of the most historically significant regions in the Great Lakes and North America,” said Oswego County Administrator Philip Church, chairman of the local nominating task force. “The proposal is a maritime heritage nomination designed to protect, study and create economies around the submerged resources. It does not propose any new regulations on fishing, scuba diving, boating, water quality, or commercial shipping and dredging.”

Scores Go Bald To Fight Childhood Cancer
Black or white, gay or straight, rich or poor; none of that matters. 175,000. That’s what matters. That is the number of children each year who are diagnosed with some form of cancer.

Dozens of volunteers put on the 11th annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser March 26 at the Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center.

The foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

“It takes an awful lot of volunteers to put on an event like this,” said long-time volunteer John Sheffield, who also served as the MC.

He recognized all the volunteers who organize the event, the barbers who donate their talents, all the local businesses and others who donated to the huge auction and the shavees.

Caitlin Weinell was the first person to be shaved this year.

The SUNY Oswego junior said she raised $1,335 to benefit St. Baldrick’s. She’s a first-time shavee.

“I did it just because a few years ago my sister did it, she did it in Syracuse, and I thought it was such a creative idea to raise money and awareness for helping fight childhood cancer,” she explained.

FitzPatrick Joins Exelon Generation Nuclear Fleet
Exelon Generation, owner of the nation’s largest nuclear energy fleet, announced March 31 it has assumed ownership and management of operations of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba.

“We look forward to bringing FitzPatrick’s highly skilled team of professionals into the Exelon Generation nuclear program, and to continue delivering to New York the environmental, economic and grid reliability benefits of this important energy asset,” said Chris Crane, president and CEO of Exelon. “We applaud Governor Cuomo and his administration for their vision and leadership in adopting the Clean Energy Standard, which made possible this agreement that has saved thousands of jobs, brought reinvestment of hundreds of millions of dollars and positioned New York as a national leader in clean energy.”

With the transaction completed, Exelon Generation named a new site vice president, Joseph Pacher, who was formerly site vice president at R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. The former site vice president of FitzPatrick, Brian Sullivan, was retained by Entergy as part of the original transaction agreement.

Mayor: Oswego is Back, Rejuvenated and Moving Forward
Last year was a very good year for the Port City, Mayor Billy Barlow said in March.

In fact, “2016 was a transformative year for the city of Oswego,” the mayor said in his 2017 State of the City Address.

The city has made great strides and “we’re just getting started,” he told the large crowd in the Council Chambers.

“I have said before and I am as confident as ever, that 2016 will be remembered as the year the city of Oswego turned the corner, embarked on a new beginning, re-branded and reignited itself,” the mayor proclaimed.

When he first took office, there were many problems facing the city. Chief among them were high taxes, high water and sewer fees, blighted neighborhoods, deteriorating roadways and more he said.

“Our collective leadership, hard work and dedication took our city from being a community that was continuously falling further and further behind to a community that now leads the Central New York region in making positive changes, moving forward and changing its identity,” he said. “I am proud to say that we are now a community that other communities point to and say, ‘Look at what Oswego is doing.’”

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