The Southern Tier Independence Center is offering help to those looking to enroll in the next round for the Affordable Care Act starting tomorrow. Center spokesman Chad Eldred explains:

(Chad Eldred 11-14-14)

Those who would like more information about the Center can call 724-2111 or log on at stic-cil.org.

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Sidney school District Special Education teacher Tauna LaBare has initiated a fundraising campaign with the faculty& staff to purchase red and white striped socks, with all proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald house where student Francisco LaBoy & his mother have stayed, while he received treatment for a brain tumor. LaBare told WCDO news about their plans:

(Tauna LaBare 11-14-14)

The special striped sock can be purchased by the public through the Sidney school website. through the November 25th as “Wear Your Stripes To Show You Care Day.”   more information about Ronald McDonald house is available at rmhcrochester.org.

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Governor Cuomo has signed legislation to start the $2 million “Craft Beverage Marketing and Promotion Grant Program,” as well as a $1 million “Craft Beverage Industry Tourism Promotion Grant.”   The Craft New York Act allows producers to conduct tastings and serve “by the bottle” and “by the glass”; it permits farm distilleries to increase the retail outlets where they can sell their products; it also reduces the costs for small manufacturers by increasing the production cap and permitting the development of more products without increasing fees.   Since 2011, 220 farm-based businesses have opened in New York, including 101 new wineries, 62 breweries, 49 distilleries, and 8 cideries.

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Next week, several locations in the Delaware County area will serve as collection sites for “Operation Christmas Child”. The annual project consists of filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and notes of encouragement.   Local Collection Sites will include the Sidney 1st Baptist Church, The New Hope Community Church in Walton, & the Stamford Baptist Church 40 Lake Street. More information is available at samaritanspurse.org.

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Detectives and missing-persons bureaus would have an easier time updating the national database on missing children under legislation that could pass the US Senate shortly. The bill would reauthorize the 1974 Runaway and Homeless Youth & Trafficking Prevention Act, it would allow local law enforcement to update records in the National Crime Information Center without getting prior approval from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or the originating agency. 10,312 children were reported missing in 2013 in upstate New York and the Hudson Valley, and 1,269 of those cases were still active at the end of last year.

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School groups said an additional $1.9 billion is needed to fund education in the fiscal year that starts April 1st. The groups said the nearly 9% increase in state aid would help schools maintain services and fund new initiatives. New York spends the most per capita in the nation on schools, at $19,076 per student, and puts more than $22 billion a year into education, including a 5% increase in the current fiscal year. About $1 billion has been withheld in recent years through the “Gap Elimination Adjustment” .

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