Staff and students at the Sidney Central School district showed their support Ronald McDonald House of Rochester & for 12 year old Francisco LaBoy, a students who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 3, and who spent time at their Rochester facility.   Lori Stevenson from Ronald McDonald House was at the Sidney school of a special assembly today to collect $1500 that was raised through the “Wear Your Striped Socks” fundraising campaign:

(Lori Stevenson 11-25-14)

Francisco LaBoy & his Father Jose expressed their gratitude for the support they have received with this campaign:

(Francisco & Jose LaBoy 11-25-14)

Plans are in the works to continue the fundraising campaign next year, another “Wear Your Striped Socks” campaign Assembly is scheduled for Sidney October 15^th 2015.

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Delaware County Sheriff Deputies responded to a reported 1-car motor vehicle accident on State Highway 10 in the Town of Walton. Deputies arrested 55 year old Richard Wood of Walton, for driving while ability impaired by drugs, he was released with appearance tickets made returnable for Town of Walton Court at a later date.
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A decision on where up to 4 casinos will be located in upstate New York is expected to be announced December 17th, when a board reviewing casino applications is expected to meet for the final time. The board is choosing from 16 applications, with 4 licenses are set to be awarded for 3 upstate regions: the Albany-Saratoga area, the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley. The decision will be made following months of public hearings and presentations on the proposals.
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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called upon the FTC to update the Telemarketing Sales Rule to better protect consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers. Schneiderman & 36 other Attorney general’s offices have asked the FTC to protect consumers from telemarketing fraud and abuse, an average of only 37.5% of funds raised by telemarketers were retained by the charities & in 50.3% of the campaigns, the charities retained less than 30% of the money raised. Schneiderman has taken action against 8 entities under investigation for fraudulent fundraising
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Siena Research Institute released its annual New York Poll of Holiday Spending Plans for the year. While spending trends remained the same this year, excitement for the holiday season has dropped. 58% of New Yorkers said they’re excited about the upcoming holiday season, down from 72% a year ago. Nearly 2/3rds of New Yorkers are planning on spending the same amount of money this year, only 7% plan to spend more.
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Former Greene Police Chief Stephen Dutcher was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay $1,255 in fines and surcharges. Dutcher also agreed to pay $3,038 in restitution to the Village of Greene and signed a 5-year order of protection in favor of his estranged wife. He pleaded guilty in September to 2 counts of official misconduct and 1 count of 2nd degree criminal contempt. Dutcher was arrested April 24 after state police responded to a request from Greene officials regarding missing village property.
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The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced today that e-filing continues to gain strength, reducing by 15% the number of paper income tax returns filed during last year’s tax season. Nearly 90% of the 10.4 million income tax returns received were e-filed—an increase of 4% from the previous year, the savings for New Yorkers adds up to $45 million each year. The increase in e-filing also contributes to the Department’s ability to issue refunds 27% faster than in previous years, with the average refund now issued in 22 days.

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