The Sidney chamber of commerce announced this years winners of the Citizen of the Years & Business of the Year awards.  This year’s citizen of the Years is former Sidney Fire Chief Barry Cole, who was surprised to receive the honor this morning:

(Barry Cole 4-2-14)

The Business of the Years is Video Entertainment Plus; owner Andy Matviak was also surprised to win:

(Andy Matviak 4-2-14)

Both will be honored at the Sidney Chamber’s Annual Dinner on Friday, June 6th at the Sacred Heart Banquet Hall, on Liberty Street in Sidney.

—————————————————-

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that he was very pleased with the final state budget, especially with regards to education:

(Silver 4-2-14)

State lawmakers finished voting on budget bills late Monday, the governor signed the budget into law on Tuesday.

——————————————————–

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Department arrested 43 Year old Gary Cameron of   Norwich on charges of –Criminal Contempt, Aggravated Harassment, & criminal Mischief.    Cameron was charged following a domestic dispute in Norwich, destroying the victim’s property, with a 6-year-old child present.  Cameron was arraigned & was released on his own recognizance and scheduled to reappear in court at a later date.  He was arrested again for violating an order of protection issued by the court & was then remanded to the Chenango County Jail on $500 cash bail pending court action.

——————————————————–

The State Labor Department released unemployment rates for February 2014.  The state’s private sector job count rose by 117,200 since February 2013, & the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.8%. The economy added 12,800 private sector jobs in February, bringing the state’s private sector job count to a record high of 7,543,100.  Locally, Chenango County’s unemployment rate is 7.7%, Delaware County 8.3% and Otsego County 7.6%

———————————————-

New York State of Health reported that 1,2 million new Yorkers completed their applications and 865,487 have enrolled for coverage since the launch of the Marketplace on October 1st. on Monday, the deadline day, almost 39,000 New Yorkers enrolled in coverage & nearly 134,000 enrolled over the last week.

———————————————–

A few thousand protesters rallied against New York’s gun-control laws yesterday, at an Albany rally featuring an appearance from Donald Trump. The protesters filled the south end of Albany’s Empire State Plaza, as speakers berated Governor Cuomo and the state Legislature, for passing the New York Safe Act last year.  Trump was joined at the rally by Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino and 2010 GOP nominee Carl Paladino, who is considering a run on a 3rd party line.  State police reported that the protest was peaceful and no arrests were made.

—————————————————

Trout season opened Tuesday in New York State, however, Anglers said that rivers were too fast for them to catch anything. Fishing licenses are required for anyone over the age of 16; more information is available at dec.ny.gov. The season runs through October 15th.