The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that federal disaster assistance has been made available to New York to supplement state, and eligible tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding on August 13th to August 15th. Federal funding is available to state, and eligible tribal and local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms and flooding in 7 area counties, including Broome, Chenango, & Delaware counties.
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The latest Sienna Poll has Governor Cuomo ahead of Republican challenger Marcus Molinaro by a 50 to 28% margin, with Working Families Party candidate Cynthia Nixon at 10% and 3 other candidates with a combined support of 4% & 8% were still undecided. The latest Siena College poll also has incumbent US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ahead of Republican challenger Chele Farley by a 61 to 29% margin. In the race for Attorney General, Democrat Letitia James leads Republican Keith Wofford 50 to 36%.
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The Sidney Central School District conducted a Lockdown Drill Yesterday; Sidney Superintendent Bill Christensen explains how the drills work:

(Bill Christensen 10-2-18)

The Lockdown drills are now performed several times a year in each district, following the uptick in school shootings over the last decade nationwide.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Department arrested 56 year old Raymond Champlin of Harpersfield, on 6 counts of Forcible Touching and 6 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Champlin is accused of forcibly touching a 14 year old female victim; he was arraigned & was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond pending a return to Town of Harpersfield Court at a later date.
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275 educators from across the state have been selected to join the New York State Master Teacher Program. The new Master Teachers bring the total up to 980 state wide, the Master Teachers in the Southern Tier can be found at suny.edu/masterteacher/cohort/southern-tier.
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Governor Cuomo signed legislation passed by the Legislature this year, to allow pets to board any public transportation service in the event of a state of emergency and evacuation. The legislation expands existing law; it was changed after issues during Superstorm Sandy, where many pet owners refused to evacuate because they could not take their companion animals with them, which jeopardized the lives of the residents, their pets & emergency personnel attempting to evacuate them.
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This Friday, Hartwick College will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the College’s Nursing Program, which has graduated over 1,500 graduates into the profession. On Friday, Hartwick College will host an all-day symposium, after a welcome at Yager Hall, 4 seminars will be offered throughout the morning, at 3:00 PM, the College will unveil a new 11-bed nursing simulation unit housed in Smith Hall and funded by grants from the Clark Foundation and an additional private foundation. Registration information and the full event schedule is available at Hartwick.edu.
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Governor Cuomo today announced that the Raise the Age law is now in effect, it removes 16-year-olds who have committed a criminal act from the adult criminal justice system and places them in age-appropriate settings. 16-year-olds who are arrested for non-violent offenses will have the same opportunities for diversion and community-based services as youth 15 and under. 16-year-olds charged with serious offenses will be processed as adolescent offenders in a Youth Part of criminal court and placed in specialized secure detention facilities for adolescents instead of adult jails.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 32 year old Matthew Hubbard of Walton for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, operating a motor vehicle while registration suspended, and other Vehicle and Traffic law violations. The arrest occurred during the course of an investigation into a disabled vehicle on State Highway 206 in the Village of Walton. Hubbard was released on traffic tickets, and is scheduled to appear at the Village of Walton Court at a later date to answer the charges.
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The League of Women Voters announced that a debate scheduled for tonight in Oneonta has been postponed. Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Bill Magee was due to debate Republican challenger John Salka tonight at the Oneonta High School, Magee told the league he had person matters to deal with.
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