NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, that the Schuyler County Legislature will conduct a public hearing on the proposed Local Law at 6:30 p.m. on June 14, 2021, in Room 120 at the Human Services Complex, 323 Owego Street, Montour Falls, NY 14865, at which time all persons interested will be heard.
The complete text of the proposed local law is reproduced below.
The locks can be obtained from the County Attorney’s Office by calling 607.535.8121 during normal business hours and scheduling a pickup time. One lock will be available per household and will be provided on a “first come, first serve” basis. Supplies are limited.
“Partnering with County Attorney Getman allows SCOPE to participate in a countywide effort to promote gun safety as a critical part of home safety and increase awareness of just one of Governor Cuomo’s many gun laws. We are 100% membership funded and made up of concerned gun owners and conservation clubs across New York State.”
“In particular, this year, we want to focus on getting the message out to women gun owners and their families,” Phillips said. “Female gun ownership has been on a firm ascent and women are considered the fastest-growing segment in the gun-ownership population.”
According to Getman, the giveaway will help ensure that gun owners are in compliance with New York’s strict firearms storage laws, which require them to lock up their firearms while living in a home with someone under the age of 16.
“We encourage county residents to pick up a free lock so that they can securely store their firearm,” said Getman. “The locks fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns. The cable is threaded through the weapon and blocks the barrel or the use of ammunition. It’s secured by a padlock and key.”
“We want to help minimize demands on health care workers and first respondents by emphasizing home safety, and firearm safety in particular, so together we can prevent accidents,” Getman said. “The goal is to prevent a young child or any other unauthorized person from accessing a firearm in the home.”
Phillips and Getman noted that the locks have been donated by SCOPE and, therefore, there is no county charge to the taxpayers for this service.
Observed annually in June, National Safety Month highlights leading causes of preventable injury and death on a national scale, providing the latest information and resources in an effort to help keep more people safe. Hunting and gun rights groups, such as SCOPE, typically emphasize gun safety as a critical part of home safety.
SCOPE is a non-partisan statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to educating the public about firearm ownership, Second Amendment rights and legislation. The Schuyler County chapter’s meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in January, March, May, October and as necessary at the Montour Falls Moose Lodge, 2096 Co Rd 14, Montour Falls, NY 14865.
The Schuyler County Attorney is the legal advisor to the county legislature, county administrator and other county officials. In addition, that office prosecutes family court cases of child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency and other civil matters on behalf of county officials.
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) National Technical Assistance Center, is hosting a national, online “Welcome to Medicare” for people getting ready to retire, new to Medicare, and/or their caregivers on June 23, 2021, from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET.
There will be presentations, pre-recorded educational videos, materials available for download, and virtual exhibits.
To register, click here.
The Resolution and Local Law are on the agenda for introduction at the Schuyler County Legislative Meeting at 6:30 pm on Monday May 10, 2021 in Montour Falls.
The proposed local law finds that “deer hunting is a valued tradition for many Schuyler County families, providing quality food to county residents and reducing the negative impacts of overabundant deer populations on our agriculture, forests, and communities.”
Under the proposed law, youth hunters aged 12-13 will now be allowed to hunt deer with a firearm or crossbow under the supervision of an experienced adult hunter. Currently, young hunters that are 12 or 13 years old can already hunt big game using archery equipment and can hunt small game with a firearm; however, until now, New York had been the only state to not allow these young hunters to hunt big game.
For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.
The legislature passed a resolution at its April 12, 2021 meeting, recognizing “Law Day” as an occasion of public acknowledgement of our Nation’s heritage of justice, liberty, and equality under the law. The resolution was submitted to the legislature by Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman.
In passing the resolution, the legislature found that “promoting public understanding of the roots of our freedom are an important component in the civic education of the citizens of the United States, the State of New York and the County of Schuyler.”
The American Bar Association selects an annual theme for each Law Day. Law Day is an annual commemoration first held in 1957 when the American Bar Association envisioned a special national day to mark our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. The following year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Law Day Proclamation. Law Day was made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official date for celebrating Law Day.
A copy of Schuyler County’s resolution “Recognizing and Commemorating May 1, 2021 as ‘Law Day’ in Schuyler County” is available below.
These courts connect justice-involved veterans to appropriate services in a court setting, surrounded by an interdisciplinary team. These include the judge, court staff, prosecutors, treatment/service providers, defense attorneys, probation, law enforcement, volunteer veteran peer mentors, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Services, all of whom work collaboratively to help veterans.
Prior to this legislation, there were only approximately 33 VTCs in 25 counties. Due to the lack of a VTC in over half of the counties of the state, about one-third of New York veterans lacked access to a VTC.
The new law authorizes the transfer of cases from jurisdictions without VTCs to adjacent counties with VTCs and requires the chief administrative judge to establish new VTCs, to the extent practicable.
• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who incurred funeral expenses after Jan. 20, 2020 for a death attributed to COVID-19.
• If multiple individuals contributed toward funeral expenses, they should apply under a single application as applicant and co-applicant. FEMA will also consider documentation from other individuals not listed as the applicant and co-applicant who may have incurred funeral expenses as part of the registration for the deceased individual.
• An applicant may apply for multiple deceased individuals.
• The COVID-19-related death must have occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
• This assistance is limited to a maximum financial amount of $9,000 per funeral and a maximum of $35,500 per application.
• Funeral assistance is intended to assist with expenses for funeral services and interment or cremation.
For more information, click here.
For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.
In addition, the proposed resolution asks the state legislature to mandate that all such cryptocurrency mining operations permitted within the state operate solely on renewable energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal or hydropower.
The resolution was introduced by Legislator Mark Rondinaro (R-District 7). It was drafted by County Planning Director Kristin Van Horn, with input from County Attorney Steven Getman and the County’s Environmental Management Council. It targets mining operations having peak power demand of more than 50 kilowatts.
If passed, copies of Schuyler County’s resolution will be forwarded to state officials, requesting further action on potential regulations.
The resolution is directed at operations statewide and does not single out any specific cryptocurrency mining facility, such as the Greenidge Generation plant and bitcoin mining facility in neighboring Yates County. That facility recently began to mine the cryptocurrency bitcoin and is reportedly seeking a permit from the Town of Torrey Planning Board to expand. Opponents of the expansion claim the additional computers will have adverse impacts on the environment. Greenidge officials have disputed that claim.
The April 12 meeting of the Schuyler County Legislature will be held at 6:30 pm at the County Human Services Complex, 323 Owego Street, Montour Falls, NY. The public is encouraged and invited to attend. All COVID-related social distancing and masking rules will apply.
A complete copy of the proposed resolution can be seen below.