By Krystal Cole
OSWEGO, N.Y.– Oswego County’s 2018 Budget proposal is expected to have no increase in property tax.
The overall budget is currently around $202 million. If no changes are made before the final version, taxpayers will actually see a decrease in their property tax.
These numbers are not set in stone however, as the county is still waiting on figures from the state.
A final vote on the budget will be taken on December 14 at 7 p.m.
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SUNY Oswego’s College Republicans Club uses beach ball to promote free speech
by Briana Watson
OSWEGO, NY – On Wednesday October 25th, the College Republicans Club at SUNY Oswego put up a 8-foot beach ball in front of Penfield Library to promote free speech. The beach ball was used as a medium to encourage students to write anything they wanted whether they were political views or their Instagrams.
President of the College Republicans Club Tyler Toomey said that using the beach ball as a medium for free speech is an event that is being held on other campuses along the east coast.
“It’s a pretty big event through some nonprofit organizations nationwide so we got in contact with them and they actually drove the ball from D.C down to us last night,” Toomey said.
Student Shelby Stewart took the opportunity to express her political views.
“I wrote that I support Trump…because a lot of people wrote a lot of liberal things and I feel like there’s not very many Republicans on campus,” Stewart said.
Stewart said she hopes that by having the beach ball present that it will inspire unity on campus.
“I think if anything it’s going to unite everybody because they see that the College Republicans aren’t just saying, ‘You can’t write anything on it if it’s not Republican’. So I think hopefully, it just going to unite campus and show that people can get along,” Stewart said.
For more information on the College Republicans Club visit the Oswego College Republicans facebook page or their Laker Life page.
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Army Corps of Engineers approves dredging of Oswego Harbor
As the saying goes, better late than never.
On Thursday, United States Senator for New York Charles Schumer said the Army Corps of Engineers approved the dredging of sediment in the Oswego Harbor. The project, scheduled to start on June 1st, has been long overdue as the last dredging took place in 2008.According to Army Corps Officials, the harbor is supposed to be dredged every 3-4 years.
Approximately 72,000 cubic yards of sediment will need to be dredged. This process is used to counter the affects of sedimentation in channels of water, which in time can fill and render important waterways useless. The harbor will be returned to an optimal depth after the removal of the deposited sediments, for shipping and leisure purposes.
Senator Schumer, says the dredging will give a boost to the local economy, commercial barges, family boaters and fishing charters in the harbor. The Port of Oswego says it puts more than $1 billion into the local economy each year. Other improvements that have already been made to improve rail access to the port are expected to increase capacity by 50 percent.
The Port of Oswego is the only deep water port on the U.S. shores of Lake Ontario, receiving large shipments of soy, corn, wheat and aluminum.
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Oswego Heroin Arrest
As Bridge Street Run 2015 comes into the horizon, Oswego County dealt with a heroin arrest on Thursday, February 26.
Investigators with the Oswego County Drug Task Force stopped 23-year-old Eugene J. Gibbs on St. Rt. 481 north of County Route 57 in the City of Oswego. The investigation resulted in a warrant being issued, and authorities recovered 8.2 grams of heroin.
Gibbs was arrested and charged with 3rd Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance with the intent to sell, and 4th Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Gibbs is a resident of Utica, New York, but authorities believe he was attempting to sell the drugs in Oswego. The heroin had a street value of $5,500.
He is scheduled to to return to Oswego to Court on March 3, 2015.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact investigators at 315-349-8222 or email drugtipline@oswegocounty.com.
