Reported by: Casey Matto

For the past few months the concern over the Zika virus has been steadily growing. The Zika virus as of now is found mostly south of the United States in Central America and the northern part of South America, but is expected to spread northward as it gets warmer and warmer headed into summer. The full capacity of the disease is unknown, each week new symptoms and ways of transmission are talked about.

What we know is that the symptoms are relatively mild for adults but for pregnant women who catch the disease the fetus is susceptible to numerous brain complications upon birth.

The disease is spread mostly by mosquito but sexual transmission has also been know to happen for those carrying the disease. And there is currently no vaccine or cure for the virus.

As for the Oswego area the mosquitos that carry Zika are not expected to travel this far north this summer however for students living in Long Island, New York City, and southward be careful because it will be warm enough for mosquitos to travel up to those areas. A lot of bug spray, long pants, and long sleeve shirts this summer may be a good idea to decrease your chances of catching the virus.

        This past weekend, members of the Police Department along with investigators from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, SUNY Oswego police officers and local business owners; worked together to try and combat underage drinking and the use of fake ID’s.

        Over 24 people were issued citations for attempting to use fake identification on Friday night. All fake ID’s were confiscated by DMV investigators.

        The operation was conducted at three bars on West Bridge Street; Alley Cat’s on 23 W. Bridge Street, The Raven on 39 W. Bridge Street and The Sting on 49 W. Bridge Street.

        This initiative is part of Governor Cuomo’s “No Excuses” Campaign which has conducted sweeps called “Operation Prevent” across the state to prevent underage drinking in New York State and keep New York Roadway’s safe.

        Mayor Billy Barlow has been outspoken about the efforts made to prevent underage drinking, saying “The collaborative effort between local law enforcement, DMV investigators, local bar owners, SUNY Oswego and the city of Oswego, emphasizes the importance of these types of sweeps in our community.”

The Oswego State volleyball team split a doubleheader at Max Ziel Gymnasium this afternoon as they defeated Oneonta 3-1 and then fell to Fredonia by the same score. After today’s games, Oswego is now 9-11 on the season and 3-3 in conference play. Conference foe, Oneonta, falls to 8-14 overall and 2-3 in the SUNYAC with Fredonia moving to 13-7 and 5-1 in the conference.

Against Oneonta, Allison Sullivan and Lauren Fie each had seven kills by the end of the second set to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. While they struggled in the third set, largely due to a 10-2 run by the Red Dragons, Oswego regained their rhythm to win the contest. Leading the Lakers on the court were Alison Berger with 15 assists and Sarah Braddon with 15 digs on defense.

With momentum from their last match on their side, Oswego jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Fredonia. That would be the only set that they would come out on top in though, as crucial runs by the Blue Devils led to wins by scores of 25-12, 25-23, and 25-17. On the offensive side, Allison Sullivan and Laura Finn led the Lakers with eight kills apiece while Julia Flohr contributed eighteen assists as well as six digs on defense.

Oswego’s will be back in action in Canton next Saturday for a doubleheader where they will take on the ‘Roos and Maine Fort-Kent.