WATKINS GLEN--Local members of law enforcement were joined by their families, local residents, and county officials outside the Sheriff's Office Friday, May 13 to honor fallen officers. In his first year as Sheriff, department veteran Kevin Rumsey spoke on behalf of not only his fallen brethren but the nature of modern police work and the challenges they face. "It's an honor first and foremost to celebrate the lives and sacrifices of our comrades who gave the ultimate sacrifice while in service... It's a little bit of closure every year," said Rumsey.

STARKEY--Despite being a hot button issue at the end of last year, no member of the public took the opportunity to speak during the Thursday, May 12 Starkey board meeting on the design and implementation of a new wastewater law. The item was listed on the "unfinished business" section of the meeting agenda.

SCHUYLER COUNTY-- The Schuyler County Department of Health has announced the county Medical Reserve Corps has been recognized with two awards for COVID-19 vaccination efforts and significant use of volunteers. Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Emily Warfle, who applied for the awards, said the honors were both well deserved.

WASHINGTON--New York Congressman Tom Reed resigned from Congress, Tuesday, May 10, a spokesman from his office announced. Reed served as the representative for New York's 23rd congressional district, which includes Yates, Schuyler and Steuben Counties along with a section of the state on the Pennsylvania border that extends west to Lake Erie. Reed had previously stated he would not be seeking reelection for the position he has held since 2010 after allegations of inappropriate personal behavior with a lobbyist were made public last year.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A court-appointed expert released a draft of new congressional maps for New York that are more favorable to Republicans than the original gerrymandered political maps drawn by Democrats. The draft maps released Monday would help the GOP by creating five districts that lean Republican and at least four other districts where Republicans would be competitive.

YATES COUNTY--In a move that may help local and tourist wallets, the Yates County Legislature voted Monday, May 9 to change the way taxes are calculated on gasoline sales. This is an effort to decrease the price at the pump as historic high prices are being seen in the Finger Lakes and throughout the country. The legislature elected to collect a cents per gallon rate of sales instead of a percentage rate for such taxes.

WATKINS GLEN--Listen carefully this weekend and you just might hear the merry sound of hammered dulcimers skipping across the lake as a group of students convene for an annual workshop featuring instruction and sharing. If they've got the doors closed, and you'd like to hear the instructors, you'll want to come to the concert, Friday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church (6th and Decatur Streets in Watkins Glen) where Ken Kolodner and Mary Lynn Michal, the weekend's instructors, will present a program whose music is drawn partly from Kolodner and Michal's upcoming CD, "Out from the Shadows."

YATES COUNTY--The Yates County legislature passed a new redistricting plan during the Monday, May 9 meeting with only two legislators voting against its adoption. The vote came following the Tuesday, May 3 government operations meeting that saw the adopted plan get recommended after the previous plan did not get accepted.

WATKINS GLEN--New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced last week that the pedestrian bridge near the Franklin Street entrance to the Watkins Glen State Park Gorge Trail will be closed for renovation this season. A temporary bridge will be installed in the coming weeks to ensure access to the gorge for the summer. The gorge trail will open by Memorial Day weekend, but visitors may need to use other points of entry until the temporary bridge is installed.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Community activists and lawmakers traveled to a rural courthouse Friday in western New York to weigh in on the shape of the state's political district maps, and to ask a judge for more opportunities for the public to be heard. The state judge overseeing the redrawing of New York's congressional and state Senate districts scheduled just one public hearing on the matter before the maps are due to be finalized May 20.

DUNDEE--Families with students at the Dundee Children's Center were informed of the plans for the facility to close in a letter dated April 25. The center currently provides care for children from ages 3 to 12, with before and after school programs including universal pre-kindergarten. "It is with great sadness we write this to inform you that the Dundee Children's Center will be permanently closing," the letter states. "The last day of before and after school daycare will be June 17, 2022 and the last day of UPK3 will remain June 22, 2022."

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York judge ordered Friday that the state's congressional and state Senate primaries be delayed until Aug. 23 to provide enough time to replace district maps that were ruled unconstitutional this week.

NEW YORK--Starting May 1 New Yorkers will have the ability to recycle leftover paint, stain, and varnish more easily. In the coming months, there will be up to 300 drop-off sites across New York state residents can access created through partnerships with paint retail stores and local government facilities.

NEW YORK STATE--The New York State Assembly passed bill A7389C, Tuesday, April 26, which would establish a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions. The bill has now been delivered to the Senate where deliberations and passage would be required before it makes its way to the governor to be signed in as law.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado will serve as New York's next lieutenant governor, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
Delgado, a Democrat, will take on the largely ceremonial role previously formerly held by Brian Benjamin, who resigned following his arrest for federal corruption charges he denies.

FINGER LAKES--Residents across the state will be asked on May 17 to go to their local school district and vote on not only who will serve on the school board but also on a number of different propositions and the school's budget for 2022-2023.

WATKINS GLEN--The swimming beach at Clute Park might be closed again for the second summer in a row. According to Craig Bond, Watkins Glen parks and event center manager, the issue that could keep the beach closed is the same as last year; not enough lifeguards. Bond gave this warning at the village board of trustees meeting, Tuesday, April 19.

NEW YORK STATE--The newly enacted state budget includes provisions that have eliminated the department of transportation right-of-way fee for broadband projects. Prior to the news, the fee or "broadband tax" had been eliminated, State Senator Tom O'Mara had argued it was costing New York billions of dollars in infrastructure funding.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 18 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Penn Yan, Dundee and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the May 11 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 5 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Penn Yan, Dundee and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the April 27 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results. These writeups appeared in the April 20 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the April 13 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the March 9 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the March 2 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Penn Yan, Dundee and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the Feb. 23 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Odessa-Montour, Watkins Glen, Dundee, Penn Yan and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the Feb. 16 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Feb. 9 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Feb. 2 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Jan. 26 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Jan. 19 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Jan. 12 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Jan. 5 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Dundee, Penn Yan and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the Dec. 22 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Dec. 15 newspapers.