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APALACHIN • OWEGO • NICHOLS TIOGA CENTER • NEWARK VALLEY
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YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER • www.CommunityPress.us Volume 29
MARCH 2014
Owner of Tioga Downs to Sponsor Free Flight to Washington for Vets
Number 3
Owego Strawberry Festival June 20 & 21
Jeff Gural to sponsor Honor Flight trip for WWII, Korean War, and terminally ill veterans
Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols, and chairman and CEO of American Racing and Entertainment, announced recently that he will be funding an Honor Flight trip, intended to transport, free of charge, WWII, Korean War, and terminally ill veterans to Memorials in Washington, D.C., on April 12. Gural, who has been a large supporter of area veterans, has been planning to fund the Honor Flight trip, and has now set these plans in motion. Working with Deanna Deneen, who heads up the Honor Flight Hub serving the Southern Tier of New York and Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, an arranged flight will facilitate 50 veterans and their guardians for a visit to the Memorials. The flight will depart Binghamton on Saturday, April 12, fly to the D.C. area
for visits to the Korean War Memorial and the WWII Memorial located on the National Mall. A stop is also planned at the Changing of the Guards in Arlington. Deneen stated that the flight will be met by charter buses that will transport the veterans, and that the buses will receive an honorary police escort to the Memorials. Deneen is currently taking names for the flight, and those interested should visit twintiershonorflight.org, download an application, and then email it to deannadeneen@gmail.com. Applications can also be mailed to Deneen, and that address is located on the form. Applications will be accepted until the flight is filled up, and those who are unable to get on this flight will be put on a waiting list for future available flights.
2014 Festival Celebrates 34 Years The Historic Owego Marketplace in downtown Owego is pleased to announce plans for the upcoming 34th Annual Strawberry Festival to be held Friday night, June 20, 5:30 to 10:30 pm, and Saturday, June 21, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. New committee co-chairs, Fran and Sandy Dunbar, are excited to help plan some very exciting activities at the festival and hope this year's event claims to be the best ever. This annual event is host to over 30,000 guests each year; offering plenty of food, entertainment on every street corner, and up to 200 vendors.
According to Stella Reschke, Tioga County Tourism Director, the festival committee has tried to incorporate new and exciting activities for the festival to attract visitors from all over. “We usually see lots of new faces come in for the festival from all over the Northeast because strawberries are a universally much-loved fruit, and it's just a really fun couple of days.” said Reschke. The Strawberry Festival has included some new and returning features to this year’s event. In addition to the over 200 vendors and the fabulous entertainment throughout the streets on Friday's Block Party and on Saturday, the festival will also include: "Straw Dawgs Strut Their Stuff"; Fireworks over the River; Wine, Beer, Spirits Tasting Tent; Strawberry Festival Parade; Rubber Ducky Derby; Chicken BBQ; 11th Annual Pig Roast; Rock Climbing Wall; 5K Run and 1 Mile Kids' Run; and some great surprises!
Tioga County Legislature Taking a Hard Look at County Bus Transportation System
by Martha Sauerbrey Chair, Tioga County Legislature Recent changes in the mandated Medical Transportation System by the
Cuomo Administration has severely impacted the financial viability of the Tioga Bus Transportation and will result in an increase in local tax
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dollars if the service continues. For the past 20 years, Tioga County has provided a rural transportation system paid for by Medicaid dollars. Under the new Medicaid System, the New York State Department of Health has contracted with a private vendor to manage the transportation system. They are not using our bus system but sending people in cabs. The change has seen the Medicaid transports on our system drop from 993 trips per month to 8 trips per month. The cost to the county even with increasing the rates and eliminating some routes leaves the county with an estimated bill of $370,000 per year on the local tax base. Since the state failed to adequately advise us of this change until late in the year, no money was
budgeted for 2014. That translates into a 1.7% tax increase. With Medicaid beneficiaries no longer riding the bus, that leaves approximately 200 people per day using the bus system. Roughly 75 of these riders are commuting to and from work. So the question is, considering these ridership numbers, how much are we willing to pay? The Legislature doesn’t want to make a decision without reaching out to the citizens of Tioga County. We need to hear from you as this is a taxpayer issue not just a transportation issue. Contact your legislator or the Tioga County Legislative office and share your feedback. The information is listed on the county website under Government at www.tiogacountyny.com.
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