DA Boys and Girls Take Top Spot At Harbaugh 2019
DA Student Addresses Mental Health, Addiction
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VOLUME 135 — WHOLE 7165
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019
WWW.THE-REPORTER.NET
Del. Co. BOS Approves Mobile Unit To Serve Child Victims
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Reopening and Relocation Celebration...
Multiple Supervisors Share Reservations By Rosie Cunningham DELHI - The Delaware County Board of Supervisors voted on a vehicle which is projected to serve child victims of physical or sexual abuse. A task force comprised of various agencies representing the Delaware County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) attended the Delaware County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, May 8, urging the supervisors to approve and accept state funds to operate the mobile service center. Delaware County was one of six of New York’s rural counties to be awarded state funds in December for the establishment of a mobile CAC. Each county was awarded $250,000 for the purchase of a mobile unit, as well as $50,000 a year for three years for maintenance and operation costs. The task force consists of employees from Delaware County Social Services, mental health services, the drug abuse counsel, two state troopers, Delaware County District Attorney John Hubbard, Executive Director of Delaware Opportunities Dr. Shelly Bartow, Stacey Osborn, the director of the Safe Against Violence program at Delaware
Opportunities, as well as representatives from additional agencies. Delaware County Commissioner of Social Services Dana Scuderi-Hunter introduced the Delaware County Department of Social Services Staff Development Coordinator Trish Tyrell, who outlined the process of how the mobile service center will be used and how it will serve the children in the county. Scuderi-Hunter said since January of 2018, the “team” has met monthly regarding physical and sexual abuse of children in the county. “We utilize this team to provide services and we were told that we have been awarded a custom-built mobile crisis unit to provide vital services to children and families at no extra cost to the county,” she said. Tyrell discussed trauma and the impact it can have on children who are the county’s future adults. She said that one of the most challenging things for a child who has been abused is sharing their story over and over again, and the mobile unit will streamline the interviewing process and be more efficient. See BOS Meeting page 4
Head Start Prepares Hundreds Of Children For Kindergarten By Rosie Cunningham HAMDEN - The Head Start Program makes sure children are ready for kindergarten. Head Start assists in the transition to school by meeting with the children’s families, and provides backpacks and supplies that the schools either expect or require the children to have to be ready for the first day of school. “The assistance that is received from individuals, businesses and communities helps the Head Start program offset costs of supporting the families so that they are not financially compromised in the acquisition of the backpacks and supplies their children need to enter school,” said Head Start Children’s Services Manager Chelsea Johnson. “The Head Start program assists the children and families in preparation for school by providing activities in the classroom, going on field trips and inviting key staff from the schools to visit the Head Start children to share what is expected when they enter kindergarten.” Johnson said individuals can assist and donate in a variety of ways. “Supplies and materials could be purchased and delivered directly to our Delaware Opportunities office and we will put the items together to be given out to the lead teachers when the backpack and supplies are complete,” said Johnson. “Typically, the lead teachers meet with parents and children in August prior to the children entering school.” Johnson said there are approximately 125 children that transition into kindergarten annually. “We typically try to get backpacks that get the children excited about starting school,” she said. In 1965, the federal government initiated the Head Start program as a comprehensive child and family development program. The tenet was to promote positive school
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On Thursday, May 9, the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the expansion and relocation of Molto Espresso to 151 Delaware Street in Walton with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Bartlett family, including: Jenny and Ray Bartlett, Rebekah and Bobby Doig, Josiah, Jen and Levi Barlett, and Caitlin Jones and Caleb Bartlett. Also pictured are Walton Mayor Steve Condon, Walton Deputy Mayor Richard Doig, Ray Pucci, president of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, Walton Trustees Nate Jamieson and Jen Fay, Walton Chamber of Commerce President Tara Vitti and Delaware County Industrial Development Agency Director Bruce Dolph.
Healthcare Act For Those Who Have Served Will Be Implemented in June Will Allow More Options and Input From Veterans
By Rosie Cunningham DELAWARE COUNTY - The implementation of the Mission Act will improve the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system for the benefit of the nation’s veterans. According to Delaware County Director & Veterans Service Officer Charles Piper, the act will be established on June 6. The bill consolidates VA’s multiple community care programs and authorities and provides further funding for the Choice Program which was established in 2014. It would establish an Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) process to recommend actions to modernize and realign VA’s massive medical infrastructure and also expands VA’s Family Caregiver Program to pre-9/11 veterans and increases VA’s internal capacity to care for veteran patients in VA medical facilities through
improvements to various recruitment and retention programs. Through the program, veterans who are enrolled in the VA healthcare system or otherwise entitled to VA care would be granted access to care in the community or a Community Care Network (CCN). Access to community care would be required under the program if VA does not offer the care or services the veteran requires, if VA does not operate a full-service medical facility in the state in which a given veteran resides, if a given veteran was eligible for care in the community under the Choice 40-mile rule and meets certain other criteria, or if a given veteran and the referring clinician agree that furnishing care in the community is in the best medical interest of the veteran after considering certain criteria. Access to community care would also be required if VA is not able to furnish care within designated
access standards developed by VA after consultation with certain other entities and published in the Federal Register and on VA’s website. Care may be authorized in the community if a given medical service line within a VA facility fails to meet certain VA quality standards developed by VA or if veterans in need of an organ or bone marrow transplant have a medically compelling reason to travel outside the region of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Additionally, eligible veterans will be authorized two visits per calendar year at participating walk-in or federally-qualified healthcare clinics. “I am happy with the changes and improvements,” said Piper. Piper said the Mission Act is an improved version of the Veterans Choice Program which is what veterans are currently being offered. See Healthcare for Vets page 4
School Bus Cameras: Stop Arm Law Eases Prosecution By Lillian Browne DELHI - Last week, New York’s legislature reached an agreement on a proposed bill which will make it easier to prosecute drivers who pass stopped school buses.
Nationally, passing a stopped school bus is a widespread problem and in Delaware County there is no exception. As part of the new law, expected to be signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in the coming weeks, veSee School Bus Cameras page 8
See Head Start page 5
Lillian Browne/The Reporter
Each of the large school buses in the Walton Central School District have interior, forward-facing cameras installed on the windshield.