Medical Marijuana in Delaware County
Graduation
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Walton Appoints New Police Chief By Lillian Browne WALTON - Following an executive session and a special meeting of Walton Trustees on Friday, June 21, Walton Police Officer Joe D’Addezio was appointed chief of the department, effective Monday, June 24. D’Addezio assumes the parttime position, at an annual salary of $30,000. The position was previously held by Paul Olsen, who announced his pending resignation in May. D’Addezio, a Walton native and resident, is a department veteran having started at the Walton Police Department in 2005. He is honored and humbled, he said, by the vote of confidence placed in him by the village of Walton. “I have big shoes to follow. There have been great chiefs
Lillian Browne/The Reporter
Walton Police Chief Joe D’Addezio here,” he said of his appointment. Residents can expect to see a continuation of community policing and a more visible police department, D’Addezio said. “Expect to see more foot patrols and our officers interacting in and with our community.”
The traditional cap-toss following the presentation of diplomas.
Contributed by Walton Central School District
‘Once a Warrior ...’
Walton Class Of 2019 Graduates By Lillian Browne WALTON - Seventy Walton Central School students graduated on Saturday, June 22 - 26 of them, with honors. There was picture perfect weather for the outdoor ceremony, attended by hundreds of family members and well-wishers. Guest speaker, Class of 1981 graduate and author Everett DeMorier offered graduates his own
brand of wisdom, telling them that now is the time to take risks and act with confidence and courage. “ ... You are smarter and more talented than you think you are,” DeMorier told students. In his salutatory address Vincent Escobar told fellow graduates that the day marks the end of their childhood and the beginning of their adult lives. “We are thrusted into a world with seemingly no barriers.” He cautioned his classmates
not to make rash decisions. “Although it is tempting to attack every day with reckless abandon, those who succeed in life do so with a clear mind and a level head, while also seizing the opportunities presented to them,” Escobar said. Go out and take the world by storm, he said. Escobar, an honor student, served as Student Council vicepresident, was a soccer and wresSee 'Once a Warrior' page 11
Del. Co. Mobile Child Advocacy Center Unveiled Rosie Cunningham/The Reporter
Delhi Village Mayor Richard Maxey (right) stands with Delhi Town Pool Director John E. Kolodziej III on Saturday, the first official day the pool opened.
Delhi Town Pool Officially Open To The Public By Rosie Cunningham DELHI - After 16 years of planning and construction, residents in the village of Delhi and beyond will be able to take a cooling dip in the new, public, $1.3 million pool next to the legion fields. John E. Kolodziej III is the director of the pool. He is also the aquatics coordinator at SUNY Delhi.
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“The pool will be open seven days a week from 12:30 to 8 p.m.,” said Kolodziej on Saturday when the pool was heated to a comfortable 79 degrees. “We will have free swim lessons available and individuals can sign up through their town halls. There is no cost to the public to swim and you don’t have to be a Delhi resident, everyone is welcome.” Rick Ackerly, a member of the Pool Advisory Committee (PAC), said he is “thrilled” that the pool is officially open. The PAC is made up of four members from the original pool committee, representatives from the town of Delhi, the village of Delhi and the town of Meredith. The PAC answers to the town of Delhi and is responsible for overseeing all operations of the pool. “We will have members of PAC regularly at the pool and we also have a staff of 10 lifeguards,” said Kolodziej. “There is a 150 person capacity.” “This is great,” said Delhi See Delhi Pool Opens page 7
Rosie Cunningham/The Reporter
Representative and officials celebrated receiving a new mobile crisis unit on Monday at Delaware Opportunities. By Rosie Cunningham HAMDEN - “The mobile crisis unit has already been an asset and has served in two instances of reported abuse,” said Stacy Osborn, Delaware County Safe Against Violence Director. “There have been two cases because of proximity, that the children have come here. I think having this unit will increase the rate of success we will have with the children and families. We now have control of who
is involved and we can customize the situation for each instance of reported abuse. This is very important timing-wise, even if we have to bring the families here. It is light years better than anything we were doing.” Representatives of Delaware County, agencies and officials visited Delaware Opportunities in Hamden on Monday to view and tour the Delaware County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) - a moSee Mobile Crisis Unit page 5
Farm Worker Law Will Negatively Impact NY Ag, Officials Say By Lillian Browne SOUTH KORTRIGHT - Disappointing, but not surprising, is how Delaware County officials are characterizing the recently passed Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act, deemed the Farm Workers Bill of Rights by Governor Andrew Cuomo, signed into law last week. As Cuomo praised state legislators’ unified efforts which allow farm laborers to unionize, establish conditions on overtime pay, a mandatory day off from work each week and unemployment insurance, Delaware County Farm Bureau President
Duane Martin cautioned New Yorkers and Delaware County residents that the law will result in increased food costs with little benefit to an already suffering agriculture industry. That industry, Martin said, is the economic backbone of Delaware County. The law, passed to ensure that farm workers are not taken advantage of or treated as a second-class workforce, will make farming in New York even more difficult, Martin said. Prior to the passage of the law, New York already had higher labor and production costs than other states, he said.
Advocates praise the law, saying it aligns New York with California’s standards, which Martin said is a disparate comparison. “California has a 10-month growing season. New York has a much shorter one - around four months,” Martin explained. Delaware County farmers must get the bulk of their growing, harvesting and production accomplished in a shorter time frame - the season is short in terms of months, but long in hours on a given day during those months, Martin explained. State lawmakers have no concept of how their food is proSee Farm Worker Law page 4