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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to Celebrate Opening of the Neighborhood Depot in Tioga County

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the Neighborhood Depot, a new nonprofit hub serving Tioga County, was held on Monday, June 23rd at 10:30 a.m. The event took place at the facility’s new location in downtown Owego. Invited guests included the participating nonprofits, funders of the project and local officials.

The 16,000-square-foot Neighborhood Depot is designed to bring together multiple nonprofit organizations under one roof to reduce overhead costs and improve access to essential services for vulnerable and underserved community members. Partnering agencies include Tioga United Way, Tioga County Rural Ministry, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County, and Racker.

“The Neighborhood Depot is a nonprofit hub that provides a wide variety of services to the community un-

der one roof,” said Bob Brazill, Director of Community Relations and Development for Racker and spokesperson for the project. “This project addresses many needs for our community in a central location in Owego.”

The facility is located above the 500year floodplain and designed to double as an emergency response center during times of crisis. Features include a large conference room, shower, a commercial kitchen and food pantry, and an industrial generator The site’s proximity to railroad lines and downtown Owego enhances both accessibility and emergency logistics.

The ribbon cutting event was followed by an Open House for the community from at which time the public was invited to tour the facility and find out more about the participating nonprofits.

It’s the Great Tioga County Fair! August 5 - 9, 2025

The Tioga County Fair is back and better than ever.

The 166th Tioga County Fair in Owego will run from Tuesday, August 5, to Saturday August 9, at Marvin Park Fairgrounds, 50 W Main Street. Admission gates open at 11 am.

An official ribbon cutting ceremony will take on Tuesday, August 5, celebrating the grand opening of this year’s festivities. The event will take place at the fairgrounds in Marvin Park where community members and visitors will experience a day filled with food, games, and entertainment.

The ribbon cutting will mark the beginning of the week-long celebra-

tion featuring carnival rides, agricultural exhibits, local vendors, and live performances. This year’s fair promises to be the best yet, with something for everyone.

For more information about the fair schedule and ticketing, visit www.tiogacofair.com

Candor 4th of July Parade

Sebby S. Truesdail Photo

719 Main St. Apalachin, NY 607-625-3333

Open Mon, Tues, Thurs: 10am-7pm; Fri & Sat: 10am-2pm www.apalachinlibrary.org

Programs for July

Storytime: Tuesdays and Thursdays | 10:30am

Join Miss Wendy for read alouds, singing, playing, dancing, and crafts! Tuesday and Thursday each week are the same theme. No registration required. Please note: there will be no Storytime Tuesday, June 24 through Thursday, July 3. Storytime will resume on Tuesday, July 8.

Mahjong: Mondays | 2pm-4pm No experience or registration required.

Tech Time with Tina: Tuesdays By Appointment

Zen Before Zzzzzs: Tuesdays | 6pm

Grab your yoga mat and join yoga instructor Sheehan Shotwell for an inspiring yoga practice each week. No registration required.

Ice Cream Social

Join Us for Our Next Community Ice Cream Social. Thursday, July 17 from 6pm to 7:30pm. Come help us welcome Pastor Ginger to our Community.

Little Meadows United Methodist Church 843 Pennsylvania Ave, Little Meadows.

Euchre: Thursdays | 2pm-4pm No experience e or registration required.

Family Nights: Thursdays in July (with the exception of 7/3) | 6pm See next page for details! Registration is required. Grab your lawn chairs and blankets (weather permitting, these events will take place in the pavilion!). No registration is necessary – bring the whole family!

Senior First Second Friday Program – Magician and Lunch: Friday, July 11 | 11am-1pm

Crochet Class for Beginners: Saturday, July 12 | 11am-1pm Space lis limited, and reqistration is required.

Afternoon Book Club: Thursday, July 17 | 1pm Seneca Falls Inheritance by Miriam Monfredo No registration required. The August book will be Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

Harry Potter’s Birthday Party: Thursday, July 31 | 2pm-6pm Drop in for some Harry Potter fun! See next page for details. No registration required.

Tioga County Legislative Meeting

The Seventh Regular Meeting of 2025 will be held at 12:00 P.M., Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in the Edward D. Hubbard Auditorium of the Ronald E. Dougherty County Office Building at 56 Main Street, Owego, New York 13827. All Committee Meetings and Legislative Worksessions will be held in the Legislative Conference Room of the Ronald E.

Dougherty County Office Building at 56 Main Street, Owego, NY 13827. Individuals requiring any accommodation or auxiliary aid may contact the Legislative Office at (607) 687-8240. With advance notice, necessary auxiliary aids will be provided at no cost to the person requesting assistance.

Lions Mobile Food Pantry

The Foodbank Of the Southern Tier and the Apalachin Lions will hold a mobile food pantry on Wednesday July 23rd from 10am to 11am. At St Margaret Mary’s Church at 1110 Pennsylvania Ave. Apalachin. Pre registration is required. Registration is Tuesday July

22nd at 8:30 am until full ( current limit of 125 registrations) If you register please attend. To register call 2-11 or on line at: www.foodbankst.org/cfd. This is a “Walk-Up Pantry” please bring a cart or bag to carry food! Baked Goods, etc Thurs., Fri., Sat. Donuts Thurs. and Sat 10626 St. Rt. 38 Newark Valley, NY

20th Annual TSB Car & Truck Show

Tioga State Bank is pleased to announce their 20th Annual Car and Truck Show will take place Wednesday, July 9, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at East Waverly Park in Waverly, N.Y.

Whether you own a classic, muscle, or antique car or truck, this is the perfect opportunity to display your prized possession and connect with other enthusiasts. The event promises to be a fun and memorable experience for all attendees.

For more information or to register online and receive a free gift, please visit tiogabank.com/car-andtruck-show.

The bank encourages everyone to spread the word to family and friends.

In case of inclement weather, a rain date has been set for Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers SeekingApplications for Floyd HookerYouth Fund

The Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers (CFTT) is seeking applications for grants that will benefit the youth of Tioga County, New York. These grants are made possible from the Floyd Hooker Youth Fund at the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers. The 2025 amount available to grant is $24,500. Eligible applicants include governmental or non-profit organizations serving the youth of Tioga County, NY. This fund is separate from the Floyd Hooker Foundation.

Floyd Hooker, a lifelong resident of Owego, NY, generously designated a portion of his estate to support the well-being of youth in Tioga County. The Floyd Hooker Youth

Fund is a permanent endowment held at CFTT that carries out his legacy

The application process for the Floyd Hooker Youth Fund at the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers has changed. All applications must now be completed and submitted directly through our website. The deadline to apply is Thursday, October 9th, 2025, by 5:00 PM.

Please note: 2024 grant recipients must have submitted their grant report before applying for new funding. To access the application and for more information, please visit the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers on line at our website at www.twintierscf.org

Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers Announces Jordan Wilcox Pediatric Cancer Fund: Now AcceptingApplications

The Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers (CFTT) is currently accepting applications for the Jordan Wilcox Pediatric Cancer Fund, a rolling grant program established by Jordan’s family in his memory.

This fund is one of several grant programs administered by CFTT. Its primary goal is to assist low- to moderate-income families with expenses not covered by insurance while their child is undergoing cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation. Eligible expenses may include meals, lodging, and transportation costs. Up to $400 per person is available

on a rolling basis, until the annual fund is fully distributed.

The Jordan Wilcox Pediatric Cancer Fund is limited to families residing in Bradford, Sullivan, and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Tioga County in New York.

The application process for the Jordan Wilcox Pediatric Cancer Fund grant program has changed. Applications must now be completed and submitted directly through our website. To access and complete the application, please visit the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers website at www.twintierscf.org

The Tioga County Legislature is pleased to announce Andrew F. Aronstam was sworn in at the Sixth Regular Legislature meeting on June 10, 2025 to discharge the duties of Legislative District #5 serving the Village of Waverly and Town of Barton until such time the office is filled as a result of the November 4, 2025 general election. Mr. Aronstam succeeds Dennis M. Mullen who resigned on May 2, 2025 to fill the Tioga County Director of Veterans’ Service Agency position.

Mr. Aronstam has considerable knowledge, experience, and leadership in local government, most recently serving as the Village of Waverly Mayor. Mr. Aronstam previously served three (3) terms as Deputy Mayor of Waverly, one (1) term as Village of Waverly Trustee, and two (2) terms on the Waverly Central School Board.

As a long-time Tioga County resident and small business owner, Mr. Aronstam has been actively serving Tioga County for 40 years as a former teacher, coach, youth counselor, founder and president of the nonprofit Waverly Recreation Booster Club, and five (5) year member of the Tioga County Republican Committee.

Mr. Aronstam holds a Master of Healthcare Administration. He and his wife, Patty, have two children and six grandchildren.

Chair Sauerbrey stated, “Mr. Aronstam comes to the Legislature with extensive leadership skills and government knowledge, and I am confident that he will do an outstanding job representing his constituency and Tioga County.”

Years Ago

It's July 1975. Advice columnist Ann Landers, 57, and her husband, Jules Lederer, are divorcing after 36 years of marriage.

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey has no plans to run for president in 1976.

There's a garbage strike in New York City. Refuse piles up under the hot, summer sun.

Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe win at Wimbledom.

The world's largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, erupts after 25 years of dormancy. Thousands of people gather to watch the eruption.

In China, archaeologists announce the discovery of a three-acre burial mound with 6,000 life-size clay statues of warriors and horses.

The Bicentennial half dollar is released. The coin features Independence Hall on the reverse and President Kennedy's profile on the obverse.

President Ford announces that he will run for president in 1976.

Cher, 29, is seeking a divorce from her second husband, Greg Allman, 27, nine days their marriage in Las Vegas. Cher says they "made a mistake."

President Ford celebrates his 62nd birthday with a surprise party in the East Room and an evening cruise on the Potomac on the presidential yacht Sequoia.

A study by MIT predicts that in the future we could order our groceries by terminals connected to our TV sets.

Americans and Russians shake hands in space during the first international space mission. Apollo astronaut Thomas P. Stafford and Soviet cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov greet each other and exchange national flags. The crews visit for more than four hours.

Ringo Starr, 35, divorces his wife, Maureen, of 10 years.

Christina Onassis, 24, weds Alexandros Andreadis, 30, son of a multimillionaire Greek shipowner. Stepmother Jackie Onassis attends the wedding.

The Apollo spacecraft returns to Earth with a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The $230 million mission marks the end of the Apollo missions. The next space mission will be in about four years with the new shuttle rocket plane. The first planned flight in atmosphere will be in 1977, the first orbit test in 1979.

by: Beverly Brown

The Apollo astronauts predict that the next generation of spaceships will let women and men fly together.

Jimmy Hoffa, former president of the Teamsters International, is reported missing.

A memorial service is held at Sage Chapel at Cornell University for the late Rod Serling.

Tioga County offers to buy the old Central Elementary School on Main Street for $200,000.

The swimming pool at Owego's Marvin Park opens for the summer.

Albert Stearns, cofounder of SallStearns, a men's clothing store in Binghamton, dies at age 75. Mr. Stearn, whose real name was Alec Streletsky, immigrated from Russia in 1918.

The owners of buildings on Front Street along the river in Owego meet to discuss renovations and plans to bring traffic back to the village. The group chooses the tradename Riverow.

Seven thousand people attend an Alice Cooper concert at the Veterans Memorial Arena. Cooper was banned from appearing there two years ago.

TV station WBNG replaces Bernard Fionte as news director. Larry Estape will take over as the evening news anchor.

The U.S. water-skiing qualifications are held at Spencer's Pond in Owego.

At SUNY-Binghamton, the new School of Advanced Technology is under construction. The three-story, $7 million building should be completed in fall '76.

Local theaters are showing The Four Musketeers, Young Frankenstein, The Happy Hooker, Jaws, The Devil's Rain, The Return of the Pink Panther, Love and Death, Cinderella, and Once is Not Enough.

Thursday night TV shows include The Waltons, Barney Miller, The Texas Wheelers, The Streets of San Francisco, and Harry O. The local PBS station's Thursday night shows include The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Evening at Pops, and A Family at War, an English drama about the Ashton family during World War II.

At the Hi-Way Fruit Market in Vestal, local sweet corn costs 89¢ per dozen and homegrown tomatoes are 59¢ per pound.

25 YearsAgo: Fire Destroys Riverow Building

An early morning fire in Owego destroyed a historic Riverow building at 200-204 Front Street occupied by The Cracker Barrel, The Laughing Place, and apartments. The fire started shortly before 1:30 am on Saturday, July 1, 1975, in a rear, third floor apartment at 204 Front Street. The fire extended into 200 and 202 Front Street (the one building has three addresses) through the roof/attic area.

According to Tioga County Fire Investigator Frank Okrasinski, the fire was caused by an electrical appliance. "Due to the vast amount of cooperation and mutual aid between the fire departments of Broome and Tioga Counties, the Windham Center (Pennsylvani) Fire Department, the New York State Police, and the Village of Owego Police, the fire was contained to that one building," said Okrasinski.

As my wife, Ag, and I got older, she got so she dreaded the changing of winter into spring. It started with her being asked to help drive two of our neighbors who had both lost the partners of their first marriages and so were not young when they married for the second time. This must have shown Ag what a vast difference there was spending March in Florida or having to put up with a month of mud on the farm. The next year she took her sister and our oldest granddaughter and then we managed so that I could go along. She had met this couple that ran a horseshoe shaped complex consisting of some old style Florida buildings and some modern cottages. The landlady's brother was a farmer in Maryland who had a little 23-feet fishing boat that he kept in a marina nearby. Their father who, though he was nearly 87 years old, still ran a crabline summers in Maryland. He had always been a hard worker so when he had a chance to go out fishing on the ocean with his son he hated to come in. His son, whom the old man always called Buck, was careful to watch and not stay out in bad weather if his father was with us. One day we were about 20 miles out and the breeze which had been blowing steady til then, started to come a lot stronger. The old man was afraid his son would want to go in so he said, "It's coming right down, ain't it, Buck?"

To go from Sebastian where we stayed into the ocean you have to cross the Indian River which really isn't a river but a narrow body of water between the East coast of Florida and a narrow strip of land which supports the highway, A one A. Right east of Sebastian there's a narrow waterway, the Sebastian Inlet. Water flowing from the Indian River through the Inlet always seems to have a

strong current, in fact there's a sign warning people passing through there of the danger. One day, coming in from a day on the ocean, Buck seemed nervous for the breakers were rolling straight into the mouth of the inlet and this sometimes meant there would be a shallow place if you followed a breaker in. Buck had just gotten far enough into the inlet to be past this danger when we heard a strange buzzing noise, the teeth on his power shaft had stripped. There is a long jetty on one side of the inlet which is curved enough so that a boat without power could smash into the side of the jetty. Buck quickly ducked into the small cabin and brought an anchor through the opening in the prow of the boat and threw it overboard. We were only a few feet from the rocks along the side of the jetty when the anchor caught some thing and Buck cleated the line up and we were swinging in the current. He called the marina but there was no one there right then that could help us and when he called the Coast Guard, the nearest boat was an hour away. Just about then a boat came in off the ocean, pulled alongside Buck's boat, threw him a line and started to tow him up the current. He called out to them that his anchor was caught in something. They stopped and let Buck try to free the anchor but when it wouldn't come loose they towed him and what he was fast to into the still water. Then the two men in the other boat and Buck pulling straight up found he was caught in an old Palmetto root which had been all but submerged in the bottom. They took off with the root in their boat and when Buck called them later that evening and asked how much he owed them, they said they had gotten more than 75 pounds of sinkers and lures from the root.

INCOME OPPORTUNITY:

Income opportunity for an individual to take over an established long term business with many B2B links. Perfect for part-time or instantly expandable. Options are great should a major business approach or supplemental income approach be undertaken. Skills for mechanical and electrical work and the use of software, or fulfill these needs with the right people and training. Current Owners will work toward mutual success and an agreeable arrangement. Can be parttime or expanded to add related segments and in either case extensive coverage of the market already exist. Reply to mydeadleter@gmail.com in confidence for us both. 8/25 HELP WANTED: Wanted experienced mechanic. Must have New York State Inspection License Apply in person only. Nick’s Garage, Main St Apalachin. 12/25 TOP DOLLAR PAID: Wanted! Old fishing tackle, lures, reels, etc. (PRE 1960) Old coins and currency. Call me first, collector not a dealer so I pay more. John 607-321-4085 08/25

BEE SWARMS WANTED: Bee swarms wanted on trees and in buildings. Call 607

Advertise your garage, yard or other sales, events, or items wanted or for sale here in the Community Press, the paper with the largest distribution (by US Mail) in the Owego market area. The same low rate for both commercial or personal family ads. Only $7.50 for the first 25 words. (add $1 for each 4 additional words)

Some Observations from the Hill by H.H. Brown

Fred Brown Photo