OCTOBER 2014
TIOGA COUNTY COMMUNITY PRESS
PAGE 6
Donation Helps Students
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Karaoke Saturday - Oct 11 Tim & Tyson - Saturday Oct 18 Gene Hummel
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Tuesday –Steak Nite Wednesday - Shrimp Nite Thursday - Clam Nite
The Terrace The Friendly Neighborhood Tavern Rt. 434, Apalachin, New York 625-3935
Serving Tioga & Broome County For over 20 years!
The Youth Engagement Services (YES) Program of Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga assists students within the Newark Valley School District through a generous donation from Community Care Network of Nichols. They provided the YES program with much needed school supplies from donations received from Salvation Army of Tioga County, Best Buy, Tioga United Way and Fidelis.
The YES program received backpacks, drawstring bags, calculators and pencil cases with pens and pencils. In addition to these items, they received $500 to purchase school supplies. All donations were distributed to each of the three buildings within Newark Valley School District. Catholic Charities is very grateful for this help for the students.
Tioga Downs Casino and Binghamton Harley Owners’ Group (HOG) raise funds through Christmas for Kids Ride On Sunday, August 24, over 100 participants and sponsors worked to raise $2,900 in this year’s John “Wah” Oleski Christmas for Kids Ride. Tioga Downs Casino Owner Jeff Gural has generously offered to match the amount raised for the event. The casino also provided the riders and participants with complimentary meals and free play coupons for their hard work and dedication. Tioga Downs Casino has been a big supporter of the ride’s mission for many years. The Binghamton Harley Davidson® Motorcycle group has raised over $120,000 to purchase toys for the program over the last 25 years. The ride’s name was recently changed in
remembrance of the event organizer, John “Wah” Oleski, who lost his courageous battle with lymphoma last year. The Christmas for Kids Ride departs from the Southern Tier Harley Davidson® dealership and cruises to Tioga Downs Casino along with a police escort. Hundreds of children throughout the Southern Tier will receive new toys due to the collaborative efforts of Tioga Downs Casino and the Southern Tier Harley Davidson® group. Tioga Downs Casino is located along the north side of NY Route 17/ I-86, two miles west of exit 62 in Nichols, NY.
Letter to the Editor
Thankful for Late Summer Wild Flowers Thank you to all the landowners in eastern Tioga County who leave their fields and edge strips unmowed. Not only did the bees and butterflies have a feast available for their late-season feeding while I was visiting in late September, but we humans got to see the spectacle of bright goldenrod intermixed with purple and white asters almost everywhere I looked. These native plants are perfect sources of nectar just when pollinators need it and there isn't much else for them to eat. Also -- for anyone who thinks
goldenrod causes hay fever -- look instead to the dowdy green ragweed plants that are blooming profusely but less noticeably at the same time. Plants with colorful blooms are never allergens because their pollen is too heavy to become airborne. That's why they have to be pollinated by bees, moths, and butterflies. Unshowy flowers like ragweed have lighter pollen that is carried in the air. Pat Thompson Minnesota (originally from Newark Valley)
Letter to the Editor
Tioga Downs Offers Best Location for Casino
Apalachin, NY (607) 625-3131 or (607) 754-2541
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On Wednesday, September 24th, over a period of many hours, I listened to a number of speakers present their thoughts on the best location for a gaming resort in the Southern Tier region. A number of speakers had a similar message emphasizing two points. They felt that the best location was Traditions due to its central location to a dense local population (including the universities) and that Broome County needs “help” in creating jobs. First, I thought the idea of a resort was to attract people from outside the area to support the new jobs being created, but more importantly, we need to address the logic of locating a gaming facility near so many young individuals. SUNY Broome with an enrollment of over 6,000 is a ten minute drive to Traditions, while Binghamton University with an enrollment of over 16,000 is a mere five minute drive. The recently announced Pharmacy School will be even closer. The gaming application requires the facilities to be actively involved with the issue of problem gambling. Would the location of a gaming facility so close to these universities be consistent with the Gaming Commissions mission of addressing problem gambling? Science
tells us that the cerebral cortex of the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25 and that one of its functions influences a person’s ability to reason. Location of a gaming facility so close to over 22,000 students is not a sound plan. Secondly, Broome County is getting “help.” In the last two months we have been informed of a new Pharmacy School and the new Southern Tier High Technology Incubator. These two projects represent $79 million of government funded help in creating jobs in Broome County. The START-UP NY initiative also creates 10 year tax free zones on and near the university where private companies can invest and grow jobs. Jobs that will have little impact on the population living in the western portion of the Southern Tier. As I stated at the public hearing, Tioga Downs offers the best location to impact jobs in the entire Southern Tier region. It is in the center of the “true” Southern Tier, creating job opportunities for all counties including Broome, Tioga, Chemung, and Steuben. Respectfully, Douglas W. Barton Owego