Gang Assault Charges At Corning Community College

State Police report that there was a gang assault on Thursday night at Perry Hall at Corning Community College. The assault victims were both 18, a male and a female.  She was taken to Guthrie Medical.  Troopers say, campus video shows, five males went to a boy’s dorm room.   A 19 year old Rochester male is charged with 2^nd degree gang assault and 2^nd degree harassment.  An 18 year old male from Onondaga County, is charged with 2^nd degree gang assault, 2^nd degree strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing, 2^nd degree aggravated harassment and 4^th degree criminal mischief.  An 18 year old from the Bronx is charged with 2^nd degree gang assault and 2^nd degree harassment.  And a 21 year old from Rochester is charged with 2^nd degree gang assault and 2^nd degree harassment.  The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details are available.

 

Bath Central School District Does A Traffic Study

Bath School officials say the school has gotten a traffic study done, to look into the possibility of a combined bus run and change of start and end times, at the Bath School District.

 

National Adoption Day Is Celebrated Here In Bath

It’s National Adoption Day and Steuben County officials, will today, at 1pm, at the County Annex Building in Bath, meet with children, who have been adopted into families this year, here in Steuben County.  There will also be an adoption ceremony at 1:30 today in Bath. 

 

Statement From The Village Of Bath/Mossy Bank Park

To the friends and neighbors of Mossy Bank Park, a forestry project to remove dead and dying hemlock trees is underway. Most of the hemlock in the park are being killed or have been killed by wooly adelgid. Please see the kiosk in the park near the large pavilion or the Mossy Bank Park website, mossybankpark.com, under News, for more information about this invasive insect.

In order to promote a healthy forest regeneration, it is necessary to keep the deer out of the cut area. In order to do that, slash walls are being built. One is complete, and a 2nd one is in progress. These walls will be in place for at least 10 years. Unfortunately, these walls block many of the trails. Plans are being made to create new trails that will go around the slash walls. This will take time.

The trees in an area along the main road into the park were cut to be used as a landing for the loggers. Plans for this space, when the project is complete, are being discussed.

When visiting the park BE CAUTIOUS! The trail maps are no longer accurate. The areas where logging is occurring is marked off with flagging. Please stay out of those areas. The park is still open and will be until it snows. Please know that the bathrooms are closed but there is a port-a-potty in the parking area near the gate.

Another safety reminder - the park is open to hunters from October 15th -April 30th. Wear orange!

 

OSHA's Proposed Rule Changes For Firefighters: Update

The online hearings about the Office of Safety and Health Administration’s proposed changes to fire departments, continue today.  The hearings are called the Emergency Response Rulemaking Team Hearing.  Proposed changes reportedly includes additional costs of $4800 and over a hundred new training hours for all firefighters, per year.  The latest is, US Senator Kirsten Gillbrand does not like what she’s heard about these proposed changes.  "If firefighters are going to have requirements from OSHA, they should be funded," Gillibrand said.  "One thing I really dislike is unfunded mandates from the federal government.  It's not right for the federal government to ask states and individuals to do things and not help them with the resources to do it.   So I'm going to look into whether it can be paired with funding.  I'm also going to look into if any of the requirements are something that can be waived. or are not necessary.  We have a lot of volunteer firefighters in New York State and they do great work.  We don't want to stress them out and undermine their ability to do their work," Gillibrand stated.  

Statement from OSHA:  

What are stakeholders' concerns regarding volunteer emergency responders?

OSHA has received comments in response to the NPRM from many stakeholders, including volunteer emergency responders, fire chiefs, trade organizations, and members of Congress, which raise serious concerns about the economic feasibility of the proposed standard for volunteer fire departments. OSHA takes these concerns seriously. The comments submitted to the rulemaking docket provide crucial information that the agency did not have earlier in the rulemaking process. This new information will help the agency make the necessary determinations about whether the proposed standard is feasible for volunteer organizations. 

Moving forward

OSHA is committed to taking steps in any final standard, consistent with the rulemaking record, to assess and minimize detrimental effects on volunteer fire departments. If supported by the record, this may include excluding voluntary emergency response organizations entirely based on these feasibility concerns.