Primary Day is Tuesday

Just a reminder - Tuesday is Primary Day. Polls are open from noon to 9:00 p.m. To find your polling place and to look at sample ballots, visit your county Board of Elections website:

Madison County 

Oneida County 

Onondaga County 

Be Ready for Disasters with Citizen Preparedness Training

September is Preparedness Month in New York State. The Citizen Preparedness Corps program, administered by the New York National Guard, aims to provide approximately 100,000 New Yorkers with the tools and resources to prepare for emergencies and disasters, respond accordingly, and recover as quickly as possible to pre-disaster conditions.

There is an upcoming Citizen Preparedness Corps training session in Morrisville on Wednesday, September 17 at 6:00 p.m. in the Student Activities Building Theater, 80 Eaton St. Anyone interested in attending the session should visit www.prepare.ny.gov to register. There is also a Skilled Volunteers Registry where those with a skill or trade can volunteer to help their communities overcome and recover quickly after a disaster or other type of emergency.

The training course provides an introduction to responding to a natural or man-made disaster. Participants are advised on how to properly prepare for any disaster, including developing a family emergency plan and stocking up on emergency supplies. Participants will receive a training certificate, a wallet-sized "Z-Card" with emergency preparedness information and a free Citizen Preparedness Starter Kit (one per family). The kit includes a first-aid kit, face mask, pocket radio with batteries, food bars, emergency blanket, and other key items to help citizens in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The classes include information about what other supplies and personal information citizens should add to their kits.

State Recruitment Resources Center for Persons and Veterans with Disabilities

The online State Recruitment Resources Center serves as the central online employment recruitment location for job seekers who are certified eligible for participation in the Governor’s Program to Hire Persons and Veterans With Disabilities. The website enables job seekers to upload their resume and transcript, and also provides application information regarding disability certification, so that they can be best connected with employment opportunities at state agencies.

The Governor’s Program to Hire Persons and Veterans With Disabilities, known as the 55-b and 55-c programs, respectively, allows qualified persons and veterans with disabilities to be appointed to entry-level competitive civil service positions without a written examination. New York State’s Civil Service Law designates 1,200 entry level positions for the 55-b program for persons with disabilities. Further, State law provides for 500 entry level positions under the 55-c program specifically for veterans with disabilities.

The Recruitment Resources Center is available on the Department of Civil Service’s website.

Become a Citizen Scientist

Join SUNY-ESF and Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps for the First BioBlitz of Onondaga Lake on Friday, September 12 at 3:00 p.m. or Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 or 11:00 a.m. Working side by side, community volunteers and SUNY-ESF faculty and students will inventory and identify every species of plant and animal that can be found in 24 hours. While participating in the research, the citizen scientists will learn about the natural diversity of the Onondaga Lake watershed and how to protect it.

For more information and to RSVP visit the SUNY-ESF website.