Things were a little slow during the month of January as area residents battled the frigid cold that arrived with an arctic blast. Now, each day that gets above freezing reminds us that spring is on its way, and that soon residents will be cleaning up from the winter and the streets will be bustling again.
One of the tragedies seen during extremely cold weather is the increase in fires. In fact, on Feb. 16, at approximately 5:17 a.m., the Owego Fire Department was dispatched to 81 East Ave. in Owego for a confirmed working structure fire. Dispatch confirmed all residents were out of the building before units arrived on scene.
Mutual aid was requested from Candor, Apalachin, and Tioga Center for interior firefighters. Crews from Owego, Candor, and Apalachin worked together seamlessly to fight the stubborn fire.
According to fire officials, the fire was hard to extinguish due to the amount of contents inside the residence. The fire was out, however, and units were in service at approximately 9:20 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In other local news, area residents are keeping an eye on happenings within the Town of Owego government, to include an anticipated hearing on the tax cap. A rescheduled meeting is planned for March 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.
As for the Shared Services Building, the Town will be offering a presentation on this project on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. and on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Ronald Dougherty County Office Building, located at 56 Main St. in Owego, at 6:30 p.m.
In other local government news, the Local Planning Committee for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative awarded Owego is narrowing down its list of potential projects, and is looking for the community’s input. Residents can access the survey online at surveymonkey.com, and searching for Owego DRI – Potential Projects. If you have access to Facebook, you can also visit The Owego Pennysaver and you will find a posting of the survey.
You can also attend the next public meeting of the DRI, planned for March 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Tioga Opportunities, Inc. in Owego.
In other news, I attended a Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame news conference on Wednesday after being tipped off that two athletes from Tioga County, specifically Owego, are being inducted at a banquet planned for April. We will have more information on the inductees in next weekend’s print edition of The Owego Pennysaver Press.
Also celebrated in Tioga County recently is the Tioga Chamber’s 100th Anniversary. I attended the celebration last Saturday, and was honored to take photos of the guests, which are posted on our Facebook page or you can find them here.
As always, we welcome stories from the community as well as your story ideas.
Wendy Post is the editor of The Owego Pennysaver Press in Owego, N.Y. and The Troy Pennysaver Plus in Troy, Pa.
Be the first to comment on "Editor’s Notebook"