By JoAnn R. Walter —
Owego Town Supervisor Don Castellucci is retiring after 30 years in office. He began elected office in 1996, where he served 14 years as a Town Councilman and 16 years in the Supervisor role, which spanned seven and one-half terms. He departs as the Town’s longest-serving official.
Castellucci thanks the community for supporting him over the years, along with his family.
He acknowledges the dedicated staff in all of the departments that serve the town, along with the Town Board, including those who had previously left or retired, as helping him accomplish critical goals.
Castellucci shared, “I worked hard at the job and gave the best I could.”
When Don Castellucci was growing up as a young boy in Union City, N.J., he marveled at the construction of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in lower Manhattan. What he didn’t know then was that pieces of that history would make its way to Owego, N.Y. in another chapter of his life.
Castellucci graduated from SUNY Broome. His resume also features time working for the Broome County DSS, the State Insurance Fund, and the American Red Cross Blood Services Division.
The 9/11 Memorial, located in Hickories Park, is an achievement Castellucci is most proud of. A remembrance ceremony is held each year at the memorial, and going forward, Castellucci hopes that it remains an educational tool for future generations. The memorial was dedicated in 2016 on the 15th anniversary of the attacks.
Castellucci will be forever pleased to have acquired two PATH rail pieces that complement the memorial and were once part of a rail system located under the World Trade Center.
He said, “We got them the very last day that they were available,” and perhaps a meant-to-be moment as he recalled his childhood memory.
Castellucci is also proud of how Hickories Park has evolved. The floods of 2006 and 2011, he said, were uncharted territory for those responding to the impact, and he articulated, “Hickories Park has come back bigger and better with several upgrades.”
Some of those upgrades are new electric sites and sewers for campers, and new electricity throughout the park. Previously, a new band shell was installed, and a beloved dog park in memory of Rebecca Weitsman was built, plus more.
FEMA payments to cover some of the upgrades were especially time-consuming, and they actually just received a final payment from 2011. Along with five other FEMA events during his tenure, Castellucci gave a special acknowledgment to Deputy Supervisor Dean Morgan for his assistance.
Castellucci acknowledges the entire town’s resilience in rebuilding after the flood of 2011.
A number of infrastructure projects in the town have been rebuilt or updated. Castellucci noted the upgrade at the Apalachin Sewage Treatment Plant, and bridges and culverts including Valley Road, Foster Valley, Long Creek, Gaylord, and Dutchtown Roads, plus others, have been rebuilt, most facilitated with state and FEMA funds. Well houses, pump stations, and water wells were also redeveloped and now house standby power.
Another proud moment for Castellucci is the Shared Services Building. The site, he said, has multiple benefits such as indoor storage for equipment and a fuel tank located on-site, so if there is an emergency, they can follow through on an immediate response.
Moreover, the building is out of the floodplain, and Castellucci remarked, “The town is ready for almost any emergency now.”
Castellucci affirms that the building has proven its worth and intended goal. The town received scrutiny via an audit from the New York State Comptroller’s office, and they cooperated with those findings.
The Town of Owego was designated a “StormReady” Community in 2024. The certification signifies the Town’s dedication to its ongoing hazardous weather preparedness efforts. The Shared Services Building now has an emergency operations center, and the facility space can be used to house residents in an emergency event.
The Town Hall also saw some upgrades, which extended the life of the facility built in 1987. Other projects included street lights being converted to LED and the repurposing of Tioga Terrace Park, to name a few.
Outside of his role as Supervisor, Castellucci has been a member of the Apalachin Lions Club for nearly three decades, as well as a member of the Kiwanis Club, and has held blood drives at the Owego Elks for over 25 years in memory of his parents.
Castellucci was a member of the New York State Association of Towns and served 17 years on the Resolutions and Executive Committees of that organization. He also served as Chairman of the Tioga County Council of Governments. Castellucci will continue his role as Chair of the Republican Party within Tioga County after retirement.
Castellucci has been working to honor the famed NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, an Apalachin native. One of his final projects is a sign placed at the intersection of Forest Hill Road and Rte. 434, recognizing where Hurley grew up.
Lastly, as a personal request, Castellucci asks that anyone who is able, to please consider donating blood via the Red Cross.
Gary Hellmers assumes the Town of Owego Supervisor position effective Jan. 1, 2026.
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