By Matt Freeze —<\/p>\n
The Village of Owego may be moving toward adopting a chicken ordinance.<\/p>\n
Village trustees were recently presented with a petition calling for a ban on livestock\u2014 including chickens\u2014 within village limits, citing public health concerns and the potential for property damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a petition that these residents want us to do something about,\u201d Mayor Mike Baratta said.<\/p>\n
Trustee Terry VanHall said she contacted the Tioga County Health Department to gather guidance on what the board should consider in drafting a potential ordinance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have chickens, there should not be more than five,\u201d she said. \u201cThey cannot be on the lot line \u2014 you\u2019d have to have a little bit of distance from other homes. You\u2019d also definitely want to make sure the neighbors wouldn\u2019t be able to smell the chickens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concerns raised over pool safety<\/b><\/p>\n
In other business, Deputy Mayor Charles Plater raised concerns about continued safety issues at the village pool.<\/p>\n
Plater asked Public Works Superintendent Fred Ulrich if he was aware that \u201cthe naked man\u201d was still approaching minors at the public pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was there when he was all up in the lifeguards\u2019 faces,\u201d Plater said, adding that he believed the man should be arrested in the future. Ulrich agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lifeguards take way too much for what we pay them,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cThere are people coming here from out of the village and harassing them \u2014 it\u2019s a bunch of bull. It\u2019s every day. It\u2019s every blessed day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ulrich noted that lifeguards have threatened to quit in the past due to ongoing incidents.<\/p>\n
Pelton said that if the village cannot protect its lifeguards and the children who use the pool, the facility should be shut down.<\/p>\n
Board member Rusty Fuller said lifeguards need to call the police immediately when there\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are,\u201d Ulrich replied, \u201cbut the response time isn\u2019t fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board agreed that the Owego Police Department should increase patrols around the pool.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Tioga County Legislature was expected to vote soon on accepting $21,270 in funding from the state to help cover lifeguard compensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Matt Freeze — The Village of Owego may be moving toward adopting a chicken ordinance. Village trustees were recently presented with a petition calling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":106935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n