Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on October 31, 2020
Genesee Community College has taken the difficult measure of reducing its staff by cutting 13 full time positions. Notice was given on Friday and the last day for those cut will be at the end of December. There has also been a pay freeze for the 2020-2021 year. GCC blames the pandemic for the 10 percent decrease in enrollment, the switch to primarily virtual education, and the need to rely on reserve funds to make up the college budget.
Weekend COVID Update: As of late Friday Afternoon Genesee County had 1 new case and 9 new people were on travel quarantine. A student at LeRoy High School tested positive and contact tracing has finished. Orleans county has 1 new case and 9 new people are on travel quarantine. 3 people have recovered. There are 31 active cases in Genesee county and 34 in Orleans. The Health departments want to remind the public that restrictions on gatherings are still in place. No get togethers of more than 50 people and please maintain social distancing and mask wearing. Have any events outdoors if possible. Recently there was a wedding in Clarendon that had over 100 participants and over 30 cases in 9 counties have been identified linked to the wedding. As you are planning for holidays keep this in mind.
The home energy assistance program opens up on Monday the 2nd to new applicants. The office of the aging assists older adults and persons with disabilities to get help with heating costs through the winter. They strongly suggest you apply online at mybenefits.ny.gov. If you don’t have a computer or online access you can pick up an application in the entryway at office of the aging.
New York State DMV is warning of a new text based phishing scam. The texts are sent to your phone asking you to update your information with the DMV to maintain compliance with the Real ID regulations and provide a link to follow. The DMV says that following the link may install malicious software on the phone. If you receive these texts you should delete them immediately.
Governor Cuomo announced that because of an extension by the USDA the farmers food box program will be continuing through the end of the year. About 35 million dollars, or 16 million pounds worth of meat, dairy and produce have been purchased and distributed in New York for this program. The Nourish New York program is helping families out during the pandemic and has provided food to over 823 thousand households.
