Centers for Disease Control Readiness Review Shows Notable Improvement, Highest Score Since ‘09 

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz called attention to a recently-released Strategic National Stockpile Local Technical Assistance Review (“SNS/LTAR”), which evaluates Erie County’s (“the County’s”) ability to respond to a crisis requiring use of the Strategic National Stockpile. The annual review, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, indicated that the County’s average score across twelve functional areas was 95%, up from 77% in 2012 and 65% in 2011.

“The rating we received in this LTAR is indicative of the importance my administration has placed on planning, training and readiness for our Public Health, Emergency Services, Sheriff, Public Works, and other personnel, as well as the constant  need to keep current with developments and recommendations on the federal level. These are ongoing investments in the public good which, as I mentioned in my ‘Initiatives for a Smart Economy’ address, enhance our quality of life,” said Poloncarz. “We must remain vigilant and prepared for a possible future emergency. There are many people who are dedicating their careers to protecting the public and their dedication has contributed to this score going up. I want to thank them for their commitment to keeping their skills up-to-date and for their continued vigilance in protecting the residents of Erie County.”

The Strategic National Stockpile (“SNS”) is the United States’ national repository of antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, antitoxins and other critical medical equipment and supplies. In the event of a national emergency involving bioterrorism or a natural pandemic, the SNS has the capability to supplement and re-supply local health authorities that are charged with handling the crisis, with response time as little as 12 hours, following an official request from the municipality. The SNS is managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Commissioner of Emergency Services Daniel Neaverth, Jr. added, “Disaster preparedness and the Strategic National Stockpile program is a continuous process, updating plans, assessing resources, and developing relationships. We are fortunate in Erie County to have a group of dedicated people working across jurisdictional boundaries to assure response and recovery is on the cutting edge.”

“Our priority regarding preparedness, regular drills, training and planning all contributed to the success of our SNS/LTAR review,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein. “This was a team effort and the importance of all departments working collaboratively resulted in the excellent score received.”

In assessing the County’s overall readiness and response in implementing procedures involving the SNS, reviewers evaluated performance in the following areas: planning, communications, coordination with partner agencies, security, logistics, dispensing of medications/medical supplies to the public, and training and exercise. Each area is a vital component in the County’s response to a crisis situation, and each is composed of multiple levels of planning and design.

For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Emergency Services, visit   http://www2.erie.gov/emergencyservices/

On the Erie County Health Department, visit   http://www2.erie.gov/health/

Latest results of Siena College Poll:

Voters: Pass 10-Point Women’s Equality Act, Including Abortion Provisions;
Strongly Favor Making NY Law Consistent with Roe v. Wade & Current Practice
Cuomo Favorability/Job Performance Lowest Since He’s Been Governor

More than half of New York voters, 52 percent, feel Speaker Sheldon Silver “should step down as Speaker.”

They say he “failed the people of New York and (former Assemblyman Vito) Lopez’s accusers by not addressing the issue appropriately and by not being completely honest.” Thirty-two percent feel Silver’s approach to the Lopez situation “is not a reason for him to step down as Speaker,” even though he “might not have handled the situation ideally but he is not guilty of anything and he has apologized,” according to a new Siena College Poll of New York voters released today.

Cuomo’s favorability rating, 58-35 percent (down from 64-32 percent last month), is the lowest it has been since he’s been governor, as is his job performance rating at 50-49 percent (down from 52-47 percent in May).
Read more…

Old Home Days are right around the corner.  It’s always a fun time to gather with friends and enjoy games, rides and food.  This year they run from July 9 – 12.

On Tuesday, July 9th, BW’s Chicken Dinner will be served by St Stephen’s Bethlehem UCC, 750 Wehrle Dr., to benefit Harvest House Inc.

The dinner is $9.00 and will include a half chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, roll and butter.  Your choice of beverage is $1 more.  A children’s portion is available for $6.00 and includes a quarter chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and a roll and butter.  

Dinners will be available from 4 – 8.  Tickets are available by calling 632-4226 (church office) during the week or on Sunday mornings following service at 11:00. The church is located at 750 Wehrle Dr. between Union and Forest.

Don’t want to fight the traffic?  Ask for your dinner to be brought to the church that evening for pick up there. Your prepaid dinner will be brought to you.

Mark your calendar.  You can come out for the fun of the carnival atmosphere and enjoy a wonderful dinner as well.

Retired State Supreme Court Justice Frank A. Sedita Jr. died Sunday in Sisters Hospital after a brief illness. He was 78.

Judge Sedita, a member of one of the area’s most prominent political families, was the son of three-term Buffalo Mayor Frank A. Sedita and the father of Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III.

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 52 years, Marilyn Hemstock Sedita.

Funeral arrangements will be announced.
Read more…

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

You might be interested to check this diagram carefully.  I wonder just which guests or employees will be parking in the area circled at the end of Mike’s Pond?…or will the developer be putting landfill in?  Say what????

POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Americans sent over a hundred million Father’s Day messages on Sunday, the National Security Agency reported today.The hundred-million number, while robust, falls short of the hundred and twenty million Mother’s Day messages collected by the N.S.A. in May.

The difference between the two figures is “not surprising,” said N.S.A. director General Keith B. Alexander. He added, “On the whole, mothers take Mother’s Day more seriously—if the e-mails we read by mothers whose children forgot are any indication.”

General Alexander said that the agency collected in the neighborhood of two to three million such e-mails from angry mothers this year.

The N.S.A. director added that the agency had not foiled any terror plots over the weekend but did uncover between thirty and forty thousand extramarital relationships.

Hello friends and neighbors!! and fellow RED SHIRT wearers!
It isn’t over.
Every day Iskalo doesn’t start chopping down trees is a WIN for the good guys. I have been saying all along that when Iskalo gets a building permit, its all over. Well, I take that back. He can’t start until he has construction financing too…..and he won’t have construction financing until the big dark cloud of pending lawsuits has cleared. A delay is a win. It’s a very big win. Iskalo has his sub contractors all lined up and ready to go..and ….where are they going????.

No where!!! Time is money and this is costing them a bundle.
1…The ZBA meeting is TUESDAY JUNE 18 at 7 pm. Town Hall, council chambers. We are 11th on the agenda. I will send you all my comments when they are done also working on a chronology of what happened when and it shows all the stuff the Town did for Iskalo on the sly and out of the public eye. It is really outrageous. Hope you can come to the meeting for an hour or so. We really could use a BIG crowd on TUES. The agenda item is on the size of the pond and the use of the Iskalo pond shape in the site plan.

2..We have had our biggest crowds when we have done a mailing or lit drop.. We have 800 flyers we hope to deliver door to door this weekend..Generally there is a 1/3 response to lit drop/flyers on hot neighborhood issues like this ……We need a big crowd for TUES because the press will be out in force as MIKES POND STRIKES BACK!
Would LOVE 20 volunteers to help distribute them to the following targeted streets: Harper, Lakewood, Rankin, Smallwood, Main, Northledge, Burroughs, Lamarck, Bentham, Audubon, Burbank, Walton, Park Club…We (Karen and I) will have them all bundled for you…half hour…if we get 20 volunteers….So if you can help (and did I say Please???,,ok Please..) do the following:
Send a message saying what street you wish to do…if you want to add a street..that’s fine..just tell me which one.
flyer should be delivered BEFORE MONDAY, and I know Sunday is Fathers Day…but these are just not effective too far out…All you have to do is ring the doorbell and put it in the mailboxOne last thing on the ZBA.  This is the first community opposition to a project that is of the size of crowds as the RED SHIRTS in 10 years. Most groups fizzle out for lack of interest, lack of money or sheer exhaustion. I have been at this for ONE YEAR and many of you have been there every step of the way. And I thank you all for that. However, if this project had been reviewed on its merits OR in relation to the review standards incorporated in NYS law, Town Law and written Plans and policies, the hotel would have been dead a long time ago. But this is a political project of the worst ilk, which will change this really nice neighborhood for generations. very bad stuff.

So put TUES JUNE 18 at 7 pm on your calendar in RED PEN…(or plug it in the IPhone)

Send an message and pick a street pass out flyers
Wear your RED SHIRT
Hope to see you there.

Dear Fellow New Yorker,

Six months ago today, twenty children and six teachers went to school and never came home. In the aftermath, our nation stood together, heartbroken to learn of the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Today, New Yorkers stand with our neighbors in Connecticut and send our prayers and condolences to the families who lost loved ones. We will never grasp the pain and anguish that these families endured and continue to experience as they grieve.

As our nation collectively mourned the unthinkable act that occurred on December 14th, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School signified a long-overdue wake-up call for our country to finally address the reality of gun violence in our society. Across the nation, several states including New York overcame the outsized voices of the guardians of the status quo and passed common sense gun safety reform that bans lethal assault weapons and helps keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.

Yet since Sandy Hook, another 4,000 people have died from gun violence, while Washington remains paralyzed. Today, I call on members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to renew their commitment to passing common sense gun control legislation because parents in this country shouldn’t have to wait for the next tragedy for Washington to act.

Sincerely,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo