Category Archives: Tioga

RAFT (Residents Against Fracking Tioga County/NYS) meets on the last (fourth or fifth) Tuesday of each month, 6:30-8:30ish p.m., in Owego.

Contact Gerri Wiley or Maura Stephens for place information: gerriwiley@yahoo.com or maura@maurastephens.com.

Save S-VE (Spencer-Van Etten) members meet on the first and third Mondays of each month (some holidays excluded) in Spencer, 6:30 p.m. Write maura@maurastephens.com for place information.

Save S-VE (Spencer-Van Etten) meets on the first and third Mondays of each month in Spencer, 6:30 p.m. Write maura@maurastephens.com for place information.

The new documentary Drill Baby Drill will have its Southern Tier premiere in Spencer on Wednesday, April 10, and another showing in Endicott on Friday, April 12.

Filmmaker Lech Kowalski, a native of Utica who currently lives and works in Paris, France will be present for the screening and for the discussion following the 84-minute film.

The film, which was made in Poland and in Pennsylvania, tells the story of a group of Polish farmers who band together to protect their land when unconventional shale-gas drilling (fracking) threatens. It also looks at the effects of ongoing drilling on farmers and their communities in Pennsylvania.

The film’s power derives in part from its refusal to provide easy answers to the questions it raises about corporate power and its effect on democracy, and about the tensions between our demand for energy and the necessity of protecting our air, water, farmland, and food supply. The subject should be of strong, immediate interest to residents of New York, where energy companies are leasing land with plans to do similar drilling.

EVENTS LOCATIONS and INFORMATION

Wednesday, April 10, 7 p.m, Spencer Town Hall, 79 E. Tioga St., Spencer, sponsored by SaVE, RAFT – Residents Against Fracking Tioga, and Coalition to Protect New York.

Friday, April 12, 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott

The events are free and open, but sponsoring groups, which do not have the resources of the megabillion-dollar fossil-fuel corporations, suggest donations of $5 or more per person to cover transportation and lodging costs.

About filmmaker Lech Kowalki

Kowalski has won wide acclaim over 35+ years as an independent filmmaker. His large body of work has won awards and been the subject of retrospectives at international film festivals.  This film was shown recently in the French Senate, and on French and German television (with high ratings). It will be shown to European Parliament on April 23, prior to theatrical release.

Drill Baby Drill film description

One day the people who live in a small village located in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, an ecologically pristine agricultural area called the “lungs of Poland,” discover that Chevron, the world’s fourth largest energy corporation, plans to build a shale gas well in their village. At first the villagers are not against the construction of the gas well, but research reveals that having a shale gas well so near farms might not be such a good idea. The farmers mobilize. They appeal to politicians and government institutions to stop the construction, but their requests are met with silence. Suddenly Chevron sends bulldozers to start construction. Lech Kowalski was there to film the first-ever farmer rebellion against Chevron. But energy companies and the Polish government hope to hit a golden shale gas jackpot, and the odds are against the farmers winning. The story about their struggle weaves around realities that are taking place in Pennsylvania, which industry has called the “Saudi Arabia” of North America. It’s too late to stop the harms in Pennsylvania, but can the farmers win in Poland? What happens . . . is a surprise.

Supervisor Lewis Zorn, Councilman Robert Klossner, Councilman Robert Strong, Councilman Gerald Hyatt, Councilman Charles Farrell

The Town Board reviews/signs vouchers starting at 6:00. The regular business meeting begins at 7:00.

Town of Candor Town Hall located at 101 Owego Rd.
Office number 659-3175       Fax Number 659-7809
Town Clerk – Ext 1       Code Enforcement – Ext 4
Justice – Ext 2             Supervisor – Ext 5
Assessor – Ext 3

Riggs, Bob – Supervisor 189 Honeypot Rd. Candor, NY 13743 Office: 659-3175, x5 Cell: 727-8279 E-mail: candorsupervisor@cnymail.com Current Term – 12-31-13	Bish, Joe – Councilman 1400 Fairfield Rd. Candor, NY 13743 Phone: 659-7150 E-mail: joeandrose@frontiernet.net Current Term – 12-31-15
Williams, George – Councilman 353 Spencer Rd. Candor NY 13743 Phone: 659-4250 Current Term – 12-31-13	Strosahl, Bill – Councilman 204 Owego St. Candor, NY 13743 Phone: 659-4517 Cell: E-mail: wstrosahljr@twcny.rr.com Current Term – 12-31-15
Lindsay, Dan – Councilman 88 Fawn Drive Candor, NY 13743 Phone: 659-4642 E-mail: dlindsay@frontiernet.net Current Term – 12-31-13	Rei Valenzuela – Attorney for the Town

Semimonthly meeting of the Owego Village Board. 

10:15 AM                Owego Town Hall, 2354 NYS Route 434, Apalachin

If you are Reed’s constituent, you might want to give him your response to this story, which appeared in the January 28 edition of Ithaca Journal:

Reed looks to fracking for ‘manufacturing renaissance’