Gilbertsville-Mount Upton community grows stronger in time of hardship
MOUNT UPTON (WBNG) — This holiday season, one local school district is learning the power of being there for one another. After a staff member was diagnosed with breast cancer at Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, her community delivered a sweet surprise. Susan Sebeck told 12 News she was diagnosed this summer, and at times, it’s been a tough few months for her. “She is one of the most generous and kind people I know, and she always does for others, so I felt like, what could we do to support her and show her we love her as much as she’s shown us support and love,” said Aimee Piedmonte, an English teacher in the district. The teacher who helped organize it said she felt she had to do something for her friend. Hundreds of students, teachers and staff sing a rendition of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles, and there was hardly a dry eye in the room. The longtime cafeteria manager was clearly touched by their display of love and support in a difficult time. Students and staff have also sold t-shirts with the slogans Team Sebeck and Sebeck Strong to help raise money to financially support her as she goes through treatment. However, the surprise she got on Tuesday is something she said she’ll remember forever.
Wegmans announced last year the store will no longer offer plastic bags starting on July 29, 2020. Among the new laws and acts this year, agricultural workers can now unionize under a new labor practices act. The introduction of bail reform will also be a staple of 2020. The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Act will give farmers collective bargaining rights, as well as paid overtime and at least one guaranteed day off each week. NYS legislators hope new laws will help low income community members from falling under the financial burden of bail, while also eliminating cash bail for close to 400 crimes, including some felonies. Starting in October, travelers will have to update their IDs to fly domestically. Finally, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature plan to continue their push to get rid of flavored e-cigarettes and related vaping products in the new year. As 2020 kicks off, expect many more bills, laws and acts to take place, some of which could have an affect on you and your family. In March, plastic bags will start to phase out across the state. 
(WBNG) — 2020 is now officially underway, and with it comes new legislation across New York State. Stores like Wegmans will be ridding their shelves and checkout aisles of the single-use bags, choosing paper and reusable bags as the more suitable options to become more eco-friendly. Lawmakers are looking to ban all flavors, with the exceptions being tobacco and menthol. Stay with 12 News throughout the year for coverage regarding these legislative developments. Real IDs will be required by TSA for passengers looking to take to the skies for their travels. Near the tail end of 2019, the state raised the minimum age to buy e-cigarettes and tobacco to 21 years old, hoping the move helps cut down the rising number of children using e-cigarettes. The Real IDs will cost the same amount as a traditional ID if people choose to renew their ID as a Real ID. A separate trip for the Real ID will cost $12.50. The ID will feature a star on the card. 
That includes hair salons, tattoo or piercing parlors, and nail salons, to name a few. Another long-time shop which some call a staple in Johnson City is Mike’s Hollywood Barbershop on Main Street. JOHNSON CITY (WBNG) – With Governor Andrew Cuomo ramping up the state’s response with a statewide lockdown on most businesses, non-essential employees will soon be out of work. Komor, a customer himself for more than 20 years has been coming to Mike’s since his kids were little. Despite the Coronavirus crisis, he remains optimistic. Mike’s Hollywood Barbershop and other businesses have been ordered to close by 8 p.m. Saturday night. “The strain is going to be the same for everybody,” Caruso said. “There’s no income. “I’m not one of those guys who worries about those things I can’t control,” Komor told 12 News. “I guess I’m lucky that I don’t sit there and worry.” Sitting is something owner Mike Caruso hardly ever does. He’s on his feet all day with clippers and scissors in hand, that is, until Saturday. When asked how hard it was to walk away from the barber chair after 20 years for what is expected to be a temporary basis, Caruso told us, it’s “very hard. I feel it right now. I feel very sad inside.” He knows people are stressed out, worried, and concerned. How do they pay their rent? The gas bill? The power bill? It was almost like business as usual at the shop on Friday with customers coming in for a quick cut and some small talk though many came in for what you might call a last haircut. No one really knows when they’ll be back in Mike’s chair again. “I love my customers,” Caruso told us with a smile. “They’re not customers, their family. I will miss the conversation. I will miss the every day routine.” “Everything is uncertain,” said long-time customer Stan Komor. “Nobody knows what’s going on anywhere.” The shop’s been open since 1961 and has shut down only once before. That was after a fire tore through another part of the building. But in the end, Caruso ends this story on a happy night. “After it rains,” he said, “the sun will eventually come out.”
A map detailing where cases are located can be found by clicking here. Same for people who were born on an odd year on odd calendar dates. Six people in the county have died from the virus and 14 people have recovered. It is called “Operation Crush Covid.” If you must go out in a group, use the birthday of the oldest person in your party. Operation Crush Covid For example, a person born in the year 1976 should only shop on April 8, April 10 and so on. A person born in 1977 should only shop on April 9, April 11 and so on. Garnar announced there are now 93 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Broome County. Seven are hospitalized and 66 are at their homes. This does not apply for essential medical or work needs. 
Coronavirus numbers Broome County April 8 coronavirus update Garnar says this operation will not be enforced by store employees or police. Garnar says the operation mandates that people who were born on an even year may only go shopping, to the park or golf on even calendar dates. (WBNG) — Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announced a new social-distancing policy that aims to further slow the spread of the virus. 66 tests are pending. This policy will remain in affect until at least April 29. As of April 7, 161 people are in mandatory quarantine and 48 people are in precautionary quarantine.
VESTAL (WBNG) — In 2018, Emma Maslin graduated from Binghamton University. Fast forward two years and the Whitney Point native is now a registered nurse at Duke University during the COVID-19 pandemic. Which puts Maslin in a situation she says she never thought she would be in. Due to the lack of bone marrow transplants during the pandemic, Maslin’s unit is set to be floated. “I have to go through screening and the line for nurses who are in shift change is really long,” says Maslin. “Last week I was floated to a unit that had seen exposure and that is pretty nerve wracking,” she says. “If you would have told me on my orientation that I would be training to treat COVID patients I wouldn’t have believed them,” Emma Maslin told 12 News. she says every week they are ending nurses to be trained for COVID-19 units. Maslin works on the bone marrow transplant floor and begins her day much earlier than normal. Through all the uncertainty, Maslin says the most strenuous part is the lack of masks for the nurses. Due to the shortage, nurses are forced to wear the same mask for the entirety of their shift. Maslin said she is trying to stay strong mentally during a tough time. “Like” Jacob Seus on Facebook and “Follow” him on Twitter. “Which also puts us at risk a little bit because are constantly breathing in stuff that maybe on the mask,” Maslin told 12 News. “It’s what you sign up for when you take the oath and it’s just part of the job and you just try and stay as positive as possible,” she says.
The university announced due to COVID-19 they will be discontinuing the program. In the petition, students are demanding the university bring the program back to think about student’s safety first. R.J. Fox, Binghamton University junior, says there have been times he’s had to help his peers get back to their dorms late at night. The university did say university police will provide walking escorts for anyone who does not feel safe walking on campus. “Safe Ride” is a free service students can call between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. to be escorted back to their dorms, if they ever feel unsafe on campus. VESTAL (WBNG) — There is a petition to bring Binghamton University’s “Safe Ride” program back to campus. “I know that there are people who don’t feel comfortable or safe walking across campus by themselves at night,” Fox said. “That’s why I think “Safe Ride” is a great tool for students, and I think it’s a necessity.” 