Senator Schumer visits Chenango County to discuss broadband needs
Pictured from left to right: Former Mayor of New Berlin Terry Potter, Chairman of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors George Seneck, President and CEO of Commerce Chenango Kerri Green, County Planning Director Shane Butler, Senator Chuck Schumer, Chenango County Farm Bureau President Brad Vickers, UHS Spokesperson Melissa Stagnaro, Norwich City Schools Superintendent Scott Ryan, and Interconnect Wireless Co-Owner Shawn Smith. (Photo by Sarah Giglio)
NORWICH — Arriving at the Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport in Norwich, Tuesday, United States Senator for New York Chuck Schumer met with several local leaders at Commerce Chenango.
Present at the meeting was President and CEO of Commerce Chenango Kerri Green, Chairman of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors George Seneck, County Planning Director Shane Butler, representatives from Interconnect Wireless, and a number of other officials
The topic of the afternoon was the $9.1 million in funds provided to Chenango County through the American Rescue Plan, and how they may be used. Areas needing assistance ranged from mental health help in schools to loss of revenue in the dairy industry.
"You're supposed to get $9.1 million. And that went to the county, the City of Norwich 720,000 [dollars] ... The Town of Oxford gets 400,000 [dollars], Town of Greene 550,000 [dollars]," said Schumer.
Most prominent in the discussion, however, was the need for reliable and affordable internet access.
Chairman of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors George Seneck addressed the cyber attack that occurred in October 2020, and how the county has not yet fully recovered.
"You know, our recovery is not complete at this time," said Seneck. "And there are some funding industries out there, but not so much to deal with what happened, and we just need to go ahead and have a thorough assessment of our computer network."
Seneck also stated he has spoken with cyber companies that could do this assessment, but that the cost is unaffordable. Schumer stated that there should be federal help available for small communities like Chenango County.
"The federal government has got to take the lead, because you can't expect every town, every village, every county, every city, to just go investigate how to do this on their own," said Schumer. "And that's something I want to look into, so I will."
The lack of adequate broadband has also affected UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, according to spokesperson Melissa Stagnaro.
"When it came to primary and specialty care, we had just over 300 virtual visits, as opposed to almost 3,000 phone visits," said Stagnaro. "It was because they didn't have access to broadband. Whether it wasn't affordable for them, or even those who had it but they didn't have reliable enough service to be able to access it."
Interconnect Wireless representative Terry Potter also chimed in, stating that fiber building, which connects homes to internet, is a costly process. He told Schumer financial assistance on this front would "help out significantly."
Schumer acknowledged that Chenango County has a serious lack of reliable internet, due to a majority of the area being rural. But, he informed the local leaders present of his wish to provide every home with broadband.
"We say that every home in America, including every rural home, should get broadband. And the federal government would help subsidize that last mile which makes it so difficult for rural broadband," said Schumer. "Broadbands a necessity in the 21st century. So that's what we want to do. We think we could dramatically change and energize rural America by doing that alone."
Concluding the meeting, Schumer assured leaders he would be investigating what he can do to assist in the improvement and expansion of broadband in Chenango County, saying he will "fight hard for it."
"So the number one message I'm taking back, and homework, is broadband and it's variety of needs. You've got business, government, health, education," said Schumer. "So you gave me homework. Thank you."
Present at the meeting was President and CEO of Commerce Chenango Kerri Green, Chairman of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors George Seneck, County Planning Director Shane Butler, representatives from Interconnect Wireless, and a number of other officials
The topic of the afternoon was the $9.1 million in funds provided to Chenango County through the American Rescue Plan, and how they may be used. Areas needing assistance ranged from mental health help in schools to loss of revenue in the dairy industry.
"You're supposed to get $9.1 million. And that went to the county, the City of Norwich 720,000 [dollars] ... The Town of Oxford gets 400,000 [dollars], Town of Greene 550,000 [dollars]," said Schumer.
Most prominent in the discussion, however, was the need for reliable and affordable internet access.
Chairman of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors George Seneck addressed the cyber attack that occurred in October 2020, and how the county has not yet fully recovered.
"You know, our recovery is not complete at this time," said Seneck. "And there are some funding industries out there, but not so much to deal with what happened, and we just need to go ahead and have a thorough assessment of our computer network."
Seneck also stated he has spoken with cyber companies that could do this assessment, but that the cost is unaffordable. Schumer stated that there should be federal help available for small communities like Chenango County.
"The federal government has got to take the lead, because you can't expect every town, every village, every county, every city, to just go investigate how to do this on their own," said Schumer. "And that's something I want to look into, so I will."
The lack of adequate broadband has also affected UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, according to spokesperson Melissa Stagnaro.
"When it came to primary and specialty care, we had just over 300 virtual visits, as opposed to almost 3,000 phone visits," said Stagnaro. "It was because they didn't have access to broadband. Whether it wasn't affordable for them, or even those who had it but they didn't have reliable enough service to be able to access it."
Interconnect Wireless representative Terry Potter also chimed in, stating that fiber building, which connects homes to internet, is a costly process. He told Schumer financial assistance on this front would "help out significantly."
Schumer acknowledged that Chenango County has a serious lack of reliable internet, due to a majority of the area being rural. But, he informed the local leaders present of his wish to provide every home with broadband.
"We say that every home in America, including every rural home, should get broadband. And the federal government would help subsidize that last mile which makes it so difficult for rural broadband," said Schumer. "Broadbands a necessity in the 21st century. So that's what we want to do. We think we could dramatically change and energize rural America by doing that alone."
Concluding the meeting, Schumer assured leaders he would be investigating what he can do to assist in the improvement and expansion of broadband in Chenango County, saying he will "fight hard for it."
"So the number one message I'm taking back, and homework, is broadband and it's variety of needs. You've got business, government, health, education," said Schumer. "So you gave me homework. Thank you."
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