Morning Edition for Monday, July 31st presented by Clifton Springs Apartments!

Home destroyed by fire in Waterloo, Auburn native accused of embezzling over $800K from CNY fire department, latest on Canandaigua HABs fight, as well as update on two serious car accidents in Wayne.

Jul 31, 2023

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Border City, other departments battle massive structure fire on Wagner St. in Waterloo

Several departments were dispatched to a large structure fire in Waterloo Sunday evening. The fire was in the Border City Fire District on Wagner Street, and multiple departments responded to the scene. However, upon law enforcement’s initial arrival on-scene, which came moments after the first call, the two-story home was deemed fully-involved.

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Auburn native accused of embezzling $850K from volunteer fire department in CNY

A state comptroller’s report this week exposed George Parry Jr., 77, the longstanding treasurer of the Hannibal Fire Company, for having embezzled at least $850,000 from the department between 2016 and 2022. He was born in Auburn, New York.

Parry served the rural fire company as a volunteer for 60 years and had unchecked control over the department’s books and multimillion-dollar investments, enabling the theft. He even continued his activities after a new treasurer was elected in March 2022, the audit found.

Parry’s tactics included writing himself 823 checks amounting to $451,537 over eight-and-a-half years and making hundreds of cash advances to himself using a secret department credit card, accumulating $400,000 in charges that he offset with the department’s general fund and investment accounts.

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Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association gives update on HABs: Plus, recap from water chestnut pull

The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association (CLWA) gave a promising water quality update for Canandaigua Lake on Friday, July 28, with no harmful algal blooms reported and an average Secchi disk water clarity of 6.0 meters. According to the report, this positive assessment was made following 62 reports from volunteers who monitor water conditions around the lakeshore. Additionally, the average surface water temperature was marked at 76.5°F and the lake level was measured at 688.3 feet above sea level.

On a related note, CLWA in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Institute recently conducted a volunteer operation to remove the invasive water chestnut species from the West River. This aquatic plant can form dense mats that block sunlight, reduce oxygen levels, outcompete native species, and impede recreational activities.

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