Announcement from Assemblywoman Addie Russell on her Albany meetings this Wednesday

Watertown, NY.  On Wednesday, November30^th, Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell will be in Albany to attend several meetings, including a meeting with a handful of St. Lawrence and Jefferson County School Superintendents and Assembly budget staff to discuss school aid cuts and their impact on North Country Schools.  Assemblywoman Russell has met with several school superintendents about the impact of the cuts and is taking the lead early in the budget process to demonstrate the need for change in the school aid funding formulas.  She will also be meeting with the Alliance for Quality Education to discuss their recent assessment of the school aid distribution and advocates for small city school districts. 

“If we all speak with a unified voice on this issue, we can change the regressive impact of the severe cuts our local schools are struggling to address.  Failure to insist that our schools are treated fairly puts our communities in vulnerable positions,” Assemblywoman Russell said.

Statement from Assemblywoman Addie Russell on the SUNY Resolution

“Today the SUNY Board of Trustees passed an important resolution concerning shared services between SUNY campuses, and specifically addressed SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton.  The resolution acknowledged that there have been consultations with campus officials on this issue and as to the notion of whether there should be a shared presidency or separate presidencies, or some other organizational structure or approach that achieves the stated goals.  SUNY Central has concluded that, while there is great support for the concept of shared services, there is not that same support for the shared presidency model.  The resolution states that the institutions must continue to work together to explore and implement shared services where appropriate and to submit a report to the Chancellor by July 15, 2012 on progress, rather than March 30^th.  

“This is clearly great news for each campus.  I have maintained that while I strongly support shared services, I also supported having each campus retain their president.  I have worked closely with SUNY Central and have listened to campus administration, faculty and students, and know that they feel strongly about having each campus retain its president.  

“I am also pleased that SUNY Central will be including College Councils and other groups of whose concerns I share as well will be part of the process in terms of review and advisement on the strategic plan for shared services.  I believe that their invaluable input will make for a much improved shared services plan.  

“I want to thank the Chancellor and her staff, as well as the College Councils, students and faculty at both campuses for their hard work to get to this result.  I will continue to work closely with the Chancellor and with both campus presidents and respective administrations to ensure that progress is made for a successful implementation of a comprehensive shared services plan. 

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Assemblywoman Russell Announces 2011 ABC Book Drive

Watertown, NY Assemblywoman Addie Russell announced the kick-off of her third annual book drive – Addie’s Books for Children commencing this week.  In addition, she announced that Kinney Drugs has agreed to partner this year by serving as the drop-off location for new or gently used books.  Every Kinney Drugs store in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties will have a drop box that the community is invited to use. 

The books will be donated to the Community Action Planning Center in Jefferson County and the Community Development Program in St. Lawrence County.  Those agencies will then distribute the books to children and families in the respective counties. 

“I am very excited to launch the ABC Program for the third year.  Thousands of books have been donated in our first two drives and we’re hoping that this year, in these tough economic times, our communities will be even more generous to this program.  I am also thrilled that Kinney Drugs is partnering with us in this endeavor so that we are able to provide donation boxes in convenient locations – at all Kinney Drugs stores throughout Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties.  Putting a book in every child’s hand this holiday season is our goal. We all know the importance of reading in children’s lives.”

Books will be accepted at Kinney Drugs stores until December 10^th. 

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News from Assemblywoman Addie Russell

Statement by Honorable Addie J. Russell, Chair of the

Subcommittee on Women Veterans

            This Friday, November 11, 2011 we come together as a nation and state to thank our military veterans for their service and let them know that their sacrifices will never be taken for granted.  We currently have troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to tens of thousands more stationed worldwide.  Every day, these men and women make tremendous sacrifices serving our country. 

            New York State is home to over one million veterans including about 68,000 women veterans.  They are our grandparents, parents, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, cousins, co-workers, friends and neighbors, ordinary citizens who have served in extraordinary ways to preserve our freedoms and liberties.

            It is our duty as citizens, not just elected officials, to remember the service of our veterans, their sacrifices and their commitment to America and its citizens. 

            We should begin by thanking them for their service and honor them by adopting legislative measures that are meaningful so that they can make a successful transition from being a member of the armed forces to being a civilian once again.

            I will be attending several Veterans Day ceremonies.  On Thursday I will be at ceremonies at Fort Drum and on Friday I will be attending ceremonies in Clayton and Alexandria Bay. 

            Next week I will also be hosting a conversation with women veterans.  As Chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Women Veterans issues, I want to hear about some of the issues and circumstances that face our woman veterans in New York State.  That event will be on Wednesday November 16^th at 10:00 here at the Dulles State Office building on the 11^th floor.  I encourage and invite any woman veteran to attend this special event. 

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Assemblywoman Addie Russell - Announcement and Press Availability

Assemblywoman Addie Russell will be making an announcement on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:30am at her Watertown District Office, Suite 210, Dulles State Office Building 317 Washington Street, Watertown, NY.

The announcement will be concerning women veterans and the forthcoming forum, "A Conversation with Assemblywoman Russell".  She will be joined at this press event by Kelly Johnson of the American Legion Auxiliary Warrior Family Assistance Program. 

Assemblywoman Russell will comment on several other topics and also be available for questions. Please RSVP your attendance to: mark.pacilio@gmail.com.

Assemblywoman Russell: New law will help families caring for loved ones with autism

Law will save families money and improve patients’ quality of life in the long run

“I applaud Governor Cuomo for signing this law which requires insurance companies to cover screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorder. This law is a sigh of relief for many families who have struggled to keep up with the expensive medical care necessary for treating children with autism.

“Caring for a child with autism is a challenge, and it becomes even more challenging given the ever-rising cost of treating the disorder. This law means that hardworking families won’t have to go broke to care for a child with autism. With more families being able to afford coverage, children with autism will be diagnosed sooner, start treatment sooner, and will need less care later in life, bringing costs down for everyone and improving the quality of life for countless New Yorkers affected by autism.”

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