Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghamton, New York • 9

2 Local State INSIDE Money PAGE 1B Sun-Bulletin pressconnects.com BRIEFING BROOME COUNTY COURT Teen indicted in city shooting Kevin J. Palmatier, 19, has been indicted by a Broome County jury on felony attempted second-degree murder, first -degree assault and first -degree criminal use of a firearm in connection with an August drive-by shooting in Binghamton. The grand jury handed up the indictment Wednesday. Prosecutors allege Palmatier, of Norwich, shot Nicholas Van Valkenburgh, 25, in the chest on Aug. 20 in front of Van Valkenburgh's West Side Binghamton apartment on Beethoven Street Palmatier remains in the Broome County Jail, a jail spokesman said.

A conviction on the attempted second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory prison sentence of five to 25 years in prison. Nancy Dooling VESTAL Health care benefits curbed In an effort to counter growing health care costs, the Vestal Town Board voted Wednesday to approve two resolutions, which cut family health care benefits for certain future employees, according to board member Fran Majewski. The board passed, 3 to 1 with one abstaining, a resolution that would eliminate free family health care benefits given to part-time elected officials. The second resolution, which passed 4 to 1, raised the bar on eligibility for free. lifetime family health benefits for new full-time hires.

The resolution moved the eligibility from 55 with 10 years of service to 62 with 20 years of experience. The changes apply only to new full-time hires. The town's 140 full-time employees and its part-time elected officials will be grandfathered in by the town's existing policies. Brian Liberatore DEATHS June Allen, 73, of Conklin. Eleanor Barker Clark, 88, formerly of Sherburne.

Lovina Jane Clum, 84, of Oxford. Gladys Giltner, 95, of Norwich. William T. Greene, 74, of Endicott. Amelia C.

GorickGuernsey, 88, of Windsor. H. Lorraine Harrington of Vestal. Ralph Manchester of Elmira. INSIDE Complete obituaries.

PAGE 8B HELP DESK Do you have questions on how to submit a press release or how to request coverage of an upcoming event? Do you have a news tip? We're here to help. Contact us via e-mail at or call 798-1280. Someone will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer your questions.

FOR CORRECTIONS Please bring errors in stories, photos, graphics or headlines to the attention of Assistant Managing Editor Steve Spero at 798-1316 or Reader Representative Michelle Terry at 798-1317. CONTACT US: Doug Schneider Metro Editor 607-798-1151 OR 1-877-348-7811 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 Mu heats mayoral race 1984 film DelivPoll, movie role raise eyebrows ery Boys. Kradjian, then known By BRIAN LIBERATORE elderly black woman in a parking as Naima ErikPress Sun-Bulletin lot." son, had a cameo Later in the day, the host of a local role in the film, BINGHAMTON The race for cable access show revealed to news but was fully mayor got ugly Thursday. media that Republican candidate dressed in her Hired political pollsters from Naima Kradjian played a bit role in scene. Kradjian Nebraska called city residents an R-rated comedy with sexual over- did not return throughout the day to ask who they tones.

telephone mesare supporting in the Binghamton John Solak, a Binghamton resi- sages left with KRADJIAN RYAN mayoral election. When some dent and host of the public access her campaign responded they support Matt Ryan, television show John From Bing- manager. was" "very upset" they were asked if they knew that hamion, notified a television station Solak ran unsuccessfully as a and had no idea Ryan, a Democrat, "assaulted an that Kradjian played a bit role in the Green Party candidate for Broome Kradjian's camp TEENAGE MOTHERS GET SUPPORT DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. Press Sun-Bulletin Tiffiany Genter, 17, kisses her 11-month-old son Bradley before putting him to bed in their Binghamton home. A young, single mother, Genter balances school, work and taking care of Bradley.

Agencies help buoy young moms' lives Day care service, additional assistance help clients stay in school BINGHAMTON Tiffiany Genter of Binghamton is finishing her high school education while her baby is taken care of down the hall from her classroom. Genter, 17, and her 11-month-old son, Bradley, get help from Even Start, a federal program and part of Parents and Children Together. The program is run through the Binghamton City School District and housed at Binghamton's MacArthur Elementary School on the city's South Side. She also gets help from Mothers Babies Perinatal Network of South Central New York. "They're a lot of help." she said of Mothers Babies.

"I can always find someone there to talk Though rates of teen pregnancies locally and nationally are declining, the need for support programs remains. Advocates say that offering day care and other support that helps teen moms stay in school increases the chances that they will be able to escape a life of poverty. Teen pregnancy rates nationally declined by nearly a third from 1990 to 2000, the latest period for which statistics are available, What Parents Can Do Talk about the issue of sexuality with your children and start at a young age. You're the best judge of when to start. Don't forget that one in seven children has sex before the age of 15.

Try not to lecture, but do try to answer their questions. Teens want to hear from you. Encourage teens to try school sports, clubs and other activities. The more connected a child feels to school, the less likely she is to get pregnant. Remember that of the girls who get pregnant, half drop out of school after pregnancy but the other half drops out before.

Source: Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in Washington, D.C. Pregnancy rates for girls ages 15-19 dropped from 117 per 1,000 girls to 84 pregnancies per 1.000. "We have made enormous progress on an issue many thought was intractable," said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the NCPTP. "But Mourners praise historian's tenacity By ANDREAS SCHNEIDER Services to be held Press and Sun-Bulletin Services for Elizabeth Mae Bartlow will be held at Mae Bartlow didn't have an office on 10 a.m. Saturday at the Allen Memorial Home, her first day as Vestal town historian and archivist 511-513 E.

Main Endicott. 22 years ago. Prior town historians didn't have their own office. But being the person she was. Ms.

Bartlow had Colvert, president of the Vestal Historical Society. "She was really dedicated to sharing the hisone within two years. She occupied her office in tory of the Vestal Public Library for the next two decades. Ms. Bartlow used to meet with friends and local Ms.

Bartlow died Tuesday at the Vestal Nursresidents once a month at a local tea shop, Colvert ing Center. She was 79. said. They brought old trinkets and newspaper Ms. Bartlow oversaw a dramatic progression in clippings and shared their memories about Vestal.

the size and scope of Vestal's accessible historical Ms. Bartlow also taught classes at local elemenrecords. She helped inventory boxes of town tary schools, tutored students in research methods records, collected dozens of historical regional and helped dozens of people trace their genealogy. maps and compiled detailed collections of news- All the while, she built the capabilities of the office. paper articles about the town.

"Her job wasn't just a job to her," said Gale SEE BARTLOW 4B County execu- ment, as did Independence Party cantive in 2000 and didate Douglas Walter Drazen. for Binghamton Representatives from the Nebraska City Council in calling center where the calls origi1999. nated refused to speak with a Earlier Thurs- reporter. day, all three Ralph Hall, Ryan's campaign manmayoral cam- ager, said he received several calls paigns denied from residents who had been conany role in hiring tacted by the polling agency. political poll- Among them was West Side resisters.

dent Sharon Major, 63. who Ryan said he described a phone call she received about the phonecalls at about 11 a.m. Thursday. who initiated them. denied any involve- SEE MAYOR 4B KRADJIAN we also have a long way to go." Local rates have dropped as well.

Broome County's rate of 39.1 pregnancies per 1,000 teens in 1995-97 dipped to 35.7 in 2000-2002, according to Mothers Babies Perinatal Network in Broome County. I Tioga County's rate dipped from 28.4 in 1995-97 to 25.6 in 2000-2002. I Chenango County's rate fell from 31.3 to 25.0 during the same period. Albert attributed the decline to more teens delaying sexual behavior, a product of increased education about the issue. Many teens are looking ahead to college and careers and don't want to jeopardize their plans.

Many who decide to have sex are using contraception. Alicia Clifford, director of youth services for Mothers Babies Perinatal Network in Broome County, said teen pregnancy is sometimes a "generational problem" the child of a teen parent will herself become a teen parent. Teen parents, Clifford said, often have low self-esteem, poor decision-making skills, a lack of access to contraception or a lack of knowledge about how to use it. SEE MOMS 4B RYAN Willon to resign as 0-A leader NYC post opens up By BRIAN LIBERATORE. Press Sun-Bulletin The Owego-Apalachin Central School District superintendent announced Thursday that he would be resigning from his position to take a job in New York City.

After three years in the district, Mychael Willon of Owego, announced at Thursday's school board meeting that he was taking a job elsewhere. Willon set Oct. 21 as his effective resignation date. Hiscontract with the district would have expired June 30, 2009. it's hard WILLON "Certainly, leaving here," Willon said.

"I've loved living here." Willon will take a job as a local instructional superintendent in Region 9 of New York City, which covers parts of Manhattan and the Bronx. He described the position as a "new challenge," one he was "excited about taking on. Willon said he would find a place to live in New York City Monday through Friday. On weekends, he said, he would continue to live in Owego. "We'll see how it goes," he said.

By CONNIE NOGAS Press Sun-Bulletin In his tenure at Owego-Apalachin. Willon saw the elimination of the controversial international baccalaureate program at the middle school. Many blamed the program for the defeat of Owego's budget in May. Willon also drew public scrutiny and support in summer 2004 for receiving a nearly $5,000 raise and health benefits for his companion. Willon has said that because his original contract allowed for individual or family benefits, he had asked the board if he could receive the equivalent of a family plan.

The board agreed at its July 2004 session and granted a two- year contract extension that provided health and dental coverage to one member of Willon's household. Some taxpayers criticized the decision, saying the district did not provide health coverage to companions of other unmarried employees. Others offered their support for Willon, describing him as an attentive and effective leader. School board Vice President Gene Cvik. who has been on the board since May 2004.

said he would miss working with Willon. "Mychael (Willon) was very easy to get along with," Cvik said. "But I think the job he's taking in New York City is something he really wanted to do." WINDS OF CHANGE CHUCK Press Sun-Bulletin Traffic travels along East Maine Road in the Town of Maine as the sky starts to clear after a cold front moved through the area Thursday, causing scattered power failures from high winds..