Residents urge study of climate science and praise Medicaid during Chemung County public comments

During the public‑comment period at a Chemung County Legislature meeting, two residents addressed the legislature about climate change, fracking and the social‑safety net.

Betty Ack, who said she lives in Horseheads, urged legislators to study scientific evidence on climate change and children’s health and criticized proposals to expand fracking. “The science is rock solid of the health impacts to children,” Ack said, and asked the legislature to “please study the science carefully.” She described extreme weather events and said investment in renewable energy such as wind and solar was now “the cheapest, the fastest, the most efficient, and the safest.” Ack spoke during the allotted five‑minute public‑comment period.

Barbara Brownrigg of 507 West Church Street spoke on behalf of her daughter’s experience with the social‑safety net. Brownrigg said she lost her husband to cancer and, five years later, her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia; she told the legislature, “Medicaid was a lifeline that saved us.” Brownrigg urged the legislature and elected officials to preserve programs that provide medical care and other supports to families in need and said public policy language matters when discussing eligibility for benefits.

Both speakers used their time in the public‑comment portion of the meeting; the meeting record shows the clerk opened and closed the public‑comment period and enforced the five‑minute limit. No formal action was taken by the legislature in response to these comments during the meeting, and the remarks were not followed by a committee referral or vote recorded in the transcript.