A Town of Murray road map shows Padelford Road, which connects to Route 31 near the Hickory Ridge Golf Course and RV Resort (shown on map as SUNY at Brockport – Fancher campus.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 2

MURRAY – Road names are an interesting aspect of local history. We tend to take them for granted but they each have a story and reflect an aspect of our past.

Orleans County’s road names cover a range of topics: origin (Salt Works), nature (Hemlock Ridge), buildings (Schoolhouse, Fletcher Chapel), features (Culvert), boundaries (Townline, Countyline), functions (Telegraph), shape (Angling, Zig-Zag) and the wittily named Alps Road referring to its “mountainous” topography. Many roads were named for farmers or long-term residents: Carr Rd., Sawyer Rd., Lattin Rd.

Charles E. Padelford

In April 1973, Town of Murray Supervisor Thomas De Palma took what a Medina Journal editorial described as “a brave and commendable step” of naming two roads in the town in honor of former physicians. Dr. Charles E. Padelford and Dr. Leon Ogden tended to the needs of Murray residents for a total of 78 years, having started their practices in the horse and buggy era.

Padelford Road is located south of Fancher. It runs from Lynch Road to Route 31.

Ogden Road is located east of the village of Holley and runs from Route 31 to the Orleans-Monroe County line.

Charles E. Padelford was born in Canandaigua in 1869. He trained as a jeweler and optician but always wanted to practice medicine. Following his marriage to June M. Sidell in Victor in 1898, he entered the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and graduated in 1905, at the age of 36. He practiced in Clarendon for five years, then moved to Holley where he practiced until his death at the age of 74 in 1943.

In his memoir “Roses and Garlic” Michael A. Charles recounted that Dr. Padelford charged $1 for homecare, including medicine, but would accept food as payment. Since the Charles family operated a store, Dr. Padelford liked to get paid with large cans of black olives or stop at their gas pump to fill his tank.

Ogden Road is east of the Village of Holley in the southern part of Murray, close to the Clarendon town line.

Dr. Padelford helped found the Holley Rotary Club and the Holley Rod and Gun Club. In 1922, he donated a cup to the Gun Club which was to be owned permanently by the person who won the title three years in succession.

He had a keen interest in local history and was a collector of clocks, coral, books, canes and antique firearms. Several boxes of his papers were donated to the Holley Depot Museum. Dr. Padelford and his wife, Jenny, who died in 1963, are buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

Dr. Leon Ogden was born in the hamlet of Allen’s Hill, Ontario County in 1875. He studied medicine at the Albany Medical School and by 1900 was practicing in the Murray area. The Holley Standard of Sept. 6, 1900, reported that “the excessive warm weather of the past week has caused a good many cases of sickness. Dr. Ogden has been very busy attending calls.”

He served as Coroner for 25 years and in 1950, he was honored by the New York State Medical Association for 50 years of service as a physician. His favorite pastimes were hunting and fishing.

He died in 1953 while vacationing in Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife, Katherine, who died in 1968 are buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

Press Release, New York State Association of Counties

The following statement is from Phil Church, president of NYSAC and administrator of Oswego County.

As a result of new federal and existing state laws pertaining to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), counties across the state will be on the hook for an estimated $170 million in new annualized administrative costs that support the payment of SNAP benefits beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which briefed county leaders on Tuesday.

The new federal law lowers the federal share from 50 to 25 percent, requiring counties to pick up a larger share of the program costs. These are costs that will ultimately be passed on to local taxpayers, raising costs for homeowners at a time when “affordability” is the most pressing issue facing New Yorkers.

Counties across New York play a critical role in the administration of SNAP, ensuring that vulnerable residents receive the nutrition assistance they need. However, under the new federal law when the state’s benefit payment error rate in the program exceeds federally established thresholds of over 10 percent, beginning in FFY 2028 the resulting financial penalty of up to $1.2 billion will be shifted to the state, with no determination made by the state yet on whether part of that penalty will be shifted to counties.

We urge our federal representatives to work to delay the implementation of these new SNAP rules that will impact state and local taxpayers, and importantly, the residents who rely on these benefits. We are also calling on State leaders to work together with county officials to address the federal intent of preserving program integrity so that counties and our taxpayers are not saddled with these new costs.

Retired DA Joe Cardone pitches his property in Shelby for massive project

File photo by Tom Rivers: A massive data center, totaling 2.2 million square feet, could be headed to the STAMP site off Route 63 in the town of Alabama.

 ALABAMA – The leader of the Orleans County Legislature is asking the state Department of Environmental Conservation to be the lead agency for an environmental review of a proposed data center at the STAMP site in Alabama, just south of Orleans County.

Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the County Legislature, said in her Jan. 16 letter that the Genesee County Economic Development Center would be “biased” in the review of Project Double Reed and it would be better to have the environmental impact review conducted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, not the GCEDC. Johnson sent the letter to DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton.

GCEDC has fired back with its own letter to the commissioner and also Regional Director Timothy Walsh, claiming the Orleans opposition is based on “sour grapes” because Orleans wanted the project in Shelby, not Genesee County.

GCEDC also said Orleans has been unable to secure larger-scale projects and tried to thwart Genesee County from running a sewer transmission line from STAMP to Oak Orchard Creek in Shelby to derail development of STAMP. GCEDC has decided to use the sewer plant in Oakfield, with the discharged water still ultimately going into the Oak Orchard.

Adam S. Walters of the Phillips Lytle LLP law firm sent the letter on behalf of the GCEDC on Monday, and cited several procedural errors in Johnson’s letter that should make it invalid. Among the five cited: the letter wasn’t sent by certified mail or other form of receipted delivery (instead by email).

The letter also didn’t have the backing of the full legislature because there was no formal resolution from the County Legislature, Walters said.

Orleans County also isn’t an “involved agency” for for the proposed data center as it “will not fund, approve or directly undertake Project Double Reed,” Wash writes. GCEDC considers Orleans County as an “interested agency” due to STAMP’s proximity to the Orleans/Genesee County line and sewer infrastructure planned to run from STAMP into Orleans County.

Walters said that Johnson’s letter “has no effect” since the GCEDC staked its claim to serve as lead agency more than 30 days ago and that “the NYSDEC itself did not challenge GCEDC’s declaration of intent.”

“It appears that the objections in the Johnson Letter do not stem from any legitimate environmental concerns but rather result from GCEDC refusing to push Project Double Reed to locate in Orleans County rather than at STAMP,” Walters said.

GCEDC first stated it would be lead agency for Project Double Read about a year ago. At the time the $6.3 billion project was proposed at 900,000 square feet and it would have paid $218.4 million to municipalities in revenue over 20 years. The data center now is proposed to be more than double that initial plan.

The initial declaration by GCEDC to be lead agency in the environmental review was rescinded when the project changed to a 2.2 million-square-foot data center consisting of three two-story buildings. It would be on approximately 90 acres at STAMP with another 40 acres to be utilized as temporary construction/logistics areas.

Johnson, in her letter, said no businesses are currently operating at STAMP despite years of public investment in the site. (Edwards Vacuum is building a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing site at STAMP, a $319 million project that is part of the semi-conductor industry.)

“Under GCEDC’s stewardship, STAMP has been nothing more than a series of unfulfilled promises, questionable allocation of resources and a series of environmental pollution events so significant that this Agency and the Federal government revoked its permits,” Johnson said.

GCEDC holds a “biased position,” Johnson said,  to “justify the fact that it has spent almost $500 million of taxpayer dollars is to jump start a project — any project — regardless of its environmental impact.”

Her letter said the data center would have a negative impact on air quality, energy usage, water usage and wastewater disposal.

GCEDC responded that Johnson is way off on claiming $500 million in taxpayer dollars for STAMP. The number represents the total investment so far at the site, and most of that has been private contributions, GCEDC said.

“Accordingly, the motivations for Orleans County’s objection appear to be based on so called ‘sour grapes’ regarding failed efforts to secure a multi-billion dollar project and past litigation defeats rather than an honest concern about GCEDC serving as lead agency,” Walters wrote in his letter.

Joe Cardone has proposed his 284 acres of land off Route 63 in Shelby be considered for a large-scale data center.

Walters, the GCEDC attorney, said Johnson’s letter may be an effort to steer the data center into Orleans County. Joe Cardone, the retired district attorney for Orleans, met with the GCEDC on December 18 to pitch his property for the data center. Walters said Cardone is trying to “poach” the project so it can be on his property.

GCEDC, in its letter to the DEC officials, included information provided by Cardone to the GCEDC on why he sees his site as a superior location.

Cardone said it would be away from the Tonawanda Indian Reservation and the wildlife management areas, sensitive sites that many detractors say make STAMP a bad fit for such a large development project.

Cardone, in his presentation to GCEDC, cited other benefits of the site in Shelby:

• “downstream” from all environmentally concerning areas
• not bordered by sensitive Native American properties
• only 5 miles due north of STAMP and 11 miles north of NYS Thruway
• closer to Niagara Falls hydropower plant
• close proximity to major utilities in Medina, including sewage disposal plant
• within 2 miles of industrial development facility in Orleans County (Medina Business Park)
• seismically stable property
• existing 100-acre excavated stone quarry to serve as cooling station for “closed loop” system
• located in sparsely population area
• limestone material ad concrete plant at location for construction
• access to facility on four roads (Route 63, Ryan, Blair and Salt Works roads)
• noise less of a factor with currently operating stone quarry
• minimal impact on environmental concerns or farming
• more amenities available with the village of Medina just comfortably 3 miles to the north
• results of reclamation of existing stone quarry
• elimination of disposal into Oak orchard Creek

GCEDC said Cardone’s land would be years away from securing the needed infrastructure and approvals to make the site a possibility for such a development.

Johnson spoke about the letter and response from GCEDC after today’s Legislature meeting. She said she supports the development of STAMP but doesn’t want the sewer discharges harming the Oak Orchard Creek, which is a valuable asset in the county, particularly for fishing, the county’s top tourism draw.

The buildout of STAMP would have many positive ripple effects for Orleans County, she said, bringing more residents to the area for housing, businesses and other economic activity.

She said she was aware Cardone was presenting his land as an option for the data center and she said that is his right as a landowner, but it hasn’t formally been presented to the board of the Orleans Economic Development Agency as an option.

Cardone said the land is Shelby is a better location for the data center than STAMP, which borders a wildlife refuge and wildlife management areas.

Honoree to be recognized on ‘Older New Yorker’s Day’ in May

Press Release, Orleans County Office for the Aging

ALBION – The Orleans County Office of the Aging (OFA) is currently accepting nominations to honor an older resident who has made outstanding contributions to our community through their volunteer work.

The honoree will be part the statewide Older New Yorker’s Day of Recognition which will be held this May.

“The Orleans County OFA is thankful that we have so many older adults who are committed to service and to helping others,” said Melissa Blanar, director of Orleans County OFA.  “This statewide program is a chance to celebrate their talents and achievements and say thank you for their efforts. I hope we receive several nominations.”

Blanar said the Office for the Aging Advisory Council will select the awardee, who will be also be recognized locally in addition to the state event. Nominees must be older adults residing in Orleans County who have achieved something extraordinary or performed exceptional service to the community since the age of 60.

To nominate someone for this award, there is a short application form that can be found by clicking here.

Nomination forms should then be sent to: Melissa Blanar, Director, Orleans County Office for the Aging, 14016 Route 31 W., Albion, NY 14411, or emailed to Melissa.Blanar@orleanscountyny.gov.

Nominations are due by Feb. 15.  Please call OFA at 585-589-3191 if you have any questions.

Photos courtesy of Kendall Fire Department: More than 40 kids took the challenge on Monday to shovel snow away from fire hydrants in the Kendall community or to help shovel a neighbor’s driveway.

Press Release, Kendall Fire Department

KENDALL – During Monday’s snow day with kids getting the day off from school, the Kendall Fire Department set out to create a simple and fun way to keep kids engaged while also helping the community.

What began as a small idea quickly turned into an inspiring display of community pride, service and teamwork.

The department announced a contest inviting children to shovel out a fire hydrant or a neighbor’s driveway for a chance to win a ride to school on a Kendall fire truck. While firefighters anticipated just a handful of participants, the response far exceeded expectations, with over 40 submissions from children across the Kendall community.

“Helping others is at the core of what we do,” Capt. James Fox shared. “But watching these young kids brave the cold, take initiative, and help ensure fire hydrants were accessible was truly special. Clearing hydrants means that if a home or a neighbor’s house were to catch fire, firefighters can access water quickly when every second matters. That level of awareness and selflessness at such a young age was one of our proudest moments.”

To thank everyone who participated, the Kendall Fire Department will be hosting a pizza party on Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at the firehouse for all contest participants. During the event, the department will also draw the name of the winner who will receive a memorable ride to school on a Kendall fire truck. The drawing will also be done live on Facebook.

The department would also like to recognize Partyka Farms for their generous donation of ice cream for each child who participated in the contest, helping make the experience even more rewarding.

“In a time when there can be so much division, the Kendall community once again showed what makes our town special,” Fox added. “This event was a powerful reminder that we are one school, one community, and one family.”

The Kendall Fire Department thanks all the children, parents, and neighbors who helped turn a snow day into an unforgettable demonstration of community spirit.

Albion and Lyndonville have perfect “0” scores with no indicators of fiscal stress

The state comptroller’s office report has put out a report of the nearly 700 school districts in the state, assessing their fiscal stress.

In Orleans County, the five districts Orleans – Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina – all have no designation for fiscal stress.

The comptroller has a ranking system where points are assigned to financial indicators showing fiscal stress. The more points for a district, the more signs of fiscal stress.

The comptroller rates the districts by four levels: no designation (fiscal stress points from 0-24.9), susceptible (25 to 44.9 points), moderate (45 to 64.9) and significant (65 to 100).

Statewide there are two districts rated in “significant stress” with Mount Vernon in Westchester County at 85.0 points and Harrisville in Lewis County at 73.3.

Four others are in moderate stress: West Canada Valley in Herkimer County, Fulton in Oswego County, South Country in Suffolk County and Marathon in Cortland County.

There are 25 others, including Newfane in Niagara County, that are considered to be “susceptible.”

• Albion had a perfect score of 0, showing no signs of fiscal stress. Albion had $35,023,445 in gross expenditures in 2025, and a total fund balance of $52,566,362 with no operating deficits, according to the comptroller’s report.

• Holley is in “no designation” but its fiscal stress score has risen from 13.3 in 2023 to 20.0 in both 2024 and 2025.

Holley scored some fiscal stress points for cash ratio (cash and investments as percentage of current liabilities) and cash as a percentage of monthly gross expenditures.

Holley had $26,692,070 in gross expenditures for 2025 and a total fund balance of $12,385,393.

• Kendall in 2025 had gross expenditures of $21,077,261 and total fund balance of $15,068,835.

The district’s fiscal stress points have dropped from 13.3 in 2023 to 10.0 in 2024 to 6.7 in 2025. Kendall had 6.7 points in 2025 for “operating deficits.”

• Lyndonville also had a perfect score of 0 points. The district had $15,877,658 in expenditures and total fund balance of $11,275,775 in 2025.

• Medina had 0 fiscal stress points in 2023 and 2024, but has 10 for 2025 with 3.33 for cash as a percentage of monthly gross expenditure and 6.67 for operating deficits.

Medina totaled $44,922,233 in expenditures and $6,863,209 in total fund balance for 2025.

Click here to see the full comptroller’s report on fiscal stress for school districts.

The flu was rampant locally and statewide about a month ago but the confirmed cases have dropped significantly.

State-wide there were 71,123 flu cases during the week ending Dec. 20, the most since the state started doing a weekly tracker of the cases in 2004.

Since then the cases dropped to 49,153 the week ending Dec. 27; 28,554 for the week of Jan. 3; 22,558 the week of Jan. 10; and 12,049 for the week ending Jan. 17.

Locally the cases also have been declining. Orleans County reported an average of 71.4 cases per 100,000 people the week ending Jan. 17. That is down from 126.0 the week of Jan. 10;  204.1 the week of Jan. 3; and 196.5 in the weeks ending Dec. 27 and Dec. 20. (The county’s population is the 2020 census was 40,343.)

Photo by Tom Rivers: Main Street in Albion was covered in snow on Sunday afternoon, creating difficult driving conditions.

ALBION – A travel advisory for Orleans County will be lifted at 6 p.m. today, Sheriff Chris Bourke said. The advisory went into effect at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

“We continue to experience snow, creating winter driving conditions across Orleans County and Western NY so please use caution,” the sheriff said.

The area faces continued bitter cold conditions in the coming days. Tonight the temperature will drop to 5 degrees with wind chill values as low as 15 below zero.

Orleans County Legislature, Tonawanda Nation want DEC to be lead agency for environmental reviews

ALABAMA – An open house at the Alabama Fire Hall for the proposed data center at STAMP has been cancelled for today and will be rescheduled.

The meeting was focused on a proposal from STREAM US Data Centers. That company is planning a sprawling complex at the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing (STAMP), a manufacturing park being developed by the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

STREAM’s plan for “Project Double Reed” envisions three structures more than 100 feet tall, occupying more than 2.2 million square feet and using more than 500 megawatts of electricity per year.

Orleans Legislature says GCEDC would be biased in assessing environmental impacts

The Orleans County Legislature on Jan. 16 sent a letter to Amanda Lefton, commissioner of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, asking the DEC to be lead agency for reviewing the environmental impacts of the proposed project.

The Genesee County Economic Development Center wants to be the lead agency and conduct the SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act).

“Under GCEDC’s stewardship, STAMP has been nothing more than a series of unfulfilled promises, questionable allocation of resources and a series of environmental pollution events so significant that this Agency and the Federal government revoked its permits,” Lynne Johnson, Legislature chairwoman, wrote to the DEC commissioner.

Johnson said the GCEDC “biased position” will compromise its objectivity in a SEQRA review where the lead agency needs to compile data and facts and evaluate them.

“The only way GCEDC can justify the fact that it has spent almost $500 million of taxpayer dollars is to jump start a project – any project – regardless of its environmental impact,” Johnson states in her letter.

While there is limited information currently available about the data center, Johnson said the project “will likely have significant inter-county and regional impacts, including on air quality, energy usage, water usage, and waste water disposal that are ill-suited for a single county IDA to oversee as part of the SEQRA review.”

Tonawanda Seneca Nation calls project: ‘terrible threat to our people, our Territory, and future generations’

Chief Roger Hill of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation has also asked the DEC to be the lead agency in the environmental impact review. In a letter Dec. 15, 2025, to Commissioner Lefton he said the proposal for the data center, doubling its size from an earlier submission by Stream U.S. Data Centers “threatens far greater harms to the Nation and the surrounding environment than the earlier, discredited application.”

Hill said the latest proposal will be much closer to the Nation’s Big Woods.

“As we review the details of this terrible threat to our people, our Territory, and future generations, the Nation reiterates the call we made to you when we met in November: DEC must take lead agency status for SEQR review of this hulking data center facility,” Hill wrote. “GCEDC cannot be entrusted with this vital role.”

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board has rescheduled this evening’s board meeting to Thursday at 6 p.m. The meeting will be at the Medina High School auditorium due to a big crowd expected.

The Village Board is trying to determine its next steps with accepting a new ladder truck and finding a place to house it. The current Medina fire hall is too small to accommodate the truck. Some of the board members would prefer to sell the new truck and not put an addition on the fire hall, saying the truck and addition are too costly for village taxpayers.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman wants to move forward with the ladder truck and addition, saying they are critical to the Medina Fire Department to provide fire protection services to the community.

Other items on Thursday’s agenda include:

• Discussion/resolution on locations for Medina Triennial art projects
• Discussion/resolution to accept the donation of tables to be placed by the Sydney Gross Memorial
• Discussion/resolution on Medina Community Garden location
• Resolution to approve Hospice banner request at Rotary Park
• Resolution to approve MAP’s request for Wine About Winter
• Resolution to appoint of election inspectors for March 18 election
• Resolution to accept Wreaths Across America donations and a resolution to accept Hometown Hero donations
• Resolution on furnace replacement at the Department of Public Works
• Resolution to purchase an Allison 4000 RDS Series Dump Truck utilizing CHIPS funding
• Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an annual agreement between the Village of Medina and Matthew Brooks, Esq.

Orleans facing week of bitterly cold temperatures

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Courthouse and County Clerks’ Building in Albion are shown at about 7 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2026 after a big snowfall throughout the day.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. today for Orleans County. Another 1 to 2 inches of snow are expected to fall today in the county.

“Plan on snow-covered and slippery road conditions,” stated the National Weather Service in Buffalo. “The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning and evening commutes.”

It will remain bitterly cold the next few days. Today’s high is forecast for 18 degrees with an overnight low of 5 degrees and a wind chill as low as minus 10.

Tuesday is forecast for a high of 17 and overnight low of 7, followed by a high of 15 on Wednesday with an overnight low of 6 degrees.

The highs are then 11 on Thursday, 14 on Friday and 17 on Saturday.

UPDATED at 10:09 a.m. on Jan. 26: Due to the rough winter weather, the following will be closed on Monday, Jan. 26:

• Albion Central School – “The district will be closed and all after school activities are cancelled.”
• Lyndonville Central School – “The building will be closed and all district activities are cancelled.”
• Kendall Central School – All after school activities and events are also cancelled.
• Holley Central School – “Due to pending inclement weather conditions, there will be no school on Monday, Jan. 26,” the district stated. “All school-related activities are also canceled. Information regarding rescheduled midterm exams will be communicated once finalized.”
• Medina Central School – “All after-school activities and events are also cancelled.”
• The Orleans County Christian School in Shelby is closed on Monday.

The Shelby Town Hall will be closed today and reopen tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. “This was done to keep the plows on the roads and not diverting them to clear the parking lot and sidewalks,” said Town Supervisor Jim Heminway.

Carlton Town Court is closed today. New court dates will be sent via mail.

UConnectCare’s Batavia and Albion Clinics, and The Recovery Station will be closed on Monday. Residential employees are expected to report to work for their scheduled shift.

Due to weather conditions RTS Orleans will be running Albion, Medina, Brockport and Batavia routes only on Monday. Delays are expected. When in doubt, call the office at 585-589-0707.

Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union in Albion will be closed on Monday due to the weather.

SUNY Brockport has cancelled all campus activities for Sunday and Monday, including in-person classes on Monday. Online classes will still meet as scheduled.

Ridgeway Town Court has cancelled court for Monday, January 26th.  New court date notices will be mailed.

Yates Town Hall is closed on Monday.

The Lyndonville Village Hall will be closed on Monday.

Albion Village Office will be closed.

Gaines Town Hall is closed.

MEDINA – A Medina Village Board meeting scheduled for Monday has been cancelled and may be rescheduled for later in the week, said Mayor Marguerite Sherman.

The meeting was moved to the Medina High School auditorium due to a large crowd expected as the board tries to determines its next steps with accepting a new ladder truck and finding a place to house it. The current Medina fire hall is too small to accommodate the truck.

The board has discussed a one-bay addition to the fire hall but hasn’t reached a consensus.

Press Release, GLOW YMCA

The GLOW YMCA has announced a delayed opening for all branch locations on Monday due to weather conditions, including the site in Medina on Pearl Street.

All GLOW YMCA branches will open at 9 a.m. This delayed opening is intended to ensure the safety of members, staff and the community.

The GLOW YMCA will continue to monitor conditions and will provide updates if additional changes are necessary. Members are encouraged to check the GLOW YMCA website and social media channels for the most current information.

We appreciate the community’s understanding and cooperation as we prioritize safety.

About the GLOW YMCA

The GLOW YMCA is a leading nonprofit organization serving Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties, committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

Tim McMurray for mayor, and Jami Allport and Kevin Sheehan for trustees

Photos by Tom Rivers: About a dozen people attended the Village of Albion Republican Caucus on Saturday afternoon at Hoag Library. The candidates include from left: Kevin Sheehan for trustee, Jami Allport for trustee and Tim McMurray for mayor.

ALBION – A small group of registered Republicans on Saturday picked their party’s candidates for the March 18 village election.

Tim McMurray, a current village trustee, was backed for mayor, will Republicans at their party caucus also chose former Village Board member Kevin Sheehan for trustee and Jami Allport for trustee.

McMurray, 42, said he would be a very accessible mayor for the public, attending numerous local events while reaching out to other local and state officials to build support for the village.

McMurray said Village Board members need to be more active in supporting local businesses, and welcoming feedback from the community. He wants the Village Board meetings to be livestreamed and board members to have a booth at the Strawberry Festival to hear from the public.

He also said he would strive to make sure the full Village Board is kept well apprised of issues facing the village government and would welcome their contributions in resolving issues and reaching good decisions for the village.

“The people have the power,” McMurray said. “They just have to come in and make their voices heard.”

McMurray has paid the costs to attend meetings in Albany through the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) so he can be a more effective Village Board member. He also attends the local Orleans County Association of Municipalities meetings to connect with other local village, town and county officials.

McMurray worked at the former Chase and North American Mortgage call center in Albion, as well as in construction. He is a Marien Corps veteran who has volunteered as a youth football coach in Albion for 18 years.

Jami Allport, 38, is the executive director for the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern and also the cheerleading coach at Albion.

Allport said her role at GOMOC shows her how many people are struggling to pay bills and meet their basic needs in the community. The Village Board needs to consider that impact whenever taxes or water bills go up, she said.

Allport graduated from the Leadership Orleans program in 2025, where she learned about many facets of the community and also built a network of other leaders in the county.

“I don’t have an agenda except to push people’s topics,” she said during the Republican caucus. “I’m would be bringing new ideas and fresh energy to the board.”

Allport said her roles at GOMOC and as a coach at the school bring her in contact with many people who share their opinions and concerns. She wants residents to feel they have a strong voice in the village government.

Kevin Sheehan, 63, served on the Village Board for nearly nine years until 2020, when he became the village’s code enforcement officer for two years. Sheehan is retired as a plumber and pipefitter after a 33-year career. He is currently a commissioner on the Albion Joint Fire District.

Sheehan was nominated by Tom O’Hearn to run for mayor but Sheehan declined in favor of McMurray.

“He is younger and has more energy,” Sheehan said about McMurray.

Sheehan said in his tenure on the board, Albion averaged a 1.7 percent tax increase while meeting the needs of the village’s departments for equipment. He said the village can be creative in offering services without overwhelming taxpayers.

He said about half of the village is nontaxable, and that further strains those paying the taxes. The village should look at a “frontage fee” for nontaxable parcels to generate some added revenue for the village.

“I just can’t see going to that well of the taxpayers,” he said during the caucus. “We’re being overtaxed.”

The village saw the closing of the Thrive Freeze-Dry plant in August, which employed about 70 people at its peak in December 2024 and laid off its last group of 40 workers in August.

Sheehan wants to see that site and the CRFS building on East Avenue at full capacity.

He also suggested taking a serious look at selling 121 North Main St., which is owned by the village. That office building is rented out to Assemblyman Steve Hawley, the Orleans Economic Development Agency and other tenants.

“Should we be in the rental business?” Sheehan asked.

He’d also like to see a tenant in part of the building across from Mount Albion that is owned by the village. Part of that building for many years has been rented out as an apartment but Sheehan said there currently isn’t a tenant, depriving the village of that income.

Tim McMurray wants to sees more public participation in village government and more accessibility by village board members. McMurray wears sunglasses inside due to the effects of concussions and a traumatic brain injury. Joyce Riley spoke briefly at the Republican Caucus. She is seeking the Democratic Party backing at its caucus on Jan. 27 and also will be running under the independent line, “Vote for Albion.” The Democratic Caucus is at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Joyce Riley, a current village trustee, is seeking to run for mayor on the Democratic Party line and also the independent “Vote for Albion.” She asked the Republican Committee for a chance to speak at the caucus. Committee chairman Jeff Holler said she could. Three of the Republicans then walked out before Riley spoke.

Riley said she has worked hard for the village the past four years. It is far more than two meetings a months and four or five hours of time.

“For this village to survive and be successful, we need people to think outside of the box,” Riley said. “We need to evaluate each project and see if it makes sense.”

Riley pushed back on Sheehan’s position that the previous boards were wise in keeping tax increases so low. Riley said that has left the current board with depleted fund balances and reserves.

The board has been forced to make significant tax hikes to build up the fund balances and begin reserve funds for future equipment and projects.

The village’s tax levy is up $612,407 over the past three years – 21.5 percent. The tax levy went from $2,851,056 in 2022-23 to $3,463,463 in 2025-26.

The 2023-24 budget increased taxes by 2.5 percent, followed by a 6.6 percent increase in 2024-25 and 11.1 percent in 2025-26 (even with the fire department going out of the budget into a new fire district).

Will Gabalski, a village trustee for nearly two years, attended the caucus and asked the candidates questions. He said he expected there would be a lot to cut in the budget when joined the board but he said there is little to chop in the budget.

He suggested the board give a serious look at consolidation of services to bring down costs for the community.

“When I came on the board I thought you could take a red pen, but you couldn’t,” he said. “There’s reasons the taxes have gone up. The consolidation word is something we have a responsibility to our constituents to keep an open mind about.”