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Town of Yates uses open process to ensure accountability in local government
Editor:
I read, with interest, Mr. Steven Colon’s notice of write-in candidacy for the post of Town of Yates Supervisor. I’d like to commend Mr. Colon for his willingness to step up and stand for this leadership position.
Mr. Colon, however, seems a bit misinformed as to the candidate endorsement process and how it functions. My view of the endorsement process is quite different than Mr. Colon’s. I served as Yates Town Councilman from 2015-2024, successfully running three election campaigns for that position. The process for endorsement was the same in all three:
- A Letter of Consideration for Endorsement was written by myself to the Yates Republican Committee. The Letter of Consideration included my views on the Town and what was needed to ensure a prudent path forward for the Town of Yates, not only now, but into the future.
- The Yates Republican Committee assessed each Letter of Consideration and interviewed each candidate.
- Based on the Letters of Consideration and the interviews, the Yates Republican Committee discussed and voted on the candidates to be endorsed.
In my view, the endorsement process illustrates our representative democracy and clearly does not bypass the democratic process. It certainly does not take place behind closed doors.
By definition, a representative democracy is one in which citizens elect officials to make law and policy on their behalf with those elected officials accountable to the electorate. That is the reason for public comment during privilege-of-the-floor sessions at Town Board meetings.
Regarding hand-picked candidates, as mentioned by Mr. Colon in his editorial, I’ll again reference the reader to the endorsement steps listed above. There is no hand-picking in the endorsement process. It is accountable, transparent and ensures a competitive candidate endorsement determination.
Lastly, the retirement of the current Yates Town Supervisor, Mr. James Simon, opens the seat for Supervisor. As such, a sitting board member has expressed interest in the Supervisor position and has moved through the endorsement process as described above. However, that person is still a sitting Town Board member and therefore that person’s seat is not open for election.
If, and only if, the board member is elected to the Supervisor position does the board position become vacant. In that case, the Board is within its legal purview to interview and select a board member replacement to serve the remainder of the, now vacant, term. Again, there is nothing surreptitious, cloak and dagger, or “smoke-filled back room” about the process.
Both board member endorsement and replacement processes are transparent, competitive and ensure essential accountability in local government.
I wish Mr. Colon well and best of luck in the upcoming election.
Thank you,
John Riggi
Town of Yates
Man dies in Knowlesville fire
2 others injured in blaze that destroyed home on Presbyterian Street
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – An elderly man who is confined to a wheelchair died in a fire tonight on presbyterian Road in Knowlesville.
Firefighters were dispatched to 12625 Presbyterian St. just before 8:30 p.m. They arrived to a fire with flames shooting out windows and the porch.
A neighbor across street tried to rescue the wheel-bound man from the house, but the neighbor, a man in his 60s, ran out of the house with his clothes on fire. He was taken by a Mercy EMS ambulance to a Mercy Flight helicopter zone at the fairgrounds. He has serious burns, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke said.
The son of the man who perished in the fire also was injured and taken by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital.
Fire investigators from Orleans County and the state will try to determine the cause of the fire.
Firefighters from several departments responded to the scene. This photo shows the Shelby ladder truck. That truck used water pulled from the Erie Canal to keep a steady flow of water pouring on the fire.
The resident of the house was often spotted along the road in a motorized wheelchair, neighbor said. His dog, a husky, got out of the house safely and was located by an Orleans County animal control officer.
Ridgeway firefighters were assisted at the scene by the Medina Fire Department, Albion Joint Fire District, Shelby Volunteer Fire Company, East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company, Lyndonville Fire Department Medina Fire Department ambulance, and Mercy EMS.
Other departments filled in for several of the responding departments. Those filling in included Middleport, Hartland, Oakfield-Alabama, Batavia and Tri-Town Ambulance.
Gary Watts of the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company uses a Shelby pumper to pull water from the Erie Canal and then send it through a 5-inch hose about 1,400 to the Shelby ladder truck, which sprayed the water onto the house.
The fire proved difficult to put out. Firefighters were still battling hot spots two hours after the fire tore through the house. Watts said he expected it would be an all-nighter for many of the firefighters.
Section VI volleyball pairing announced
First round pairings for the Section VI volleyball playoffs which begin on Monday have been announced.
In Class B1, No. 8 Albion will host No. 9 East Aurora at 6 p.m.
In Class B2, No. 9 Akron will visit No. 8 Alden at 6 p.m.
In Class C, No. 2 Newfane will host No. 15 Tapestry, No. 13 Medina will visit No. 4 Chautauqua Lake, No. 12 Falconer will visit No. 5 Wilson and No. 8 Roy-Hart will host No. 9 Allegany-Limestone all at 6 p.m.
Mustangs bow in Class B soccer sectionals
No. 2 seed Allegany-Limestone blanked visiting No. 7 Medina 2-0 this evening in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B boys soccer playoffs.
In Class C, top seeded Wilson shutout No. 8 Silver Creek/Forestville 6-0 as Hayden Fellows scored 4 goals and Trenton Kaminski and Mason Schultz each netted 1.
Medina earns field hockey win in shootout
Medina outlasted host Newfane 3-2 in a shootout this afternoon to close out the Niagara-Orleans League field hockey season.
The game was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation time and at the end of an overtime period setting up the decisive shootout.
Isabelle Perez scored the game winning goal for Medina as Jenelle Stalker and Savannah Jo Thompson also both had goals in the shootout.
Medina finishes the N-O season at 4-8 and Newfane at 2-10.
Akron 7, Kenmore 1
Akron completed an undefeated (12-0) N-O title season with a 7-1 win over Kenmore as Brooklyn Gerstung, Madison Gates and Madigan Regan each scored 2 goals and Scarlett Ranney 1.
Roy-Hart 4, Wilson 2
Roy-Hart downed Wilson 4-2 as Adella Dukes scored 3 goals and Jill Schimek 1.
Brynn Lepsch and Taylor Earnest each scored a goal for Wilson.
Final N-O Standings: Akron 12-0, Barker 10-2, Wilson 6-6, Kenmore 5-7, Medina 4-8, Roy-Hart 3-9, Newfane 2-10.
Barker/Roy-Hart completes a second straight undefeated C North Division title campaign
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Barker/Roy-Hart’s Carter DerSarkissian follows a block by quarterback Max Townsend in route to scoring one of his five touchdowns in the host Bulls win over Cleveland Hill this evening.
Capping off a second straight undefeated (6-0) C North Division championship campaign, Barker/Roy-Hart rolled to a 43-20 victory over Cleveland Hill this evening at Barker.
Barker/Roy-Hart built up commanding leads of 20-0 after the first quarter, 35-0 at the half and 43-0 late in the third quarter.
Carter DerSarkissian got the Bulls offense rolling by rushing for three first quarter touchdowns on carries of 7, 1 and 47 yards as Billy Jaques tacked on a pair of extra point kicks.
A 46 yard run by DerSarkissian set up the first score while quarterback Max Townsend had pass completions of 29 yards to Ashton Ark and 17 yards to Matt Aquilina to highlight the second and third scores.
In the second quarter, Townsend and DerSarkissian hooked up for a 51 yard touchdown pass play and DerSarkissian ran 3 yards for another TD.
Aaron Bowerman closed out the Bulls scoring with a 5 yard touchdown run in the third quarter as Townsend completed a two-point conversion pass to Ark.
The Barker/Roy-Hart special teams also came up big with a pair of blocked punts by Bowerman and Ark both of which led to touchdowns.
The Bulls will now be the C North Division’s No. 1 seed for the upcoming sectional playoffs. The pairings for the opening round are scheduled to be announced on Sunday.
Cleveland Hill finishes the C North season at 4-3.
Jeff Waters breaks loose for a big gain for Barker/Roy-Hart.
Medina to pick firm to design Canal Basin improvements
State awarded village $1.345 million for project as part of $4.5 million NY Forward grant
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Canal Basin parking lot will redesigned as part of a $1.345 million grant from the state. The Medina Village Board is expected to hire an engineering firm on Monday to work on the design of the project. The new lot will have less asphalt and more green space.
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board expects to hire an engineering firm on Monday to design improvements in the Canal Basin, a project with a goal to become a “waterfront gateway” with more green space, seating areas and boater/cyclist amenities.
Six firms on Wednesday presented proposals to Medina Mayor Debbie Padoleski, Village Trustee Jeff Wagner and members of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program – Chris Busch, Mary Lewis and Kathy Blackburn.
The redesigned basin was awarded $1.345 million of the $4.5 million from the state to Medina in the NY Forward grant. The state finalized eight projects for the $4.5 million on May 17, 2024.
The transformed parking lot received the largest grant of the eight projects.
The redesign of the basin parking lot also will include two direct-current fast chargers for electric vehicles, each with two charging spots. The state awarded Medina $245,184 in a separate grant for those chargers with National Grid also chipping in $73,000.
Rendering from Empire State Development and Governor’s Office: The Canal Basin parking lot along the Erie Canal will be turned into a “waterfront gateway” complete with green space, seating areas and boater/cyclist amenities as part of the NY Forward grant in Medina. This is not the final design for the parking lot.
The basin will become more pedestrian friendly and also more inviting to boaters. The village is looking to upgrade the entry drive from Main Street; enhance the pedestrian walkway extending from Main Street, across rear building facades, to East Center Street alleyway; add a gazebo for shade and cover; expand flexible greenspace areas for programming with amenities including seating tables, benches, bike racks, shade trees and native plantings; and add pedestrian walkways with decorative, permeable pavers.
Chris Busch, a member of the LWRP committee, said the village created a vision for the basin about a decade ago through a waterfront redevelopment plan. The state funding will give the initiative significant investment and help make the project a reality.
The firm picked by the Village Board will present options for how to spend that grant, and the community will have an opportunity to weigh in during public meetings, Busch said.
The state will also need to approve the projects for the basin. The project is expected to go out to bid to contractors next year.
“This is only the beginning of the process,” Busch said about meeting with the firms on Wednesday.
This area of the Canal Basin lot will be part of the project. The village expects to add more green space and trees to the area, and will take out about 15 to 20 parking spaces, leaving about 70.
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Rivals will host McKinley in a key B1 Division regular season finale game Friday at Albion
A share of the division title and a home game for the upcoming sectional playoffs will be on the line as Albion/Medina hosts McKinley at 7 p.m. Friday at Albion in a key B1 Division season finale.
Currently Albion/Medina and McKinley are tied for second place at 5-1 just behind 6-1 West Seneca East which has finished its B1 schedule.
An Albion/Medina win would earn the Rivals a share of the B1 title and the division’s No. 2 seed for the sectionals. The Rivals would be the No. 2 seed having lost 35-34 to West Seneca East which would be the No. 1 seed. The No. 2 seed would host the No. 3 seed from the B2 Division in the opening round of the sectionals.
However, a win by McKinley would earn the Macks a share of the title and the B1’s No. 1 seed as they defeated West Seneca East 24-13. West Seneca East would then be the B1’s No. 2 seed and Albion/Medina would drop to the No. 3 seed because of the Rivals loss to East. The Rivals would then open the sectionals on the road at the B2 Division’s No. 2 seed.
McKinley’s balanced attack includes leading rushers Kylin Williams (887 yards, 8 touchdowns) and Tashawn Henley (338 yards, 5 TDs), quarterbacks Kyion Minter (857 yards passing, 8 TDs) and Catrell Rhoades (301 yards, 3 TDs) and receiver Tayon Mullen (17 catches foor 528 yards, 7 TDs).
The Rivals rushing attack has been led by Elijah Doxey (591 yds., 8 TDs) and Jayzon Wills (471 yds, 4 TDs).
Quarterback Preston Woodworth has passed for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 5 TDs. His main receivers have been Noah Harrison (28 catches for 552 yards, 7 TDs) and Doxey (26 catches for 495 yds., 4 TDs).
Friday’s other B1 game will have Lew-Port at Maryvale. The interdivisional games will have Sweet Home at Amherst, Williamsville East at Williamsville South, West Seneca East at West Seneca West and Eden/North Collins at Lake Shore.
B1 Division Standings (Division and Overall records) – West Seneca East 6-1, 6-1; Albion/Medina 5-1, 6-1; McKinley 5-1, 6-1; Williamsville South 4-3, 4-3; Maryvale 3-3, 4-3; Lake Shore 2-5, 2-5; Amherst 1-6, 1-6; Lew-Port 0-6, 0-7.
Yacht Club recognizes long-time secretary for service
Provided photo
POINT BREEZE – The Point Breeze Yacht Club held its annual members meeting on Saturday at the Godfrey’s Pond Clubhouse at which time Commodore Bob Bialkowski recognized Marietta Schuth of Kendall for her many years serving as secretary.
The Point Breeze Yacht Club was founded in 1973 with the idea of encouraging boating, aquatic sports and general social and recreational purposes. The club is based at the Orleans County Marine Park.
