File photo by Tom Rivers: These farmworkers pick cucumbers in August 2019 along Townline Road in Barre.

Press Release, Community Coalition for Justice

ALBION – “What Does a Welcoming Farm Community Look Like?” That’s the topic Father Joseph Marcoux and other speakers will address, Monday, September 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Hoag Library in Albion.

Father Joseph Marcoux

Father Joseph Marcoux is pastor of Blessed Virgin Mary Nativity Church in Brockport as well as Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Hamlin.  Nativity has had an Hispanic ministry for farmworkers for several generations. The church has a Hispanic Deacon and Hispanic Coordinator on staff.

Father Joe is also a major in the Army National Guard, with whom he recently served six months in the Near East during the Iran War.  He’s been the pastor at Seton and Nativity churches for the past three years.

He previously served as pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Geneva from 2010 to 2023.  During his stay there, he became known for his sermons and a selection of these are available under his name. Several are applicable to Father Joe’s topic on Sept. 28: exclusivity and the acceptance of immigrants.  Copies will be available on the 28th.

Other speakers:

Dr. James Goetz, long-time medical director of Oak Orchard Medical Center, which serves the general public and farmworkers and their children and families through Brockport and branch offices in Orleans and Genesee counties and western Monroe.

Dr. Goetz is a graduate of Notre Dame University and received his medical degree from Ohio State. He subsequently got a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard.

Dr. Goetz tells that he’s a fan of St. Francis, who encourages us to spread Christ’s teachings, especially in service to the “poor,” “persecuted” and “least of these” through actions, “using words only as a last resort.”  He practiced for three years in Africa, before becoming the Medical Director of Oak Orchard, where he served for 45 years. Dr. Goetz is also the chair of Nativity’s Human Resources Committee.

Karen Watt, local farmer, is active and office holder in the local, state and national Farm Bureaus. She also is a board member and was president of the Oak Orchard Community Health Center and the Albion office bears her name commemoratively. Ms. Watt has also been named a  “Citizen of the year” by the Orleans Hub.

She currently serves on the National Advisory Commission on Migrant/Immigrant Farmworkers’ Health. It’s the second time she’s been chosen. She has served as its Chair.  (Interestingly, Bob Golden, also of the Community Coalition for Justice, has served as chair of the National Advisory Commission some time ago, under the President Reagan  administration.)

Also, Tom Rivers, editor of Orleans Hub, will have copies of his book, Farm Hands, available to buy. Tom tells of his experiences working for many weeks on several Orleans County farms and the difficulty of the work.  He tells of working side by side with immigrant workers and their hard work and kindnesses to him.

The Community Coalition for Justice includes a Catholic Nun, two ministers, a deacon, a physician, three nurses (two mental health nurses), two farmers, three office holders, including a former Legislature chair, four teachers,  five social workers and three criminal justice workers.

Several have served on state and national committees and have been named teacher, volunteer or citizen of the year. The CCJ has put on 26 programs over the last six years on racial and economic justice, including four on Native Americans.

Press Release, U.S Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a virtual press conference to demand that the Trump administration release funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) ahead of the cold winter months.

“New Yorkers are already feeling the pain of President Trump’s economy at the grocery store, the gas pump, and the pharmacy. Now, as temperatures begin to drop, they’re getting hit again: this time at the thermostat,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Fuel prices are soaring because of President Trump’s war with Iran, and New Yorkers need help heating their homes as temperatures drop. I’m calling on the Trump administration to immediately release LIHEAP funding to help low-income New Yorkers afford their energy bills.”

Last week, the price of crude oil rose to $100 per barrel for the first time since July—a direct result of President Trump’s war with Iran. That has driven up the average cost of heating oil in New York up to $6.14 per gallon, which is a 66% increase from this time last year.

At the same time, President Trump’s administration has yet to release the LIHEAP funding that helps New Yorkers heat their homes in the fall and winter, which was appropriated by Congress in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 earlier this month. Under this bill, New York is slated to receive an estimated $360 million in LIHEAP funds.

With temperatures beginning to drop and fuel prices continuing to rise, Senator Gillibrand sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding that the administration immediately release this funding.

The full text of the letter can be found by clicking here.