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Governor declares State Disaster Emergency with measles outbreak
No cases have been reported in Orleans, Genesee, Monroe and Niagara counties
Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office
Governor Kathy Hochul issued an Executive Order today declaring a State Disaster Emergency in response to the growing number of measles cases across rural areas of New York and neighboring states.
The Executive Order enables the State to respond more swiftly to the outbreak and allows healthcare professionals to take additional steps that will help get more New Yorkers vaccinated and tested, if needed.
The Governor also received her seasonal flu shot and urged all New Yorkers to receive this year’s flu vaccine to protect against infection. The Governor is committed to putting New Yorkers’ health and safety first and has directed the New York State Department of Health to share frequent public notifications and resources throughout this flu season.
“After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease,” Governor Hochul said in a news release. “No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test. These emergency measures will protect New Yorkers and support our community partners as they work tirelessly to address the spread of this disease.”
Editor’s Note: There are 0 cases so far in Orleans, Genesee, Monroe and Niagara counties. There have been 11 confirmed cases in Western New York with 2 in Erie, 3 in Chautauqua and 6 in Allegany County. Otsego County in the Mohawk Valley has the most with 20 cases followed by 17 in Seneca County in the Finger Lakes.
The Executive Order specifically extends the pool of eligible individuals who can administer measles vaccines, including paramedics, advanced EMS providers, pharmacists and midwives, and in addition to physicians, also allows nurses to order testing.
New York State Department of Health’s Measles Dashboard
Today’s announcement builds on the State’s ongoing measles response efforts, including the launch of a Measles Dashboard allowing the public and healthcare officials to track local health risks and raise awareness about measles.
In addition to clinical education and guidance for providers, epidemiological support for case investigation and contact tracing, and expedited laboratory testing, the State Department of Health continues to support local health departments with vaccines, community outreach efforts to increase awareness, data analytic support, and clinically accurate and culturally meaningful immunization education.
As of October 3, there have been seven confirmed cases in New York City and 101 in New York State outside of NYC (Rest of State) for 108 total cases this year, amid a global and domestic increase in measles cases.
Since July 15, there have been 92 cases reported among under-immunized, rural communities in 18 counties. Since then, local health departments have administered over 1,000 doses of the MMR vaccine across rural areas of New York State.
Monitoring and investigation activities, such as contact tracing, are ways public health officials work to keep affected communities safe from the spread of infectious diseases. Anyone who is contacted during these activities is encouraged to be responsive so that important information can be shared to prevent more infections.
All New Yorkers are urged to protect themselves by making sure they are up to date on their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines and be aware of health advisories if traveling with unvaccinated individuals, especially young children. Infants 6 to 11 months old can receive an early dose of the MMR vaccine for protection before travel or if they are otherwise at risk of being exposed.
Causes of Measles and Symptoms To Monitor For
Measles is a highly contagious, serious respiratory disease that causes rash and fever. In some cases, measles can reduce the immune system’s ability to fight other infections like pneumonia. This disease is caused by a virus that is spread by coughing or sneezing into the air. Individuals can catch the disease by breathing in the virus or, less commonly, by touching a contaminated surface, then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Serious complications of measles include hospitalization, pneumonia, miscarriage, preterm birth, brain swelling, immune amnesia and death. Long-term serious complications can also include subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a type of brain inflammation resulting from an earlier measles infection that can lead to permanent brain damage years after the initial infection.
The best protection against measles is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Those traveling domestically or internationally should plan to be fully vaccinated against measles at least two weeks before departure. One dose provides 93 percent protection while two doses provide 97 percent protection.
Babies as young as 6 months should get one dose of the MMR vaccine if they are traveling abroad or to an area where measles is prevalent. After travel, these babies should then continue to get their next two MMR vaccines on schedule for a total of three vaccines. Anyone who is not protected can get measles while traveling and can easily spread it to others when they return home.
The Department has released a health advisory for healthcare providers on clinical guidance for measles.
A person with measles can pass it to others as soon as four days before a rash appears and as late as four days after the rash appears. The incubation period for measles is up to 21 days. People who are exposed to measles should quarantine for 21 days after exposure, and those who test positive should isolate until four days after the rash appears.
Albion teacher and students commended for patriotic mural
Editor:
I just want to comment on how beautiful the “Lest We Forget” mural at Veterans Park is!
Albion teacher Kamie Feder and her students have, once again, taken a mundane site and transformed it into a true work of art! The thought that went into what the mural should contain is shown in the finished product!
The site is where it should be, although it is too bad that it is not out along one of the major arteries where more can admire it! A big “thumbs up” to Mrs. Feder and her art class for a great job well done!
James Comden
Oak Brook, Illinois (former Orleans County resident)
Volunteers pick up 164 pounds of trash from 5 shoreline locations
Provided photos: (Left) A volunteer finds part of a broken drainage pipe at Point Breeze during a shoreline cleanup on Sept. 26. (Right) Volunteers collect trash at Glenwood Lake.
Volunteers collected 164 pounds of trash on Sept. 26 during the 25th annual Shoreline Cleanup event.
The Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District organized the event, which coincided with The American Littoral Society’s NYS Beach Cleanup Event. Volunteers were out across the state picking up trash from their local shorelines.
Locally, the volunteers met at Bullard Park in Albion before heading to different cleanup locations including the Point Breeze Boat Launch, Canal Widewaters, Glenwood Lake Boat Launch, Waterport Dam and Park Avenue Extension.
Soil & Water staff want to thank those who participated and remind everyone to practice “carry in, carry out” and properly dispose of their trash when possible.
People interested in participating in next year’s cleanup should contact the district office at (585) 589-5959, ext. 5.
Local trio playing collegiate volleyball
Contributed Photos – Playng collegiate volleyball this season is this trio of Orleans County players. From left are, Albion graduate Julia Knight along with Medina grads Natalie Herbert and Addison Paul. Knight is a sophomore and Herbert a freshman on the Genesee Community College team. Paul is a sophomore on the Finger Lakes Community College squad. Both teams are off to outstanding starts to the season as Finger Lakes is 18-1 and GCC 17-2.
October brings a dip in gas prices
Photo by Tom Rivers: The average price for regular unleaded was at $4.41 at the Albion Kwik Fill on Sunday evening.
The average price of regular unleaded declined by 11 cents nationally to $4.36 today, while the average is New York State is down a penny to $4.47. A year ago, the average price was $3.13 nationally and $3.18 in NYS, AAA reported today.
“After a record-setting September, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is down 11 cents this week as October arrives,” AAA said. “Oil prices are down to $89 to $100 per barrel this morning compared to $94 to $115 last week.”
“Typically, gas prices drop at this time of year as demand drops and refineries switch over to cheaper winter blend fuel,” AAA said. “However, ongoing volatility in the Strait of Hormuz could continue to put upward pressure on prices at the pump.”
Here are the average prices in counties around Western New York:
- Orleans, $4.439
- Genesee, $4.421
- Monroe, $4.418
- Niagara, $4.421
- Erie, $4.413
- Wyoming, $4.443
- Livingston, $4.422
- Chautauqua, $4.412
- Cattaraugus, $4.436
- Allegany, $4.428
Hamilton County in the Adirondacks is the highest in the state at $4.904 a gallon, while Seneca has the lowest average at $4.306.
Diesel prices also are down with the national average at $6.32, which is 20 cents lower from last week. Prices are up from $3.68 one year ago. In New York, the average diesel price is $6.51 per gallon, no change from last week. A year ago, New York drivers were paying an average of $3.89 per gallon, AAA said.
Medina takes 2nd in Oswego marching band competition
Provided photo and information courtesy of Medina Band Boosters
OSWEGO – The Medina Mustang Band travelled on Saturday night to Oswego, competing head to head with the Oswego Buccaneers for a first place standing in the Small School 2 bracket.
Oswego won the night in SS2, besting Medina, 78.300 to 77.100, in a close competition. In marching band events, a point is roughly equivalent to a football touchdown. There were four bands competing in the Small School 1 bracket. A large, exuberant crowd was on hand including many from Medina who made the 2 hour plus trip.
East Irondequoit, directed by Medina High School grad Jeff Hoffman, had the highest score of the evening with an 82.550.
This marks the midpoint of Medina’s competitive band season with competitions at Victor, Webster and Greece remaining before the NYSFBC Championships at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse on Sunday, November 1st.
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Jake Jackson, Lyndonville senior, will represent Team USA in billiards competition
Provided photo: Jake Jackson concentrates on a shot during a billiards tournament. He will represent Team USA in the Billard Congress of America’s 2026 World Pool Association World Junior 10-Ball Championship later this month in San Antonio.
LYNDONVILLE – Three years of hard work and dedication have paid off for a 17-year-old senior at Lyndonville Central School.
Jake Jackson, 17, is a senior at Lyndonville’s L.A. Webber Middle-High School. He stands in a pool hall after competing in a tournament. The teen has been competing in pool tournaments since he was 14.
Jake Jackson has been selected by the Billard Congress of America to represent Team USA at the 2026 World Pool Association World Junior 10-Ball Championships in San Antonio, Texas.
Jake and his parents, Roger and Terah Jackson, will be heading to San Antonio on Oct. 22 for the week-long tournament. He narrowly missed qualification in 2025 when he placed fifth at the qualifier in Dubuque, Iowa.
This past July, Jake received a wild card invitation from the Billard Education Foundation and USA Cue Sports to fill an open spot for Team USA at the championships in San Antonio.
To cover travel expenses, the family is hosting a benefit and prize drawing at Bison Billiards, located at the back of Eastern Hills Mall. The date will be announced soon.
“We are grateful for the support of Jake’s sponsors, Adam Japan Cues, InThBX Sports Gear and Bison Billiards of Williamsville,” said Roger Jackson.
Raffle tickets can be purchased from Jake, Roger or Terah Jackson on social media or by stopping at Salon de Coiffeur on Maple Ridge Road in Medina.
Jake started playing in the Nationals at age 14. He also has another big tournament coming up in December near Miami, called “The 64.” It is an invitation-only junior tournament for players 20 years old and under, with a grand prize of $10,000 for travel expenses for the season and other sponsor opportunities.
Boxwood at Night, with 290 attendees, sees biggest crowd in event’s 5 years
Medina’s historic cemetery was lighted up and featured live music, docents in period costumes
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – This group gathers on the top of Boxwood Cemetery on North Garvel Road in Medina to hear Barb Gorham share about David Carr, the first person buried in the cemetery in 1849. Carr told people he wanted to buried on the hill just north of Medina.
Since his burial, about 5,000 others have been buried at Boxwood.
There were 290 people who attended the Boxwood at Night on Saturday, an event that raises money for the cemetery (with tickets at $20 apiece) and also highlights local history.
Barb Gorham was a docent for the second year, dressing in a period costume with a fake beard to portray David Carr.
“It’s a nice event and it’s good for the community,” she said.
She was one of 10 docents at Boxwood at Night.
The band, Together Again, featured Medina teacher Rachel Trillizio on vocals, retired band teacher Jim Steele and other musicians.
Megan “Marge” Furness created this display by her van, which she calls Cindy. Furness is owner of Hippiesque TieDyes, and makes custom tapestry and apparel. This was her first time featured at Boxwood at Night.
This lighted section is the potter’s field area on the other side of the hill at Boxwood. There were 107 people buried in the potter’s field. Of those 107, only 28 have head stones. The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery is working to install a monument listing all 107 people.
Cindy Robinson served as one of the docents. She highlighted the potter’s field and the monument that is expected to soon be installed.
Michael Zelazny sang and played his guitar near the start of the event at Boxwood. The start was near the Glenwood Lake boat launch.
These letters were lighted up for the event, which is organized by Friends of Boxwood Cemetery.
Jenna Papponetti created charcoal landscape drawings of Glenwood Lake and the waterfalls. This piece is called, “Still Water.” Papponetti went kayaking in the lake and near the waterfalls and took photos to reference the drawings.
Catherine Cooper, Orleans County historian, portrayed Amelia Bennett, who was buried in 1831 at a cemetery on Gwinn Street. That area is now a playground. The bodies and monuments were relocated to Boxwood in 1895. There weren’t any new burials at Gwinn Street after 1850, Cooper said.
The Vine Church choir sang hymns in the chapel of the cemetery.
The chapel with the people singing hymns was one of four stops with musicians. The chapel has been the focus of a restoration effort with extensive work on a stained-glass window and other interior improvements.
The chapel at Boxwood was built in 1903 with a $22,000 donation from the late Silas Burroughs, who was influential in the pharmaceutical industry. His father also served in Congress.
Reinhard Rogowski portrayed Silas M. Burroughs, who was a congressman and owner of the Burroughs mansion at State Street Park in medina. The mansion was built in 1850 and was one of the area’s finest homes. It burnt down in 1913. His son, Silas Mainville Burroughs, was a very successful entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical industry.
Mandee DeMarco arranges chicken-wire sculptures on the trunk of where a large tree that recently was taken down. DeMarco is part of a Paradise crew that does pop-up events with art and flood lights.
Kat McKinney portrayed May Howard, a survivor of the Titanic sinking on April 15, 1912. Howard was 27 when she was on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.
Howard, a native of England, was headed to visit her brother in Toronto and then her sister in Albion. She traveled as a third-class passenger and secured a spot on a life boat. May lived locally until she died at age 68 in 1958. About 1,500 passengers died after the Titanic hit an ice berg. Howard was one of about 700 survivors.
Shawna Baldwin, left, is dressed as a raven. Robert Keirn is at right. They shared poetry by the famous writer who died in 1849, the year of the first burial at Boxwood.
The read from The Raven, Annabel Lee and The Conqueror Worm.
The Orleans County String Band performed played Appalachian music while people strolled on the north side of the historic cemetery on North Gravel Road. This building recently received a new roof and could become a museum for the cemetery in the future.
Move of historian’s office unearths burial permit for woman killed in brutal murder in 1894
Photos from Orleans County Department of History collection: This leather pouch contains burial permits.
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 27
CARLTON – Thanks to the Orleans County Department of Public Works crew, the Department of History collection has been moved to its new location at 162 South Main St., Albion.
The process of packing and unpacking invariably reveals some overlooked items, such as the soft leather pouch pictured above that is filled with papers. Upon examination, it appears that these are Burial Permits, that final document in the paper trail of life.
The handwriting on the first permit is somewhat difficult to decipher, but the stark word which follows the phrase “the cause of death” fairly leaps from the page: Murder. This document is none other than the Burial Permit for Emma Louise Hunt, whose murder was described in the Buffalo News on October 20, 1894 as “the most horrible thing that has ever happened in Orleans County.”
This burial permit was issued for Emma Louise Hunt, October 20, 1894.
Twenty-one year old Emma Louise Hunt was employed as a domestic by Joseph Van Camp, a Carlton farmer who lived on the east side of Sawyer Road in the town of Carlton. William Lake, aged 24, was a hired man also employed by Van Camp. William was enamored of Emma but she did not return his feelings.
After supper on Thursday evening, October 18, 1894, the Van Camp family went out to collect a relative and left Emma and William at the house. William asked Emma to accompany him to an I.O.O.F. oyster supper, she declined. She told him he was “a loafer and a drunkard.” Enraged, he went to the barn for a hammer and proceeded to kill her in a brutal and frenzied manner. We will spare you the gory details of the crime and of the subsequent autopsy which were reported in full in the newspapers of the day.
Lake was apprehended within a few days. A letter of confession which he had written before he murdered Emma was found in his bedroom. He was arraigned before Judge W.C. Ramsdale. Attorney Thomas C. Kirby was appointed to represent him.
Supreme Court Judge Henry A. Childs presided at the trial which was held at the Orleans County Courthouse from Feb. 13-15, 1895. Attorney Kirby claimed that his client was insane, but the letter of confession written prior to the crime was damming. Lake was convicted of murder in the first degree and was given the death sentence. He was removed to Auburn State Prison where he was electrocuted on April 4, 1895.
The Burial Permit was signed by Isaac N. Stebbins, Justice of the Peace. The undertakers were Mathes & Onderdonk who operated a furniture store at 48 N. Main St, in Albion. A large crowd attended the funeral on Saturday, October 21, 1894, when the mangled remains of Emma Louise Hunt were buried in the East Carlton (Kent) cemetery, less than 48 hours after her murder.
