Photo by Tom Rivers: Holli Nenni accepts a “Special Recognition” award on Tuesday from the Orleans County Legislature in appreciation for a 38 ½ year career with the Department of Social Services.

ALBION – When Mary Grace “Holli” Nenni started as a caseworker for Orleans County 38 ½ years ago, the Department of Social Services didn’t have cell phones or the internet.

Nenni used a Dictaphone to record notes from client visits.

When she started her career, she never imagined she would be ending it as the commissioner of the DSS, overseeing 70 employees.

Nenni will be retiring on May 22. She started in 1987 as a caseworker and then was promoted to a senior position in 1992. She became coordinator of Child Enforcement Unit in 2000, then director of temporary assistance in 2006. She was promoted to deputy commissioner of social services in 2010 with a final appointment as DSS commissioner in 2021.

“Your dedication and expertise have benefitted our county tremendously,” the County Legislature declared in an award presented to Nenni on Tuesday.

Legislators praised Nenni for her “commendable service and dedication to the Orleans County Department of Social Services.”

Nenni worked with three DSS commissioners before becoming one herself.

“Each step of my journey came with its own challenges, but also a lot of growth,” Nenni said during the Legislature meeting. “While I’m looking forward to forgetting a lot of the past 38 years, one thing I won’t forget is the co-workers who show up every day ready to help others. Each of them helped me along in my journey.”

The DSS divisions include temporary assistance, child & family services, domestic violence services, and the child support and enforcement unit.

DSS partners with many local agencies and county departments – UConnectCare, Mental Health, Job Development and others – to help people overcome barriers and become self sufficient, Nenni said.

In recent years, DSS has faced a rising caseload of people without housing. Before the Covid pandemic in 2020, DSS usually was working with less than 20 people to find housing.

“We were in the teens, and now we’re in the low 70s,” Nenni said. “We have been over 100.”

A former youth that Nenni assisted as a caseworker spoke at Tuesday’s Legislature meeting and thanked Nenni for helping guide him through a rough period of his childhood. Tim McMurray is now the Albion mayor. He said Nenni was able to connect him with a supportive family, and that made a huge difference in his life.

The Legislature named Nenni’s successor during the Tuesday meeting. Shirley Mazourek, a licensed clinical social worker and mental health professional, will be the next commissioner.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Don Sloper, center, president of the Orleans County chapter of American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) accepted a proclamation from County legislator Don Allport on Tuesday that declared May as “Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month in Orleans County.” Sloper was joined in legislative chambers by Steve Rosenberg, vice president of ABATE.

The organization usually has a motorcycle safety and awareness rally at the Orleans County Courthouse the first Sunday in May, and then heads out on a 50-mile ride in the county, ending at the VFW in Medina.

ABATE will instead be starting its ride at the VFW in Medina on Sunday with riders to assemble at 1 p.m. and speakers at 2 p.m. The motorcyclists will then embark on a 50-mile ride around the county.

The county is requiring proof of insurance by organizations to hold events at the courthouse property. Sloper said ABATE didn’t want to spend the money for the insurance and instead will start at the VFW.

ABATE has about 80 members in Orleans County. Motorcyclists want the public to know they are back on the roadways. The motorcyclists urge drivers to “look twice” and use extra caution when making a left turn or pulling out onto the roadway.

Ryan Woolston

ALBION – The Orleans County legislature appointed Ryan Woolston on Tuesday to be the new director of information technology services for the county government.

Woolston, a Carlton resident, has worked in the IT department for 20 years, starting as a computer specialist. He has been the deputy director the past four months.

Woolston oversees a department of nine employees. IT supports every county department with a focus on keeping their computers and technology running smoothly so employees can focus on serving the public.

When Woolston started, Information Technology was based at Central Hall, the former’s treasurer’s building, on East Park Street. The department moved to the county administration building on Route 31 as part of a $10 million addition in June 2019.

The Legislature on Tuesday also approved spending $191,812 to purchase 125 new computers from Dell marketing in Pittsburgh, Pa. Woolston said the county tries to replace computers every five years. The 125 is part of about 500 used by county employees.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The current emergency management office was built as an early 1960s bomb shelter. It has a leaking roof and a shortage of space.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved about $5 million in construction bids today for a new Emergency Management Office.

The new building will be one-story and 7,700 square feet. It was downsized from a proposal for a 17,000-square-foot building. Initially county officials sought a new building that was 11,000 square feet for offices and classrooms, and another 5,600 square feet for equipment storage. That complex would have topped $12 million.

The county has been awarded a $2 million federal grant secured by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The county may be able to pay off the remaining amount from its existing funds, or it may need to borrow some money to complete the project, said County Chief Administrative Officer Jack Welch.

The construction bids approved today include $3,931,000 for general construction by the Watson Construction Group Inc. of Albion; $360,000 for plumbing/fire protection by McGrain Mechanical of Rochester; and $547,500 to McGrain Mechanical of Rochester for HVAC.

The new building will be west of the current structure that is 8,000 square feet – 80 by 100 feet. Most of the current EMO building is underground. It isn’t handicapped accessible and is tight on space.

County officials eventually want to have that building demolished but that isn’t part of the construction bids approved today.

The new building will include offices for the EMO’s three full-time staff, a classroom for training for firefighters and other first responders, and space to have the backup 911 dispatch system.

The county also is looking to take down two radio towers – one is 485 feet tall and the other is 225 feet – and replace them with one tower. Welch said it will be County cost to remove the towers and but there should be state funding to help put up the new tower in a project separate from the new building.

Construction is anticipated to start on the new building in July.