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Hawley says state POWER checks exclude seniors who didn’t file tax returns
Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) is raising concerns that New York State’s new Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate (POWER) program excludes seniors and other New Yorkers who did not file a 2024 state income tax return, including individuals who may not have been required to file one.
New York State began mailing POWER rebate checks on Sept. 21, with eligible taxpayers receiving $100, $150 or $200. The checks are being distributed automatically based on 2024 tax returns rather than being provided as a tax credit.
State law requires recipients to have been full-year New York residents in 2024 and to have timely filed a 2024 New York State income tax return. The law also establishes income limits and requires that the taxpayer is not claimed as a dependent.
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance specifically states that individuals who did not file a 2024 New York resident income tax return will not receive a POWER rebate check. There is no application process for a non-filer to simply apply for the payment.
“If we’re going to spend $1 billion on energy relief, we should make sure it reaches the people who need it most, including seniors who aren’t required to file a return,” said Hawley. “I support rebate checks for families struggling with utility bills. Checks arriving this fall won’t make next winter’s bill affordable. Without the long-term changes to our energy system that our Conference has called for, this is a Band-Aid on a problem Albany still needs to fix.”
For more information on the POWER rebate program and eligibility requirements, visit the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance at tax.ny.gov.
Gillibrand seeks to halt tariffs, Trump’s import ban on Canadian products
Press Release, U.S. Kirsten Gillibrand
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a virtual press conference demanding passage of her legislation to curb President Trump’s costly trade war with Canada. This comes less than a week before a sweeping import ban on Canadian dairy products, alcohol, and motorcycles is set to take effect.
Senator Gillibrand’s legislation, the Banning Antiquated Duties and Delivering Equitable American Levies (BAD DEAL) Act, would repeal all tariffs levied under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and refund Americans for all duties paid under this authority. This includes President Trump’s 50% tariffs on Canada as well as his forthcoming import ban on Canadian goods.
“President Trump and Republicans promised to lower costs and make life more affordable, but they’ve used their total power in Washington to make life more expensive than ever,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Let’s be clear: the latest tariffs and impending import ban on Canadian goods are a bad deal for New York families. I’m doing everything I can to halt these tariffs and lower costs for New York families.”
President Trump’s trade war with Canada is driving up prices and harming New York families. Canada is one of New York State’s largest export markets for both goods and services, and the state imports more than $20 billion annually from Canada. Already, New York families have spent over $5,500 more due to President Trump’s tariff chaos and other reckless policies. The new 50% tariffs on Canada are projected to cost businesses and households across the U.S. up to $10 billion annually.
Senator Gillibrand introduced the BAD DEAL Act last week alongside Senator Peter Welch (D-VT). Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also cosponsor the bill, and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives in August.
Senator Gillibrand has opposed President Trump’s tariffs since the start of his administration and worked tirelessly to get the American people their money back. Last year, she joined 14 of her colleagues in introducing the Small Business RELIEF Act to end Trump’s Tariff Tax and refund small businesses their duties paid. In March, she and her colleagues introduced the Small Business Liberation 2.0 Act to exempt small businesses from another set of Trump-imposed tariffs and refund what they had already paid.
The full text of the BAD DEAL Act can be found by clicking here.
Big group expected locally in August to celebrate 90th anniversary of Santa School
Charles Howard remains revered figure for Santas portrayers
Photos by Tom Rivers: This group recently visited Albion to help plan for the three-day celebration in August when several hundred Santas and other enthusiasts of the Charles W-Howard Santa School will be in town to celebrate the 90thanniversary of the Santa School. From left include DeAnn and Phil Wenz, the Santa Claus for Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois for 35 years; Jane Holland, granddaughter of Charles Howard; and Chris Parada, a Santa portrayer at the Christmas Cottage in Lockport and general manager of the palace Theater in Lockport. Parada also has owns the New York Santa Claus Suits & Equipment Co., which makes Santa suits in the same style designed by Charles Howard.
ALBION – The Albion community may be doing some double-takes in August when 300 to 400 people, many resembling Santa Claus, are expected to be in town as part of a 90th anniversary celebration for the Charles W. Howard Santa School.
Howard ran the school from 1937 with his last class in 1965. He passed away on May 1, 1966. The school continues in his name, now run by Tom and Holly Valent in Midland, Mich.
The chief organizers of the celebration were in Albion recently to identify sites and create itinerary for the visitors.
This photo shows Charles W. Howard with a Santa at Christmas Park in Albion. Howard operated the Park and a school for Santa Claus in Albion until his death on May 1, 1966.
The three-day celebration will be from Aug. 6-8. Most of the event will be based at the Palace Theater in Lockport, which has 1,100 seats and close access to hotels and lodging. The Palace is also run by Chris Parada, a graduate of the Charles W. Howard Santa School. Parada portrays Santa each Christmas season at Lockport, greeting about 10,000 children annually since 2010.
Parada is teaming up with Phil Wenz, who worked more than 35 years as a professional Santa, more than 200 days a year, at the Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois. Wenz continues his passion as a historian for the Santa community, and holds a special reverence for Charles Howard and his impact on shaping how Santas should look and act.
Wenz commended the Albion community for embracing the life and lore of Howard, especially since a Santa convention in Albion in 2015. About 200 people attended that event.
Since then, there have been two large-scale murals celebrating Santa and Charles Howard, as well as a bronze statue of Howard as Santa. The State Department of Transportation also put up signs on Route 31 dedicating the section of 31 in Albion as the “Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway.”
Those are all must-see spots for the visitors, Wenz said. He also said Howard’s gravesite at Mount Albion Cemetery and the world’s largest apple pie tin at the 4-H Fairgrounds should be on the list. Howard led the effort to bake the world’s largest apple pie in 1929. That record would be broken, before being set again at the fair in 1977 with a 21,210-pound pie. That enormous pie tin is on display at the fairgrounds.
“This won’t just be Santa oriented,” Parada said about the August event. “It will be a celebration of the community and this area.”
Parada and Wenz will be debuting a theatrical performance that helps tell the story of Charles Howard and his impact, and how he went from being an apple farmer to the Macy’s Santa Claus. He was in the Thanksgiving Day parade from 1948 to 1965, appearing on national television.
Parada said he has already heard from people from Israel, Australia, Canada and many states who want to be part of the celebration and learn more about Howard’s life in Albion.
“This is like the Holy Grail to so many guys,” Parada said about Howard’s hometown. “We’re dealing with people from all over the United States.”
The gathering won’t be a Santa convention like Albion hosted in 2010 and 2015. There won’t be any courses taught on how to portray Santa.
Wenz and Parada said the event will focus on the 90 years of the Santa School, with an opportunity to learn more about Charles Howard and the Albion community.
They urge Albion and Orleans County to try to tie into the event with other promotions and activities to welcome the visitors.
The two also want to help with fundraisers for a museum and welcome center in the works for the Santa School. The Albion Betterment Committee is working on that project at 128 North Main St.
Parada praised the Betterment Committee for taking the lead on the museum and many other projects highlighting Charles Howard and the Santa School.
“It’s about believing in your community and your family,” Parada said. “That’s what Charles Howard was all about.”
Blakeman makes big campaign promises but offers few details
Editor:
We’d like to share our thoughts regarding the upcoming New York gubernatorial election. We are not fans of Kathy Hochul, but have previously voted for her, she being our “lesser of two evils” choice.
Her heart is usually in the right place, but she’s seemingly seldom encountered an issue that she didn’t enthusiastically throw (our taxpayer) money at.
Her opponent, Bruce Blakeman, promises to cut our utility bills in half, but doesn’t tell us how he’ll make this happen. Are we to believe that he holds such power and influence over our electric, heating fuel, water/sewer, and telecommunication providers that this pledge could ever be more than an empty, unbelievable, laughable campaign promise? Judging from the number of Blakeman yard signs on display in western New York, sadly, many of our neighbors do! Pretending for the moment that this could (or would) actually happen, we’d bet our taxpayer monies would be overwhelmingly utilized.
Beyond this silliness, he proclaims our current president “the greatest president in (his) lifetime.” Setting aside every Democratic president, it would seem even the most ardent “straight ticket” GOP voters would strongly disagree. A list of Republican presidents since Blakeman’s birth in 1955 includes (among others) Eisenhower, Ford, Reagan, and (the elder) Bush – each “greater” (on their worst day) than our current president.
And finally, any candidate who utters the words “Peace, love, and Donald Trump” in the same sentence seems foolish, desperate, and delusional – thereby unfit for office.
Without question, it’s another “lesser of two evils” vote for us.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Frost
Marcia Frost
Barker
Regular people hurt as tax cuts for rich, reckless spending fuel national debt
Editor:
We may not be experiencing a temporary economic adjustment. Long-term problems hurting consumers since the Reagan tax cuts and now the further ballooning deficit are out of control. Nostrums to deal with this – too long in vogue – are killing us.
Tariffs hurt prices. Bonds yields are falling as our friends increasingly buy bonds from other, less risky, trade partners. The One Big Beautiful Act ballooned deficits and the printing of money.
Since consumers have to pay a higher percentage of their income for good, the benefits of tax cuts and interest rate increases hugely favor the selfish elites who are now working with politicians to control our lives. No matter what the Administration claims (daily) about ending the oil crisis it started, that is not enough to patch the basic problem.
Since Reagan, our national debt has increased 3,700 percent in absolute dollars. It now constitutes 100 percent of Gross Domestic Product – and with the Trump tax cuts will by 2054 with interest be 166 percent of GDP. Interest payments on our debt has increased 1,000 percent!
Think for example that even relatively small Reagan’s first round of cuts in ’81 helped the top 1% sixty eight times what reached the average consumer. And tax cuts do not solve the problem. The London School of Economics looked at 50 years of data from 18 advanced economies and tax cuts consistently increased income inequality without growth in GDP! Growth in GDP is what helps consumers!
Additionally thinking that spending cuts work is a false claim. Trump cut Medicare part A 12% already. It did not result in our promised $2,000 checks and is breaking the budgets for rural hospitals (in particular). By the time we initially fired 10 percent of government employees, we merely saved 1 percent. Tax cuts since ’81 have simply thrown spending onto localities which are in large part financed by property tax – another regressive effect.
We need sound economic, principled capitalist, answers. All too many confuse capitalism with profits and not the sound economics of competition. Solutions to talk about include: 1) nominal dollar ceilings each year for non-discretionary programs rather than percentage increases tied to growth formulas ties such as GDP or inflation; 2) Doing away with caps on Social Security contributions; 3) Wealth taxes; 4) Use flat rate, no cost overruns allowed, military contracts as some other countries do; 5) Convert from an estate tax to a capital gains tax – this would avoid the current US problem which results in elites simply borrowing money to live on and pay interest rather than tax estate tax when they die. Obamacare was similar to the Swiss answer for a mixed private and public system but the best features were stripped out by the Supreme Court. There are several less expensive medical systems that combine public and private choices and cost 2/3 or less than what we pay.
We are facing ever increase trouble unless consumer’s income and standard of living come first. Vanity projects like a ballroom and putting his name on the monument built for President Kennedy – The Kennedy Center – not only waste money but also demonstrate indifference to real people problems.
The US needs to return to party politics as they existed when I was young and life was good. We had two “big tent” parties – Eisenhower Republicans and FDR Democrats. Both put consumers first and said it plainly and without bowing to extremists.
It was Eisenhower who said to beware of the Military/Industrial Complex. We paid our way. If candidates do not meet these tests and rely on hate as a recipe for good governance, send them out to pasture.
Conrad F. Cropsey
Albion
Local 4-Her qualifies to compete at national horse-judging competition
Provided photo: Grace Goodrich is shown with her miniature horses.
Press Release
MEDINA – Grace Goodrich is a Medina High School senior that competed as part of the Orleans County 4-H Hippology and Horse Judging team in June.
Coached by Jann Davis, that team consisted of Grace Goodrich, Aubree McAdoo and Morgan Aina. They placed 5th in horse judging, and Grace placed 4th in the individual horse judging portion of the competition.
The top 4 seniors in this competition get to move on to the 4-H Horse Judging Nationals Competition in Louisville, Kentucky this November to represent New York State.
Grace earned this by judging 6 classes, some in hand and some riding classes. She wrote notes on all of the classes she watched and then placed the horses in each class from 1st to 4th using her horse knowledge. Her placings were then compared to a team of four professional horse judges. She then needed to give oral reasons (without the use of her notes) on four of those classes individually to the same professional judges.
While in Kentucky for the competition, the 4-Hers will get to tour the Kentucky Horse Park, Churchill Downs and Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. The total expenses to cover this trip will be close to $1,000 (to cover registration, food, incidentals).
Her coach, Jann Davis, has organized a basket raffle fundraiser that will be held at the Orleans County Fairgrounds Trolley building on October 3 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to donate a basket or gift card, contact Jann at 585-205-1531.
After predicting last winter’s brutal weather, Papponetti sees less severe cold this time
Animal control officer says squirrels aren’t furiously stacking pine cones like a year ago
Harry Papponetti
ALBION – It was about a year ago when Harry Papponetti, Albion’s animal control officer for more than 30 years, made a grim prediction: the area would be facing a brutal winter.
Papponetti noticed squirrels were furiously stacking pine cones a year ago. The animals seemed to know something, he told the Village Board.
The board members smiled and chuckled at Papponetti, not quite taking him seriously back then.
But Papponetti proved right. The area fell into winter’s grip in early November and it didn’t let go for several months, as the area was bombarded with snow and then fell into a deep freeze in January and February.
During Wednesday’s Village Board meeting, with Papponetti now holding a reputation as a wise prognosticator, he was asked what he expects is in store this winter. Papponetti said he has been observing squirrels and they seem much more care-free this year. They aren’t so determined with their pine cone stacking and collecting of nuts.
Papponetti predicts a milder winter this go-round.
Medina Historical Society puts out call for more members
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Reinhard Rogowski, left, and Craig Lacy have been actively involved in the Medina Historical Society since joining – Lacy in 2000 and Rogowski in 2011. Here, Rogowski holds a dark room light, while Lacy is holding a gadget used to take seeds out of raisins, both items found in the museum’s collections and belonging to Lacy’s father-in-law, Henry Pollard. The Historical Society is actively seeking new members.
MEDINA – Preserving history for the future is a major initiative for the Medina Historical Society.
And now they are asking for help to continue that mission.
Last year the Historical Society conducted a campaign for new members, with a goal to exceed 100. They accomplished that, but since then, membership has dropped in half and the plea is out again to please consider buying a membership and help preserve Medina’s history. A membership costs $15 for an individual or $20 for a family.
Georgia Thomas is a long-time board member of the Medina Historical Society and supports all its functions, including Ale in Autumn on Saturday.
She stresses the importance of “preserving the past for the future.”
She cites Levan Merritt who in 1841 built the home at 406 West Ave., which was eventually acquired for a museum.
“Mr. Merritt loved trees and noticed the lack of trees in his village,” Thomas said. “He set about to plant trees in the village, such as the big, beautiful trees which grew on West Avenue. He made sure Medina had trees for shade and beauty.”
Thomas went on to say that preserving the past assures future generations know how we evolved and who started us.
The Medina Historical Society is a treasure trove of memorabilia, such as a War Room with a large lithograph of the Civil War. It is one of only 16 in existence, Thomas said.
Recently, longtime member and former president Craig Lacy shared information about a dark room camera and a gadget from the 1890s used to seed raisins, which had belonged to his late father-in-law, Henry Pollard.
Reinhard Rogowski is currently president of Medina Historical Society, an office he has held since he joined 15 years ago. Lacy joined in 2000 and has served as president for four or five years, and is now vice president and treasurer.
The Medina Historical Society was founded in 1971 by village historian, Ceil White, who held early meetings at her home on East Avenue. Seven years later, an opportunity arose to acquire a permanent home at 406 West Ave.
Merritt’s home was acquired by the village of Medina in 1958 and two years later the town of Ridgeway acquired it, and converted the house to their town hall. In 1979, the town purchased the rear lot in order to build a new larger, modern town hall. The village agreed to the sale of the lot, with the stipulation the Merritt home be leased to the Medina Historical Society for $1 a year, with the Historical Society responsible for its upkeep.
According to Ed Grinnell’s “Medina – Here’s to Our Heritage,” membership in the society regularly averaged between 70 to 100.
Rogowski is personally inviting everyone to consider purchasing a membership.
“Your support keeps the doors of your museum open and ensures the rich history of Medina is shared, celebrated and remembered for generations to come,” Rogowski posted on “Memories of Medina.”
He invites people to attend meetings on the last Monday of the month at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. Meetings start at 7 p.m. in September through November and January to May and always feature a speaker. This month’s speaker is Pembroke history teacher Greg Kinal.
“We have several great presentations coming up,” Rogowski said. “This is a plea for membership, not money.”
The museum is open the first Saturday of the month from May to October or by special request. He suggests people consider the Historical Society when will planning or making a memorial to a loved one.
Checks may be mailed to Medina Historical Society, 406 West Ave., Medina, 14106. Membership forms are available in the Medina Bugle, on their Facebook page or at a meeting the last Monday of the month.
Barker/Roy-Hart will host key C North Division game; Albion/Medina visits Lew-Port
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Carter DerSarkissian and his Barker/Roy-Hart teammates will host Springville in a key C North Division game at 7 p.m. Friday at Barker.
Defending champion Barker/Roy-Hart will face a key C North Division football game Friday as the Bulls host Springville at 7 p.m.
Currently Barker/Roy-Hart, Springville and Cleveland Hill are all tied for the C North lead at 2-0. Cleve Hill hosts 1-2 Eden/North Collins on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Barker/Roy-Hart defeated Eden/North Collins 48-29 last week while Springville downed Akron 44-8.
Barker/Roy-Hart quarterback Max Townsend has passed for 5 touchdowns including 2 each to Carter DerSarkissian and Ashton Ark and one to Matt Aquilina. DerSarkissian has also rushed for a team leading 348 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Springville quarterback Liam Fisher has passed for 2 touchdowns, both to Grant Michalski and rushed for 6 scores. Michalski has also rushed for 430 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Friday’s other C North games will have Akron (0-2) at Tonawanda (0-3) and Alden (1-1) at JFK (1-1).
Albion/Medina at Lew-Port
Looking to stay undefeated in B1 Division competition, Albion/Medina will visit winless Lew-Port at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Rivals are 2-0 in the division (3-0) overall and tied with McKinley (2-0, 3-0) just behind front-running West Seneca East (3-0, 3-0).
The Lancers are 0-2 in the division and 0-3 overall.
Albion/Medina is coming off a thrilling last second 38-34 division win at Williamsville South while Lew-Port is looking to rebounding from a 72-7 loss to McKinley.
Rivals quarterback Preston Woodworth had passed for 6 touchdowns including 3 to Noah Harrison, 2 to Elijah Doxey and 1 to Hadrian Batista. Harrison and Doxey have both caught 15 passes for 254 and 239 yards respectively. Doxey has also rushed for 288 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jayzon Wills leads the Rivals with 209 yards rushing and 1 TD.
Friday’s other B1 contests will feature West Seneca East (3-0, 3-0) at McKinley (2-0, 3-0). In addition Williamsville South (2-1, 2-1) will be at Amherst (0-3, 0-3) and Maryvale (1-1, 2-1) at Lake Shore (0-3, 0-3).
Albion middle school students will add patriotic mural at Veterans Park
Photos by Tom Rivers: Students in Kamie Feder’s art class at the Albion Middle School have sketched out this mural design for the bathrooms at Veterans Park at the corner of Linwood Avenue and Brown Street. The mural will be 9 feet high and 36 feet long.
ALBION – The bathrooms at Veterans Park will soon have a patriotic painting on the outside. Students in Kamie Feder’s eighth-grade art classes plan to be on site working on the mural next Monday through Wednesday.
The Albion Village Board approved the project on Wednesday. Kamie Feder attended the meeting with two of her students, Eli Patten and Blair Daggett.
The mural shows a bald eagle, a silhouette of a soldier saluting, red poppy flowers, the American flag, and the message “Lest We Forget.”
Blair Daggett, an Albion eighth-grader, shows people at the Albion Village Board meeting a rendering of the mural planned for Veterans Park.
In recent years, Feder and her students worked on a flower-themed mural at the former bathrooms at Bullard Park and also revamped a canal-themed mural on the Albion fire hall.
“That turned out beautiful,” Mayor Tim McMurray said about the murals with all the colorful flowers. “I have no doubt this will turn out the same.”
The forecast shows warm and sunny days next week. Feder expects to be on site with students from Monday through Wednesday, from 8 a.m. to about 1:45 p.m. each day.
