Editor:

I would like to sound the alarm about a couple of things that are coming our way that freedom and liberty lovers who enjoy being left alone from persecution by their local governments need to pay attention to.

First, is the County is going to be pushing taking over codes enforcement? Bad, bad idea. Takes it out of control of your local town and puts it in their control. If you got a grievance you have to go to the county which might as well be as well be Albany. They will hand pick who they want to violate and run roughshod on your property rights. Imagine having a type of code officer like Murray has with the power and resources of the county behind him. Pay close attention, attend the public hearings – you have a lot to lose.

The next thing to pay even more attention to if you live there is the Western Orleans County Comprehensive Plan. If you remember there was a group of us that tried to warn the public back in 2002 that this living document was going to take away every aspect of your property rights. It was sold as the spirit of cooperation. What it did was give the Towns and Villages the teeth they were so desperately seeking to control the few violators and put fear in the rest that they had to tow the line or be hauled into court for violations. You used to be able to do things with and on your property that are now outright prohibited, require a special use permit or permit. Your property that you pay taxes on, to put it plain, simply belongs to your Town or Village. You have willingly surrendered that to your government.

What the comprehensive plan is, is big city central planning taken from the United Nations, gated communities, radical environmental groups and no world experience academics with the group think disorder. This is then pushed down to the local level all over the country with shiny golden carrots of taxpayer funded grants and what politician can resist grant money. Your local municipalities then pick people hopefully with common sense to go over all this and come up with a plan that in most cases would never be acceptable to the general public that has no idea that its even happening until it’s too late, but mostly acceptable to the elected officials.

I ask the people of Ridgeway and Shelby who are really ruled over tyrannically. Are you more free now since the spirit of cooperation was set into law? Were things better when each town had a simple zoning code? If you didn’t like what one town imposed you could move to a more free one or gather your pitch forks and give them hell. The powers that be want all the zoning to be uniform to avoid criticisms that they are overreaching on their citizens. So we got this living document that really – if you have a town board that wants to impose its will on its people or change the rules on the fly – it’s really a pretty dangerous document. So you have to not only think about who can use it now but who may have the power to use it in the future. This 400 or so page document will be available soon but insist on seeing the whole document not the little 10 or so page document that they will probably provide with all the rosy things that will come from this update.

Pay attention because what few property rights you have left will probably be taken away in this now insane age of green space, bike paths, uniformity, carbon footprints and bogus climate change fear-mongering. Attend the public hearings and remember how we were lied to by a consultant who claimed over and over that there are no laws imposed in this. No, just the tools to take away of your property rights.

This should be shot down in every town. Like it was the last time. How many more of your natural rights are you going to continue to give up. Government is force. You need to be its check and balance. Or be its slave.

Paul Lauricella

Lyndonville

Editor:

KNOW YOUR FACTS USA gave a presentation regarding the PROS and CONS of wind turbines on April 28. We were surprised that you did not attend to cover this very controversial topic. You are always most welcome at all our events.

The event was vital to all the community. After many hours of reviewing countless studies by committee members the only way to not divide the community are 2,500 to 3,000-foot setbacks from structures. This solution would allow for the turbines giving the farmer financial assistance and keep human and animal life safe.

There were many slides at the beginning of the presentation that explained APEX/Heritage Wind LLC relationship and about the assets the project would bring to the community, how the financial income would be distributed. Bright Orange Posters also explained the Assets Item in full detail. This information was given to KNOW YOUR FACTS USA by Heritage Wind Project.

If any person has other pro information they want reviewed, please email to robinnacca@hotmail.com or mail to C/O RANCO Management Inc. PO Box 89 Albion NY 14411. Consideration for poster and slides creation of your material will be considered for our upcoming shows. Anyone with a health or other issue is all so welcome to send info to our organization for the same consideration.

Let us all think about correct setbacks and live in harmony.

KNOW YOUR FACTS USA is a citizen awareness organization, educating citizens on critical issues in unbiased process.

We thank Congressman Chris Collins for the presence of his representative George Mc Nerney, Senator Robert Ortt for the presence of his representative Josh Veronica, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley for the presence of his representative Eileen Banker

Robin Nacca

Barre

Editor:

I can’t properly express how proud and excited I am about the Holley Gardens Project in our Village. As most of you know by now, this project involves renovating the old Holley High school into 41 senior apartments and the relocated Village Office.

As I have previously stated, I do truly believe that the revitalization of this historic landmark will be a transformative project, not only for our Village but for all of the communities that surround us in Orleans County.

We have been at this for about three years, working with this development team. The support we have received from all levels of government and the residents has been outstanding and has made all the difference in making this project a reality.

So I want to thank some people specifically:

Governor Cuomo for supporting our community and these types of adaptive re-use projects.

All of our Federal and State Representatives: Senator Schumer, Congressman Collins, Senator Ortt, and Assemblymen Hawley, all who have supported us in this endeavor.

The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, specifically Robert Duffy and Ann Kress (Co-Chairs of the FLREDC) for their support of our project and being advocates for the Finger Lakes Region.

The funding agencies such as Restore NY, Empire State Development, Housing and Community Renewal for seeing the value in this project and what it brings to our community.

The Landmark Society who drew so much attention to this building when naming it one of the “Five to Revive.” They really started the ball rolling!

Local and County Governments and agencies such as the Town of Murray, Holley Central School District, Orleans County, and the Orleans County Economic Development Agency.

All of the residents who have supported this project and those who wrote letters of support for the project grants. Without the backing of the community none of this would be possible.

The Village of Holley Government and staff for pulling together in one direction and one common goal of making this happen.

The Development team of Home Leasing and Edgemere Development and their staff who saw the value in this project and our community from the beginning and worked hand-in-hand with the Village and all agencies to make this project happen.

This type of project and PROGRESS is proof of what can happen when everyone works together for one common goal. Many people, businesses, and communities are going to benefit as a result of the efforts of these past three years. So again, from me, the Village Board, and all of the Village residents thanks to everyone for your efforts in making the Holley Gardens Project a reality!

Brian J. Sorochty

Holley

Editor:

Thank you very much to the Medina School District voters for your support! I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve the community for another three-year term. I will continue to work for you to support a quality education for all of our students and I welcome your input at any time.

I would also like to thank Brian Koch and Renee Paser-Paull for their hard work on the Board. It has been a pleasure working with both of them.

Ann Webster Bunch

Medina

Editor:

Today is the day that, you will have the opportunity to vote for your school budget, library budget, busses and school board members.

I have met so many great people in this community, thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns. I thank all of you for your encouragement, from putting a sign in your yard, or helping to get the word out. We have a great community filled with many voices, and we need to listen to those.

I have tried my best to serve you and the Albion School District for the last five years on the Board of Education. I would like to continue my service to our district and community. Having three children whom have all graduated from Albion, and having volunteered as well as a substituted in the district for about 22 years, I feel that combined experience, has made me a better board member.

Our students need excellent literacy, technology and people skills and we have an excellent opportunity to give them the tools they will need. Our district must identify career paths, job opportunities and prepare our students for them.

I believe in a strong community and school partnership, it is vital that we include community leaders and business owners to ask their thoughts and gain insights. Strong working relationships between administrators, staff and students.

Thank you, and please go out and vote!

Linda Weller

Albion

Editor:

My name is Margy Brown and I am seeking re-election to the Board of Education for the Albion Central School District. I reside in Waterport with my husband Eric, and our two sons, both of whom are students at Albion.

Professionally, I have a Master’s degree in Nursing and work as a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and as an acute care nurse practitioner.

As a member of our small rural community, I seek re-election to the Albion School Board because I want to continue to be part of a team that provides the best possible educational opportunities available, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Albion’s current budget represents the 10th time in the past 12 years the district has either held the line in taxes or reduced them.

The future is bright for Albion and full of many opportunities such as improvements in technology. The District rolled out a new website last fall, Arbiter Live for notification of sporting events, an emergency alert notification system to get important pieces of information out, and has added the school bucks program which was requested by parents to pay for their child’s lunches on line.

The District has a  strong focus on literacy to prepare our students for the future, and has recently added a new reading series in the elementary school as well as adding literacy programs throughout the District.

School safety is an absolute priority, and the District has taken steps to make our buildings safer, and continues to work closely with local law enforcement to ensure the  safety of our District.

The District’s mission of “Achievement, Character and Success for life” is my focus, and guides the direction of the District moving forward. The District is committed to continuous improvement, and I want to be a part of a Board that is passionate in making that happen.

I ask for your support and vote on Tuesday, May 15, from noon to 8 p.m. in conference room A at the Elementary School.

Margy Brown

Waterport

Editor:

Tuesday will be very exciting for the Medina Central School District. On this day, we voters are given the privilege of exercising our sacred franchise to vote for the candidate whom we feel will best represent our interests.

While all candidates who enter the political arena deserve our admiration, we believe it is our duty to carefully review each candidate’s experience, education, accomplishments in life, as well as what they have thus far bought to the MCSD as current board members. We hope everyone can agree that it is this information by which we, to at least some degree, determine what kind of mettle each candidate is made of.

Most folks by now have seen the signs and read the Budget Booklet featuring the candidates, as well as fliers Dr. Webster-Bunch has mailed school residents. Dr. Bunch has mailed these in an effort to introduce herself to the public, as well as to the many people who would attend MCSB meetings but are unable. These things are great information tools, but they tend to talk about the candidate in terms of their professional backgrounds, rather than who they are.

Please allow us to introduce you to Ann. She is the third generation of her family to reside in Medina. She feels her greatest accomplishments in life are not her professional accomplishments, but instead are those of being a devoted daughter, wife and mother.

She has been an excellent neighbor to all. For years we have watched as she and her son walk the family dogs in the evening. She takes every opportunity to learn and to teach, to the point that her young son can tell you more about varieties of trees, flowers, birds, wildlife and insects of every kind. She has also made him an expert on the planets, and he knows more about the canal than most of us who have lived on it.

As Professor at Brockport SUNY, she is available to students anytime of the day, including weekends, with questions regarding issues that will help to promote their education. I know this personally, as my nieces, as well as their friends, have reached out to her at her home on weekends for help and direction, which she graciously gives them.

When Doctor Bunch becomes committed to any project, she takes personal responsibility to see it to fruition. She has served the Medina Central School Board for six years, currently serving the end of her first year as vice president. She has a keen understanding of the budget, which she reviews with a watchful eye to detail, as well as a devotion to fiscal responsibility, while ensuring that the needs of the students as well as all the staff are met.

Thank you all so much for you time and attention in this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Eileen Hare

Ann M. McElwee

Town of Ridgeway

Editor:

I recently read that New York was one of the states that has signed on to have our electoral delegates vote for the popular vote winner, nationally. While this may sound good on the surface, it seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction to the last presidential election.

Does this mean the voters of New York, should they vote for the person who loses the popular vote nationally, will be ignored? Also, what happens when the national vote winner is someone who the voters of New York and the political party holding office all oppose?

This is just another example of the elitists in Albany taking power away from the citizens of this state and placing it in the hand of those few who believe they know what is best for us, since they are far more intelligent than we are.

The electoral college has worked for 200-plus years and I for one do not believe those people in Albany or Washington D.C. can, or will come up with a better process.

Ken Longer

Kendall

Editor:

All around the county people will be going to vote on school budgets on the 15th of May. Albany has been showering school districts with lavish amounts of our money while student enrollment is continuing to decline. Yet in many districts spending and taxes are going up. It seems like even though there is a tax cap and star program relief from the high taxes, it does not seem to be coming to fruition at our schools.

It’s time for the people who have not voted in a long time to get up off the couch and vote these budgets down. There are many new candidates running this year. We do not have to settle for the tax-and-spend group think. If your current incumbent school board member voted to raise taxes, then they do not deserve another term given the amounts of money in aid schools are given by the state and federal tax payers.

Apathy causes us all to suffer. State, county, town, village and school taxes are driving many of us to leave the state and for sure our children after they finish high school. I guarantee this is falling on deaf ears. All the school budgets will pass and the people responsible for your high taxes will stay on the job because you stayed home. Just my two cents. Taxed to death.

Paul Lauricella

Lyndonville

Editor:

Citizens for Shelby Preservation supports the Shelby Town Board in their efforts to protect the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. We support Local Law #5, the Wildlife Refuge Protection Overlay District for the following reasons:

• Zoning laws protect the rights of all citizens. If a property use negatively affects surrounding properties, it is incumbent on the town to write zoning laws to protect against this.

• Local Law #5 is minimal in its restrictions.

• Meetings were held by the Town to gain public input. Comments from residents were taken in to account when drafting the local law. For example, the board reduced the distance from the refuge for cell towers to accommodate resident concerns on cell coverage.

• Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is a valuable asset to the town. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge supports approximately 266 species of birds, 42 species of mammals, along with a variety of other wildlife. It has had an active bald eagle nest since 1986.

Species of special concern that use the property include Short Eared Owl, Marsh Hawk, Black Tern, Black Ducks, Osprey, American woodcock, and Peregrine Falcons. This diversity of wildlife benefits the town in the form of tourism, fishing and hunting dollars.

The refuge provides benefits to local farmers who rent lands from the refuge, and the existence of a healthy swamp supports improved water quality downstream in Oak Orchard Creek. The town is correct in valuing the refuge as a long-term economic engine over short-term economic gains that might result from some of the uses prohibited by this local law.

The town also recognized that while the prohibited uses may result in some tax dollars, the town is unlikely to ever be adequately compensated for the environmental costs that are less easy to quantify, including damages to habitat and water quality, air pollution, noise pollution, and harm to existing infrastructure such as local roads and bridges.

• Hospitals, nursing homes and large hotels have large footprints, requiring large open areas of concrete and asphalt to support parking lots, helipads, etc. These uses would have the potential to alter the microclimates next to the refuge (through heat island effects) while also increasing pollution through increased traffic. These are not appropriate uses next to a refuge.

• The amended law allows small scale hospitality facilities that would not present the type of heavy traffic that a large-scale hotel operation could threaten the refuge.

• A cell tower placement at 2,000 feet from the refuge is as effective as placement closer to the refuge. Cell towers could serve as a flight hazard for the species that use the swamps as part of their migration route.

• The amended law supports farming and all current uses of the land. We believe farming is a compatible use with the wildlife refuge. Many migrating waterfowl use farmer’s fields as a stop-over during their migration.

• A stone quarry is not a compatible use next to the wildlife refuge.

We believe that local law #5 was properly presented and vetted by the citizens of our township. By passing this law, the Town Board has acted responsibly in protecting the quality of life within our community for the long-term. Our thanks again to the Shelby Town Board for their efforts to protect and preserve the southern half of our town’s rural, agricultural nature.

Sincerely,

Citizens for Shelby Preservation

Wendi and Tim Pencille

Ken and Shirley Printup

Sue and Henry Beamer

Fran and Diane Domoy

James and Eleanor Wittkopp Strickland

Debbie Taylor

Celeste Morien

Douglas H. Domedion and Jeffery D. Domedion

Brian McCarthy and Deborah White

Russell and Cheryl Cree

Tiffany Cree

Laverne and Doris Fuller

Sidney Cree

Lillian Schrader

Betty Grimes

Kelly Viterna

Ric and Karen Jones

Kevin Galk

Al Capurso

Dennis and Lorraine Davis

Meaghan Boice-Green

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Editor:

Ginny Kropf’s article “Medina Man… waiting for Transplant” explains the lack of organ donations from one man’s perspective. An excellent portrayal of the human costs from the transplant bottleneck.

To put it in a blunter terms: Nationally, New York State is lowest in donor percentage (excluding Puerto Rico).

In New York State, County Donor percentage is lowest in Orleans County. Lowest of the low!

Why?

I don’t know but civic leaders and educators could certainly increase awareness of this life-saving process.

David Drake

Medina

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Editor:

As an everyday reader of Orleans Hub it was a welcome sight when I found a story earlier this week with Ginny Kropf’s name attached to it. She is a welcome addition to the staff of The Hub.

I have enjoyed her articles and columns for many years in The Daily News. She has such a way to tell a story or write about an organization that is not seen much anymore. Her many years of reporting on local news and writing columns on human-interest stories have always been a good read. She is just another reason to check out the Hub everyday.

Pete Toenniessen

Albion

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Editor:

It is said that culture enriches a community, by making it a more attractive and interesting place to live. Culture encompasses music, drama, literature, and art. All of these components add color and liveliness to the life of the community. They add depth and broaden horizons.

Our local communities host many musical events throughout the year, through the schools, churches and Miss Amy’s Studio B. Our local schools produce fabulous plays and musicals.  Literature is abundantly available in our outstanding local libraries and the programs they offer.

But what has been missing is a venue to display artwork, particularly the artwork of the many artists in our area. An art gallery is a place where local artists can show their work to the public, a place where people can come to discover and enjoy art, and where they might even be inspired to try making art themselves. Art can be uplifting, art can enrich, art can foster creativity and imagination, art can be fun, art can be contagious!

To add the “art part” of culture to the community, Kim Martillotta-Muscarella will be re-opening the Art Gallery at 227 N Main, Albion, with an exhibit of her recent paintings. The opening reception is Friday, May 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. There is a full program of exhibits scheduled for the summer and fall, opening to the community on the First Friday of every month.

Connie Mosher

Albion

Editor:

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the recent articles by Ginny Kropf. While I always enjoy Hub articles in general, Ginny’s articles add a special flavor! It was a pleasant surprise to see her name appear.

It was my privilege to meet her some years ago; the quality and attention to detail of her writing (and reporting) is second only to the quality of her kind personality!

Her work is of the highest quality, and I thank you for sharing it with us all.

Sincerely,

Elianna Quatro

Albion

Editor:

I attended school last week at Oak Orchard Elementary with my granddaughter who is in Mrs. Lonnen’s class. I didn’t know what to expect but I was amazed at how well the staff explained the situation to the kids and allowed the kids to react and ask questions.

But also I realized these adults’ hearts must have been breaking during this. They handled everything and everyone with skill and softness. No one can prepare for tragedy but when people do so well, it is a blessing well noted.

Thank you Medina school staff for meeting our children’s needs. My thoughts are with you during your time of mourning.

Cindy Troy

Albion