Editor:

I’m now retired and worked for Orleans County for 30 years. I’ve been reading a little bit about the divestment plan, and I think it is terrible.

And the people in charge of managing our pension fund agree. Comptroller DiNapoli and others in the Comptroller’s office have publicly stood up against this plan. DiNapoli and others believe that this plan will mean billions in losses. You don’t have to be an expert to understand that a plan that is expected to lose billions is a bad one.

Why is this a bad idea? On paper it doesn’t sound bad, the idea is pensions would be required to pull all investments from any fossil fuel related company. But, this would require a lot of money to be moved (billions), and forcing this change will result in a pension portfolio that is less diversified and more dependent on riskier and lower-yielding investments. I’ve never been one to play the stock market, but I can tell you, that kind of move is not smart.

Having worked for Orleans County for 30 years, I’ve seen plenty of good ideas and some bad ones.  But this one, is one of the worst. I am going to be stuck footing the bill for this bad idea, either through tax hikes or spending cuts. For someone who’s on a fixed income, like me, this bad plan will have real consequences. New York can’t afford this plan, and neither can I.

Deb Sherk

Medina

Editor:

Beware at the Town of Barre’s work meeting on June 7 another zoning law was to be proposed at the town meeting on June 14. If you want solar energy, for your own use – no tax to the town. However, if you want to sell the energy, then a tax must be paid to the town.

Why can farmers sell their farm products without a tax to the town? Why should this be any different? You already pay taxes on your property. Don’t we already have enough taxes and laws?

I spoke against this tax!!!!

At a recent work meeting, some of your board members were taking on trying to make every home owner buy a water meter and charge for repair or if they break make you buy another or pay for repairs.

I spoke against this tax!!!!

We already pay the highest water cost, $5.00 per 1,000 gallons, plus we have a $15.00 maintenance fee.

We were just awarded $64,454 from the state – for the highway department. Why is this money not being adjusted off the property tax or placed in a special project fund to better our community in case of problem down the line, with a road or other town problem expense – instead of raising taxes down the line, when a problem arises? We should maintain back up fund with a cap and cut taxes whenever possible.

It is time to stop this type of government where five people can just tax and place fees on us without our input!

Robin Nacca

Town of Barre supervisor candidate

Editor:

What does Apex Clean Energy really care about your health?  Read on…

APEX Clean Energy attended the Clay County Iowa Supervisor’s Meeting on Tuesday, May 10^th in order to discuss concerns raised regarding the Upland Prairie Wind Project currently proposed for Clay and Dickinson Counties in Iowa.  Presenting to the Board of Supervisors was Mr. Christopher Ollson, PhD, Senior Environmental Health Scientist at Ollson Environmental Health Management.

Mr. Ollson, you may remember, is the person that presented the following position in a 2011 peer-reviewed paper published in the Environmental Health Journal:

“Conducting further research into the effects of wind turbines (and environmental change) on human health, emotional and physical, as well as the effect of public consultation with community groups in reducing preconstruction anxiety, is warranted. Such an undertaking should be initiated prior to public announcement of a project, and could involve baseline community health and attitude surveys …”.

The importance of effects on human health and the need for public consultation prior to the announcement of a project are common-sense goals that all can support.  However, this is the same Mr. Ollson that stated the following regarding health studies, as a paid consultant of Apex, in a meeting with the Niagara County Board of Health in December of 2015:

“The company doesn’t have to do such a study and if people are concerned, they should see their local physician.”

Mr. Ollson, in 2011, as much as requires baseline health studies, prior to the announcement of a project, but just a couple of years later turns 180 degrees and declares; “never mind”.

He further indicated that the Clay County Board of Supervisors must consider the State of Iowa’s experience, as a whole, before making a decision on the project.  The unstated, but clear intent is that Upland Prairie Wind Project should be considered regardless of their own constituent’s local wishes.  Sound familiar?  Mr. Ollson and APEX have learned from New York’s own Article 10 process that they can by-pass localities and go right to the State for project approvals because New York State requires its constituents to subjugate local needs to a state-determined ‘greater good’.  As such, those most impacted by industrial wind turbine emplacement projects don’t count when compared with the whole of New York, where localities have lost the right to self-govern.

During the meeting, a petition was presented to the Clay County Board of Supervisors supporting Apex’s Upland Prairie Wind Project, and Apex indicated signing almost 100 signatures from the citizens in the area. By contrast Apex is trying to do the same in Yates and Somerset as they’re trying to do in Iowa.  That is, convince local governments that massive support exists, when really, only 54 leaseholders (some who do not even live in Yates or Somerset) and a handful of others actually support the project.

Mr. Ollson then told the assembled Board of Supervisors that a good noise level for their constituents would be 45 decibels. Considering that a jet engine in takeoff mode produces 105 decibels, the suggested 45 decibel maximum is synonymous with the noise produced by a lawnmower or tractor – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  That level of noise is not quiet or even healthy for anyone living with this constant level of noise.

In closing, we must remember that Apex is a business that believes Governor Cuomo and the State are on their side.  As such, they will say and do anything to get their way.  Therefore, Governor Cuomo and the State Siting Board must support the Towns of Yates and Somerset in their opposition to the Lighthouse Wind Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement Project.

Governor Cuomo are you listening?!

More to come.

John B. Riggi

Councilman, Town of Yates

Editor:

Frontier Stone says there is a great need for more limestone in Orleans County. So they want to create two 250-acre holes in the ground next to the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (Swallow Hollow).

However, it has been shown we have ample existing stone quarries to satisfy future needs. Another quarry would literally undermine the existing ones, hurting their bottom lines and causing a loss in local jobs. Keep in mind, Frontier Stone typically does not hire locally.

The DEC is not the failsafe protector of our environment we hope them to be. DEC regulations, in many instances, actually allow for a deterioration in wildlife habitat – very true in this case.

The DEC permit to allow this quarry is based on the notion that Frontier Stone would attempt to “mitigate to the best of their abilities, any negative impacts”.

And what would those impacts be? Blasting out hunks of limestone will reverberate throughout the wildlife refuge. Nesting birds such as eagles, ospreys, hawks, etc., would be disrupted.

Migrating Canada geese would avoid the sanctuary and suffer. Clouds of limestone dust would drift over the entire area as the wind takes it, clogging vital ecosystems. Waste water being pumped out of the mining holes will pollute ground water and tributaries of the Oak Orchard River system. The level of groundwater, so vital to the maintenance of the refuge, will drop, destroying critical habitat for decades.

What will we gain? You and I will gain nothing. A landowner adjacent to the refuge who sells to Frontier Stone will reap thousands. Frontier Stone will reap billions over a 75-year period. Their lawyers and “experts” will be paid. The 250-acre holes will fill with water. But don’t buy their story that this will be a recreation area. Their other water-filled quarries are deemed too dangerous and are off limits to the public.

So, when folks talk about jobs, needed industry and progress, use your common sense and say NO to this quarry.

Thank you.

Al Capurso

Gaines

(Capurso is a candidate for an at-large position on the Orleans County Legislature.)

Editor:

I am relieved to hear that Judge Bannister has ruled in favor of the Holley Fire Department in the matter of the Squirrel Slam, in spite of an ever increasing phalanx of lawyers imported from the New York City firm of Winston and Strawn.

I was becoming concerned that so many attorneys had migrated from NYC to Orleans County to defend the furry little creatures that the pigeons of Gotham would be left without adequate counsel.

Winston and Strawn, to look on the bright side, will probably need to perform no more pro bono work for decades. Should they find the need, however, I have noticed a decline in the population of groundhogs on my property, surely caused by the presence of a certain Australian Shepard.  She will be happy to defend herself – in or out of the courtroom – against any number of lawyers.

Charles Lind

Medina

Photos by Tom Rivers: Santa Claus heads down Main Street on a 1936 Ford truck during the Strawberry Festival Parade.

Editor:

We wish to thank all those who helped us with our participation in the Strawberry Festival.  Special thanks to Dan Parker for again letting us take advantage of his 1936 Ford truck.  Circumstances were not favorable, but he came through and carried Santa and his sleigh like the community minded person he is.

Brenda Mufford and Frank Strasburger contributed by lending us—and driving—Brenda’s very sweet and slightly hot ’71 Chevelle, which transported Parade Grand Marshal, Jane Holland, in style.  Of course, the fact that Brenda drove made extensive street repairs unnecessary once the parade ended.

Special thanks and appreciation to Jacquess and Eugene Harrison, who—along with Kaleigh Albanese—led the procession with a banner identifying Jane Holland as parade marshal.

We owe Jane—Charlie Howard’s granddaughter—all sorts of gratitude for making this year’s parade unusually memorable.  And, of course, what would the event have been without Santa?  Keep in mind that he is busy even at this time of the year.

Albion Central and Mr. Simboli were generous enough to allow us use of the drama department’s appropriately regal chair, making it possible for Santa to greet his fans in a manner befitting his extraordinary approval ratings.

Bruce Landis loaned us a backdrop for the canopy Brooke Albanese once again made available, just in case some parents wished to get some photos of their children and Santa dressed in his summer attire.

Of course, Santa always feels more comfortable riding in a sleigh. Thanks to the generosity of Jim and Linda Babcock, the parade reminded some of a longer journey Santa embarks on toward the end of the year.

Those we overlooked and everyone who helped should feel they contributed to a great event.

Sincerely yours,

Albion Betterment Committee Co-directors

Gary Derwick, Joe Gehl and Gary Kent

Jacquess and Eugene Harrison carry a banner identifying Jane Holland as parade marshal. Kaleigh Albanese also helped lead the procession for Holland, who is Charles W. Howard’s granddaughter.

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Editor:

I just wanted to tell the Strawberry Festival Committee what a awesome job I think they did. I know there is a lot of time and effort that goes into the planning of it and thank you for your commitment.

Sunday morning I drove by the courthouse and down Main Street and Bank Street and was so very impressed how clean it was. Not a single piece of litter. You get a A+! Thanks again.

Donna Wolcott

Albion

Editor:

This is the first of a two-part personal perspective on Orleans County’s assets. Assets are things that have value and are advantageous to those who possess them. Reflected upon, this assessment may be troubling for those who want what is best for our community.

Several years ago, the Ulster County Office for the Aging Director, Ann Cardinale, called me to learn more about the Albion Betterment Committee’s senior gas pumping service. Her idea was to get it going in Ulster.  A bit of our background followed.

“How much do you pay your volunteers?” was one of her early questions. As everyone reading this might, I did my best to respond seriously to what really was a shocking question. When I said they were volunteers and we don’t pay them, she actually said, “Oh, go on”.

“Where do they get the money for the rebates?” was her next question. In retrospect, I am sure it may have sounded flippant, but I told her, “They get it out of their pockets”.  Incredulous, she told me, “I don’t believe you”.

My guess is that hundreds of Orleans volunteers would not find our conversation so shocking. Orleans County is “different”, and that can be a plus.

At the end of our conversation, the director said, “You have a very caring community”.

We do, but it is being subverted, even though it should not be allowed to wither and die. Neither should it be disregarded, nor given away or sold. And neither should our collective assets. I guess no-one intends to sell—or give away—assets such as our public schools and libraries the way we did our County Nursing Home. But there is too much indifference to the future of our only hospital and our extraordinary volunteer fire companies. We are either squandering—or failing to capitalize on—others as well.

Any attempt to enumerate the extent of Orleans County volunteerism would be daunting. No single person has an adequate comprehension of everything people here do for those needing help. Volunteer fire companies are one of the best examples. Church groups are important pieces of what may literally be a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle.  Benefits, basket raffles and runs are indicative. But compiling a comprehensive list of all that is quietly done would take a lot of time and research.

Nonetheless, having an awareness of how giving so many County residents are has enormous potential to positively affect spirits. Limited though it may be for each of us, knowing that we are surrounded with so much unofficial compassion may be life-altering once internalized.

Orleans County also is blessed with loads of meaningful history. That is coming from one appreciates the value of history but doesn’t know the half of it.

We are favored with a rich and diverse environment that includes numerous streams, wetlands, a canal, many quarries, farm ponds, and productive farmlands, as well as wooded areas and proximity to Lake Ontario. Wildlife diversity necessarily follows. Four-footed animals are common Statewide, but many are abundant to the point of being nuisances here. Winged diversity varies more county to county. Our birdlife may be unusually diverse, and a real asset.

Among our less well-recognized—and most secure—advantages is location. Orleans County is within an hour of two urban areas with all that they have to offer. For example, the center of Orleans County can be just 45 minutes from Strong Memorial Hospital.

It is nonetheless remote and decidedly rural, with less congestion, more solitude, a slower pace, arguably greater freedom, and a population with numerous people who know a significant portion of County residents by their first names.

Some of our assets can be squandered. Some appear secure. There are others that can be mismanaged. It may be possible to betray the asset that is, arguably, the soul of the Orleans Community.

That asset may be described variously. The Ulster County Office for the Aging Director may have put it fairly concisely when she described ours as a “very caring community”.  I suspect that caring is related to how interconnected we are, as well as to our familiarity with each other.

Official actions taken in the past ten years have, in many ways, betrayed our very close-knit community.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent

Albion

Editor:

Kudos and accolades to Mike Bonafede and his entire committee for putting on yet another great Strawberry Festival.  We were honored, and grateful, that the committee designated this year’s festival in honor of Charlie Howard – Albion’s own famous Santa Claus – for whom we’re campaigning to raise money for a memorial statue.

Having attended a few of the “strategy” meetings I was very impressed by the dedication and professionalism exhibited by all the volunteers who devoted countless hours (and, I’m sure, some of their own money) in working for this event.  Without a doubt, the general public is unaware of the amount of time and effort which this group gives to make this annual affair such a success.

Again – on behalf of the entire Albion community – THANK YOU for what you do for all of us!

Joe Gehl

Co-Director

Albion Betterment Committee

Editor:

Is your small town dying?

Here are some of the reasons I see that are major killing factors in the death of our small towns.

• Declining population is a very serious issue, this alone can bust a community

• Few job opportunities for our young people

• Outrageously high property/county taxes

• Restrictive and Selective Zoning

• Town Board members that lack emotion or real concern for the people they work for

The population is dwindling at an alarming rate because there is no future here. Most communities never recover from this death spiral. Our youngest and brightest are forced to leave the area for decent work.

Some folks stay because they are just stuck here. They are stuck here for a few reasons but mostly because they are struggling financial and frankly, there is no way out so they just exist and earn a meager living.

Some folks simply just walk away from the homes they have worked so hard for because they are taxed out of them. Even if they can afford to stay in them, they are unable to keep up with them because there is not enough money for them to do so. They live paycheck to paycheck. Hand to mouth.

Take a ride in your small town and count the empty homes. Count the homes that have been cut up into apartments. Why is this, you might ask. Well it is to sustain and support the atrocious welfare costs in this county.

This welfare system seems to becoming the “family business” which is and will be handed down from generation to generation and becomes the way of life for many. Once this mindset has taken root, it is most likely too late to turn back. There is over 70% of every dollar collected in county taxes being spent on welfare.

Why? Low paying jobs and for some welfare is a better option.

Why? Little draw or incentive for new or existing business.

Why? Zoning.

There are few good paying jobs in this area because our town officials are using zoning as a weapon with heavy restrictions  making it impossible to prosper. Since there is little business is the area, there is little sales tax being generated therefore not collected and now the burden falls on you. I heard a local politician say “we don’t care about sale tax.” Really. So your property is over taxed and now under valued. Good luck with that sale. Maybe you will just walk away too.

An example on the restrictive zoning is this: a new business is sabotaged right from the get go as zoning wouldn’t allow them to lay out the plan they set in motion and it started with the sign. The sign was not noticeable at all. I said, “How will people  even know it’s there.” It was the first thing I noticed, the sign is in the wrong place. Why? Because that’s zoning at work. Fact is this place will close its doors before long.

Sometimes in this busy world we live in, we need things to jump out at us to grab our attention. Some locales will not permit a digital sign. One zoning law does not fit all, many of our local zoning laws have been adopted from  Albany/NYC. What does that have in common with Orleans County? Zoning has become a business/job killer.

Much of the problem in these dying towns starts with our elected officials. They are there because of uncontested elections, low voter turnout and low meeting audience. Is this a sign of a “lack of interest”  and a “lost cause.” These towns are dying on the vine as elected officials carry on with “business as usual.”

Many of them have no formal education in finance, or business management and have very little, if anything invested in the community. You can see the results.

For some of these town officials, this will be the highest office they will ever hold and you had better look very closely at the ones that are pursuing positions in higher levels of government.

Many of them have become quite content, and drunk with the power of their position and seemingly only act on matters that they will benefit from and to even settle personal vendettas. They lack the skill and the will to make this a better place for us. They really don’t care about our futures.

Rather than using local talent to address town matters, they spend hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars on big city consultants,  lawyers and other organizations on generic reports  and studies  that any number of board members do not take the initiative to read or have the ability to  comprehend  the information.

Having said this, these towns have become a “meal ticket” for these outsiders.  As long as our officials keeping paying them, they will keep stirring the pot and keep billing. Nothing gets resolved and the spending goes on. Meanwhile, folks are stuggling.

Town officials don’t understand what they are doing or they simply don’t care. This puts a tremendous burden on the county. When Albany sees the careless and frivolous spending,  it opens the door for unfunded mandates.

When local newspapers close, information only trickles down to the general public causing no transparency in our local government.  I am sure there are many folks in this area that have issues as well, they will not speak out for fear of ruination or retribution.

Remember, it is an election year. It’s time to get real, they will work for you. You and your vote can make a difference.

Kim Weatherbee

Shelby Center

Editor:

New York State is paying 11 large wind and solar projects two times more in subsidies than the projects will generate in electricity.

State officials are giving these projects $24.24 per megawatt-hour over the next 20 years. Wind will receive another $23 per megawatt-hour in federal tax credits. The average electric selling price over that time period is estimated to be $16.25 per megawatt-hour.

Cuomo will continue to follow the Paris Accord at the expense of the New York residents. Following this logic will lead to continued population decline in New York State as residents and business move to states which have greater economic viability.

Ed Urbanik

Lyndonville

Editor:

This is regarding the expansion of services at Orleans Mental Health in Albion. To Mark O’Brien, you are two years too late.

The mental health system in general has failed miserably and needs revamping. I tried to navigate through the system 4 years ago trying to get help for my husband. He had developed depression and his general physician had no clue what to prescribe or even what he was doing when it came to prescribing medications for depression.

We sought out the county for help and was put with a caseworker for almost a year with no medication change. We needed a psychologist who could give the right medications to help the situation.

After a failed suicide attempt we were still seeing a case worker and couldn’t get to a doctor so we were told to have him hospitalized. He was in the ward for a week with medications changed and being watched to see if the medication changes were helping. The hospital was in Warsaw due to the fact that Orleans County doesn’t handle this kind of patient and there were no beds at the local hospital for this due to its closing.

After coming home, he attempted a second time with sleeping pills and Tylenol pm due to not sleeping. This almost took his liver. By this time we were able to see  a psychologist to oversee the cocktail of medications for him.

Unfortunately when he went to the appointments it was all about football and man-things that weren’t getting to the root of the problem. But they kept adding different medications, trying to help and they had him back on his feet and running for a while.

Due to marriage problems, I had left the marriage and let the staff know at Orleans Mental Health and they would not do anything to check on him or to see if any of this had triggered a problem with him. I was afraid he would do something and received no help on that front.  Once the caseworker had switched him over to the psychologist, she was done with her job.

The system failed him and me. The third attempt at suicide was successful. The system is very hard to navigate and to see who you need to see to get healthy.  I really blame your system for not helping save a human being and leaving an only son without his father. Also the Village of Albion has lost a 14-year business owner who loved what he did and was proud that his shop was in the Village of Albion in what was a vacant building.

If you are going to expand you need to give access to the right people and not string them along with a caseworker just to get money from the insurance when medications need to be changed or aren’t working.  The system in Orleans County has failed.

Deb Stevenson

Waterport

Editor:

I am writing to inform your readership, my friends and neighbors in Orleans County, that June 2 marks the annual observance of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, also known as “Wear Orange Day.” It is the beginning of a month long campaign to raise awareness, learn more about gun violence and to use what we learn to help reduce the devastating effects of gun violence on society.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

•There are more than 30,000 firearm fatalities each year in the United States and more than 80,000 non-fatal injuries requiring emergency medical care or hospitalization.

• Firearms are involved in more than half of suicides and more than two-thirds of homicides in the United States.

• The financial cost of gun violence in the United States was an estimated 174 billion dollars in 2010.

This is not the first letter I have written to express my concerns about gun violence. I asked these same friends and neighbors in a letter a couple years ago to imagine with me a world without gun violence. I’m no stranger to the effects of gun violence. My small effort to keep this issue in the public eye comes from grieving and caring for the families of three good friends who committed suicide using a gun.

Reducing the tragic harm from gun violence that we have seen occur in mass shootings, and in daily incidents of gang shootings, intimate partner violence, impulsive suicide and accidental shootings is the goal of this national effort.

I will be wearing an orange bracelet this month.

Peace,

Rev. Tom Gardner

Holley First Presbyterian Church

Editor:

Hello, my name is Paul Lauricella Jr. I am running for a Councilman position on the Town of Yates Board. Some of you know me from regular attendance at my Town and County Legislature meetings.

For those of you who don’t, I’ll give a short biography. I moved out here in Orleans County with my wife of 39 years and 4 children in 1989. Shortly after that we started a used auto parts business that thrives to this day. I am an active member of SCOPE. I was a member of the Lyndonville Lions Club for about a decade before leaving to join the revived Orleans County Conservative Party. All of my children graduated from Lyndonville Central School and went on to hold jobs and be productive members of society. I am truly proud of my family. I feel it’s time to give back to my Town and the many great people that live in it.

I want to help the people of the Town of Yates. I have a good sense of what is going on here and what the members of our community want. I want to help our all-volunteer fire departments to stay viable and make sure that they have and get what they need to continue this selfless service. They are the men and woman that go out when the call comes in at any time of day or night, in any kind of weather to help those they know and complete strangers. Never knowing what they are going to encounter or see. Our Town would be in serious trouble without them and I will support them 100%.

I do not support the industrial wind project that has divided our Town now for 3 years. I will support a continuing moratorium on Met Towers in the Town of Yates. I do not support Governor Cuomo’s

fantasy green agenda to destroy the beauty and value of our property. We have the cleanest source of power in our backyard with Niagara Falls and a convertible to natural gas power plant right here in Summerset. Six hundred foot wind towers make no sense.

I will seek to welcome and support business in our Town and help to seek plans to raise the tax base. Our Town has a lot to offer. I will watch how your hard-earned tax dollars are spent and hold those who receive them to a higher standard. Checking invoices and vouchers to make sure everything is in order before payment is rendered.

As a conservative I will seek no pay for this councilman position. I will not take any mileage or vouchers. I will not seek any medical insurance. Nothing. I have my own income and I have always felt a Town seat is an honor to have and no pay should be given. I would like to see the $3,259.75 for a councilman’s salary be used for our Fire Department budget if that is at all possible.

If I am elected I will be available for all Town Meetings and not take months off for the winter or hit and miss meetings. I will take my duties seriously. I will defend the second amendment and bill of rights first and for most.  The town of Yates has been good to me and my family and I want to give back now. I would appreciate your vote in November on the Conservative line.

Paul Lauricella Jr.

Yates

Editor:

Today, I formally announce my candidacy for Murray Supervisor.

I have been a fixture at board meetings for many years and have written at length in this forum about my concerns with how our town is managed. In the last few years, Murray has endured double-digit tax increases, over-levying in the water fund, water loss and a scathing NYS Comptroller’s audit.

And all this with no credible explanation from our Supervisor or Board.

As a businessman, it is apparent to me that these weaknesses stem from failures at the top. Murray has wonderful assets and dedicated employees, and we can do better. I know I can help fix our town and have been encouraged by so many. Therefore, I’m stepping forward to help get us on the right track.

I am ready to be your Supervisor and believe I’m the best qualified candidate.  I’m a Marine Corps veteran with three deployments over four years, commended twice, and earned an honorable discharge. I graduated from Montana State University College of Business with a bachelor’s degree in management. After college, I worked for the Montana Department of Highways Accounting Department Audit Division.  After two years, I returned to College to complete my accounting degree. Upon graduation, I followed my dream to embrace entrepreneurship and built my own company, which brought me to New York to work in the mining and materials handling industry. My business is rooted in solving efficiency problems in production and handling to increase the bottom line.

I have been very happily married for 16 years to my wife, Amy. Together we are raising our wonderful daughter Amelia. I have embraced Murray as my home and have volunteered to serve the Town of Murray and County Planning Boards for the past 12 years.

My life’s journey is not without mistake. 25 years ago, I found myself at odds with the law as a result of a personal relationship that ended badly. Due to my own error of judgement and immature behavior, I was charged with stalking under a newly enacted Montana law. I accepted responsibility for my actions, pled guilty, and was placed on probation. Upon successful completion, my guilty plea was withdrawn, the charges and case dismissed, and my conviction expunged.  Although the charge involved no allegation of violence, substance abuse, or act of dishonesty, I carry the weight of my actions with me to this day. I own it. In hindsight, this was a pivotal event in my life making me a better person, husband and father today.

As candidate for Supervisor, I am challenging a very powerful and entrenched political establishment in Murray, and I suspect my opponents will try to misrepresent this episode. I trust the voters of our town will recognize the difference between legitimate issues affecting our future, and petty personal attacks. Please know my door is always open and I’m happy to share all the facts with anyone who would like to know more.

As your Supervisor, I will work for you. I am accountable to you. I want to make Murray more financially secure through efficiency, more welcoming to business and more even handed in how our laws are enforced.

Working together we can get there. I have shared my personal life with you today in the spirit of transparency and honesty. I’m asking for your confidence in leading our Town to a better future.

Joe Sidonio

Murray