Editor:

It looks like I’m in the line of fire because I am running for the Gaines Republican Committee. Let me clarify my position.

I did not support our Gaines Town Supervisor. I still don’t.  The reason? She was a registered voter for 40+ years, but not a Republican. I believe Republicans should support real Republicans.

My concerns:

• A lifetime Democrat, Independent turned Republican to use our party line.

• Fires the Town Attorney, with more than 20 years of the Town of Gaines legal history and expertise in Town Law, without so much as a thank you, and prior to taking office. Why?

• First meeting, illegally eliminates the Planning Board. Why?

• Purchased a costly accounting program, which is not being utilized. Why?

• From day one, employees start resigning/leaving. Not one, but every single one, at the Town Hall (Highway men are union protected). Why?

• It is called bullying, when an employee who made a mistake, and immediately corrects it, gets taken to the State Police for questioning (who find nothing to arrest her for), and the Supervisor writes a letter to the Editor to disgrace her publicly. Then, to makes matters worse, uses taxpayer money to put this same letter in our water bills.  It becomes bullying. The Supervisor didn’t appear to want the “draft” of the audit finalized, making sure the end results were unknown to the public. (Do I think the Clerk made a mistake? Absolutely.  But a letter in my water bill?  Bullying.)

The Supervisor publicly stated at a Board meeting that prior Supervisors didn’t know what they were doing. With all due respect, Mr. Vagg, Mr. Harding, Mr. DeCarlo, Mr. Lattin…none of these gentlemen knew what they were doing? She demeaned them without a second thought.

Our Chairman, Guy Smith, doesn’t call meetings without nudging or calls last minute meetings, doesn’t hand out tickets for committeemen to sell, doesn’t sell tickets himself, and waits until someone tells him what to do next.

I’m not sure why he was faulting me, I gave him a proxy to support Sharon Harding for Clerk. He fails to mention I was the Chairman of the Republican Ball with last minute things to do, and not just “going” to the ball. I find it hard to believe Guy had the initiative to write a letter to the editor, far less two.

Voters should know what is really happening: it is a power play to take over the Republican Committee to ensure the Committee is stacked with cronies and “posse” members.

In the Supervisor’s quest to take over the Republican Committee, she personally passed the petition for Allchin; Sue Smith (Guy’s wife and Town Council member) passed a petition for Burke.

Clearly, town officials want to control the Republican Committee.  The interesting thing is, Republican Committee business is limited to advertising for open seats; interview all candidates interested in a position; decide the best candidate; and pass petitions to get them on a ballot, there is no such thing as a committee “controlling town officials” as Guy Smith says. If Guy is being controlled, it may be because he’s married to a Councilperson, not anything the committee does or can do.

I should mention Mr. Burke holds a town position. The Gaines Code of Ethics doesn’t allow him to run for a political committee position, but he’s running. I guess rules only apply to some people.

This Primary will cost Gaines taxpayers approx. $2,000 to $2,500. Where in the budget is this money appropriated? It appears our Supervisor is using taxpayer money to further her own agenda.

I have no hidden agenda…I have made it known that I may be interested in running for Town Clerk in the future. No hidden agenda here!

Susan Heard

Gaines Committeeperson, District 1

Editor:

With every event there are people behind the scenes that make it happen and the Metro 10 Race is no exception.

We are very fortunate to live in a community of forward-thinking government officials, civic-minded organizations and local businesses that seem to always be there to offer support.

The list of people and organizations from Orleans County to thank grew exponentially this year. It begins with the returning sponsors, including Oak Orchard Health, The Orleans Community Health Foundation, Bentley Brothers, The Town of Albion, 810 Meadworks and Watt Farms Country Market. (Again this year our visitors from Buffalo and Rochester loved that apple orchard).

This year we added Intergrow, Mark’s Pizzeria, Burris Cleaning RTS Orleans and Weed Man.

Our local government officials from the county town and village worked hours to make sure the event happened, and Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni and Code Officer Ron Vendetti went above and beyond the call of duty to avert a last-minute snag. Local law enforcement officials and the great people of COVA gave up their time to keep people safe.

Our water stops were covered by a local business, local girl scout troops, day care centers, and a local cross country team. We are already talking with an organization that has expressed interest in funding a larger prize pool for these great organizations that provided washcloths, cookies, popsicles, signs, but most importantly they provided support and encouragement.

There are so many people it is almost impossible to name them all, but in the end thanks to a huge community effort and a strategic alliance with the good people of Rock the Park, we were able to significantly lower our operating expenses which resulted in a lowering of our entry fee and positioned us to support our charitable partner this year, The Warrior House of WNY.

Jim Salmon returned as our celebrity host and promoted the event on his radio show. We can think of no better host than Jim, a guy that has done so much for this community.

Perhaps the moment that puts this event in perspective occurred when the first runner crossed the finish line and was handed his medal by a U.S Military Veteran, who used a cane so he could stand long enough to give it to the runner. One runner commented that receiving a medal from an injured Veteran felt strange, but that is what makes these brave men and women so worthy of our fundraising efforts. They are always willing to serve their nation and its people, and we should honor and serve them every moment that we can.

In 2014 the Metro 10 was simply an idea mulled over after a run and then mentioned in passing to a local news reporter. In 2015 it became a reality and there was no guarantee the event would survive another year but organizations and individuals came in and filled the void quickly and by most measures the 2016 race  was a huge success.

There is no question that we worked out some major kinks and finally have the foundation of an event that we can grow sensibly in Albion with the hope that someday it is a marquis event in Orleans County. Our all-volunteer 2016 committee faced a slew of personal tragedies and busy personal lives but in the end they all came together to make sure the event happened.

We will close with a simple thank you to all of you that have supported this event over the last two years. The feedback from participants from outside Orleans County has been stellar. Community events are made possible because of strong communities, we will never lose sight of that and we know that we have a strong community behind us as we begin to prepare for the 2017 event and beyond.

Sincerely,

Thom Jennings (race organizer) and the Metro 10 Development Team

Editor:

This letter is to clarify inaccurate information from some of the ladies on my committee and Joe Grube.

I am responsible for accepting the position of Chairman. I am not responsible for the mediocrity, lack of enthusiasm or mere participation by several of my committee members. This is their responsibility; they chose to be a committeeman.

Our job as committeemen is to seek out the best candidates in our community to hold public office.  Secondly, to pass their petitions throughout the town and then help them become elected. It is not our job to dictate to the town officials how to run their office.

I want everyone to know there seems to be a lot of half truths being written this past weekend.

Joe Grube claims he sent me a letter in January, when in fact he sent his letter to Ron and Lisa Mannella through Ron’s email. For the record I have this letter in my possession. Lisa gave me the letter at our Gaines committee meeting. Why did he send it to them?

My committee did not have any openings for committeemen in January, therefore we could not bring his name in front of a full committee meeting for a vote to accept Joe. A full committee is when committeemen from all ten towns get together to discuss GOP business.

The original cutoff date for interviews for town clerk was June 3, which was set by our county chairman. Sharon Harding’s interview was originally scheduled for June 2.

Sharon had a death in her family and had to leave town unexpectedly for a funeral.

I received an extension from our county chairman and rescheduled her interview meeting for June 4. I believe a committee needs to be compassionate, understanding and flexible when an interviewee has a death in their family.

It is the lack of participation from committee members which left us without a quorum. Everyone should know you cannot hold an official meeting without a quorum.  This is the real reason that Sharon had to carry her own petitions. Why did Lisa Mannella and Lorienda Smith choose not to show up to the interview at the last minute?

I do follow a code of ethics when we have interviews. In 2009 I was not chairman and my wife Sue wanted to interview for town council person. I originally was against the idea and reluctantly said OK. When she came in the room to interview I announced I was leaving the room and told my fellow committeemen to ask her whatever they wanted. They endorsed her.

In 2013, Sue was up for re-election and interviewed once more. During this interview I did stay in the room. I did not participate in her interview and I abstained  when it was time to vote.

I stayed in the room to keep the interview meeting in order and on schedule because we were interviewing several people that evening for different elected positions.

I need committeemen that will support our endorsed candidates. In the past I have had some female members support their democratic friends both verbally in public places and by placing their democrat signs in their yards.

It’s ironic how people do wrong things in their life and then blame the outcome of their behavior on others. A citizen of a community needs to be responsible for their own actions or their lack of action.

Now it’s time to come out and vote this Tuesday in order for your voice to be heard.

Thanks,

Guy D. Smith

Gaines Republican Chairman and Proud Resident

Editor:

This letter is in response to “The Great Wall of Shelby.”

I believe that Town of Shelby Local Law #2 can be amended to address almost all of the concerns brought to the public hearing.  There were some valid points brought up by those concerned about the proposed law. But I also believe the Town would not be putting this law before the public if they did not think they needed one additional safeguard to protect the Wildlife Refuge from such an inappropriate as the proposed 175-acre quarry.

Land adjacent to the Refuge is zoned agricultural/residential for a reason.  It’s not for industrial use. Local Law #2 is just another measure to help keep incompatible industries like the proposed stone quarry from damaging our Refuge. And if the town’s attorneys think that the current laws on the books are not enough to keep the quarry out, then I welcome any other measures they need to take to do the job that the DEC failed to do.

I don’t believe anyone is naive enough to believe that a 175-acre stone quarry will not harm the Refuge, but in case you still believe that because of the ALJ’s ruling that everything is fine, please understand, the DEC mining permits office is not responsible for protecting or conserving anything. They are in the business of issuing permits.

While it is true the DEC ALJ found our claims to be “without merit,” let me tell you what that means in terms of the SEQR review. It means that Frontier put up their experts, Terrestrial Environmental Specialists. TES is a company that profits from producing data so that any business, with enough money, succeeds in a SEQR review.

It doesn’t matter if their data and facts are correct or not. Because they are accepted as experts, their data is accepted by the DEC as fact. Any facts that dispute what they say are ignored. The DEC doesn’t allow a battle of experts. TES data trumps any other expert’s data. If they say the sky is green and our experts say it is blue, the DEC does not have to consider our facts as having merit.

For example, I’ve got a degree in Animal Science from Cornell University, and nearly 30 years’ worth of experience working with raptors. When I told the judge that an owls’ hearing is far greater than a human’s, so they cannot be compared to humans when determining effects of blasting noise, the judge’s response was, “How do you know that?” Given my credentials, he agreed that I could be considered an expert. Then he ignored my fact.

When I said that the study TES referenced, claiming that “Short Eared Owls frequent mines and quarries” was done on a quarry that was no longer in operation. It was a closed quarry. The DEC ignored it.

When I said the local DEC has done studies on Short Eared Owls and Northern Harriers in the area of the proposed quarry, that people come from all over the country to watch them in that area, the DEC ignored it.

When I said the Short Eared Owls and Northern Harriers in our area frequent the local farm fields, they ignored it. When I said that Bald Eagles fly more than ½ mile from their nests to forage for food, the DEC lawyer said, “Well the experts at TES said they wouldn’t.” I think you get the idea. Actual facts that disputed the TES statements in the DEIS were not considered as having merit.

Anyone who believes that the NYSDEC is a strict organization hasn’t been following this or any other SEQR review for the past 30 years. In fact, as long as the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, the DEC has been approving mining permits since its existence. Any land-use attorney can tell you, the SEQR review is won by the organization with the most money.

If the DEC lawyers and ALJ were truly interested in protecting the environment in the State of NY, they would have turned to their own Division of Wildlife in Albany, or better yet their own department here at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge to see what they thought of the idea of putting an industrial stone quarry next to one of the most sensitive habitats in the State of New York.

If the local DEC employees weren’t so afraid of the DEC lawyers, and in fear for their jobs, they would have been honest and told the facts about Short Eared Owls and Norther Harriers.

They know that the Short Eared Owls and Northern Harriers in Shelby often frequent the farm fields in and around the proposed quarry site. They have been studying the Short Eared Owls here for years because the birds are so endangered. Unfortunately, they weren’t consulted by their own department before making this decision.

Mr. Mahar would like you to believe that he will be working together in glorious harmony with the refuge staff, helping them to manage water on the refuge. The only problem with that is the Refuge staff never asked for his help.

In fact, they wouldn’t need his help if the quarry weren’t going to be disrupting the water in the Refuge.  The refuge staff have been managing the water, with its seasonal variations, for over 50 years with the help of Mother Nature.

It is not the Town of Shelby’s job to collaborate with a business to put forth a project with the potential to damage one of our greatest treasures. The Town Board was smart to wait out the process in the hopes that the SEQR review would do the job it was originally designed to do.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen, and now the Town is forced to use every measure in their power to fight the inevitable lawsuits that will be brought upon them by Frontier Stone when the Town denies the re-zoning and mining overlay district.

Shelby Local Law #2 is one such measure. And with some amendment, I welcome the law, and anything it can do to assist the Town Board in protecting our most valuable local natural resource.

I commend the Town Board for having the guts to stand up to this fight and give it everything they’ve got. They were smart to propose this law if it helps protect the town in future lawsuits and helps to protect the Refuge.

As President of Citizens for Shelby Preservation, we support you 100%.

Wendi Pencille

Shelby resident

President Citizens for Shelby Preservation

Editor:

Mr. Ron Vendetti holds himself in very high regard projecting himself to be an expert while he is focused on bullying residents instead of working with people to solve issues and attract businesses. He is holding back prosperity lost in his own delusions unable to distinguish fact from fiction. Like the Town of Murray board he is in denial no longer able to defend the dysfunction which has become the norm. People are waking up!

Refer to Mr. Vendetti’s letter posted on Sept. 7.

True or False: “I am a civil service employee not appointed or elected.”  FALSE, Mr. Ed Morgan recently appointed Ron Vendetti to the Republican Committee which is an elected position. So he is both appointed and elected.

True or False: “I have the respect of the professionals I work with.” FALSE, Mr. Vendetti was terminated from the Village of Albion some years ago basically for his unprofessional behavior. He was reinstated after an expensive lawsuit won on a technicality over a procedural issue when released. Being terminated is not a sign of respect!

True or False: “John Morriss (Murray Town Supervisor) never said the taxpayers were being overtaxed.” FALSE, Supervisors Report April 12, 2016: “We should be collecting a minimum of 10% of the bond payment plus additional money for basic operation and maintenance of the water districts.” According to the contracts signed by water district residents the water district tax should equal the principal and interest of the loan to install the infrastructure. Operations and maintenance is funded by the sale of water to end users. It’s the same game that was going on in the Town of Gaines and cleaned up by Mrs. Carol Culhane.

True or False: “Mr. Lofthouse has never held office where he has had to make a decision and live with the consequences. As chairman of the Conservative Party he’s elected exactly no candidates.” FALSE, as Conservative Party chairman we endorsed Randy Bower for Sheriff while the Republican Party divided itself arm wrestling over power grabs, funding and who to endorse. Perhaps you are unaware, but Mr. Bower is our elected Sheriff and endorsed by the Conservative Party.

Mr. Vendetti asks “Where in the NYS Health Code does it say where the backflow preventer has to be placed or what type has to be there?” Answer, NYS Sanitary Code, Part 5-1.31. Perhaps he should ask Water Superintendent Ed Morgan who approved Councilman Lloyd Christ’s non-compliant water connection. According to the Notice of Violation dated August 22, 2016 issued to the Town of Murray by the health department the “failure to protect the water distribution system without cross connection control immediately downstream of a hydrant. This practice is an egregious Category 1 Public Health Hazard due to the potential negative impact on the health of those utilizing public water.”

In light of the October 2015 Violations for E.Coli in your public water one should exhibit a little more concern for the citizens of Murray’s safe drinking water than you do for the health, safety, and welfare of grass cutting and attempting to control parking outside the Town’s jurisdiction on State Property.

Mr. Vendetti, you responded to serious issues in Murray in the same lax, deceptive manner the Town Board has. The cost of the primary election is money well spent and much less costly than the triple dip on health care that Mr. Morgan quietly enjoys. Quit being a bully, grow up and try to do some good for your community. It wouldn’t hurt to look in the mirror with or without the salt!

Al Lofthouse

Kendall

Editor:

I am a voting taxpayer and have lived on Ryan Road in the Town of Shelby for over 30 years. After attending the public hearing of the Shelby Town Board Meeting on Sept. 7, I have a few comments on the proposed zoning law changes No. 2 (LL2).

There is no doubt in my mind that the Town Board does not want a stone quarry south of the Fletcher Chapel Road between Sour Springs Road and South Woods Road and north of the Wildlife Refuge.

They must feel that they can’t legally stop the quarry with a standalone zoning restriction so they are trying to make us believe that they are somehow protecting the Refuge by restricting the land usage of a large portion of land bordering the Refuge by the taxpayers that own this land.

I heard nothing at the Sept. 7 public hearing to make me think the quarry or any of the restrictions they want to place on the land owners in this “overlay district” would be detrimental to the Refuge. How can kennels, motor vehicle repair shops, campgrounds, retail businesses, and many other types of businesses they are trying to stop hurt the Refuge?

This proposed law does however hurt the taxpayers in the Town of Shelby by limiting what future projects and businesses might come in to our area to help lessen the high taxes that we taxpayers are currently paying.

I live less than ½ mile from this overlay district. I can understand why some of the landowners bordering the proposed quarry don’t want it there. I’m not sure if I would want it next to my property either.

I also understand why some of the landowners in this Overlay District are against this law. I certainly don’t want anyone telling me what I can or can’t do with my property. I dread what might be coming next.

If the Town Board can limit what the landowners in the Overlay District can do with their land, they may try to limit what I can do with my land. This Overlay District is mostly open farm land. How often have you seen large blocks of farm land sold to a business that brought with them jobs and more money for the tax roll? The Hill Farm on Rt. 31A is the first that comes to mind.

I wouldn’t mind if the Shelby Town Board tried to pass a law banning the Stone Quarry. Let the courts sort it out.

What I do mind is them trying to package other restrictions to hide their true purpose. I personally think this proposed LL2 law will be detrimental to the Town of Shelby, detrimental to Western NY, detrimental to the land owners and detrimental to the residents of this area.

David Schrader

Shelby

Editor:

I attended the Town of Shelby public hearing on Sept. 7, regarding Local Law No 2 of 2016, which creates the Wildlife Refuge Protection Overlay District.

I realize this was meant for the Town Board to hear the comments of  the surrounding community on this proposed law in both the positive and negative light. However, I get the feeling the Town Board has already made their decision on Local Law No 2 and  they were just going through the motions and formalities of a hearing.

First, they would not provide a microphone so the concerned audience could hear these comments and  concerns. The Supervisor, Merle Draper, was obnoxiously rude to the woman sitting next to me when she requested one. This is both appalling and shameful behavior. Secondly, he and the town’s attorney had the audacity to have an intimate conversation while Mr. Mahar was speaking.

He has spent 10 long years on this project and deserves the respect to be heard. This Board does not respect him or any of the members of this community, the citizens for whom they work for.

They should not forget, that they do in fact work for the citizens and taxpayers of the Town of Shelby – period.

This Board has a negative stance towards progress and business, both big and small. They do tend to pull the rug out from under the feet of hard working folks who are trying to make a living and a better way of life to themselves and the surrounding community through the ripple effect and to build commerce.

Instead, they hold this community hostage. This law, as I see it, is to stop the quarry by way of zoning in the name of wildlife preservation. In the meanwhile, other property owners are not able to use or develop the land they worked so hard for and yet pay some of the highest taxes in WNY.

I met a man with a small home with some land that he would rent to farm. He was told by the town, he could not. This would help him pay his $6,000 annual taxes. Taxes this town uses to urinate away by hiring attorneys and other consultants outside the community to defend their zoning decisions and what have you.

This “selective” zoning does nothing but put a burden and create hardship on this community. Since the town discourages business, it allows this area to remain in an oppressive state, with declining property values and with this, it allows poverty and crime to move in. Drug traffic and theft seem to be the only commerce for this sleepy little town.

I strongly feel that any board member who resides in the “overlay” must not be able to vote on Local Law No 2 as it would be prejudiced and biased. Local Law No 2 should be put into the hands of the community, by vote to determine which way this thing should go.

Lastly, in my view, I have lost all trust and confidence in the Board and question their integrity, competence and motives. They cannot be trusted with the health and well-being of this community and is a poor representation of the people and the republican base of this county.

It is sad to know that a majority of the public have no idea what is going on around them while the “good ole’ boys” run amuck and carry on with business as usual.

Kim Weatherbee

Shelby

Editor:

This letter is in response to Marilynn Miller’s Letter to the Editor: “Gaines Republicans should seek new GOP Committee Members”

Although I have several opinions and could easily express my own thoughts in response to the information in Ms. Miller’s letter, I will only address the statements that are false; ones that I have been involved with personally.

This is not an election year for me. The outcome of the upcoming elections will not affect my employment nor my commitment to fulfill my duties as Gaines Highway Superintendent.

As far as being the “beneficiary of an improperly negotiated union contract…” Some background: Mrs. Culhane was not the Town Supervisor during this time period.

While Mrs. Culhane may not agree with the results of the decisions made before her tenure, these decisions were made and sanctioned by the Town Board that was in place, not by me. A representative of the Town Board, a union representative with two union employees negotiated a contract. This was signed by the town supervisor, town attorney, the union attorney and the Town Board (please note I was not involved).

This contract was also agreed upon by the Town Board. Once the contract was in place, union and non-union employees were approached to propose a monetary reimbursement if they did not take the medical insurance offered by the Town of Gaines.

Fiscally, this was a cost saving move for the town and would benefit the tax payers; the employees (myself include) agreed.

Family medical insurance costs approximately $15,000 per year for an employee. The negotiated contract offered $10,400 as reimbursement (from Jan. 1, 2011 thru Dec. 31, 2013).

After that date to this current date, the highway employees (2 individuals) received $8,000. The Highway Superintendent (me) received the same reimbursement ($10,400 from Jan. 1, 2011 – Dec. 31, 2013). From January 2014 to present, I have received $3,000/year medical reimbursement ($5,000 less than other stated employees). Unlike the other town employees, I have not been offered the opportunity to receive medical insurance from the Town of Gaines since Jan. 1, 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Mannella

Gaines Highway Superintendent

Editor:

I feel compelled to reply to you and your readers to address Ray Burke’s letter of Sunday.

Let me just say that I am barely acquainted with Mr. Burke. We’ve met in passing at Town Board meetings, but to my recollection, have never been introduced. I’ll outline some facts and then draw some conclusions from them.

My interest in politics is a long one. My involvement with the Republican Party has been steady, essentially since I turned 18. A little over 5 years ago, I moved to Orleans County, and I’ve lived in Gaines a little over 4 years. After I met some new people, I wanted to become involved here, and lend my experience and thoughts to the community, and one way to do that was to become involved in the Republican Party.

Earlier in 2016, I expressed an interest in serving on the Town Committee to the Chairman, Guy Smith. Much to my dismay, I hear nothing from him about this, but at the same time hear about new people preparing to run for these positions. This is when I took it upon myself to circulate petitions. I circulated MY petitions. No one did it for me.

Some facts and questions about Ray Burke and the other candidates:

– Ray Burke has lived in town a lot longer than me. Why the sudden interest in the Town Committee?

– David Alchin didn’t even circulate his own nominating petitions. Carol Culhane, Gaines Town Supervisor, circulated every one of his. Is he even actually interested? Or will he be a proxy for Mrs. Culhane?

– Jim Hood circulated his petitions. In fact, everyone in my home signed his when he stopped by! I guess this is proof that I support an open and honest dialog to get the best people involved!

– All three of them have the exact same “Committee to Fill Vacancies” members named, and are in the same handwriting. One of the members of that committee currently serves on the Town Board.

All of these facts together clearly indicate a plan, and the head of that plan sure looks like the Supervisor, amongst others.

As for my wife, Lori, I quite honestly don’t know how it is relevant or why you chose to bring her into this discussion. But, since you brought it up, I’ll share some additional facts.

Lori was appointed Deputy Clerk in October 2015. She put in 15-20 hours per week at a minimum to get trained and ready to take over for Clerk Klatt during a scheduled vacation. These hours were on top of her full time job. In the spring, she was sent to the New York State Town Clerks Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY by the town. She volunteered her time to attend this training.

When Clerk Klatt announced her retirement, Lori was told by the Supervisor that they would “advertise and interview” for a replacement. She wrote letters to the Board and the Republican Committee members indicating her interest. Lori never heard a single word from the Supervisor after that first discussion about the position. The board appointed Ms. Harding to the empty position without notifying Lori of their choice. She found out when the board made the appointment. What kind of leadership is that?

To make matters worse, the Supervisor wasn’t honest with how they came to make that selection. She indicated they were told the most senior clerk had to be appointed. The fact is, according to the NYS Association of Towns, the Town Board can appoint anyone to the position. The icing on the cake? A letter to Lori from Sharon Harding, before she even took over as Town Clerk, indicating that Lori’s services would no longer be needed.

So, not only do you appoint someone under a veil of secrecy, you get rid of the one individual who was fully trained in all of the duties of the Town Clerk. If that doesn’t reek of political backstabbing and back door deals, I don’t know what does.

As you can guess, Lori’s decision to no longer be interested in being Town Clerk is a smart one. Who would want to work in that role in an environment where you’re treated like this? Not to mention the public harassment the previous Town Clerk and current Highway Superintendent have had to endure. You’d have to be crazy to take that job with the current Town Board.

So, Mr. Burke, I do want open government. I want active participation. I want good leadership at the head of the Town Committee. I want good leadership with the Town Board. The best thing we can do is stop things like what I’ve described from happening, and start over with a revitalized committee with an active Chairperson. Only then can we nominate honest, hardworking candidates to fill the elected positions in our Town.

Thank you,

Joseph Grube

Town of Gaines

Editor:

If the Gaines Republican Committee is dysfunctional, our chairman, Guy Smith, should be held responsible.

Carol was a Democrat most of her life; Culhane wasn’t a registered Republican until she needed the support of the committee. Despite concerns, she was first endorsed by the Republican Committee. When Carol came for the next endorsement, the feedback from the residents of Gaines made us question which direction she was heading; and for whose best interest she was truly working?

Mrs. Culhane was reluctantly endorsed; she had no opposition. This past term, Culhane was not endorsed by the Republican Committee.

Mrs. Culhane runs an open door policy with her “coffee pot on”, ready to discuss questions/concerns. This policy seems only to be in effect during regular business hours, in the privacy of her office. During public board meetings, Mrs. Culhane fails to respond to questions and defers to the Town Attorney for answers.

Chairman Guy Smith scheduled an interview meeting with Sharon Harding (for Town Clerk position). The deadline date was June 3rd (the day BEFORE the scheduled interview). As chairman, he should have known the deadline date, and followed protocol. This Chairman’s blunder required Sharon Harding to carry her own petition.

The Town Board invested approximately $1,500 in training for the Town Clerk’s position, which Lori Grube attended. However, in a surprise move, the Town Board appointed Sharon Harding to the position of Town Clerk. Shortly after, Lori Grube received a letter stating she was no longer needed.

Ron Mannella, Highway Superintendent, has 20+ years of experience and has been endorsed by both major parties for the last 3 terms. Mannella’s impeccable work ethic and dedicated employees need no protection. Just ask former Supervisors Bill Lattin and Dick DeCarlo Sr.

Dave Allchin ran for Highway Superintendent. Because of his lack of experience, Mr. Allchin did not receive our endorsement.

In answer to Guy Smith’s comment of “vested interest”, he neglected to mention his wife, Sue, is a Gaines Councilperson. He did not recuse himself for his wife’s interviews. (Who is protecting whom?)

Ray Burke owns a building/business managed by Carol Culhane. (Vested interest, perhaps?)

Lorienda Smith has been a free thinker and leader for the past 15 years, and has probably attended more board meetings than the whole Town Board put together. Her interest and participation never wavers.

At Board Meetings, Lorienda asks questions; she also requests FOIL information. Although this may cause elected officials some worry, it is Lorienda’s civic duty. Gaines residents elected her to do just that. Lorienda is motivated and capable to stand up for what is right for the taxpayers of Gaines.

Mr. Guy Smith stated, “On Tuesday, September 13th, the voters will decide what kind of people they want to represent them on the Republican committee. We need honest, independent-thinking individuals that have the town’s best interest in mind.”

We couldn’t agree more!

On September 13th, please vote: District #1 – Susan Heard & Lorienda Smith; District #2 – Joe Grube; District #3 –Lisa Mannella & Donald Allport.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Heard, Lorienda Smith, Joe Grube, Lisa Mannella and Lorraine Oakley

Editor:

The behavior I have witnessed over ten years of attending Gaines Town Board meetings and helping campaign for honest representation certainly favors the depiction put forth in Chairman Guy Smith’s recent letter to the editor.

Two years ago when Carol Culhane ran for Town Supervisor, despite having exposed and corrected a slew of wrongdoings, lack of ethics, and improprieties by town officials, she was denied Republican Party support by certain members of the GOP Nominating Committee.

Those members, currently seeking re-election, are Lisa Mannella (whose husband, as Town Highway superintendent, was beneficiary of an improperly negotiated union contract to the tune of $10,400 for each of three years), Susan Heard (who, despite learning that the then Town Clerk was exposed in a forensic audit for double billing the Town, accused Supervisor Culhane at a public meeting of “bullying” that clerk), and Lorienda Smith who seems to be led along by these others.

As for Joe Grube, his wife was denied an upgrade from Deputy Clerk to Town Clerk because Supervisor Culhane followed Town Law for the State of New York, and not the “good old boys” network.

There is a history of self-serving behavior and disregard for honest and hard-working taxpayers. Much has been cleaned up in the recent past, but if the old Nominating Committee continues to exist, it is an uphill battle to keep honest and genuine representation in the forefront.

Marilynn Miller

Town of Gaines

Editor:

Take it from the chair of our Republican Committee: the party is dysfunctional.

Gaines GOP Chairman Guy Smith’s letter to the editor says quorums can’t be met and there’s poor communication. The committee fails to even endorse candidates.

Isn’t that exactly what it’s supposed to do?

According to Joe Grube and his letter, this is all perfectly fine. In fact, he wants to “maintain” such “independence” and “credibility.”

Something not adding up?

Well it doesn’t stop there. He then puts down candidates for committee as “cronies.” I’m not sure if this is an attack on us candidates, or the Town Board. I do know it’s odd to “embrace robust participation” in one breath, and then dismiss those who seek to participate as mindless hacks in the next.

Wait, there’s more. He belittles elected officials trying to control the committee. Then, he says the voters should elect a whole list of public office holders (or their spouses) for committee.

It seems that Joe Grube says one thing, but does another.

We are thrilled that Gaines GOP voters actually have a say in who serves on the committee for once. This election isn’t about control or “cronies.” All the candidates running are good people.

But the time has come for a change. Plain and simple.

I hope Gaines Republicans vote to end the dysfunction and put-downs. That’s the status quo, and I just don’t think Joe Grube sees it.

But I see it. Guy sees it. And I think every day Gaines residents do, too.

I would appreciate your support for me, Guy Smith, David Allchin and Jim Hood on September 13th.

Respectfully,

Ray Burke

Gaines

Editor:

This letter is for the members of the Republican Party who live in the Town of Gaines. I would like to set the story straight with what has been going on for the last two years within your nominating committee. Your committee has become dysfunctional.

In 2015 we were seeking candidates for the position of Town Supervisor. We only had one person interested in the position, Carol Culhane, who was seeking endorsement for a third, two-year term. Some of those on the committee thought she was doing a good job and her heart was in the right place. However, they did not want to endorse her because she wasn’t running the town their way.

The current nominating committee wants to be able to control town officials. Carol Culhane had to pass her own petitions to get on the Republican ticket.

In June of this year our committee held interviews for Town Clerk. The interviews took place on June 4 at Tillman’s Village Inn. I was expecting six of the eight committeemen to interview and possibly endorse a new town clerk for the 2016 election. Five minutes before the interview was to begin Lisa Mannella sends me a text message stating she could not make the interview, then two minutes after that Lorienda Smith sends me a text message stating she could not attend as well. I was left with a committee of three people and one proxy from Susan Heard because she was going to the Republican Ball that night and did not want to spend all day Saturday doing Republican business.

Consequently we had a unofficial interview, but we could not endorse Sharon Harding because I was left without a quorum. Sharon Harding had to pass her own petitions to get on the Republican ticket, which is part of our committee’s jobs.

Why did Lisa Mannella and Lorienda Smith not want to endorse Sharon Harding? They wanted to endorse Lori Grube, who was also a deputy clerk for our previous Town Clerk, Jean Klatt. Lori is also, you guessed it, Joseph Grube’s wife. I spoke with Lori and she told me she was no longer interested in the Town Clerk position and did not want to have an interview.

As you can see some of our committee people have a vested interest in the town government. Lisa Mannella announced at a meeting that she was on the committee to protect her husband Ron Mannella, your highway superintendent. At the last interview for highway superintendent she did not recuse herself while we interviewed Ron.

This spring I collected a full sheet of signatures for Bruce Blanchard and myself because he and I represent District 2. Then I picked up our committeemen’s petitions for the Town of Gaines. However, Bruce Blanchard did not collect any signatures. He told me he did not want to be on the committee because he didn’t have enough time, his kids were still young.

I told Bruce he would have to decline his position in order to get off the committee. I called to remind him to go to the Board of Elections to decline his position of Republican committeeman, but he was conveniently out of town.

I believe when you are on a committee, a person needs to think for themselves. Lorienda Smith is a person who follows the crowd even though they are going in the wrong direction.

On Tuesday, September 13, the voters will decide what kind of people they want to represent them on the Republican committee. We need honest, independent-thinking individuals that have the town’s best interest in mind.

Guy D. Smith

Town of Gaines Republican Chairman

Editor:

As a land owner and long-time farmer in Shelby, I am opposed to new Local Law #2 of 2016. This law was proposed by Shelby’s Town Board only days after a judge ruled in favor of Frontier Stone’s quarry project – which is to be located on my private property on Fletcher Chapel Road.

Local Law #2’s restrictions on property in my district would destroy all our property values and render properties nearly worthless.

The DEC recently granted a permit for the quarry project and a judge ruled against the town and three opponents of the project, denying them party status, because they failed to identify “any significant or substantive issues” that the project would harm the refuge. The ALJ found all their claims to be “without merit.”

Over the years, my family has been called greedy and we have been accused of trying to divide the community. Shelby’s Town Board has done more to divide this community in not making themselves available to collaborate on the project and by proposing LL2.

The town has deliberately targeted other private property owners near our land as a way to block the project; that is discriminating. Town officials have been moving the goalpost on this project for over 10 years and spending thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars to do it.

Most recently, over $52, 000 was spent in four months by the town and they did not produce one expert witness or submit any studies to contradict any of Frontier Stone’s expert witnesses or verifiable scientific data. There is zero evidence to support the quarry will pose a threat to the refuge or the environment.

The town even inserted a stipulation to Local Law #2 that if a court renders it unconstitutional, the town would over-ride the court’s ruling. Really? Even Obamacare can be repealed. And this law can’t? That’s pretty big over-reach on the part of the town.

Town council members who reside or own property in the proposed district should also abstain from voting on the law. Does the town expect us to pay to have thousands of acres of land resurveyed to create the boundaries for LL2, when land owners in Shelby who own 68% of the acreage in the proposed district filed a protest petition against it?

Will the town install a chain-link fence to show the boundaries of the overlay district? How about razor wire on top of that? We can call it The Great Wall of Shelby.

Is the property in LL2’s “Wildlife Refuge Overlay Protection District” going to be subject to the same criteria as the refuge? In that case, all the property in the overlay district should be tax exempt – no county tax, no town tax, no school tax.

Edward Zelazny

Shelby

Editor:

The Town of Gaines is having a rare event this Primary Day, which is Tuesday, September 13th: An election for members of the Town Republican Committee!

I embrace robust participation in government and politics. High levels of participation lead to better government, and one that is open and that truly works for the people.

However, there is a plan that has been hatched by a small group of current town officials, who have the goal of extending their control from the town government into the Gaines Republican Committee. They seek to manipulate participation in town government by hand-picking cronies as candidates and appointing only ardent supporters to vacant positions.

Our goal is to maintain independence, open-mindedness, and credibility within the Republican Party. This will ensure that the Party seeks out, selects, and supports only the very best individuals for elected positions, rather than the closed door, back-room approach being taken by others.

I ask that Gaines Republicans in District 1, 2, and 3 get out and vote on September 13th from noon to 9 p.m.

Please support the following candidates for the Republican Committee in Gaines: District 1 – Susan Heard and Lorienda Smith; District 2 – Joseph Grube and Bruce Blanchard; District 3 – Lisa Manella and Donald Allport.

Thank you,

Joseph Grube

Gaines