Editor:

There’s been some talk about the Attorney General wind farm code of conduct agreement, urging people who are landowners in the Lighthouse Wind project who hold public office seats to recuse themselves from any voting.

What about those who are active members of SOS (Save Ontario Shores)? I think they should also have to recuse themselves from voting. We don’t know their motive(s) for opposing the wind farm.

We at least know that landowners in the project are being paid by Apex to host turbines on their property but we have no idea why SOS members are so incredibly active at opposing the Lighthouse Wind Farm. Maybe they are being paid off by other companies we don’t know about or other public interest groups. Who is funding their efforts?

Jim Simon, the new Yates Town Supervisor was backed by SOS during his campaign and John Riggi, new Yates town councilman, was president of SOS. This to me is just as much of a conflict of interest. Also, Jim Simon is not accepting any pay as town supervisor. What if he is being paid by someone else and his main objective is to oppose the Lighthouse Wind Farm?

Opposing the wind farm isn’t some saintly duty that these SOS members love to cry about. Who are they really representing because it’s definitely not Yates residents. I believe SOS is playing a game of smoke and mirrors, and playing it well.

Shining light on Apex activities when in actuality they are the ones acting from a place we can only imagine. They are not being held accountable at all like Apex is by state and local citizens.

I am truly thankful for the Article 10 process because clearly this topic has become so emotional I don’t think anyone in this area could make a rational decision. Everyone’s got their hand in a least one cookie jar.

Susan Campbell
Lyndonville

Editor:

This is in response to Ed Urbanik who believes elected officials should not pursue litigation and forensic audits because they are too costly.

There is a reason for laws and regulations in a town. They are made to protect from damage or injury. In the case of Gaines, town officials could not sit back and allow laws and regulations to not be followed. The courts did rule in our favor and sent a clear message that no matter what your political position or status in the community is, you are not exempt from following our laws.

As for the final appeal which allowed the agricultural turbine to stay in its present location, the town again stepped forward with a resolution to protect its tax payers if, God forbid, anyone is injured from an unfortunate accident because of the location of the ag turbine.

Let’s be clear, if our laws and regulations were followed to begin with there never would have been a lawsuit.

The Forensic Audit was necessary because, once again, rules were not followed and specific qualified professionals were needed to help determine where the problems were stemming from, and what needed to change, in order to protect the town.

It was much more then finding a “mere mismark of a day off” or a charge of extra 10 miles of travel in the case of an elected official. The fact that no audit had been completed in 7 years and there were problems with the existing accounting firm led to the necessity of forensic auditors. Procedures and extra securities were put in place that needed to be updated.

The real issue here is not elected officials using judgment when entering litigation but elected officials standing up against those who are not being honest and following our rules and laws they took an oath in office to honor.

Ray Burke
Town of Gaines ZBA member

Editor:

I write this as another elected representative, Steve Hawley, has given his support to the towns of Yates and Somerset and the group Save Ontario Shores (S0S) in the growing effort to protect local resources in the face of an industrial wind installation.

Mr. Smith, in a letter to the editor, takes issue with Senator Ortt for a similar stand. The survey questioned by Mr. Smith as a “propaganda piece” was paid for by Yates taxpayers, of which I am one.

The 66 percent who oppose the wind turbine installation are residents and property owners. Mr. Hawley is quoted as saying “Local residents, leaders and elected officials know what’s best for their particular municipality, and I believe that is a cornerstone of good government.”

There are many thoughtful individuals who have spent countless hours researching the related topics, writing elected officials, commenting on the PSC website and attending meetings. SOS is not empty hysteria (see lakeontarioturbines.com.)

Residents of the towns who are bringing up legitimate concerns, questions and issues are exercising their rights as citizens. Public input is exactly what the Public Service Commission asked for as part of the approval process.

Apex, however, did not use the input given by the public in its Preliminary Scoping Statement as they were directed to do. Their comments, due on Feb. 11, should provide more specific information as to their intentions.

Georgette Stockman
Town of Yates

Editor:

I read the letter on Jan. 24 which was part of a challenge from Orleans Hub to promote Orleans County.

While the letter succeeded in promoting the school districts, it took an unnecessary shot at the communities that support these schools. As a property owner and taxpayer in Lyndonville I am pleased to see that the schoolchildren of the LCSD are excelling in the various categories listed.

I am not so pleased to read what the writer inserted next:

“As one drives through the crumbling and near empty downtown blocks of each village, there is a temptation to believe that the cultural identity and importance of Albion or Holley or Lyndonville have disappeared with the Erie Canal.”

Why write that? The very same property owners that are directly taxed by the school districts and the same districts are paid by New York State, also pay county, town and village taxes. They are paying to maintain these districts as well as keeping some semblance of order where they live.

There is a limited pot of money to draw from, especially when the County and State governments tightly control what is returned to the taxpayers. Keeping empty downtown blocks from crumbling is not such an easy task. Downtown blocks would be better off with thriving businesses, which are short supply.

James Tuk
Lyndonville
Editor’s Note: Mr. Tuk is deputy mayor of the Village of Lyndonville.

Editor:

Recently there were two very good letters to the editor, one concerning the county’s five vibrant school districts and another about the outrageous tax increase in the town of Murray.

How are these two connected? They both obviously involve taxes. If we want to keep vibrant schools in Orleans County we need to start looking at innovative methods for cutting costs while maintaining, and even improving, the quality of our students’ education.

Many other states have one superintendent per county while here in Orleans County we have five! We could save several hundred thousand dollars across the county in this one area.

However, there are many in the “establishment” who would oppose such an effort. This is one way to cut costs without impacting what is taking place in the classroom. There are more.

I do not live in the Town of Murray but do find it worrisome since this same thing could happen in Kendall, or anywhere across the county.

I urge you residents of Murray to ask your board members what, exactly, are you getting with this increase and to compare with the other towns in the county.

Orleans County is one of the poorest counties in the state, according to the state and we rank 8th when compared with the 8 western counties in New York.

A county in a financial situation such as ours needs to find ways to cut costs, not simply continue raising taxes.

Ken Longer
Kendall

Editor:

Memo to our freshman Senator Rob Ortt:

Welcome to Albany. How does it feel to be disregarded by the second most powerful politico in the capital, Assembly Speaker Heastie? He didn’t abdicate his position. He dissed you for your opposition to a process he helped approve before you came to the State Senate. Maybe if you were to tone down your uninformed rhetoric, he will afford you the respect I personally think you deserve.

You have reinforced the empty hysteria of the S.O. S. cabal without much study of any of the “issues”. Their bogus “67 percent opposed” survey (and even the “survey” sent out by the Town of Yates) should be recognized for what it is: a propaganda piece by an exceptionally well-financed segment of the community.

An insular group that has become obsessed by the presence of windmills they may or may not be able to see out their back windows. It is fitting that the first round of “I’m from Albany, and I’m here to help” emissaries in the form of Administrative Law Judges, capped S.O.S.’s piece of the vetting pot to ten grand. That may be Albany’s last nod in your direction.

Don’t have a cow. Your grandkids will likely look through clearer skies at the windmill project and say, “Grandpa, we’re glad for what you did for the environment when you woke up and supported that project.”

Rob fear not the wind!

Ralph Smith
Lyndonville

Editor:

To see the greatest strength of Orleans County, one needs not look further than the Holley, Lyndonville, Kendall, Medina, and Albion school districts.

As New York State wrestles with the issue of public education and the expectations of both teachers and students in 2016, each of the five school districts in Orleans County moves forward with a strong sense of identity and purpose.

The Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School is so secure in its own identity in the village of Albion, that it constructed an entryway that boldly states its guiding principles in the form of concrete crayons. The teachers within the building model the same respect, responsibility, and optimism that have been adopted as the school’s mission statement.

Each of the five towns of Orleans County has a rich cultural heritage of scholarship, athleticism, and musicianship that is continued by the students. This is best seen in the All-County Chorus and Band Concerts that take place twice a year and feature the greatest musicians of the elementary, middle, and high schools.

The passion and talent that all of the students carry is a testament to the same qualities found in the music teachers in each school district. These events also exhibit the strong community that has been built by many years of musical excellence.

As one drives through the crumbling and near empty downtown blocks of each village, there is a temptation to believe that the cultural identity and importance of Albion or Holley or Lyndonville have disappeared with the Erie Canal.

But when one visits the school, a different story is told: Football, baseball, basketball, track and field, tennis, swimming, golf, jazz band, marching band, chamber ensembles, concert band, chorus, men’s and women’s select choir, musicals, plays, talent shows, Advanced Placement classes, chess club, MasterMinds, internships, and trade classes. When one looks at what our schools offer, Orleans County is a culturally rich and thriving community.

Lucas Smith
Albion
(Editor’s Note: Lucas Smith sent this in as part of a challenge from Orleans Hub to write an essay promoting Orleans County.)

Editor:

Many years ago as one made their way though the barren yet fertile great plains of the Midwest the skies were being dotted with windmills of hope. Goliaths at the time, these water-pumping windmills brought the beginnings of a good life to many families in an otherwise unviable region. One by one homes and farms with sustaining businesses were built bringing hope for a bright new life for many thousands.

Today we are faced with another goliath intruding upward into the sky. This time these much larger beasts are not bringing hope for the future to those that live or work here or serve as an attraction for others, they bring profits for a chosen few.

They bring local and transient workers a temporary rally of jobs at best. Yes, the landowners will profit for a time, each of them a Judas to the land and fellow residents in my opinion.

Their profits will be short lived for them and bring little to nothing for others looking and listening to the mess they helped create. They will affect nature and scenic beauty for thousands of residents and visitors for many miles around.

The majestic beauty of the world has far more value than one thinks of typically. You don’t know what you have until it is gone they say. My personal experience of driving home to the southern sunny shores of Lake Ontario has been my solace for years.

I feel the peace as I ascend down the Escarpment and see the massive flat plain of what was once an ancient lake called Iroquois and her offspring Ontario in the distance. Many who read this know of what I speak, it is a part of you. We have learned to share the view with the huge smoking stack of Somerset and consider the anomaly of it to be like a scar on a loved ones face, it is overlooked.

If the skies become dotted by dozens of flashing blades whirring and dwarfing said scar will we still have this feeling of solace? Can we look our Great Lake plain in the face again or will the scars be too offensive?

If this happens, yes we will get used to seeing the deformity and we will still love our Great Lake plain but we will long for her virgin beauty more than ever and tell the tale of a place that once was. We will tell it to a generation we sold out for a few coins or less. Are the profits of investors that do not even live here more important than our solace?

I urge my fellow brothers and sisters of this great land to do your research on this type of project before you give it your support. Going green is undeniably important and the mistakes we make now could be devastating for generations to come. It need not be a cash cow for a few at the expense of our future generations.

Michael A. Clark
Town of Wilson

Editor:

At 7:30pm, Thursday evening, Jan. 14, 2016, the Yates Town Board passed Resolution 29-1/16:

RESOLUTION OF THE YATES TOWN BOARD TO FORMALLY OPPOSE THE APEX CLEAN ENERGY LIGHTHOUSE WIND LLC PROJECT WITHIN THE TOWN OF YATES.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the Yates Town Board for a job well done. In addition, I would like to extend my gratitude to the people of the Town of Yates for their passion and herculean efforts to ensure that the Town Board possessed all of the information required in order to properly represent them in making the critical decision to oppose the Apex project.

While long-awaited, our Town’s formal opposition is only one action.

As a result of concerns pertaining to Industrial Wind Turbine encroachment on the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (NFARS) and potential loss of over 3,000 jobs at NFARS as a result of the next Base Closure and Realignment Review, the Erie County Legislature has now formally opposed the APEX Project (as excerpted from Erie County Legislature Resolution adopted – December, 2015):

“RESOLVED, that this honorable body expresses its support for the Niagara Falls Airforce Reserve Station, the Niagara County Legislature, and the men and women of the armed forces that call NFARS home and hereby opposes the construction of the wind turbines in the military base’s flight path”

These actions by the Yates Town Board and the Erie County Legislature have now solidified a clear, monolithic and regional opposition to the APEX Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement Project known as Lighthouse Wind.

By way of review, official opposition to the APEX project has been communicated by the following august, representatives and representative bodies standing for approximately 1.3 million Western New Yorkers:

The Honorable Chris Collins – US House of Representatives
The Honorable Robert Ortt – New York State Senate
Niagara County Legislature
Orleans County Legislature
Erie County Legislature
Somerset Town Board
Yates Town Board

These actions represent a clear mandate in opposition to the Industrial Wind Turbine Project and interestingly, a corollary statement on the loss of Home Rule in New York State.

We remain eager to represent the people of the Town of Yates regarding this Industrial Wind Turbine issue and in leading Yates into a future of meaningful economic development and improved quality of life for all who value and enjoy the beautiful and irreplaceable Western Lake Ontario Region of New York State.

John B. Riggi
Councilman, Town of Yates

Editor:

Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to limit the outside income earned by state legislators is just another example of his efforts to take away the rights and liberties of the citizens of the state of New York.

If there is going to be real reform, changing the lobbying system is the place to start. Monies paid to legislators by special interests’ lobby organizations are potentially more corrupting than any money an honest, hardworking citizen earns.

Michael Zelazny
Medina

Editor:

As our New Year gets underway we in the Town of Murray are presented with yet another town tax rate increase.

I have read on the Town of Murray homepage the justification for this 7.5% increase after last year’s 8.0%. I can debate the Town Board’s justification at length but the area most disturbing to me is item #6:

“Why is the Town of Murray not able to stay within the tax cap?”

Town Board’s response: “In reviewing the Town’s budget situation with over 40 other small communities within the Western New York region, it’s clear that less than 15 communities are able to stay within the State’s Tax Cap for 2016. So this situation is not unique to the Town of Murray.”

I disagree. Let’s be sure to compare our town to other similar towns with the same social/economic demographics. Orleans County is a wonderful area, with unique characteristics unto itself.

We are not the Finger Lakes, Amherst, Pittsford, or Chautauqua. We are the Town of Murray, a rural/agricultural community with open landscapes, fertile fields and a history based in agriculture. To make a balanced comparison on a level playing field may I suggest looking within our county to our surrounding neighbors who share similar circumstances?

Orleans County is made up of 10 towns. Let’s keep it simple and look at general tax data which is available on the Orleans County Web site. Of the 10 Towns for 2016, three lowered their tax rates, one had a 0% change. Five increased their rate by less than 1%. The Town of Murray increased 7.5%, the highest tax rate increase in the County.

In 2015 the general trend was four towns had a 0% increase, two towns increased less than 1%, one town lowered taxes, two towns increased taxes 1.5% and Murray again far outpaced its neighbors with an 8% increase.

The Tax Cap at this point is irrelevant. It is a very complex formula and I doubt any member of the Town Council can actually calculate the outcome without expert advice. The point is that we are far outpacing our neighboring communities with our property taxation. I think it’s high time we look in the mirror and dust ourselves off. Let’s ask ourselves who are we and where we going.

The next election year for the Town of Murray is 2017. In the past three years our town’s tax rate has risen nearly 17%. What have we to show for it?

It’s our money, yours and mine and I think it’s a fair question. In my opinion we need to think about returning to the days of James “Jimmy” Piedimonte. Regardless of politics, Jimmy Piedimonte could stretch a dime into a dollar! He kept our town taxes low. I think he looked in the mirror every day, knew who he was and where he was going.

I’ve been asked to run for Town Council by members of the community because of the tax-and-spend policy of this board. The facts speak for themselves. I am not Jimmy Piedimonte but would like to return to his fiscally conservative spending practices.

I will be running for Town Council in 2017 on the platform of stretching that dime into a dollar. I would like to join the team, bring fresh ideas, energy and openly discuss who we are and where we’re headed.

Most importantly reducing taxes and helping to bring better efficiency to the cost of government. There is no implied expression of corruption or wrong doing by our board. We should appreciate their efforts to serve.

There are some pretty smart folks in the Town of Murray who work hard. I ask you to look in the mirror and see if you too can find the time to help make a difference. The time is now for the people to speak.

I look forward to meeting fellow residents in Murray this year listening to your thoughts and needs. I’m happy to work with everyone for the benefit of our community. Please contact me anytime, I’m happy to help.

Joe Sidonio
Holley

Editor:

One year ago today I was discharged, after a week’s stay, from the Rehab Unit at Medina Memorial Hospital. While there I received excellent care. Shortly after I came home I returned to the unit to thank the many individuals who helped me in my recovery.

I thought however, that in many ways my personal thanks was not enough. I am writing today not only to celebrate my recovery but to give credit where credit is due and to let the community know how strongly I feel about the care I received while at Medina Memorial Hospital.

I found the medical and nursing staff to always be available to help in making decisions about my treatment and monitoring my progress. I found the aides very helpful, friendly and kind in their support in whatever way I needed their assistance both day and night.

My daily routine included occupational and physical therapy, where in my experience most of the hard work of rehabilitation takes place. The staff was great. They were patient but persistent for which I am now thankful.

I went to the Rehab Unit following a long hospital stay at Gates Vascular Institute and Buffalo General Hospital where I received equally excellent care. I would not have reached the Buffalo hospitals or for that matter the Rehab Unit were it not for the emergency room staff at Medina Hospital and the EMT’s who transported me to Buffalo. Several weeks earlier I had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest while in the emergency room. They saved my life!

I also stopped to thank the emergency room staff on the same day I visited the Rehab Unit. The doctor who was part of the team who saved my life said to me after I thanked him, “nice to see you vertical!” I agree. Thank you Medina Memorial Hospital.

Grateful for the excellent care,

Tom Gardner
Knowlesville

Editor:

If you live on the northern edges of Niagara and Orleans counties, you are used to seeing two C-130 cargo planes fly at low altitude every day around sunset.

These planes originate at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station about 25 miles southwest of our lake shore. These planes have now taken on an additional significance, as three retired Base Commanders from NFARS have written to Governor Cuomo and other officials, to warn that Apex’s plan to erect up to seventy 620-foot industrial wind turbines does not mix well with the training mission of this military base.

NFARS apparently has something going for it that many air bases in more populated areas cannot boast: a lack of airspace “encroachment.” In their letter these three former NFARS base commanders state that the base has scored highly on this attribute, as “the military is very cognizant of any civilian and/or commercial uses that might interfere (encroach) with the ‘Military Operating Area’ (MOA) surrounding all military facilities. In fact, there is an ongoing effort to coordinate the zoning codes of the communities with the MOA to ensure that those codes reflect the need to prevent any encroachment into the MOA that could jeopardize military operations and the future of the base.”

They continue, “The current C-130 operations maintain a number of low level training routes, generally 500 feet above ground level (AGL) but as low as 300 feet AGL, on some routes. These routes depart on a common departure path, in a northeasterly direction. In the area of the lake shore, east of Wilson, NY, the individual routes commence with a turn in various directions, as per the route’s design. Additionally, there is an established high speed route, established primarily for fighter aircraft, that is in the same general area, and it also cleared down to 300 feet AGL.”

The letter draws the conclusion that NFARS has been considered for closure twice by the Base Realignment and Closure commission in the last few years. If the base loses this valuable attribute, and suddenly finds its training airspace encroached upon by huge wind turbines, it gives BRAC a reason to downgrade its value, thereby giving the commission another reason to consider NFARS’s closure.

In addition, the base now provides 3,000 jobs. Can anyone weigh that against the five to ten jobs that might possibly come from wind turbines? It is easy to see another reason why erecting giant wind turbines in Somerset and Yates makes no sense.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Bronson
Barker
Member of Save Ontario Shores

Editor:

I would like to take a minute of my time to recognize the men and women of the Orleans County Auxiliary Police.

This all-volunteer organization is one of the most neglected agencies in the county. You see them everywhere, County Fair, Strawberry Festival, Youth Football, High School Football, Festival of Lights and so many more that there is no way to mention all the details they cover.

They are requested by every law enforcement agency in the county to assist with traffic and crowd control. I think its about time the residents of Orleans County recognize these dedicated men and women for all the countless hours they put in to keep us safe sometimes during very stressful conditions. Thank You!

Jim Vale
Albion

Editor:

It seems to me to be kind of like jumping off a cliff. Once done, there is no going back, no pause, no rewind, that’s it – it is done. That is what the Industrial Wind Turbine Project is in my estimation.

We stand on the precipice of disrupting the fate of one of the greatest migratory bird routes in North America and we have the audacity to actually consider it when it is quite possibly an irreversible and unmitigated disaster.

If this worst case scenario occurs and this migratory route is destroyed, the Osprey and American Bald Eagle are killed off in the Town of Yates – then what? If the government steps in and shuts the turbines down, and I argue they will eventually because they will have to, what will happen to all of the dead rusting turbines?

Who will pay the untold millions to remove the behemoths and return the ecosystem to its original state? Do a quick Google search of dead turbines on the internet and you’ll get your answer.

Who will pay to repopulate the American Bald Eagle and other species? Everything has a cost.

I am fairly certain that Apex, or the unknown entity the turbines are sold to, will not. Well that leaves the tax payer on the hook. Even worse I am guessing there will not be pockets deep enough to pay such an astronomical cost, and these rotting six hundred foot giants will become Yates’ legacy. Everyone gone like rats from a sinking ship except for the poor folks of the Town of Yates and/or Orleans County.

I am not principally opposed to any form of alternate power, either proven or theoretical, including wind turbines. But, and this is a huge but, you cannot cut off your proverbial nose to spite your face. Is it justifiable to take such a catastrophic risk to potentially gain some “green or renewable energy”?

I will leave it to the experts to argue if wind turbines are actually truly “green” or not. To me it is simple math. Assuming if we will, that Apex senior management is in the wind business to produce green energy in order to better the planet, how in the day lights can they justify the slaughter of hundreds or thousands of birds that contribute to the exact ecosystem they are presumably trying to save?

Everything we do to produce energy on this planet has a cost including that to the environment – I accept that collateral damage is a cost of doing business – it’s unfortunate but a reality. Having said that, ethical energy producers have learned to limit this collateral damage and mitigate the losses as much as possible.

Ergo, when the cost outweighs the benefit, you walk away. Cost can mean many things. As I argued above, it can be the destruction of the environment, the rape of the town of Yates and Orleans County’s beauty, or the millions in damages carried on the backs of the taxpayers. What I can say with a great deal of certainty is it will not be borne by the executives of Apex as they will have made their profit and got the hell out of Dodge by the time all hell breaks loose.

In conclusion, these are my opinions and mine alone.

Respectfully,

Vincent Mulholland
Yates