Editor:

I am a resident of the Village of Lyndonville and the Town of Yates. During this election season, I have listened to different opinions on issues related to our town and village, mainly the issue of wind energy.

In my opinion, there is a small group of “part-time” residents that feel their opinion is more important than the full-time residents. They have smeared the good names of more than a few life-long Yates residents and some proven officials who have earned the community’s trust, year after year.

This group has called for resignations and posted personal financial situations of some of these full-time, life-long residents. This group has even backed residents with only a post office box as proof of residency. The voters of Yates and Lyndonville should know that their ballot is full of “part-time residents.”

They claim to know what is best for the full-time community. I urge the voters of Yates to do their research of the candidates and especially the permanent residence of who is running for town and village positions.

Ask them, “If they are interested in anything this town has to offer once the windmill issue is old news?”

Patrick McKenna
“Full-time” Yates resident

Editor:

Once again SOS shows that they aren’t interested in information or real research, just in pushing their anti-environmental agenda. First they tried to intimidate long-time residents and farmers by publishing their names on a website and claiming they are too dumb to know how to run their farms.

Then they tried to stop the research tower, including filing a lawsuit that a judge tossed out without even hearing arguments. Now they are trying to pretend they want answers by sending out a fake survey ahead of the Town Board’s survey. Why?

I live here and I want to know all the facts before I make a decision. Why won’t SOS let us make up our own minds?

Sincerely,

Susan Campbell
Lyndonville

Editor:

Save Ontario Shores, Inc. (SOS), a citizens coalition formed to address issues voiced by the Towns of Somerset and Yates taxpayers, voters and residents regarding the proposed Apex Industrial Turbine Complex Project has been hard at work these many months in opposition to that project.

As our effort has evolved, SOS has experienced a tidal wave of support from Somerset, Yates, all of Western New York and Southern Ontario.

Of critical importance in this effort is the work and support of the Somerset Town Board. The Board listened to constituents for many months at Town Board Meetings. In addition, Town Board members were present at informational meetings.

As a result of the initial input received, the Board initiated a door-to-door informational gathering effort as well as a survey of town residents. The purpose of the survey was to gauge the overall support of an Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement project proposed for Somerset by APEX .

The resulting survey showed overwhelming town opposition to the Apex project and the Town Board acted, by unanimously opposing the project and gaining unanimous Niagara County Legislature opposition to the project.

The Somerset Board has proven to be true representatives of their constituents and as such, Save Ontario Shores, Inc. is endorsing Supervisor Dan Engert, Councilman Randy Wayner and Councilman Jeff Dewart in the upcoming general elections.

Their ongoing and committed record of representative governance is an example to all.

As the Yates Town Board continues to gather information, the Apex project continues to develop. SOS believes it critically important to ensure Yates and Orleans County stand with Somerset, Niagara County and most importantly the residents of the Town of Yates.

In order effect the change required to move past the Apex project and into meaningful development in the Town of Yates, SOS is endorsing Jim Simon for Yates Town Supervisor and for Yates Town Council – Glenn Maid and John Riggi.

Save Ontario Shores, Inc. is confident that all endorsed candidates will ensure effective opposition to the APEX Lighthouse Wind Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement Project and meaningful growth for both Somerset and Yates.

Save Ontario Shores, Inc.

Pam Atwater, Director
Roger Barth, Director
Kate Kremer, Director

Editor:

My wife and I attended the Elect Ed Houseknecht Rally for Shelby Highway superintendent on Oct. 9. As vice chairman of the Orleans County Conservative Party, I can say with complete confidence that we endorsed the best candidate to carry out this demanding job.

Being a highway superintendent is no easy job. You have the lives and safety of your citizens in your hands especially in the winter time when the public depends on you the most. Poor maintenance of the roads especially at night can cause senseless death and injury so it is very important that any candidate that seeks that job be completely qualified and understand that it is a 24-hour a day job.

Special attention has to be paid the weather forecasts when the snow and ice is coming. You can’t wait to be woken up out of bed to get your crew out after the accidents begin to happen. It is the highway superintendent’s job to have an idea of what’s coming and get his crew out ahead of it – no matter what time of day or night.

It is the highway superintendent’s job to make sure the roads are in good repair and that they do not hold excessive water, the shoulders are not low and crumbling, that the road corners are kept swept of fine stones, and that potholes are fixed.

The highway superintendent is responsible for using the CHIPS money wisely and actually laying down the new black top that the money is intended for instead of using it to compete with neighboring towns to see who has the biggest, shiniest and most expensive toys the taxpayers can buy for them.

Ed Houseknecht has all the qualifications that would make him a superior highway superintendent. He worked 25 Years in the village of Medina. His expertise saved the taxpayers’ millions and millions of dollars.

He also worked years at the county as highway superintendent, and was he only non-union superintendent to ever get Employee of the Year recognition. He saved the county taxpayers’ hundreds of thousands of dollars – if not millions. He put all the lights up at the county nursing home at no cost to the taxpayers other than labor.

The residents of Shelby should have no fear of change. This change will be for the betterment of your community, the betterment for the men who work at the highway department, and the betterment of the tax base because Ed will watch your tax dollars like a hawk.

He knows how to get the job done and he knows how to get it done using the least amount of taxpayer money .

The Orleans County Conservative Party Highly endorses Ed Houseknecht for your next highway superintendent of Shelby.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Vice Chairman, Orleans County Conservative Party

Editor:

One is an endorsed Conservative. The other is an endorsed Democrat. They are the only County Legislature alternatives being offered the voters of Orleans County on Nov. 3. If elected, they certainly would not constitute a majority of the seven-member Legislature.

The Conservative is Paul Lauricella. There are many things we disagree on, but I have great respect for him. His opponent actually called selling the County nursing home the “best decision the Legislature ever made.”

The Democrat is 21-year-old D’Youville College senior, James White, a 2012 graduate of Lyndonville Central School and a tribute to the public education system. He believes selling the County nursing home sold out some of the County’s more vulnerable residents, including its veterans.

Lauricella and White represent an opportunity to provide some accountability to the Orleans County Legislature. They are running against two of the four remaining legislators who voted for dumping yet another valuable County asset in 2013.

Remember how selling the County nursing home was going to be so helpful? After all, James White’s opponent assured us how the State Department of Health was going to hold any new owners to the same standards of care we were used to. He forgot that the DOH uses a pass/fail system where a 65 allows them to go on year after year.

And if the DOH failed, Chairman Callard was, he said in 2011, going to make sure a private operator would do right by County residents! A Ridgeway Councilman friend of Mr. Callard thought selling the County nursing home would be a great experiment, as if we could turn back the clock if we had to!

The Legislature Vice-Chairman said, “Now we can repair our roads and bridges (with all the money we were going to save).” What was the $8,000,000 bond for? And now our new nursing home operators want to lower the assessment on their under-assessed property by about 60 percent. That has to be “helpful” to them.

James White and Paul Lauricella may not seem to have much in common. What they do share is a love forand commitment torepresenting all the real people of Orleans County. If elected, they could force a vote on ending the sales tax on home heating fuel, among other things.

They could actually take positions on a Shelby stone quarry and a major wind turbine project (as Niagara County’s Legislature did) in Yates and do what County Legislators are supposed to dolead. They could force a vote on prohibiting sale of products containing the micro beads that may adversely affect our vital water and fishery assets (as Erie County’s Legislature has).

I urge you to seriously consider making a difference with your vote this year by voting for Paul Lauricella and James White for the Orleans County Legislature. Paul is running in Yates and Ridgeway (and a portion of Shelby) and James is running in all 10 towns.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

My name is Sean Pogue, and I am running for Barre Town Council on the Republican ticket on Nov. 3.

As a resident of the Town of Barre for many years, I have had a devoted interest in what goes on in our community. Many of you may remember me from our last election when I ran for Barre Town Justice. I knocked on a lot of doors and spoke with many of you personally. I truly enjoyed our conversations and gained a great understanding of what you would like to see our wonderful Town of Barre become!

I received three times the votes that I was told to plan on, which means a number of you know I will make a difference. I thank you for your endorsement, and confidence in me!

I have been attending town board meetings for some time now to gain knowledge of the issues in our town. As your representative on the Town Board, I will have an open mind to your comments and concerns. Maintaining the flavor of our small agricultural community within the confines of our tax base and budget constraints is of concern to us all.

As a retired administrator of the Rochester City School District I had to continuously work within the constraints of a budget that would change consistently as the school year progressed. Planning in advance to obtain the needed materials my staff and students needed was the only way to obtain a successful outcome. I have always tried to be proactive rather than reactive. Careful planning will result in a positive outcome for us all.

As your elected official I will answer your concerns. If I do not have the answer, I will find it out and respond within a timely manner. You vote me into office to work for you, and that is what I will do.

For those of you that voted for me before I hope I can count on your votes again. Those that did not, I hope I can persuade you to consider me a worthy representative on the Barre Town Board. I am an honest straight-forward person that will not promise you one thing and do something else. I will work tirelessly for you and for the better of the Town of Barre.

Remember on Nov. 3 to look on the Republican line and vote for me, Sean Pogue for Barre Town Council. Thank you!

Sean Pogue
Barre

Editor:

We have 49 bridges in this county that are in dangerous condition or are out of service. The County Legislature recently bonded $8 million for infrastructure. Out of this money they decided to put up two buildings for the highway equipment.

Well over a quarter of a million dollars. Not one county legislator stood up and said a thing. They rubber-stamped it. Talk about wrong priorities.

Forty-nine bridges and the highway equipment takes precedence over the safety of the citizens of this county and the travelers that pass through. How much bridge repair could that money have paid for? This highway convenience project could not have been deferred till the bridges were in order?

Chairman Callard had the gall to tell me they are doing a good job as he was limiting my First Amendment rights at the last meeting. Every meeting the rules change for conservative free speech. He’s been there 20 years and resided over this decline of our bridges. What have they done with the fuel tax money that they so desperately have to collect at 4 percent per gallon?

It is time for a change and time for real conservative principles to be applied at the Legislature. There are two Legislature seats being contested. I urge you to replace both sitting legislators as they are complete bobblehead, rubber stamps. Never take my word for it. Check out the county minutes and view their voting records and see for yourself.

What they say and how they vote are night and day. On Nov. 3, you have a chance to change that. We must use the tax dollars for the good of the people not for the ease and the good of government. On Nov. 3, vote right across the conservative line.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Yates

Mr. Lauricella is a candidate for County Legislature for a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a portion of Shelby.

Editor:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Thursday, Oct. 7, that 1366 Technologies, a manufacturer of technologies for the solar energy industry, will establish its first large commercial Direct Wafer production plant and significantly grow its workforce at the high-tech Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park in Alabama, Genesee County.

Construction of the manufacturing facility will require two phases during which the company will create at least 1,000 new jobs within 30 minutes commute from the Town of Yates.

Over the course of the multi-phase project, 1366 will invest approximately $700 million, including a $100 million initial investment, becoming the largest economic development project in the history of Genesee County.

STAMP project final growth vector indicates 10,000 local jobs to be created at the site from numerous hi-tech business anchors. Construction of the first phase of the project (1366 Technologies) is slated to begin no later than Q2 of 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2017.

The New York State incentive package includes up to $56.3 million and up to 8.5 megawatts of low-cost hydropower, As we have always known, there is significant hydropower capacity in Western New York and it is proven by the use of low-cost hydropower to drive this largest economic development project in Genesee County history.

It is important to note here that the abundance of low cost hydropower in Western New York (ie: Niagara Falls) negates the need for any and all power generated by the proposed Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement Project known as Lighthouse Wind. APEX’s Lighthouse Wind has been rendered irrelevant for this project BY WATER!!!

The approval of the STAMP project and it use of low-cost hydropower is of significant interest to the Town of Yates. 1366 Technologies will utilize this low-cost power to recruit and employ high tech, engineering personnel at a $100,000 average annual salary.

Interestingly, these same professionals will be looking for a great place to live, raise and educate their children.

They will be spending that $100,000 average wage on homes, schools, goods and services. The competition for those people and dollars will be fierce and Yates needs to be prepared to compete for those people and dollars.

Given what we have in the Town of Yates, professionals will gladly drive 30 minutes, in order to live in the beautiful, rural, lakeside, creekside community that is Yates.

Whether we want to accept this or not, we, the Town of Yates are at a crossroads and the choices are:

1. Prepare our town to be a highly desirable location where young professionals will buy homes, goods, services and educate their children in one of the most highly ranked school districts in the State AND PAY TAXES? OR

2. Render our town an industrial wasteland by supporting the APEX Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement project IN EXCHANGE FOR AN ANNUAL TOWN PILOT PAYMENT OF $40,000?

The choice seems clear. Option 1 is a place where all would want to live. Option 2 is a place all would avoid like the plague.

Options 1 and 2 are mutually exclusive. You can’t have both.

The Town of Yates needs a plan to take advantage of the economic development awarded to Genesee County and ensure that APEX’s Lighthouse Wind Industrial Wind Turbine Emplacement project never sees the light of day.

Thank you.

John B. Riggi
President, Save Ontario Shores, Inc.
Republican candidate Yates Town Board

Editor:

Thank you.

Yes, Thanks to all of the Republican voters in Orleans County that made the effort to get out and vote in the Republican Primary election on Sept. 10.

A special thanks to those of you who voted for Randy Bower, a Republican candidate for the position of sheriff of Orleans County. Because Randy Bower was the obvious best choice, and your desire to change the course of politics in Orleans County, it enabled him to win the Primary. Although close – 21votes – he was declared the winner (1,671 to 1,650 over Tom Drennan).

Another political upset in the county was that for Highway Superintendent, Town of Albion, with Michael Neidert winning the primary by a real wide margin over the incumbent ed Standish.

Congratulations to both Mr. Bower, and Mr. Neidert.

Now, all of us with a similar mind set, be it Republican, Democrat or Conservative, have our work cut out for us, in working hard to see that Randy Bower wins the general election on Nov. 3 and takes the position of sheriff of Orleans County. We must stay the course, pound the pavement, talk to the people, and just plain get out the vote.

Randy Bower, with the people behind him, like Chris Bourke (who would serve as undersheriff under Bower) will benefit the people of Orleans County as a whole, and not just the political elite.

My wife and I had the privilege of attending two “Randy Red Shirt Rallys” and the Primary day get together at Hickory Ridge Golf Course. The people that I met, and those that I observed, were individuals with high hopes for Randy Bower and Chris Bourke. There wasn’t a stuffed shirt amongst them, and the atmosphere was not the least bit arrogant.

All of you that have the “BOWER for SHERIFF” signs, get them out, if you want signs, call 659-8382, and I will try to get them for you. It is less than a month, we can do it, we have to do it.

Randy Bower has both the Republican Party line, and the Conservative Party line. Get out, and cast your vote on either of those two lines.

Thank you again,
Al Lofthouse
Kendall
(Mr. Lofthouse is chairman of the Orleans County Conservative Party)

Editor:

Orleans County Legislature Chairman Dave Callard’s explanation for his refusal to take a position on 590-foot-high wind turbines in the Town of Yates (the Presbyterian Church steeple in Albion is 175′ high, as I recall) misses some important points.

Chairman Callard explained his unwillingness to take a position on the proposed wind energy project by saying he didn’t want to be doing the same thing to Yates that the County under his leadership has repeatedly said that the State is doing to the County. But the two are hardly the same.

Merely indicating what one thinks (about wind turbines in Orleans County in this case) is not the same as ordering the Town of Yates to do something. (The County Legislature has repeatedly bemoaned State mandates/dictates as being largely responsible for high County tax rates.)

Mr. Callard further pointed out that no survey had been completed to assess the views of Yates residents on the proposed turbine project. To my recollection, the absence of public opinion surveys has rarely, if ever, been a problem for him prior to this controversy.

The more important point, though, is that County leaders merely indicating to the Town of Yates where they stand on the appropriateness of erecting 590′ high wind turbines in Orleans County (something the Niagara County Legislature has done for Somerset) is in no way comparable to the State telling Orleans County what it must do.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

I think Assemblyman Steve Hawley’s September 3 Orleans Hub article gets it partially right. (Click here to see “Hawley pushes for DOT action on deteriorating Parkway.”)

The state needs to perform more extensive work along the Lake Ontario State Parkway. Of the 25 miles of divided-lane highway, there are about 7 miles (almost all Westbound) that could benefit. But cutbacks in staffing and budgets have made work more challenging to perform.

But part of his letter goes “off the roadway” when he asks for a study on if the Parkway should have the north (Westbound lanes) closed and revert to two-way traffic along the Eastbound lanes for part of the year.

What could possibly be the reason to close down the only divided-lane highway in Orleans County? Assemblyman Hawley mentions opening up the lakefront land for home building. Really?

Travel along the lakefront drives and roads in Orleans County and there are multiple houses for sale. There are only 2.6 miles of Parkway that have no houses between or are within 500 feet of the lake.

Closing 12.5 miles of Westbound lanes for houses to be built along 2.6 miles of lakeside property sends exactly the wrong message – mainly that greater economic benefit is realized by home building rather than a divided highway to bring traffic into the county.

How about this idea for our elected officials? Ask/write/pester/twirl plates in the air to get DOT Commissioner Matthew Driscoll to come out to the Parkway and ride along the Westbound stretches of road between Morton and Kendall, and from Point Breeze to Lakeside Beach State Park – those are the sections most in need of extensive work.

Former DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald was supposed to tour the Parkway in the Summer of 2014 but did not come out on her scheduled day. The current DOT Commissioner needs to ride along the Parkway to see what road conditions are like first-hand.

With major economic development announced at the WNY STAMP project, growing agricultural businesses in Medina, and new businesses opening at Point Breeze, we need to invest in infrastructure that is here now and can carry vehicles, people and revenue into this area and points west. We already have Rts. 18, 104 and 31 as East-West roadways. Adding a fourth East-West two-lane roadway is not the answer.

We must be persistent about securing funding for more extensive work along the Parkway so that it can bring traffic into this area in a safe and timely manner. Or we can give up on the Parkway – and it’s ability to bring traffic into Orleans County – and instead watch the traffic stream out of this area. My expectation is that our state elected officials will re-double their efforts to bring more Parkway dollars into Orleans County.

Tom Klotzbach
Waterport

Editor:

It is a disgrace that New York State is phasing out the sheltered workshops that serve people with developmental disabilities.

These workshops provide valuable work for people. Because of the workshops, these individuals are productive wage earners and perform beneficial subcontract work for businesses in the area. Realistically, there are not enough suitable jobs in the community to support the number of people currently employed in the workshops.

Closing these workshops is a way for the state to save money, plain and simple. The state paints a picture that it’s better for them to be integrated into the community, but the bottom line is money.

Over the last 20 years, the state has changed funding for non-profit services so that the state doesn’t have to pay 100 percent of the cost of these programs. Back in the mid-1990s, the state “medicaided” many of the services provided to individuals with developmental disabilities. So instead of the state paying 100 percent of residential services, they paid about half and also pushed a portion of these costs to the counties (county share of Medicaid costs). For years the workshops were sacred cows, but the state must really be hurting for money now.

Here’s how the state can save a lot of money – privatize all the duplicate services that they are currently providing at a much higher cost than the private non-profits do. Then maybe the non-profits could pay a fair wage to direct care workers, equivalent to what the state pays. And the state could also rebuild deteriorating bridges (especially in Orleans County) with the savings.

New York State needs to get its finances in order, but not to the detriment of people with developmental disabilities.

Tina Feldman
Lyndonville

Editor:

This week, from Oct. 4-10, youth and volunteers in our county and around the nation will celebrate National 4-H Week.

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development program and it allows youth the opportunity to learn about things that interest them while becoming more confident and better prepared for secondary education and careers.

There’s plenty of great reasons to join 4-H. Findings from the Tufts University “4-H Study of Positive Youth Development” indicate that, when compared to their peers, young people in 4-H are: nearly four times more likely to contribute to their communities, two times more likely to pursue healthy behaviors, and two times more likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in the out-of-school time.

Another reason to join 4-H is being able to include 4-H accomplishments and experiences on scholarships and applications. But the best reason is 4-H is having fun participating in project-based learning and becoming more confident youth.

4-H in action is having fun while learning and it’s sometimes hard to describe to somebody who hasn’t participated. Some examples of positive youth development in action from this year are:

Having a robot you built slide down a grappling hook with a needle mounted in it that has to stab through a target;

Dancing to 80’s music with your dog and all your friends and their dogs and winning best in the state for your routine;

Being one of the youth who for the first time ever participated in 4-H at Kendall School and gave Public Presentations;

Traveling to Kentucky to participate in a plant identification contest;

Being one of 16 youth who receive an award trip for a week of camp, a teen retreat, Albany or career explorations in Cornell;

Completing your fifth star in the dog or horse knowledge program and receiving your award belt buckle or leash;

Attending Sr. Council and learning parliamentary procedure and having cookie parties all at the same time.

The list can go on and on of the incredible activities the 442 Orleans County 4-H youth have participated in over the last program year. Our new year is starting now and it’s the perfect time to join. You can learn more by calling our office at 585-798-4265 or emailing us at orleans4h@cornell.edu.

We’ll also have an open house at the fairgrounds on Oct. 7 to celebrate National 4-H Week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. We’ll have free car washes for volunteers, popcorn for everybody, door prizes and other fun. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. youth can participate in the National Science Experiment.

Robert Batt
Orleans County 4-H Youth Development Educator

Editor:

In addition to the many negative consequences that have been voiced regarding the siting of industrial wind turbines in Yates and Somerset, I am very concerned that these turbines will preclude Mercy Flight from being able to operate in our area.

Mercy Flight cannot land where there are wind turbines; The entire area will be inaccessible. Due to the size and placement of these turbines, many peoples’ lives will be at risk.

I have first-hand experience of the invaluable service that Mercy Flight provides; Nine years ago Mercy Flight helped to save my daughter’s life after a horrific boating accident on Chautauqua Lake.

Thankfully, Mercy Flight was able to land there and flew her to ECMC in Buffalo, where she immediately underwent the first of three surgeries. There is no doubt that their quick response and ability to quickly transport her to the hospital helped to save her life.

What will happen to serious accident victims in our area if this project proceeds and that life-saving option is unavailable? Our roads are well traveled with both residents and tourists and there is obviously a great deal of boat traffic.

The specter of future accident victims not having the life-saving option of Mercy Flight helping them when they need it truly makes me feel ill. I would hate to have anyone experience what we went through, but with Mercy Flight’s assistance, we still have our daughter.

Please consider this huge detriment, in addition to the other serious and negative consequences to our health, environment, wildlife and property values and oppose the siting of Lighthouse Wind in our area.

Donn Riggi
Lyndonville

Editor:

A very serious, important issue I would like to discuss is welfare fraud. It has been a real problem in this county.

You work hard, you play by the rules. Like most of us, you struggle to make ends meet, pay your bills, and your outrageous school and property taxes. Even with all that, you don’t mind helping out those who are less fortunate, down on their luck.

Most of the people needing assistance are grateful and do what they can to get off and on with their life in an upward mobility once they are back on their feet.

There are those out there though that will take advantage of your kindness and generosity – those who will defraud the system for personal gain. Collecting benefits while working off the books or making false income claims. The use of the EBT card then selling food items meant for children and family for cash in the parking lot of your local grocers for half the value or less. The list they will stoop to is long. The predators are always coming up with new ways to defraud the system.

The county has been going after these welfare cheats and making arrests. I believe more can be done. I will work with the next sheriff in any way to try to further go after those who would take advantage of the peoples’ generosity. The savings could result in the high 7 figures and should be returned to the taxpayers in a form of a tax cut – not go in the general budget. I will try to work to see to that.

We must always take care of those who truly can not care for themselves: the elderly, the disabled. We should also give help to those who are working but at times can’t afford basic needs.

The way the system is now if you make a few dollars to much you can not get any temporary help. This does not make sense. We should do anything we can to make welfare the less attractive option especially for those holding a job with the dignity to go to work every day.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Lyndonville
Conservative Party candidate for County Legislature District 2