Editor:

Like Spring, the issue of closing a portion of the Lake Ontario State Parkway comes up again. A few years ago it was to suggest that lakeside prime real estate is only awaiting a developer and the closure of the westbound lanes. As noted at that time, you can find available real estate along the lake shore.  What the county needed then and needs now is more jobs.

And the let’s be frank – regardless of how far the Parkway was supposed to go westward, with the exception of the Rt. 98/Point Breeze Interchange – we as a county have done little to take advantage of a roadway that can bring traffic east to our businesses and attractions.

Instead of closing the westbound lanes, the Parkway should be upgraded to accommodate light commercial traffic and agricultural equipment. As bridges such as Wilson Road, Lake Shore Road, Kendall Road, and Norway Road need major repairs, perhaps they should be removed and replaced with at-grade intersections. That would reduce future maintenance costs, which would allow the funds to be used elsewhere.

Last fall, the eastbound Kendall to Morton stretch was re-paved, which makes for a much smoother ride along that section. Snow breaks were planted at an interchange to help reduce labor costs and reduce blowing and drifting snow in the winter.

The Lake Ontario State Parkway can be used to bring traffic from the east and support agricultural operations in northern Orleans County, but Orleans County will need more businesses and attractions that people want to travel west to experience. The Parkway can bring that traffic forward to our county – but we as a county need to take advantage of that opportunity.

Tom Klotzbach
Waterport

Editor:

I just completed 25 years of service to the Village of Medina and have been a member of Medina Fire Department since July 29, 1987, two weeks after turning 18 and able to become a firefighter callmen for the fire department. I have witnessed a lot of ups and downs in that time. I have seen morale at its best and at its worst more than once.

Throughout the years at budget time the fire department has been on edge fearing cuts or even dissolving the entire department. I have been called a janitor with a badge by a previous fire chief, listened to people who didn’t know me talk about how Medina doesn’t need a paid fire department.

I have had discussions with friends and coworkers on how I would never see five years let alone ten years, and never 20 years as a career member of what I call the greatest job in the world.

Medina is unique. It is a village split between two towns. Whether it is school taxes, county taxes, town taxes or VILLAGE TAXES, taxes are inevitable. If you want decent streets to drive on you need a good Department of Public Works.

Medina’s DPW has gone from 17 workers when I started to nine today. Same amount of work, but fewer hands. Then there are the costs of equipment and materials which hasn’t decreased either. Neither township offered up funds to assist with keeping streets in decent condition, nor did they step up to help fund the pass-thru project back in the early 2000s.

We have a police department that has maintained 11 members with a fiscally conservative boss who manages each year to turn money back to the village, while we send one full-time officer to the county major felony crime task force. We also put an officer in the school. Both positions are partially refunded by the county and the school district.

Our officers go outside the village to assist when the Sheriff’s Department or the State Police. Again, no commitment is made from the towns to help offset the cost to the village.

Then I come to the fire department. We provide primary ambulance service with four equipped Advanced Life Support Ambulances. Prior to being primary the towns had LaSalle/Rural Metro staffing one ambulance. The Village of Medina provided free dispatch service until 1997 and also was the backup service until we took on the primary service in July 2007.

Not one dime is contributed to the service from the towns. I have heard that town supervisors and council members state that any contribution is offsetting the cost for the village fire department. Today there is not one fire department in the western battalion that does not need assistance with a major incident.

The days of volunteers being able to leave Fisher Price, Abex, Bernz O Matic, or Harrison’s are gone, just as those places of employment are. The next problem is keeping members active, with training guidelines and requirements on the increase one simply doesn’t have the time anymore.

We all work to help each other out. Each town contracts with the fire companies in the townships and still they do not have enough money to operate without fundraisers. Our ambulances are going every day, our fire equipment – especially our ladder truck – goes out on every major fire or report of a fire on the west battalion’s first alarm. We also respond with the central battalion departments for major fires or reports of fires west of Route 98.

I still have people joke with me or my co-workers that all we do is sit around and play cards, drinking coffee. Again the village taxpayers fund the cost of maintaining equipment and paying for the staffing, and I am not advocating that we need your assistance, but from the Village Board perspective at budget time, they find it hard to pass the bill along to the village taxpayers when others also utilize a piece of apparatus that costs nearly $1 million today to replace.

And as far as the ambulance service goes, when a study was conducted in 2005-2006 it was estimated that 17 members were needed to adequately staff for approximately 1,800 calls a year. Just this past year it has been reported that the fire department answered over 2,700 calls. We are on pace today to answer nearly 3,000 calls for 2014. Revenues are at $1 million and yet cost of service is still on the village taxpayer.

And not one volunteer department has the manpower of trained members to run an ambulance. Even the volunteer ambulance to the east, COVA, is now a paid ambulance service with full and part-time employees answering the calls that come in each day.

It brings me to this, what as a village home owner do you get for your town taxes paid yearly? The only thing I can think of is NOTHING!! The only time the town has an issue with the village is when the village is a part of rebuilding Bates Road from Maple Ridge Road to East Center Street/Million Dollar Highway.

And then no one questions that the village is paying a third of the cost and nearly half from each township with taxes collected from village home owner taxpayers in the village, or when the town needs to tap into our water line or sewer system. The only time we seem to matter to the two townships is when we ask for relief or assistance in some fashion, or they need us to cast votes to re-elect them to represent, without listening to village home owners.

The sad fact is there is far too much apathy today. No one engages in local government whether it is at the village, town or county level. And our politicians take this as ‘We are doing a good job’ in which I say BULL!!!! People need to start paying attention and become active in your government. It supposed to be Of the People, not just a few who manage to hold onto their positions because of party lines or a lack of interest.

Village Trustee Mark Kruzynski said it best recently at a village board meeting. This is tearing our community apart; this is fracturing friendships and pitting us against them.

Grown ups are supposed to be the example and from Washington DC all the way out to Orleans County one must wonder and ponder REALLY?! Because from where I sit it certainly seems like a certain few can’t play well in the sand box and though some of the players’ faces have changed, it still remains the same.

Both sides of the issue have to step up and resolve the indifference for the sake of the taxpayers. Stop the blame game, tit for tat and other childish rhetoric. Get all sides together at an open community forum – have more than one if needed.

Put together a dissolution committee with town involvement or put the consolidation committee back in play, because a village/town divided is of use to no one!! And being that I am an employee, I very well may come under fire for speaking my opinion, and I can live with that. What I find disheartening is the continued morale plunge I see when I am at work and the thought of what might or might not be in the very near future.

Sincerely

Michael G. Maak
Medina firefighter

Press release, Medina Mayor Andrew Meier

Editor’s note: Medina Mayor Andrew Meier sent this response to a press release issued by the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby about a dissolution plan. Click here to see that press release, “Ridgeway and Shelby say village dissolution process has been flawed.”

The taxpayers of Medina, Ridgeway and Shelby deserve honest solutions that have been thoughtfully considered, discussed, researched and arrived at with transparency.

The Dissolution Committee has done that by proposing solutions that eliminate costly layers of government, improve quality of life for residents, and create the conditions for economic opportunity in a competitive environment.

The Committee is comprised of a diverse group of independent, honorable, and unbiased citizens who have invested great effort in this plan, and I thank them for their continuing contributions.

Our community’s motto is “Roots in the past, eyes on the future.”  We all find inspiration in the work of those who built our village with bold determination. But we can’t live in the past, doing the same old things we’ve done for years. Challenging and changing times demand that we think and act anew.

I remain confident that our local elected officials are capable of fair-minded and unfiltered dialogue about our future, and I welcome idea-sharing with residents at all times.

Press release, Towns of Ridgeway and Shelby

Editor’s note: This is the full press release put out by the towns and their PR consultant, Mindful Media Group, in response to the dissolution plan for the village of Medina.

MEDINA – More than eight weeks have passed since the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby joined together in a combined effort to provide their residents with clarity on the topic of the proposed dissolution of the Village of Medina.

Accurate data and detailed information on the potential tax impact to residents and efficient delivery of municipal services has not been forthcoming from Medina Mayor Andrew Meier’s office. Town officials believe the dissolution process is flawed. It is their position, and that of the respective board members, that the mayor of Medina should first address his own lack of fiscal management in relation to the Village of Medina, before attempting to dissolve it.

The mayor has publicly criticized the towns for not cooperating. Neither town has been invited to participate in the Dissolution Committee.  They were not invited to the most recent press conferences announced by the mayor, nor were they provided any documentation on the proceedings by the mayor’s office.

A Ridgeway board member volunteered to serve on the Dissolution Committee and was rejected by the mayor, who solely handpicked each member of the committee.  It is a travesty that Ridgeway and Shelby town board members were not included in a dissolution plan or public announcements that might greatly impact both towns.

While it is accurate that officials from the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby were in shared services talks with the Village of Medina (2012-2013), it is untrue that the towns refused to collaborate with the mayor. Talks broke down by September 2013, after June’s Shared Services meeting, when it became apparent that Mayor Meier was only interested in having the towns share in the tax burden, rather than mapping out an efficient shared services merger.

Town board members and residents of Shelby and Ridgeway have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of information available to the public and the manner in which the mayor chooses to conduct meetings. Dissolution Committee meetings are held at 8 a.m. in City Hall (600 Main Street) in the upper level of the old court room, which is not handicapped accessible. There are no questions allowed. Both town supervisors are of the opinion the mayor’s choice of time, location and format was strategic, so as to limit the number of residents able to observe the proceedings and gather information.

Both towns have been proactive on the matter. In December ’13 and March ’14, letters were sent to area residents about the proposed dissolution plan. In March, a 24-hour Cares & Concerns line (716-507-8533), website (www.2Towns4ThePeople.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/DissolutionFacts) were launched. The goal of both towns is to present additional data and factual information obtained, bringing to the forefront the true nature of the issues that will impact the community.

The Towns of Ridgeway and Shelby have done what they set out to do eight weeks ago; effect a change in the way the mayor manages the information and communicates on the topic of dissolution. Ridgeway and Shelby’s commitment to their residents will not stop there.

Only after both towns launched public campaigns to better inform residents did the mayor call a press conference (April 10). While the mayor’s newly-established OneMedina.com website is devoid of content, Ridgeway and Shelby’s website www.2Towns4ThePeople.com has been operational for months and full of data, links and comprehensive information on the proposed dissolution plan.

The towns were also successful in obtaining and posting the Dissolution Committee’s Approved Minutes from 2013, which were not made available to the public prior to their efforts.

The 24-hour Cares & Concerns line, Facebook page and website have been utilized by over 1,909 residents to date. Both towns wish to encourage everyone to learn more about the issues.

Both supervisors and all town board members of Ridgeway and Shelby will remain steadfast in their efforts to communicate the facts about dissolution to the community and serve residents in a manner worthy of their trust and confidence.

Visit the website (www.2Towns4ThePeople.com) and Facebook page for daily contributions from the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby on the topic of dissolution.

Editor:

For the past 28 years I have been involved in emergency services both as a firefighter and past assistant chief with the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company and also as a firefighter and as current chief with the Medina Fire Department.

In those years I have responded to thousands of calls including all types of emergencies. At the end of each call we return back to the station, clean our gear, clean and fix our tools, put the equipment back on the engines and restock the ambulances, all to get ready for the next run. Many times after sitting down to reflect on our last call I find myself wondering if all we did really made a difference.

This past Saturday I was on the receiving end of what I have done thousands of times in the past, when my soon-to-be daughter in law and her two sisters were involved in an accident.

I did not respond that morning so I didn’t see the vehicle firsthand as they were being extricated. Her father called me from the scene while they were still cutting the car open to remove the three girls. He was describing the scene to me and answering my many questions. I knew the girls were in the best possible hands as the emergency services in Orleans County are the best around.

A heartfelt thank you to the professionals from the Ridgeway and Medina Fire Departments and the Mercy Flight crew who responded that morning. You all did a remarkable job.

To all the emergency service workers in Orleans County who so tirelessly respond day and night please know thisYes, you do make a difference.

So the next time you’re driving down the road and you see a vehicle with blue lights on, a fire engine or ambulance with its emergency lights flashing and you think to yourself, do I really have to yield the right of way? Keep this in mind, this time it just may be someone in your family they are responding to help!

Respectively,

Chief Todd Zinkievich
Medina Fire Department

Editor:

Two important anniversaries are being celebrated this year.  It was 40 years ago that National Volunteer Week was established and it was that same year, 1974, that the first hospice in America opened its doors in Connecticut.

Even before that first hospice began to serve the community, volunteers were an integral part of the way that hospice brought care, compassion and dignity to the patients and families they selflessly served.

April 6 – 12 is National Volunteer Week and during this important time of recognition it’s fitting that we honor all of our nation’s hospice volunteers for the heroic work they do to ensure people at life’s end find comfort, love and respect.

Right here in our community, more than 150 trained volunteers are working with Hospice of Orleans, Inc., to give of themselves to support people during one of life’s most challenging experiences – the journey at life’s end. These dedicated volunteers are helping patients and families live as fully as possible and our community is better because of their service.

They spend time at the bedside, help out family caregivers, participate with outreach efforts, assist in the office, provide fundraising support, and much more. They are angels among us.

I encourage others to learn more about hospice by contacting Hospice of Orleans at 585-589-0809.

Sincerely,

Christine Fancher
Volunteer Coordinator

Editor:

I’m writing in response to the Hub article regarding the proposed stone quarry in the Town of Shelby. (Click here to see “Shelby hearing will focus on quarry’s environmental impacts.”)

Several of the statements made by Mr. David Mahar, President of Frontier LLC, are misleading at best.  Some of them are completely false.  I believe it is important for the residents of the town, and anyone who values our community and wildlife refuge, to have the facts regarding this proposed project.  My comments are in italics.

In the Hub article, Mr. Mahar stated that “We are pleased with the DEIS as its analysis reinforces our long-standing position that responsible mining can provide mineral reserves without harming the environment.”

Mr. Mahar should be very pleased with the DEIS. The document states that the quarry will not have a negative impact on the community or the refuge. However, in the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Frontier Stone hand-picked the consulting firm that produced the DEIS, Continental Placer.  Frontier Stone paid Continental Placer.  And the lead geologist for Continental Placer, John Helert, is Mr. Mahar’s first cousin.  

The article continues, “Mahar said the quarry will add 15 jobs and also will benefit the local economy through the purchase of goods and services from local vendors and service providers, such as local truckers, electricians, and equipment and materials suppliers. He also expects the mine will supply lime to local farmers.

Frontier Stone’s 2006 mining permit application to the NYSDEC stated that the total number of jobs created  by the quarry was 4-5.  Now there are 15 jobs. I think we should hear what those other 11 jobs will be. 

According to Mahar, “The refuge is a true natural treasure in our community and we were pleased with the DEIS’s analysis which fully evaluates and addresses potential impacts on the refuge from the proposed quarry’s operation.”

In 2006 Mr.Mahar referred to the residents opposed to the quarry as “NIMBY’s” (Not In My BackYard.) He stated this during his presentation at the Shelby Town Hall.  Jump ahead to 2014 and he is now a member of our community and the refuge is a treasure to him?  Really? 

Mahar continues, “We expect our quarry operation to generate significant economic benefits to the community in terms of, among other benefits, additional employment, the purchase of services and goods in the area for many years.”

The proposed quarry will have very little effect on our local economy. Total taxes to be collected by the town for this project are expected to be roughly $12,000 – $14,000 annually. Three nice homes would produce more in taxes, and have less potential environmental impact.  We have many other quarries in the area, employing people and producing stone. Frontier’s quarry will be taking business and jobs from those established quarries. Those quarries also produce a surplus of Ag Lime for local farmers. We don’t need Mr. Mahar’s Ag Lime more than we need to keep this quarry away from our refuge. 

Finally I’d like to address some of the “facts” in Frontier Stone’s Fact Sheet:

The proposed quarry is located in the Town of Shelby in Orleans County about 3.7 miles south of the Village of Medina. The property principally fronts along Fletcher Chapel Road with a small portion along Sour Springs Road. The proposed site historically was and currently is used for farming. South of the site is a National Grid power line and south of the power line is the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

Anyone who has been to the refuge knows that the only thing that separates the proposed quarry site from the refuge is the power lines. They will provide no protection to the refuge from this project.

The excavation area is approximately 172.2 acres. Mining will be divided into four phases over the operational life of the mine estimated to be 75 years. The proposed mine will lower the present topographic surface by 100-150 feet. The site will be reclaimed by grading, replacing topsoil and revegetating upland areas with an approved seed mix. The reclamation objective and plan is to create open space and will include the creation of two lakes for recreation and wildlife habitat preservation.

That’s correct.  In 75 years, we will end up with two, 150 foot deep, straight drop off, rectangular lakes, so dangerous, that the local police regularly patrol the ones at the Mountain Road quarry in Gasport to keep the public from getting hurt or worse.  Those “lakes” are owned by Lafarge Stone.  Those “lakes” were previously owned by Frontier Stone.

It is anticipated that the quarry operation will create approximately 15 jobs directly and also increase demand for goods and services including from local vendors and service providers such as local truckers, electricians and materials suppliers.

Frontier’s own original application to the DEC in 2006 stated that the quarry would generate 4-5 jobs total. That document is no longer in the DEIS. The application included in the most recent version of the DEIS is undated, unsigned and altered from its original form.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has accepted the draft environmental impact statement and will take public comments about the plan during a 6 p.m. hearing April 30 at the Town Hall on Salt Works Road.

All Town of Shelby residents need to attend this meeting and make it very clear to the Town Board that you oppose any re-zoning of this land for this quarry.  And let the DEC know that you are paying their salaries to review the DEIS for accuracy and validity, not merely to rubber stamp the approval of this mining permit.

Wendi Pencille
Town of Shelby resident

Editor:

I just read your editorial about the two towns’ response to the possible dissolution of the Village of Medina. I am surprised that you would state that, “the towns should put out their plan for what would happen with a village dissolution.”

That is exactly what they did in their letter. There they said, for better or for worse, that they will not cooperate with the village and its plans. I am uncertain as to why you think that it is the responsibility of the towns to present  the village’s point of view. Isn’t that the village’s job?

You are certainly right in saying that, “The towns for years have paid little attention to the village, despite village residents accounting for about half the population in the two towns.” Their plan certainly continues that tradition.

But the important information that the residents of the village need to have to decide on this issue is what savings will there be or what services will we lose if the village goes away. The towns can’t tell us that, only the village can and up to this point, rightly or wrongly, the village has not.

John Grimes
Medina

Editor:

I am writing in reference to the method of dismissal of Susan Rudnicky by the board of the Hoag Library.  I have been involved at the executive board level of several organizations and while there are many ways to cease employment of an employee, I would suggest that public humiliation is the worst for both the severed employee and also for the entity itself.

I have no frame of reference as to the issues which precipitated the decision to terminate this employee, nor do I know Ms. Rudnicky, but certainly there were several better ways to end a career.

I would also suggest that the irreparable damage down to Ms. Rudnicky is equal to that done to the reputation of the decision makers.  This is a black mark on this small town and it reverberates and cannot be erased or diminished.

Karen Watt
Albion

Editor:

I read that the Village Board of Medina was upset because the two towns of Shelby and Ridgeway sent out a letter explaining how they would deal with the dissolution of the Village of Medina.

I am a bit confused, isn’t information like this important to help residents of the village make the decision whether or not they want to get rid of the village? I certainly am glad to know what our costs or loss of services will be if we do choose dissolution.

Sincerely,

John S. Grimes
Medina

Friends and Neighbors of Medina:

We are seeking re-election to Medina Village Board on the Village Party line, and would be honored to have your support on March 18.

We are proud of our accomplishments in our brief time on the board. Downtown continues its boom. Businesses have breathed new life into abandoned buildings left for dead. Outsiders look to Medina for fresh ideas on how to make their communities stronger.

These successes are beginning to fulfill our vision for Medina to become a forward-looking community that capitalizes on its unique assets to create new opportunities for residents and businesses alike.

If re-elected, our next steps towards this goal include:

1. Fueling Downtown’s Continued Rebirth. We will continue to promote our burgeoning downtown through support of the Chamber and MBA, and changing the zoning to accommodate emerging winery, brewery and distillery businesses.

2. Continuing to Address Neighborhood Blight. In the last year, we demolished two problem structures on Genesee Street to clear the way for new investment, and collaborated with the county on the successful ongoing redevelopment of Jubilee (now Evans Ace Hardware) and the former Territory Wholesale warehouse, both on East Center Street. In the coming year our sights will be set on the former Starlight Drycleaner and Bernie’s Laundromat downtown, and the many mansions throughout the village that lie dormant in foreclosure limbo.

3. Growing Non-Tax Revenues. Some village infrastructure has significant excess capacity, such as the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and we need to attract more paying customers from throughout our region. More revenues from outside Medina will reduce village taxpayer’s maintenance burden. We must also develop strategies to grow ambulance revenues.

4. Upgrading Efficiency of Existing Infrastructure. Strategic investments that promote efficiency will trim operational costs in the long run. A comprehensive leak detection program throughout our water system is one of our priorities in the coming year.

We must also remove barriers to new private investment. Our high combined village/town/school/county tax rate drives business and residents out of the village. While we continue to do our very best to keep taxes in check despite declining village tax base, Medina needs a significant tax reduction to thrive in the long run.

To this end, we will seriously consider the Dissolution Plan once it is released, and we trust our committee of Don Colquhoun, Charlie Slack, Mark Irwin, Cindy Robinson, and Thurston Dale to diligently investigate every option. Until their important work is done, we must reserve judgment.

Nonetheless, in order for us to support the eventual plan, it must:

1. PRESERVE SERVICES

2. PROVIDE PROTECTIONS FOR VILLAGE WORKERS and

3. SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE TAXES IN THE VILLAGE.

If these elements are present, then the village voters should have the final say at a referendum on the plan. We have enormous confidence in our residents to balance the interests and determine our destiny.

We love this village. To us, Medina is so much more than a boundary line. Rather, it is defined by her people, shared history, institutions, and sense of place. These will remain with us forever, regardless of the outcome of any election. Our goal is make these stronger, so they may endure for generations to come.

We need your help and confidence to keep our momentum rolling, and would appreciate your support on March 18.

Andrew Meier
Mayor

Pat Crowley
Trustee

David Barhite
Trustee

Editor:

Elections in the Village of Albion are March 18, with polls open noon to 9 p.m. As you know, voter turnout is often very low, along with enthusiasm, which we think reflects discouragement about the possibility for change.

It’s true these are difficult times, but that is no reason to give up on the future. There is much to do and business as usual will not get it done. We are in a fight for the life of the community, but cannot afford to continue to raise taxes as the primary response to the needs of our aging village.

We must demand a fairer share of County tax dollars and State aid to help stabilize our tax rate, work steadily to implement the 2013 Comprehensive Plan recommendations, and reach out aggressively to residents, adults and youth, in every way possible to join government in its efforts. Apathy and complacency will not provide the energy and drive needed for us to move forward.

Whether you are discouraged, cynical, bored or just very busy making a living, please show up at Village Hall to vote, and consider voting for us, Row A on the ballot. We are committed, motivated and ready to push for the action needed to help secure a more prosperous future. And, if you want to ask us directly what we’re about, come to our Meet and Greet, Thursday, March 13, at Hoag Library, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Thank you,

Terry Wilbert, Pat Cammarata and Sandy Walter
Trustee Candidates, Village of Albion

To the residents of the Village of Medina:

Our names are Marguerite Sherman and Mike Sidari. We are adding our names as write-in candidates for Trustees on the Medina Village Board for the upcoming village election on March 18.

As concerned taxpayers of Medina, we have been involved in village government for several years. In addition to serving on the Zoning and Planning Boards, we have followed the former Government Reorganization Feasibility study with the Village and the Towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.

More currently, we are following the potential village dissolution process, only to discover that reliable, accurate information has not been forthcoming from the administration. Even though this information is open to the public, we have found it difficult to obtain. Just to obtain a petition to be part of the election was a very difficult process. Not only did we have to leave the village, we had to leave the county to obtain a petition from the village attorney, who has an office in a neighboring county.

The current Dissolution Committee members are working diligently to formulate recommendations for the Village Board, who will in turn, share them with the residents. It is our intent to insure that the Village Board presents all options within the dissolution plan, along with long-term projections of costs or savings to the taxpayers.

Dissolution meetings should not be held at 8 a.m. on weekdays in a building that is not handicapped accessible. We should not have to e-mail CGR to inquire why meeting minutes were not being posted. We urge residents to come forth and ask questions. Be a part of the process. This is what we are trying to do.

If elected, we will work to bring more transparency to the Village Board, as it is our feeling that information is not being presented properly to the public. We will come to the Board with open minds so as to make informed, conscientious decisions for the village.

We need your vote on Tuesday, March 18. We are running a strong write-in campaign. Please help us to protect the integrity of the Village of Medina.

Sincerely,

Mike Sidari and Marguerite Sherman
Medina

Editor:

On Saturday, March 1, as I walked out the door of my son’s metal barn, I noticed a male bluebird leaving the underside of the overhang on the east side.  The only reason I can think of for his being there was to raid a wasp’s nest tucked into the corner. If that is the case, it is an example of how bluebirds survive a winter such as the one we have gone through this year.

Over-wintering bluebirds are actively looking for nest sites as we have entered the month of March, though my suspicion is that their search is merely being intensified at this time.

Those hoping to attract our State Bird, might consider installing bluebird boxes. These should be located in open space, away from hedgerows but with scattered perches available. Fences and wires are great. Avoid heavily populated areas and active livestock barns. Put them on their own posts.

Once a female bluebird builds a nest, consider greasing the pole to discourage predation. Boxes should have inch and a half entrance holes, much smaller drainage holes, and provision for ventilation. Locate the entrance about seven inches above the floor. Score the inside of the door (below the entrance) to permit very desirable tree swallows to fledge should they use the boxes. Do not include a perch, but allow for a three-inch roof overhang. Face the box toward the east, southeast, or northeast.

If you are not serious about attracting bluebirds, do not put up a nestbox. If you are serious, keep track of what is going on in your nestbox and evict English (house) “sparrows.” They are the only so-called “sparrows” to nest in cavities. They often destroy adult and nestling bluebirds. The three dozen or so varieties of “self-respecting” native sparrows do not use boxes.

Attend the Orleans Bluebird Society meeting this April. Its date and time will appear in the Lake Country Pennysaver.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

My name is Kenny Capurso and I am a hunter. I have legally gone through the process and have received my hunting license. I understand the arguments about the Holley “Squirrel Slam.”

I myself love to hunt and don’t look the other way when it comes to getting meat. I do it responsibly and respectfully. On one hand I am on the side of the people participating in the Squirrel Slam because I believe they have the right to hunt whenever or whatever they want, if they do it legally.

But on the other hand I feel that it’s wrong to go out and hunt for a fundraiser. I would support the Holley Fire Department having a bake sale or can drive instead of the Squirrel Slam.

Kenny Capurso
Albion