Editor:

Al Capurso is right about any expansion or substantive change in the Cobblestone Historic District. If Dollar General were going to commit to designing and building an architecturally significant building I might change my mind.

The fact is though that there are historic buildings having international architectural significance there. Tampering with the setting should only be undertaken under the supervision of architectural firms with nationwide experience in such matters.

I did not really want to be involved in the Dollar General matter other than to say Gaines does not have the expertise to deal with the architectural  issues. Then I saw someone write that Gaines could hold private meetings to change its ZBA “by laws.” If a majority of the board was there, the law was definitely broken.

Gaines will need to start over again or risk the results of a lawsuit if followed any of these new by laws. You never know for sure from the papers but it lookd like someone needs to get a grip on this nonsense. This is sophisticated stuff that can make every one look like fools at the end of the day.

Conrad F Cropsey

Albion

Editor:

The campaign for better governance raised issues in Town of Murray policy. I would have expected a more focused response from our officials instead of defensive bullying and diversionary character attacks. One must question the motivations of our two senior elected officials who led the charge.

Our town supervisor submitted a letter to the editor in this forum which knowingly contained material misrepresentations of fact. The letter was subsequently removed and justifiably so. His response to the removal was to arrogantly mock the credibility of the Orleans Hub and the Friends of Holley and Murray forum.

Murray documents clearly prove our water department is losing a lot of money. Its fund balances are in decline and Mr. Morgan hasn’t produced one ounce of evidence to the contrary. Ironically, the day after the election he requested a November 27^th work meeting to discuss raising water rates and the sustainability of his department. If all is well, why the meeting after the election?

Mr. Morgan, I would encourage you to check your records and facts. While our home is not in your water district, my wife pays on at least 7 parcels on our road which contributes significantly to your operations and maintenance. We have access to Holley public water at our residence and don’t need the additional burden of another 38-year payment for the same water from you. Your rhetoric is simply to sidestep documented fact that your Murray Water Department is a mismanaged financial train wreck.

The only political issue respectfully addressed was the Holley School Board of Education’s response to the campaign signs. The school board acknowledged it overstepped. That shows maturity and good faith. The issue is not the signs. The real issue is voting at the school. I am proud of the courage displayed by the 9 candidates who stood their ground against government infringement of their rights. Their courage contributed to a better understanding of government and the entire community will benefit from the experience. I look forward to the discussion in the coming months and hats off to the School Board for rolling up your sleeves and working on it.

Hopefully we can work on restoring confidence in our town government. Untruths, bullying and repeated denial of documented fact by top officials only creates hate, division and political instability. Our children are watching. What are we teaching them??

So, the struggle for better town government will continue. I never said it would be easy. We’ve come a long way from the days of bombing houses and burning barns but clearly still have a long way to go.

To the more than 600 people who agree with me and would like to improve our community, thank you.

Next year is another election year. Three seats are up on the board. The process begins in Spring.

Joseph Sidonio

Murray

Editor:

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me in my recent quest to be elected to the position of councilman for the Town of Gaines.

This was my first time running for public office and it has been a great experience. I have learned a lot and made many new friends. I truly appreciate everyone’s support from allowing me to place signs on their property, to offering me words of encouragement and advice, and most importantly their vote.

I would also like to personally thank Joyce Riley for her professionalism and for running a clean campaign that didn’t revolve around personal attacks toward the opponent, which is sadly all too common, but rather the issues of our town. Now it’s time to get to work doing what is right for the people of the Town of Gaines.

Humbled to be their councilman.

Corey Black

Gaines

Editor:

There seems to be a lot of whining in the Town of Gaines about the Zoning Board of Appeals coupled with some misinformation and exaggeration.

1. Regarding the Dollar General, the “Proper Procedure” for any permit application is to first contact the code enforcement officer who then gathers information, applications and direction on the application process. Why no complaints there?

2. The ZBA is a judicial Board. The last meeting was ZBA business, not an open public forum. Its purpose was to conduct ZBA business including new by-laws to replace the old ones that came up missing from the Town Hall (despite constant requests to look at security footage and an investigation).

3. As for the noise and not able to hear… there were plenty of seats up front and an offer was made to those seats which was ignored.

4. There are signage laws in the Town of Gaines which should be followed. It appears that a certain group of residents prefer to pick and choose which laws they want to follow and which ones they would like to ignore. In case you did not know, flags are much different than signs. Please ask your neighbor where I can get a Trump flag.

Sincerely,

Sue Smith

Gaines

Editor:

The Gaines Zoning Board Of Appeals (ZBA) is at it again. They object to the Cobblestone Historic District signs (“Save Cobblestone Historic District, No Dollar General”), because now only 40-day “temporary signs” are allowed without a permit; yet the codes officer says it’s permissible for my neighbor to display an outdoor Trump flag permanently. Amazing.

At the recent ZBA meeting the Board refused to answer why, all of a sudden, they object to recently placed signs now, when they were permissible in the past. They have been up less than 40 days, and ZBA Chairperson Mike Grabowski, who condemns the Cobblestone signs, directed the town attorney to look into it. Could it be the ZBA is trying to protect their pet project – the ramming of a Dollar General store down our throats in violation of the Historic District?

I was told I was being disruptive for asking the question and insisting on an answer. Board member David Thom said these meetings are “business meetings,” where public input and questions are not permitted. So answering citizens’ questions is not the business of our ZBA. I have been allowed to give input and ask for clarification at past ZBA meetings. So what gives?

Obviously, there is something different happening here with the Dollar General project. Well, the Gaines Town Planning Board was abolished years ago, and the ZBA Chairperson and the Gaines Town Supervisor have an adversarial relationship at best. I’m beginning to see why. Gaines doesn’t need a rogue, closed and secretive ZBA. By the time the ZBA gets around to scheduling a public hearing on a project, they’ve already made up their minds without public input, and the applicants have already spent resources. A done deal. Sounds like a lousy system to me.

When a Gaines resident asked Chairperson Mike Grabowski to speak up over the loud noise of the Albion High School cafeteria freezer compressor, he tersely told her “there are chairs up front.” He resumed speaking in low volume monotones, so only the 4-member board, and not the 20-some people in attendance, could hear him. It was obvious. Three months ago it was suggested the ZBA utilize a PA system. That never materialized.

After the meeting was adjourned, I learned that the next ZBA meeting won’t be held at the high school where it’s hard to hear and the rest rooms are locked. Mr. Grabowski failed to announce this.

Al Capurso

Gaines

Editor:

I recently wrote about problems with the Republican Party and many of its current candidates. As expected, someone wrote and disagreed. I have learned that this will run after the election so there are a couple of comments at the end.

The unfortunate thing was that so many of the facts and conclusions seemed to come from Rupert Murdock-owned tabloids. He has 163 with Fox TV and the New York Post heading up the US arms of his empire. It also appeared that there were may have been things from equally illegitimate sources like the National Inquirer, Washington Times, and Judicial Watch;

I did recognize any of the daily lies from the Russian-based sites that one of our former elected officials publishes daily on Facebook but we have to be careful about that too.

False, misstated, contradictory material, and conclusions and programs put forward with false promises are endemic in the Trump era. But Trump did not start it. Congressman Gingrich started the trend to put partisan politics before truth even after elections were over in about 1993. His approach of putting the country second has grown to the point of ruination. Worse, with internet tabloids pervading what we see and read, intellectual slough has become a norm.

Any person who does not fact check and votes based on fear and fact free nostrums is guilty of being unpatriotic!

Here we are in the midst of the “information age” but what we are seeing is the dumbing down of America. Worse, the Russians are helping! With no common base of facts to discuss, the glue that holds us together is disintegrating. When each person lives in their own fantasy there can be no democracy or intelligent debate to sustain it. That’s why I beg all to fact check and, in this election, vote for democratic candidates.

Comments:

The first comment is that we are have no good plan for health care. You should look

this up but the Obama plan was first developed by the Heritage Foundation in the 1980’s as a was to solve our health care problems with subsidized private insurance. It was presented to Congress in the early ’90s by Senator Chaffee of Connecticut and praised far and wide by the Republican’s including Speaker of the House Gingrich. (And when the Republicans liked it they did not claim there were going to the death squads which, of course, never happened either.) The provisions which permitted subsidization are now under attack by the Republican Party so a primarily private solution is now highly unlikely.

The second is if you look at those states where Donald Trump successfully took his statistically false racist message about immigrant hordes at our door step worked best in the old Dixie states. It is not true they just wanted to keep slavery. They invaded the north to seize the country and caused the death of hundreds of thousands of our ancestors. Trump’s time in office is time limited but the flame of racism is harder than we thought to quench.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion

Editor:

I urge Town of Barre residents to go to Know Your Facts USA, on Facebook, and watch the Town Board Meeting of Oct. 10, 2018. It’s a long meeting, but worth watching, especially the last few minutes!

You think there is bias at the federal level? There certainly is at the local level with both the Town Board and Planning Board. George, as was said a couple of years ago, “the fix was in.”

Susan Carr

Barre

Editor:

Do you know Dollar General wants to build a department store across from a National Historic Landmark (1849 Cobblestone Schoolhouse) on Ridge Road in Gaines? That would be a devastating blow to the integrity of the Historic District, and to tourism which brings revenue to our community.

People from all over the world come to visit National Historic Landmarks, including our Cobblestone Museum as it is unique to our country’s rich heritage. There are a little over 2,500 National Landmarks in the United States, and we are lucky to have one to celebrate and to add to the richness of our community.

If you believe in preserving history and the foundation of America, please join us in helping to fight the unnecessary destruction of our history.

On Thursday, November 8, at 7 p.m., the Gaines Town Board will consider a Cobblestone Museum request for a moratorium on commercial development and subdivision within the Historic District. The town has already committed to a process of studying and revamping its zoning. Therefore it makes sense to delay any development until the study and revamping are complete.

Your voice matters! After all, you don’t see franchise stores outside of the National Monument or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? They both share with the Cobblestone School in being a National Historic Landmark, and our fellow Americans have made sure they are preserved for generations to come.

Thank you,

Al Capurso

Gaines

Editor:

Are you an organ donor? Have you talked to your loved ones so that they know your wishes? Well you could be, and you definitely you should be.

Everyday people are dying while they are waiting on a list to receive a life-saving organ. It doesn’t have to be that way. The wait doesn’t need to be so long. We all have the ability to change this. We have the ability to save lives, up to 8 lives can be saved by one single person signing an Organ Donor card.

Why wouldn’t you want to do this? After you pass away your gift of life can save a life. You can help another person live.

Your legacy could be that you lived your life well and when it was over you became a super hero, a life saver, an organ donor.

While New York State has made great strides in the past few years to sign up donors we still have a long way to go. New York State is still one of last on the list for the number of residents signed up to be organ donors. There are a few new laws in place that are starting to help with this situation.

One of the new laws on the books is that you now must check the Organ Donor box on the forms at the Department of Motor vehicle. This has helped raise awareness and the number of registered organ donors immensely. In the past when we went to DMV we would go to the information desk to ask what forms we needed, they then highlighted the form for us and we never read what was on the rest of that form, including that little box that says do you want to be an organ donor.

Now due to this law change that question must be answered, yes or no, it’s a decision we all now have to make. I hope you give this decision great thought as someone’s life could depend on it.

Another law change that has helped raise the numbers of signed up organ donors is 16-year-olds now have the ability to sign up on the organ donor list. Their parents still have the right to make that final decision for their child until they become of age, but if the minor child should pass away parents now at least know what their child’s wishes were even if they never really had that discussion. That change was a very important one.

With the use of computers many of us are no longer going to the DMV in person. Much of our business is now done through the mail or online. Even when you purchase a new car these days the dealer takes care of everything for you. Back in the day you used to have to go to DMV to register your new vehicle.

We used to have to get a new license every few years. So up to DMV we would go, but not so much anymore. For this reason it is important to have our young people sign that donor card when they go apply for their permits and get their licenses for the first time. Along with missed opportunities to sign people up due to the use of computers we also now have the ability to sign that donor card due to computers, NY DMV or Organdonor.gov are two places that are just a click away from you becoming an organ donor.

My husband received the gift of life in 2014 . We were one of the lucky ones. Many are not so blessed. It shouldn’t depend on luck. It should depend on compassion, education, need to help our fellow man, the need to do the right thing.

Please sign up to be an organ donor.

Sincerely,

Lori Laine

Albion

Editor:

Having listened for over two years to Mr. Sidonio’s allegations about the Town of Murray Water Districts, I am addressing his most recent letter to the editor.  The Murray Water Department is not losing money. We are not robbing Peter to pay Paul. Mr. Sidonio continues to deliberately mislead residents in an attempt to get their votes.

I have been here through construction of all 16 water districts. For 28 years, I have put together budgets for these districts and presented them to past and present board members for review and they adopt the budgets. We work hard on our budget every year and we do question our bookkeepers and often have them make changes.  Yes, it is the resident’s money and we do pay close attention.

The board members and I are residents who pay their water district charges. Residents share ownership in whichever water district they are in. If we budget an amount for the year and we have money remaining at the end of that year, it goes into fund balance (savings) for that district. If there is a year that we have a number of water breaks or unexpected costs, we may need to use some of that fund balance (savings) in order to keep taxes from going up. Much the same as our own personal bank accounts; we put money in savings and use it when needed. Money does not get transferred between districts; what residents pay for their water district stays in their water district.

As years go by and water systems age, they require more maintenance. We can all relate to more repairs on our homes as they get older. It is to be expected. We are consistently looking at the costs related to maintaining our water districts and make changes when needed. I expect Mr. Sidonio does not want to pay operating and maintenance on his water district since he tapped into the Village of Holley water system years ago. Maybe he feels that the burden of operations and maintenance should be on the other residents in his water district. This board and past boards, many years ago, decided that because a resident is a part owner of their water district, they should pay operations and maintenance, even if they do not hook up presently, it still has to be maintained for them.

Over the 30 years that our water system has been in place, we have had many different Supervisors, Board members, accounting firms and auditors. If there was something being done improperly, it would have been found and addressed. The accounting firm that Mr. Sidonio himself suggested we should hire, had in fact, been doing an annual audit of our water districts for years. Does anyone really believe that anything would be overlooked year after year?

As far as comments about the Town not listening to the residents and not hearing their voices, I have always had an open door and have welcomed and listened to any resident who has an issue. I do my best to address their concerns and help them out.

I am careful with the money I spend in my departments. The Town has only 3 full-time employees to maintain our 16 water districts, while also performing their highway duties. I am proud of my employees, who do a great job and work hard at keeping our town maintained. I am proud of my years working for the Town of Murray residents and the accomplishments made during that time and I resent the false accusations that continue to be thrown at myself and the Town Board.

Mr. Sidonio has spent the last few years attacking the current and past Town Board members in an attempt to convince you, the voter, that Murray is in financial crisis and he will save it. This is far from the truth.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Respectfully,

Edward Morgan

Highway & Water Superintendent