Editor:

The Community Coalition for Social Justice met Tuesday, April16th and heard an impassioned presentation from Nyla Gaylord about homelessness in Orleans County.

An important factor in this largely unrecognized issue is that people on fixed incomes have little recourse for dealing with the reality of ever-increasing rents. Lower income tenants expect rents to increase and experience anxiety in anticipation of it happening.

As a low-income renter you may be forced to decide between spending your limited resources on food, clothing, transportation, or heat—on the one hand—and shelter on the other.

Property owners attempting to meet the expectations of a code enforcement officer, as well as satisfy people interested in making their community more attractive to prospective residents and business people, are up against it as well. If they put effort and money into addressing problems, and need a short-term payback, their rents and selling prices must rise. Homeowners who take good care of their properties also have their hands full.

The Community Coalition for Social Justice believes that viewing such matters as a short-term issue jeopardizes our community’s prosperity and health long-term. We believe showing restraint whenever possible and taking the long view is ordinarily better for all concerned.

In short, the Community Coalition is convinced that what happens to the less fortunate does make a difference to all of us.

Sincerely,

Gary Kent – on behalf of the Community Coalition for Social Justice Committee

Albion

Editor:

Photo from Aaron Vosburgh: A FedEx hit the underpass on Butts Road in Albion today.

There was another impact accident involving the Butts Road railroad underpass this afternoon in Albion.

A driver of a FedEx truck either did not understand the height of his vehicle, or missed the road signs  that clearly show 7 feet, 2 inch clearance to go under the bridge, or was just simply not paying attention. The truck hit the railroad underpass about 2:45 this afternoon and got wedged under the underpass. It shut the road down for almost an hour.

It’s just another case of someone hitting the underpass. It happens frequently every year.

Those are the impact accidents. But don’t forget there are even more near-misses of people realizing that there attempting fate and they turn around in my driveway.

I tried to voice my concerns about the situation on this road, that the underpass is hit frequently, and that people have to turn around to avoid fate of hitting it.

Also that underpass is on a blind hill. I have watched my neighbor while getting my son off the bus after school pull out of her driveway heading south and almost get rear-ended numerous times by people flying from the underpass in the same direction.

Many people have  commented that UConnectCare’s recovery center on Butts Road is going to be great. I agree it will be good for the community, but how are you going to feel when the next accident could involve you?

The reason I say that is during today’s accident involving the FedEx truck I was out waving down traffic to avoid them crashing into the FedEx truck before the police arrived. I was almost clipped by numerous vehicles flying to the underpass from 31 heading north.

The recovery center being built here on Butts Road was built in a very bad location because now it’s like adding fuel to a fire.

You go from simple impact accidents with an underpass to the possibility of it involving more vehicles, and that in turn is people, children and property.

I tried to mention that to the town planning board during a hearing about the recovery center and simply got told you will be fine.

Aaron Vosburgh

Albion

Editor:

For those who are interested in saving the lives of mothers and babies as well as the unborn, there will be an exciting opportunity on Saturday, May 4,  to participate in the 2024 2xWalk for Life, either as walkers or those who would rather pledge financial support and watch the progress of family and friends.

This Walk for Life is sponsored by Compass Care of New York State, an organization devoted to providing pregnancy counseling, prenatal healthcare services, emotional support as well as providing food, formula, clothes and follow up ministry to mothers following the birth of their precious babies.

Compass Care has facilities in Rochester, Buffalo, Albany and New York City, as well as Tele-Health conferencing services offering total confidentiality and professional medical care through registered nurses and doctors at absolutely no cost to clients seeking assistance with unplanned  or difficult pregnancy situations.

For more information about their services simply go to 2xWalkforLife or CompassCare.org These sites will have full information on how to participate in the walk, pledging financial support for local walkers, organizing a local walk group or learning of the many services offered to mothers and babies through Compass Care’s  free programs. You will also learn of an online pre-walk rally on Friday evening, May  3.

Remember, every service is free and confidential.

Please support this very worthy cause as your heart directs. Every life is precious!

Wayne and Belinda Lemcke

Waterport

Editor:

With the large number of charges against Trump, it is likely he will be found guilty of a number of them.  After his appeals, which will likely fail, he will go to jail.

Where to send him will become a problem. Once in jail it is logical Trump will continue to incite his followers-perhaps to the point where they would try to free him.

Any effort to forcibly free Trump from jail would be resisted by his Secret Service detail which could result in casualties. I recommend the US Bureau of Prisons send Trump to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay (GITMO) Cuba.

GITMO is an isolated American base with only a few military flights in each week. It has room for Trump’s Secret Service detail, excellent medical facilities, good housing and a McDonalds. The only way his MAGA followers could try to free him would be via amphibious assault.

Keeping him free from harm is important.

Jack Capurso

Ashburn, Va. – formerly of Albion

Editor:

As a resident of the Town of Barre community, and former Town Board Member, I have been trying to keep informed about the Heritage Wind project for our family and for our neighbors.

In reviewing the daunting modified application, I learned that my home is one of the non-participating receptors that will potentially be receiving above the 30 hours of shadow flicker and possibly up to 100 hours according to the Heritage Wind Shadow Flicker report.

We are located at Heritage Wind identified receptor 327 Tax parcel 107.-1-12.1. The report states that we could have a maximum of 1 hour and 9 minutes of shadow flicker at our home for 131 days of the year for a total of 114:05 hours “worse case scenario.”

I know that there are 52 of my non-participating “receptors” (aka people) that are predicted even after taking all other considerations into place in phase II and 43 even after taking into account passed wind speeds etc. that are predicted by Heritage Wind to receive over 30 hours of shadow flicker.

I would like to just note that the local ordinance for the Town of Barre states a maximum of 25 hours of shadow flicker, and the states has already deemed that to be unduly burdensome and overruled to a maximum of 30 hours. With this significant, and I believe major modification, that is being proposed by Heritage Wind, more people, myself and my neighbors will be negatively impacted.

My husband and I understand that the applicant is saying that there will be new technology, shadow flicker detection software in the wind turbines. However, this use of technology leads to many more questions, especially because of the significant number of homes, residents, receptors that will be impacted. Questions like:

• How does this shadow flicker detection software work on homes or buildings that are receiving flicker from multiple turbines?
• Where will the light sensors be located?
• How will the light sensors be maintained and ensure proper function?
• In the winter will snow cover deem them useless?
• How long has this technology been used? How has this technology been proven to be effective and actually work as they suggest?
• Where else in New York State is this sort of technology being relied on so heavily?
• Where else in the United States is this technology being used?
• Where is the supporting documentation for the effectiveness of this technology?
• What happens if a light sensor is not working and shadow flicker is greater than 30 hours annually? How will a resident be able to ensure that they, their property, their quality of life is protected?
• Majority of Appendix F is redacted and does not provide any proof of operation, how can this be relied upon? And why is this critical public health information being withheld from the public in the first place?

Table 4 is alarming because it shows some homes will receive over 3 times the maximum shadow flicker at their property with the other considerations already taken into place. For the 42 receptors listed in table 4 on average there are 22.5 hours over the annual maximum per receptor. The applicant’s “conservative assumptions”, still show a significant and major 967 hours of shadow flicker for residents that are non-participating of Barre that will need to be monitored with unproven technology.

The information above seems eerily similar to the information that the applicant (Heritage Wind) presented in regard to the proximity to the Iroquois wildlife refuge. In public comment #31 David Stillwell, Field Supervisor for the United States Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Services stated the following:

“We believe that the closer the turbines are to these unique biological habitats, the greater the impact is to species which frequent them. We recommend ORES deny the draft permit for the project and direct Heritage to design a project with less risk to wildlife.”

In response, ORES required the elimination or relocation of a handful of turbines. My question for ORES is, shouldn’t health risks to actual people require the same response? Does our health matter, or is ORES only concerned about impacts to birds? Does New York State’s energy policy demand that we be driven from our homes by incessant flashing light lasting over an hour a day, for a significant portion of the year!

Through the proceeding of this case, the applicant argued for unproven technology to be used to evaluate the impact of the industrial wind turbines on the unique biological habitats of the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge, and ORES ruled that this was not practicable and that those turbines would need to be removed or much more stringent environmental monitoring would occur.

As the unique biological habitats that are being more drastically and negatively impacted because of this new redesign are my neighbors, their children, their families, I ask you that you please protect them, as you did for the migratory birds and inhabitants of the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge.

Our residence is our home, our place of rest, and where we are raising and homeschooling our 4 children. The timing of the anticipated shadow flicker for homes that would need to be monitored by the sensors and everyone else is in the morning and evening, important gathering and activity time for our young family. These are times we often try to be outside enjoying the wonderful rural property that we have chosen to invest in.

We ask that ORES please maintain that the applicant has to keep the design of the project to have shadow flickers under the 30 hour maximum for non-participating receptors. This requirement was/ is a known requirement, and the modification of the project should meet this requirement; without the use of unproven technology.

Should the developer want to add this technology as a secondary measure to ensure that all non-participating receptors do not receive over the 30-hour maximum of shadow flicker, that could be beneficial. However, to use this unproven technology to ensure the maximum shadow flicker is not exceeded puts many Barre families like us at risk. What are our options if this latest technology goes awry? You are talking about our home, our biggest investment, and where we are schooling and raising our children.

We recommend ORES deem the modifications to be a major modification and work to ensure that the 30 hour maximum shadow flicker is maintained without the reliance on unproven technology and that Heritage Wind look to design a project within the scope of the law.

Kerri Richardson (former Barre town councilwoman)

Barre

Editor:

Is Mr. Trump acting in the interest of the United States or in the interest of Russia?

Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign accepted help from Russia. The Republican-controlled Senate investigation, (Select Committee on Intelligence on Russian Active Measures Campaign and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elections), in 2020, determined that the Russian government disrupted an American election to benefit Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, owed a Russian oligarch millions of dollars and he shared information with Konstantin Kilimnik, identified as a Russian intelligence officer.

Mr. Trump refused to allow U.S. reporters to cover a meeting in the Oval Office in 2017 but he did allow Russian state-run media to cover the event.

In Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Trump told the world that he took the word of Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence.

Mr. Trump shared classified intelligence with Russia in the Oval Office which put a close ally of the U.S. in harm’s way.

In 2018, President Trump saluted a North Korean General, (an ally of Russia), while he refused to visit the WW l grave site of American Heroes at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France. He called those heroes, “losers and suckers.”

Indeed, when U.S. troops were injured by an Iranian missile attack at Al Assad Air Base in Iraq, Mr. Trump dismissed those injuries as mere headaches, even though over a dozen soldiers were injured badly enough that they had to be flown to Germany for treatment. These soldiers were injured in the line of duty defending the U.S. Constitution, something Mr. Trump seems dismissive of.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars called for a Presidential apology, which never came. These are some of the ways Mr. Trump demonstrated, on a daily basis, how unfit he is to be Commander in Chief.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

The need today is real and Catholic Charities is, as it has been for the last century, here to meet the challenge. HOPE is central to the work we do every day. HOPE for our neighbors when they are homeless, hungry, in need or troubled. Everything starts with HOPE, thanks to the generosity and support of those who give through the annual Appeal.

Now underway through June 30, Appeal 2024, the agency’s 100th campaign, helps fund many programs and services administered by Catholic Charities along with several ministries through the Fund for the Faith.

In just the past year, nearly 1,900 neighbors of all ages, faiths or no faith throughout Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties were given HOPE by the programs and services offered by Catholic Charities. These include basic emergency assistance such as support for food and finding housing resources, working with domestic violence offenders for systemic social change, and parents who want to reduce conflict and parent effectively for their children. In Genesee and Orleans counties, our home visitation and friendly phones programs bring a sense of connectivity and quality of life to homebound seniors.

Thank you for choosing to give HOPE by supporting this year’s Appeal. Please visit ccwny.org/donation.

And if you or someone you know needs HOPE in Genesee, Orleans or Wyoming counties, call us at 585-343-0614. We have offices in Batavia, Albion and Perry.

Katelyn DiSalvo

Tri-County District Director, Catholic Charities

Editor:

As I woke this morning and checked my phone, I was greeted with the sad news that a resident of our village lost his life in a horrific house fire overnight. As I kept reading, I further learned that two more heroes of our state made the ultimate sacrifice in Syracuse.

First and foremost, on behalf of the Village of Albion Police Department, we offer our condolences to the family, friends and neighbors of the gentleman that tragically lost his life this morning. I know our officers, our Fire Department personnel, our dispatchers and all first responders in our county were ready and willing to put their lives on the line to save his life.

To the family, I know that no amount of sympathy will fill the void, but we are sorry for your loss. We are sorry we couldn’t save him. Know that we all stand here ready to help, ready to talk and ready to listen if you ever need anything. Do not hesitate to ask.

What I would like to say next, I say to all those willing to listen.

Who will you call when there is nobody left to answer?

One month ago we said goodbye to a hero, Sgt. Sanfratello of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. Now a month later, we must lay to rest two more heroes of the Syracuse Police Department and Onondaga Sheriff’s Office. That is three families forever changed, forever broken.

For those out there that say, “You knew the risks” or “That’s your job,” we know. And for those of us that are left, we will continue to fight. We will continue to roll out of bed, kiss our families goodbye, and do our best to serve and protect, knowing that it may be the last time we ever get to. We will continue to sacrifice our weekends; we will continue to lose our holidays; we will continue to miss our children grow. We will do all of this, day in and day out, until we no longer can.

But I say this, not as a threat nor a dire warning, but rather as a harsh reality of the world we live in. Police recruitment is at an all-time low. Police retention is at an all-time low. Departments all over our area, our state and our great nation are understaffed and struggling to keep up with crime. And those of us that are left, we are tired. We are so tired. We are ridiculed by the media, we are claimed to be “overpaid” by those in charge. We are vilified because of the actions of one bad cop. We are condemned, cussed at, spit on, attacked and murdered.

But we continue to fight. We continue to serve and protect, whether we are supported or not. Because “we know the risk,” and we do not care. But eventually we will be gone. And I don’t know if there will be anyone left to take our place and pick up that shield. So again I ask, Who will you call when there is nobody left to answer?

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” – Matthew 5:9

Daniel J. Baase

Police Officer

Albion Police Department

Editor:

In this little town of Albion, there’s a champion. My mother raised me while fighting rheumatoid arthritis. It crippled her hands and her feet. There were many days growing up I would wake up to her screaming in agony from being in pain from it. She would take Tylenol and Ibuprofen to barely take the pain away before going off to work.

Later on she discovered a small lump that would ended up being early stages of breast cancer. She fought and went through radiation and was cancer-free in the early 2000s. That same cancer returned with a vengeance when she was diagnosed stage 3 in 2019.

She fought that battle undergoing a partial mastectomy in early 2020 before the pandemic, while also undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and chemo pills. She finished radiation the summer of 2020 and was declared cancer-free again in 2021. She had told me by the time of her partial mastectomy the cancer was slowing progressing into stage 4.

I tell her almost every day to be proud of the warrior she is and the fact for not just being a two-time cancer survivor is that she gets out on her three-wheeled bike and rides all over town. She goes from her home here on Butts Road at her age of 72 after dealing with cancer and fighting crippling arthritis that has severely affected both her hands and her feet. If anyone has seen her around town riding she is the little lady that rides the red and white three-wheeled bike with the basket on the back with the dark-colored helmet.

The end of this little story is that same warrior that is my mother is currently in the hospital at her age fighting a battle with sepsis and some other serious issues. She has been in United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia to being transferred to Rochester General. She needs all the thoughts and prayers she can get it so she can come home to a family that misses her including a 5-year-old little boy that misses his grandma.

She’s got a heart of an eagle, that always finds a way to survive.

Aaron Vosburgh

Albion

Editor:

Orleans County residents, your complacency has and will affect your wallets and mine.

I have been to County Legislature meetings and, God as my witness, said I am over-taxed. I put on record that I don’t agree with the purposed District Court, which I believe will raise taxes eventually.

I have been to my Town Board meetings and my town workshop meetings and expressed my desire for law & order and Conservative spending. I at least read my Village of Lyndonville meeting minutes and Orleans County minutes. Where are my neighbors?

Where are those that tell me they feel the same as me? In November 2023 was a chance to make a change in the Legislature and none was made, no change of the Town of Yates Board neither. Voter turnout  was low.

March 19, 2024 there were village elections and voter turn-out was again low and no change. You must judge your employees better. If they do things that you disagree with, vote them out of office.

It bothers me that I read and hear, “Well that does it. I moving out here.” I was raised that to the coward there is no glory or remembrance. Let us band together and demand lower taxes.

Let us make term limits if not by law then by the ballot box.

I am working on something that I will hold secret for now. Know this, fraud spoils everything. The truth always comes out. You can always tell a man or a woman’s character by their actions. Words are meaningless.

Join me at county meetings. Join me at town meetings. Join me at the polling station. Check every box for a candidate, if you don’t like one of them write in someone who shares your thoughts. Let your voice be heard.

June 25 is Primary voting. Don’t like the candidates, talk to other voters and pick someone who shares your values. Don’t keep voting for the same people, that is insanity. Obviously, they don’t care.

November 5 is the day for federal elections. Setting a time and date for grievances then not giving you a chance for grievances is unconstitutional. Public servants work for you.

First Amendment is the right to petition and state your grievances and demand redress of those grievances. We can also demand a grand jury to investigate suspected misconduct by public servants.

Join me, let us work together to fix our local governments and make Orleans County, NY great for families and businesses.

Steve Colòn

Lyndonville

Editor:

Perhaps if the Orleans County Legislature would cease hoarding sales tax revenue and provide a fair share to localities, residents might be more inclined to agree to a consolidation of town courts.

Governance is (or should be) the art of compromise, is it not?

Richard Moss

Medina

Editor:

With all due respect, I am submitting my opinion on a recent article written on the Hub. I refer (my own personal) thoughts on the presentation and distribution of the book “Mediums at Large.”

Mike Fisher, an educator at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES, was awarded a grant to present his book to Roy-Hart Middle School students, giving these students personal copies. Is this really stories or mysteries? Not in my opinion, I believe this grooming/or the introduction  to these young students to delve into the world of Spiritualism and the occult.

Lily Dale is Spiritualism – palm reading, psychic readings, crystals all of which smack of the occult and demonic realm. I strongly feel that none of this should be  allowed and  introduced into the public schools. This is not the first time this has occurred at the R/H school system.

Years ago my youngest daughter in grade 4 came home telling me “a psychic” was part of the school assembly that day. It was introduced as a candy fundraiser for the school, and yes included a representative from Lily Dale. She told the students to “close their eyes, envision waterfalls and ‘I can read your minds.’”

I was/am livid that parents weren’t/most likely aren’t aware of these controversial programs coming into the schools. Parents, wake up and ask questions. Approach the school board as to “what do you expose our children to without parental permission?”

I personally have grandchildren in that same R/H Middle School. I am furious!

Sandra Shingleton

Albion

Editor:

The purpose of the letter is to ensure the proper and correct information is available to Shelby residents so they can remain informed on their town water supply.

Currently the town of Shelby purchases water from the Village of Medina (supplied by Niagara County Water), at a rate of $5.97 per thousand gallons. The town of Shelby adds a maintenance fee to maintain and repair the town’s water infrastructure.  The town of Shelby and the village of Medina are currently in talks negotiating water rates.

The Town of Royalton has agreed to supply the Town of Shelby the same water (Niagara County Water), at a rate of $3.00 per thousand gallons through an existing connection in between the towns. Again Shelby would have to add a maintenance fee to maintain the infrastructure.

Recently there was an article in the Orleans Hub talking about a presentation from an engineering firm that occurred at a special water meeting on March 28. There was also a previous presentation from another engineering firm presented on March 12 at the regular town board meeting.

I would request Shelby residents watch both presentations on the Town of Shelby YouTube page, which occurred on March 12 and March 28, respectively. In that meeting it is presented that preliminary tests  demonstrate there appears to be adequate pressure to supply at least part of Shelby with water. This presentation (March 12) included adding water pipe along several roads in the Town. The pipes are optional at this time; even if only the connection is opened it will save taxpayers money.

Last year the town of Shelby flushed/dumped 1.2 million gallons of water near/at the connection between Shelby and Royalton due to low PPM (parts per million) chlorine in the system. If the water is not moving and used, it starts to degrade and lose its chlorination.

In total the town of Shelby had to dump 2.36 million gallons of water due to low PPM at dead end pipes. (The town of Shelby paid full price for the water dumped on the ground, and for water line leaks/breaks.) Numerous leaks were found and repaired last summer, and is an ongoing pursuit for the town. A major leak under Oak Orchard Creek was detected and repaired directly resulting in large quarterly savings.

If the connection between Royalton and Shelby is opened, the town is not only cutting their water bill, but fresh water with the required chlorine ppms are being introduced into the system thereby reducing the need to flush/dump water.  These two reasons alone will save taxpayers money.

Funding for a second connection was budgeted for and approved in the Town’s 2024 budget, no additional funding is required for the connection. Both engineering firms stated updated testing needs to be done to determine pressures, and determine the path forward.   The board has agreed further testing has to be done to determine the best viable option to move forward.

With a second connection from the Town of Royalton, the influx of fresh chlorinated water along with the supply from Medina will ensure a safe and secure supply for the taxpayers of Shelby.

I urge you to get involved, attend board meetings (2nd Tuesday each month @7 p.m.), or watch the meetings on YouTube. Let your voice be heard.

Respectfully,

Scott Wengewicz

Town of Shelby Supervisor

Editor:

We Americans are running out of time to “wake up and smell the coffee.” Wishful thinking and dwelling on our fantasies while ignoring the realities of the early twenty-first century risk the loss of something we have enjoyed since 1789.

John Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Madison, John Jay, et.al. don’t need to be betrayed by the loss of the republic they worked so hard – and risked so much – to create.

What is a republican form of government? Why did the Founders describe the legislative branch of our Constitutional republic in the First Article of the document that describes our ingenious and revolutionary system rather than the Second or Third Article?

Why has one of our likely major party nominees for the office of President this year described Vladimir Putin as a “great leader”? Why has Russia’s “elected dictator” (Hitler in red) shown a preference for one of our likely candidates for President?

As someone who attempted to teach the Constitution accurately for about thirty years, I am convinced that one of our 2024 candidates for President has little appreciation for what the Founders were trying to establish when the historic document was written in the late 18^th century.

Should we continue to ignore the heavy-duty responsibility of the citizens of a republic this time, it could be “game over.” If we get it wrong in 2024, our Constitutional republic may be “history.”

Sincerely yours,

Gary F. Kent

Albion

Editor:

To the taxpayers of Medina and fellow keyboard warriors, now is the time to request items from the village board, as it is budget time.

They have the ability to set aside funds for needed projects and upgrades. Normally a request that is not budgeted for is denied. However now is the key planning time so it can be budgeted for.

Budget time is tedious and there are a lot of wants vs needs considered by your elected officials. Overall, the tax rate will drop due to assessments going up. That doesn’t mean your bill will go down, so might as well make your request known for this upcoming budget year.

If possible attend the upcoming board meetings, or reach out to the elected officials, so your voice can be heard. Medina residents are what make Medina amazing.

We are a small village. Your voice matters. Let it be heard.

Tim Elliott

Medina