Editor:

What more does APEX need to know?!?

They are not wanted in our town and if they are as community conscious as they say, they should leave.  But they haven’t left. What does that tell you about APEX? I can let you know what it tells me.

It tells me that after:

• all of APEX’s exhortations that they will not stay where they’re not wanted,

• all of the surveys, statements of opposition and multiple election cycles reinforcing opposition at the ballot box,

• all of the multiple invitations and attempts to convince the APEX Clean Energy Principals, Mr. Sandy Reisky, Mr. Mark Goodwin, Mr. Jim Trousdale and Mr. Steve Vavrik to visit our town and discuss our concerns, were utterly and completely rebuffed,

• Governor Cuomo gave all of New York State 30-mile turbine setbacks,

• Lieutenant Governor Hochul went on the record stating that we must protect our Defense bases from encroachment of all kinds,

• Department of Public Service Chief Counsel Paul Agresta admonished Industrial Wind developers in New York that their “get the deal done at any cost” modus operandi was not winning them friends in Upstate New York or Albany,

• the same Mr. Paul Agresta, exhorted those same developers to “Go where you’re wanted”,

• New York State Department of Public Service Commissioner John Rhodes responded when questioned about Article 10 ripping home rule from the people:  “Not under this governor are we going to force people in a police state mode to do anything.”

APEX still darkens our doorstep!

Why do they still darken our doorstep? My personal view is that, even though they pretend to care about our community via:

• free hot dogs and milk after youth sports events,

• attempts (sometimes successful, unfortunately) to give money to local churches, schools and private organizations,

• holding parties for only their few friends and paid leaseholders,

Apex does not give one rat’s behind for the towns of Yates and Somerset or any of the 5,000 or so souls whose lives would be negatively and forever altered via planting of their massive industrial machines in our soil!

They only care about the money they can siphon from our pockets via State and Federal Production Tax Credits.

Let’s not fool ourselves, APEX (Lighthouse Wind) is and always has been synonymous with the Robber Barons of old.

Robber Baron turbine purveyors forcing projects into inappropriate locations and down the throats of residents who, for a myriad of reasons, don’t want them!!!

APEX, you need to distance yourselves from Lighthouse Wind and the Towns of Yates and Somerset. It’s bad for your business. You have enough egg on your corporate face and frankly you are embarrassing yourselves. Get out while you still have some semblance of corporate respect.  Lord knows, you never had any goodwill with the people, except for those you are paying to like you.

Thank you,

John B. Riggi

Councilman, Town of Yates

Editor:

I read the congratulatory letter by Jeanne Crane, chairperson of the Orleans County Democrats, to the winning Republican-backed candidates and she seemed almost wistful in the hope of Democrats one day being in the majority. I hope not.

In endorsing candidates for various offices in the county and towns, I read nothing about what the Democrats wanted to accomplish if they were elected. Now, from the county down to the villages, my view is that the governments have specific duties and responsibilities to the taxpayers and that they spend that money wisely. What would the Democrats do differently than that?

If one follows national politics, we have two major private parties with vastly different ideologies vying for control of the Federal government. We read about turning states and counties red or blue which is determined by the leanings of the members of those parties and eventually to control by Republicans or Democrats.

Trouble is, neither party is adhering to the United States Constitution. Both parties are travelling the road as Progressives ever since Teddy Roosevelt took the reins of power. Progressivism is not in the Constitution. Progressives do not like the individual liberties and freedoms espoused by that document.

We live in a blue state, not likely to go red. Because of the policies and taxation of the Democrats, people will continue to leave the state. New York State recently fell to fourth in population behind Florida, what state will be next? Being blue means paying more for Medicaid and other social programs. Cuomo is bleeding us dry.

So I would rather the county be red. I cannot take any more hope and change.

Jim Tuk

Lyndonville

Editor:

The Renewables on the Ground Roundtable, facilitated by the Consensus Building Institute and co-chaired by The Nature Conservancy and the Alliance for Clean Energy NY, just released its final report in Albany last month designed to help facilitate Governor Cuomo’s goal of achieving 50% renewable energy by 2030.

Readers beware.

I participated in most of the year-long series of meetings. I resigned from the Roundtable in July just as the synthesis working group of which I was a member was to begin making changes to the final recommendations and to draft the executive summary. In the event, going against the express guidelines all Roundtable participants agreed to at the last meeting, a participant intentionally released an unauthorized draft of the report in order to gain favor for wind turbine developers with state agencies. This unconscionable step was the last straw for me. Interestingly, the final report does not list me as a participant.

I implore the Roundtable participants, Orleans County readers, the state agencies responsible for siting renewable energy projects and those responsible for preserving Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station operational airspace and radar coverage, Governor Cuomo and all those seeking the common good to avoid accepting the false narrative of a broad consensus in the final report.  Despite the good faith efforts of many of the Roundtable participants, key questions remain.

Why was there a lack of rural upstate participation in the Roundtable when it is those communities who will be facing industrial wind turbine projects? Why did the Roundtable assume that every community would embrace industrial wind turbines if only they were provided enough “education?”

Why wouldn’t industrial wind developers earnestly strive to earn a social license by achieving “broad stakeholder agreement” with host communities, conservationists and state agencies concerning reasonable zoning regulations, stipulations and study methodologies? What environmental and procedural justice safeguards will protect rural towns from suffering inequities in the face of poorly sited industrial wind turbine projects?

Finally, who should decide how each NY town will contribute to a more sustainable future? If your answer is the wind turbine companies and the leaseholders, then you invite division, acrimony and toxicity, and you underestimate the power of subsidiarity, home rule and – most importantly – the people.

Jim Simon

Supervisor, Town of Yates

Editor:

I was embarrassed by the behavior of just a few residents at the recent meeting in Albion regarding the future of Law Enforcement services in our county.

Failing to grasp the fact that this was a simple overview of possibilities they continually interrupted the presentation with inane and clearly confrontational “questions.”

I question their motives.

My hope is that the majority of taxpayers will listen to the facts and make up their minds without the obvious bias by an overly vocal few.

As a taxpayer already covered by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, I will be taxed at a very minimal higher rate with some of the proposed changes.

I submit that these slight increases for non-village residents will be short lived. The 38 million dollars saved over 10 years by this transition will be repaid by increased property values.

I am also confused by villagers reluctant to reduce their tax burden by $6 to $8 per 1,000 simply to keep their local PD when the OCSO is equipped and prepared to provide superior service.

Thank you.

Bob Harker

Clarendon

Editor:

I found the subheadline “Outside-village residents would see about $2 increase in tax rate” to be pretty deceptive when that is really $2/1000 of property value.

That comes to $200 a year for a home costing $100,000, which is a pretty significant tax increase. Especially when it looks like those living in the village will experience a tax reduction of $4 to $6/$1000 after all is factored in.

The question then becomes: where does the majority of crime take place in Orleans County? Statistics show in the village. Yet Orleans County is considering having those outside the village tote the bill for the villages “big tax savings.” That is not right, regardless how you choose to hide it behind the subheadline.

Best regards,

Robert Napierala

Gaines

Editor:

I am one of two candidates for Murray Town Supervisor. The people of Murray have been very patient this election year. Not only have they had to endure a Primary for the Republican and Independence ballot lines, they have had to wait for absentee ballots to determine the outcome of not only that race, but now the General Election for Supervisor. For their patience, I thank them. While my opponent’s lead is large, I still hold out hope.

Regardless the outcome, I remain hopeful for Murray as well. In other venues of social media, we have been portrayed as a town divided. I instead look and see a town engaged. A town that values its civic responsibility, becomes involved, and participates in this most sacred of our guaranteed freedoms.

Most disturbing to me is that we have reached, apparently, a new plateau in political campaigns. Are the days gone when a small town candidate could spend a reasonable amount on their campaign, to present themselves and their credentials to the electorate and put their name out there? Call me old-fashioned, but I fear a future where this is not enough anymore.

When someone would hire a campaign consultant, put up what amounts to billboards, and spend inordinate amounts on mailings, flyers, postcards, and targeted social media, I get the feeling we are not in Murray anymore. I think this large expenditure unreasonably raises the cost of entry for any political office to a point beyond that of the average citizen. It has already happened to varying degrees at the state and federal level.

In a statewide or federal campaign, I understand that there are lobbyists and special interests that are willing to spend huge sums of money to finance campaigns in hopes of favorable treatment. I can only guess at the motivations involved in such a small town race. Have we degenerated into the type of campaign where people will spend many times the annual salary of the job, for the apparent purpose of what benefit it may afford them either now or in the future? I certainly hope not, or the age of the citizen public official is truly ended.

I congratulate the opposed candidates who campaigned with me. Mike Mele and Paul Hendel ran the type of race we are used to in a small town, word of mouth, with minimal expense for mailers, door hangers, and advertisements. Our type of campaign, with some homemade signs and the frugality typically associated with a race of this nature is in stark contrast to that of my opponent.

There has been much talk in this forum of having Murray maintain its character and individuality. That is one reason why those of us who live here have chosen to stay, and more still are discovering our little corner of upstate New York.

Will we allow “big-town” politics ruin our small-town personality? I hope not. Can we put an end to big time political spending that further alienates those who might aspire to public service? I hope so. The greater the selection of candidates in our elections, the higher the likelihood we can determine the best person for the job. Big spending on local campaigns would serve to prevent quality people from getting involved in the process. If that should happen, we will all be losers.

Regardless of the outcome of this election, the citizens have made their choice. Should I win, I can guarantee I will work hard for all the citizens of Murray, my opponent included. I have every confidence that he will do the same. Thank you for your support.

Respectfully,

Robert G. Miller

Candidate for Town of Murray Supervisor

Editor:

The Democrats wish to congratulate Sanford Church and all the winners in yesterday’s race.  We tried to give the voters a choice and all our candidates worked hard.

Orleans is very difficult for a Democrat, but maybe someday we will rise like the Phoenix.

Thank you to all the voters who supported our candidates.

Jeanne Crane

Orleans County Democratic Party Chairwoman

Photo by Tom Rivers: Trees and limbs that were cut down in Albion along the canal are stacked by the towpath near the Butts Road bridge.

Editor:

So far I have not seen any stumps being dug out on the canal.  They are being chipped to the soil surface. What mower does the canal have that will be able to mow the differing grades and angles along the canal once this nice grass grows?

As far as tourism goes, what are the bicyclists and walkers to do for shade? I would think the bicyclists who do the Buffalo to Albany ride will be disappointed. Is someone hoping that interest in the canal will fall to nothing so no one will have to pay for the upkeep?

This mess has happened since the canal changed hands. What other great ideas will they come up with? Is this the place for the high speed rail? So sad!

Maybe they should look at trying to slow down many of the boats that fly down the canal all the while causing erosion to the banks. Am I unhappy? You bet!

Lani Streb-Tozer

Albion

Photo by Tom Rivers: Riley Seielstad played Princess Winnifred in “Getting to Know…Once Upon A Mattress.”

Editor:

There is no way what we write could possibly do justice to the terrific performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” by the Albion Central School Drama team. My wife and I became aware of it Friday and attended Saturday evening. The production was truly a delight from beginning to end.  Though fairly well attended, it is an absolute shame that the Middle School Auditorium wasn’t packed for all the performances.  Those who missed it missed one hysterical production.  We had been given a “heads up”, but were, in no way, prepared for virtually flawless hilarity from beginning to end.

The entire cast was so engaged, energetic, expressive, and animated—spotlight, or no. What a phenomenal team effort.  In large part, it “worked” because every cast member believed and bought into creating a spectacle. It was about as professional as a high school play could be with amateurs taking enormous pride in their roles and as committed to excellence as one could imagine.

One did not need to be a parent, or relative, of a member of the show’s production team to find what the students involved in this effort accomplished uplifting.

If you had anything to do with it, you have every reason to be proud.  Congratulations to everyone involved.

Sincerely appreciative,

Grace and Gary Kent

Albion

Editor:

Reasons to endorse Tara Albone-White for Ridgeway Town Clerk include:

1. Tara will: Engage herself completely in the office duties and strive to make the operations within; professional, courteous, timely and upbeat.

She will not: Present herself as unprofessional, egotistical, or all knowing.

2. Tara will: Strive to bring the office into the “now” with upgraded computer systems and technological equipment to maintain records and billing.

She will not: Operate in the status-quo of current practices within.

3. Tara will: Open communications with the new generations of residents that are our future and create a more user friendly atmosphere.

She will not: Continue to only use current methods of informing the town of schedules, events and notifications. Modern social media methods will be implemented to reach out to the tech savvy generation.

4. Tara will: Commit herself fully for a career as Ridgeway Town Clerk and public servant with dignity, poise and respect.

She will not: Use this position as a patsy for personal gain.

5. Tara will: Commit herself to accuracy and timeliness for the town highway crew records, timecards and pay.

She will not: Make repeated mistakes and look to lay blame on others, or gripe about the overtime that’s duly earned during the bitter winter months.

6. Tara will: Listen to the people, and her office counterparts, and work with any difficulties that arise with passion and perseverance for a speedy resolve and better outcome for the people, and staff of Ridgeway.

She will not: Grumble and complain about issues that arise, and thus, create a toxic, nonproductive office environment.

7. Tara will: Strive to bring more user friendly office operating hours to the town, knowing full well that we are an “around the clock” workforce of residents.

She will not: Look for any excuse to stay home, leave early, or complain if a late stay is necessary.

Lastly… Tara is focused on the Town of Ridgeway PEOPLE. She’s not as concerned with party lines or endorsements as the bottom line… the position and job itself. Tara is committed to the highest level of ethics and professionalism to include how she will treat the community and the office staff.

Tara’s education, clerical skills, personality, poise and attitude are exactly the traits and qualifications the town of Ridgeway community needs to run the office for us all.

Why aren’t Town of Ridgeway personnel supporting or endorsing the opponent to this position? Let that sink in for a minute.

Look on the lower line of the ballot to find the spot to vote for Tara Albone-White.

Mark Traxler

Ridgeway