Editor:

I wanted to thank the Orleans Hub for your coverage of Mr. Evoy. I’m an Albion High School alumnus from class of ’94 now living and working in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Evoy was my social studies teacher senior year, I believe it was. This would have been when he was in his late 20s. My younger sister also had him for Social Studies. My mom, still living in Albion, forwarded the sad news this weekend. It is a tragedy indeed to hear of Mr. Evoy’s passing and it stirred some memories of my interaction with him.

A story about Mr. Evoy:

Mr. Evoy and I started off in a bit of an adversarial relationship around 1993-94 when we met. I was a bit of an instigator in high school, though I was a high honor roll student. In my senior year we had to write a long essay for social studies. I ended up writing a 42-page essay on government corruption. Mr. Evoy gave me a B+ on it. I remember going to his room after school and challenging him on my grade.

I contended he gave me a B+ because he didn’t agree with my paper, not because of the merit of the paper itself – the time spent, the citations, etc. I asked him how long his Master’s thesis was, and I think he answered, perhaps, 20 something pages – it as a number a bit below my figure.

Surprisingly, after some discussion he agreed I was right about his being biased, and he asked me what grade I thought I deserved. I wasn’t expecting him to actually admit bias, so I replied that an A-minus would be sufficient. I felt at the time it was a symbolic victory, but later realized it probably didn’t really matter. Perhaps he was just being kind by changing my grade, but I was struck by his integrity.

Mr. Evoy later asked me if I’d like to join Mock Trial. He was leading the team. I suspect he thought that my spunky attitude might be constructively used there. I ended up joining Mock Trial and we competed in the Orleans County Courthouse. I ended up really liking Mr. Evoy over the course of that. He turned me from an adversary into a team mate!

Even with a somewhat difficult student like me, that he could have easily dismissed, he found a way to turn it in a positive direction and open up an opportunity for me to no benefit of his own. It’s quite remarkable.

I’m happy to say I went back to the school and visited him again after I finished college and got married, in about 2003, and introduced my wife to him. He was working in the middle school at that time. Mr. Evoy was a lefty, politically speaking, and at the time I was a righty, but now, 13 years later, I’m a lefty, like he was. I’m sure if I had had the chance to meet him again, we would have finally found common ground after 22 years. I’m sad I’ll never get that chance.

When you’re a teenager, it’s just a different world you’re in. You think you’ve got it figured out, but you don’t. It takes a long time to figure it out. It’s often many years later, as an adult, that you really realize how good some of your teachers were, how amazingly tolerant they were, and how selflessly they afforded opportunities to us.

Goodbye, Mr. Evoy. You will be missed. May you rest in peace.

Sincerely and respectfully,
Joel Beckwith
Tokyo, Japan

Editor:

Bald Eagles are exciting to see and appropriate to celebrate as July 4th nears. Along the lake in Yates there have been juveniles as well as adult birds seen. There was just one pair of nesting Bald Eagles in New York State in the 1970’s, now it has become more common to see a Bald Eagle soaring over our beautiful landscape. The species survived and is thriving.

Doug Domedion has written several times this year in the Lake Country Pennysaver about the growing presence of the eagles and describes nests at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the discovery of new nests.

Industrial wind turbines have had permission to kill eagles from the federal government, called a “take.” The administration is revising a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that allows industrial wind companies to operate their turbines and sanctions up to 4,200 bald eagle deaths and injuries per year without a penalty.

They also propose a change for the killing of golden eagles, based on efforts the companies take in that case to minimize the losses. The current law states that industries can apply for a “take” permit that would essentially give permission for them to incidentally kill a certain number of eagles in the operation of their business. The permit can be given for a time period of up to 5 years.

One of the problems with the current law is that it is voluntary and so wind corporations are not applying for it. The government agencies have limited resources to go after industries that kill eagles. In this situation it is unlikely that wind industry employees would ever volunteer numbers about how many eagles they are killing each year in the operation of the wind turbines.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service revised rule will offer a special option for wind corporations to incidentally kill more eagles and to do so for up to 30 years instead of 5.

The director of Fish and Wildlife is quoted as saying the proposal will “provide a path forward” and is “a great tool to work with to further the conservation of two iconic species.” There are now three proposed industrial wind turbine sites in the area: along the lakeshore in Yates and Somerset, in Alabama and in Barre.

As we prepare to celebrate our nation’s birthday, let the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service know your thoughts regarding these proposed revisions to the bald and golden eagle regulations, which it administers under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act).

There is an open comment period through July 5th. Here is the link: Eagle Permits: Revisions to Regulations for Eagle Incidental Take and Take of Eagle Nests. On the right hand side of the page you will see a “Comment Now” button or scroll down and use the listed address to mail your comments. Help protect our nation’s symbol of freedom, the Bald Eagle.

Georgette Stockman
Town of Yates

Editor:

This won’t even attempt to do justice to the life of Jeff Evoy and the respect, regard, and genuine affection so many of us had for him. He will be missed as one who devoted himself to serving others.

Never have I felt so disappointed that a visit to someone I admired was not undertaken. So many people around Genesee and Orleans counties must feel utterly despondent that such a wonderful human being has died.

On those occasions when our paths crossed, there was no mistaking the goodness, commitment to others, and genuine compassion for people of all ages that Jeff personified.

Wendi Pencille’s heartfelt remarks were mirrored by those of newly elected Medina School Board member Brenda Lindsay, with whom I spoke recently.  They were repeatedly affirmed by three other current and former members of the Board.

Anyone who was inspired, or in any way moved, by Jeff’s example of selflessness and dedication to the well-being of others would be served well to recommit themselves to greater service to others as a living legacy and tribute to the life of a wonderful man.

Though I always found him extremely humble, it would be the ultimate honor for those serving Medina Central School in any capacity to ask themselves in difficult times, “What would Mr. Evoy have wanted?”

With deepest sympathy to his family,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

This letter is in regard to Mr. Riggi’s latest Letter to the Editor on the Orleans Hub.  I noticed that same letter was filed on to the Department of Public State Docket on behalf of the Town of Yates. (Click here to see letters on Public Service website about Lighthouse Wind.)

Was this truly a statement from the Town Board?  Did the Town Board pass a resolution to post this opinion as that of the Town of Yates?

It seems Mr. Riggi is using his status as town councilman to serve his personal opinion and agenda rather than the people of the town, his constituents. This is entirely inappropriate.

The role of a councilperson is to represent the town as a whole, but only through decisions made by a majority of town board members.

As a taxpayer, I sincerely hope Mr. Riggi is not presenting statements on behalf of the town without working with the council as a whole. Correction needs to be made to the Department of Public Service website to clarify if that is a personal opinion, if the board did not vote on this before it was posted.

Respectfully,

Howard Pierce
Lyndonville

I do a LOT of driving. In my line of work, I can put between 100-180 miles on my car on every given weekday. I do mostly “off the Thruway” driving and encounter some of the most infuriating driving situations, and some of the most deadly.

I am never so inclined to bother the Editor with what I call “Road Etiquette,” but an incident last week was appropriate as ever to address this to the community.

We have a ton of 4-way stops in Orleans, Monroe, Genesee and Niagara counties. And I’ve seen just about everything, to be sure. Last week was the most terrifying ever, because my son was in the backseat when it happened.

We were at the stop sign at East Shelby Road and 31A, and a FedEx truck was on the opposite side. He was trying to take a right, I a left. He had the right-of-way and 31A traffic was at 4 p.m., with people in a hurry to get home via speeding.

I patiently awaited the FedEx truck to take his right turn, so that I could safely take my left. And then he waived me on wanting me to take my left, no doubt feeling “gracious” and not considering the dangerous situation he was putting me in. This happens to me ALL OVER Western New York, and infuriates me to no end.

People waiving other drivers to go against the right-of-way unwittingly put them in danger, and they may not be aware of it; they just think they are being “nice” and want people like me to simply trust their judgment via hand gesture that it is “Alright Miss, go ahead, I will wait for your turn first since yours, the left, is the most tricky. I can’t assure you 100 percent that it is safe to go against the rules, you just have to trust me.”

So like a dummy, frustrated because the truck would not take his right turn until I took my left while traffic on 31A was flying by, I took the bait. And we, my son and I, nearly got killed because I did not see the green car to my left flying toward me due to my line of sight being low in my small car.

And how we did not get hit by this car is only a miracle from God. That car missed mine by milliseconds, honked loudly and I peeled out when I saw him by gunning my gas HARD. And the Fed Ex guy then went straight because he realized that because he was “Just being a nice guy,” he nearly caused a deadly car wreck. And the worst of it is, I know better.

Understand, drivers: Had I been hit, the fault would have been MINE.  Had my child been killed by ME agreeing to IGNORE the Rules of the Road, I would have been devastated and the guilt alone would kill me.

I would have been complicit in the FedEx driver’s negligence in going against the rules, and legally, there would be no recourse to me. Do you understand now, gracious drivers who think they are doing others a favor by “The Waive”?

Please, people, if you have the right-of-way just TAKE IT.  Spare the rest of us the guess work, the misplaced trust in your gracious hand gesture to “trust” you. You could save a life, simply by following the rules. Think about it. Would the gratuity be worth it if target of your grace got killed?
Thank you,

Kimberly Kennedy
Medina

Editor:

I read, with great interest, Mr. Pierce’s commentary on the “Who Has the D” opinion piece submitted to and published in The Orleans Hub, The Buffalo News and the NYS Department of Public Service site.

Mr. Pierce is mistaken in his belief that the piece represented the opinion of Yates Town Board. The piece was signed: John Riggi, Councilman, Town of Yates. It was not signed: John Riggi, Representing the Town Board of Yates. As such, Mr. Pierce can rest assured that the Town Board view was not represented in the opinion piece.

As always, I am available to all constituents to speak directly on any questions they may have.

John Riggi
Councilman, Town of Yates

Editor:

I wanted to thank the Shelby Women’s Auxiliary for putting on a great Father-Daughter Dance on June 4.

It was good old-fashioned fun and, unlike a prom and weddings, 95 percent of the attendees danced the whole time. It was nice to see all the supporting fathers having quality time.

For $20, I was able to have a wonderful evening with my daughter that she will always remember and even got to hang out with couple friends in the process. In closing I hope this will be an annual event, as I would like to hope we started a new tradition. Thank you.

Tim Elliott
Proud Father
Medina

Editor:

This is NOT a personal attack on any one writer but rather a generalized comment on the types of thinking that is probably occurring in the readership audience. All letter writers are to be complimented for their interest in issues of the day and their effort to voice their opinions.

In reading the “Letters to the Editor” on the subject of Apex and whether or not wind turbines should be installed in the Somerset/Yates area, there were two types of generalizations made that are disturbing in a democracy such as America is supposed to be.

Several statements were made that the citizen meetings had “rude” and “disrespectful” interactions with some of the Apex “speakers.” A democracy requires its citizenry to be dogged in their questioning of those who are telling others what they should and should not do.

Speakers come into a group with certain expectations of how they want to influence the group. The motivation behind these people taking the microphone may be as deep-seated as their own employment.

Get the “job done” or you lose your job or you may lose a “bonus” that would be significant. People from outside the community are especially protected because they do not have to live with the direct consequences of their own beliefs. Such outsiders to the community may live in a workplace bubble where there develops an “echo-chamber” of talk on what is right and what is wrong.

It can take “tough questioning” to break into the “insularity of beliefs” of leaders and so-titled “experts” to get to the reality of the situation. Some people may look upon this questioning as “disrespectful”. A democracy can only thrive if its citizenry is engaged and sometimes relentless in its quest for answers that make sense.

A second worrisome statement was made by a letter writer that “the military” should automatically be trusted. “The military” is a HUGE bureaucracy riddled with politics. I respect America’s military tremendously but it is unwise to automatically “trust” that the military will always “make decisions that are in our best interest.”

People make up any bureaucracy. People are motivated by all sorts of things and are not better or worse than people in any employment. All sorts of people work for the military and the entire spectrum of human behavior and intelligence is found therein.

Two of my favorite TV shows are Matlock and Colombo. The lead characters are annoying, bungling, and, disrespectful at times. By the end of the show, however, one realizes their tenaciousness has solved the mystery. I suspect some of the Yates and Somerset citizenry have a bit of Matlock and Colombo in them. These may be down-to-earth, country folks at their best.

In reading the letters to the Orleans Hub on the wind turbine controversy, to me it seems that the citizenry of Yates and Somerset are to be commended for their time and energy fighting to keep their democratic rights alive.

Elizabeth Storch
Middleport

Editor:

I am writing in concern to the two consecutive years of theft and vandalism at Boxwood Cemetery.

It is a difficult time for anyone who has to visit their lost loved ones at a cemetery; the memories, the tears and the pain of losing them is hard enough. It is even more distraught to fathom that two years in a row someone has stolen the flower arrangements that you took your time and money to place on the headstone in remembrance of your loved one. This makes you lose faith in humanity and the community in which we take so much pride in growing up in and living in.

I ask our community to pay attention to your surroundings while visiting your loved ones at a cemetery and take action if you see something out of the ordinary. I have faith in believing that what comes around goes around but it still behooves me that someone, in their right mind, finds it acceptable to rob the deceased and their family members of a place we try to find peace for our loved ones.

Sincerely,

Tricia A Nudd-Mroz
Medina

Editor:

In the world of business, decisions are made and corporate direction taken. However, to ensure proper accountability for those decisions and directions, one person has the “D”. The “D” means the Decision. The “D” means the responsibility and accountability for that decision.

In the past few weeks, APEX Clean Energy, in an all-out attempt to allay fears over Industrial Wind Turbine encroachment on the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (and risk to jobs at that base), brought Mr. Dave Belote to Western New York for private meetings with a number of interested parties. Those interested parties included many political and public groups (Town/County Government and Save Ontario Shores, to name a few).

Reports from these meetings show that Mr. Belote indicated that, in his experience as a US Air Force Officer, Federal employee and through his government acquaintances, the Lighthouse Wind project would be unlikely to pose a risk to NFARS. To support his argument, Mr. Belote produced two “informal review” letters from the Department of Defense Siting Clearinghouse.

While Mr. Belote’s military service to our country is commendable, his current service to Cassidy and Associates (a pro-wind consulting firm) and, previous service as a Vice President of Federal Business for APEX Clean Energy, are of particular interest.

It is important to realize that, regardless of his armed forces service, Mr. Belote is a pro-wind consultant whose job is to minimize the specter of risk at NFARS. Regardless of reality.

The reality is as follows: The verdict on the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is fully in the hands of Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The decision on whether to close NFARS will be made by and only by BRAC. BRAC has the “D”. Any reason, such as encroachment on military operations caused by industrial wind turbines, will remain a significant factor in potential closure of NFARS.

As such, regardless of the efforts of APEX Clean Energy or Mr. Belote to allay NFARS and Western New York fears, only the BRAC decision determines the future of NFARS and over 3,000 jobs in Western New York.

Neither Mr. Belote nor the DoD Siting Clearinghouse have any input on the encroachment question and therefore the future of NFARS. They do not have the “D”.
BRAC and only BRAC has the “D”.

John B. Riggi
Councilman, Town of Yates