Orleans County voter, do you want an end to “business as usual” on the Orleans County Legislature?
Jeremy Ross is a Town of Murray resident with a job, a wife and two young children—as well as a sound mind—who would be up to the challenge of serving as county legislator for District 4 (Carlton, Kendall and Murray). He and his family have a home just east of the Village of Holley.
A George Bower/Rich Bennett-type candidate doesn’t come around that often. Want a legislator who thinks for himself and bucks the party line when conscience dictates?
Perhaps it’s time for an infusion of fresh ideas on our Legislature. We believe giving Jeremy Ross serious consideration for District 4 county legislator when you vote in November would be a good idea.
My name is Ryan Woolston, and I am proud to be running for the Carlton Town Board. Carlton has always been my home—I was born and raised here, built my home here, and now my wife and I are raising our family in this community that means so much to us.
I believe Carlton has incredible potential, and I want to help guide us toward a stronger future. That means:
Supporting Local Business – Our small businesses are the backbone of Carlton. From Point Breeze to Oak Orchard Creek, we have unique assets that bring in visitors. Let’s make sure those tourism dollars stay here and strengthen our economy.
Enhancing Our Town Park – The park is the heart of our community. Coaches, families, and kids already spend countless hours there. With the right improvements, it can become an even greater place for recreation, connection, and pride.
Creating a Future Where Families Can Thrive – By investing in our infrastructure, supporting growth, and keeping Carlton safe and welcoming, we can ensure that future generations will be proud to call this town home.
I would be honored to earn your support this November. Please follow my campaign on Facebook to stay connected!
Together, we can build a Carlton that works for all of us.
This is a message for my Carlton friends and neighbors. I am a candidate for our Town Board. I firmly believe that this election is about you!
This election isn’t just about who’s on the ballot—it’s about you, your family, your future, and the community we’re building together.
I am running for the Carlton Town Board not to gain power, but to serve with a purpose. I will listen, act, and be the leader who’s always believed that progress starts with people. It begins with transparency and common sense. It begins with educated decision making. It begins with listening to you.
Historically I have served on the Albion CSD Board of Education, the BOCES Board of Education, the Orleans Cornell Cooperative Extension Board of Directors and numerous other boards and committees. I have decades of leadership experience. I completed Leadership Orleans in 2022 with a new outlook on Orleans County and the need for us to step up.
Integrity. Empathy. Vision. These aren’t just words—they’re the principles that guide me.
Want a local government that listens and acts?
Want leaders who are truly accessible and transparent?
Want a future built on collaboration, not division?
Then let’s talk. Let’s ask questions. Let’s get involved.
Stop by 13399 Callard Drive on October 25th anytime between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. for a Meet and Greet. Let’s talk about what is important to us. I want to earn your vote!
The statement “youth have seen enough tobacco” is the slogan for Seen Enough Tobacco Day, an annual day of action held on October 13 in New York and led by youth members of Reality Check.
It highlights the billions of dollars the tobacco industry spends on marketing, which studies show increases the likelihood of young people starting to use tobacco products.
Despite federal regulations on tobacco advertising and sales to people under 21, the tobacco industry continues to use sophisticated and targeted marketing tactics to attract young people.
One deceitful tactic involves using appealing flavors in their products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, to attract new, young users. The vast majority of underage e-cigarette users report using flavored products. You can’t miss the huge window ads and counter displays in convenience stores in our area, bombarding young people who shop there with an ever-increasing number of enticing flavored tobacco products.
The tobacco industry also heavily promotes e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where age restrictions aren’t closely monitored. Studies show frequent social media use is linked to a higher risk of youth starting to use tobacco products.
In stores, tobacco products are often placed in highly visible areas, like near candy displays, or promoted with price discounts that appeal to younger people. The industry uses bright, colorful imagery on packaging and has historically used branded promotional materials and sponsorships of social events to appeal to youth.
The Seen Enough Tobacco movement is part of broader anti-tobacco efforts that have been successful in reducing cigarette smoking among youth. However, the rise of new products like e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches presents a new challenge. Join the voices who have seen enough tobacco marketing and are saying something about it – on October 13 and beyond.
As a lifelong resident of Clarendon, I have been an active member of this community since I was 10 years old. I have raised my family here and my grandchildren are also being raised here.
Being a member of Boy Scout Troop 59 and doing community service projects to helping my father mow the town properties and pioneer cemeteries from the age of fourteen has only increased my devotion to the town.
I am a member of the Clarendon Fire Company and have my own landscaping business which serves many members of the community and local area for the last 30 years which gives me the perspective of the residents in Clarendon as I know my customers and talk to them. I volunteer at the Clarendon Historical Society, Orleans County Historical Association, local parades and cemetery clean up events to name a few.
I have been serving on the Clarendon Town Board since June and have become well versed in the issues and concerns facing the town and the challenges it brings, from the budget process to being aware of the resident’s needs, wellbeing and safety.
I would appreciate your support in the upcoming November election so I can continue to serve the town I’ve called home all of my life.
My name is LeeAnn Mullen, owner of Tahoe Pines Wellness Center, LLC & Tahoe Pines Custom Sewing & Designs. I’m a resident of Basom, with STAMP located in the field behind my home/business.
I’m writing to express the many environmental and health concerns with a data center. The GCEDC (Genesee County Economic Development Center) approved a data center in March 2025, then recently revoked the approvals. They claim the developer, stream data center, is going to submit a proposal for a larger data center at the STAMP site!
After 35 years of medical management and wellness, I purchased property online in 2009, specifically for Tahoe Pines Wellness Center, LLC. The aesthetic beauty of pine trees, the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the naturistic beauty was the attraction! It appeared to be the perfect location for an entrepreneur originally from Lake Tahoe to open a wellness center!
There’s numerous reasons why the datacenter is a horrible idea for our community and surrounding areas! By attending the Tonawanda Seneca Nation community meetings, I have learned much of the following information, along with these additional resources; frontiergroup.org, ceds.org and hivenet.com.
GCEDC intends on giving $272 million of our taxpayer dollars to a multinational company (Stream) to build a massive data center! They must not be allowed to force a dangerous monstrosity on our community! I encourage our politicians, GCEDC, Stream Data Center, their corporate owner, Apollo Global Management and community residents to take a look at the negative impact the data center is going to have on our community members and surrounding areas!
It is because of the following health and environmental impacts that I adamantly oppose this data center, not in any order of importance!
1. Noise and disruption – Data centers run massive cooling systems and backup generators 24/7 creating constant humming! They emit noise exceeding 100 dB (an average concert is 80 dB). The noise can travel up to 8 mile and will cause extreme anxiety to people & animals, domestic and wild alike!
2. Power grid strain – these facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity, sometimes as much as small cities! This can stress local power infrastructure and potentially affect reliability or cost for residents. Will residents be in a blackout when we need our electricity the most?
3. Water usage – Data centers use a significant amount of water for cooling, which will strain local water supplies. According to local newscasters, we’re officially in a “drought” in our region! Residents may need to compete with the data center for this essential resource!
4. Increased traffic – during the construction phase, traffic on local roads will increase, which are not designed for heavy commercial vehicles.
5. Property values and community character – with the development of large industrial buildings, the community will not have the feel of our Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge with wild animals roaming in our backyard. Our friends on the reservation, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation will be stripped of available wildlife and medicinal plant land that they have had in their families for years and would like to keep for years to come.
6. Limited local benefits – data centers create relatively few permanent jobs once built, so our community will fuel their costs bearing without seeing proportional economic benefits!
7. Risk of Fire – the industrial machines run so hot, the chance of fire is significantly high! The fires are rated as class D and are only extinguishable with a specific dry powder. It is unclear if we have the substance available to our local fire stations, nor trained staff to utilize the powder substance, or a place to store the powder substance?
8. Most importantly, health and environmental concerns – The massive energy consumption contributes to carbon emissions, with electromagnetic fields and other environmental impacts! Primary health risk from air pollution include harmful air pollutants such as fine, particle matter and nitrogen oxide (NOx). These pollutants take an immediate toll on human, plantand animal health, triggering asthma symptoms in humans, heart attack and even cognitive decline!
9. Particular matter concerns – The biggest Challenger tiny particles, 2.5 CM or less in diameter, which can travel deep into the respiratory tract and lungs. They’re considered a “non-threshold” pollutant, meaning there’s no safe level of exposure.
10. Diesel generator emissions – data centers rely on backup diesel generators that produce significantly higher emission rates and other power sources. A typical diesel generator can release 200 to 600 times more NOx then a natural gas power plant producing the same amount of electricity!
11. Sale of impact – in 2003, air pollution from US data centers was attributed to being responsible for an estimated $6 billion in public health damages, with projections reaching $10 to $ 20 billion annually by 2030. While the specific carcinogenic risk requires more research, the documented respiratory and cardiovascular health impacts from data center emissions are already significant concerns for nearby communities!
It is with sincere compassion that you are all encouraged to take a deeper look at the risk versus benefit of Stream Data Center that the GCEDC is trying to force upon us for monetary gain! Is it going to result in your loved one’s health being compromised from the known carcinogen risk?
Please write to your politician, sign the petition at the Tonawanda Seneca Nation office, get involved, say no to stream data center and GCEDC! Thank you for your consideration!
Republicans claim that Democrats are shutting down the government because they want to give free healthcare to immigrants in the country illegally. That is a lie. It has no basis in reality.
Republicans are lying because they want to take away your healthcare, and they know that is unpopular. The major legislation Republicans passed this year, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” is designed to take healthcare away from millions of citizens and vastly increase the cost of health care for millions more.
At the same time, it will give tax breaks to their millionaire and billionaire donors and balloon our national debt. According to the non-profit health policy research organization, KFF, healthcare plans could, on average, more than double next year – from $888 this year to $1,906 next year.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that 22 million people, including about 5 million small businesses and self-employed workers, will have their healthcare cost will skyrocket, or lose their coverage. Democrats are not asking to give healthcare to those in the country illegally.
Since January, when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House they have cut healthcare, healthcare research and healthcare workers. They have terminated grants, even those that were approved by Congress, in violation of the Impoundment Act. They have fired hundreds if not thousands of researchers.
The CDC and NIH are now prioritizing political agendas over scientific research. Allie Sinclair, a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, mapped out how research cuts affect communities.
For example, according to her research, Claudia Tenney’s district would lose $64 million annually and lose 275 jobs. Nicholas Langworth’s district would suffer even more with a loss of 317 jobs and $74 million loss annually.
Ms. Tenney and Mr. Langworthy could represent their constituents, but they chose to represent their wealthy donors. Remember, these cuts to healthcare, healthcare research and your healthcare policies are so that Republicans can give tax breaks to their millionaire and billionaire donors.
Democrats’ only leverage is to force Republicans to negotiate some concessions. Democrats are not asking to give healthcare to those in the country illegally. That claim is outrageous and an obvious distraction from Republican healthcare cuts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 October 2025 at 9:29 am
Photos by Tom Rivers: Wes Bradley served as Lyndonville’s fireworks chairman for 19 years. He is shown on July 4, 2024, pulling a collection container in the Lyndonville parade. Bradley raised $50,000 to make that fireworks display the biggest ever in Lyndonville. That year was the 50th anniversary of the Lyndonville Lions Club organizing the July 4th celebration.
LYNDONVILLE – One of Orleans County’s greatest citizens passed away on Sept. 27. Wes Bradley was 77.
After a career as a science teacher for middle schoolers and a coach at Lyndonville, Bradley may have been best known in recent years as the chairman of Lyndonville’s phenomenal fireworks show on July 4.
He worked all year rounding up donations for the show. The July 4, 2024 show was his last as chairman. He met his goal of raising $50,000 for the 50th anniversary fireworks display for the Lyndonville Lions Club.
Wes Bradley, shown on Dec. 3, 2016, for many years also served as emcee of Lyndonville’s Christmas celebration in early December when Santa arrived and 60 to 100 Christmas trees are typically lit up at Veterans’ Park. Bradley has said many dedicated volunteers put on events to enliven Lyndonville.
Bradley proudly wore a one-of-kind T-shirt that Young Explosives made for him showing the fireworks in Lyndonville. Bradley had a strong bond with the crew from Young Explosives. He brought them chicken barbecue dinners while they set up in stifling heat for the July 4th show in Lyndonville. It was one of the biggest shows in all of Western New York despite Lyndonville being one of the smallest communities to host a fireworks show.
Those fireworks would bring in thousands of people, and Bradley was proud to show off the village with its flag-lined Main Street and friendly residents.
Bradley and one of his best friends, Mark Hughes, for years would put 75 flags on the utility poles that line the street. Bradley would climb the ladder and put the flags up, and would make an early morning check on July 4th to make sure they were all looking good and not rolled up.
Hughes passed away on June 4. He was another dedicated teacher and coach at Lyndonville. The two were both pillars of the community the past half century.
They both stayed deeply involved in the school – long after their retirement.
Bradley was a soccer official locally, and did a game about three weeks ago. He could run the field well into his 70s.
Lyndonville needed a boys soccer coach in 2024 for the varsity team. The previous year, Lyndonville didn’t have its own team due to low numbers.
Bradley agreed to be the coach and the team helped him reach a career milestone of 200 victories. Many of those players attended his calling hours on Friday.
Young Explosives also was there at the calling hours. So were many former students, teachers, Lyndonville firefighters and community members.
Photo by Cheryl Wertman: Wes Bradley is shown in late August 2024 when he returned to coaching the Lyndonville varsity soccer team. He is shown meeting with five veteran players from the last Tigers varsity team in 2022. They include Austin Fonda, Michael Alexander, Colton Smith, Jesus Rosario and Brody Hazel. The team would earn Bradley’s his 200th career soccer victory.
When Bradley moved to Lyndonville in August 1979 at age 31, he joined the Lyndonville Fire Department. He was inspired by his father’s example. Ray Bradley volunteered for more than 30 years as a firefighter in Canton, NY.
Bradley was an active firefighter responding to many calls, finding the time even during his very busy days as teacher and coach.
In his 70s, he still was going to about 50 calls a year and served as the department’s chaplain. In 2019, he was Lyndonville’s firefighter of the year at age 71.
“He does everything very professional,” Ben Bane, the Lyndonville fire chief at the time, told the Orleans Hub. “As chaplain, he is always there to comfort members when we have bad calls.”
Bradley, after years as an interior firefighter, continued as an exterior firefighter and with the fire police on traffic control. He also went on EMS calls. He wasn’t an EMT but he said it is comforting for many residents to see their neighbors in the fire service respond to the calls.
“I enjoy serving the community,” Bradley said on Feb. 1, 2020 when he was presented with the award. “The community has been good to me. I can give a little bit back.”
Laurie Bradley said her husband was “a go-getter who wanted to serve others.” She was the school librarian at Lyndonville. She and Wes raised three children in the community.
Ben Bane, Lyndonville’s fire chief in 2020, presents the Firefighter of the Year award to Wes Bradley on Feb. 1, 2020.
Bob Larkin worked as a custodian at the school district. He saw Bradley every day and without fail Bradley always was quick to greet Larkin by name. During the end-of-season pizza parties, Bradley made sure his team picked up after themselves.
If there was a fire alarm at the school, Bradley was typically the first on the scene in his firefighter turn-out gear, Larkin said.
Lee Dillenbeck, a Lyndonville teacher and coach, said the community is reeling from the loss of Bradley and Hughes. Both were tremendous mentors for teachers and students, Dillenbeck said.
Bradley never wavered in trying to be of service to the community.
“He was the best person you could come across,” Dillenbeck said. “Anything you needed he was there for you.”
On September 1st, I officially started the process of applying online for Social Security benefits at the age of 65 ½. After hearing nothing for weeks, I was shocked to learn (after waiting on-hold for over an hour) that I could not likely expect to have my application reviewed by the Social Security Administration until after the 1st of next year!
If I had I been applying for disability benefits, I would easily expect to wait 250 days to a full year just to be considered. Sickening.
But not to worry folks, benefits are retroactive to the date when you first apply regardless of how long it takes the government to “get around to it” and thankfully, we’ve all got Donald Trump and the Republicans putting us first for a change right? Oops, my bad, sorry … I forgot that the fourth Republican government shut down in history is imminent – if so, who knows how long we can expect to wait. Death?
Which makes me wonder, considering the record numbers of Americans now reaching retirement age (boomers), how much $$$ does the government expect to save if people happen to die while waiting an exorbitant length of time for their earned benefits? In short, why risk the wrath of voters by formally cutting social security benefits if you can get away with gaslighting and denying them access and accomplish the same thing? I know, I know … it’s only a conspiracy theory until we hear it on Fox News.
In reality, the truth is even more disgusting. When Trump was inaugurated last January, the Social Security Administration (SSA) was already facing a record-breaking backlog of 5.2 million pending cases.
To address the crises head-on, the moment Trump’s hand left the Bible his second administration immediately began eliminating staff at the SSA with a 2025 target of cutting the workforce by about 7,000 employees. This represents a 12% reduction from the approximately 57,000 employees at the start of the year. Now, Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already taken steps to streamline and consolidate regional & local SSA offices across America for even deeper staff cuts and longer delays in 2026!!! Gee … thanks Republicans! Put us any farther “first” and we’ll be chasing the bus right after it rolls over us.
Fortunately, on a happier note, thanks to RFK Jr. (secret service code: “wormhole1”) we now know that Tylenol causes autism – despite the lack of causal clinical evidence as definitive proof. See: Trump links autism and Tylenol: is there any truth to it? But, so what? Who needs all those so-called scientists gettin’ all sciency and stuff with their buffoon, PhD wokery (Republicans, not the Chinese fry pan) when we already have the eminent Dr. Oz on board right?
All kidding aside, he does deserve some credit for the amazing discovery that, like Viagra (originally developed for high blood pressure), Tylenol has now been shown to be efficacious in doing the exact opposite. Meaning, the softening of the Epstein files. Too bad Donald didn’t take a little extra along with him on all those “getting down to risky business” meetings with Jeffrey and Ghislaine on that island.
So, is it time to consider adding thievery and sexual abuse to that esteemed list of RCV (Republican core values) or, should we just wait to see those files first?
Who knows, maybe Hillary’s emails and Barack Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate might finally show up in there, too. Worth a look don’t you think?
Next up: Is using the “F” word constantly in public and in front of children an up & coming new RCV?
The situation regarding a data center at the STAMP site in Genesee County has reached new levels of complexity. GCEDC claims that Stream Data Centers approached them to withdraw their plans for the large data center known as Project Double Reed in order to propose an even larger data center.
GCEDC then revoked the approvals for Double Reed, even though this was not necessary in order for Stream to submit a new application. Whether the revocation was a response to pending litigation is unknown, but the fact is that GCEDC did the right thing, and deserves credit for it.
A new, larger data center is madness. It makes even less sense than the original proposal, which itself was opposed by a large number of local citizens. Supporters of data centers, notably Stream itself, are claiming billions in investments, well-paying jobs, and tax relief for local schools.
The truth is far more sobering: 1) not enough jobs, especially considering the gigantic tax breaks for Data Stream; 2) enormous strain on the supply of electricity, which will drive up everybody’s rates, and; 3) no net financial benefit for local schools.
Stream Data would be the big winner here, with (probable) access to unfathomably large amounts of low-cost hydroelectricity as well as roughly a half billion dollars in tax breaks. We the people are the losers. The effect of this project would be a net transfer of wealth from ordinary people to trillion-dollar corporations.
Also consider the lands immediately surrounding the STAMP data center – protected lands such as the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. A huge industrial development right next to them poses obvious risks.
The wilderness has no voice – we must speak and defend it. The voices of the Tonawanda Seneca citizens are largely unheard. They seek to protect their nation for the sake of their children, grandchildren, and future generations. We need to hear their voices.
You have a voice. Make sure it’s heard. Tell Stream that we the people don’t want them! I urge you to contact your local elected officials and let them know how you feel. Thanks in advance for doing so.
For too long, primary care parents in Orleans County have been railroaded by a family court system that claims to serve justice, yet routinely operates in secrecy, without medical expertise, and with little regard for the real impacts on children and families.
Until COVID, Judge Sandy Church held family court proceedings in the large, public courtroom upstairs—where the community could witness the decisions that shape lives. Today, those cases are pushed into a smaller, first-floor courtroom, out of sight, away from the eyes and accountability of the public. Why hide, if there’s nothing to hide?
Even more alarming: prior to the pandemic, Judge Church had the benefit of a mental health advocate who sat in on court sessions. That advocate would meet with him in chambers after hearings to provide context, education, and a professional perspective on mental health and addiction.
This safeguard helped ensure that families weren’t dismantled by a lack of understanding. Now, that safeguard is gone. Families are being judged—and too often punished—based solely on one man’s opinion, without medical guidance, without professional input, and without accountability.
We cannot allow a system that decides the fate of children and parents to operate in darkness. Family court should not be a place where stigma outweighs science, or where ignorance of mental health is allowed to destroy lives. It should be transparent, informed, and accountable to the public it serves.
Our community deserves better. Orleans County deserves a family court that prioritizes the well-being of children, respects the rights of parents, and seeks professional expertise before issuing life-altering decisions.
Until then, every parent who enters that courtroom is at risk of being failed—not because of their ability to parent, but because of a system designed to silence and control rather than support and understand.
It’s time for change. And it starts with us demanding it.
On September 14, 2025 during a speech at his Bedminster, NJ golf club, Donald Trump publicly said: “smart people don’t like me.” It’s taken nearly 80 years but Donald Trump has finally said something that he and Democrats can fully agree.
Even after years of characterizing his supporters as “the very poorly educated,” this man continues to openly insult you to your faces and you still just don’t get it.
Is he right as he apparently is about everything? If it’s not the smart people who like him, then who does? At least Hillary didn’t call you stupid.
Anything and everything about Donald Trump sinks to the lowest common denominator of humanity. The only creatures in the entire biosphere beneath him are those who secretly know it’s true and in like-minded circles celebrate it.
It seems Trump’s tariffs have made Brazil’s soybeans and corn cheaper in China so it’s up to the American taxpayer to make up the difference. Now that’s rich … sounds a little “wokey” if you ask me.
These are the same people who cried blood about giving a hungry kid a sandwich in school but down on the farm, as they say, socialism is quite the new “Republican core value.” Remember those?
Me neither.
“As you have treated the poor, so have you treated Me.”
Tom Graham
Rochester, NY
Graham is a member of Albion High School’s Class of 1978.
As a proud resident of Clarendon, I’m raising my four children here and have seen firsthand both the strengths and the challenges our town faces. That is why I’m running for a seat on the Clarendon Town Council.
I’ve been out in the community knocking on doors and talking with neighbors. Over and over, I hear the same themes: people want local government that listens, communicates openly, and focuses on practical solutions. Those are exactly the values I bring with me as a hard-working mom and the wife of a veteran who knows what service and dedication mean.
If elected, I’ll work to strengthen the services families rely on, keep Clarendon safe and welcoming, and make sure every resident feels heard in decisions that affect them. I believe that, regardless of background or political label, we can build a stronger future for everyone in our town when we work together.
Thank you for the opportunity to earn your trust and your vote. I look forward to continuing the conversation with my neighbors here in Clarendon.
This past weekend was considered a time to remember that our children need to be protected. This reminded me that as a human services caseworker, specifically as a Foster Care and Preventive Caseworker for Orleans County for 30 years before retiring in 2020, that we have lost two of the best people in Orleans County the past two years who dedicated their lives to protecting our children in Orleans County. Those two saintly foster parents are Lucy Burch and Gert Anderson, both of Lyndonville.
These two ladies and their families, for years, took in all kinds of children to give them a safe haven from, not only neglect and abuse, but from the children’s own self-deprecating behaviors. Both ladies were able to keep in touch with many of these children even after the children left their foster homes and they continued to be a source of support for many of these young people.
Let me dispel a common fictional belief of foster parents: They do not get plenty of money to take in someone else’s children. They are basically allotted just enough to be able to help these youngsters.
This is done purposely as to attempt to avoid people becoming a part of the system with a goal to get rich off of it, only to obviously worsen a child’s situation. Foster care is truly a sacrifice that these foster parents make in an attempt to help parents who are unable to care for their children, at least at the time the children are placed in foster care by family court.
Many, if not all, foster parents, lose money to help take care of these children and a lot of it is because they use their own money to help the children feel more a part of their family, at least during what is hoped to be a temporary situation.
Foster parents like Gert and Lucy are missed, but I can tell you based on experience that so many of the foster parents in Orleans County are life savers for these children. Are there a few foster parents who are able to hide especially neglect from caseworkers and their supervisors as well as the courts and the children’s legal representatives? Certainly. It happens and these are the “bad apples” who have caused so many great foster parents to deal with the repercussions for reputation, locally and nationally. Just like any group of people, ethnic or otherwise, there are a relative few deviants who can ruin the public view of that group.
Gert and Lucy (and their husbands, Harley Anderson and Jim Burch and families), who began being foster parents in the early ’80s, were two of the most unselfish people I have ever met, but they certainly weren’t the only foster parents in Orleans County who were so supportive and saviors for many children.
Two other families that come to mind were Bill and Betty Cooper of Albion and Bob and Cathy Foss of Medina, who also took in many children in the ’80s and ’90s. The Coopers were especially instrumental in helping Black foster children in Orleans County and at that time even did “daycare” for their grandson, Trellis Pore, who has become an instrumental community leader as Pastor of Albion’s Shiloh Church. The Fosses, like the Andersons, were fundamental in helping teenage girls in Orleans County for years.
There certainly have been and are fabulous foster parents in Orleans County, just as there are in our country and around the world. The system is certainly not perfect, but it is definitely better for the children who can have little to no protection living in their homes where their parents are neglectful or abusive.
Most of the parents, themselves, have been the victims of their own neglectful/abusive parents, a terrible cycle that, more than likely, has gone on for generations. Foster parents can and have become the answers in attempts to negate this cyclical generational misfortune for children.
In addition to my career as a foster care caseworker, I am aware of the dynamics of this process as my own parents, Bob and Margaret Golden, were also foster parents while I was in my teenage years. While not foster parents for long, just about four years, they did have some effect on certain children who have become contributing members of our community and who have kept in touch with my parents throughout the years.
Finally, while sharing my experiences of foster parents and children, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the greatest groups of people I have had the pleasure to work with: Orleans County Child Protective Workers, as well as the Foster Care and Preventive workers, Adult Protective Workers and all our supervisors. They are truly people who care about children of their community but also the people they work with who have issues where guidance and support is necessary.
For anyone who is intrigued by what I have written and has thoughts of possibly becoming a foster parent. Child & Family Services is located in the Orleans County Office Building and they are always willing to take calls from perspective foster parents.
It’s not a lucrative job, and it is not easy, but it can be so rewarding most likely, for a definite placement in heaven. Just ask two women who have left their mark on Orleans County when you get there….Gert and Lucy.
Gerry Golden
Retired Foster Care/Preventive Caseworker in Orleans County
Many local residents oppose the other utility-scale solar farms that are popping up all over the area. They are opposed because the projects will change the local area’s rural character and remove farmland from production. These concerns have also been raised in recent statements by elected officials such as Steve Hawley and George Borello.
I share these concerns about the massive land use change currently occurring in our county. In addition to the solar developments, I am also worried about the STAMP mega-industrial site, currently under construction by the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). GCEDC subsidizes both tenants at STAMP and also many of the local solar developments.
If you are concerned about solar, you should be concerned about STAMP. Here’s why:
STAMP will destroy 1263 acres, mostly farmland
A proposed 600 MW electrical substation would raise rates for all of us, including farmers who are already overburdened by costs
The site includes a 500,000-gallon water tank for fire suppression and water inflow infrastructure that diverts our limited local water supply away from agriculture for corporate use
PILOT payments are negatively affecting our local schools
Like the solar developments, STAMP threatens our local way of life. It will also make our electricity bills go up, will cause more brownouts and blackouts, will steal water from farms that are already affected by drought, and will direct taxpayer monies to big corporations – with no benefit for local residents.
I am part of a group of concerned local residents who are hosting a Town Hall on STAMP. GCEDC doesn’t want to answer your questions about STAMP, but we will.
Come to our Town Hall on Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oakfield Fire Dept and learn more.
Come to learn, ask questions, and connect with other concerned neighbors. STAMP is far from a done deal. We can still protect our local way of life from the worst of possible future developments.
