Editor:

I would like to thank Mr. Al Capurso for pointing out a flaw in the plan presented to concerned citizens outlining the purchase of the county nursing home.  I neglected to capitalize properly. To quote the Confiteor, an ancient prayer in Catholicism “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” (Click here for earlier letter from this writer.)

The plan should have been presented to the Concerned (upper case c) citizens. The concerned (lower case c) citizens, aka the voters in Orleans County, had already expressed their desire to sell the nursing home.

This desire was expressed in an election, years ago, in which they chose a responsible group of legislators who realized that in order to continue to provide essential care to our elderly residents in the future, difficult decisions had to be made. They made those decisions. The decision was challenged in court not once but twice by Concerned (upper case c) citizens at a cost to all citizens (Not case sensitive).

Then, in the most recent election, the concerned (lower case c) citizens re-elected the same responsible legislators. My sure-fire business plan should have been suggested to the Concerned (upper case c) citizens.

And speaking of concerned (not case sensitive) citizens, I read with interest Mr. Kent’s analysis of the election results. It would seem that the Concerned (upper case c) citizens lost the election, not due to a flawed concept, or poor presentation. The election was lost, if I am reading this correctly, because the voters were not bright enough to differentiate between national, state and local issues. These same voters were also compared to an ill-informed fungus.

At the risk of sounding contrary, I beg to differ. Unfortunately, the election was reduced to one issue. There were a number of issues that should have been highlighted in this election cycle that were not discussed. It seems to me that the concerned (lower case c) citizens weighed the information provided, considered the manner in which it was provided and made a decision based upon these factors. I cannot think of a better definition of  “endorsement by the public” than the results of this particular election.

And finally, Mr. Kent made a reference to the iconic front man for Mad magazine. I had to think about how this fit into the political theme of his letter. Then I remembered that Alfred E Neuman runs in the presidential race every cycle. I am still somewhat confused. I am trying to think of a local candidate who, like Mr. Neuman, runs in every election cycle, presents questionable proposals and loses every time. I will have to give that a little more thought.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all citizens, upper and lower case c, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanza or simply to enjoy family and friends at this special time of the year.

May the new year be both happy and prosperous for every one in Orleans County, the state of New York and the most amazing country in the history of the world, The United States of America.

Paul J Blajszczak
Medina

Editor:

I would like to remind the citizens of Orleans County of some facts regarding our nursing home, The Villages of Orleans, which the County Legislature is trying to sell off.

It was established in 1830 by County Resolution, authorizing the funding and committing to responsibility to those in need of residential care. In 1905, the hospital portion was dedicated. The 1922 Proceedings of the Orleans County Board of Supervisors reports the nursing home served 86 patients and even had a maternity ward. In 1960, a new infirmary was dedicated by our County fathers as the old facility on County House Road could no longer suit the needs of the citizens.

This proud history of a public owned, quality care facility is about to change. Contrary to County Resolution (the 1830 Resolution was never rescinded), our single-party County Legislature is about to wash its hands of the nursing home and allow it to be run by a profit-oriented business.

They have deemed the original resolution “irrelevant.” I am not a lawyer, but common sense would dictate that only a judge can make that determination. I sincerely recommend this case be re-opened and the legality of the sale be examined in court. Buyer beware.

Al Capurso
Gaines

Editor:

After reading the article regarding the possibility of requiring candidates for Albion positions to be from independent parties, I wonder, what difference will it really make? (Click here to see that article.)

The same wolves (and I apologize to the wolves of the world) will be running in new sheep’s clothing.The same tired faces will be there, promising the same tired themes and Albion, along with Orleans County, will still be mired in obscurity.

Until the people of this county finally realize that the only way change willcome about is through their actual involvement instead of sitting on the sidelines, waiting for someone else to “take care of it,” nothing will change, no matter what party line the usual suspects run on.

Mark H. Vosburgh
Albion

Editor:

It has often been said that today’s youth are the future of tomorrow. Indeed, young people of our nation will soon become society’s parents, employees and contributing members. With some positive direction we can guide our youth toward creating lives that are fulfilling and productive.

However, today’s youth are faced with a number of influences that have the potential to affect their lives in negative ways. The behaviors of peers and the messages broadcasted through the media often impact the way that a young person decides what a desirable lifestyle is.

Children and teens especially tend to source much of what they believe regarding what is right and wrong from what their friends demonstrate. In addition, the media’s scope of influence on young people is enormous, ranging from promoting an unhealthy body image, to normalizing violence and crime, and encouraging kids to make a life out of chasing fame and excessive wealth. Indeed, impressionable young people are particularly at risk to develop lifestyles that don’t put to use their astounding potential.

Involvement in youth-based organizations has been shown to reduce the likelihood that kids and teens will make poor decisions regarding their health, safety, and general wellness. A 2010 study from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction found that effective afterschool programs can improve classroom behavior, school attendance, academic aspirations, and can reduce the likelihood that a student may drop out.

Additionally, researchers out of the University of Chicago and UCLA found that participation in afterschool programs has been associated with reduced drug use and criminal behavior. Individuals, families, and communities stand to grow in positive ways through participating in and supporting these programs.

Luckily for residents of Orleans County, the area is home to an active and successful 4-H Youth Development program. The program is the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization and provides participants with opportunities for positive personal development in the home, in the classroom, and within society.

4-H produces research-driven programming with proven results for its members in the areas of science, citizenship and healthy living. Within Orleans County, 4-H members gain valuable life skills through fun projects that are challenging yet rewarding.

In an annual program called “Grown in New York,” local 4-H’ers demonstrated their ability to cook a healthy dish that contained locally produced ingredients. In another project, youth members raised turkeys for a holiday-season market auction for members of the community.

Through these projects and multiple others throughout the year, Orleans County youth involved in 4-H have had the opportunity to gain skills and experience essential to positive personal development while giving back to the community as well.

If you are interested in enrolling your 8-18 year old youth in this exemplary program, contact the Orleans County 4-H office at (585) 798-4265, or visit the offices on the local fairgrounds at 12690 NYS Route 31 in Albion. Volunteer opportunities for adults as 4-H leaders also exist if you wish to contribute your time to building confident young leaders.

Candace Coniglio
Springwater

(The writer is a former intern with Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension and the 4-H program. She is a senior at Brockport State College.)

Editor:

At a reception in late November, one of our Orleans County Legislators expressed appreciation to me for our spirited campaign and its lack of personal attacks. I viewed it as an indication that the 2013 local election was one that we could now put behind us and continue with “business as usual.”

A group of Concerned Citizens attended the November Legislature meeting to question the ongoing disconnect between our legislators and the people they still appear to feel they represent. When Adolf Genter rose to, once again, insist that selling the Orleans County Nursing Home was not in the interests of County residents, at least one legislator smiled and shook his head as if to suggest that Mr. Genter was sadly misinformed.

Countywide, the campaign we spent three times as much on as is normal in a county election resulted in convincing 46.3 percent of the voters to vote for an at-large candidate. Eight months of weekly Pennysaver ads, nine demonstrations of up to 65 people, attendance at Legislature and LDC Board meetings, and numerous letters to the editor failed to achieve our goal. That goal was to put four people on the Legislature who would vote to derail the sale and most likely make several other changes that would benefit Orleans County.

No doubt, some portion of the 53.7 percent who voted for our opponents countywide had been misinformed sufficiently to really think selling “The Villages of Orleans” was a good idea. Having spoken with several of them, I am convinced they honestly did. To say it was encouraging, as Legislator Johnson did, that people had “informed” themselves sufficiently to return four of five incumbents to office is flattery without foundation.

What really appears to have happened is that a majority got “played” in spite of a selfless effort by The Concerned Citizens of Orleans County to prevent the public from being conned. The year 2013 provided a perfect political “storm” for a legislature – which hadn’t done its “due diligence” – to pull off the “heist” of two centuries.

Frustration over events 42,000 people in Orleans County likely cannot control in Albany and Washington, to some extent, was reflected in voting locally. The sad part is that Orleans County voters can control what happens in Orleans County. A significant number of County voters appear to have prioritized registering their disapproval of Obamacare and the S.A.F.E. Act over their disapproval of selling “The Villages of Orleans.”

In case those two things didn’t provide a sufficient smokescreen locally, the three fliers full of lies voters received in the two weeks before the election certainly appear to have sealed the fate of one of Orleans County ’s greatest institutional assets. Though every one of us evaluates “information” based on its source, it went unnoticed by many that nowhere in the scary fliers was their source indicated.

At the end of the day, what are the 3,000 people who voted for Concerned Citizen endorsed candidates left to conclude?It appears to me that our legislators view this as a game.It is a game in which secrecy and deceit are used liberally to cover incompetence that costs taxpayers dearly.

The one “What, me, worry?” citizen who defended the Chairman’s grand experiment with the future of Orleans County is employed by Mr. Callard!That was a well-kept secret no one thoughtor knewto tell you before Nov. 5. Landfill interests have donated to the County Republican committee.That was just another oversight. In this game, if you spend enough money, tell enough lies, and have two great “smokescreen” issues, you can convince people to sell their souls and feel all right with it.

When all is said and done, you “win,” and that is all that really mattersto the people who continue to run Orleans County like a mushroom factory.

Sincerely yours,
Gary F. Kent
Albion

Editor:

In the article about the vote on the Orleans County budget I was drawn to this incredible quotation from County Legislator Don Allport:

“If people on welfare have to stand an extra hour or two in line that’s not my problem.”

There are so many things to say about this that I don’t know where to begin, but I will try.

We have a legislator who says that the problems faced by some citizens of our county are not his problem. I thought he was elected to represent all of his constituents. Little did I know that he actually represents some group of elitists who don’t have any problems.

We can extend Legislator Allport’s line of reasoning to other arenas of life. People who don’t have enough food – not his problem. People without adequate health care – not his problem. People on disability or with serious mental health issues – not his problem. Children failing in school – not his problem. Trash in the parks – not his problem. Corruption in Albany – not his problem. The impact of selling the Villages on employees, families and the elderly – not his problem. Wounded veterans – not his problem. Unemployed people unable to find jobs – not his problem. People displaced after a fire – not his problem. Victims of crime – not his problem. Makes me wonder if there is anything that actually is his problem?

I find the quotation deeply disturbing. I take seriously the things I learn in church, like “as you did it for the least of these you did it to me” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I suppose in a perverse way it is refreshing to find a politician who actually admits to holding a position of utter disregard for others, though I find it hard to imagine an election campaign based on it. (“Vote for me, I don’t care about the problems people have.”) But who knows, in our current political environment there may be people who want candidates like this? Do you? I don’t.

By the way, the last time I was in the line at Orleans County Social Services there was hardly room in the small office for people to wait. People in wheel chairs, people with children, elderly people, people struggling to walk, and not enough chairs or even places to stand. But that is not Legislator Allport’s problem.

Maybe he hopes that by making the experience as miserable as possible people will move to Batavia or give up on getting assistance. I bet he wouldn’t even stoop so low as to suggest that some folding chairs be set up in the hallway for all the people he’s happy to have waiting even longer, because, after all, it’s not his problem.

Rev. James R. Renfrew
Clarendon

Editor:

Mr. Rush, please do one last thing before you leave office for the people of Orleans County. Vote “NO” on the budget vote. You would be remembered for “doing the right thing” for Orleans County.

Blaming the state is not the answer. The Legislature needs to take responsibility for getting us in this “mess.”

Jeanne Crane
Carlton

Crane is chairwoman of the Orleans County Democratic Party.

Editor:

I am not surprised that on Nov. 15 the LDC announced the finalization of the sale of The Villages to one of two bidders. Interesting though, how it transpired during election season, but was not announced until a week after the election. The election only put one good man, Fred Miller, into the Legislature.

Sincerely,

Timothy Good
Albion

Editor:

Each year about one in five women are raped or experience an attempted rape. About one in four women are beaten by an intimate partner and one in six are stalked.

The statistics were taken from a study done by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

If these numbers surprise you, you’re not alone. I was also surprised to learn from Jean Kilbourne’s film “Killing Us Softly 4” that about one-third of the women murdered in the U.S. is by their male partner or husband.

I never paid much attention to how many women are really affected by acts of violence by men until I started taking a Sociology of Gender class. I have learned so many things that are so eye-opening. Now, I’m not going to sit here and bash all men for violence against women, because I know that not all men are violent and that men experience violence from women and other men as well. However, the facts show that the majority of the acts of violence against women come from men.

Now, here is my thought about how we can stop all of this violence. Stop letting the media degrade women! Have you paid attention to some of the ads, movies, or music videos that are out lately? They’re disgusting. It seems like an easy job to be in marketing because apparently all you have to do is show the product for a second and spend the next twenty-nine seconds showing a half-naked woman.

It’s obvious that women have been used as objects for a long time, especially in advertising, but it has led to so much violence that it just seems logical to stop objectifying women and maybe the amount of violence will decrease. However, I don’t think that only changing the way women are shown in the media will solve everything. The way men are shown in the media needs to change too.

Men in the media are shown as these macho, powerful, manly men, which is great until they are shown harassing women like it’s an acceptable practice. Music videos show men slapping women, pouring their drinks on them, and just treating them like a piece of meat and not like another person. Advertisements do the same thing when they show men controlling a woman and saying that it’s the manly and right thing to do.

I think it is great when men are portrayed as successful and independent, so why can’t women been portrayed the same way? I would be more inclined to buy a product if I saw someone in a power suit using it, because I want to be successful too. I don’t want to be dressed scantily clad with men pouring champagne on me.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the violence that women experience, but the harassment in the media is seen by many people of all ages. Most people say that they don’t even pay attention to the commercials or ads that are all around them on a daily basis, but Rance Crain, who was a Senior Editor for Advertising Age says that, “Only 8% of an ad’s message is received by the conscious mind. The rest is worked and reworked deep within the recesses of the brain.”

This just goes to show that the media has more control over our mind than we would think. If the advertisements are promoting violence against women, which most of them are, then it is very obvious as to why there are so many acts of violence against women.

The powerful men and women in advertising need to realize all of the damage that is being caused by their ads. I know that not all acts of violence are due to what was seen in a commercial, but it’s quite clear that the media plays a large role in the way we act. It’s in our subconscious to do what is being done in the media. If the media would change the way they portray men and women, I believe that we would see a decrease in the amount of violence towards women. Maybe the media is a societal devil in disguise.

Rebecca Reigle
Medina

Reigle is a student at Stony Brook University.

Editor:

People in our area tend to respond to need when they are aware of it. Many just do it without wringing their hands about how much they might be inconvenienced in the process.

On Monday, Nov. 11, the Medina Fire Department responded to a fire at 228 Park Ave. Forgive me if there were volunteer companies that responded as well. Had the MFD failed to respond, there is no telling how much of Medina might have burned to the ground.

Fortunately the Orleans County Legislature doesn’t decide whether or not fires should be fought. You see, you cannot make money fighting fires either.Is taking care of those who have taken care of us any less important than doing what needs to be done when it comes to fighting a fire?

That is crazy one might say.Obviously we have to fight fires.How much more obvious is the need to fight fires than the need to take care of our responsibilities where our elderly are concerned?

According to 2014 budget reporting, the cost of garbage disposal is rising to $190 next year.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion