Editor:
The Orleans County Democratic Committee strongly believes June 14th, Flag Day, should stand on its own out of respect and reverence for our flag.
We also submit that making this a National Holiday because it happens to be our current president’s birthday is premature.
Beth Wood
Barre
Wood is secretary of the Orleans County Democratic Committee.
Editor:
Department of Government Efficiency sounds great! I want one! It is not what we got when Trump created DOGE and put Elon Musk in charge.
The brilliance of the extreme right has been their ability to use language to hide what they are doing. A recent example, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act (H.R.7023) was introduced on January 17, 2024. It has nothing to do with making water cleaner, it will make water dirtier.
The bill limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority. I’m old enough to remember when Lake Erie was dead. It is alive again because of environmental protections.
When I think of an office that is focused on increasing government efficiency and reducing waste, I imagine they would look deeply into how things are being done and cut waste. That would take a little investigating to find out what is important and what is not.
If they cared about the American people, they would really look to find waste while keeping important programs. We are all tired of government waste. That is not what they are doing. They are just going in and slashing things without finding out how things work so they can keep the tax cuts for the wealthiest.
Cutting from the National Institute of Health will stop a lot of health care research. If you know anyone who has been in a clinical trial in hopes of healing cancer, these are the types of people that will be affected.
DOGE recently fired staff who were critical to the response to the bird flu and had to bring them back. The way they are working to save money does not make me feel confident. It highlights a complete disregard for the average American. They proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that will take health care away from low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. We are safer in Orleans County because we are in a blue state.
They are focusing on cutting programs and services that help middle income and working families to keep the tax breaks that were started in Trump’s first term. Democrats were going to let them expire, in fact Republicans ran on these tax breaks.
One of my childhood friends is an accountant who has been serving the 1% for over 25 years. Accountants attend workshops when tax laws change. She attended three different workshops on making the most of these tax cuts. All three workshops started with a statement saying it was the biggest tax cut for the wealthy in the history of our tax code.
When they say tax cuts, they are not saying tax cuts for the average American. When they say they are not going to tax overtime or tips, they are shifting your focus. This is just like a magician who points something out in one direction, so you don’t see what they are doing to make the trick work.
Betty García Mathewson
Albion
Editor:
The following Shelby elected officials and endorsed-Republican candidates stand with and support the correction officers on strike due to the current unsafe working conditions they have been dealing with.
The Town of Shelby has many corrections officers and their families in our community, and they need our support.
These officers are forced to work over 24-hour shifts continuously which is an unsafe working condition. The HALT Act limits confinement for inmates which puts the officer’s safety in jeopardy, since the inmates know they will not be restricted for violation of the rules and regulations.
Now the state is penalizing officers for standing up for safe working conditions by taking away their health benefits, which is ironic. So now the inmates get healthcare and the correction officers don’t. In what reality is this OK? We need to support these officers in any way we can.
Respectfully,
Scott Wengewicz, Supervisor
Jeffrey Schiffer, Councilman
Steve Seitz, Councilman
Mike Moriarity, Endorsed Republican candidate
Vassilios Bitsas, Endorsed Republican candidate
Editor:
Congratulations to Congresswoman Claudia Tenney on her sweeping election victory last year. When I travel to DC this week, I will urge her to use her mandate to address climate change and follow in the footsteps of the Republican environmental giants of the 20th century like Roosevelt and Nixon.
The American people know that there is 99 percent consensus in the scientific community as to the link between climate change and human activities. Recent wildfires have highlighted the continued risk of CO2 induced warming.
One policy that is addressing CO2 emissions is The Inflation Reduction Act. The policy serves to spur private investment, clean our electric grid and reduce costs for consumers. Our district benefited from this when Plug Power got $387 million for their facility in the STAMP industrial park. I hope that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney will work to preserve the clean energy provisions of the IRA.
As a lifelong Republican and a member of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, I know that Conservation is Conservative!
Rob Johnson
Medina
Editor:
After reading Ed Zelazny’s letter from Feb. 13 I am still left thinking, “Well Ed in the last 4 years what have you done for us residents?”
You bring up minute generic kicks the can down the road points, time and time again that you did nothing to help the town. Why should we sign your petitions or vote to renew your seat?
You constantly bring up and vote no to raising the budget – how can you run a business knowing the price of goods are going up but have no way to pay for them?
You vote no on paying monthly bills.
You vote no to save us money on water rates.
You voted no to a proposed flat tax rate for all residents resulting in the board accepting a higher budget proposal.
We watch the meetings month after month and not a damn thing gets resolved. The amount of bickering we see helps not one tax-paying resident. This behavior is why local residents want nothing to do with local government.
It’s embarrassing the way some of you board members behave. You continually bring up the same “issues” monthly, but never offer a solution. You wanted a code of ethics, then when the board needed to vote on it…. wait for it… you voted no on accepting a code.
The only light I see shown on “wild wild west” spending is you voting yes to give a pay raise for the Town Clerk three times, you voting yes to spending 6x more money than needed with an engineering firm for Royalton water flow, voting yes to keep purchasing 100% of our water needs from Medina that is double what Royalton is willing to sell at.
You are killing our community by not voting to purchase needed equipment at discounted rates when department heads bring deals to the table. Maybe we should have Elon come audit and see where this mystery money is disappearing to.
If you know what these backdoor deals are that we must be so blind to, why are you not informing us, the taxpayers after you have been in Town Hall serving your 4-year term?
Your term might have started with a signature, but it will end with your favorite vote, “No.”
William Luckman
Medina
Editor:
“For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘hold office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.” – John F. Kennedy
During a recent visit to the Kennedy Museum, I had the distinct and unsettling experience of coming face to face with the above quotation. At the February 24th Village of Medina board meeting, I experienced the sobering reality of what it meant in terms of responsible political leadership. The meeting lasted for almost 3 hours with the Village Board and audience sparring on a number of issues, and the dominant topic was the financing of a fire truck and the construction of an additional bay to house the vehicle.
The Medina firefighters, their respective union and supporters spoke to many frustrations and instances of prior years and other village boards that in their opinion failed to act proactively. The current administration is left to figure out how to move the project forward given the serious impact to village taxpayers.
With poise and empathy, Ms. Padoleski, who over 40 years rose through the Village ranks as a clerk, deputy clerk and clerk treasurer. She currently serves as a village trustee and deputy mayor, and took exception to the tone, demeanor and breakdown in communication she has experienced in navigating the fire truck bonding and fire hall addition projects.
Ms. Padoleski was firm, resolute and unflinching in her opinion that she would not be cajoled given the long-term financial implications to taxpayers. Although Ms. Padoleski’s comments were met at times with interruptions and background chatter, I remain optimistic that a return to civil discourse, common sense and mutual goals will resolve this impasse.
Ms. Padoleski by her persistence and demeanor reinforced in my mind what John F. Kennedy meant when he said “we the people are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership…we demand and deserve” and I personally thank her for it.
Gabrielle Barone
Medina
Editor:
It is so refreshing to know that people still look out for their neighbors. A big “Thank You!” to the young man who plowed our driveway on Brockville Road this Sunday.
My husband has mobility issues and can barely walk. Our snowblower froze/broke this weekend so my son and I have been shoveling the drive all week. Even so, my husband’s car, my car, as well as an Amazon driver all got stuck in our driveway.
My husband has doctor visits this week and I’ve been sweating bullets as to whether I cleaned it well enough not to get stuck. Your act of kindness is appreciated more than you will ever know!
With appreciation,
Stacey Keon
Murray
Editor:
In response to Mr. Heminway’s editorial dated February 18, 2025.
Mr. Heminway states “That changed with the rapid increase in taxes and other issues like the STAMP wastewater pipeline project that threatened to overwhelm Medina’s infrastructure capabilities and damage our county’s natural resources.” For the fiscal year 2024 my budget dropped the tax rate $2.53, and $1.79 outside the village and inside the village respectively. The budget I submitted for fiscal year 2025 had a flat tax rate for the whole town of $3.40. Watch the budget meetings to see how that submitted budget was revamped. The STAMP plant expansion is being dealt with by the Town of Shelby combining forces with Orleans County.
Mr. Heminway writes, “The NYS 2021 Comptroller’s Audit Report and the 2024 follow-up audit.” There was no audit done in 2024, there was a review conducted by the Comptroller’s Office. All discrepancies have been corrected.
Heminway continues, “neither the former nor the current Supervisor resolved the discrepancies in the Town’s accounting records and could not provide a reasonable explanation for not correcting the discrepancies.” I was not the town supervisor for the prior years. That being said I inherited the records and I am responsible for the financial records of the Town.
For those not in attendance at this month’s Town Board meeting you would have heard from two independent accounting firms the town hired, explain that there was no corruption, and no money missing. All Town financial records are in order and are being finalized for 2023 and 2024. There will be a Notice published announcing the findings.
The Town has sound financial records and a strong financial footing. You would also have heard the accounting software purchased before I took office was malfunctioning, not all accounts were transferred into the new system by the software company, and even the contracted accountants could not get the software to work correctly. Moving forward the town has hired and is working with an accounting firm to maintain financial records in accordance with the state comptroller’s office.
So, maybe the current Supervisor did fix the towns financial records! Maybe the current Supervisor led the charge to defeat the windmills, fight the STAMP plant expansion, get an alternate cheaper supply of water, while still negotiating with the Village of Medina for cheaper water rates, invested the towns funds in a NYS authorized interest bearing entity (earning the town five figure interest on its funds).
Maybe the new Supervisor helped the highway superintendent purchase a much-needed new plow truck for cash (ARPA funds) while decreasing taxes, and use ARPA funds to fix and update the Town Hall building that needed repairs, all with the Town Board’s approval.
Maybe, just maybe, it takes time to accomplish tasks. I have spent my entire adult life since 19 years old serving and protecting this great country of ours. I am currently serving our great town and will do my best to serve all of the taxpayers of the Town of Shelby, as a life-long, proud Republican.
I welcome Mr. Heminway’s challenge for Town Supervisor. In fact until recently he was a life-long registered Democrat, meaning now he is a RINO, (Republican in Name Only) to fool you into giving him your vote. I only have two questions, why didn’t Mr. Heminway run for office before all these problems were fixed? Why not run as a Democrat?
Respectfully,
Scott Wengewicz
Shelby Town Supervisor
Editor:
Hello, I am Dale Root, the chairman of the Shelby Republican Committee. I would like to remind our Republican residents we are once again starting our campaign season with signing of endorsed candidate petitions.
This year we have two Town Board positions and the position of Town Supervisor needing to be elected. The campaign season starts with signing of petitions beginning Feb. 25 and finishing on April 3 for the primary. Committee members along with candidates will be out circulating petitions. (The current committee members include Bill Bacon, Steve Seitz, CJ Woodruff, James Zelazny, John Pratt, Alana Koneski, Tom Winans and myself). We thank you in advance for your signatures.
After interviewing all that applied, the committee has endorsed 3 candidates: For the Town Board positions Mike Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas have garnered the Republican endorsement.
Mike is a lifelong resident and family man of Shelby, business owner & the general manager of Pride Pak. In his position as GM, he is responsible for personnel, food safety protocols, works with a host of government agencies and has a strong work ethic. He takes a no-nonsense approach to wasteful spending.
Vassilios lives in the village, has a wonderful background of business experience, with his family they own five businesses. He is hands on with budgeting, finances and personnel. As a committee we found him to be smart & articulate – good qualities for the Town Board.
For the position of Town Supervisor the Republican Committee has endorsed the incumbent Scott Wengewicz. Scott is a Veteran, retired 30-year federal government employee and business owner. In December 2022 he stepped up and accepted the position of supervisor. In his time he has dealt with a flawed bookkeeping system, a bad STAMP project deal, windmill proposals, over-priced water where he negotiated a 50 percent decrease in rate, budget issues. Scott is committed to making sure Shelby residents and their tax dollars are taken care of.
On March 29 we will be hosting our fundraiser spaghetti dinner and meet and greet with the candidates at the Knights of Columbus in Medina. Everyone is welcome. The event will be 5 to 7 p.m. Please contact a member listed above for presale tickets or pay at the door.
Thank you,
Dale Root
Shelby Republican chairman
Editor:
President Trump, who was convicted of 34 felonies, and Elon Musk with Republicans acceding, are looting the government to line their own pockets with massive tax cuts and steering federal contracts their way.
Mr. Musk and his companies were under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Trade Commission and USAID prior to President Trump’s illegal dismissal of 18 Inspectors General.
The job of the Inspectors General is to root out waste, fraud and abuse and they are accountable to Congress and the American people. Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not responsible to Congress or to the American people. They are not vetted; they could be foreign terrorist for all anyone knows. Mr. Trump fired the Inspectors General because they were accountable to the American people.
The budget proposed by the Republicans entails $4.5 trillion tax cut mostly for the wealthy and large corporations with $2 trillion in spending cuts that will jeopardize the health care and food programs for poor and middle-class Americans.
It is important to remember that during President Biden’s administration, the Democrats dramatically reduced the deficits and the ratio of debt to gross domestic product while creating the fastest recovery in decades and strengthening the social safety net, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the Republican budget proposal would increase the debt by “nearly $4 trillion.” Also, they write that the Republican’s budget “economic assumptions are overly aggressive,” meaning that they expect the budget proposals would do more damage to the middle class and increase the debt by a lot more.
Cutting jobs and government agencies randomly with no purpose or plan is wasteful. Furthermore, Mr. Musk’s DOGE group is rifling through Americans personal information through the IRS, the SSI and the Treasury Department.
They do not have any clearance or Congressional authority. I want readers to know that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney not only accepts this invasion of your privacy, the loss of government safety net and jobs and the looting of your tax dollars but she praises this behavior.
William Fine
Brockport
