Editor:

Simple solution: We do not have to invade Panama. The All-American solution is US ports and railroads.

Rail, supplemented by water and truck, can deliver overseas freight without Canal tolls.

This also strengthens USA infrastructure.

Gerard M. Morrisey

East Gaines

Editor:

On inauguration day Trump pardoned all of the 1,500-plus Jan. 6’ers. Most of these had already served their full prison time.

But the few hundred released on Jan. 21 were the worst of the worst: Proud Boys & Oath Keeper leaders and their ilk.

Be aware that wannabee dictators always have groups of thugs that are used to intimidate any and all opposition. They are particularly needed in the early phases of a dictator’s takeover. In these early stages the wannabee will seek to damage, or destroy,  the existing system of government.

In a democracy the changes are done legally whereas the wannabee’s thugs use illegal violence and intimidation to pave the way for the changes. These thugs will not have uniforms or name tags so as to make them hard to identify. This will make it easier for the  wannabee to claim no knowledge of these acts of violence and intimidation. He will say he has no knowledge of the violence and will say it certainly isn’t his police or army doing this. Of course, after the violence and intimidation have helped obtain the takeover the wannabee changes the laws. After that the police and military will be used to enforce the new dictatorial laws.

I feel it certain  that Trump will create his own private army from these pardoned Jan. 6’ers.  Hitler’s similar groups of thugs were called the Brownshirts. They helped Hitler to gain and consolidate power in the 1920s & ’30s.

Dennis Seekins

Lyndonville

Editor:

Give me your foreign born billionaire yearning to take over the world.

Your wretched high-tech male oligarchs selling all your data hoping to be richer.

Send the faux news actors to run the country for me.

I lift my lamp to see all the gold you have in store.

Danise F. Austin

Albion

Editor:

On Monday, January 20 we replace a very confused, slightly angry old man with a slightly confused, very angry old man. There must be a better process that we can follow.

The current primary system favors extreme views, early in the process. Early primary states should have a later “Correction of Errors” phase.

Gerard M. Morrisey

Gaines

Editor:

Local Republican legislators – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, Congressman Nick Langworthy, and State Senator Rob Ortt, (all who endorsed a convicted criminal for President) – have expressed their opposition to the Green Light Law which allows for undocumented immigrants to have drivers’ licenses.

In order to obtain a Green Light Driver’s license, the applicant must apply for a learner’s permit, pass a written exam, take a driver education course and pass a road test as well as provide documents proving their identity, age and residency.

Undocumented immigrants make up over half of farm workers, according to Cornell University and they comprise a large share of construction and health care industries.

These people have families, and they drive their children to school and extra-curricular activities. They drive family members to doctor’s offices and to their jobs just like the rest of us.

Ending the Green light Law will not stop them from driving, but it will drive them underground and make driving less safe for all New Yorkers. Studies from New Mexico and Utah show that there is an increase in vehicular accidents and in the rate of uninsured drivers without the Green Light Law.

There is no evidence that the Green Light Law makes New Yorkers less safe. Our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed, migrants need to have a legal way to enter the country, find jobs and help our economy grow. This Republican legislation of blaming others and punishment will not address the issue and shows their lack of seriousness.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

Karen Sawicz is owed tremendous thanks by all current residents of not only Orleans County but the easily connected people who routinely access the Orleans Hub from afar!

I remember conversations with her going back about 15 years ago, following the death of her parents. I would stop in to the Lake Country Pennysaver offices to pay an advertising bill to her delightful front office crew and Karen would occasionally pop out of her office for a chat.

Even then, Karen’s personal life had changed from residing in Orleans County and she did have a potential buyer for The Lake Country Pennysaver, but she also had concerns.  She loved this county and she had pursued options to not only continue The Pennysaver but to also bring Orleans County into the virtual world of what she ultimately developed to become the Orleans Hub.

We have all benefited from her concerns, her diligence and countless decisions to not sell at that time. Instead, she focused on the development of a Virtual Hub and secured spectacular staff we all know so well and by the wonderful “Letter to the Editor” opportunities for any of us.

This Orleans Hub goes all over the world instantly by a push of keyboard strokes by any of us and has enabled such healthy discourse and promotions unlike ANY of our neighboring counties!

Thanks Karen, we owe you so much … from one Karen to another!

Karen Watt

Albion

Editor:

Some of my fondest memories are from the six years I spent attending Towne Primary School.

Singing outside on the steps in the back courtyard, the awesome playground that for many years I enjoyed taking my granddaughters to!

Would it not be an impressive home for our senior residents? I can see the playground being adored our seniors and their families, children coming to the courtyard or the library for a story hour! How about a cooking class?

Our young people may enjoy the time spent with a senior. I believe there may be young people, even us older adults would enjoy learning cooking skills (a pinch of this and a dash of that) including myself!

I believe the possibilities are endless. I would love to see the building come alive. Medina has witnessed the recent beautifications of the Bent’s Opera House and the Walsh House!

I know in my heart Towne School on Bates Road could be a perfect home for our seniors.

Just an idea!

Sarah Yates Gonzalez

Medina

Editor:

Congresswoman Tenney has introduced in Congress the Red Light Act that seeks to withhold federal transportation funding from states that enact laws to provide driver’s licenses or ID cards to illegal immigrants.

Tenney goes on to say, “In New York, the Green Light Law has given licenses to illegal immigrants. allowing these dangerous individuals to roam freely in our country, brutally attacking, raping and murdering members of our community.”

What an astonishing, illogical thing to put into print, let alone introduce in Congress. Is this yet another example of Tenney’s efforts to pander to Trump, to make sure she walks in lock step to his racist rantings on immigrants?

Using Tenny’s twisted logic perhaps she would also ban buses, trains and planes. And since criminals also walk, how about banning shoes and socks?

When members of Congress are in session, they usually employ cooks and maids in their Washington homes. A large number of these people are immigrants. Perhaps Tenney employs immigrants in her Washington DC house hold staff, and if so, I wonder if are they legally in the US?

A clarification from Tenney in the Hub would be useful.

Jack Capurso

Ashburn, Va.

Mr. Capurso graduated from Albion High School in 1960.

Editor:

In a recent letter, longtime opponent of wind energy, Kerri Richardson, claimed that residents may not see many benefits from the Heritage Wind project to the Town of Barre, Orleans County, and our local schools.

Ms. Richardson threw out a lot of numbers but ignores some basic facts about the project.

First, the revenue from Heritage Wind is new money for our town that we didn’t have to begin with. The benefits to our town, and schools from the PILOT and Host Community Agreement revenue are significant! And the amount could have been greater if not for the constant opposition and antics of the anti-wind factions, including Ms. Richardson’s group, which resulted in a smaller project with fewer turbines than originally proposed and permitted.

The funds coming to Barre from the wind project certainly could be used to lower town taxes, as the majority on the current board have expressed that they want to do. Other wind projects across the state have done just that.

Could the money from the project be used for other town priorities? Of course! It’s no secret that the funds could be used for other projects and that it’s up to the board. And with the additional funds, other priorities could be addressed as well. The question is whether most of the funds will be used to help the residents, and that will depend on who is on the board now and in the future.

Ms. Richardson also mentioned that job creation in this area from the project will be a low number and so not worthwhile. But she forgot to include the several hundred workers who will be working to build the project, including spending with local businesses to provide supplies and services during construction.

While construction workers will certainly come from throughout the region, and not all will be local to Orleans County, any visiting workers will be spending money locally for their daily needs, such as housing, food service, fuel and supplies. During operations, the number of full-time employees will decrease but the project will still produce full-time good paying jobs for the community.

Ms. Richardson and I do agree that when we vote this coming November, we should keep in mind who we want to represent our town. But we disagree on the kind of representation. Do we want those who are stuck in the past fighting against a project that is already approved, as Ms. Richardson would advocate for? Or do we want a group that will embrace the opportunity before us and make sure the financial benefits from Heritage Wind will be used in the best interests of the town and its residents? I’d rather see a group using the money to make life better for residents rather than fighting legal battles.

And I disagree with Ms. Richardson that most of the residents are against this project. I don’t think that’s been proven at all. I would say that most people here are probably tired of hearing about it and want the fighting to stop.

The wind project is coming! It will soon be built and will be generating clean power! And the new funds coming to the town, Orleans County, and local schools will provide a huge boost to this area that will prove beneficial to all.

Christine Loss

Barre

Editor:

I was very glad to read about the change in ownership at the Pennysaver and Hub, as it appears that there will be little outward change. Don’t mess with success.

Tom Rivers is the heart and soul of Orleans Hub. When I see Tom appear at a community event with his smiling face and his camera, I know that the world will hear about something that makes us proud of our home, or something that needs to be fixed.

Tom gets the names and the details right, and can be counted on to report the situation as it stands, without bias or spin. Those of us who log in several times a day, or watch the announcements on Facebook, appreciate the oasis that is Orleans Hub in the sandstorm desert of society today.

I grew up reading the Lyndonville Enterprise, a newspaper that appeared almost by magic from a mysterious little building that is now a parking lot behind the laundromat; I will never forget the web-fed printing press that took up two stories of that building, and the mostly hand-set type.

When I was a teenager I worked in the job shop at the Medina Journal-Register, which at the time was still set in hot lead from linotype. Both papers reported on school sports, who made the honors list at high school, who was visiting from out of town, farm news, and local businesses. We used to joke that they would go to the library to see if someone had borrowed the book, and that the phone directory had a Yellow Page. Life in a small town was important, even if it wasn’t Albion or Washington DC.

We can still get some of that in Tom and Ginny Kropf’s splendid work that appears on Orleans Hub. I admire the fact that it is a free site, although I would subscribe in a heartbeat.

When I do business with a Hub advertiser, I am careful to let them know I saw their ad. With the societal changes driving conventional newspapers out of business, the Orleans Hub is more than worth preserving; it is crucial. I am very glad to learn that the ownership structure will allow it to continue and grow.

Douglas Pratt

Lyndonville