Editor:

Good for Gov. Kathy Hochul on the moratorium on permits for data centers. I have no idea if this effects the proposed center near in the Town of Alabama near Oakfield. Also, I don’t quite understand why these centers are so huge and need so much power and cooling water.

I spent my entire working life, 35 years, designing, building and repairing computers for the USAF, NASA and, lastly, when they computerized in the 1980s, the National Weather Service.

So, it’s obvious that my knowledge of computer systems is very out of date. I do know that many of the billionaires behind these centers are those who refuse any regulations of the social media platforms they run. I also know that Sister Delores’ Green Orleans folks are against the data center project. I trust their judgement.

Dennis Seekins

Lyndonville

Editor:

Paul Lauricella accused me of “outright hostility towards his neighbors,” and using words like “racist, bigoted, and hateful.”  Those are lies. I have never used those words or been disrespectful in any of my letters; never.

It is interesting that Mr. Lauricella attacks me, personally rather than the facts or my arguments.  It is also very disappointing that the Orleans Hub prints such a libelous letter.

Crime has always been a problem and is a problem everywhere. It is  an emotional issue and not all crime can be stopped. Universities have established programs to study the causes of crime and ways of reducing and hopefully preventing crime.

We have a choice, we can continue to use an emotional response for crime issues, or we can use what has proven successful through actual study and facts.

Bill Fine

Brockport

Editor:

The July 3rd Independence Day Celebration again drew thousands to Bullard Park for an afternoon and evening of free family fun.

The park was packed with people who came from all around the surrounding counties. The celebration started with the delicious chicken barbecue from 4 to 6 p.m. with another sellout.

The celebration continued into the evening with food and beverage vendors, artisans, and ended with a spectacular fireworks display. This celebration will be every July 3rd moving forward. It took a supportive community to make all this come together.

Several people commented that this year’s celebration drew more than last year. There were many free activities for the adults and especially the children. The weather was hot with threatening storms, but we were lucky that it went to the south and north of us. The Splash Pad was filled with people of all ages. For the next two years, this celebration will start at 11 a.m. and conclude at the end of the fireworks. It will be an all-day affair.

I should apologize before I start naming all those who contributed to this event. I am sure I will leave out some names or organizations.

Special thanks to June Persia and Jeff Holler, who chaired the food vendors and artisans. They did a super job of making sure this celebration had everything for the people.

A huge thank you goes out to our Diamond Sponsor ARG Disposal. The fireworks were dedicated to ARG Disposal for their generous contribution and thoughtfulness. We cannot thank them enough for their loyalty and generosity.

Thanks to the Village of Albion Mayor, Tim McMurray, who was there from start to finish assisting in many ways. Thanks to Chief David Mogle and the Village of Albion Police Department, Chris Bourke and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, Jay Pahura and his DPW staff, Aric  Albright, Chris Kinter, Jeremy Graham and the Albion Fire Department, Village of Albion Office Staff and the Albion Village Board of Trustees.

Thanks to the GACRE and Recreation Committees who helped sponsor the event, to Bernie Baldwin and Diana Grillo for their support, energy, and effortless time assisting me. Also to John Bigley who took care of a lot behind the scenes.

Thanks to Master Chicken Barbecuer Tom O’Hearn and his cookers Dusty DeCarlo, John Sacco, Gary VanWycke, Gary Moore, Dan Conrad, Ray Stefani and Kevin Sheehan. This group volunteered and cooked the best chicken barbecue around. Thank you to the servers Theresa O’Hearn, Nicole DeCarlo, Denise London, Annette Grillo Finch, Kim Remly, Holli Nenni, Mike Beach, John Kurtz and Brian Quinn.

Thank you to Tom Brown who donated golf carts for the evening. Thanks to GoArt and NY 250 for their grants and George Bidleman for sponsoring all the advertising. Thank you to Terry Wilbert and Dick Remley from the Town of Albion and to the Village Recreation Staff and Counselors.

Thank you to all the businesses who allowed donation jars at their locations and to the fabulous donors who contributed to the cost of the fireworks. Thanks to Young Explosives for a spectacular display of fireworks and to the bands consisting of Ryan and Company, Feedback/Side Doors/The Road Less Traveled, and the Who Dats for the wonderful music.

Thanks to Tom Rivers from the Orleans Hub and to Brad London from Lake Country Pennysaver, to Mark Restivo and Ron Albertson for overall assistance, and to Keeler Construction for the lighting. Thank you to Dora and Partick from Save-A-Lot who made it easy for us to get items from the store.

Once again, I apologize if I failed to mention others, so many worked together to make this happen.

We will continue to collect donations for July 3rd, 2027. If you would like to donate, send checks to the Village of Albion, 35 East Bank Street, Albion, NY 14411 and make payable to the Village of Albion with a memo of Fireworks.

This community should stand proud. Thank you for all the support.

Sincerely,

John J. Grillo

Village of Albion

Recreation Director

Editor:

It is exhausting to read the regular contributions from William Fine, which have devolved from political disagreement into outright hostility toward his neighbors. Whenever someone in our community raises valid, common-sense concerns about the strain on our local infrastructure, crime, or public safety, Mr. Fine’s immediate response is to throw around labels attacking them.

This isn’t debate it’s an attempt to silence people. Disagreeing with New York’s bail reform or worrying about the logistical and financial strain of unfettered immigration does not make someone a bad person—it makes them a concerned citizen.

Mr. Fine loves to cite ivory-tower studies from New York City think tanks to tell us that everything is fine. But those academic statistics don’t line up with the reality facing upstate communities. Our local law enforcement, judges, and small-town budgets are dealing with real-time pressures and repeat offenders that these studies completely ignore.

We live in a community where people look out for one another, regardless of politics. It is deeply disappointing that a United States veteran uses his platform not to bridge gaps, but to express unfettered hatred for anyone who doesn’t subscribe to his specific progressive ideology. Orleans County deserves a conversation grounded in mutual respect and local reality, not partisan vitriol from Brockport.

Paul Lauricella

Yates

Editor:

There has been a lot of talk on the Hub and around town about canceling out the Water District (WD) 10.

As usual the news reports what sells.

The following is the explanation of the reason why WD 10 was canceled.

Also details how much money was spent by the town taxpayers since 2015 on WD 10. ($129,293.95) This includes hiring professional grant writing firms.

Right now there is not a debt service more than $900 per year per water district in the town of Barre.

WD 10 is a small district, there are 30 residential hook ups possible, chargeable dwelling units make it 37 total, approximately 75-83 people.

The town put in requests for grants. The town was expecting a grant for $1,624,800 from WIIA. This grant would have made the water affordable for WD 10.

We received two grants totaling $616,600 approximately. This smaller grant(s) made the debt service increase immensely.

Annual debt service could have cost this WD 10, $3,133.80 to possibly $5,000 to $6,000 annually for 38 years for each unit.

The town has asked Albany about using the grant money received of $616,600 and to let town employees start portions of the water line.

We learned, “that is not how grants work.” The town needs to take out loans and use loan money first. Once the loan money is used, the grant money kicks in.

There are more properties in the town that do not have water. More than the 30 that are in WD10.

The town is presently working on the new water tower project. The present water tower was built 30-plus years ago for the town population of 30-plus years ago.

Last spring there was a break at a fire hydrant in the town. By the time the Highway Department was able to fix it, the water tower was down two-thirds its capacity. We received many calls from residents of “no water” at the town building.

Moving forward: The town is going to be working a project to possibly get water to residents that do not have water.

The way grants work (so we are told) is the more residents and the more people involved in the area of a project, the larger the grant is for the project. This is our goal: to get water to the residents in need.

Dissolving WD 10 was not easy for the board to do. None of us took this matter lightly.

Also, a lot of controversial questions have come up  about windmills and solar fields. The town does not make any money off of these projects until the green energy starts producing MW (megawatts).

The Hemlock Solar project is anticipated to start late fall, but it won’t be until the end of 2027 that MW’s will start being produced.

The windmills are anticipated to begin construction in 2027 and also possibly start producing MW’s in late 2028 or 2029.

If there are questions please come to the town board meetings or email or call the town building.

It’s better to know facts than assumptions.

Respectfully,

Stephen F. Coville II

Barre Town Supervisor

Editor:

Let’s face the facts and simultaneously not reference any politician. Perhaps then we can just analyze the truth, devoid of any emotional sentiment.

Is New York safe?

As a lifetime New Yorker, I say, “No”.

One reason is the failure of bail reform. What started out as an intent to give fairer treatment to defendants and improve public safety has backfired immensely. The crime rates have not decreased, and the jurisdictions implementing the bail reform have experienced rising crime. A lack of accountability for repeat offenders has threatened community safety. Many repeat offenders commit ensuing property or felony attack crimes while awaiting trial.

People no longer feel safe in malls, shopping centers, concerts and even on hikes. Public awareness has been heightened and yes, people are afraid. Neighborhood surveillance has increased because of porch theft, residential burglaries and car theft. Public anxiety has resulted in Amazon ring cameras being a staple in many households.

The crime rate in  downstate New York is significantly higher than upstate. Violent crime in NYC is between 630-650 offenses per 100,000;  Upstate 220-249 per 100,000, so NYC is nearly triple that of upstate. However, upstate urban centers such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany rank high for per capital violent or property offenses.

Smeared across our screens post July 4th, we witnessed the surge of crime in both Rochester and Buffalo. The communities involved were negatively affected and without a doubt public safety was compromised.

In Buffalo a street party, which gained momentum, via social media, resulted in 11 people being shot. Two deaths were cited across Niagara Falls, Rochester and Buffalo. The police were stretched to their limit, as they had to deal not only with the planned events but the unexpected violence.

ECMC reported treating 29 trauma patients. Several were gunshot victims. Strong Memorial Hospital, on Independence Day, recorded up to 8 victims within minutes. Typical weekend stats at both Strong and Rochester General bring in 1-4 victims.

In NYC a massive 5,000 officer hiring surge has been cancelled and the NYPD budget has been suppressed to help close the previous $5.4 billion deficit. Aid from Albany helped close this deficit. Does this make sense when the crime rates in urban centers are notably higher?

I commend DA Susan Howard for her window to the truth and how the judges’ ability to detain repeat offenders has been limited, which ultimately poses a threat to our communities. Judges have to regain specific powers to address each offender and apply the appropriate restrictions, instead of just the minimum ones.

Cases should be scrutinized closely to justify pretrial release or mandatory jail time.  Likewise judges must be allowed to consider public safety and how a defendant on bail may jeopardize this.

Mary Mager

Fairport, formerly of Albion

Editor:

It is interesting that the District Attorney of Orleans County, Susan Howard, is criticizing Albany’s attempt to make the judicial system fairer while supporting Rob Ortt and Steve Hawley, who support a convicted felon and sexual predator as the President.

Research and data show that New York’s bail reform and the Clean Slate Act make New Yorker safer and communities stronger by addressing recidivism. The Data Collaborative for Justice, at John Jay College of Criminal Justice research center, in a long-term study found that individuals released under New York City bail reform had significantly less rates of recidivism than those who had bail set pre-reform.

The Brennan Center for Justice analyzed the results in 33 cities and found that bail reform does not cause an increase in crime rates. The Clean Slate Act reduces recidivism, according to studies by the Clean Slate Initiative and the R Street Institute, a policy research organization that promotes free markets and limited effective governance, show that long-term recidivism rates are reduced.

The general public is not expected to keep up with research on recidivism rates and judicial reform while the district attorney for the county should be aware. It is also easier politically to scare the general public than to debate policy research.

It is time to stop being led by fear-mongering politicians. It is time to support intelligent policy making decisions. I support Thomas Arida for State Senate district 62 and Sara Wolcott for Assembly district 139.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

The New York State Legislature adjourned last month and once again, law-abiding New Yorkers are left wondering whether Kathy Hochul and the downstate-led Senate and Assembly are listening to the communities forced to live with the consequences of its policies.

While the state budget increased by billions of dollars and hundreds of bills passed both houses, they did not confront the very real public safety threat that many prosecutors, law enforcement officers, victims, and residents have been warning about for years.

Albany’s experiment with pro-criminal policies continues.

Over the past several years, New York has enacted a series of criminal justice reforms that have systematically weakened accountability and tilted the scales away from victims and public safety.

Bail Reform has repeatedly limited judges’ ability to detain repeat offenders who pose a danger to our communities.

Raise the Age has shifted serious juvenile offenders into a system that too often prioritizes ideology over accountability.

The Clean Slate Act seals criminal records on an unprecedented scale, making it harder for employers, landlords, and the public to access information that may be relevant to important decisions.

Each of these policies was sold to the public as necessary reform. Together, they have produced a criminal justice system increasingly disconnected from common sense.

As Orleans County district attorney, I see the consequences firsthand.

I see victims who are frustrated and fearful when offenders are quickly returned to the streets. I see police officers undermined by a revolving-door system that too often treats repeated criminal behavior as an inconvenience rather than a threat. I see communities struggling with retail theft, drug-related crime, and repeat offenders cycling through the system without meaningful consequence.

Yet despite growing concern from residents across the state, Albany ended the legislative session without taking action to restore balance.

There was no comprehensive effort to strengthen judicial discretion in bail decisions. No serious reconsideration of policies that have undermined accountability. No acknowledgment that perhaps the people closest to the problem like local prosecutors, law enforcement leaders, victims, and community members might have legitimate concerns.

Public safety should not be a partisan issue. Every New Yorker, regardless of political affiliation, deserves safe neighborhoods, safe schools, and confidence that the justice system will hold offenders accountable while protecting the rights of the accused.

Unfortunately, this legislative session provided little reason for optimism. Albany had an opportunity to make New York safer and less hospitable to criminals. It chose not to take it.

But that doesn’t mean we stop the fight.

Senator Rob Ortt and Assemblyman Steve Hawley have been strong partners and fierce advocates for fixing the broken system. They deserve our thanks for fighting the uphill battle in Albany on behalf of the District Attorney’s office and all Orleans County residents.

I’ll continue to do my part to join the growing calls for change and use my platform to advocate for victims and secure justice for our community.

Susan Howard

Orleans County district attorney

Editor:

Korean War veteran Joe Gehl‘s 94th birthday was last month. His humility, composure, compassion and character are among the qualities that compelled me to attempt to pay tribute to the person I regard to be an exemplary human being.

As a founding board member of the Albion Betterment Committee, 501(c)(3), Joe embodied decency and genuine concern for others, irrespective of superficial differences.

Whether it encompasses his work with Orleans Habitat for Humanity, his involvement with Holy Family Parish, or anyone of several other beneficial roles, Joe Gehl gets it done, and has for some time.

To me, Joe exhibits the very best of what it means to be a selfless Christian.

With sincere appreciation,

Gary F. Kent

Albion

Editor:

The Town of Yates is currently grappling with the Short-Term Rental issue as are many towns across the country and globally. As such, the Town is updating Yates’ Short-Term Rental (STR) Local Law #2 of 2026. A public hearing on the STR Law was held on Monday evening, July 6, 2026 in order to obtain public input on the law.

The following are excerpted comments and input made to the Town Board at the public hearing:

I am a resident and property owner in the Town of Yates.

I have read the law and believe the law protects STR customers. However, there is precious little in STR Local Law #2 of 2026 that protects current, taxpaying residents who make up the heart and soul of the very special place we call home.

So, in an effort to provide constructive, actionable criticism of the proposed law and solutions, I offer the following:

1. Moratorium On Any STR Activity:Institute a moratorium on implementation of an STR Law until a fair and equitable solution is reached that addresses all significant concerns on the part of current, taxpaying residents of the Town of Yates.
2. Survey of the Taxpayers:Use the time allowed by the moratorium to survey the current, taxpaying residents of the Town of Yates on their views and ideas on the STR issue.  An informal survey of a number of current, taxpaying residents and have found very little support for the proposed STR Local Law #2 of 2026 as written. All want a say in whether or not an STR is located adjacent to their property. I offer my assistance in developing and administering a survey of the taxpaying residents of Yates, if required.
3. Suggested Updates to STR Local Law #2 of 2026
4. Special Use Permitting:The Special Use permit provision in the original STR Local Law #1 of 2026 has been written out of STR Local Law #2 of 2026 that is currently under assessment.  I would urge the Town Board to revisit and reinstate the Special Use Permit Requirement for STR businesses. Special Use Permits are a critical part of ensuring compliant behavior of businesses that are located in areas of the town zoned as residential and as such need to be reinstated.
5. Grandfathering:Grandfather current STR business owners based on previous performance.
6. Adjacent, Bordering Property:As a part of the Special Use Permit (or the normal permitting) process, each adjacent, bordering property owner will have approval/disapproval decision on the Special Use Permit.  Given the real “skin in the game” imposed by a potential STR a few yards away from their homes, approval/disapproval by adjacent property owners seems prudent and fair in ensuring the closest neighbors have a say in the approval of a Special Use or any permit for an STR.  If any adjacent property owner does not approve or does not respond, the Special Use Permit for the STR business will not be approved.  This would be in effect for single use and multi-use drives.  This would also be utilized for multi-property lanes, where only the adjacent bordering properties would have the approval/disapproval option.

These three, simple improvements/modifications to the STR Local Law #2 of 2026 would allow for:

1. Via Grandfathering, fair and equitable treatment of long-time STR business owners that have remained very closely connected to their properties.
2. Ensure that adjacent taxpaying property owners have some say and teeth in the location decision of STR’s, considering the potential property misuse and quality of life reductions that may come with the location of an STR so close to their homes.

In closing, I’d like to thank the Town Board for the opportunity to speak at this public hearing on STR Local Law #2 of 2026. Only in America does this precious right of free speech exist.

Update: Unfortunately, these comments and the plea to protect the constituents were not deemed actionable by the Board. The Town Board needs to understand that the current taxpaying landowners live here and need basic respect and protections in Town Law.

The specter of this new STR paradigm in Yates is sobering in the extreme. As such, the Town Board must act to protect the constituency and the constituency must let the Town Board know their positions on this divisive issue.

Thank You.

John B. Riggi

Yates