Editor:

The circus was a wonderful delight for Albion students! We went last night and how delightful!

How smart to have children “free” and the low fee of $15-20 for adults. To have such a well-planned event so close by – no-parking fee –, to encourage children to sit or lay on the floor, to wander around, to join their friends is brilliant.

The children who attended were comfortable within their friendships and their ease. So were the adults in the bleachers! Were there trapeze artists? Were there wild animals? Were there bareback horse riders? No! None of those were necessary!

Instead, there were lines at both the face painters! There was an amazing juggler! A student was asked to help with plate spinning by a wonderful clown. The costume changing acts were really fun to watch.

Was there anything to buy? Oh, sure, $3 kept going out of my pocket for water, popcorn, and cotton candy. No big deal! Were there other things to purchase? Sure! But such a wonderful evening was available because of the teamwork of this circus.

It appears that only a dozen total circus staff are able to bring this to small venues like Albion.  So much has to be planned, licensed, trucked, hauled, set up, costumed, taken down and it all has to work fast and right.

And so a huge thank you to all who arranged and presented Billy Martin’s Cole All Star Circus!

Karen Watt

Editor:

I would like to pose some thoughts before the meeting on Feb. 6 for district voters to ponder.

1. How can we guarantee that construction costs will be covered 18 months prior to construction given the dramatic fluctuations in cost and supply line disruption we have experienced recently?

2. Given that the country is racing to electric vehicles, should charging stations for buses be included now rather than later for additional cost?

3. While ADA restrooms are being included there is no provision for LGBTQ+ restrooms.

4. Are we adding additional classroom space or repositioning it to accommodate the STEAM and Technology Computer lab rooms?

5. Are District leaders giving full consideration to changing trends for heating and air conditioning as well as energy efficiency that are facing society? Will changes be sufficient for new laws that might come sooner rather than later. Also will cafeteria kitchens be upgraded to remove gas appliances and change to electric?

6. Is there sufficient cash reserve to cover unexpected costs and changes that are sure to be encountered in any building program.

7. Are any considerations being given to solar panels to help with costs for electric?

I realize that improvements are needed and that security and safety changes are necessary.  I just do not want to be surprised 4 or 5 years from now with another large program that might not be covered. I also do not want to have increased taxes needed to cover unexpected issues. I hope all district residents will ponder these items and perhaps some I have not addressed and attend the meeting on Feb. 6.

I also want to add that I am not advocating denial of the building program as all the items that are addressed in the proposal are necessary. And piecemeal corrections will cost residents more than we can afford to pay!

Thank you.

Dayton Hausman

Medina

Editor:

In response to Jason Dragon’s letter, sir, apparently you are not paying attention to the facts. Also, how can you seriously think that business and investors do not come here because of high taxes because of the police budget? If I was an investor, I would want to know that the community I’m investing in is safe.

Maybe you should request a ride-a-long on the afternoon shift with the Police. Or maybe investigate burglaries and larceny reports on the day shift? How about the midnight shift, especially on the weekends?

Try dealing with the drunks, crack heads, the heroin-addicted, coke heads or mentally ill. How about fatal accidents, suicides and homicides? And then the drunk drivers who could potentially kill our loved ones?

And all you have is to criticize our past mayor for building her and her husband’s retirement dream house on beautiful Lake Ontario? And by the way, her husband, Dale, served our community well also. He not only served on the village board, was a fire chief, and then became Orleans #1 (emergency management director), the top dog in charge of keeping us safe in case of disasters.

Other mayors have moved out of the village. Why single out her? If you don’t like the way things are, then maybe you should move out. I would be glad to sit down, one on one, to debate these issues.

Thomas O’Hearn

Albion

Retired lieutenant with Albion Police Department

Editor:

Last week I read the press release from the Albion Police Benevolent Association that harshly criticized Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. I’d like to offer some comments.

It seems perfectly reasonable for a new mayor to look into how our tax money is being spent. There are about 1,674 taxable parcels in the Village of Albion with an average assessment of $87,099. That is not a very large tax base. Our village tax rate is higher than that of any other village in the 3 adjacent counties. Indeed, this appears to be the same for every other village in Orleans County.

When this story first arose it was not apparent to me what the proper method is for calculating overtime for an 84-hour bi-weekly schedule. I spent a few days reading up on this topic, but I still don’t know. I would say though that it should not be enough to just trust the word of someone else who says they know, or to just ignore the question and keep paying the higher rate. This whole problem could have been avoided if the people who came up with it would have generated thorough documentation and supplied references to appropriate sources – with enough detail so that any new person to village government could understand.

I looked on the village website for the police contract, but I couldn’t find it. I shouldn’t have to go to www.SeeThroughNY.net to find it. I also could not find the union PowerPoint presentation, the Bonadio Group report, or the settlement. If you want people to be trusting of government and avoid issues like these then everything should be out in the open. The police union press release made a lot of accusations but did not provide references that we could check.

One item that was very unsettling was the accusation that $714,000 was owed to the police. I’d say that that is a sign that the police contract needs to be rewritten at the earliest opportunity. The contract mentions 2 officers on duty at all times, 6:00 shift start times, and officers being ready to work at the start of the shift. That sets a very high staffing level for such a small village and exposes its taxpayers to unnecessary overtime payments. I don’t mind paying a person if they are doing extra work that needs to be done, but I’m not excited about paying extra in taxes due to unnecessary contract rules.

We should remember that villages are a completely optional form of local government. And many villages do not have police forces or other services. We pay the same county tax rate as everyone else in Orleans County, so village residents should have the same access to the Sheriff and other county services. The village police force does not have to operate by itself and be as expensive as it currently is.

Orleans County is run by Republicans at every level of government and has been for some time. I’m at the point where I strongly suspect that many people who run our local governments in Orleans County are in cahoots to keep taxes inside villages high and taxes outside villages low.

Many people have had a job and/or role in village government and at some point move outside the village and not pay village taxes. One example would be our ex-mayor, Eileen Banker. She was a strong supporter of the village having a police department that is second to none with local control and fast response times. It doesn’t look that great to then build a brand-new home in Carlton. I’ll admit that the home is very beautiful, and it has a beautiful view of the lake. But I can’t quite square how she now will be able to make do with a slower response time from the Sheriff.

One other point of note is the $2 million project that was mentioned on Thursday, January 5 on Orleans Hub. That project strengthened 1,500 feet of shoreline and is right across from her new home. Local politicians love to criticize New York State, but they were happy that the state paid 95% of this project’s cost. There was no talk of becoming part of Pennsylvania on the day that project was announced.

It was no surprise that Carlton did not pick up the other 5% – it was the County. So, us taxpayers in the villages help keep lake homes safe from flooding. They seem to get us every time. I don’t expect the county to help pay for any project inside a village any year soon. We can’t even get them to share sales tax fairly.

The villages in Orleans County need to be much more affordable so that people will build beautiful new homes right here.

Jason Dragon

Albion

Editor:

I am writing today in reference to the “press release” from the Albion Police Benevolent Association (PBA) regarding the resolution of the past pay dispute, recently resolved.

Recognizing that, at its core, the basic problem was how to equitably correct a longstanding accounting error, I was surprised and disappointed to read a public statement rife with character assassination, unfounded assumptions, and statements of uncertain veracity presented as truth. As a village resident I found the tone disturbing and unhelpful in moving the village forward into the new year.

In the Orleans Hub (July 18, 2022) it was reported that representatives from the Bonadio Group informed the Village of Albion that, in fact, Albion Police officers had been overpaid $236,000 over a five-year period.

This was uncovered during a budget review by the new mayor. The article indicates that Mr. Javier at that time contacted several outside agencies to help resolve the issue. He apparently felt as mayor that he had the duty to ensure financial responsibility on behalf of the taxpayers. That an accounting error occurred is, to my knowledge, not in dispute.

Unfortunately, the discovery of payroll discrepancies and the effort to correct them was characterized as “an ill-conceived escapade of attacking Village of Albion police officers.” Again, the authors of the press release indicate that upon taking office in April, 2022, the Mayor “set off on an ill-fated attack on the Albion police officers.”

I fail to see how an accounting correction constitutes an attack on one’s own constituency. Mayor Javier likely knew when he initiated the payroll audit that he had kicked a hornets’ nest, but believed setting things right was the only option available.

Ultimately, the dispute was resolved because of the power of the union and fear of continued litigation. To say that the PBA was “forced” to pursue several legal actions (creating leverage for the payroll situation) is at best a mis-characterization. That the village was looking at $714,000 in liability is a specious claim, based on an “investigation” done by the union.

The fact of “past practice” is the best argument for resolution in favor of the union members. Since officers had been through 160 payroll cycles with no apparent harm to the general well-being, an argument that there was no pressing reason for reconfiguration would be reasonable.

I believe that the mayor, for his part, felt he was performing due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers. That an issue already resolved should be the focus of continued acrimony is a sad result of public discourse that often descends into personal attack. I believe we can all be better than that.

Richard Tynan

Albion

Editor:

America is rebuilding after 40 years of crumbling; economic fairness, infrastructure, business regulations, civil rights, basic social safety net, international cooperation are being restored.

Record numbers of women recently elected to office, brings the total number of women to take office in January in Congress to 124, 28.5% of the total. The total of women in the U.S. Senate is 25, or 25% of the total.

Women still make up just over a quarter of representation despite being 50.5% of the US population. Alaska elected the first indigenous person and first woman. The crawl towards proportional representation has always been slow, but progress continues.

Women turned out to protect their right to healthcare in the election. They turned to women governors who made protecting abortion care central to their re-election campaigns. A record number of twelve women governors were elected for 2023.

New York elected our first woman governor, Kathy Hochul. Voters in Arizona, Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Oregon also elected new woman governors. Incumbent female governors in Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New Mexico, Michigan and South Dakota were re-elected.

Until now there have been only 45 women governors in our history, and only 9 in office at one time. Some stepped into their governor positions after their male predecessors resigned in disgrace. Only New Mexico elected a Latina woman governor; voters have not yet elected a black woman governor.

The new governors in Massachusetts and Oregon are openly lesbian. The number of elected women Democrats has climbed over the past 30 years while the number of elected women Republicans has barely budged. Women have gained a seat at the table, however not all the women elected will be good for the survival of democracy.

Minority representation remains low at the national level, but increased at the municipal level. A record eight black women will serve as mayors of the nation’s 100 largest cities. These include Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, St. Louis, Washington, DC, and Charlotte. Our four largest cities in America—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston—will all be led by black mayors.

Gen Z (born since ’97) and Millennials (born between ’81-’97) are waking-up, stepping-up to vote and moving into leadership roles as senior leader’s step down. The new generation of more ethnically diverse Democrats expect government to do more to solve problems and center on issues like climate, racial equality, healthcare and childcare.

The expansion of our political representation, reflecting the many different people in our diverse democracy can only be a good thing unless one is reliant on the good-old-boy culture.  One’s gender, sexual identity, race or ethnicity should be irrelevant, but we’re not there yet.

Carol Nochajski

Wilson

Editor:

We constantly hear how “poor” Orleans County is. Regardless of the statistics you look at, we rank near the bottom of the list in many, if not most, categories.

Those statistics don’t show the true story of our community’s wealth.

Having just enjoyed my first Christmas season with Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern, I am amazed at the giving and sharing nature of our community. From individual donations, to the support of many local churches, to a prominent local automobile dealer adopting a number of families for Christmas morning, this giving community helped us provide for over 270 kids that otherwise may not have experienced the joy and surprise of Christmas morning.

That fact reflects the true wealth of our communities – not the amount we have, but how we use it.

We at Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern offer our sincere and humble thank you to those that chose to share Christmas joy with others. We appreciate the support given during the Christmas season and by all throughout the year. We could not do what we do without the generosity of this community.

Bob Harker

Executive Director

Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern

Editor:

So we folks on Social Security are getting less than a 9 percent cost of living raise, which I am grateful for. Now our State Legislature has just voted themselves a 30 percent raise.

Why should their increase be more than ours? Doesn’t cost of living increases affect all of us the same way? Remember, they get paid for travel, food, and hotel expenses on top of their salaries. So why are they entitled to a 30 percent raise?

Don’t forget that our gas tax suspension will expire at the end of this year because “they need the revenue to fix roads.” Once again, our taxes will go up as their salaries will go up 30 percent!

Please tell the Governor to not sign this salary increase. If they are entitled to a salary increase, it should be in-line with the rest of us on fixed incomes.

Steven Kast

Churchville

Editor:

Congratulations, Medina, we made it through the storm!

I would like to thank our Fire Department for going door to door at Lakewood Village to inform residents they would take them to a shelter where it was warm, with cots, blankets and food. They transported village residents to work at the hospital, and also transported families from Comfort Inn and Suites to the shelter.

The DPW kept the streets open, along with the driveway into the Oak Orchard School so residents and stranded families could get into the school.

The Medina Police Department were out checking on residents and stranded vehicles.

Many of our firefighters and police officers slept over night at the firehouse to make sure the next shifts were covered. Most of them had very little sleep.

Thanks to Mark Kruzynski, Medina school superintendent, who opened up Oak Orchard School as a shelter. He also authorized the use of the kitchen and any food that was needed to feed those that were stranded at the school and the Comfort Inn.

Coordination throughout the county would not have been possible if it was not for Justin Niederhofer of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office. He conducted up to three conference calls a day to keep county, village, town, fire, police, highway and health department officials informed of issues and services throughout the county. He was great help suppling the Medina shelter with cots and blankets.

I save the last for a person who stepped up along with her daughter by going to the school and opening it up. She was there from shortly after the power went out to Christmas morning around 9 when the last of the folks at the shelter left. Thank you very much Diana Baker and her daughter.

Mike Sidari

Mayor of Medina

Editor:

All is quiet on the western front. I’ve noticed no ridiculous rants on how the NYS lawmakers just received an absolutely unheard of pay raise.

Come on now, we hear about every single bad thing the Republicans seem to do; where is the sense of fairness? In the spirit of the season I can tell you both parties are equally at fault for the state of our state.

Give it a rest for 2023 and cease with the moaning. We are all tired of hearing it. You know who you are. Try improving your little corner of the world first. Offer goodness, kindness and mercy to your fellow neighbors; that is where it counts.

Jane Murray

Albion

Editor:

It is concerning that a community-based organization that is founded on compassion, community care and empathy can also be one that has quickly developed into an environment that demoralizes its staff, pushes healthcare workers to the edge and does not listen to the concerns of its employees.

Supportive Care of Orleans (formerly Hospice of Orleans) is a wonderful organization and asset to this community, however recent changes in leadership have left the organization under the leadership of administrators who have displayed angry outbursts towards staff, instances of staff member humiliation in front of co-workers and a work environment that lacks any of the values that the organization espouses to have.

These are only a few of the number of unacceptable instances that have ultimately led to the resignation of, to our knowledge, approximately 30% of the staff over the last few months.

Members of the Board of Directors have been made aware of these issues on several occasions by employees. Unfortunately, the concerns have been dismissed and the behavior by the organization’s leadership has continued leaving many employees no choice but to resign and seek employment elsewhere, often outside of the county.

Supportive Care of Orleans is a long-standing pillar of compassionate care in this community. A history of strong leadership, donor support and a passionate staff have built this organization that provides unparalleled service to Orleans County. It seems that the current administration has lost sight of the selfless-service of the employees who are remembered by hundreds of families who received Hospice care. Without a dedicated and mission-driven team, Supportive Care will become known as just a name of a service that is delivered instead of the memory which stays with families for a lifetime.

Most who come to work for Hospice come with the knowledge that:

• working in a not-for-profit organization in a small county does not offer the same pay and benefits found in large organizations.
• serving hospice patients and their families is hard and takes an emotional toll.
• as with all health care agencies, you will be asked to go above and beyond what is in your job description.

Knowing all of this, these health care professionals still come and serve. In return, they should be able to expect the support and compassion of an organization which claims a mission to “embrace those facing advanced illness with optimal levels of comfort, compassion and expertise.”

Instead, as of late, employees work in an environment where one must constantly look over your shoulder wondering who is next in the crosshairs or next to resign due to the stress and humiliation.

To have employees both feel and vocalize that they are scared to disagree with the current administration for fear of being targeted or retaliated against is a disservice to healthcare providers and patients at Supportive Care of Orleans.

It is our hope that the situation quickly changes so that this organization can once again attract and retain a staff that is dedicated to serving patients and families in Orleans County. We encourage the board to take an unbiased examination of the state of the organization and live up to the values that Supportive Care claims to hold.

Concerned former employees,

Michelle Toenniessen

Christine Odom

Aubrey Fortunato

Tammy Chmylak

Cora Goyette

Derek Reiner

Margaret Stewart

Samantha Haran

Penny Bloom

Editor:

This time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we think of families, our communities and those less fortunate.

Unfortunately, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney shows her lack of compassion and lack of basic human decency. Ms. Tenney voted against H.R. 7946, the Veteran Service Recognition Act. Which would allow members of the military and veterans with honorable discharges to apply for citizenship.

Instead, Ms. Tenney wants to deport men and women who defended our nation. Because this legislation strengthens our military, our families and communities supporters of this legislation included the American Legion, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Veterans for American Ideal.

Ms. Tenney also voted against H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act. This legislation would allow marriages sanctioned in one state who be legal in other states. Marriage is the basic unit of families and the supporting structures of our communities.

Ms. Tenney’s distain for families both military families and civilian families, demonstrates how she wants to weaken the fabric of our communities and our democracy.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

Greetings from Lyndonville. Now that the Jan. 6 Committee made a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, it’s worth noting the Jan. 6 Committee is not even Constitutional.

It’s RINOs turning on Trump. Big deal, they are Republicans in name only. Their kids and families benefit from their public service. Some got FTX campaign money. Money stolen from the American people.

For your uninformed readers, the government gives Ukraine US tax dollars. The Ukraine takes some out and gave some FTX to the RINOs and Democrats. These politicians are so disliked by the people they have to implement con schemes to get campaign finance money.

The 2020 election results should never have been accepted because several states ran and certified unconstitutional elections.

Steve Colon, a proud Jan. 6th participant

Lyndonville

Editor:

It is important for students, educators and parents to be aware of the public health threat posed by vaping.

Even with the youth smoking rate at an all-time low, the vaping rate is still on the rise and represents a serious concern for young people. According to the Food & Drug Administration and the Center for Tobacco Products — the agency that enforces the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act — e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product on the market among middle and high school students, with one in nine high schoolers and one in 36 middle schoolers vaping.

Data collected locally in Orleans County shows that 29.9 percent of 11th graders have used an electronic cigarette or vape pen (like Juul) with nicotine within their lifetime, while 21.2% of 9th graders have used.

For teachers and parents, e-cigarettes can be tough to spot, with some devices as small as a USB flash drive. They also emit low levels of aerosol — “vapor” — and can be used discreetly. Most contain nicotine, with some containing as much as a pack of cigarettes.

Other facts to know:

• Vape aerosol contains a variety of chemicals — not just nicotine.
• The flavors themselves may contain chemicals that pose health risks.
• Users are likely inhaling potentially toxic metal particles like chromium, nickel, lead, tin and aluminum.

Teens looking to kick vaping to the curb can find resources to help them quit by visiting smokefree.gov and teen.smokefree.gov/quit-vaping, or by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or texting DITCHJUUL to 88709. Locally, teens — and adults — should consult with their health care providers for help. Many work in conjunction with a tobacco treatment specialist, a professional specially trained to assist people wanting to quit nicotine.

Brittany Bozzer

Batavia

Reality Check Coordinator

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Editor:

A letter writer in the Orleans Hub, (12/9/22), expressed the opinion that the government suppressed 1st amendment rights of citizens on Twitter.

Implying that it was liberals suppressing right-wing opinions. First of all, the released Twitter documents were from October 2020 and the election the writer is referring to was the 2020 election.

Donald J. Trump was President in 2020 and so it would have been the Trump administration that interfered with Twitter’s free speech. No Democrats or liberals there.

Second, there is no indication from the Twitter documents that the government officials tried to suppress the social media site. There was a Twitter exchange with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, (D-Cal.), where Mr. Khanna thought Twitter should publish material not suppress it.

None of the released documents show any government interference; not a single one; none. If the writer’s intent was to show government interference in private business’s free speech, he could point to Governor Ron DeSantis’s threats against Disney for their support of the LGTB community.

Third, the first amendment only applies to the government not to private companies and corporations. A private company, even a privately owned social media company, cannot violate your 1st amendment rights, only government entities can do that.

Finally, the Twitter documents released by Mr. Musk reveal nothing new or shocking. The documents are an internal debate among Twitter employees about what documents to release. Sexually explicit material, and hateful content are not appropriate for general release. Trying to create a controversy without evidence or facts is a distraction.

William Fine

Brockport