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

Editor:

First and foremost, we need to say thank you to our dedicated staff that has served the Orleans County and Hamlin communities with pride and integrity. We also need to say thank you to the countless residents for continuing to support your community-based ambulance service throughout the past 43 years.

Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance has been a non-profit ambulance serving through the federal governments allowance as a 501C3 as well as the New York State Charity Bureau since 1979. What this means:

• COVA is required by federal and state law to be audited by a third party certified public accountant annually.

• Our financial records are required to be available to the public at any given date or time.

• COVA has been run by a board of directors for the past 43 years and the monthly meetings have always been open to anyone who chose to attend.

• COVA is overseen by the New York State Department of State, New York State Charities Bureau and The New York State Department of Health.

• COVA’s financial records are required by state and federal law to be public information.

Over the past 6 months, many members of COVA from years past have approached the current Board of Directors and Administration reiterating similar difficulties trying to work out agreements with the towns and county entities. Over 43 years and several regimes of directors, management, and administration there was a constant battle to get COVA the funding that it deserved.

In early 2020, the administration staff once again went to the towns and begged for their support. With the cost of staffing, ambulances, and equipment on the rise and with insurance reimbursements continuing to decrease there was no way that the agency would survive another five years. Once Covid-19 hit in March 2020, COVA wasn’t going to survive without help.

Over the past three years, COVA continued to meet with the towns and begged the County Legislature for their support and assistance. The agency sent countless letters to our state assemblyman, senators and the governor.

Not one time over these years did a public elected official step into the office to ask questions or to see COVA’s operations. Not once did an official attend the monthly board meetings. COVA’s accountant was not contacted at any time to provide any type of request.

COVA’s final attempt was an official proposal for ambulance services. The board of directors agreed to an oversight board appointed by the towns. This board would work alongside the COVA board and would oversee operational plans and have control of the budgeted municipal funds. After countless attempts the proposal was not considered or viewed by any town official.

A few items to clarify. Over the past three years:

1. COVA upgraded two ambulances. Because of constant repairs and maintenance on the older rigs the savings from the upgrade is estimated at $18,000 annually after the new ambulance lease payments.
2. COVA received an earmarked donation which had to be used for the ambulance crews. With this we were able to upgrade the crew quarter’s, lower kitchen cabinets, countertops, and the sink. These items, purchased with this donation, were all base models from Home Depot. All labor hours to upgrade the kitchen were donated. This very modest kitchen is still waiting for flooring and upper cabinets as the donation did not cover everything and the funds ran out.
3. For a two-week period in September of 2022 paid staffing was removed from midnight to 6 a.m. The agency was able to secure this time frame to be covered by volunteers and fire department drivers. COVA has continued to maintain ambulance services 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
4. COVA will continue to work through all of its past due accounts to ensure that all debt owed by COVA is paid in full. This debt does not transfer to Mercy Flight WNY.

As COVA begins its descent into closure the question needs to be asked, what was the reason that for the past 43 years our elected officials chose to not consider our community ambulance an essential service?

Why did they not support COVA in the ’80s when the agency asked the county for money to help with equipment, or in 1992, or in 1998, or in 2012, or in 2018 or now? Were the lives and safety of our residents ever a high priority?

COVA was the front line transporting and providing emergency medical care throughout the Covid pandemic yet when millions of dollars were sent to Orleans County for Covid relief, not one dollar was offered or given to COVA.  COVA continued to beg and plead for help.

Unfortunately, the time has come that the COVA board of directors and administration had to make one of the most difficult choices. The unanimous decision was COVA as an entity will dissolve.

After that decision the next step was to find a solution for the community to have an ambulance service if COVA could not continue. COVA is required by state law that the operations would have to be assumed by another non-profit organization. The best viable option was Mercy Flight WNY.

This solution is to allow Mercy Flight WNY the opportunity to come in and take the reins. What that will mean, the 40 ambulance staff members will remain employed, already currently in service as Mercy Flight employees. Our hope is that Mercy Flight will be able to carry on the legacy of the dedicated past and current members that kept COVA & Hamlin ambulances serving their communities.

We truly thank each one of you for your continued support over the past 43 years.

We wish the Orleans County Community the best possible outcome for Emergency Medical Ambulance Services.

“May the wheels of EMS forever roll.”

COVA Ambulance

Jennifer Stilwell, president

Faith Smith, vice president

Anna Tower, secretary/treasurer

Dan Conrad and B.J. Mair, board of directors

Laurie Schwab, chief operating officer

Brandi Fisher, deputy chief

Editor:

The current exposure of the Twitter documents by Elon Musk is very important. It shows there have been coordinated attacks on our 1st Amendment rights.

The facts, according to released Twitter documents, are that our intelligence agencies, at the behest of the White House, were colluding with Twitter to censor and suppress numerous U. S. citizens from voicing opinions on that social media platform. And YouTube allegedly seems to have done the same thing too many organizations and individuals during and after this election.

I know some of the left-leaning individuals who post here may say that it is a private company and it is debatable…..so fire away. I believe anyone has the right to say what they want even though they may be misinformed! Open and honest debate is the way to settle issues instead of censorship or coercion .

And the latest from the White House Press Secretary is that the Twitter documents are a “distraction.” Treason is not a distraction. Yes, it is treason in my opinion. When you take an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States as a government official or military personnel, it has no expiration date!

I suggest you all read the Twitter documents Musk has released although the liberal-controlled mainstream media is trying hard to suppress them. The truth is out there but it takes research.

Ed Steuber

Erwin, Tennessee (former Albion resident)

Editor:

In response to the recent editorial written by Mary Mager on Orleans County’s sale of the county nursing home, I want to remind the county, its legislature and citizens, and the media that Orleans County Democrats long warned that privatization of the nursing home would result in each of the problems Ms. Mager described.

We further identified the strong potential, if not an inevitability, that the profit motive would decrease the quality of care and limit access to vital  services. All of this harm has happened and, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the greed of those involved has degraded what was once a quality institution and operation serving Orleans residents.

We laud the efforts of New York Attorney General Letitia James to bring justice to the home’s residents and their families for the grievous behavior of the operators. It bears keeping in mind the hard-fought campaign to save the nursing home and the subsequent vote by the county citizenry to do so.

Jeffrey Lewis

Chairman

Orleans County Democratic Party

Editor:

I am writing this letter to my community as a former member of the Save Our Nursing Home group.

We marched, we went door-to-door with petitions and flyers, we made phone calls, we wrote letters to officials and letters to our community like the one I am writing now.

Everything we said would happen, did happen!!! What is shockingly clear based on this investigation is how quickly working conditions and in turn care shifted from good to awful. We were trying to protect a nursing home for our family members, friends, and community.

As a citizen, taxpayer, and county resident for 40 years I am outraged when I think of the things our elected officials said and did – how the process unfolded. I hold our elected officials who planned and fought hard to push this through as accountable as the respondents in the lawsuit.

There was an election during this period. The Save Our Nursing Home group made flyers, photocopied and distributed them as we could.

The party in control of Orleans County since I have been here sent out the fanciest flyer I have ever seen in our local politics, both before, and ever since. My first thought was, “Wow, I didn’t realize we had that much money for local politics in Orleans County!” I wish I still had a copy. They said we were using scare tactics, there was nothing to fear. This flyer went to every home in the county. They said the county would save money and a for-profit company would be more efficient than government. Many of you are still in office and you let us down.

Smaller government has been the rallying call across the country for decades, and we are a microcosm of our nation. Privatize, privatize, privatize. From nursing homes to prisons and everything in between we have been told for-profit company will do it better.

The outcomes in our community are not unique. I read an in-depth exposé on nursing homes that was based on a post-COVID lawsuit. It was either the nursing home that found the first case or had the first person to die from COVID. I don’t remember, and I invite anyone to look into it. The writer uncovered a similar scheme that is taking place across the country. The land the nursing home is on is owned by a real estate company that charges the nursing home rent. Multiple private companies provide services and charge for them, reducing the money left for workers. Overwhelmed and under paid workers provide substandard care because the jobs are impossible.

The people who support smaller government also often say people shouldn’t expect the government to take care of them. I have heard so many say that people want government to take care of them.

We are the government. It is our tax dollars. I would like my tax dollars to educate our children, care for our elderly, build our infrastructure, provide health care, etc.

I do not see it as looking for handouts from government. I am investing my tax dollars to provide essential services to my family, my community, and me.

Sincerely,

Betty García Mathewson

Albion

Editor:

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, who will represent the newly formed 24th Congressional district starting in January, voted against the resolution to impose a tentative agreement between the railroad companies and the unions.

In her opposition she claims that avoiding a strike should be accomplished by good faith negotiations. The railroads and the unions started negotiating in 2019, three years ago with no agreement in sight.

After three years of negotiations the unions were set to strike on Dec. 9th. A railroad strike would have devastating effects on the our economy.

Jay Matteson, Jefferson County Agriculture Coordinator, told reporter Sandy Torres of WWNY Channel 7 News, that 30-40% of the food people buy is shipped by rail. “Shortages, (of food), will show up in weeks and it will take longer to get back on track.”

A rail strike will create havoc on the economy; there will be food shortages and rampant inflation, and Republicans will blame Democrats. That is what Ms. Tenney’s vote was about. She is hoping to create chaos and economic disruptions which she can than blame on Democrats.

Democrats have strove to improve the economy for everyone; they have worked to rebuild the infrastructure, improve our technology, make marriage equality and health care available to everyone.

Ms. Tenney’s vote and that of fellow Republicans was not because they want workers to have sick time, which she voted against, it was a cynical vote to blame Democrats for bad economic conditions.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

Pearl Harbor was a tragedy that shook our nation to its core. Nearly 81 years ago on Dec. 7, 1941, the events at Hawaii’s naval station caused the deaths of 2,403 servicemen and women, along with individual citizens. For many it was a reminder of the tyranny that was occurring around the world. For our “Greatest Generation,” it was also a call to action.

These brave men and women heard the call from the fire and destruction at Pearl Harbor and ran toward the pain and violence that World War II brought. These warriors kept in their hearts all the lives that were forever changed by the attacks on our home soil.

The soldiers who volunteered to sacrifice their lives in exchange for peace embody the American spirit and the dream of worldwide democracy. They thought not only of their friends and family stateside, but of those in the countries that saw bomb-filled skies, empty ammunition shells and friends on the streets every day since World War II began.

Today, we remember more than just one of the largest disasters to ever strike the United States. We remember all the troops who sacrificed to make sure that events like this may never happen again. We remain the home of the free, because of the brave.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Batavia

Editor:

Back in 2013, an advocacy group (Concerned Citizens in Orleans County), began an undertaking to save The Villages, our then county-run nursing home.

Our members were made up of a politically diverse group, and our focus was not on politics but on compassion for our most vulnerable. Our research exposed the pitfalls of privatization which were presented to the County Legislature.

Included were trends of significant staffing cuts, workers’ wages and employee turnover affecting care continuity and shortages of medical and patient care supplies. These factors are consequential disservices to the physical, emotional and social needs of all residents in nursing homes. Profit over care has plagued the privatized nursing facilities in most states.

Many questions were proposed to the Legislature to not only assess the financial portrait of The Villages, but to investigate various options to keep the nursing home in the public domain, so the eldercare could be maintained at an optimal level. The Concerned Citizens submitted many ideas obtained from the wealth of business people and marketing specialists from the local community.

Many people wrote point of views in the newspaper, citing different possibilities to look into, so we could keep this valuable community asset.

Unfortunately, the Legislature did not listen, even after 60-plus people attended their monthly February meeting. In fact, as a whole, they did not even have the decency to provide feedback. The most important role of an elected county official should be the connection and communication to and with their constituents.

Effective communication from local government is vital so the citizens stay informed and trust is insured. The Legislature not only ignored the experts and opinions on issues regarding the nursing home, but they had the audacity (months before their county election) to send a letter to everyone who had loved ones at The Villages, indicating their intent to privatize.

However, as the election drew near, they realized this was a hot bed topic so they retracted that intention, indicating they did not want to sell. Again, as soon as the election was over, the Legislature picked up the baton and ran with their original intent. Instead of meeting the challenge of saving one of our most valuable assets in the county, they moved to the first exit sign and closed the door on possibility.

Fast forward to April 2015, only four months after the new owners purchased The Villages. The rating drops to one star from three out of five. The nightmare continues as inhumane conditions, financial fraud, resident neglect and harm become explosive.

As predicted, the owners ignored the needs of the very residents entrusted to their care. Their ownership, in diverse businesses to turn a profit, became their number one priority. Staffing was cut, again to augment personal profit.

The horror reached climatic proportions during Covid, as the intolerable standard of care continued to deteriorate. An already skeletal crew became stretched to the limit. No isolation rules were enforced, causing hospitalization and death.

Having the CNAs perform work that only a licensed LPN or RN should be responsible for shows how low this facility had fallen. And during this horror show, they were still admitting more people to make that almighty buck!

It sickened me to read the article this week about the citation from the Attorney General, but what really turned my stomach was this debacle was so preventable. If only the local government and the community could have come together to tackle the problem, an unprecedented solution could have saved The Villages and served as a model of excellence for other counties.

Mary Mager

Fairport (former Albion resident)

Editor:

In response to T.J. Klotzbach’s letter posted on Nov. 12, yes, US consumers are dealing with inflation. Many of us don’t consider the global effects of inflation and how it his different in many parts of the world.

It’s not just the U.S. suffering from high inflation food and energy costs at all-time highs. Countries worldwide are suffering higher than average inflation. Recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers show variations of inflation worldwide: Saudi Arabia 95%; Indonesia 81%; Turkey 80%; Argentina 78.5%; Russia 14.3%; UK, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Brazil, Peru 10%; Thailand 7.9%; U.S. 7.7%; Canada 7.6% Australia 6.1%; S Korea 5.7%; Japan, Taiwan, China 2.5-2.7%.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has escalated inflation by increasing prices of everything from energy to wheat. Some is the result of Covid-19 and supply chain issues; higher wages and stimulus money here triggered strong consumer demand. As households around the world have struggled with rising energy bills the profits of the worlds’ leading oil giants have surged; the numbers are stunning.

The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates here and worldwide banks have done similar things to reduce inflation. It takes time for interest rate hikes to kick in. According to The International Money Fund the global surge in consumer prices may be close to the high point of the current cycle, but might yet prove stubborn. US inflation has come down some and economists have estimated that we have already reached peak.

Yes, I agree there is inflation inequality in the US and higher-income households can handle inflation easier than for low-income households. I am a food pantry volunteer and suggest that people use the support available, even if the need is temporary.

You say that an informed electorate is a powerful force, I agree. You say voters and consumers need to make savvy informed decisions that consider multiple issues such as inflation.

Let’s make informed careful choices as we select more energy-efficient vehicles, nutritious foods and the environmental impact of decisions and vote. We must look beyond our own immediate needs, unlike selfish oil corporations. Nationally, the informed electorate has spoken.

Carol Nochajski

Wilson

Editor:

Republicans have limped to a majority in the House of Representatives. So far their announced program is heckling President Biden by investigating his son, Hunter.  No other ideas are put forward to guide the country or move us ahead.

Attacking Biden’s sole surviving son is, at the best, low-life politics. Investigate all you want but come up with a positive agenda.

Sincerely,

Gerard M. Morrisey

Albion

Editor:

I agree with a recent letter in the Orleans Hub that concerns about inflation should not be dismissed.

It should be noted that only one political party takes these concerns about inflation serious; that is the Democratic Party. Democrats just passed legislation that will lower the cost of prescription medication, including insulin, for people on Medicare.

Included in the legislation is a provision to cap out-of-pocket expenses for beneficiaries on Medicare part D. Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 1.4 million families will benefit from this program. No Republicans voted for lowering the cost of medicine.

Democrats also passed H.R. 7606 which will allow higher-ethanol fuel blends such as E-15. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, (R-IA), said: “Increasing our biofuel blends and transportation fuel will help to bring down the cost at the pump, and also to help replenish our fuel supply.” Increasing usage of ethanol would also support local farmers in Western New York, including in Orleans County, and support Western New York Energy, Orleans County biggest taxpayer, according to Jim Whipple, O.C. IDA former C.E.O. (Full disclosure, my wife works at WNY Energy).

Also in H.R. 7606 were provisions to help farmers lower the cost of producing food. There were grants for livestock and poultry processing, cost assistance for crop nutrients and the establishment of a task force to improve the food chain. Only 7 Republican voted for this legislation, none from the local delegation.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

Here we go again. Officials in Orleans County had in the past year or so start to address the difficulty of COVA continuing to provide ambulance service without new financial support.

But, instead of creating a plan that shares costs equally, the leaders of seven towns in Orleans County have unfairly moved to place disproportionate costs onto Town of Albion residents.

I first saw some details in the Orleans Hub article on Nov. 9 about the Town of Barre voting to pay their small $8,000 or 4 percent contribution. I went to the Town of Albion board meeting last night and saw the package for our 42.2 percent share being approved. Those contributions are said to be based on the share of ambulance calls in the 7 towns of central and eastern Orleans County.

The United States Census reports the Town of Albion share of population as about 30 percent of the 7 towns, but that includes inmates in the prisons and jail as well as residents in medical facilities. The prison populations should at least be discounted to result in a population share of about 25 percent – as those facilities are not taxed, the community benefit is the jobs, and the employees live throughout the region – not just in the Town of Albion. Additionally, the Town of Albion has a 18.36 percent share of the taxable assessed property value for the 7 towns.

Why is it that when it comes to sales tax, the money isn’t distributed where it is collected or where it is needed most? Instead, the county keeps about 93 percdent of it and distributes the rest to towns based on population, with villages getting a share based on property assessments (as I understand it).

Because village property values are depressed due to their high tax rates a disproportionate share of sales tax money goes to people who live outside of villages. There shouldn’t be one formula for handing out money and another formula for paying for services – both of which disadvantage residents in or near villages.

As to the share that the county keeps it seems to me that most of their discretionary money goes to repair items in the countryside and the villages are an afterthought.

There are many reasons why it is dubious to use ambulance call volume to allocate costs. The information has not been made available (to my knowledge) for the public to analyze – as is done for property assessments.

And the Town of Albion is much more of a daily destination for residents of other towns – we have the schools, county buildings, nursing home, doctors’ offices, healthcare facilities, support facilities for the disabled, grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants, religious buildings, cemeteries, parks, the library, banks, factories, automotive parts stores, auto repair shops, and vehicle dealers – to name a few. I’d guess that the ambulance call statistics are reflecting where the ambulances are being sent to instead of where the people receiving help actually live.

This is a continuation of a pattern in Orleans County of placing a higher tax burden on people who live in the villages and a lower burden on the people who live in the countryside. It was said last night that people in the 3 western towns felt that paying to support the Village of Medina ambulance based on call volume was working well. Of course they think that way because it keeps the town taxes lower and shifts costs onto the Village of Medina. Medina has the highest tax rate of any village in Orleans County and every village in Orleans County has higher tax rates than any other village in Niagara, Genesee and Monroe counties. In general, the average village tax rates in Orleans County are at least double that of the other three neighboring counties.

People who live in the villages and adjacent areas should be paying the lowest taxes for basic services as we have the population density to provide those services efficiently. The Village of Medina has their own hospital and an ambulance ride surely has to be cheaper to provide to a village resident than for someone who lives by the lake in Yates. But the elected officials in this county have flipped the tables.

Going into last night’s meeting I was at least thankful that the Village of Albion was wise enough to stay out of this negotiation, as I’m sure people would have been happy to shift extra costs into our village. When I left the meeting, I was less thankful as it seems the leaders expect the Village of Albion to supply space to garage the one Monroe ambulance for Albion. I expect that they are looking for free garage space, but I personally hope that the village charges a fair rent instead. This ambulance serves the seven towns, and we already will be paying a ridiculous share.

This situation is setting a precedent for higher Albion taxes in the future. The next thing to come is likely to be paid firefighters and I expect that Orleans politicians will again work to place higher costs onto Albion. This needs to stop and our representatives need to fight for Albion more.

As to the ambulance provider, it seemed pretty clear that the process that has been used to address this for the past few years has had a lot of its work done behind the scenes and is rolling along to having Monroe Ambulance here next year. Mercy Flight has apparently submitted a proposal for a bit less money, and which would take over COVA’s existing service based in Albion and have an additional ambulance over Monroe. But it was said to be an 11^th hour proposal that was too late. It is funny how that logic wasn’t a concern when it came to sharing with the public how much money each town would contribute.

The new Monroe Ambulance contract seems to me to offer an inferior service level to what we have today – especially with the Kendall ambulance shutting down. I was particularly unimpressed to find out that the current contract with the 3 eastern towns does not have an ambulance currently stationed in Orleans County. It almost seems that they are cherry-picking the profitable business they can get and the focus is not on providing a reliable service for county residents. Perhaps in Monroe County they can rely on paid fire departments to serve as backup, but that seems less of an option here.

I have no idea how well COVA as a business has been run. I’ve been lucky enough to have family receive good service from them. But I’ve also heard how hard it has been to get staff when ambulance calls come it – not surprising given how finances have changed over the years and for how long the issue of financial support has gone unaddressed. My impression though is that over the decades COVA has been in it to serve the community.

Jason Dragon

Albion (resident of village and town)

Editor:

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Catherine “Kay” Revelas last Wednesday. Her obituary currently appears in the Union Sun & Journal in Lockport.

Kay Revelas

Kay was a good friend. Many in Medina new her and her family much longer than I, but I first met Kay when she was Director of the Medina Chamber of Commerce many years ago. Every now and then up until 2019, we’d meet downtown for lunch so she could catch up on the latest news of her beloved Downtown Medina.

You see, Kay was the spark that lit the fuse ultimately leading to the explosion of Downtown Medina’s rebirth.

All those years ago, Kay saw in Downtown Medina what many could not see. She saw the great architectural bones, the history and the potential of a restored and preserved streetscape for business and tourism.

When many were saying, “We’re not Fairport or Spencerport! We’re not Lewiston or East Aurora!”, Kay respectfully disagreed and doggedly went about fighting to prove her point. It was Kay who spurred on Medina’s first efforts with a transformative façade restoration program. She also championed the state and national historic designations for downtown, as well as the first local preservation ordinance.

Once the first façades had been restored, the result was amazement. People slowly began to see what she had seen along– the great potential of our historic architectural resources, restored and renewed. Those storefronts became desirable. One by one, others embraced restoration and preservation. Downtown Medina became “the place to be.”

Today, it is a bonafide destination, known far and wide for the total experience it has to offer– rich history and incredible architecture housing some on WNY’s most desirable shops, hotels and restaurants. The storefronts are full with businesses thriving.

I and many others have personally witnessed this– visitors from the places mentioned above and more– coming to Medina not once, but regularly to enjoy the “downtown experience.”

Case in point: Last Saturday, I spoke with a couple at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market downtown, currently housed in the former NAPA store for the winter market. It was their second trip in as many weeks to the market and downtown. They were savoring the experience– they knew the story of Grover Cleveland’s brush with the law and were so excited to see the building where he had been held. They had lunched at Zambistro last week and were looking to try Fitzgibbons after a stop at the English Rose Tea Shop. They were excited to walk Main Street and delighted in the history and architecture; they were effusive about downtown… and they were from Lewiston.

This was Kay’s vision realized and it would’ve made her heart sing.

The destination downtown we enjoy today all began with Kay Revelas and her tenacious pursuit of her vision that we now can all see very clearly. If ever there was an individual worthy of being memorialized with a downtown plaque, it’s Kay.

Thank you, Kay! What a legacy you have left us!

Christopher Busch

Village of Medina Planning Board – retired

Village of Medina Architectural & Historic Review Board – retired

Orleans Renaissance Group, Inc., President

Editor:

I’m disappointed that Carol Nochajski has now twice referred to concerns about food and fuel prices as “selfish”.

That’s a presumptuous declaration and stigmatizes people who have real angst about how to stretch a budget to provide food for their family and fuel to get to work, medical appointments and the like.

How about this – instead of downplaying concerns that families have, we can agree that voters are savvy enough to make informed decisions that consider multiple issues such as inflation, the electoral process, job creation / retention and the like?

An informed electorate is a powerful force and a check on candidates that don’t reflect voter values at the local, regional and national level.

T.J. Klotzbach

Waterport

Editor:

The final election results are not in fully. What we do know is there was no Red tidal wave as many  promised.

Abraham Lincoln said, “Judge Douglas cannot fool the people: you may fool people for a time; you can fool a part of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

The old fashioned information outlets that limited themselves to  “the Reps have this”, “the Dems have that”, and “there are guesses both ways but this is what’s being said”, were up front about what they did and did not know.

Such conclusions as they drew were based on relevant fact and not “tit for tat thinking”, “grand conspiracies drawn from thin air”, or “the excuse of the day.”

So the election’s moral is already final. When you find someone giving you the bum’s rush to fool and persuade you, change channels.

Have faith in our country.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion