Editor:

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has allocated $52 million dollars of taxpayer money to establish twelve Regional Clean Energy Hubs.

These hubs are to act as Centers of Outreach Awareness and Education. They are to promote New York State’s efforts to move to clean energy. Apparently NYSERDA has come to the realization that there is public resistance to the New York State clean energy program, hence the necessity for a propaganda barrage to “educate” the public. There are many reasons to be wary of State energy policy as actions have consequences.

The Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) created under the Climate Leadership And Community Protection Act (CLCPA) has the authority to suspend local laws they deem “excessively burdensome.” This law does not protect our communities and is a threat and a power grab by unelected officials appointed by the Governor to push a political agenda.

Renewable energy programs, Solar and Wind, are absurdly called “ farms” and are having a devastating effect on local communities. Disruption of traditional farming and destruction of farmland forests and wetlands is commonplace and counterproductive. Noise and visual pollution are ever present. Health issues persist. Only a select few benefit at the expense of many. Without heavy subsidies (handouts) renewable Wind and Solar energy programs would not exist.

Viability of Electric Vehicles (EVs) comes into question as the State pushes for zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and effectively bans the sale of Internal Combustion Engine-powered vehicles.

EVs have attractive features such as quietness and smooth riding. However, they are costly, expensive to produce, extremely impractical for average use, suffer for lack of charging stations, are heavier than their Internal Combustion Engine vehicle counterparts and pose a fire threat.

Ford has recently suspended delivery of its lightning pickup truck because of “battery problems.” Also note the 2021 recall of all General Motors Chevy Bolt’s some twice, for “battery problems.”

Further, EVs require less labor to assemble and will result in a net job loss in the automobile industry. Without direct government subsidies (bribes) to the buyer and numerous other subsidies for charging stations and battery development there would be no market for electric vehicles.

In addition, the electrification of our transportation system will seriously impact suburban and rural residents as they rely heavily on practical reliable transportation.

Lithium ion storage batteries are being used to supply power when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine. Lithium Ion Batteries have a long history of unexplained fires.

The electrical grid is experiencing instability as reliable base load power from coal, clean burning natural gas and nuclear sources are shuttered, and solar and wind energy installations are  ramped up. This is due to the unpredictable and intermittent nature of Solar and Wind. Rolling blackouts occurred during this past Christmas Holiday in the Carolinas and a Tennessee Titans football game was postponed for an hour in a rolling blackout. The grid in New York may be next. A single source of energy is a high risk policy to pursue. National defense is at stake. Mr. Zelensky is not pleading for wind turbines or solar panels as the Russians invade Ukraine. When hurricanes and severe weather occur fossil fuels come to the rescue. Nuclear energy, clean burning natural gas and  the pursuit of clean coal must all be in our energy mix. Diversity is needed most in our energy portfolio.

The earth is warming at the present time and  humans are having an effect. How much and what can be done is debatable. Steven E. Koonin’s book “Unsettled” is an excellent resource to put climate change into perspective. Dr. Koonin is currently a professor at New York University. His qualifications include serving as Under Secretary for Science in the Obama Administration and much more. This book is well worth reading.

For future generations the outlook is problematic. Erosion of our individual freedoms will continue. Executive orders will proliferate, extremists will persist in confusing weather and climate. The government will dictate the kind of cars we drive, how we heat our homes, how we cook our food and much more. Rolling blackouts will be the norm. Subsidies will abound, public debt will continue to skyrocket and the attack on the fossil fuel industry will continue. Mountains of unrecyclable trash will litter the landscape as discarded turbine blades, solar panels and batteries outlive their useful life.

In short, socialism on the march with all its downsides.

A redirection of our State and Federal energy policies are overdue! Let us start with an overhaul of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. New York can lead the way.

James C. Hoffman

Somerset

Editor:

NY Route 279 once ran from 5-Corners through Gaines to Route 18 in Carlton. New York turned 279 north of Ridge Road (Route 104) over to Orleans County and removed State signage.

This creates a “Kuckville Triangle” for visitors and fisherpeople lost in the Black North country. Solution: County Tourism and / or Highway can make small “Old Rte 279” markers with arrows sending outsiders down the correct roads. This is especially important before coming fishing derbies and the April 2024 eclipse.

Gerard M. Morrisey

Albion

Editor:

Quick question for the Albion Village Board. Why is snow not removed from along the sidewalk/curbs in the downtown business district?

My wife and I went to go eat at 39 Problems Thursday for lunch, but couldn’t park along Main Street. The snow banks along the edge of the sidewalk and curb are so big, you can’t open your passenger side doors. It looked like Bank Street was the same.

Now go figure, few people want to shop downtown.

I remember the Village DPW used to always clean up the snow. What happened?

Oh, by the way, had a good lunch at 39 Problems.

Can’t wait to hear the replies.

Paul Roberts

Albion

Editor:

Fox “Not News” does not report on itself.  Last week we learned Carlson, Hannity, Ingram, Dobbs, etc. give air time to people they have said in writing they do not believe on theft of an election they acknowledge, between themselves, are disproven.

Rupert Murdoch, the founder, testified this falsification was not about red or white but about green – the color of money.

This week we learned 1) these  entertainers call their viewers “nuts” 2) Carlson wrote that he deeply “despises” Trump and his Presidency was a failure, and 3) Murdoch passed leaked confidential Biden campaign information to Trump’s son-in-law J. Kushner.

Inter alia, Fox Managing Editor Sammons wrote “It’s remarkable how weak ratings makes [us] do bad things.”

In reply Fox Political Editor Stierwalt wrote: “What  I see us doing is losing…..  viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff….”

Now Fox not only publicly lies but is now supporting rewriting text books to support propositions like teaching race as essential to society. Of course, banning math books and teaching that recognizing race differences is essential are topics for other days. But while Hitler burned books Fox is at the point it supports rewriting history.

This all is a developing story. Will the “nuts” realize they are being played? Will we remain a majority ruled democracy of, for and by the people? Will history be rewritten till the world is no longer recognizable?

Till then Fox is in a bind. It finds itself between a few fully delusional “news” competitors including QAnon and accurately sourced and truthfully reported news. But drip, drip, drip, truth is still getting out, thank goodness.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion

Editor:

The purpose of this letter is to encourage your readers to contact their representatives and advocate for the full decriminalization of sex work in the United States.

Decriminalization would provide benefits not only to sex workers but also to all Americans by enhancing their safety and well-being. It is time for our society to take action to protect the rights and safety of this marginalized group.

It is worth noting that sex workers do not desire legalization or extensive regulation of their profession. Decriminalization, in contrast, would generate new jobs and significantly increase economic growth.

A study conducted by the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women found that the full decriminalization of sex work in the U.S. would raise GDP by $11 billion annually. Between 70,000 and 80,000 individuals are arrested for prostitution each year in the U.S., costing taxpayers approximately $200 million. Decriminalizing sex work offers a substantial opportunity to enhance economic growth and improve the lives of millions of Americans.

Sex workers have faced violence, discrimination, and stigma for too long. Criminalizing sex work drives it underground, making it substantially more hazardous for sex workers. Denying sex workers access to basic legal protections leaves them susceptible to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Decriminalization would remove the threat of arrest and prosecution, and permit sex workers to operate safely and autonomously.

The issue of decriminalizing sex work should not be a partisan matter. It offers advantages that both Republicans and Democrats can support. Decriminalization has the potential to reduce the number of individuals reliant on welfare by providing these individuals with access to a legitimate source of income.

Furthermore, decriminalizing sex work can help to achieve universal rights for all Americans. I believe that it is important to uphold the principle of non-interference in the affairs of consenting adults, respecting their privacy, and honoring their personal autonomy. I’m not alone in this regard.

It is crucial to maintain consistency in our beliefs about American freedom. If we believe in the inherent value of individual liberty, this should apply to all Americans, regardless of the specific moral beliefs we hold. Prostitution is a consensual activity between adults that neither harms nor takes from anyone else. In the absence of any infringement on the rights of others, there is simply no justifiable reason for sex work to remain criminalized.

Prohibition has never proven to be effective, whether in the early 1900s or in the present day. Instead of promoting the idea of rescuing sex workers, it is essential to recognize their need for rights; understanding that sex workers do not exploit themselves nor sell their bodies. Rather, they offer their services or labor in exchange for monetary compensation. I suggest researching the history of why this industry continues to be criminalized.

I urge you to write to your representative in support of all hardworking Americans and taxpayers by advocating for a bill that fully decriminalizes sex work, without imposing harmful and unnecessary regulations.

By taking this action, you will be taking a significant step towards ensuring that these laborers are able to work safely and independently, and towards creating a more equitable and just society for all.

Sincerely,

D. Hill

Carlton

(Hill, formerly known as C. Tkach, is author of Sexual Liberty: Memoirs of a Sex Worker’s Fight for Freedom and is the founder of the Libertarian Party of Orleans County.)

Editor:

The Village of Albion Board is right to oppose the conversion of the Clover Hill Adult Residence building into a drug rehabilitation facility. The mission of the ‘Gates to Recovery’ organization might be noble, but this project would very likely reduce the tax base in the Village of Albion, increase the demand for village services, and serve and employ people who predominately won’t be residents of the village. The village cannot afford to be the place to locate all the tax-exempt organizations that the wider Orleans community might need.

The Clover Hill building has a tax assessment of $619,600. If that becomes tax exempt, then village taxes for all other village taxpayers will go up. And, like it or not, neighboring properties will probably become less desirable to future buyers with a rehab facility close by in the neighborhood. So, the tax base of the village will decrease even more. It may be that people at the facility would go into the village and buy things like food and gasoline. But Orleans County has frozen the amount of sales tax that it has shared for the past 20 years, so the village would likely not see one extra cent of sales tax revenue.

With up to 135 people living and working in the building we can expect extra police, fire, and ambulance calls. Again, it would be the people of Albion who would pick up that cost. We saw last year that the leaders of the county and towns paid for ambulance service by placing an unfair burden on Albion. Costs were allocated based upon where ambulances were sent, not equally throughout the county or by where the patient normally resides. Albion will very likely be on the hook again.

As to the building, it is located very close to neighboring properties with little buffer space. It was built to serve quiet, older people who had limited mobility – neighbors that you might never hear a peep from. To spend $1 million to expand and/or renovate the existing building to serve a different purpose might very well not be fair to neighboring properties.

If there is a need for long-term drug rehabilitation services in Orleans County, then a site should be selected or built in another town. It is time to spread the locations of tax-exempt organizations throughout the county and to stop pushing most of them into villages.

Over the decades the politicians of Orleans County have purposefully made the villages very highly taxed and there is no sign that they plan to change course. Village residents need to push back where we can or pretty soon no one will be able to afford to live in an Orleans County village.

Jason Dragon

Village of Albion

Editor:

A letter writer to the Orleans Hub expressed fear and worry over a drug rehabilitation center opening in Albion. “Who in their right mind wants drug addicts in their neighborhood? I sure don’t. Watch the crime rate soar and property values plummet if a drug rehab facility goes in at Clover Hill in Albion.”

These fears and anxieties are real and should not be dismissed; they must be addressed. One way to overcome fears is by knowledge; understanding the problem and solutions.

There is abundant fact-based evidence that drug rehabilitation centers do not increase crime and they do not cause property values to plummet. In fact by helping people get off drugs they make our communities safer.

But let’s get real. I am not going to change your mind with studies and factual data. Let’s talk about what we all know. There is a drug problem in Albion, Orleans County and beyond. This drug problem is not getting any better; in fact it’s getting worse.

Closing our eyes does not make the problem go away or improve the situation. Arresting and putting people in jail for drug abuse has not worked in the past 30, 40 or 50 years, it is not likely going to work any better now.

The current policies are not and have not worked. Since nothing else has worked why not try a drug rehab center? The studies and evidence supports rehab facilities.

Fear and mis-information are keeping us from learning from the failed policies of the past. It is time to move beyond fear. It is time to base policies on evidence-based solutions that actually work.

This letter, or any letter will not assuage your fears and anxieties; knowledge will. I suggest that the writer learn more about rehab centers in general, and about this rehab center specifically, i.e. who is running it, how it will be run, and how and if it will benefit the community.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

The Burning, the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, will be reviewed at the Hoag Library in Albion at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Mike Magnuson of the Library, Rev. Jim Renfrew, Gary Kent, Lorienda Smith, Bob Golden and others will assist and participate in an audience-wide discussion.

Saint Pope John XXIII prayed daily, “Lord help me to remain humble, so I don’t hurt others.”

But at 5:01am on June 1st, 1921, a mob of heavily armed white men, “the superior race,” aided by a machine gun from an over-looking hill and two armed airplanes, aided and abetted by the press, business and public officials, stormed a highly successful middle-class community of 15,000 Blacks.

They killed as many as 300 Blacks. (We don’t know exactly, because many were stacked on trucks, dumped into mass graves and covered over, unmarked. Because of pictures and persistent tales of the truck loads of Black bodies, 99 years later the white mayor of Tulsa led a search by archaeologists and 12 such unmarked graves were excavated.)

They also looted and burned to the ground 1,115 homes (315 more were looted only), 5 hotels, 31 restaurants, 4 drugstores, 8 doctors’ offices, a new school, two dozen grocery stores, a hospital, public library and 12 churches.

Why study this now? So we don’t repeat (and desist from) the same mistakes. Although this may be an extreme example, there are countless similar incidents in our history, and for that matter in the history of man, e.g. Ukraine and Afghanistan right now. Currently in the US –although we’ve gotten better – we continue to consider and treat Blacks, Native Americans, other minorities and women as “inferior” and “hurt’ them.

As Alcoholics Anonymous says in its Twelve steps toward recovery, “We need to make a fearless examination of conscience.”

This book discussion is organized by the Community Coalition for Justice, which includes committee representatives from 6 churches and two civic organizations.

Bob Golden

Waterport

(Golden is a member of the Coalition and a retired Probation Director in Orleans County, as well as a member of the Social Justice Committee at Holy Family Parish.)

Editor:

Wow, seems I have stirred up a hornets’ nest in regards to the proposed drug rehab at Clover Hill. Good!!!! That is what America is about, isn’t it? We can voice our opinion.

I spent 25 years in prison, I should mention, as an employee. I have family members who are drug addicts. I have friends who lost a child to drugs.

I do understand the strain drugs are putting on society. I watched the revolving door court system first hand while working at the prisons. It’s even worse now with the current coddling court system our liberal politicians have put into place.

How about we start at the top, with the person sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office in DC. This person claims the borders are secure. So, I must assume, the borders are secure, so no illegal drugs are entering the USA from the borders. Right?

To the person regarding the empty derelict downtown Albion. Have any ideas? Attend the board meetings? Where is the codes officer? Drive around Albion. Trash all over, abandoned cars. Burned out buildings. Trash cans left at the curbs for days. Cars parked on front lawns for days. The list goes on and on.

Medina has an industrial park that is shovel ready. Does Albion? No! Therefore where are the employees and businesses – in Medina.

Thank you to the new owners of 39 Problems for opening. And the coffee shop at the old corner pharmacy. Have been to both and plan on continuing to frequent them.

Was hoping a Veterans Outreach Center or senior living facility would take over Clover Hill. Both desperately needed in Albion.

Can’t wait to hear all the negative replies on here and Facebook. How about some real answers then? Step up to the plate, open a business in downtown if you can afford it. The old Ames plaza has a couple empty stores.

How about something that is Albion-based, Santa Claus-themed?

You have a good opportunity right now to get the ball rolling in opening a good family business. Several vacant buildings downtown. Lots of time to build your business plan and get opened just as the canal bridge and the main thoroughfare in Albion reopen. More employees!!

My opinion is and will remain, no drug center at Clover Hill. Put it in your neighborhood if you think it is so great. Open up one of the closed prisons.

Thank You to Orleans Hub for this time to voice my opinion.

Paul Roberts

Albion

Editor:

From a “liberal”:  I see the predictable, fake outrage that someone would dare buy an Albion property, spend $1 million on improvements, hire one hundred people and actually fight addiction. How dare they! They must be stopped!

Property values: Drive around the Village of Albion and see the “Pool Hall” and “The Hive” etc. etc.  A drug culture is all too embedded on our dying streets. Do the shouters think that this helps property values?  Go all out; keep Clover Hill abandoned as a symbol of a dead or dying town!

Wake up; See how this outfit has behaved at other locations. Have they been a good neighbor and have they fought addiction?

Gerard M. Morrisey

Albion

Editor:

In response to Paul Roberts, First of all, I am far from a liberal. I am a family member of a person in treatment, a person with 630 days substance free. I’m forced to drive 4 hours at a minimum every week to support my loved one in his quest to stay clean due to the lack of residential treatment in this area.

Secondly, you already have drug addicts in your neighborhood, you just turn a blind eye to them since you appear to feel their existence is of no value and since they aren’t in a labeled location advertising their struggle, it’s easy to do.

These are people, humans, who love and are loved. They are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. They are blue-collar workers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, veterans.

They are people looking to become productive members of society again. Albion needs some of those. Look around, you’re surrounded by an area of blight, low incomes, lack of motivation, addiction and apathy.

Opinions like yours fuel the stigma of addiction and cause people to fear treatment because they feel they don’t deserve to be healthy, happy and prosperous. They fear sharing the fact that they have a disease.

Ostracizing “these” people creates higher crime rates, death rates, puts a drain on welfare and wreaks havoc on families and loved ones affected by this issue as they are forced to suffer in silence or bear the burden of the stigma.

Addiction does not discriminate. There is no profile of an addict. I think you’d be surprised by who you know that has been affected by this. Hopefully your glass house continues to protect your loved ones but statistics show that is surely not going to be the case until we embrace the fact that addiction is a disease – until we battle the stigma and speak up and educate people. It’s out there front and center and needs to be acknowledged.

Kindness, care and compassion may be a better option than ill will, incorrect assumptions and ignorance. Maybe the Mayor should hold a community meeting to see if there is support for a treatment facility.

They don’t need his approval, it seems they are hoping to have a positive, supportive community environment for people to heal. Maybe he should focus on the empty store fronts downtown.

Battle the Stigma. They Do Recover.

Sincerely,

Christine Fernandez Crane

Medina, formerly of Albion

Editor:

Who in their right mind wants drug addicts in their neighborhood? I sure don’t. Watch the crime rate soar and property values plummet if a drug rehab facility goes in at Clover Hill in Albion.

And why is this drug addict company get to be tax exempt? Aren’t the taxpayers already being overtaxed for everything?

I live within site of this property on Allen Road. My wife and I, along with several other people living in this area of Albion, walk along the local roads and streets. Just what this good residential area needs is a drug habitat.

Why doesn’t this drug addict company take over one of the many prisons that have closed? I’m sure our wonderful, worthless governor could help them buy one.

Can’t wait to hear the liberals’ comments on this one.

Paul Roberts

Albion

Editor:

Dominion Voting System filed court papers against Fox News Network. In the papers filed, Dominion provided internal memos and communications of Fox employees from the top of management to the producers and hosts of shows demonstrating that they were spreading and endorsing misleading and false statements, i.e., they lied to their audience.

Fox claims that Dominion “mischaracterized the record, cherry-picked quotes stripped of key context and spilled considerable ink on facts that are irrelevant under black-letter principles of defamation law.”

However, Fox has not provided any evidence to back up these claims while Dominion has provided troves of documents supporting their claims. The court papers make it abundantly clear that Fox was deliberately and reckless lying. They knew it and they kept lying.

To be clear, what Fox did (and still does) is not provide a conservative-bias view of events. They reported on events that they knew did not happen; they lied.

Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and others at Fox knew what they were telling their audience was false; that it was propaganda.

They knew and they still reported the lies. When Fox reporter Jacqui Heinrich fact-checked a tweet by Mr. Trump, Mr. Carlson told Mr. Hannity to try to get her fired. Lying for profit apparently is Fox’s business model.

Why does Fox lie? The Dominion court filing indicates that Fox lied because they were afraid they were losing viewing market to competitors. Fox lied (and still lies) for profit.

What is the effect of their lies and propaganda? Their lies were designed to undermine faith in our election integrity, in our democratic institutions and in democracy itself. Fundamentally, the effect was to undermine our democracy.

Think about that, Fox is OK with discrediting our democracy. Beyond insulting and disrespecting their viewers, I question the patriotism of Fox. At any rate, what Fox does, is definitely not news. It is conspiracy theories and lies.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

The Court has unsealed most of the enormous tranche of text from major Fox hosts which prove they intentionally lied – and still lie – about election theft in the 2000 election. (Click here to see the court documents.)

They knowingly lied and pushed right-wing propaganda to divide and conquer rather than investigate matters and report their findings. (And it’s all in writing!) Their goal is to keep viewership up and not lose ground competitors like Newsmax.

Fox claims the First Amendment protects and permits the corporation and on-air personalities to lie. But, you and I know that intentionally lying is evil – protected or not.

This puts in a world where newscasters and politicians either wear white hats trying to build a better future or black hats with no concern for truth and our well being. There is no middle ground where honorable people can meet.

Seeing this in writing creates a moment where we all can quietly consult our collective conscience.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion