Editor:

On December 9, 2021 the Administrative Law Judges on the Heritage Wind case ruled in their Recommended Decision that six proposed turbines in Barre do not need to be removed from the project!

The ruling was based on Heritage Wind having provided the burden of proof that was needed to support this finding based on other projects in New York State, peer reviewed studies, and other cases around the Country. I would like to commend the judges for their sound decision making on this matter.

Many residents have worked hard to make this project happen in our Town and it would be shameful if the Office of Renewable Energy Siting took 20% of this project away based on arbitrary reasoning that was brought to the case in the eleventh hour.

I am urging ORES to approve the Heritage Wind project as contemplated in the Draft Permit with all 33 turbine locations. Heritage Wind will reduce our Town taxes, help generational farms stay in operation, and help our State reach its necessary climate goals of 70% renewables by 2030.

Chris Loss

Barre

Editor:

As the former owner and operator of our family farm, I know firsthand that running a farm or an agribusiness is a uniquely challenging undertaking, and if we fail to recognize how these businesses operate in the real world, it will be the death knell for family farms in New York state.

I say this because recently many have called for farm worker overtime to be reduced from the 60-hour threshold established by the Farm Laborers “Fair” Labor Practices Act in 2019 to 40 hours.

As well-intentioned as this idea may sound, this demand comes from a lack of understanding regarding how farms and agribusinesses actually operate. If it were implemented, I fear the only farms that could afford to comply would be large, corporate-operated ones, as the family farms we know and love in our communities would be driven out of business.

To give insight as to why this could happen, simply put, agricultural work isn’t a 9-to-5 job. Farms operate on schedules that are at the mercy of Mother Nature. During the planting and harvest season, it’s often necessary to work from sunrise to sunset, while other seasonal periods could warrant fewer hours of work. This proposal fails to acknowledge this reality, as well as the broader consequences that could arise from decreasing this threshold. We don’t have the luxury of having 12 months of growing and harvesting seasons, we are not Florida or California!

If we begin to lose our farms, which already face many competitive disadvantages compared to out-of-state competitors, farm workers, in turn, will lose their jobs. When that happens, they may very well seek opportunities working for competitors in other states, creating a vicious cycle in which job openings and our farm workforce disappear in tandem, harming the very people the policy sought to help.

We should also bear in mind that our dairy farmers are beholden to price controls that limit their ability to increase their prices to recoup overhead costs. At the end of the day, all farmers are price-takers, meaning that they sell their goods at prices set by processors, distributors and facilities. Farmers, here in New York, are often unable to meet the low costs sought by these purchasers. Even as things stand now, prices on our produce are so high that many New York City schools order apples from Washington state.

If the overtime threshold were to be lowered at all, or to 40 hours, it’s likely it would no longer be profitable to produce many beloved crops here in New York. Our produce would then be less fresh, less plentiful and more expensive. During a year in which we’ve seen unprecedented increases in food prices in stores, where profits don’t directly benefit farmers, the last thing we need is to deliver another gut-punch from Albany to families finding it increasingly difficult to nourish their loved ones. Additionally, farmers have seen the cost of feed, fuel, equipment and other goods they need skyrocket due to inflation.

My hope is that the Farm Laborers Wage Board, along with Gov. Hochul, as a native of upstate New York, listens to the concerns of our upstate farmers on the many implications of this issue, instead of ignoring those concerns for the sake of appeasing partisan activists who lack insight into the day-to-day operations of a farm.

In rural upstate New York, agriculture is more than an economic sector, it’s a way of life. This proposal jeopardizes the existence of farms that have been pillars of our community for generations. To imagine our region without family farms is like imagining New York City without skyscrapers. My hope is that on this issue, if no other, our concerns will not fall on deaf ears.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Batavia

Hawley represents the 139^th Assembly District which includes most of Orleans County, all of Genesee County and part of western Monroe County.

Editor:

I thought the election was over. Time to move on. Yet Councilman Riggi had to throw in one more letter with confusing successes. Then had to spin up accusations of misinformation about what he perceived was misinformation on a part of a few. Who are the few?

Misinformation is a nice word for inaccurate or purposely intending to deceive. Gives no examples. My guess would be myself and anyone who helped me. Let’s have a debate on that misinformation right here on the Hub.

There was no deceit no misinformation. Campaigns bring out differences and truths. Sometimes the truth is ugly and embarrassing. If not for this misinformation accusation I would not have bothered responding to such a letter. Not Mr. Riggi’s best work but since he opened the door I have more to say that otherwise would have been left at rest.

How out of touch can one person be to tout this list of stretched accomplishments? Honestly, A fund was not the fault of this board ($86,000 hole). It was missed by a private auditor the town still employs and it goes way back to 2005 when town hired this bookkeeper. They were forewarned but did nothing about it by many constituents, for many years. Read the Yates and Ridgeway Water Audits from 2012. They are very relevant as they shared same bookkeeper. A past history is why the present situation.

Audit In Yates #4 Water: Books so amateurishly done they were hard to decipher. Water customers were overcharged. Town law was broken. Phony water districts were created within the district. Money that wasn’t supposed to be used was used for the “create” Blood Road extension that ran a water line and ended dead in front of… the bookkeeper – another ignored conflict of interest within Yates.

All beyond them had to wait a few years till it went down Route 18 and came up the front end of that road to finally connect all. To top it off our town had to take out a bond and the taxpayers have to pay all the money back I believe over 20 years. Did that administration know exactly what it was doing? You be the judge.

Ridgeway’s Audit is self explanatory. Nobody to this day paid a price, history repeated itself and it will again somewhere because those in political power protect one another.

Standard and Poor’s rating from B to A-. A B rating is speculative – currently meets payments but faces uncertainties. A full A rating would mean adequate but an A- is not acceptable when dealing with taxpayers’ money. Triple AAA is tops so nothing to brag about. Successful financial management under the tax cap. Unbelievable!

So what is it with politicians thinking that raising your taxes 2% every year is something to be proud of? With the raised assessments automatically raising your taxes coupled with the tax increase it’s more like 5% or more depending on how much your assessment was raised. They should not believe this is a success. Then blames Covid for the village money grab for the 15.29 percent tax increase in 2020. Six years of increases.

The comprehensive plan. Fierce opposition to the first one. Little to no survey response on second one. Comments never released to the public. Probably not good. Living document gives the power to completely control every aspect of your life and land. Only 2 people said no. Myself and one comprehensive plan committee member. A tool for obtaining grant money. Read it yourself. We’re global citizens. The LWRP, in which Mr. Riggi has put time in. Another tool for grant money. Read the September 10th 2018 Town Board minutes. He says, “The town of Yates has a long list of projects that they will be going after the state for this money to do these projects starting with the village.”

That’s where bike paths, nature trails, and sidewalks to nowhere came from. I’m not going to go in detail through the whole list. Most is routine town business, or a personal wish list to change the area (Bio Digester) or taking credit for business growth when it’s the achievements of a AAA business friendly planning board and code officer that really deserve the credit.

I know your fairly new being politically active but I have been around a long time and seen much of this personally. There was no misinformation in the campaign. Get over it and stick to town business. This is not Pittsford or Orchard Park. It’s Lyndonville. Slow down with the changes.

Paul Lauricella

Yates

Editor:

It was probably a good idea to put charging stations at the library, but whose design was it to put them on the other side of the sidewalk?

The cords go across the sidewalk so that people have to walk on the grass or in the parking lot.

When it snows and you can’t walk on the grass you end up in the parking lot which makes it a hazard for pedestrians and motorists.

Are they going to put a sidewalk behind the charging stations to give people a safe place to walk?

Orleans County concerned citizens,

Robert & Patricia Snell

Kendall

Editor:

This letter is in response to one recently submitted by concerned neighbors, Sharon Cassidy and Pamela Cook, in regards to an out-of-town organization from western New York who has purchased a private medical doctor’s office on West Center Street and Florence Avenue in their residential neighborhood.

When Dr. Surinder Bath was approaching retirement, discussions began on how we can best continue to serve the patients that had been under his care. Dr. Bath was truly concerned about what would happen to his patients once he retired. That is where Oak Orchard Health (OOH) came into play.

Dr. Bath liked the integrated model of care that OOH provides, where primary care, behavioral health, vision, dental, and supporting services are all provided under the umbrella of one organization. OOH provides care to patients who are fully insured as well as those with limited medical insurance. OOH provides care to all members of the community, from birth to geriatrics, and does so with skill and compassion.

At this point, OOH does not intend to significantly vary how we provide medical care at Dr. Bath’s former office. Michelle Okonieczny, NP, a member of the Medina community, will be the primary provider practicing there. Michelle lives only a few short blocks from the office, and has a vested stake in the neighborhood.

The two support staff who previously worked with Dr. Bath will continue working with OOH – so patients will experience the same familiar faces in the same familiar setting. Dr. Bath decided to sell to OOH because he thought this was the best way to take care of his patients and to continue to serve the community.

OOH does not intend to expand the size of the office, but will be making some regulatory as well as cosmetic improvements to the facility. We too, are concerned with preserving the aesthetics of the neighborhood, and will make every effort to add to it rather than distract.

Any additional services that the patients of the community may desire can be provided from one of our several other office locations that are situated throughout western New York. OOH remains dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of the patients and communities we serve. We value the concerns of all stakeholders and welcome this opportunity to ease the fears some may have.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Pettibon, CEO

Oak Orchard Health

Editor:

I applied for a code enforcement officer position with 3 towns and a village. In doing so, I knew patronage would be my biggest competitor.

I have 25 years in construction inspection services, for multiple government agencies, and commercial development, and I’m a  30-year resident of the village.

I applied to two of the towns so nobody could say the application got lost. A month later, I got an interview. I was excited, but anxious because I’m cynical.

The night before the interview, I got a call from Strong Hospital. They had just told my mom that she has terminal cancer, with not much time. Knowing this, I manned up, and went to the interview. I was anxious (mom’s alone at the hospital).

I felt the interview went well. As I was leaving, an angel told me I did amazing, and she would be fighting for me. Made me feel good, then off to hospital to console my dying mom – got to get her home, I promised.

A few days later, a call, need help with your references, and in the spirit of transparency and fairness, the committee is going to ask you about town zoning. The other applicants received same information.

Another call, interview, next Monday. Awesome, I got a chance.

Get mom home to hospice at home. Friday, she’s home. Happy to have her. In hospital bed, really weak, on morphine. Knowing it won’t be long.

Saturday, family and friends show up, her spirits lifted, even as her body lags. Sunday, she’s looking better, demanded to get out of bed. I was awoken, put her back to bed. Breathing, so laborious. She’s resting, family leaves, tears and hearts all over floor.

I need a break, anxious again, watching my amazing wife care for my mom, through the window, freezing outside. I feel so numb. She’s talking to my aunt, seems worried.

Seeing, her gasping, I called the nurse, more morphine. Can barely swallow. Aunt’s asleep and doesn’t look so good, herself. But glad she’s here.

My mother’s gasping lessens, I caress her head, tell her it’s OK to go. Over, and over…. Till  Mom, Mom. I listen, she’s gone. 11:45 p.m. on a Sunday.

First thing in morning, contacted towns, please withdraw my application for the position. Thank you. What do I do for work now?

Couple days later, another call. Can you come in next Tuesday, committee really wants to hear from you. OK. Anxious again, tired. Brother thinks it’s good news, think they liked what I said. I’m cynical. Second interview, I performed well, I crushed it. Had a thought out answer for all questions. Left feeling good. Anxious, when will they call? Days go by.

Friday, missed call. The town, can you call me. Call town. Hello, yes it was so close, we had to “Flip A Coin”….. Thud.

Well thanks again for opportunity and meeting you all. Seriously! A coin toss, didn’t realize it was OT in a football game.

My emotions played with, my grief ignored. Embarrassing. By the way, so and so got the position. Patronage over qualifications wins again. Illegal, No. Unfair, Yes.

My own town sold me out. $100,000 spent investing in my house, my community. For not. I’m not going to judge, I’ll leave that to the tax payers, and God.

I’m going to grieve.

Kevin A. Rogers

Lyndonville

Editor:

This is an open letter to New York State Legislative members.

Dear NYS Senators and Assembly Members: Re: Assembly Districts

In 1964 the US Supreme Court declared that 49 of the 50 states had to abandon their legislature’s Republican Structure and were now required to reorganize their legislative districts based on population.

Not only does the US Constitution not give the Supreme Court the authority to make such a decree, the United States Supreme Court itself completely ignored Article 4, Section 4 of the US Constitution, which reads:

“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, … .”

Even before New York became a state it had a Republican form of government. How the Republican Structure was to be maintained was spelled out in the NYS Constitution whereby each county was granted one Representative in the New York State Assembly. (Historically, there was only one exception to this requirement). The more populous counties were granted additional representation in the Assembly when the county’s population was 50% greater (or more) than the average New York State county’s population. New York State maintained its Republican form of government up to 1964.

Despite the New York State’s constitutional requirements, the New York State Legislature complied with the Supreme Court’s decree and proceeded to destroy the Republican Structure of the NYS government.

I ask you to reject any proposal for the redistricting of New York State Assembly Districts that does not restore the Republican Structure to the NYS Assembly and that does not allocate at least one Assembly representative per county.

Vote to return the Republican Structure to the NYS Legislature. Restore the responsibility of the Members of the Assembly to be the representative from, and for, their respective county.

Additionally, consider the fact that the representatives in counties with just one representative are essentially ‘At-Large’ within their county. The Members of the Assembly are all supposed to be representatives of their county. Therefore, all the Assembly districts, regardless of how many representatives each county is allotted, should be designed as the entire county, and all the members should be Representatives At-Large. Please consider making all Assembly Districts county wide and do not allow any Assembly District to be drawn that is just a part of a county, or that includes part of another county.

If you support this proposal, it would completely eliminate gerrymandering of Assembly Districts and would restore the Republican Structure to the New York State Legislature. It would put an end to the “Divide New York” movements, and would restore some county oversight of the New York State Legislature.

I pray that you give consideration to this proposal and help restore the Empire State to its prior greatness.

With goodwill toward all, and proud to be Libertarian.

PS: The following is an example of how simple the redistricting of the Assembly Districts should be to re-establish the Republican structure to the New York State Legislature: The following Assembly seats are allocated to the counties as follows: Kings County 16, Queens County 13, New York 12,  Suffolk 10, Nassau 9, Bronx 8, Erie 6, Westchester 6, Monroe 5, Richmond 3, Onondaga 3, Orange 2, Rockland 2, Albany 2, Dutchess 2, Saratoga 2, Niagara 2,  Oneida 2, Broome 2, and the remaining 43 counties would each be assigned 1 Assembly seat. All of the districts would be county wide and the candidates for the Assembly would be At-Large.

For many reasons, these assignments were made based on the number of registered voters. If you request, I will send the excel table with the calculations.

Mark E. Glogowski, PhD

Hamlin

Former Libertarian Party Chairman in New York

Editor:

My wife and I, along with our two sons, moved to eastern Tennessee in 2013 after we retired but still like to keep up with activity in the Albion and Holley area. The Hub is a great way to do that.

There are only three areas that stand out as far as really welcome changes from Western NY – the weather, taxes and politics .

I don’t need to go into detail on the weather unless you like gloomy, cold and snow. Although some people do, we actually moved following our son’s previous relocation and thought we were heading to the backwoods, but pleasantly were surprised to see less poverty and well maintained infrastructure – roads are superb and the most noticeable plus!

But the taxes and politics are the biggest differences. Property and school taxes were beyond surviving on Social Security, in my opinion from corruption. Here we actually saved some of our Social Security up until the inflation caused by the current president. Politics has obviously gone to liberalism in my hometown. How’s that working out for you now?

After that last sentence you probably know where I am politically but you might be wrong. Actually I am a strict Constitutionalist and don’t agree with either party that have been running this country into the ground – taking turns ruling us!

I am a Vietnam Marine Corps veteran that was told my helicopter squadrons that a 5% casualty rate was “acceptable” in order to preserve our liberty, economy and way of life. I don’t regret it one bit. Granted we were mostly volunteers and knew what was at stake when we signed up.

So tell me how we gave away our liberty, economy and way of life over a virus that is 98.6% survivable? Are you civilians worth more than vets? Or just dumb!

Ed Steuber

Dawn Patrol Aviation (the ex-crop duster)

Erwin, Tenn.

Editor:

An out-of-town organization from western NY has purchased a private medical doctor’s office on West Center Street and Florence Avenue in our residential neighborhood. It is unclear if their plans are to open a clinic similar to their other locations.

However, this conflicts with the “use” variance issued in 1977 that restricts the use to private practice of medicine for only “1” medical doctor in this facility previously known as Dr. Bath’s office. Putting a clinic at this site is in conflict with the use variance. The neighborhood has contacted the code officer and talked to several people on the Board of Appeals.

We have no objection to this clinic coming to Medina since it is quite needed but to try to squeeze a full-time clinic into this office brings too much traffic, activity, and noise to our residential area. When the “use” variance was first approved in 1977 to allow an independent MD office in the neighborhood, MDs spent only part of their time in their offices.

If you remember, doctors used to do “rounds” on their patients so some of their valuable time was committed to their patients in the hospital! They did not ever work full-time out of their medical offices. As MDs moved out of the hospital setting in the last 5-10 years, they now spend all their time in the office seeing more patients. This brings an uptake of activity to the medical office setting.

This official code restriction of one MD practicing in this office location assured limited traffic/activity for the private use of a medical office in our solely residential neighborhood. This also potentially offers accountability to the neighborhood.

We do not think that one MD equals one clinic. Since the official village code/use variance in place aims to protect the character of the neighborhood, we respectfully insist that the code be honored, in letter and in spirit.

Thank you.

Concerned neighbors,

Sharon Cassidy

Pamela Cook

Medina

Editor:

Provided photo: The Albion Police Benevolent Association donated toys to the Ministry of Concern’s Holiday Assistance Program.

On behalf of the Village of Albion Police Benevolent Association, I would like to take a moment to talk about the holiday season that is already well underway.

While many are shopping and preparing for their own festivities with friends and loved ones, we tend to forget about the families in our community that are less fortunate and struggle to give their loved ones the holiday season that they deserve.

While there are many ways to give back, this year the Village of Albion PBA proudly teamed up with Gretta Smith at Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern (GOMOC) to donate toys to their Holiday Assistance Program. This program was started by GOMOC in 2015 and has helped hundreds of local families give their children a joyous holiday season.

We would like to strongly encourage all residents that have something to spare during this season of giving to reach out to local charities such as GOMOC, Community Action and local churches for ways to help those in need.

Have a happy, safe and joyous holiday.

Thank you,

Daniel Baase

President

Albion Police Benevolent Association

Editor:

Now that the election is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to move on and get on with the business of governance for all of the constituents of Yates.

While we all have our disagreements, the people of our town come from a place of genuine passion and desire to improve all that is the Town of Yates. It is indeed a special place.

However, it’s never a bad time to use the experiences of the past in order to continually improve how we communicate as a Board and as a constituency.

While the Board has addressed recent challenges on spending in the pages of this publication, we have not addressed the improvement and successes of the last four years for the Town of Yates:

• Town Finances improved via a 3-year effort to reduce and eliminate the legacy A-fund issue.
• Standard & Poor’s financial rating improvement from B to A-.
• Successful financial management under the tax cap, excepting the 2020 COVID year.
• Successful implementation of the Western Orleans Comprehensive Plan.
• Successful finalization of the Kendall-Yates-Carlton-Lyndonville Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.
• Successful renegotiation of the Ambulance contract with Medina.
• Successful completion of Yates water district #2.
• Successful implementation of the Orleans County Hazard Mitigation Plan.
• Successful opening of Niagara Food Specialties (employing 15 people) at the old Shoreline Fruit site.Plans are for this business to grow.
• Initial fact-finding on a possible community biodigester as a joint effort with the Town of Somerset.
• Improvements at the Yates Town Park that will benefit the constituents as a lake access portal.

We value your support shown by the election and are ready for any and all challenges that we will face in the coming year to ensure we continue to build a better Town of Yates.

While the active misinformation effort on the part of a few in the run-up to the election is disappointing, it does identify a corrective action for the Board.

In the future, we will be actively communicating via newsletters, open house meetings and other methods to ensure that the taxpayers are given ample opportunity to communicate issues and new ideas to the community.

In that way, and in the spirit of transparency, we will leave no room for misinformation.  We look forward to working with everyone to ensure that we shine a light on the issues.  Dialog is critical to ensuring that repeated conveying of misinformation doesn’t become the truth.

Looking forward to the process.

John Riggi

Councilman, Town of Yates

Editor:

The addition of mobile sports betting in New York State has brought access to gambling to everyone’s pocket. Anyone in New York with a cell phone can now gamble 24/7 from anywhere.

With the increase in access to gambling opportunities will inevitably come an increase in individuals, families and communities impacted by negative consequences.

In response to increased access to gambling in NYS, on November 1st NY Council on Problem Gambling launched a brand new, solution-focused resource in NYS that’s designed to highlight all of the ways New Yorkers can work together on this cause to reduce these negative consequences. StrongerThanYouThinkNY.org has something for everyone, whether you’re in need of treatment, have a loved one struggling, or want to be a part of the solution on a community level.

Problem gambling can impact anyone, and its effects go far beyond the individual. Relationships, employment, finances, and mental health all take a hit when gambling is no longer entertainment.

Often the symptoms are invisible to others until they can’t be hidden any longer. It’s never too late to get help or become an advocate for this cause.

Jeffrey Wierzbicki, Western Team Leader

Western Problem Gambling Resource Center

NY Council on Problem Gambling

Buffalo

Editor:

In the face of unprecedented rates of Covid-19 infections, the governing bodies of Orleans and Genesee counties have announced against issuing an indoor mask mandate.

Displaying  a disheartening lack of leadership, and with all the subtlety of a coup d’etat, the combined Legislatures and Managers of the two counties have decided against the

most basic and fundamental precaution that can be made against the virus: masking.

More disturbing is the apparent collusion of the Genesee and Orleans Health Department, ostensibly existing for the safety and well-being of the public, being involved in this non-decision.

Shielding behind the admittedly real concern of diminished business activity, while at the same time handing off the onus of imposing masking restrictions to the very businesses affected, this group of leaders has placed both customers and businesses in the dangerous position of not trusting each other to protect all.

The citizenry of Orleans and Genesee counties have a right to expect more from their elected and appointed officials, both in courage and caring.

Sincerely,

Dave Vanderlaan

Albion

Editor:

On Facebook today a person put the American Flag all over a meme celebrating that Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted. The person probably was not thinking and it took me a while to figure out what really upset me about it.

If this was war and we were celebrating war heroes using the flag would be appropriate. But when a grand jury has indicted a man for homicide, the case was very legally flawed, a view of the last few seconds could effect if lesser charges were appropriate, and the jury system in this country is uniquely structured in favor of acquittal, there are lots of things to argue. But none involve flying the flag.

More about the suppressed evidence will come out. Some will not care about what the law and facts show in our tabloid society.

But I hope people understand that vigilantes – a hanging posse – are not legal and this verdict did not sanction that. Bringing a gun to a demonstration to police it and killing someone is a serious matter. Only the police and the activated National Guard can carry out police duties.

So celebrating anything involving death as a patriotic act is not American and smacks of applauding death as a proper consequence for those you politically disagree with.

Being there was incredibly stupid. Having O.J. Simpson’s jury consultants and two mock trials to practice showed the value of money. There is lot to intelligently discuss. But two deaths matter and are not a matter of political discourse or some perverse victory.

That’s just wrong.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion

Editor:

I will be retiring officially the end of year after four decades with Community Action. During my employment I have met many wonderful people and made many wonderful friends.

I thank everyone who has helped me deliver services that meets the mission of the agency, this could not have been possible without the kind and giving people of Orleans County and the communities we serve.

My retirement is bittersweet but the friends I have made will always be with me. I will miss my dedicated staff that through the years have shown me respect and all the staff at Community Action who are very dedicated to the agency.

I wish everyone a safe and healthy 2022.

Annette Grillo Finch

Albion