Editor:

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

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

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

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

Steven Kast

Churchville

Editor:

Congratulations, Medina, we made it through the storm!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mike Sidari

Mayor of Medina

Editor:

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

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

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

Jane Murray

Albion

Editor:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Concerned former employees,

Michelle Toenniessen

Christine Odom

Aubrey Fortunato

Tammy Chmylak

Cora Goyette

Derek Reiner

Margaret Stewart

Samantha Haran

Penny Bloom

Editor:

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

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

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

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

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

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

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

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

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

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

Steve Colon, a proud Jan. 6th participant

Lyndonville

Editor:

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

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

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

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

Other facts to know:

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

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

Brittany Bozzer

Batavia

Reality Check Coordinator

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Editor:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

William Fine

Brockport

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)