Editor:

The Orleans County Democratic Committee strongly believes June 14th, Flag Day, should stand on its own out of respect and reverence for our flag.

We also submit that making this a National Holiday because it happens to be our current president’s birthday is premature.

Beth Wood

Barre

Wood is secretary of the Orleans County Democratic Committee.

Editor:

Department of Government Efficiency sounds great! I want one! It is not what we got when Trump created DOGE and put Elon Musk in charge.

The brilliance of the extreme right has been their ability to use language to hide what they are doing. A recent example, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act (H.R.7023) was introduced on January 17, 2024. It has nothing to do with making water cleaner, it will make water dirtier.

The bill limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority. I’m old enough to remember when Lake Erie was dead. It is alive again because of environmental protections.

When I think of an office that is focused on increasing government efficiency and reducing waste, I imagine they would look deeply into how things are being done and cut waste. That would take a little investigating to find out what is important and what is not.

If they cared about the American people, they would really look to find waste while keeping important programs. We are all tired of government waste. That is not what they are doing. They are just going in and slashing things without finding out how things work so they can keep the tax cuts for the wealthiest.

Cutting from the National Institute of Health will stop a lot of health care research. If you know anyone who has been in a clinical trial in hopes of healing cancer, these are the types of people that will be affected.

DOGE recently fired staff who were critical to the response to the bird flu and had to bring them back. The way they are working to save money does not make me feel confident. It highlights a complete disregard for the average American. They proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that will take health care away from low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. We are safer in Orleans County because we are in a blue state.

They are focusing on cutting programs and services that help middle income and working families to keep the tax breaks that were started in Trump’s first term. Democrats were going to let them expire, in fact Republicans ran on these tax breaks.

One of my childhood friends is an accountant who has been serving the 1% for over 25 years. Accountants attend workshops when tax laws change. She attended three different workshops on making the most of these tax cuts. All three workshops started with a statement saying it was the biggest tax cut for the wealthy in the history of our tax code.

When they say tax cuts, they are not saying tax cuts for the average American. When they say they are not going to tax overtime or tips, they are shifting your focus. This is just like a magician who points something out in one direction, so you don’t see what they are doing to make the trick work.

Betty García Mathewson

Albion

Editor:

The following Shelby elected officials and endorsed-Republican candidates stand with and support the correction officers on strike due to the current unsafe working conditions they have been dealing with.

The Town of Shelby has many corrections officers and their families in our community, and they need our support.

These officers are forced to work over 24-hour shifts continuously which is an unsafe working condition. The HALT Act limits confinement for inmates which puts the officer’s safety in jeopardy, since the inmates know they will not be restricted for violation of the rules and regulations.

Now the state is penalizing officers for standing up for safe working conditions by taking away their health benefits, which is ironic. So now the inmates get healthcare and the correction officers don’t.  In what reality is this OK?  We need to support these officers in any way we can.

Respectfully,

Scott Wengewicz, Supervisor

Jeffrey Schiffer, Councilman

Steve Seitz, Councilman

Mike Moriarity, Endorsed Republican candidate

Vassilios Bitsas, Endorsed Republican candidate

Editor:

Congratulations to Congresswoman Claudia Tenney on her sweeping election victory last year.  When I travel to DC this week, I will urge her to use her mandate to address climate change and follow in the footsteps of the Republican environmental giants of the 20th century like Roosevelt and Nixon.

The American people know that there is 99 percent consensus in the scientific community as to the link between climate change and human activities. Recent wildfires have highlighted the continued risk of CO2 induced warming.

One policy that is addressing CO2 emissions is The Inflation Reduction Act. The policy serves to spur private investment, clean our electric grid and reduce costs for consumers. Our district benefited from this when Plug Power got $387 million for their facility in the STAMP industrial park. I hope that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney will work to preserve the clean energy provisions of the IRA.

As a lifelong Republican and a member of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, I know that Conservation is Conservative!

Rob Johnson

Medina

Editor:

After reading Ed Zelazny’s letter from Feb. 13 I am still left thinking, “Well Ed in the last 4 years what have you done for us residents?”

You bring up minute generic kicks the can down the road points, time and time again that you did nothing to help the town. Why should we sign your petitions or vote to renew your seat?

You constantly bring up and vote no to raising the budget – how can you run a business knowing the price of goods are going up but have no way to pay for them?

You vote no on paying monthly bills.

You vote no to save us money on water rates.

You voted no to a proposed flat tax rate for all residents resulting in the board accepting a higher budget proposal.

We watch the meetings month after month and not a damn thing gets resolved. The amount of bickering we see helps not one tax-paying resident. This behavior is why local residents want nothing to do with local government.

It’s embarrassing the way some of you board members behave. You continually bring up the same “issues” monthly, but never offer a solution. You wanted a code of ethics, then when the board needed to vote on it…. wait for it… you voted no on accepting a code.

The only light I see shown on “wild wild west” spending is you voting yes to give a pay raise for the Town Clerk three times, you voting yes to spending 6x more money than needed with an engineering firm for Royalton water flow, voting yes to keep purchasing 100% of our water needs from Medina that is double what Royalton is willing to sell at.

You are killing our community by not voting to purchase needed equipment at discounted rates when department heads bring deals to the table. Maybe we should have Elon come audit and see where this mystery money is disappearing to.

If you know what these backdoor deals are that we must be so blind to, why are you not informing us, the taxpayers after you have been in Town Hall serving your 4-year term?

Your term might have started with a signature, but it will end with your favorite vote, “No.”

William Luckman

Medina

Editor:

“For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘hold office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.” – John F. Kennedy

During a recent visit to the Kennedy Museum, I had the distinct and unsettling experience of coming face to face with the above quotation. At the February 24th Village of Medina board meeting, I experienced the sobering reality of what it meant in terms of responsible political leadership. The meeting lasted for almost 3 hours with the Village Board and audience sparring on a number of issues, and the dominant topic was the financing of a fire truck and the construction of an additional bay to house the vehicle.

The Medina firefighters, their respective union and supporters spoke to many frustrations and instances of prior years and other village boards that in their opinion failed to act proactively. The current administration is left to figure out how to move the project forward given the serious impact to village taxpayers.

With poise and empathy, Ms. Padoleski, who over 40 years rose through the Village ranks as a clerk, deputy clerk and clerk treasurer. She currently serves as a village trustee and deputy mayor, and took exception to the tone, demeanor and breakdown in communication she has experienced in navigating the fire truck bonding and fire hall addition projects.

Ms. Padoleski was firm, resolute and unflinching in her opinion that she would not be cajoled given the long-term financial implications to taxpayers. Although Ms. Padoleski’s comments were met at times with interruptions and background chatter, I remain optimistic that a return to civil discourse, common sense and mutual goals will resolve this impasse.

Ms. Padoleski by her persistence and demeanor reinforced in my mind what John F. Kennedy meant when he said “we the people are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership…we demand and deserve” and I personally thank her for it.

Gabrielle Barone

Medina

Editor:

It is so refreshing to know that people still look out for their neighbors. A big “Thank You!” to the young man who plowed our driveway on Brockville Road this Sunday.

My husband has mobility issues and can barely walk. Our snowblower froze/broke this weekend so my son and I have been shoveling the drive all week. Even so, my husband’s car, my car, as well as an Amazon driver all got stuck in our driveway.

My husband has doctor visits this week and I’ve been sweating bullets as to whether I cleaned it well enough not to get stuck. Your act of kindness is appreciated more than you will ever know!

With appreciation,

Stacey Keon

Murray

Editor:

In response to Mr. Heminway’s editorial dated February 18, 2025.

Mr. Heminway states “That changed with the rapid increase in taxes and other issues like the STAMP wastewater pipeline project that threatened to overwhelm Medina’s infrastructure capabilities and damage our county’s natural resources.” For the fiscal year 2024 my budget dropped the tax rate $2.53, and $1.79 outside the village and inside the village respectively.  The budget I submitted for fiscal year 2025 had a flat tax rate for the whole town of $3.40. Watch the budget meetings to see how that submitted budget was revamped. The STAMP plant expansion is being dealt with by the Town of Shelby combining forces with Orleans County.

Mr. Heminway writes, “The NYS 2021 Comptroller’s Audit Report and the 2024 follow-up audit.” There was no audit done in 2024, there was a review conducted by the Comptroller’s Office. All discrepancies have been corrected.

Heminway continues, “neither the former nor the current Supervisor resolved the discrepancies in the Town’s accounting records and could not provide a reasonable explanation for not correcting the discrepancies.” I was not the town supervisor for the prior years. That being said I inherited the records and I am responsible for the financial records of the Town.

For those not in attendance at this month’s Town Board meeting you would have heard from two independent accounting firms the town hired, explain that there was no corruption, and no money missing. All Town financial records are in order and are being finalized for 2023 and 2024. There will be a Notice published announcing the findings.

The Town has sound financial records and a strong financial footing. You would also have heard the accounting software purchased before I took office was malfunctioning, not all accounts were transferred into the new system by the software company, and even the contracted accountants could not get the software to work correctly. Moving forward the town has hired and is working with an accounting firm to maintain financial records in accordance with the state comptroller’s office.

So, maybe the current Supervisor did fix the towns financial records! Maybe the current Supervisor led the charge to defeat the windmills, fight the STAMP plant expansion, get an alternate cheaper supply of water, while still negotiating with the Village of Medina for cheaper water rates, invested the towns funds in a NYS authorized interest bearing entity (earning the town five figure interest on its funds).

Maybe the new Supervisor helped the highway superintendent purchase a much-needed new plow truck for cash (ARPA funds) while decreasing taxes, and use ARPA funds to fix and update the Town Hall building that needed repairs, all with the Town Board’s approval.

Maybe, just maybe, it takes time to accomplish tasks. I have spent my entire adult life since 19 years old serving and protecting this great country of ours. I am currently serving our great town and will do my best to serve all of the taxpayers of the Town of Shelby, as a life-long, proud Republican.

I welcome Mr. Heminway’s challenge for Town Supervisor. In fact until recently he was a life-long registered Democrat, meaning now he is a RINO, (Republican in Name Only) to fool you into giving him your vote. I only have two questions, why didn’t Mr. Heminway run for office before all these problems were fixed? Why not run as a Democrat?

Respectfully,

Scott Wengewicz

Shelby Town Supervisor

Editor:

Hello, I am Dale Root, the chairman of the Shelby Republican Committee. I would like to remind our Republican residents we are once again starting our campaign season with signing of endorsed candidate petitions.

This year we have two Town Board positions and the position of Town Supervisor needing to be elected. The campaign season starts with signing of petitions beginning Feb. 25 and finishing on April 3 for the primary. Committee members along with candidates will be out circulating petitions. (The current committee members include Bill Bacon, Steve Seitz, CJ Woodruff, James Zelazny, John Pratt, Alana Koneski, Tom Winans and myself). We thank you in advance for your signatures.

After interviewing all that applied, the committee has endorsed 3 candidates: For the Town Board positions Mike Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas have garnered the Republican endorsement.

Mike is a lifelong resident and family man of Shelby, business owner & the general manager of Pride Pak. In his position as GM, he is responsible for personnel, food safety protocols, works with a host of government agencies and has a strong work ethic. He takes a no-nonsense approach to wasteful spending.

Vassilios lives in the village, has a wonderful background of business experience, with his family they own five businesses. He is hands on with budgeting, finances and personnel. As a committee we found him to be smart & articulate – good qualities for the Town Board.

For the position of Town Supervisor the Republican Committee has endorsed the incumbent Scott Wengewicz. Scott is a Veteran, retired 30-year federal government employee and business owner. In December 2022 he stepped up and accepted the position of supervisor. In his time he has dealt with a flawed bookkeeping system, a bad STAMP project deal, windmill proposals, over-priced water where he negotiated a 50 percent decrease in rate, budget issues. Scott is committed to making sure Shelby residents and their tax dollars are taken care of.

On March 29 we will be hosting our fundraiser spaghetti dinner and meet and greet with the candidates at the Knights of Columbus in Medina. Everyone is welcome. The event will be 5 to 7 p.m. Please contact a member listed above for presale tickets or pay at the door.

Thank you,

Dale Root

Shelby Republican chairman

Editor:

President Trump, who was convicted of 34 felonies, and Elon Musk with Republicans acceding, are looting the government to line their own pockets with massive tax cuts and steering federal contracts their way.

Mr. Musk and his companies were under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Trade Commission and USAID prior to President Trump’s illegal dismissal of 18 Inspectors General.

The job of the Inspectors General is to root out waste, fraud and abuse and they are accountable to Congress and the American people. Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not responsible to Congress or to the American people. They are not vetted; they could be foreign terrorist for all anyone knows. Mr. Trump fired the Inspectors General because they were accountable to the American people.

The budget proposed by the Republicans entails $4.5 trillion tax cut mostly for the wealthy and large corporations with $2 trillion in spending cuts that will jeopardize the health care and food programs for poor and middle-class Americans.

It is important to remember that during President Biden’s administration, the Democrats dramatically reduced the deficits and the ratio of debt to gross domestic product while creating the fastest recovery in decades and strengthening the social safety net, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the Republican budget proposal would increase the debt by “nearly $4 trillion.”  Also, they write that the Republican’s budget “economic assumptions are overly aggressive,” meaning that they expect the budget proposals would do more damage to the middle class and increase the debt by a lot more.

Cutting jobs and government agencies randomly with no purpose or plan is wasteful.  Furthermore, Mr. Musk’s DOGE group is rifling through Americans personal information through the IRS, the SSI and the Treasury Department.

They do not have any clearance or Congressional authority. I want readers to know that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney not only accepts this invasion of your privacy, the loss of government safety net and jobs and the looting of your tax dollars but she praises this behavior.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

In the 1970s, women were about 5% of the total musicians in symphonies. The DEI change was to make everyone audition from behind a screen so that the judges could not tell who they were.

Women now make up over 40% of musicians in our symphonies overall. You see, we all have bias. If you have a brain, you have bias towards those that are like you. When approaching any issue we ask, who has access? Who does not? What are the barriers that are blocking access?

We then change those barriers. Unconscious bias was stopping symphonies from seeing the talent of women, just putting a blind in front of everyone leveled the playing field. This is a great example of DEI in action.

My name is Betty García Mathewson, and I am a DEI professional. It was called Managing Diversity when I was introduced to it in 1990. I found my calling, the idea of helping people to see each other and learn to work together made perfect sense.

I later realized that my parents had been involved in Managing Diversity when I was a child. We were the “new” people in the community. They worked to bring the Latino community’s voice to the table in our community.

There have been many names through the years and the work is based on the idea that there is talent and value in every group/type of person, yet everyone does not have access to opportunity. DEI is the work of expanding access to the American ideals. We work to help our country live our highest ideals found in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Freedom and justice for all is something we have not yet achieved as a nation.

People have been working to expand access to the American Dream since our country was founded. The abolitionists that led the way to the end of slavery were involved in DEI work. The Suffragists who worked to make our government give women the right to vote, were involved in DEI.

The labor unions that brought us the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, and safe working conditions were all working to expand access to the idea of equal justice for all. DEI is about leveling the playing field and making sure that everyone has access to try, it is not a guarantee that everyone will achieve their dream.

The pushback is all about money. Those using DEI to scare people are trying to keep fighting so we don’t notice the proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.

People working to expand access to the American Dream have been successful. The people pushing back are trying to undo our progress. Every election cycle, different groups are chosen to divide us. It is often race, this time it is transgender people and immigrants of color (race).

Each election cycle is something designed to keep us fighting so the very few can control society at the expense of the many.

Betty García Mathewson

Albion

Editor:

 Hello from the highway department at the Town of Shelby. I would like to take the time to give credit where credit is due.

This past weekend we were up against another test from mother nature. Our team gave it their all against the snow, rain, gale force winds and sub-zero temperatures.

Being short staffed by one MEO, our supervisor did not hesitate to hop in a truck to join the team beating back drifts, clearing intersections and laying salt. After two rounds he was proficient enough to be on his own. Now our other three MEO’s could focus on their routes and I could get in the loader to help.

So, thank you to the group Jeremy, CJ, Bill and Scott for a total of 34 hours each by Monday night. Your service did not go unappreciated.

Great job by all.

Dale S. Root

Town of Shelby Highway Superintendent

Editor:

As a lifelong resident of Medina, I looked forward to spending my retirement here with friends and family, enjoying the life I worked hard for. Like most of you, I paid little attention to the workings of our local government.

That changed with the rapid increase in taxes and other issues like the STAMP wastewater pipeline project that threatened to overwhelm Medina’s infrastructure capabilities and damage our county’s natural resources.

Attending the Shelby Town Board meetings and budget workshops made me increasingly concerned about the inability to manage our tax dollars.

The NYS 2021 Comptroller’s Audit Report and the 2024 follow-up audit reveal that leadership has failed to follow basic bookkeeping practices and legally-mandated reporting for years. If you watch the YouTube recordings of these meetings, you will see how the “Majority 3” has fought tooth and nail against two other board members—not just to maintain the status quo but to block transparency and the public’s right to know.

From the 2024 follow-up audit:

“Town officials did not take meaningful actions to implement corrective action. Of the seven audit recommendations, six were not implemented and one was partially implemented.”

“As the chief financial officer, the Supervisor is responsible for maintaining complete and accurate accounting records.  Without complete and accurate records, the Board and Town officials do not have sufficient information to properly manage and monitor financial operations.”

And:

“In addition, neither the former nor the current Supervisor resolved the discrepancies in the Town’s accounting records and could not provide a reasonable explanation for not correcting the discrepancies”

Writing letters and speaking at meetings has had no effect. That is why I have decided to run for Shelby Town Supervisor. With over 40 years of experience managing people, projects and budgets, I know I can lead the board toward better solutions.

Starting February 24, I will be gathering petition signatures to qualify for the Republican primary in June. Expect to see me or a volunteer making the rounds.

I thank the Orleans County Conservative Party for their endorsement.

Together, we can put Shelby back on firm financial footing and make it a willing community partner once again.

I look forward to your support.

Jim Heminway

Medina

Editor:

Let’s talk about COs’ safety at our state prisons. Effective yesterday on Feb. 17, Collins Correctional Facility is on strike.

As of today several other facilities, including Albion have joined in the strike. The state calls this illegal and the COs’ union NYSCOPBA states the strike is not sanctioned by the union. Which in itself exacerbates the problems.

Let me start by saying I support the COs 100%. The State has put them at serious risk with new rules, budget restraints and outright ignorance of inmate rights vs. corrections officers’ and staff’s rights.

I’ve had plenty of friends who work both at the Albion and Groveland facilities and you hear horror stories about COs being attacked and not much they can do about it. Now this strike is mostly about mandatory 24-hour shifts. And the COs’ inability to protect themselves while being attacked and the inability to enforce rules with effective punishments.

I’m told that In response to the strike, Hochul and her band of thugs have responded by locking in COs at Groveland for 24 hours (with threats of arrest if they leave) while their brothers are outside the wire striking. Apparently striking is illegal for State workers. News flash Kathy, allowing workers to work in deplorable and impossible conditions is illegal, too.

PESH (government workers equivalent of OSHA) is in charge of workplace safety but guess what, PESH is run by the government, and either has no enforcement power, or refuses to support workers.

Horror stories coming out of Albion and other state run facilities have been shared by COs for years and get worse daily. Neither PESH or NYSCOBPA seem to have the backbone to do anything about it.

Punishment rules have been abolished, enforcement of 24-hour mandatory shifts. COs attacked with little done about it. We have become way too soft on criminals both outside and inside state corrections.

This is just deplorable and something needs to be done. If the state refuses to allow COs to enforce prisoner rules and hold them accountable, if COs cannot defend themselves with at least the same enforcement as the attack they are experiencing, if the Union, and PESH refuse to support their right to work in a safe environment, then what are their options? Illegal or not, this strike should act as an eye opener. Hopefully our bureaucratic leaders are listening.

Mike Clemons

Dansville, former Albion resident

Editor:

Teaching U. S. History and Government for twenty-nine years left me with an appreciation for what the Founding Fathers were risking with the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Added to that was a fair understanding of what they were attempting to achieve later with the Constitution. My guess is that those 16- and 17-year-old high school juniors must have gotten the impression that the federal Constitution was something quite special.

The Founders believed that a republican form of government with strict limits on executive power was possible. Articles 1, 2, and 3 called for three branches of government. Was it mere coincidence that those articles laid out the branches in the order that the Constitution does? Why did the Founders provide so many ways for the executive’s powers to be limited? That executive can even be removed from office peacefully before his, or her, term expires!

Perhaps history and experience told the creators of our representative democracy that an unfettered executive was to be guarded against.

You can be certain that the people who risked their lives to establish our governmental system outlined the branch of government they did in Article One because that branch was to be the first among equals and a cut above the other two.

As citizens of the masterpiece they created in the 18th century, we have a patriotic duty to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Sincerely yours,

Gary F. Kent

Albion