Editor:

On his first day in office, Trump froze millions of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Environmental Incentive Program (EQIP) funds that directly affect farmers in Orleans County.

Farmers who joined the EQIP, paid up front to build fences, plant crops and install renewable energy equipment with the Biden guarantee the US government would provide grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs. Trump has also frozen funding for research grants for climate-smart crops.

Another group of grants to farmers totaling 32 billion authorized under Biden are now vulnerable to being cut. For additional information, I suggest reading “Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds” in the 11 Feb 2025 issue of The Spokesman-Review.  The Orleans County Cornell Extension office at (585) 798-4265 and Congresswoman Tenney’s office will have information on the cuts and what future USDA programs are vulnerable.

Jack Capurso

AHS 1960

Ashburn, Va.

Editor:

Our taxes are investments in our nation with Americans being the investors. The caretaker of our tax dollars, the government, owes us accountability and transparency. If companies or businesses did with investor money what the government has done with tax money, they would go to prison.

All federal agencies are being investigated and one by one, the American people will see what we’ve all suspected: fraud, corruption and abuse – a betrayal to the American people. The veneer of a trustworthy government run by the Democrats is cracking and no matter how much they moan and groan, their image has been tarnished beyond repair. Their lamentations are falling on deaf ears as more Americans not only awaken to the truth but are eager to find out more.

Each time another misuse or abuse is revealed, it is step closer to the truth.

Whether it’s FEMA and their outlandish money spent on illegal immigrants (millions) at the expense of Americans; some affected by Hurricane Helene or misappropriation of US funds, US citizens have once again suffered. Those in North Carolina living in tents as opposed to people without a social security number, haven’t paid taxes or are not American citizens being put up in hotels in New York City. What an insult to Americans.

The insane priorities of USAID spending during the Biden administration has put into question not only the need of such expenditures but their value.

Rubio, who was also named the agency’s acting administrator, argued on Fox News USAID has evolved into a “global charity.” This allows it to spend tax dollars “irrespective of whether it is in the national interest or not in the national interest,” he said.

The agency is under scrutiny for abuse and waste, such as: $50 million to fund condoms overseas, $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces, $70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland, $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic in Peru, and $37 million to the World Health Organization.

And let’s look at the extravagant spending going on in the Alps with those wealthy Ukrainians spending millions on luxury ski resorts. Where’s the money coming from? The Ukrainian military is selling  the arms we sent them. Arms are being stolen and sold to our actual enemies.

And the reason this is going on is obvious. There is not a system of checks and balances so efficient tracking and accountability is sacrificed. Instead no one is aware how that money is spent or where it’s actually going; we’re talking billions here.

This lack of follow up with tracking and accountability has played havoc with our tax dollars and has become a reprehensible pattern with no clarity.

Moving on to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare and Disability. There is now evidence of widespread fraud and the magnitude far exceeds the total sum of “every private scam you’ve ever heard by FAR, It’s not even close.”(Elon Musk) Not surprising!

The purge has begun, and without a doubt it is long overdue. I’ve been smelling a rat for some time now, and finally the right exterminator is ridding our nation of corruption, duplicity of funds and fraud. Those pests have been out of control for too long.

I love my country and as this criminality is scourged, I looked forward to a better America.

Mary Mager

Fairport, formerly of Albion

Editor:

To my fellow neighbors, my name is Ed Zelazny and I want to first thank you for showing me the support you have over the last four years. It’s been an absolute pleasure to serve the residents of Shelby, which is why I’m excited to announce my candidacy to run for re-election to the Town Council.

I remember why I decided to run and it still holds true today. Our community deserves real

representation, which reflects our hard work ethic and blue collar roots. We want to elect people who serve the community not themselves. We want people in charge who will make the tough decisions because it’s the right thing to do, not because of self-serving political bosses.

During my first term, I followed that belief and made it a pillar of my service. I am proud to say that at every point, I fought to reduce ridiculous spending and unbalanced

budgets. I was determined to shine a light on the “wild, wild west” spending that raise your taxes and kill our community.

This is why: I never voted for a budget that increased our taxes. I never voted for raising the legal costs. I never voted for back door deals by politicians.

Our work is not over and our community is not safe from establishment politicians. In the coming weeks, we begin the political process once again. Therefore, myself and a team of volunteers will go out and circulate petitions to continue the fight against Town Hall. I kindly appreciate your help in this cause. It starts with just a signature. If you see a petition with my name on it, know that’s the first step to making our community great again!

Thank you for the support, Shelby!

Ed Zelazny

Shelby Town Councilman

Editor:

While it is easy to be distracted by national politics, which are not unimportant conversations, I wanted to share a couple of recent local experiences that have increased my appreciation and love for Albion.

I recently attended a village meeting with several local business owners and village board members. I was encouraged to see a room full of people sharing concerns, solutions, ideas, and hopes in a respectful manner. I felt that the village leadership in attendance was receptive to those who shared and expressed a heartfelt desire to see our community thrive. We all know there are many challenges to building a strong, healthy community, but I was glad to see that there are many people working (often unseen) to make a difference.

As a relative newcomer to Albion (2022) from the North Carolina mountains, I am still adjusting to winter life here. That included getting my front-wheel drive car stuck in our driveway earlier this week when I didn’t clear the snow bank from the plows before leaving (lesson learned). My wife and I tried all kinds of “creative” solutions to freeing our car, which had bottomed out on the snow. When we ran out of ideas, our neighbor, Kolin, appeared with some kitty litter and a shovel. He saw us struggling from down the street and came to help.

Kolin, Rebekah, and I continued to try freeing the car, but to no avail. That’s when Donald appeared. We haven’t gotten to know each other well, but I see him working hard outside all the time around the village. As soon as he walked up, two DPW dump trucks parked on the other side of the street behind my car. Suddenly, several DPW workers, Donald, and Kolin literally lifted the back of my car and pushed it free!

That situation brought to mind the famous saying, “It takes a village.” I wanted to publicly thank my neighbors and those DPW guys who helped my family out without expecting anything in return. If we can all be those kind of neighbors to each other, I believe great things will happen in Albion.

Ben Curfman

Pastor of Canalside Community Church in Albion

Editor:

Trump has effectively changed the world already.

In his first three weeks in office, Trump has ended the collective suicidal policies of Bill Clinton, George Bush, Obama and the last guy before him.

There are those who oppose Donald Trump. They are like the dinosaurs of the past, a force of regression. They are like dying stars, whose brightness we see but who died a long time ago.

How much corruption and government waste has been revealed but yet some refuse to see?  What a great time to be alive.

Ed Steuber

Erwin, Tennessee (former Albion resident)

Editor:

The Constitution divides the government authority between the three branches of the government: legislative, executive and judicial.

The legislative branch has the power of the purse: “Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”

The executive branch is tasked with faithfully enforcing laws passed by Congress. The executive branch does not have the authority to impound funds approved by Congress and it does not have the authority to disburse funds not appropriated by Congress.

Offering government employees a buyout with monies not appropriated by Congress is a usurpation of power by the executive branch. Closing governmental agencies, such as U.S.A.I.D., that have been supported and funded by both Democratic and Republican Congresses without Congressional approval, (even if supported by Russian propaganda, such as U.S.A.I.D. funds supported Politico and other statements of propagation regardless of who states it or how many times it is stated, it emanated from Russia and is Russian propagation), violates the separation of powers detailed in the Constitution.

While you can argue that the government spends too much money or is wasteful, the Constitutional way to choose which programs get monies or which programs to close is through the Congress – the people’s house. Having an unelected body, not accountable to the American people, with authority to close programs, or decide which programs to fund, totally bypassing Congress and making Congress useless.

That is how authoritarians govern, that is how dictators rule; that is not how the U.S. government is set up and it violates the oath of office taken by our elected leaders to uphold the Constitution.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

A prior opinion letter regarding cut back recommendations in USAID failed to point out important facts which rendered this recommendation.

This independent agency has been indirectly funding his political party with US taxpayer dollars. Also, international diversity projects don’t provide one loaf of bread to those in need.

I have to ask the writer is Politico a food provider or a mouth piece for the Democratic Party? Why did Politico receive 8 million dollars from USAID? Time to clear the wasteful spending and redirect this agency to the original mission it was established for.

Edward Urbanik

Lyndonville

Editor:

Please explain: the richest man in the world has scanned the Federal Government and found the most wasteful agency is feeding the poor overseas.

Instant closure and thousands of American workers stranded abroad. I am sure that Elon Musk (an immigrant, by the way) could have found cuts in the enormous contracts he has with the USA.

Is this how a “pro-Life” party will govern?

Gerard M. Morrisey

East Gaines

Editor:

Ms. Jones, in her letter of 29 January, asks good questions about the impact of the data centers at the STAMP site.

One important item I did not see in her letter was the amount of money the data centers would generate in taxes very year. In Loudoun County Va., where I live, our data centers provide millions in taxes each year.

I am not, repeat not, suggesting Orleans County open itself up to a large number of these data centers, only that any arrangement between local government and the data centers, even for only two data centers, must include a contract that details how much taxes they will pay each year.

That would be a reasonable question to ask at the Feb. 3 meetings.

Jack Capurso

Albion High School Class of 1960

Ashburn, Va.

Editor:

It’s time for the citizens of Orleans County to get answers regarding the “pause” at Martin-Linsen Residence that has not changed since September. Someone has to have an answer.

The facility had a waiting list of referrals for several years and suddenly that stopped. What happened? Poor management, too much highly paid staff, wrong billing procedures so there was lack of reimbursement?

Many of us contributed toward building this facility. I know services are still provided in the home setting but as a retired health care worker, many times patients need more than a few hours in the home setting and need 24-hour care in a facility.

In September two individuals asked for answers and none were given. Someone has to know what is going on.

Now Hospice is promoting the sale of spring bouquets. Where will this money be spent? Keeping lights and heat on in an empty building? Paying a person to answer the phone?

Please give us a reasonable answer.  This is a beautiful facility and should not be left empty.

Jeanne Crane

Carlton

Editor:

To my neighbors, I’m writing to implore you to join me this Monday, February 3, at a public hearing in Alabama, NY to demand oversight and protection for local citizens from the three planned hyperscale data centers planned for the STAMP site.

The hearings are at 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. at the Alabama Firehall in Basom. I will personally be late, as (like lots of you) I’ll be at work, but I will attend late anyway. I implore you to attend too, especially those of you who can be there by 2 p.m.

Medina friends, just drive south on Route 63, and turn left when you get to Judge Road. The firehall is on the right. It is so important we make our voices heard when it comes to hyperscale data centers spring up, seemingly overnight.

Such data centers are massive, designed specifically to handle artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics, data storage, and a host of other big data storage pursuits. The top three hyperscale companies are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), followed by Alibaba, Apple, and IBM Cloud, Meta Platforms, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

However, no one can tell you which of these companies are seeking to build at the STAMP site, as it is very likely the STAMP board had to sign nondisclosure agreements with the companies hiding behind all the LLCs vying for leases. This alone is troubling, as is the hastily planned and barely announced public hearing held in the middle of a Monday work day.

Data centers and their voracious appetites for power and water are growing at an unprecedented amount. In 2023, over 25% of all the power produced in the state of Virginia went to data centers, which could rise to as high as 46% by 2030 if such growth continues at its current pace.

Virginia is scrambling to address this problem, most recently with bipartisan legislation meant to address and ameliorate some of the problems host communities have faced. So is New York: Senate Bill S9960, introduced this past December, does the same. And make no mistake: the negative impact the Western New York community will face in the coming years is vast. It is no accident there has been so little publicity regarding Monday’s public hearing. But the plan to build these massive hyperscale data centers has such ramifications, everyone should know about it.

According to the official documentation from the three companies themselves (Potentia Holdings, LLC/Hydroscale, Project Rampart, and Stream U. S. Data Centers LLC/Double Reed), which was posted with the public hearing announcement by GCEDC, the scope and magnitude of the three data centers is breathtaking.

GCEDC plans to build five structures at the STAMP site, for a total of 3,450,000 square footage. They plan to use 645 megawatts of electricity a year. They plan to use 41,675 gallons of water per day. And they plan to store 2,260,000 gallons of diesel fuel underground for backup generators, should they lose power. They will run 24-7, 365 days a year.

There is no question that the local community, including nearby towns and cities, will bear much of the cost these companies incur unless rigorous and stringent regulations are put in place upfront. Such regulations protect everyone else, and they must be prioritized as highly as financial gains for the region.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), 645 megawatts is enough electricity to serve 538,228 households. That’s right–three data centers plan to use as much electricity in a year as half a million households. STAMP may as well be building a small city.

The outcome of such electricity usage? Expect your already high electricity bills to skyrocket. Expect the price of water to be even more of a premium than it already is. Expect the Tonawanda Creek Native American tribe, their Big Woods, and their waterways to face even more indignity and harm than they have already have. Expect wildlife as we know it to decrease and diminish in ways that harm each and every one of us.

When you hear about the financial incentives STAMP is handing out and telling you “Jobs Jobs Jobs” is the end all be all and answer to everything, demand to know this: what kind of oversight protections for the host communities are written in?

What good are highly specialized, finite jobs for a select few when everyone else is likely to face skyrocketing energy costs? What will happen to the region’s water and air when power outages result in massive diesel fuel usage from the backup generators? What happens when something goes wrong?

What will happen to the Indigenous community that relies on the Big Woods for sustenance, rituals, and medicine after Big Data has desecrated it? What about the impact of any discharge – heated or treated water that consequently affects the temperature and biodiversity of nearby tributaries, wetlands, tribal land, Iroquois Wildlife Refuge, Oak Orchard Creek, and Tonawanda Creek?

There are so many concerns that must be raised, and Monday, February 3, at 2, 3 and 4 p.m. at the Alabama Firehall on Judge Road is all of our opportunity to raise them.

See you Monday in Basom, neighbors.

Karen Jones

Shelby

Editor:

The Republican “Law and Order” Party elected a known convicted felon to the Presidency.

This Republican-elected felon has carried out his campaign promise to pardon those who violently attacked police officers protecting our government. Officers Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida and Kyle deFreytag died as a result of that attack and 140 officers were injured.

One of the attackers pardoned by the President, Jacob Chansley, (the man with the horned-animal headdress and body paint, dubbed the QAnon Shaman), stated he was now going to exercise his Second Amendment rights and buy some guns.

Another man, Daniel Ball, pardoned by the President for attacking police officers on Jan. 6, 2021 with explosive device was re-arrested in Florida on weapons charges. Republicans elected a felon who promised to open the prisons and release violent criminals to prey upon U.S. citizens. He has kept his promise.

Besides pardoning cop beaters, the felon President also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, a convicted drug kingpin. Mr. Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 of selling more than $200 million worth of drugs including heroin, cocaine, and LSD.

Mr. Trump promised last May to pardon Mr. Ulbricht while courting votes and campaign contributions from the crypto industry. So, the pardon was not a surprise nor unexpected.

Republicans knew who they were voting for last November. This is just some of the evidence that the Republicans have abandoned law and order. While loudly proclaiming they support law enforcement their actions demonstrate that they do not.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

Simple solution: We do not have to invade Panama. The All-American solution is US ports and railroads.

Rail, supplemented by water and truck, can deliver overseas freight without Canal tolls.

This also strengthens USA infrastructure.

Gerard M. Morrisey

East Gaines