Editor:
While I enjoy the Town of Barre oligarchy, I know that the citizens would prefer high-speed internet over wind turbines.
I find the political atmosphere highly entertaining; money is trumping human need. Good thing NYS supports the turbines. Nice to know the same government supported nursing home care.
Kris Welles
Barre
Editor:
About three hours into the Town of Barre board meeting on Feb. 10, the board turned their backs on their fellow board member, Mrs. Kerri Richardson. After requesting tabling the discussion and moving to adjourn the meeting, she was met with heartless indifference. Her personal concerns for focus and her 2-month-old baby at home were brushed aside.
Not only did the board dismiss Mrs. Richardson’s concerns, they discredited their own residents. Desperately trying to participate despite the dwindling hours and crackling phone call, the board forgot we even existed!
“Pushing through” was all that was cared about. Just getting it done to be “done” with it. I am disgusted to live in a community that cares so little of the residents it supposedly represents. We are not much of a community when we stomp out compassion.
Mrs. Kerri Richardson, thank you for representing the residents of Barre and striving to serve this community with integrity and love. This board does not represent us. Your hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Barbara Verburg
Barre
Editor:
If Governor Cuomo ignored his science advisors without irrefutable good reason or lied about nursing homes and Covid response, we need to know.
Given the limitations our Constitution places on our legislators’ power with the Governor, I think this may be the straw to trigger an independent investigation into not only nursing homes, hospitals, and Department of Health but also into all the legal fiefdoms, commissions, authorities, etc. we have which stand in the way of efficiently getting things done in this state.
Each party runs its own version of Tammany Hall.
When I tell lawyers from other states about all our thousands of entities with their hands in the till, they laugh. But when we are talking about thousands of deaths, it’s not funny. It’s time for an independent commission and reform.
It’s our right to know and hear both the good and the bad from people without their fingers in the pie.
Conrad F. Cropsey
Albion
Editor:
In a letter to The Orleans Hub, Conrad F. Cropsey expressed the hope that the Republican Party was moving away from the looney wing. Perhaps, they would become the well thought out opposition party needed at this time.
I am not as optimistic. Republicans, who showed courage, voting to impeach the President for cascading lies about a rigged election transformed into conspiratorial propaganda that resulted in an attack on the Capitol, are now being punished.
It is true that our Congressman Chris Jacobs did the right thing voting to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments, but he was only one of 11 Republicans who did so. Prior to this vote he voted to overturn the votes of millions of people from other states and was excoriated by The Buffalo News in an editorial which stated: “So, in addition to being chicken-hearted, Jacobs is also a liar.” Going on to call Mr. Jacobs “cowardly, dishonest and unpatriotic.”
Perhaps the shock and vitriol of the editorial moved Mr. Jacobs back to reality but the majority of Republicans are still in looney-land. Ms. Greene has supported the execution of prominent Democrats, including Nance Palosi, and campaigned with a poster of her holding an AR-15 at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.
Despite these threats only 11 Republicans voted to remove her from committees. Fellow Republican Tom Reed voted to keep her on the education committee despite her claims that school shootings are false-flag events.
In a speech on the House floor Mr. Greene stated that she no longer believes this and that she no longer believes in QAnon but she continues to fund raise using QAnon. Even in her address in the House chamber she did not take responsibility for her racist comments on Jewish space lasers starting California fires or other outlandish statements stating: “I was allowed to believe things that weren’t true.”
One of the first things that is needed to solve problems is to recognize a problem exist. Mr. Reed, who is exploring a run for Governor, is denying that racist, conspiratorial propaganda is a problem. An opposition party using well thought out arguments would be nice but the current Republican Party is not reality-based and is moving away from the reality-based community.
William Fine
Brockport
Editor:
Taking ownership of our decisions is something that we’re taught the importance of from a young age, such as when our schoolteachers told us the story of George Washington and his famous cherry tree. While that tale was just an American folk story, it taught us all that our greatest leaders are honest and take responsibility for their actions, just as we all should as citizens. That message is more relevant than ever following our governor’s inability to take responsibility for the deaths of thousands of New Yorkers in our nursing homes.
The unfathomable loss of life that took place this year is the greatest tragedy I’ve witnessed in my time as a legislator in Albany. As lawmakers and as human beings, we should all feel angry about the cover up that they tried to hide from us. In recent months, we’ve heard lots in the media about unity and coming together to do what’s right. While in this moment, we have been provided the opportunity to stand together against something we should all be able to recognize as wrong.
The issue at hand is nothing nuanced or technical. The simple fact of the matter is that thousands of people died because of decisions our governor made, and we have been presented with a choice. Lawmakers can choose to seek justice and stand with the people or defend his wrongdoings and stand for his political interests. We need hearings to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable, and despite the hesitance of some in the Majority to do so, we need to disempower the governor to prevent him making further bad decisions that could bring our state even more pain.
With our governor clearly unwilling to own up to his own mistakes, we in the Legislature need to take back our role in government to protect our most vulnerable. We all need to recognize that this tragedy was caused by the deliberate and unwise actions of our governor, and that it would be negligent of us to let him retain the emergency powers he used to hurt so many people. All eyes are on us to see if we can do the right thing, and I assure you that the countless people in this state who had the ones they loved taken from them will not soon forget who had the conviction to stand up for the people, versus those who cared more about political gamesmanship and their own well-being.
In a time when people trust their government less than ever to do what’s right, let’s come together for once to address something we can all agree is reprehensible— the intentional coverup of thousands of preventable deaths.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley
Batavia
Editor:
The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown each one of us and our world into uncharted territory. So many things have changed in these unprecedented times, from the ways we do business to how we live our lives, but what hasn’t changed is the love for our families and those we hold dearest.
From the very beginning of the pandemic, families have reached out to me concerned about the well-being of their loved ones — especially those living in nursing homes. They have expressed outrage, including about the lack of proper PPE, the inability to gather information about their loved one’s care, patient’s depression due to severe isolation, questioning the reasoning for certain patient placements and transfers, and seeking the real statistics on deaths resulting from Covid-19 from nursing homes.
Early on, I called for investigations and public hearings, along with my colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference. A joint legislative hearing was eventually held in August, where Health Committee members heard from families from across the state, and just like our family, friends and neighbors here in Western New York, their stories of loss and heartache were devastating.
Direct questions were asked of state Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Howard Zucker, such as “How many nursing home patients had contracted Covid-19?” or “How many nursing home deaths resulted from Covid-19?”
However, the commissioner could not or would not provide answers. To this date, these questions and my multiple written requests to him for a detailed breakdown of statewide Covid-19 deaths remain unanswered. This is completely unacceptable! Taxpayers and lawmakers deserve full and open transparency from the commissioner and DOH.
Late last month, NYS Attorney General Letitia James released a report showing the state unreported nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent and pointed out serious deficiencies in the handling of the coronavirus, which confirmed our worst fears. I applaud Attorney General James for speaking truth to power and issuing this revealing report.
Following this, a scathing New York Times report came out detailing at least nine top DOH officials have resigned due to the governor’s interference with COVID health policies. The minds of New Yorkers across the state are spinning at all of this news, but we must continue to ask, “If there is nothing to hide, why does the administration continue to deny the information which has been repeatedly requested by the media, lawmakers and constituents?”
That’s why, for all of these reasons and more, I am calling for immediate legislative hearings with subpoena powers. The people of our state need a thorough, top-down investigation into what happened with our nursing homes and what happened to their loved ones. We need open, transparent investigatory hearings with the ability to hold people responsible, including Commissioner Zucker, and to chart a future direction so this does not happen again.
Further, since July 1, 2020, I felt it was time for the state Legislature to remove the governor’s extraordinary powers, and I publicly called for them to do so that day and many times since. The number of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, who support this continues to grow but, unfortunately, the downstate-driven, one-party controlled Majorities have yet to take action. These powers must be rescinded now to restore the constitutional balance of New York state government.
I can’t understand the devastation of losing someone who was in a nursing home to Covid. My heart just breaks for all the families who have contacted me and all the people from across the state who have shared their stories. However, what I can do is continue fighting for justice, for the answers you deserve and legislation that will prevent future tragedies.
As always, if I can be of assistance on any state issue, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at my office in Clarence. You can call us at (716) 839-4691 or email me at norrism@nyassembly.gov. For more updates, please follow me on social media or email me to sign up for my e-newsletter.
Assemblyman Mike Norris
Lockport
Editor:
Hats off to our Republican Congressman, Chris Jacobs (R-NY). Democratic House Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries just opined that “The party of Lincoln is gone. The party of Reagan is gone. The party of John McCain is gone. This is now the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
Greene, a Republican from Georgia, has endorsed violence against and assassinations of top Democrats, denied 9/11, and claimed school shooting were false flag staged murder.
The one I find most astounding so far is her claim that last year’s California wild fires were started by a Jewish Space Laser. When her committee assignments were on the line, Greene lied about what she had said and when she said it.
Jacobs spotted that and voted to boot her for the good of the country. More Republicans voted to kick her out in conference than on the floor but some similar nuts cheered for her.
Our Congressman obviously understands we need a sane Republican Party standing in opposition, contributing well thought out alternatives and not just blowing smoke – smoke has been the story of the day since we had both President(s) Bush. (I often disagreed but they were by and large thoughtful leaders – particularly the first Bush who cleaned up the broken saving and loan industry and reinstated old taxes on the wealthy in order to put us on track to clear the deficit.)
Greene says she is the new face of the Republican Party working in tandem with Donald Trump – who also never saw a good conspiracy he did not like.
So the battle is on. 1) Conspiracy nuts with mangled facts or 2) those who focus on things we see and can explain what to do to make life better.
Remember the Roosevelt to Nixon era was when the middle class grew and did so phenomenally well because to two sane parties worked together. This was back when people got the same news from reputable (still reputable) sources.
Two sane parties is good. If one breaks further, that’s bad. The country has enough on its plate to spend time and attention dealing with kooks but this has to be straightened out. We have no choice and Congress’s vote, and Jacob’s, vote was a start.
Conrad F. Cropsey
Albion
Editor:
Our seditionist congressman, Chris Jacobs, voted to undo our votes, challenging the counting of the electoral votes, in defiance of 60 court decisions. Who can be OK with a representative who voted against our Democratic process?
Jacobs supported Trump’s “Big lie” embracing and enabling him more than any other politician in our area, except Chris Collins. Jacobs was strong enough in his opinion to be a speaker, on stage, at QAnon rallies not long ago.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jacobs are much alike. The pair both suddenly abandoned strong convictions, turned 180 degrees. Jacobs actually voted against a fellow Republican, to strip Greene of committee assignments.
We all know it couldn’t be bravery. Maybe cowardice? Maybe a mistake vote again? More red flags. Chris Jacobs is a chameleon, a reptile who can change color quickly, as needed. Jacobs is not reliable and strong, true to his word; Jacobs is someone not to be trusted.
Maybe privilege and wealth have given Jacobs an attitude of superiority, that he can get away with anything in his kingdom. Maybe his big donors don’t like the optics of Jacobs’ traitorous, coup attempt.
We are not fools, nor pawns. We will not forget.
Carol Nochajski
Wilson
Editor:
As a Democrat with many Republican acquaintances/friends, I feel I have a few insights to share as well as a few opinions worthy of consideration. Let me say before “going off” that I am proud of having supported Joe Biden and not at all ashamed of knowing a few dozen thoughtful Republicans.
Last Thursday another of these pals told me he really appreciated Biden’s restoration of the environment to its proper place in the order of things. Six others have done things from displaying a Biden sign in his yard to confiding to me that they could not wait to be rid of the former President.
Maintaining that you won an election in a “landslide” in 2020 when you lost it by about 7 million popular votes after you had no problem accepting an electoral college, state-certified victory in 2016 is just a bit curious. After all, our former occupant of the White House lost that election by around 3 million votes. Sorry, sir, but you play the game by the rules that are in effect when it starts and accept the possibility that you may lose.
What about the present? I hate to break it to my fellow Democrats, but our legitimate President’s Covid-19 relief and stimulus package is—in my view—too generous. Why should people making $100,000 a year receive relief? That reminds me of the previous President’s tax breaks for his wealthy cronies.
Please do not misunderstand. The disgraced ex-President did commit impeachment-worthy offenses. To me, he certainly screwed up far more than he got right, especially in foreign policy, and needs to accept the judgment of the electorate. There is no doubt he got a few things right. But there are reasons why Mr. Putin wanted him elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Whether impeachment for impeachment-worthy offenses predicated on the need for accountability and adherence to the law is advisable is another matter. Impeachment likely will give the man who may be the worst President in U.S. history more support from a base which will support him regardless (and one of Robert E. Lee’s top generals was one of my ancestors).
Thanks to those thoughtful Republicans, such as Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney, who are speaking truth to power. One can only imagine what John McCain, a true American hero, might be thinking right now.
Yours in utmost sincerity,
Gary F. Kent
Albion
Editor:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an editorial titled: “The War on Free Speech.” I would like to respond.
This is a very complex issue not easy to adequately address in a letter to the papers. First, the U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech; corporations do not guarantee free speech. Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are private companies and when we want to use these platforms we have to sign a user agreement. Violations of that agreement has consequences.
Most of these social media platforms use automated artificial intelligence to monitor the cacophony of opinions and suppress those that violate company rules and common decency such as abusive and dangerous activities. (Personally, I question how hateful, abusive, lies or pornographic speech advance ideas in the market place of free speech).
Therefore, the idea that social media is censoring one political group over another demonstrates that one political group violates common decency more than other political groups. Furthermore, the editorial undercuts the idea that there is a war on free speech by pointing out that when one platform blocks certain speech those who engage in that speech will just move to another platform. Thus free speech is not blocked. Thank you.
William Fine
Brockport
Editor:
Over the past year, 2,563 neighbors in need of all ages throughout Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties were served by the six programs Catholic Charities offers here. We provided basic emergency assistance, including support for food and finding housing resources.
Our licensed counselors offered counseling services for all ages. Our Friendly Phones program brought a sense of connectivity and enhanced quality of life to dozens of homebound seniors in Genesee and Orleans counties. We worked with more than 100 domestic violence offenders for systemic social change in a coordinated community response.
We are committed to staying at the forefront in providing basic assistance and crucial programs, which serve as a beacon of HOPE for our neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet, or who are facing new challenges with their mental health and well-being. However, we can’t continue to be that beacon without your generous support.
Appeal 2021, which benefits Catholic Charities’ programs and services, recently launched with a goal of $10 million to address the critical need for the tens of thousands through not only Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, but all eight counties of Western New York.
If you or someone you know needs assistance (even if you have never needed it before) in Genesee, Orleans or Wyoming counties, call us directly at 585-343-0614. We have offices located in Batavia, Albion and Perry.
It is a challenging time for all of us, but thanks to our generous supporters, these crucial Catholic Charities programs continue now when they are needed most. If you can help, please visit ccwny.org/donation. Appeal 2021 runs through June 30.
Kelly Grimaldi
Tri-County District Director, Catholic Charities
Editor:
I commonly hear or read that the impeachment of the former President is a waste of time because he is already out of office. Yes, Mr. Trump is out of office but that doesn’t excuse his culpability in fermenting an insurrection to prevent a constitutionally mandated duty to certify the election.
It is one thing to question the election, file legal briefs in court and argue your case. Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed over 60 cases and produced no evidence of fraud; they lost every case. Furthermore, Mr. Trump’s Department of Justice and Homeland Security also stated that the election was free and fair.
Let’s be clear about what happened. Mr. Trump and his cronies continued to lie, undermining confidence in the courts and the most basic underpinning of our democracy; free and fair elections.
These lies led directly to the putsch of Jan. 6th, 2021. The whole purpose of the Jan. 6th “rally” was to overturn the election that every state had certified as free and fair and that every court case found lacked evidence of fraud.
There must be accountability for this lawlessness and attack on our democracy; people died. Since Mr. Trump and his cronies instigated the crimes they must be held accountable.
The argument that Mr. Trump is out of office and therefore should not be held accountable is like claiming that people who invaded your home should not be charged since they are not in your home now.
William Fine
Brockport
Editor:
With no public explanation by the Yates Town Board about the Town of Yates taxes within the Village of Lyndonville on your 2021 County & Town Tax bill, I will do my best to give an explanation.
There are 7 funds that are incorporated into developing a budget for the Town of Yates: A – General Townwide; B – General Outside the Village; DA – Highway Townwide; DB – Highway Outside the Village; SF – Fire Protection District; SW2 – Water District #2; SW4 – Water District #4.
Taxpayers outside the Village are billed by the Town for the costs of the Town’s Fire Protection District and for the costs of the Water District in which their property is located. Village taxpayers pay for fire and water services in their Village taxes.
The Town tax rate is developed each year based on the amount of money that needs to be raised by taxes in the A, B, DA and DB accounts described above. All taxpayers within the Town (inside and outside the Village) are taxed to cover the A and DA accounts.
Only taxpayers outside the Village are taxed for covering the B and DB accounts. Services covered in these 2 accounts are covered by Village taxes for Village taxpayers. Thus, with more money needing to be raised by taxes for those living outside the Village, the tax rate for those outside the Village is greater than for those inside the Village. Village taxes more than make up for the difference!!
For 2021, the Yates Town Board approved going over the NY State 2% Tax Cap. The amount needed to be raised by taxes for 2021 was an increase of 15.29%. To cover this increase, the Board worked out a tax rate outside the Village that increased by about $0.50 / thousand dollars of assessment ($50 for a home assessed at $100,000) and a tax rate within the Village increasing by about $1.16 / thousand ($116 for a home assessed at $100,000), 2.32 times more than for outside the Village!!
When I questioned the Board about this at its Jan. 14th Town Board meeting, Supervisor Simon explained that the Town Board found that there was a disparity between the tax rates inside and outside the Village. He stated that the imbalance has been in place for a long time and that the only way to get it back in balance was for this increase in the Village.
My reply was that the discrepancy is caused by the taxpayers outside the Village being responsible for covering the costs of the B and DB accounts that those inside the Village aren’t taxed for. Supervisor Simon stated that he couldn’t agree with the way I summarized my concern. He stated that the Board closely looked at all the numbers and came to the conclusion to do as they did.
I served as a Councilman on the Town Board for 10 years from 2010-2019. In preparation of budgets, never did I witness anything close to this situation. I also looked at the tax rates since 2010 for the 6 towns within Orleans County that have rates for municipalities both inside and outside their town. Again, I could not find anything close to this situation. Would it have made a difference in making this decision if any of the five Town Board members lived within the Village? Just asking for a friend!
If this explanation of what happened with Town of Yates taxes, specifically within the Village of Lyndonville, concerns you and you have ever given any thought to running for the Town Board, this might be your year to give it a try.
Three Town Board seats will be up for election in November – Supervisor and 2 Town Council positions. The process of political committees choosing who they will endorse is beginning in towns as you read this. Should you contact your local political committee to express your interest in a position and not be selected for endorsement, you can individually complete a petition and submit it to the Board of Elections. There are timelines for this process. For more information contact your local political committee or the Orleans County Board of Elections as soon as possible.
Wes Bradley
Lyndonville
Editor:
Got a 2-page color “Senior Fraud Alert” from Chris Jacobs in the mail the other morning (although he didn’t mention how much of our tax money he spent to send out a few thousand of them.)
Talked all about the latest scams we should be careful to avoid: Medicare scams, Grandparent scams, Fake accident scams, Charity scams, etc., etc.
I was disappointed though he didn’t mention one of the biggest scams out there, one he himself has been working on: the big lie that the recent presidential election was “stolen”!
He’s one of the minority in Congress who thought they all should spend more of their time, and our money, pursuing false claims of election fraud in the states where his candidate got fewer votes, but was somehow not declared the winner. All in the middle of the worst pandemic in a hundred years – but first things first.
Now Grandparent scams, etc., can result in the loss of serious chunks of money, which we grandparents can really use while sitting around eating snack food all day, due to the amazing management of the Covid pandemic by our new ex-president (well at least he managed to get us the most of something!)
But Jacobs’ fraudsters weren’t just stealing our money, they were trying to steal our government, our electoral democracy. An election in which thousands of loyal Americans, of every stripe, worked hard, diligently and honestly, to count our votes and certify an accurate result.
Unfortunately, the scam our congressman has been supporting caused an insurrectionist riot and attack on our national Capitol. That may well not have been a consequence he intended, but does it really matter? Should those who act irresponsibly be held accountable for the unintended consequences of their reckless behavior? Even if he’s only doing it so the right-wing radicals will vote for him again?
At any rate Chris Jacobs, thanks for all the advice about Senior Scams. And we know you didn’t mean it, but because a bunch of crazies believed that lie, our national Capitol was ransacked and people died, including a policeman. You really did us proud!
Don Welch
Clarendon
Editor:
I read with interest Mr. Glogowski’s letter urging public schools to adopt a business practice to improve efficiency—a methodology called Six Sigma.
He stated, “If the educational system pursued a business-quality standard for education, and achieved the business standard of Six Sigma, they would have just 1 person out of the last 100,000 students to pass through the school system not graduate with a functional high school education. We are not coming anywhere close to that standard.”
He insisted that public schools strive for a “Six Sigma quality education product.”
Curious as to his view of students as “products”, I began to read up on this technique that promised such incredible results. Wikipedia states Six Sigma “… seeks to improve the quality of the output of a process by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing impact variability in manufacturing and business processes.”
I spent most of my professional career as a teacher in Orleans County, and I can say with certitude that I never envisioned my kids as a products that I was stamping out on a production line. Maybe this method was revolutionary for Motorola and General Electric when it was adopted in 1986. “Removing causes of defects”? Some kids have troubling home environments, some come to school hungry, some have learning disabilities, and brains don’t all develop at the same rate.
I don’t think any teacher today who cares about his or her students would seriously equate the classroom experience as some kind of manufacturing process, striving for “defect-free” high school graduates.
We are talking about people—human beings here. Teachers today are doing the best that they can dealing with evolving human intelligences and emotions on a one-to-one basis. A school system where only one student in 100,000 would be “defective”? That kind of thinking defies logic.
Christine Bronson
Crossville, TN
