Editor:

Approaching a heavy office door recently, a young man spotted me on two canes, and though 10 feet beyond, said “I’m sorry,” turned around and went back and opened the door for me.  Guessing, I said “Gracias.” Confirming my guess, he responded, “De nada.”

Margaret and I are both on canes, and at 87 we struggle to get out of cars and chairs. Countless folks, old, young, male, female, minorities and majorities, often teens offer us help.  I joked with a receptionist who witnessed some of this, “walking with canes seems to bring out the best in people.”

Individually, in particular, people seem to want to be helpful and kind. Sometimes in groups we prioritize the survival of the group to points of selfishness, injustice and even cruelty and brutality.

But, several groups in the Albion area instead are busy helping out the less fortunate. At the regular Catholic Social Justice meeting recently, Annette Finch told about helping with a child-lunch program Tuesdays and Fridays during the summer at Bullard Park, put on by Albion Summer Program, the Masons, Rev. Al and Mrs. Ykeeta Wilson and the Royal Body Shop Church and Annette and other volunteers.

About 150 children came and were respectful and thankful. Annette was moved when a 10-year-old girl asked Annette to wrap hers to take home for her mother. Also, several farmers, stores contribute food. Folks donate money.

She pointed out that several other organizations help the needy and neglected: For instance, Sister Dolores Ann O’Dowd and the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern that for 60 years now has helped with housing, furniture, clothing, bedding, food, prescription, landlord and inspection emergencies and runs the Special Friends volunteer program.

Community Kitchen, now known as Koinonia, has over 60 churches volunteering on their Thursday night hot dinners and lunches to take home. The Royal Body Shop Church runs several feeding activities, offering meals, a help-yourself refrigerator and cupboard at Arnold’s.

Two other churches now in Albion also have refrigerator/cupboards. Jack Burris for several years now has expanded his rug-cleaning business into his weekend Hands of Hope Ministry with food and clothing for the needy.

St. Vincent DePaul, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Daughters, Ladies of Charity all volunteer and the latter three donate to the above causes generously.

Albion Betterment Committee, Hoag Library contribute much to the community and utilize volunteers. Orleans Office of Aging knows about transportation and care for medical, food and other needs and utilizes volunteers. This list is not exhaustive.

Amidst all the anger, meanness and cruelty in our society, I believe it’s outnumbered by those who want to help, and make these efforts. The many volunteers that help in the Albion area are an example of the goodness of mankind.

If you, teen-agers, adults, elderly like me, are anxious to help, contact any of the above or our local churches. If you have problems making contact, you can contact us at: goldenjazz59@gmail.com.

Marg and Bob Golden

Waterport

Editor:

A number of concerns have been raised about the impacts of the construction of an underground pipeline that would discharge treated water from businesses at STAMP into Oak Orchard Creek.

These are concerns that we have taken very seriously and addressed. Multiple engineering studies and peer engineering and environmental regulatory reviews have been conducted to assess potential impacts of discharging this treated water into the creek. This process is similar to how municipalities treat water before it is discharged into local waterways.

While existing businesses at STAMP, including Plug Power and Edwards, would discharge approximately 50,000 gallons per day of treated water into Oak Orchard Creek, the studies and peer reviews assessed the impacts of the potential for a maximum of 6 million gallons per day as if STAMP was at full build out.

The various studies and peer reviews conducted by engineering professionals took that maximum level into account and determined that the increased flow from the STAMP discharge will not have a noticeable impact on the 100-year flood elevations downstream nor will it impact stream velocity, water levels, water quality impairments and/or area wide erosion.

Concerns also have been raised about potentially impacting the capacity at water treatment facilities in neighboring communities which could negatively impact bringing new businesses and/or assist business expansion because of a lack of capacity.

Again, citing these same studies and peer reviews for the potential for a maximum of 6 million gallons per day if STAMP was at full build out it was determined that:

• The increase in surface water elevations in Oak Orchard Creek during a 10-year storm event would be approximately 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch with STAMP discharging at the maximum expected level of 6 MGD.

• Given the above, the Medina water treatment plant which currently operates with a maximum permitted level of treating 4.5 MGD could expand by another 10 MGD in order to accommodate new capacity for business growth and/or expansion without impact from STAMP’s maximum expected 6 MGD discharge.

• An adjoining dam to Oak Orchard Creek could absorb the 6 MGD into its storage capacity without modification to the dam’s operations.

We want to support our partners in economic development to assist any we can to enhance investment in the GLOW region. We would not advocate for something that would be detrimental to our partners as we all are working collaboratively to bring prosperity to our region.

Finally, we want to thank the approximately 38 landowners who agreed to temporary and permanent easements on their properties to allow the underground pipeline to be constructed.  We appreciate their understanding of the temporary and permanent need to use their properties for this critically important regional economic development initiative.

Please visit www.informationaboutstamp.com to review the various engineering studies and peer review documents related to this project.

Sincerely,

Peter Zeliff

Chairman

Genesee County Economic Development Center

Steven G. Hyde

President & CEO

Genesee County Economic Development Center

Editor:

To the Yates Town Board, your letter in the Orleans Hub on 9/6/23 in response to my letter of 9/4/23 stated the following:

“To let the Hub readers decide for themselves whether we are prudent stewards of the taxpayers hard-earned money, we offer the following: From 2021-2023, the Town ‘Inside Village’ tax rate was either flat or decreased each year (2021 = 3.66, 2022 = 3.55, 2023 = 3.66).  And while the Town ‘Outside Village’ tax rate has increased 2% per year (2021 = 4.83, 2022 = 4.93, 2023 = 5.03), the combined tax rate increase each year averaged below 2%.”

The above numbers are correct, but here is “The rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey would have said.

Let’s go back to one year prior to 2021. In 2020 the Town “Inside Village” tax rate was $2.49.  Math shows us that the $3.66 tax rate in 2021 noted above was a $1.17 or 46.9% increase! In 2020 the Town “Outside Village” tax rate was $4.34. Math shows us that the $4.83 tax rate in 2021 noted above was a $0.49 or 11.3% increase.

I will stop there and “let the Hub readers decide for themselves whether (you) are prudent stewards of the taxpayers hard-earned money.”

Time for sweeping change. This November 7th please elect both Paul Lauricella and Steven Colon on the “Conservative” or “Taxpayers First” line to Yates Town Councilman.

Paul Lauricella

Yates

Editor:

Getting where you’re going a minute earlier may seem necessary, but it often is unnecessary and stresses the only planet we have a bit more.

On Monday, September 11, a red-tail hawk was doing what they do for us while attempting to survive when hit by a vehicle just east of Millville on 31A. Was that machine being driven above the speed limit by a person who didn’t care what is more likely to happen when we drive too fast? Would it have happened anyway? Was it just absent-mindedness? Or was it just a young bird who misjudged a dangerous situation?

Living things may be killed by individuals driving within the posted limits. However, death—or serious injury—is more likely when we drive above the legal limits.

Red tails hunt mice and other small rodents. They help all areas but are especially valuable to an agricultural one such as ours.

They are also beautiful creatures who have their place in the grand scheme of things. Please consider giving them—and all of our birds—a brake.

Sincerely yours,

Gary F. Kent

Albion

Editor:

I grew up in Orleans County in the 1960s and graduated from Albion High School in 1970. I retired from the USAF after 25 years of service and settled in south Texas. I follow the Hub and see an occasional letter to the editor that speaks to the state of our democracy.

I think there is little question that we are in a steady state of decline. Our politics have become so polarized with anyone trying to find conscious and middle ground being singled out and chastised by the fringes of both parties. At the federal level we have the three branches of government all of which at best are self-serving and ineffective and at worst corrupt and engaged in unethical and unlawful behavior.

We have members of Congress who are habitual liars, conspiracists and unprincipled leaders who refuse to rid the governing body from this poison. The Congress refuses to pass meaningful legislation to address gun violence, immigration reform, budgetary and debt reduction or any number of important issues.

The Supreme Court membership is now too far to right and proven to be less than truthful based on their testimony during confirmation hearings and then their votes regarding abortion rights. Perhaps the most glaring issue is Justice Thomas who repeatedly took favorable trips, vacations and sold properties to a right wing Texas billionaire. His wife is a former President Trump confidant and he sees nothing wrong with anything he does.

Chief Justice Roberts refuses to establish firm ethics policies and thumbs his nose at the Senate when they want to pass ethics rules for the court.

Lastly, the executive branch with current President Biden showing signs of advancing age and with a family member under attorney general investigation and running for a second term makes us think are there better candidates available.

The Republican Party seems hell bent on making former president Trump their candidate in 2024. The man has at least four felony indictments, some of which are undoubtedly justified. Maybe I am showing my bias but in my observation he facilitated the attack on the US capitol, he admittedly (his own words) tried to overturn the results of the previous election and he mishandled highly classified government documents.

Being a retired USAF colonel I happen to know quite a bit about handling classified information. What he did with the hoard of classified documents is inexcusable. If myself or any of my military colleagues were caught with top-secret classified information outside of line of sight and not in a secured area we probably would be court marshaled, perhaps lose our pension or worse.

He should get no free pass on this and honestly should be held at a higher standard. For this single reason alone he is unfit for the presidency.

So here we are with disfunction, lying and unethical behavior at every branch of our government. Can Congress do its job? Can the Supreme Court clean up its act and rule by law and precedence? Can one of the political parties find and promote a centrist candidate without a ton of baggage?

Would the polarized electorate elect such a person? As a member of the baby boomer generation I fear we failed our parents, the greatest generation, and future generations to come.

James Fraser,

Colonel, USAF retired

Garden Ridge, Texas

Editor:

Recently, I read an article on the New York Times website: “We’re All Water-Bottle Freaks”, written by Matt Richtel. Matt writes about the fact that we have increasingly become concerned about the amount of single-use plastic we dispose of, meaning that we are taking this issue seriously.

This, of course, is a very good thing. So, we have been purchasing substantially more reusable drinking containers. However, despite this, consumers continue to buy an alarmingly increasing number of single-use plastic water bottles, even as faucet water remains free. This doesn’t seem to make much sense.

I know that despite the fact that I have joined a group, “Green Orleans”, which was created to encourage community members to incorporate actions to help preserve our environment, I often forget to bring my reusable water bottle to a sporting event, or the ice cream stand, and also forget to bring my clean reusable container to a restaurant when the meal is complete and I have leftovers to bring home. So, I collect another plastic container and add it to my pile.

I guess we can make many excuses for purchasing and accumulating a large number of plastic bottles, containers, etc. Liking the looks of that new reusable bottle we see in the store, not trusting the quality of the water from a faucet, forgetting to carry our reusable bottle, looking “foolish” by taking our own container into a restaurant to take home leftovers, etc. Since, most of us are taking the “plastic” situation seriously, I guess that we just need to do a better job of remembering to “cut back”, me included.

And, we just need to be willing to “model” the behavior that we wish others would use. I do believe that taking a reusable container for leftovers into a restaurant may serve as encouragement for others to consider doing this the next time they go out to eat.

Sister Dolores O’Dowd (Green Orleans Coordinator), sda_albion@rochester.rr.com, and I, Tom Robinson, thomasarthurrobinson@gmail.com welcome any thoughts regarding this opinion letter, and/or thoughts and ideas for our group, which meets monthly on the third Thursday, 11:30 a.m. at the Hoag Library in Albion. All are welcome.

Tom Robinson

Medina

Editor:

The Clean Energy Revolution that is being heavily promoted is neither clean nor is it cheap as those who promote it want us to believe.

Many important issues are being  ignored as the push to electrify accelerates. An evolutionary approach is in order. This will allow time to work through some of the serious issues that have developed.

For example, recently in the village of Chaumont, Jefferson County New York, four tractor-trailer size lithium-ion batteries used to store renewable energy caught fire and burned for four days. Residents were advised to shelter in place as toxic gases were being emitted. Letting it burn out was the default firefighting method. This is not acceptable!

Governor Kathy Hochul was wise in quickly appointing a Fire Safety Working Group to investigate this and other fires of a similar nature occurring around the state. All lithium-ion battery installations must be suspended until the Fire Safety Working Group completes its work and declares that lithium-ion batteries are safe, and acceptable methods to extinguish such fires are available.

Lithium-ion batteries are in wide use and have a long history of unexplained fires that are difficult to extinguish. Typical lithium-ion battery applications include standalone installations for grid stabilization, storage to support wind and solar complexes, and powering of e-cars, bikes, scoters and skateboards.

The mining of the critical materials lithium, nickel and cobalt and the associated activity raise serious pollution issues. Further the disposal of tens of thousands of discarded turbine blades, worn-out solar panels and e-car batteries present a huge disposal issue. There are no acceptable recycling methods available for these items, consequently they will continue to litter our landscape.

Conservation, repair, reuse and recycle appear not to be in the Clean Energy Revolution game plan. Perhaps clean energy activities should be suspended until acceptable recycling methods are developed. Let us try to leave a cleaner planet to our children and grandchildren.

With regard to costs, heavy government subsidies – national, state and local – are an integral part  of the Clean Energy Revolution. Low interest rates, production tax credits, energy credits, PILOTS  and the like, mask its true cost. Without subsidies there would be no wind turbines, no solar installations, no e- cars.

Our children and grandchildren are being left with untold trillions of dollars in debt. These costs are only the “tip of the iceberg” as the government continues to assault the fossil fuel and automobile industries with legislation and directives that eliminate jobs and raise costs. It is an undisputed fact that e-cars are more expensive and dirtier to produce and require less labor than their fossil fueled counterparts.

It is an undisputed fact that despite all the government subsidies the automobile industry is laying off workers and losing billions of dollars in the manufacture and sale of e-cars. The deficit is being made up by fossil fueled car purchases. Consequently, those who  purchase fossil-fueled cars are subsidizing the purchase of e-cars.

In summary, let us turn the Clean Energy Revolution into a Clean Energy EVOLUTION. Let us stop operating in a crisis mode, stop deliberately confusing weather and Climate Change. One bad storm indicates nothing about Climate Change.

Let us stop doubling down on bad policy and legislation and stop throwing money around with no accountability. Climate science is not settled and likely may never be. Let us stop pretending that it is.

Climate prediction models do not adequately predict the future. The effect of a major greenhouse gas, water vapor, is not adequately accounted for or well understood. Responsible research shows hurricanes are not increasing in frequency or intensity. Responsible research shows the burned area of Planet Earth have decreased over the past two decades. Let us pause to pay attention to the consequences of previous policy actions.

An excellent place to begin the evolution is to hold the Governor-appointed Fire Safety Working Group accountable to ensure that lithium-ion battery installations are safe and pose no threat to the public. Perhaps lithium-ion battery technology is not ready for prime time!

James C. Hoffman

Town of Somerset

Editor:

We read, with interest, Mr. Lauricella’s letter to the editor regarding his least favorite months of the year, September and January.

In his editorial, Mr. Lauricella states that, “They [taxes] have been on the steady up creep for the last 3 or 4 years.”  In another passage, he says, “I want to remind both boards that staying within the tax cap is not and should never be the measure that is used for a successful budget.”  He also includes a confusing statement about the Super Bowl. Lastly, Mr. Lauricella seems to indicate that the Yates Town Board as well as the Lyndonville School Board, are “fleecing…” the taxpayers.

To let the Hub readers decide for themselves whether we are prudent stewards of the taxpayers hard-earned money, we offer the following:

From 2021-2023, the Town “Inside Village” tax rate was either flat or decreased each year (2021 = 3.66, 2022 = 3.55, 2023 = 3.66).  And while the Town “Outside Village” tax rate has increased 2% per year (2021 = 4.83, 2022 = 4.93, 2023 = 5.03), the combined tax rate increase each year averaged below 2%.

Keep in mind, in those same years, the inflation rate has increased, on average, over 5% per year. Since Town Boards are elected to provide core services, would it make sense for the Town to increase the budget by 5%? Definitely not! We made prudent decisions to keep quality services at a sustainable cost – the true, “measure…for a successful budget.”

And in answer to Mr. Lauricella’s question, “Is there no discipline when it comes to spending?” Yes, there is!  One example: the Yates Town Board has voted eight years in a row to freeze the board members’ and the supervisor’s pay.

Mr. Lauricella might also remember some additional fiscal accomplishments of the Yates Town Board in recent years:

We worked closely with town departments to publish the first-ever Town of Yates 5-Year Financial Plan which captures short-term funding goals and long-term fiscal vision.

We nearly doubled the Town’s portion of the underfunded Lyndonville Fire Company budget over six years, and we worked with the fire company and the village to establish the Joint Fire District.

We competed for and were awarded a $2,531,000 NYS REDI Grant for a comprehensive upgrade to the Yates Town Park to include a new pavilion, pier, kayak launch and handicap-accessible playground.

Meanwhile, the Yates Town Board is exploring the idea of a biodigester for farmers (unanimously supported by the local Farm Bureau), working to purchase a new snowplow using maximum leveraging of state funds, and expanding the Summer Youth Recreation Program.

By the way, personally, we believe that the months of September and January are a wonderful part of God’s creation.  From the beautiful fall colors through Thanksgiving, to Christmas and each new year, we are blessed!  The Super Bowl is OK too, even if the Bills aren’t in it!

Go Bills!

John Riggi, Susan Hrovat, Harold Suhr, Terry Chaffee Jr. and Jim Simon

Yates Town Board

Editor:

My least favorite months are September and January. School and Library, then Town and County tax bills. I am not pleased. My taxes went up $101.00 over last year.

They have been on the steady up creep for the last 3 or 4 years. Why is this? School districts are heavily subsidized by the tax payers of the entire state. So why is this happening?

Is there no discipline when it comes to spending? Nothing that can be trimmed down or out of the budget? As a businessman I cannot believe that.

I want to remind both boards that staying within the tax cap is not and should never be the measure that is used for a successful budget. That is a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl big loss and in these recent times predictably choking during the playoffs.

Only you are losing with taxpayer money. Why should anyone vote for any of you ever again. The taxpayer should always come first.

Without the fleecing of state and local taxpayers year in and year out public entities could not operate. Bloated labor contracts, waste, and other programs and functions could not take place.

You are killing us with 1%, 2%, whatever % you inflict on us, year after year. After a while those percents add up to a good chunk of our flesh. Enough already with the tax increases.

No wonder people are leaving this area and this state in droves. It’s not just Albany’s fault. There is blame locally. Do I have to run for School Board?

Paul Lauricella

Yates

Editor:

It was refreshing to read the second half of Gary Kent’s recent letter to the editor about how a few Republicans impressed him during their recent presidential primary debate.

Allow me to return the sentiment.

Wouldn’t it be great if President Joe Biden would debate Marianne Williamson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Cornel West?

Unfortunately for Democrats – and for democracy – the powers that be in their party will not allow for an open and frank discussion on the progressive side of the political aisle.

This is especially disconcerting given the candidacy of Dr. Cornel West, a former Harvard and Princeton professor and a formidable Christian intellectual whose defense of the poor and marginalized is legendary.

I disagree with much of his platform (foreign policy and climate change in particular), but Dr. West, and America, deserve a Democratic Party presidential primary debate.

For those interested in some civil yet hefty debates, check out the numerous YouTube videos of Dr. West discussing weighty issues with his decades-long close friend, conservative Christian Dr. Robert P. George of Princeton University. In a word – refreshing!

Jim Simon

Yates