By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2016 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Orleans County Legislature approved hiring the Wendel firm to design an addition on the County Administration Building on Route 31, behind The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has approved an agreement with the Wendel firm to design an addition on the County Administration Building, new space that could be used for relocated county offices and perhaps as a meeting room and offices for the Legislature itself.
The Legislature on April 27 announced that is was considering new construction on the County Administration Building at 14106 Route 31 West.
The Legislature on April 27 authorized paying Wendel $30,000 for a feasibility study for an addition to the County Administration Building.
The county may shift several offices to the addition, including the Board of Elections and Public Health Department, which is leasing space from Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services.
Comprehensive purchased the former county nursing home for $7.8 million in January 2014. The county has been leasing space from Comprehensive for Elections and Public Health because those offices are part of the nursing home complex.
The county could also shift information technology (currently in Treasurer’s Office), the legislative chambers (in County Clerk’s Building), the county’s administrative office (also in Clerk’s Building) and create large multi-use rooms to accommodate training for large groups, conference rooms and offices.
The Legislature last week approved paying Wendel up to $70,000 to design the addition to the Administration Building. That scope of work not only includes designing the building, but determining parking and circulation needs, site access, utility service requirements, energy efficiency and sustainability requirements, and other analysis of the site.
David Callard, the County Legislature chairman, said in April that moving Elections and Public Health from leased space will free up money that could go towards the addition, perhaps making the project cost neutral to county taxpayers.
Callard said he and county officials have looked at existing buildings, including sites in Albion’s historic downtown, but those sites wouldn’t improve efficiency of the county government operations.
Provided photos
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School celebrated commencement Friday when 42 seniors graduated. Jasmine Plummer, valedictorian of the Class of 2016, delivers her speech.
This trio of new graduates includes, from left: Amanda Blackburn, Rhiannon Burgess and Jessica Harling.
Jenna Doran, the class salutatorian, gives her speech at the Stroyan Auditorium.
Graduates, including Thomas Follman, center, sing during the commencement program on Friday.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 29 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Kristina Gabalski
ALBION – The Orleans County Veterans Service Agency held an Open House Monday afternoon at its Albion office. Those attending were able to meet Director Earl Schmidt, administrative assistant Mary Jo Syck and volunteers from the Joint Veterans Council Veterans’ Van Transportation Service.
Additionally, information was provided on benefits and services available to veterans and their families and dependents. The office has undergone renovations recently which include making it handicapped accessible.
The Veterans Service Agency provides veterans in Orleans County with state and federal veterans benefit counseling and application services. Director Earl Schmidt says he will be able to take these new tri-fold display boards to events around the county, such as the 4-H Fair, to help inform veterans of the services the office can provide.
The office is located at 13996 Route 31 in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2016 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A steering committee that will study law enforcement services in Orleans County will meet today at 7 p.m. and is expected to pick a vendor to assist with the project.
The committee will meet in Conference Room C of the County Administration Building on Route 31, and will interview two consultants interested in working on the study.
The county received a $36,000 matching state grant for the law enforcement shared service and efficiency study. The county is paying the other $36,000.
The committee will include police chiefs and elected officials from the four villages and Orleans County, which all provide police services. The steering committee and a consultant will explore the efficiency of current local law enforcement operations and compare them with alternative policing models, including the potential consolidation of all local departments into one.
County officials have set May 2017 for completion of the report with recommendations and alternatives for the community.
The study will look at the operations at the Sheriff’s Office, and the Albion, Medina and Holley police departments. Lyndonville also has a part-time officer.
There may be opportunities for shared administration, joint purchasing and other initiatives that would keep the existing village police departments. Or the committee may suggest the village departments be dissolved with a county-wide force taking the lead.
If the villages dissolved their police departments, it would provide significant tax relief for villages. However, county taxes would likely then go up.
Holley has talked before of dissolving its police department and Medina, as part of a failed dissolution proposal last year, said a town-wide force in Shelby and Ridgeway could be created.
County Legislature Chairman David Callard has said he wants to be proactive in looking at policing services and not be caught off guard by a village that dissolves its force, expecting the Sheriff’s Office to assume village road patrols and calls.
The study will look at alignment of current compensation and benefits agreements, determining the costs of a combined police force. The committee will look at potential obstacles to consolidation and provide guidance to overcome those obstacles, according to the county’s Request For Proposals for the study.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Victoria Ramos-Perez, 4, of Albion gets ready to throw a ball at the target on the dunk tank. She was able to knock Kirsten Struble into the water. Kirsten’s mother, Nicole Struble, is the children’s librarian at the Hoag Library in Albion.
Hoag kicked off its summer reading challenge today with games and snacks for children. The reading challenge actually starts next week and runs from July 6 to Aug. 13.
Zeke Yohe, 9, of Albion helps his sister Maggie, 1, down an inflatable slide as part of today’s summer reading kick off.
Betty Sue Miller, the library director, watches children having fun outside the library this afternoon.
Charity Garrow, a Hoag Library employee, makes snow cones for children. The treats were popular, drawing a long line of kids.
These friends, Kearston Brennan, left, and Lily Brigham, are happy after getting a snow cone. The two girls, both 7, are from Albion.
Hoag will have several games for children to play in different age groups during the summer, including Plinko (ages 3-9), Tic Tac Toe (ages 10-12), and a punch card for teens and adults.
Hoag will award prizes for participants in the program, including an Amazon Kindle and gift cards for Amazon and the The Book Shoppe in Medina.
Other local libraries also start the reading challenge next week.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 June 2016 at 4:22 pm
SHELBY – A fire this afternoon in a garage damaged a house owned by Kasmier “Mike” Szulis. This photo shows Shelby firefighters Jason Watts, top left, and Andy Watts.
The 1979 house, built by Mr. Szulis, may have suffered smoke damage inside, in addition to the more extensive damage in the garage, family members said.
Medina firefighter Steve Cooley uses a chain saw to cut through the garage door. Jonathan Higgins of the Medina Fire Department also assisted at the scene.
Mr. Szulis was out watering berries when he noticed smoke in the garage of the house at 12335 Maple Ridge Rd. Family members say they are grateful no one was injured in the fire and that the fire was mostly contained to the garage.
KENDALL – This line of Kendall female grads gets ready for commencement on Friday at the David J. Doyle Junior/Senior High School. Kendall graduated 67 members of the Class of 2016.
Zachary Rohr is recognized during the commencement ceremony. Julie Christensen, the Kendall Central School superintendent, watches from the stage with other members of the Class of 2016.
Abby Rice delivers the salutatorian address. She told her classmates to, “Fake it until you make it.”
In her valedictory address, Julia Smith noted that, “life is messy,” from “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Kendall male graduates are lined up for the ceremony.
Kendall Principal Carol D’Agostino presents Caitlyn Bonifield with her diploma.
Creagan Maclaren, Brooke Andrus, Keri Furness and Julia Smith pose for a photo.
Members of the soccer team are pictured with their coach, Pam Beres.
Kris Johnston, a 1995 Kendall graduate who now works at Constellations Brands, gave the Commencement Address. Johnston obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in accounting from St. Bonaventure University and is a CPA. The theme of her speech was “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” from Dr. Seuss.
Kendall graduates move their tassels near the end of commencement on Friday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Four people were taken by ambulance after an accident involving three vehicles late this afternoon on Route 31, just west of the village line near Frank’s Auto.
The driver of this red vehicle, a Ford Windstar, was headed west when she crossed the center line and hit a Chevy Equinox, said Chris Bourke, the county’s undersheriff. Bourke was on the scene along with Orleans County deputies, the Albion Fire Department, COVA and an ambulance from the Medina Fire Department.
Albion firefighters needed to extricate people from the Windstar, including a grandmother. The three people in the vehicle were taken by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital.
The Windstar hit this Equinox head-on. The driver of the Equinox had lacerations and was taken by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital. The truck at left also was damaged. It was following the Equinox. The driver wasn’t injured, Bourke said.
Provided photo – State Sen. Rob Ortt presents a plan to make college more affordable during a news conference Monday at Brockport State College. He was joined by Dr. Heidi Macpherson, president of the college.
Press Release, State Sen. Rob Ortt
BROCKPORT – Recent graduates will soon be heading off to college, and Sen. Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) unveiled a plan on Monday to help students statewide better afford a college education.
Ortt, a member of the State Senate’s Higher Education Committee, outlined his 2017 legislative package of bills to help make college debt less burdensome for thousands of students and families. The bills deal with community college scholarships, establishing an apprenticeship program for career readiness, requiring public disclosure of financial statistics to current and potential college students, and reforming New York’s Tuition Assistance Program.
“The rising cost of college tuition over the years has burdened families and left students drowning in debt even before they graduate and start a career in their chosen field,” Ortt said. “We’ve reached a critical mass as graduates push important life decisions into their 30s and 40s, because they’re overwhelmed with debt and parents delay retirement to help their kids pay for college. By expanding financial and career opportunities for students and increasing accountability among higher education institutions, we can improve higher education and help restore the American dream.”
Ortt met with Dr. Heidi Macpherson, president of Brockport State College, in unveiling the legislative package at Brockport on Monday.
“While SUNY provides one of the best college values in the Northeast, college affordability remains an important issue in this country,” Macpherson said. “Senator Ortt understands that many families across New York State struggle with college debt, and I’m grateful for his efforts to improve how we fund and support higher education.”
The exponential increase in the cost of tuition and the amount of money students have to borrow go hand in hand. A 2015 report from the Project on Student Debt showed that the average debt of a Class of 2014 borrower graduating from a four-year college in New York State was $27,822. That debt level increased from a decade ago when the average student loan debt was $18,857 in 2004.
The average debt of 2014 graduates at Buffalo State SUNY was $24,290. Student debt data for Niagara University, a private institution, showed an average debt of $30,289 for 2014 graduates.
The Buffalo public and charter schools have the Say Yes to Education scholarship program for eligible graduates allowing them to attend any SUNY or CUNY school and more than 90 private colleges with the full cost of tuition covered. While this is a great program, there are many more students throughout the state who deserve similar opportunities. Senator Ortt’s proposed legislation will help tens of thousands of individuals achieve the dream of attending college.
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Ortt and supported by the Senate Majority to help reduce unsustainable student debt includes:
(S6838) Launching the “Learning for Work Program” that establishes a Youth Apprenticeship Program for high school juniors or seniors. The apprenticeship program would combine academic work in the classroom with mentored on-the-job training to advance career readiness. This legislation would also offer an Enhanced Regents Professional Diploma in the specified occupation, and create a tax credit of $1,500 for each apprentice the participating employer sponsors.
(S6839) Increasing transparency to help students and families make informed decisions about college and borrowing. Higher education institutions would be required to collect data and provide more detailed information on student retention and graduation rates, average amounts of federal and private student loan debt after graduation, and average earnings and employment metrics broken down by program of study.
(S6841) Awarding a Community College Merit and Mobility Scholarship to high school students across the state who graduate within the top 20 percent of their class. Eligible students must attend a New York State community college and would receive $1,000 per year for up to two years. Up to 1,000 scholarships would be awarded to new students every year.
Also, legislation co-sponsored by Senator Ortt would:
(S2129) Restore New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for graduate students. In 2010, the state legislature eliminated TAP for all graduate degree programs. Many of today’s jobs now require a Master’s degree, but without the help of financial aid, the cost of graduate school is too expensive for many. Since the program’s elimination, it’s been increasingly difficult for students to further their education and obtain a graduate degree. This bill would provide students with access to tuition assistance and make them more competitive in today’s job market.
Additionally, during the last week of the legislative session, the Senate Majority passed a bill (S7573), co-sponsored by Senator Ortt, that would raise the net taxable income eligible for TAP awards from $80,000 to $100,000, raise the minimum TAP award to $1,000 and adjust the formula for awards. Other bills that recently passed the Senate include the Help Individuals Reach Employment (HIRE) program (S7646), and the NY-ELECTS program that would provide loan forgiveness or scholarship awards to eligible students.
Niagara University Junior and Turning Point USA Field Director Christian Lemke said, “Too often politicians jump to conclusions before identifying the problem. The solution to the college debt problem isn’t dealing with this dilemma post graduation, it’s about preventing it. It’s time we as a state and a country, start being proactive about the debt problem rather than reactive. Transparency is the key.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 June 2016 at 12:00 am
ALBION – John Robinson and Doug Hamlin are riding the Erie Canal Towpath today through Orleans County, part of a 350-mile-plus journey along the Erie Canal Towpath.
The two men are using adaptive use bicycles to make the trip for the fourth straight year. Robinson and Hamlin make the long ride to highlight inclusivity, showing that people with disabilities are capable of big accomplishments.
“People with disabilities want to work, they want a family, they have hopes and dreams just like everybody,” Robinson said at about noon today while taking a short break by the canal bridge on Keitel Road.
Robinson is a congenital amputee without full arms and legs. He overcame countless obstacles to become a successful businessman, husband, father and inspirational speaker.
He is pictured with his wife Andrea today on the canal in the Town of Albion.
Robinson was inspired to undertake the first Journey Along the Erie Canal in 2013 by his wife and two children after receiving a three-wheeled, hand-operated cycle as a donation. His family helped him learn how to ride and then train for the statewide journey.
Doug Hamlin and his wife Pam are making the ride together. Hamlin uses a specialized hand cycle for the ride.
“If we can inspire one person to ride an extra mile it will have been worth it,” Hamlin said.
Robinson and Hamlin are partners in Glenmont-based Our Ability, a network of consulting, public speaking, recruitment and professional services that champions the inclusivity of people with disabilities in the workplace.
They are using the trip from Buffalo to Albany to celebrate launch of New York Business Leadership Network, a coalition among businesses in New York State interested in both hiring and building supplier diversity of businesses owned by individuals with disabilities.
Today is day 3 of the ride. The cyclists started in Medina at the Prospect Avenue Lift Bridge this morning and are going 32 miles east to Spencerport. To see the schedule, click here.
Hamlin, Robinson and the group of cyclists are off after a short break by the Keitel Road canal bridge. The trip ends on July 8 in Albany.
