ALBION – For several years, Paul Lauricella has attended Orleans County Legislature meetings and often questioned legislators when they would vote to accept federal funds for Homeland Security, money for cameras by the shoreline, boats, and other equipment.

Last month Lauricella told legislators he thought Homeland Security was unconstitutional.

Bruce Schmidt attended that meeting. He was there with the Orleans County Historical Association, which is working to preserve a former cobblestone schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road.

Schmidt was surprised legislators didn’t refute Lauricella’s comments, offering him “the civility of silence.”

Schmidt and Lauricella were back at the Legislature’s meeting on Wednesday. Schmidt, a Gaines town justice, spoke about the Department of Homeland Security, and its formation soon after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The department, with Congress’s approval, combined many federal organizations. Schmidt said it wasn’t formed unconstitutionally. He called Lauricella’s comments, “flippant,” and “reckless.”

Schmidt noted that his son, Scott Schmidt, left Orleans County on Sept. 11 and responded to the terrorist attacks with the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. DMORT is a team of experts in the fields of victim identification and mortuary services. Schmidt spent 8 days at Ground Zero working to identify bodies.

Lauricella said the attacks, and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, on that Sept. 11 weas “absolutely horrible.”

However, Lauricella said Homeland Security has grown far greater than its original purpose. He said children and senior citizens can’t go to the airport without being “fondled” by security personnel.

“I stand by my comments and I won’t retract it,” he said in response to Bruce Schmidt.

The Legislature on Wednesday voted to pursue another $50,000 federal grant through emergency management for “critical infrastructure.” Lauricella questioned if it was needed.

“With these types of grants it’s never enough,” he said. “How much security do we need?”

Lauricella was also critical of the Orleans Economic Development Agency on Wednesday, and asked the Legislature to “clean house” with staff and board members. Lauricella cited a state comptroller’s audit that said the agency needed more oversight with companies to make sure they were meeting employment and capital investment targets after receiving tax breaks.

The comptroller also said the EDA needed a recapture-of-benefits clause if companies left town without following through on their commitments to the community.

Lauricella said legislators need to “take a strap to them,” regarding the EDA board and staff.

Those comments prompted a rebuke from Legislator Lynne Johnson.

“I’m not going to allow you to disrespect us, these Chambers and our department heads,” Johnson told Lauricella.

Johnson also said Lauricella didn’t have his facts straight with his criticism of the EDA..

Lauricella is running for legislator against Johnson for a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a portion of Shelby. She has the Republican line and Lauricella has been endorsed by the Conservative Party.

She told Lauricella, who was wearing a campaign T-shirt for Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane, that he needed to dress appropriately at the Legislature meetings.

That prompted Lauricella to say Johnson doesn’t dress appropriately.

Scott Schmidt, the county’s chief coroner and the DMORT member, then stood. He thanked his father for his comments. Schmidt said he was humbled to be in New York City at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks and to work in profession when many people are grieving losses of loved ones.

Schmidt thanked his father for teaching him to be respectful.

Regarding Homeland Security, Schmidt urged the community to ask law enforcement officers, including wounded deputy James DeFilipps, where to draw the line in protecting the community.

“How much is too much for the safety of you and our county?” Schmidt said.

ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency is seeking a $200,000 grant that would provide business training for small business owners and also help pay their rent if they locate a new business in downtown Albion, Holley, Lyndonville or Medina.

The EDA would offer a 10-week business training program to small business owners, and a downtown rental subsidy as part of the Community Block Grant. The EDA is seeking the funding through the state.

The EDA has run a microenterprise assistance program for about 15 years. To date, 410 residents have completed the MAP training program which gives an overview on taxes, record keeping, marketing, organizational skills, accounting and insurance, leadership and developing a business plan.

Graduates in the program also are eligible to seek low-interest loans through the EDA’s revolving loan fund.

A new MAP class will be offered in the fall.

The spring graduates include Heather LaDue (esthetics and electrology business), Alicia Dingman (interested in a marina), Alex Fig (Orleans Radio), Jessica Reigle/Lorrie Reigle Gurslin (nail salon), Stephen Kruger (Superstruct Architect), Andrea Chilton (garden nursery), Doug Ashbery (Venison Specialty Meals) and Michael Donnelly (small vintage snowmobile engine repair).

In 2009, the EDA had the rental subsidy program and offered a maximum of $3,000 a year to help small business owners with their rent if they locate in the Albion, Medina, Holley or Lyndonville business districts.

The EDA gave $20,004 to help businesses with their rent, including seven in Medina, four in Albion and two in Holley. Businesses must be start-ups or doing expansions to be eligible for the program.

ALBION – A series of glitches that on some days prevented Orleans County employees from receiving and placing phone calls appears to be fixed, county officials said.

The phone system for about 200 county employees has been hit with two major problems the past three weeks with issues from Verizon, Time Warner and Windstream. Friday was particularly bad, because county employees didn’t receive incoming calls and couldn’t place outgoing calls.

The county works with Windstream, a phone service provider, and uses Verizon. One problem occurred when county employees used the Verizon network to try to talk with someone on a Time Warner network. The calls weren’t going through and neither company wanted to work on it, said Kevin Doherty, who manages the county’s phone system.

That issue was worked out, and so where the other glitches. Doherty has worked on the county’s phone system for 30 years.

He said telecommunications are much more critical to county employees now than three decades ago.

Phone companies tend to put their resources and energy in more populous areas, and that can lead to service problems in rural areas, Doherty said.

“We’re at the edge of service coverage,” Doherty said. “There’s no incentive to invest in rural areas.”

The issues the past three weeks were particularly challenging because Doherty needed to work with more than one company to pinpoint the problems and get them resolved.

The issues did not affect the county’s 9-1-1 system, he said.

Provided photo – Students in the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’s 2015 Licensed Practical Nursing Class all passed. The group includes, from left, seated: Courtney Burdick, Melissa Olles, Raquel Golson and Marissa Catalano. Standing: Ashley Zuercher, Katelyn Fletcher, Nelly Galicia, Jonathon Furlong, Krystina Daniel, Alexander Gow, Amanda Frazier, Stephen O’Brien, Amanda Hyde and Mindy Barber.

Press Release
Orleans/Niagara BOCES

Orleans/Niagara BOCES’s 2015 Licensed Practical Nursing students have achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses.

The state average is 79 percent and traditionally the Orleans/Niagara BOCES LPN classes do pass the exam with above average scores.

“The success of our program is directly related to our teaching staff,” says Nursing Coordinator Karen Kwandrans. “They go above and beyond to make sure that our students are prepared for this test and learn all the skills they need to be successful in this career and anything they choose to pursue in the medical field after this program.”

The class takes 14 1/2 months to complete and is a combination of classroom instruction, lab work and clinical instruction at local hospitals and healthcare facilities.

“It is a wonderful gateway for students to go for their RN degree and beyond,” Kwandrans said. “We have been approached by several schools to observe this program and talk to our teachers. Everyone wants to know what a class that can pass at 100 percent looks like.”

Kwandrans says the demand for nurses is high and she is constantly approached by medical facilities and physician’s offices who want first crack at the school’s graduates.

“Let me put it this way,” she said. “Anyone who has graduated our LPN program, who wants a job, has a job.”

The latest LPN program is getting ready to start up around the end of August at the Medina site located at 4232 Shelby Basin Road and Kwandrans encourages anyone interested to contact her office at (716) 731-6800, extension: 4445.

“It’s not too late to be tested for entrance into our program,” she said. “We have testing dates on July 29, Aug. 6 and Aug. 10. Many of our students qualify for financial aid and loans and our financial aid officer is available to talk to as well.”

Provided photo

ALBION – The union representing corrections officers at the Orleans Correctional Facility recently donated $500 to the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund, which assists cancer patients and their families in Orleans County. The fund helps families pay for nutritional supplements and prescriptions, as well as medical supplies and bills.

Corrections officers are pictured with Mary Zelazny, one of the leaders of the fund. The corrections officers include, from left: Kenny Gold, Matt Lamar and Craig Stalker.

For more on Knights-Kaderli, click here.