By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2016 at 12:00 am
District leader credited with raising student achievement
MEDINA – The Medina school district community is mourning the death of Jeff Evoy, the district’s superintendent for nearly five years.
Evoy died this afternoon. He had been battling a serious illness the past month, Board of Education President Wendi Pencille said.
“It’s just devastating,” she said this evening. “He was a very stand-up guy. He was so proud of every child in the district.”
Evoy started as Medina district superintendent on Nov. 1, 2011 after working as principal of Pembroke Primary School. He started his career at Albion as a social studies teacher and was a finalist for the New York State Teacher of the Year in 2003. He was a key leader for Albion in starting the district’s character education program, which included the Vietnam Memorial in front of the middle school.
He welcomed the chance to lead Medina Central School, his home district where two of his children graduated. He helped push student achievement while the district reduced taxes, and also partnered with Lyndonville Central School on several athletic and extracurricular programs, including the musical.
Pencille said Evoy was highly visible in the school buildings, and was popular with students, staff and teachers.
“I am very concerned for both the students and teachers because they loved him,” Pencille said.
The Class of 2016 graduates on Friday evening. Pencille said a moment of silence will be observed for Evoy. She said Evoy wouldn’t want commencement to be a sad occasion.
“He would want us to celebrate the kids’ achievements,” she said. “We’re going to do what he would want us to do.”
Evoy would have turned 51 on Saturday. Pencille said he worked hard for the district, and remained active in community organizations, including the Medina Sandstone Society.
“He completely embraced every aspect of the district,” Pencille said. “Under his leadership the graduation rate went up, test scores improved. His goal was to improve education for the kids and he did it with integrity and hard work.”
(Editor’s Note: Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard delivered these remarks during the June 22, 2016, Legislature meeting.)
Every year it seems that the Empire Center for Public Policy puts out a list of the highest tax rates in the state – and every year the citizens of Orleans County are treated to a rehash of news articles highlighting certain parts of the study and scolding local officials, whether they be village, town, county, or school, for their role in achieving that dubious ranking.
Most recently there was an article on village taxes within the county reporting them among the worst in the state. What is lacking in this news article, however, was the whole story.
Villages are constantly being ranked regardless of size. Given that premise – one benchmark that is always used is the Top 20 Property Tax Bills on Median-Value Homes. That list has never included an Orleans County village, but that is never mentioned. Or more significantly, included in the report, but is never mentioned in articles, is that the county taxes paid per capita in Orleans County are the SECOND
LOWEST of the 57 counties in New York State. Again – the second lowest taxes paid per person in New York State.
People tend to be negative without acknowledging all of the facts. This is something the state government does all the time when deriding the counties. The town of Ridgeway is a solid 816th out of 932 for towns in taxes per capita. The Medina School district is also very solid at 625th out of 702 for local spending per pupil among school districts. Even the Village of Medina’s 238th out of 557 in taxes per capita doesn’t seem so earth shattering considering the high level of services.
Let’s face it; casting blame without an acknowledgement of all the facts is something we get plenty of from people in Albany. We don’t need to do it here as well. It would be responsible to cite those other stats as they give a fuller picture.
Orleans County pays over $16,000,000 to the state in unfunded mandates- our entire tax levy. But articles and the critics constantly disregard that fact, and seldom if ever criticize the Governor and the New York State Legislature for the property taxes at the county level alone and even more at the school level.
According to every academic study ever undertaken on the subject, the fundamental differences between New York State and the other states in the country boil down to two basic things: 1) the way New York State funds Medicaid and 2) the way New York State funds education. Sure we have lots of other over-regulation and taxation issues beyond those two. But, those are the really big ones.
New York is the only state in the country to require a significant local share of Medicaid be paid by the counties and the average state funds two-thirds of public education through income taxes while New York State funds about one-third. It’s really that simple.
Indeed the village governments of Orleans County face tremendous challenges, not the least of which is the high property tax rates. The dissolution efforts in the Village of Medina, though rejected by Medina residents, if nothing else, forced a conversation, a necessary conversation.
In some areas of our local governments, we are doing business in the 21st century on 20th century terms. In some cases, we are holding on to old ways of doing business that could be changed for the betterment of the community at large. This isn’t to say that people are wrong for feeling that they want to hold on to their village, or their town, or their school district.
What it does tell us, is that it’s time for us to challenge ourselves, people on both sides of the argument, east and west, north and south. Challenge ourselves to take a hard look at what we are doing and ask ourselves “If given a clean slate, would we build our service delivery models the way they are now, or completely different?”
Inevitably, we are going to find areas where we can build a better mousetrap together. We have the ability to fix what ails us to some degree. We can work with our friends and neighbors and make changes that will raise all boats. We can realign service models, adjust cost centers, and change the landscape profoundly.
If we are going to seek honesty about mandates and education funding from the state, we also need to be honest with ourselves. This is a conversation that should take place in earnest and should seek solutions that remove Orleans County and its villages, towns and school districts from such a list forever.
Apologies to those that believe the answer is to complain that the county should give away more sales tax. The answer to this challenge is not to have the taxpayers of the county surrender cash to the village governments, to throw at their existing service models, buying them time until the inflation and expense curve catches up with them again as some suggest.
The answer is change. Change that we can all buy into that alters the equation. It requires compromise. It requires faith. And, it requires casting off old notions of provincialism.
Truth be told about sales tax, when examining statistics from 2013 on New York State Counties, there are 14 counties under 50,000 in population like Orleans County and four in the Finger Lakes Region, of which we are a part. Orleans County ranks as the fourth highest for the percentage of sales tax shared.
However, two of the 14 counties have cities (Cortland and Montgomery) that are able to preempt and capture much larger shares of the overall revenue. Dropping those two counties lifts Orleans County to number two in the state among small counties without a city in terms of sharing sales tax, second to Schuyler County, the home of Watkins Glen International Speedway.
Delving further into those same statistics, it’s evident that eight of the 14 counties do not share sales tax revenue at all, zero percent. So, the majority of small counties in New York State do not share sales tax. Orleans County is the only county in the Finger Lakes Region under 50,000 in population that actually shares sales tax revenue.
The local law enforcement community in Orleans County is about to embark on a comprehensive study of the way we are doing business. Orleans County and our partners, the Villages of Albion, Medina, Holley and Lyndonville, along with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, and all the law enforcement unions in the county have agreed to undertake a process to look at new service models and explore
what can be done.
There are ways to change the way we do business that could guarantee that our communities are never negatively reported on the annual list put out by the Empire Center again.
This is going to be hard and it will require that we work together. This legislature is bound and determined to make positive change for all within our county. We can begin to say goodbye to the dark cloud over our heads. Those that offer only criticism and opposition absent of solutions will be forgotten. This legislature will be remembered for leading and making a difference.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Kenai kept a watchful eye on Tyler Schnepf
Photos by Tom Rivers – Tyler Schnepf, 11, climbs the stairs in the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School this morning with Kenai, a service dog trained to detect changes in Tyler’s blood sugar levels. Kenai spent the entire school year with Tyler.
ALBION – The Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School welcomed a popular addition this school year: a service dog named Kenai.
The dog stayed close to fifth-grader Tyler Schnepf throughout the year, even riding the bus with him and joining him at school concerts. Kenai, a 2-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever, spent most of the school days sitting on the carpet next to Tyler in Mrs. Mindy Kenward’s class.
“It was a very smooth transition,” Mrs. Kenward said today. “Some days we didn’t even know Kenai was here.”
Kenai joins Mrs. Kenward’s fifth-grade class today on the last day of school. The dog will join Tyler and the other fifth-graders in moving up to the middle school in September.
Tyler’s mother Jennifer Orr praised the school administrators, teachers, staff and students for welcoming Kenai this year. The family raised $20,000 through raffles, a spaghetti dinner and other fund-raisers to buy the dog that was trained to detect drops or spikes in Tyler’s blood sugar levels.
“We wouldn’t have been able to get Kenai without the community support,” Orr said today.
Kenai received his puppy and obedience training from a breeder in Alaska. Then he was trained in California to detect diabetic levels. Tyler’s family sent swabs of Tyler’s saliva at different blood sugar levels for Kenai to train.
Kenai joined the family last summer. He is a working service dog so students were urged not to pet the dog and to try to draw his attention. That proved difficult for some students, especially the kids in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Even Mrs. Kenward, an admitted “dog lover,” said she was tempted to pet the dog.
The new yearbook includes a headshot of Kenai and Tyler.
Tyler’s family pushed to get a service dog because Tyler has juvenile diabetes. He was diagnosed when he was 7. He was checking his sugar levels 10 times a day. He and his family learned to live with the frequent checks and the insulin shots.
But the situation became more worrisome in the summer of 2014 when Tyler’s mother heard him thrashing on his bedroom floor. It was 6:30 in the morning and Tyler was having a seizure. The next day he was walking and talking, when he sensed something wasn’t quite right. He had another seizure, falling into his mother’s arms. She administered an emergency glucagon shot.
Tyler’s parents kept a continuous glucose monitor on him, and installed a video monitor to watch him at night. But they fear that wouldn’t be enough to alert them if their son is having a seizure.
A diabetic alert dog, however, can detect a drop or spike in blood sugar levels before there is a seizure. With Kenai, Tyler’s average blood sugar readings have been 119. Before that they were in the high 200s.
“The dog will alert us when Tyler’s blood sugar starts to go high or low,” Mrs. Orr said. “We haven’t had real highs or lows because Kenai catches them sooner.”
If the dog senses a change in Tyler’s blood sugar, the dog will scratch at Tyler’s leg or go wake up his parents if it’s at night.
Kenai wears a service dog vest. He is usually tethered to Tyler during the school day. Today he took a break while Tyler stopped in the nurse’s office. The dog was trained to go potty before school and not again until the afternoon when Kenai was home.
Mrs. Kenward asked the fifth-graders today how they thought the year went with Kenai. The students were positive and said they were amazed the dog adjusted to the class routine, and didn’t mind some of the surprises, such as fire drills and the loud clanging during band. (Tyler plays the trumpet.)
Tyler said this school year went by fast. He said Kenai fit in well with his classmates.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans County legislators Lynne Johnson and John DeFillips, left, present “Special Recognition Awards” to local teen-agers for saving the life of a man on May 26 who drove into Lake Ontario at Golden Hill State Park in Barker.
The teens include, from left: Alex Plummer, Josh Tombari and Hayden London (as well as Matt Scroger, not pictured). They were invited to Wednesday’s Orleans County Legislature meeting. They are joined by Lt. Patrick Rindsleisch of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, second from right, and Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower.
The teens went fishing at Golden State Park in Barker on Thursday and likely saved the life of a man who drove into the lake. They boys were fishing by the inlet at the state park. They heard an engine roar and then a big splash in the water.
They ran to the lake and saw a green van pointed down in the water. The front was submerged. Another man was standing near the shore and told the teens a man was inside the van.
London and Plummer each grabbed big rocks. London took off his shirt and dove in the water. He saw a man who appeared to be elderly inside, hitting at the window trying to get out.
London smashed the driver’s window with a rock. Water came rushing inside the van, London told the Orleans Hub on May 27, a day after the rescue. London put his shirt on the window, to protect the man from the broken glass. London and Plummer then pulled the man out of the van.
Hayden London, right, accepts the “Special Recognition Award” from Legislator John DeFilipps.
Rindsleisch said the man is likely doing well today because there hasn’t been any reports of injuries. He couldn’t provide more information because of confidentiality laws. But he did say the boys deserve praise for their actions on May 26.
Legislators called London, a junior at Lyndonville, “an extraordinary human being” for his selfless actions after a man had driven into the lake.
“Your quick thought and immediate action, with a rock in your hand, saved this life,” legislators said in the award for London. “By going above and beyond and risking your own life to save another, the Orleans County Legislature has a renewed sense that people are willing to help others in times of need. This will forever be remembered and extremely appreciated.”
“The Orleans County Legislature does hereby commend you for your heroism and is proud and grateful that you are a citizen of Orleans County.”
Sheriff Bower also presented the boys with T-shirts with a message about the importance of forward-thinking.
Bower, a former youth coach, said he always preached to his players to be prepared and to be thinking ahead.
“We applaud you for what you did,” Bower told the teens.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2016 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Rob Doyle, principal auctioneer and appraiser for Absolute Auctions and Realty, seeks bids for the former Lyndonville Pennysaver Market. The property sold for $1,000 to Jonathan Daniels of Waterport in the Orleans County tax foreclosure auction on Wednesday.
The Pennysaver Market closed three years ago. The property had $37,945 in back taxes.
The county sold 41 properties for a $324,200. The properties collectively carried $497,914 in back taxes. The auction didn’t cover the back taxes, resulting in a net loss of $173,714. (Winning bidders have to pay the current year’s taxes on the properties.)
Several of the houses in the auction sold for less than $1,000.
Frank T. Pietrzak, auctioneer for Absolute Auctioneers, seeks bids for house at 134 West Bank St. in Albion. It sold for $300 to Phillip Newbould of Kendall.
Business sites also didn’t command much money. A site in downtown Medina at 333 Main St., next to the Starlite Cleaners, sold for $200 to Demetrios Bitsas.
The former S.A. Cook Furniture Factory, where there was a small fire on Monday, sold for $100 to William Grathouse III of Holley. The 70,600-square-foot building is located at 525 East Ave.
In Kendall, a 3,584-square-foot building in the downtown at 1841 Kendall Rd. sold for $400 to Phillip Newbould of Kendall. One of Holley’s attached row buildings in the downtown also was up for sale. The site at 89 Public Square fetched $100 from an online bidder, The Eaton Agency in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
One property was in command. An apartment complex at 218 Linwood Ave. in Albion sold for $100,000, the highest bid of the day. Brad Bokman of Albion bought the site.
The auction drew a crowd of bidders and some curiosity seekers to the Elk’s Club on West State Street.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 23 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Business owners praised for ‘stepping up’ to address situation
Photo by Kristina Gabalski – Nathan Pace, an attorney from Medina, speaks to Murray Town Board members Wednesday evening during a workshop meeting. The town’s ongoing efforts to address on-street parking outside businesses was discussed.
MURRAY – Members of the Murray Town Board agreed Wednesday evening to monitor and assist businesses in the town in regards to on-street parking issues.
The town has spent two years discussing options for bringing businesses into compliance with its zoning, which Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti says requires businesses to provide off-street parking for customers.
The Town Board workshop session on the issue began with Vendetti reporting that the situation is much different now than two years ago in regards to compliance.
“There has been progress everywhere to varying degrees,” Vendetti said. “People have made efforts to control parking on the road outside their businesses.”
He noted there are still some problems, but the town has so far refrained from putting up no parking signs to, “Give folks a chance to address” the issue, Vendetti said.
Several business owners attended the meeting.
“We pull people from far and wide,” said Amy Machamer of Hurd Orchards. “We try to make them feel welcome.”
For Hurd’s, that has meant creating additional on-site parking and encouraging customers to park there.
Vendetti noted Hurd’s is the largest business affected by the parking issue and for that reason has, “seen the most dramatic decrease in (on-street) parking.”
Machamer asked the Board not to resort to no parking signs, calling them negative communication and a complete deterrent to customers. “Help us to encourage our guests as opposed to punishing our guests,” she said.
Attorney Nathan Pace represented A&M Automotive and told the Board that he had been in contact with the state Department of Transportation. He explained the DOT has no regulations prohibiting on-street, parallel parking on state roads and is responsible for safety along its roadways. The DOT doesn’t see parking as a “safety issue,” Pace said.
He, too, asked the town not to put up no parking signs which would, “chill what Murray is,” Pace said. He explained that most businesses along Rt. 31 and Ridge Road are located in former homes – “which are not amenable to a shopping center parking lot.”
Murray Town Supervisor John Morriss said “sandwich” signs like those used by Hurd Orchards can direct customers to off-street parking. Morriss said those signs are an effective alternative to the town placing no parking signs.
“It’s a good idea, a compromise,” he said.
Councilman Paul Hendel said he agreed that the town should not resort to no parking signs. “There has been lots of voluntary compliance, the best compliance is voluntary,” Hendel said. “The business owners are stepping up.”
Vendetti and Hendel both brought up the issue of safety, particularly when customers park across from a business and must walk across the roadway.
“I don’t believe we should wait for accidents,” Vendetti said. “It’s an unsafe situation. We are not requesting parking areas be paved.”
He said the Murray Superette at the corner of Rt. 104 and Rt. 237 continues to be an issue. He said he would contact the NYSDOT regarding signs which block the view for motorists and requested the town put up no parking signs at that location. The owners of the Superette were not in attendance at Wednesday’s work session.
The board also addressed the issue of on-street parking along Lynch Road outside the Holley Middle School/High School during special events. Residents told the board they continue to worry about safety issues. Doug Piedemonte said there is parking available on the Holley Central School campus near the old bus garage. He said he counted 140 parking spaces, which would accommodate the 70-80 car overflow which often ends up on Lynch Road.
Town Board members said they would discuss the issue with the School District and with the Village of Holley as the south side of Lynch Road is in the village.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 June 2016 at 9:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers– The state Canal Corp. will begin draining a section of the canal on Monday. New York Farm Bureau is asking the Canal Corp. to leave enough water in the canal so farms can continue to siphon water for crops. This picture shows one of the siphons just west of the Keitel Road bridge in Albion.
ALBION – The draining of the a section of the Erie Canal starting next week comes at a bad time for many of the farmers with land by the canal, agricultural operations that rely on canal water to help nourish crops.
The state Canal Corp. will drain water beginning Monday from Brockport to Middleport so the Canal Corp. and a contractor can make an emergency repair to a culvert in Hulberton. After the initial closure of the canal, the drained portion will be isolated between Albion and Holley.
There are 27 permitted irrigation siphons between Brockport and Middleport, including 25 for farms and two for commercial golf courses, said Shane Mahar, Canal spokesman. The section between Albion and Holley has 14 permitted agricultural siphon permits.
A farm uses canal water today to irrigate a field in Albion between Keitel and Butts roads. There are 14 farms between Albion and Holley with agricultural permits to siphon canal water.
New York Farm Bureau is asking the Canal Corp. to leave some water in the canal for farmers to siphon water, particularly during this difficult stretch of weather with so little rain, Farm Bureau officials told the Orleans Hub.
Mahar said the Canal Corp. won’t be “bone dry” after the draining beginning next week. The Canal Corp. is in “daily conversations” with the Department of Agriculture and Markets, NY Farm Bureau and its engineering team about how much water should be left in the canal.
“This stretch of the canal is so vital to the agriculture community for irrigation purposes,” Mahar said. “There may be extra pumps and siphons, but it won’t be at the full volume they typically get.”
The Canal Corp. announced last week the section of the canal needed to be closed to allow for the repair of a leaking culvert in Hulberton. Mahar said that notice was intended to give farmers, boaters and other canal users time to adjust how they use the canal and to perhaps make other plans.
The Canal Corp. said the closure could last several weeks, but Mahar said it could be reopened sooner, depending on the extent of the work needed. That scope of work won’t be known until the canal is drained and contractors and engineers can better assess the damage, Mahar said.
“We are cautiously optimistic the repair could be done sooner,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how to make this as minimally impacting as possible.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 June 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Cole London, left, and Mekhi Rivera were among the many kids playing dodgeball today at Bullard Park, the opening day of the Village of Albion’s Summer Parks Program.
Albion has Bullard and Pee Wee Park (which is within Bullard) on Route 31 staffed with 12 supervisors. There are other parks with in the village but they are not staffed with supervisors.
This year all activities will take place at Bullard Park. All children who attend Veteran’s Park in the past are encouraged to attend Bullard Park and Pee Wee Park on the east side of the village on Route 31. The village shifted all of the park supervisors to Bullard in a budget-saving move.
Anthony Freeman, 13, fires the ball during dodgeball today at Bullard.
The parks will have supervisors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. All of the supervisors are certified in First Aid and CPR.
The first three days will be orientation and getting familiar with the parks and supervisors. Activities will also be conducted. The supervisors are working hard on the bulletin boards and setting up for the summer season. The children will have an opportunity to play team and individual games and activities throughout the summer.
Field trips and special events are also planned for the children’s enjoyment, said John Grillo, the village’s recreation director.
The Parks Program will also offer week-long camps in tennis, baseball, wrestling, a second week of tennis, and volleyball. Check with the park supervisors for more information.
When parents arrive at the park, they should register their child, and fill out an emergency form with immunization records.
The Parks Program is free to children in the Albion Central School District.
Mike Brewer, 13, eyes a target during dodgeball. The parks run many games for children, including crafts at Pee Wee Park.
Scott Baker, owner of Park & Play in Cazenovia, installs new playground equipment at Bullard.
The new playground equipment enhances Bullard, the village’s most popular park.
ALBION – Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower announced that 8 children from the county are attending the New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute’s 2016 Summer Camp.
The Sheriffs’ Summer Camp is designed to provide a solid recreational program combined with the development of a sense of good citizenship. This will mark the 39th year of the camp’s operation.
The Sheriffs’ Summer Camp, which is located near Penn Yan in Yates County, is supported by the Sheriffs’ Association Institute’s Honorary Members through their contributions and annual dues. This year the camp will accommodate over 900 deserving boys and girls from across New York State.
“This is a great opportunity for our county youth and I personally thank Orleans County residents for donating and making this possible,” Bower said.
The camp program provides an opportunity for children to go away for a week during the summer. These are often kids who normally wouldn’t have that chance.
“The primary objective is to create positive interaction between the kids attending camp and the Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs who participate in the camp programs,” Bower said. “We have found from experiences during the first 38 summer camps that the kids develop a renewed respect and understanding for the men and women who enforce the laws. The deputies become their friends and in some cases substitute parents for a week.”
Throughout the week-long stay, the children observe special exhibits and demonstrations presented by Sheriffs’ Offices from across the State. Included in these presentations are D.A.R.E. presentations, boat and bike safety programs, law enforcement equipment and technical demonstrations and even a talent show just for fun.
Upon completion of their stay, all children will be awarded a diploma for their participation in a program of “Good Citizenship and Law Enforcement Studies.”
HOLLEY – Village residents elected Brian Sorochty as Holley mayor during Tuesday’s village election. Sorochty was unopposed and received 62 votes. He will succeed John Kenney, who is retiring from the Village Board.
Two incumbent trustees were also unopposed. Connie Nenni received 53 votes and Kevin Lynch was backed on 52 ballots.
Sorochty, who works in the engineering field, has served as trustee for three years and is currently deputy mayor. Sorochty says important issues facing the community include addressing the village’s aging infrastructure, the number of vacant and under-utilized properties, and maintaining and improving village services to residents while minimizing taxes.
The new two-year terms start July 1 for Sorochty, Nenni and Lynch.
As mayor, Sorochty said his future plans include pursuing grants to aid in repairing aging infrastructure; following up on goals set as part of the village’s Comprehensive Plan; making the renovation of the old high school a reality; and working to find new ways to encourage more positive interaction and involvement from village residents with local government.
