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Governor announces push to raise minimum wage to $15

Posted 10 September 2015 at 12:00 am

NY would be first state in US with $15 minimum

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by Vice President Joseph Biden, today rallied for fair pay for New York’s workers and announced a push to make New York the first state in the nation to adopt a $15 per hour minimum wage.

This announcement comes on the same day that Acting State Labor Commissioner Mario J. Musolino signed an order designating a $15 per hour statewide minimum wage for fast food workers – the level recommended by a State Department of Labor wage board earlier this summer.

The governor’s proposed all-industry minimum wage increase should be phased in to mirror the fast food wage order, taking full effect by December 31, 2018 in New York City and July 1, 2021 for the rest of New York State.

“If you work full time, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty – plain and simple,” Cuomo said. “Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will add fairness to our economy and bring dignity and respect to 2.2 million people, many of whom have been forced to live in poverty for too long.”

The Governor and Vice President were joined by more than 1,200 workers, community members and advocates at the Javits Center in New York City to celebrate the success of the fast food wage board and continue that momentum.

In the coming months, the Governor’s administration, with elected officials, business leaders and community members, will bring the push for a $15 minimum wage across the state to build support for a bill to be introduced in the next legislation session.

Governor Cuomo has consistently fought to increase the minimum wage in New York State. In 2013, the Governor signed legislation that raised the minimum wage from $7.25 to its current level of $8.75. That legislation included another incremental increase to $9.00 that will take effect by the end of 2015. Additionally, the State Department of Labor empaneled a wage board last July, which led to an increase in wages for tipped workers from $4.90, $5.00 and $5.65 to $7.50 per hour on December 31, 2015.

Fast Food Minimum Wage Order Signed

On May 7, 2015, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo instructed Acting State Labor Commissioner Mario J. Musolino to empanel a Wage Board to investigate and make recommendations on an increase in the minimum wage in the fast food industry. The Fast Food Wage Board members were: Byron Brown, Mayor of Buffalo, representing the public; Kevin Ryan, Chairman and Founder of Gilt, representing businesses; and Mike Fishman, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, representing labor.

The Fast Food Wage Board filed its report on July 31 that in part recommends the State raises the minimum wage to $15 for employees of fast food chains. Today the Commissioner signed the wage order, which per statute must be issued within 45 days once the report is filed. The order is now subject to the regulatory process.

“To grow the middle class, we need to set a livable wage that lets families pay their bills and save for their future,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. “This is a smart investment in our workforce and our economy, and I’m proud New York is leading the nation to pull workers from a low-wage cycle of poverty.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said: “No one who works full time should have to live in poverty. Let New York – the proud Empire State – lead the way for the rest of the country and finally pass a real minimum wage that will lift people out of poverty and help them realize the American dream.”

Area gets relief from the heat

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – It was another glorious sunset last evening. The top photo shows the grain facility along the railroad tracks on West Academy Street in Albion.

After several days with highs in the 80s, Western New York will get some relief from the heat.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 74 today, followed by a high of 76 on Friday. On Saturday, rain is likely with a high of 69, followed by a 50 percent chance of rain and a high of 67 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Here is another look along the railroad tracks in Albion last night.

2 challengers defeat endorsed highway superintendent candidates

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2015 at 12:00 am

In Yates, town supervisor race will go to absentees

Some candidates who forced primaries today were able to pull off upsets, defeating the endorsed Republicans.

In Albion, highway department employee Michael Neidert won the primary over incumbent Highway Superintendent Jed Standish and another challenger, Chris Kinter. Neidert received 256 votes, to 168 for Standish and 94 for Kinter.

In Barre, the Republican Committee endorsed Bert Mathes for highway superintendent to succeed the retiring Dale Ostroski. But Dale Brooks, the current DPW superintendent for the Village of Albion, won the primary with 118 votes compared to 74 for Mathes.

Two other incumbent highway superintendents claimed victories today.

Mike Fuller won in Shelby over Ed Houseknecht, the former Medina DPW superintendent and Orleans County highway chief. Fuller was backed by 243 voters, compared to 172 for Houseknecht.

In Clarendon, incumbent Larry Swanger faced three challengers. He received 153 votes, compared to 88 for Tracy Bruce Chalker, 46 for Craig Nicosia, and 39 for Frederick Seeman III.

In Yates, the race for town supervisor will go to the absentee ballots, which will be counted on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Incumbent John Belson holds a slim lead over challenger Jim Simon, 145-139.

In a three-person battle for two Yates Town Board seats, incumbent Wes Bradley received the most votes with 177 while another endorsed candidate, John Riggi, received 163. Political newcomer Valerie Pratt, who forced a primary, came in third with 122 votes.

Simon, Riggi and Pratt campaigned together in opposition to a proposed wind turbine project in Yates and Somerset.

The other primary race included three people running for two spots on the Carlton Town Board. John Fitzak and incumbent Dana Woolston were the winners. Fitzak had the most votes, 192, followed by Woolston with 165 and Frank Lauta with 118.

Holley still trying to iron out agreement with EPA to sell 8 houses

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

HOLLEY – Members of the Holley Village Board on Tuesday evening discussed the status of the agreement to finally get eight homes owned by the federal government back on the tax rolls.

The Village, the Village of Holley Development Corporation, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are trying to work out a deal for the eight “Diaz homes,” sites that were affected by a chemical leak from the former Diaz Chemical plant in January 2002.

All three parties had signed an agreement which would turn over ownership of the homes from the EPA to the VHDC to be sold. However, the EPA then sent another agreement which included new wording calling for lead abatement in the homes to be completed by a certified lead abatement contractor.

“You don’t expect somebody to sneak something in there,” Village Attorney John Sansone told village trustees on Tuesday.

He said he had reviewed some minor expected changes when, “Something in my head said to read it all.” That is when he discovered the new wording regarding lead abatement. Sansone said he has spoken with an EPA attorney who said the new wording was added because of “safety concerns.”

Sansone said he worries that adding stipulations to the agreement will make it difficult to sell the properties.

VHDC Chairman Dan Schiavone has contacted the EPA with a list of options the village is willing to consider regarding the lead abatement issue, Sansone said.

Holley officials are now awaiting the EPA’s response before moving forward. Neither the Village nor the VHDC has signed the new agreement.

In other business, Village Board members accepted with regrets and best wishes the resignation of William Murphy as Police Chief. Murphy, who is retired from the Greece Police Department, served as police chief in Holley for 7 1/2 years and resigned earlier this month after the Village Board decided not to seek a pay waiver for his retirement.

Thunderstorms today could produce heavy rains

Staff Reports Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Orleans County and western and northern New York for today.

“Showers and thunderstorms are expected to break out along and ahead of a cold front as it slowly crosses the region today,” the Weather Service stated. “Some of these thunderstorms may produce very heavy rains along with strong gusty winds.”

Widespread flash flooding isn’t expected due to the recent dry conditions. However, localized flooding may be possible in urban and poorly drained areas.

Ghost Walk, lecture series will raise funds for chapel at Hillside Cemetery

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Visitors walk out of the chapel at Hillside Cemetery in Clarendon during an open house last September. Volunteers and the town are trying to raise $225,000 for repairs to the chapel, which was built in 1894.

CLARENDON – Genesee Community College history students will immerse themselves in Holley history as part of a ghost walk at Hillside Cemetery on Oct. 3.

The students will serve as guides and “ghosts” of some prominent residents from Holley’s past who are in the cemetery.

This will be the first ghost walk at Hillside. Derek Maxfield, a history professor at GCC, is working with the Clarendon Historical Society on the event, which begins at 7 p.m. and will be a fund-raiser for the restoration efforts at the cemetery’s chapel. Admission is $10.

“This chapel is an important piece of local heritage that we shouldn’t lose,” Maxfield said.

He praised the Historical Society for getting the chapel listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and for pursuing grants and cleaning up the building, made in 1894 from local Medina sandstone.

The society is trying to raise $225,000 to restore the chapel, which needs a new roof, wooden window frames, some mortar repointing and repainting inside.

Derek Maxfield, shown here as a guide last October at Philemon Tracy’s grave at the Batavia Cemetery, is leading a ghost walk on Oct. 3 at Hillside Cemetery in Clarendon. Tracy is one of the few Confederate officers buried in the North. Maxfield said ghost walks are a way to highlight local history and draw attention to historic cemeteries.

Maxfield is pleased his students have shown a strong interest in the ghost walk. About 20 have already jumped at the chance to help with the event.

Maxfield and the students are looking through biographies of notable residents in the cemetery. The students will do their own research, developing the characters for the ghost walk.

“Any historic preservation project gets my attention,” said Maxfield, who is on a committee that picks “Heritage Heroes” from Orleans County. He also was coordinator of the Civil War Initiative the past four years through GCC, including from 2013-15 at the Medina campus.

Maxfield, the GCC History Club and the Clarendon Historical Society also have developed a lecture series at the chapel as part of “Hillside Heritage Events” in October to benefit the restoration effort of the chapel that was built in the Gothic Revival style.

Hillside Heritage events will include a series of evening lectures, without technology. The chapel will be lit only with oil lamps inside the chapel itself at Hillside Cemetery, just south of the village of Holley. Lectures begin at 7 p.m. and are free, though donations to the restoration fund will be gladly accepted.

The lecture series includes:

Oct. 26: GCC Associate Dean of the Orleans County Campus Centers and Historian Jim Simon will present “The Philosophy of History: What Does it Matter?”

Nov. 2: GCC Associate Professor Derek Maxfield will present “Victorian Death and the Civil War.”

In addition, retired Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin will give a lecture at 4 p.m. on Oct. 3, the day of the ghost walk. Lattin will speak in the chapel about Victorian Mourning Art.

Other heritage programs are being planned for Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the day culminating with the ghost walk from 7 to 9 p.m.

GCC will celebrate successful $5 million capital campaign

Staff Reports Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – The clock leading to the entrance of GCC in Batavia is pictured with the Conable Technology Building at left. A new “Student Success Center” will be built in front of the clock at what is now a parking lot.

BATAVIA – Genesee Community College on Thursday will celebrate a successful capital campaign, where donors gave $5 million for scholarships and two new buildings.

GCC will establish a Student Success Center that will bring together in one place new state-of-the-art services focused on academic, career and success coaching for students. The $5 million, 9,000 square foot facility will nearly encircle Clock Tower Plaza, transforming the outdoor space into an inviting courtyard.

The college is also building an event center that will be located adjacent to the outdoor athletic fields on the Batavia Campus. At a cost of just under $14 million, the 43,000 square foot Center will be able to accommodate a wide variety of events.

The GCC Foundation helped raised the $5 million in donations from the community for the projects. The Foundation will celebrate from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the William W. Stuart Forum at the main GCC campus in Batavia.

The event will include refreshments, a brief campaign report and comments from GCC President Dr. James M. Sunser, GCC Foundation President Robert L. Boyce and General Chair Craig Yunker.

The celebration marks the end of an 18-month long fundraising effort for the upcoming expansion of the GCC Batavia campus and permanent new scholarships for students living in communities served by the campus centers in Albion, Arcade, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw.

Drivers urged to show extra caution with school back in session

Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – An Albion school bus turns from Platt Street onto East Park Street this morning on the first day of the 2015-16 school year for Albion Central School.

Press Release
Sheriff Scott Hess

Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess wants to remind everyone that all area schools are back in session following the summer recess. School buses are back on our roadways, and students will be walking along streets and highways and/or waiting for their buses.

“This is the time of year when we ask motorists to be especially watchful in residential areas, along school bus routes, and in school zones,” Hess said. “Children and traffic are often a deadly combination because kids often make impulsive decisions that can result in grave consequences. Drivers must never assume that children walking to or from school will make responsible, mature decisions.”

The NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee recommends the following:

Please watch carefully for children near school buildings, in areas where school buses are traveling, or where there are signs for school zones or bus stops.

Motorists please remember that if you are approaching a school bus from either direction, and its yellow lights are flashing, the bus is preparing to stop.

If the red lights are flashing on the school bus YOU MUST STOP! It’s the law and the penalty for violating it is severe.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office wishes everyone a safe return to school and continued safety throughout the school year!

First responders, elected officials will be part of 9-11 observance on Friday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 September 2015 at 12:00 am

File photos by Tom Rivers – This 9-11 flag was raised outside the Elks Lodge on West State Street after a memorial service this morning in Albion.

ALBION – Friday will mark 14 years since terrorists attacked the United States, claiming nearly 3,000 lives when they crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in rural Pennsylvania.

Larry Montello, a leader in the American Legion locally, has been planning Sept. 11 memorial services in Orleans County since 2005.

“Everybody is getting relaxed and forgetting about what happened that day,” Montello said. “It’s part of history.”

He will lead a service at 10 a.m. Friday at the Elks Club on West State Street in Albion. Congressman Chris Collins, State Sen. Robert Ortt, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and County Legislator Don Allport are expected to attend and speak at the event.

Orleans County Legislator Don Allport, left, teams with State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Larry Montello, a leader with the American Legion, in raising the 9-11 flag.

Police officers, firefighters and paramedics also will attend and light candles in memory of 343 firefighters and 60 police officers who were killed in the attacks.

There also will be a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. Friday by the courthouse. The ladder trucks from the Albion and Medina fire departments will hold a giant American flag as part of the vigil.

Montello and supporters of the event had a spaghetti dinner about a month ago to raise money for wreaths for the ceremony, and small flags to be handed out at the vigil.

Montello said the community is welcome to attend the memorial service and vigil.

Deadline for letters about Primary will be 9 p.m. today

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 September 2015 at 12:00 am

Orleans Hub will accept letters to the editor about Thursday’s primary election until 9 p.m. today. We have received numerous letters in recent days and will try to have them posted in a timely manner.

Letters can be sent to news@orleanshub.com. Writers are encouraged to keep the letters within 500 words. We don’t run anonymous letters.