ALBION – Orleans County legislators voted today to hire lobbyist for $60,000 a year to advocate for county interests in the state capitol.

The decision to hire an outside public affairs firm was a first for the county, which wants to be more aggressive in pursuing grant funding and state resources.

“For quite some time, the Legislature has been concerned that the county’s legislative and budgetary priorities have often been overlooked in Albany,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard. “This has been particularly true as it relates to getting our priorities funded through the Regional Economic Development Council process.”

The county has retained Park Strategies, LCC, an Albany-based lobbying firm founded and chaired by Al D’Amato, the former U.S. senator who represented New York.

Orleans wants to push for more state funding for roads, bridges and infrastructure. Park Associates is well connected to leading state legislators and policy makers in Albany, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The firm, he said, will push for infrastructure funds, Broadband funding, a grant for additional upgrades to the county emergency radio system to make it interoperable with neighboring counties, and other projects.

The county is a member of the New York State Association of Counties, but that group advocates for the overall good of all counties. NYSAC doesn’t push for projects and specific needs for member counties, Nesbitt said.

The county also is represented by State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and State Sen. Sen. Robert Ortt, whose districts include more than Orleans.

Nesbitt said the county has tried to advocate on its own behalf in recent years, and hasn’t secured the full grant amounts and other state assistance it has requested.

“We felt it was time to bring in some professional support,” Nesbitt said.

Orleans County has fared poorly per capita in the Regional Council awards. While nearby counties typically land several grants in excess of $100,000, Orleans and its municipalities see little of those funds.

In 2013, Holley received the only grant in the county: $65,776 for a canal park improvement project. Last year the county was expecting a $160,000 state grant for projects at the Marine Park. The final award was only $81,500.

“We need to align the needs of the county with available state programs and funding streams, and then make the case to both – the Regional Economic Development folks and decision-makers in Albany – that Orleans County deserves its fair share,” Nesbitt said.

The agreement with Park Strategies runs from March 26, 2015 to March 25, 2016. Nesbitt said county officials would evaluate the agreement in about a year to see if it was fruitful for the county.

“Working in concert with Park Strategies, I’m confident we will be well served, and more importantly, we will go a long way to ensuring that county residents get a return on the tax dollars they send to Albany every year.”

James Ellis

Press Release
Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess

This press release is an update to the deputy-involved shooting that occurred on Saturday in the Town of Clarendon that resulted in the death of James Ellis.

On Saturday at 2:46 a.m., James Ellis went to a residence on Mill Street in Shelby Center and confronted his ex-girlfriend. It is alleged that Ellis put the barrel of a handgun to her head in an effort to solicit information as to the whereabouts of her current boyfriend.

Ellis subsequently left that location causing no further harm to the ex-girlfriend or anyone else. Ellis was eventually located after crashing his car on Route 31A in Clarendon. That led to the exchange of gunfire with Sheriff’s Deputy James DeFilipps that resulted in Ellis’s death.

Later on Saturday, a search was issued at Ellis’s residence at 8 Durfee Rd. in the Village of Wyoming (Wyoming County). The warrant was subsequently executed by members of the Orleans County Major Felony Crimes Task Force, the Sheriff’s offices in Orleans and Wyoming counties, and the Wyoming County Probation Department. The search of the Ellis residence provided no evidence of any substance that explain the actions of Ellis earlier in the day.

Investigators have determined that the .45 caliber handgun in Ellis’s possession at the time of his death was recently reported stolen from a residence in Wyoming County.

The incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police. The results of an autopsy being conducted by the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester could take several weeks.

It is anticipated that the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office will present the results of the police investigation to a grand jury sometime in April.

Deputy James DeFilipps continues to recover from injuries he sustained as a result of being shot by James Ellis. Deputy DeFilipps is expected to make a full recovery after which he will return to duty.

The Sheriff’s Office is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support received from the citizens of Orleans County following this event.

KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County officials and residents can hear about a $500 million state proposal to expand broadband Internet throughout the state, including in rural pockets that do not have reliable service.

David Salway, director of NYS Broadband Program Office, will be at the 4-H Fairgrounds today at 10 a.m. to discuss the initiative. He will be at the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension on Route 31.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing for $500 million in state funds for internet service providers willing to match the state dollar-for-dollar. The companies will be required to offer 100 megabits per second download speeds for the expansion, however “in certain limited cases, providers may offer 25 Mbps speeds to the most remote unserved and underserved areas of the state,” Cuomo said in January.

Orleans and Niagara counties have been working together to improve broadband service in the two counties, especially in the sparsely populated rural areas.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Four teams competed in the semifinals of the GLOW region mock trials on Monday at the Orleans County Courthouse.

In the top photo, Dylan Beckman serves as an attorney for the team from Batavia and questions a witness.

Amanda Conrad, a witness for Attica, responds to questioning from Becca Canale, an attorney for Batavia.

The fictional case centered on the treasurer of a Booster Club who was accused of stealing $45,200 to feed a gambling addiction.

Albion and Medina both have mock trial teams but they did not advance to the semifinals. The competitions are held at courthouses in Batavia, Warsaw and Albion.

Monday was Orleans County’s turn to host the event inside its historic courthouse, built in 1858.

Becca Canale was one of the attorneys for Batavia. She presents her closing argument to Chad Murray, the judge for the competition.

Madhu Vihani, a lawyer for the Attica team, presents documents to the team from Batavia.

The smaller courtroom on the first floor was used for the competition between teams from Avon, on left, and Notre Dame in Batavia.

Nic Culver of Medina, a freshman at Notre Dame, was a witness for his team.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson speaks about the disadvantages facing many Orleans County residents and businesses due to unavailable or low-quality Internet access. She addressed David Salway, director of NYS Broadband Program Office, during a roundtable discussion today at the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Tom Biamonte (left), owner of Shelby Crushed Stone, said his company suffers because there isn’t Internet on Blair Road in Shelby.

KNOWLESVILLE – The leader of the state’s effort to extend Broadband or high-speed Internet throughout the state heard this morning how the lack of service in parts of Orleans County puts residents and businesses at a disadvantage.

It also discourages many potential residents and businesses from coming to the county, said Skip Draper, town supervisor for Shelby.

“Commerce is driven by what is there and if it isn’t there, then we just have fields and woods,” Draper said during a Broadband discussion this morning led David Salway, director of NYS Broadband Program Office.

Gov. Cuomo is proposing $500 million in state funds to jumpstart the New NY Broadband Program. Private sectors companies would need to at least match the funding to extend and upgrade service.

That $1 billion-plus investment in public and private funds is far more than the $25 million the state has been setting aside recently to expand the service, Salway said.

Companies that provide the service will be required to offer 100 megabits per second download speeds for the expansion or at least 25 megabits in remote rural areas. That is far greater than the current standard of 6.6 megabits, Salway said.

“It’s a very ambitious goal, but a very achievable goal,” Salway told about 20 local officials and business owners during a roundtable discussion at the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

David Salway, director of NYS Broadband Program Office, speaks during a discussion about Broadband this morning at the Cooperative Extension. He is joined by Angela Liotta, the state’s Broadband outreach director, and Vinnie Esposito, director of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council.

Salway has been traveling the state to hear how inadequate Internet is a deterrent for businesses and quality-of-life issues. He heard from several officials how low-quality Internet is putting Orleans County at a competitive disadvantage.

“This is about emerging ag businesses and getting people to live here,” said Jim Whipple, CEO of the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The county is seeing more wineries, hops operations and other small farming operations open, often in rural areas where there isn’t high-speed Internet.

Whipple said he talks with CEOs from bigger companies who are eyeing potential homes if they were to settle in the area. They are surprised when they learn some parts of the county don’t have Broadband.

That means they can’t stream Netflix, they can’t Skype, they can’t work remotely from home, and in some cases can’t complete filings for the government. If they have children, they can’t do on-line research for school projects.

Tom Biamonte, owner of Shelby Crushed Stone, is a mile away from high-speed Internet on Blair Road. He can’t do sales tax reports and regulatory filings from his main office, which is only a mile from Route 31.

He and his employees lack real-time capability for many reports and communication.

“We’re falling behind,” Biamonte told Salway during the discussion. “It’s harder for us to provide up-to-date training with our guys.”

He has asked Time Warner many times to run a line with the service down the road, but the company hasn’t moved on it.

Ward Dobbins, owner of H.H. Dobbins Inc. in Lyndonville, said relaible and adequate Internet is critical for his company. County Legislator Ken DeRoller is next to Dobbins.

Salway said the state funds should make running lines down many rural roads more financially doable for companies because they won’t have to bear the full costs. For very sparsely populated roads, Salway said the state may want to consider state funds, dollars from the Internet providers, and perhaps some money from people being served in that area.

Ward Dobbins, owner of H.H. Dobbins Inc. in Lyndonville, said the company is expanding its apple packing and storage business and needs reliable high-speed Internet to communicate with customers around the world. Employees could also monitor the facilities off site through their Smart phones with strong enough Internet.

“Even though we’re rural we’re global in agriculture,” Dobbins said. “Our needs have changed so much in five years.”

Orleans and Niagara counties have been working to together to identify gaps in high-speed coverage and to prepare a request for proposals for companies to provide service to 3,900 “unserved access points” in Orleans and seven towns in Niagara County.

The timing of the effort comes at a good time with the state funding push by the governor, said Evhen Tupis from BPGreene, the firm that worked with the two counties on the study. The counties are evaluating proposals from the Internet providers.

“This shows collaboration among counties and towns,” Tupis said.

Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson said the two counties have done the groundwork in establishing the need for high-speed Internet and reaching out to companies for the service. The state funds could bring the effort to a reality, and make the county a better place to live and work, Johnson said.

“We are competing against other counties and right now our hands are tied in this area,” she said. “We see the need from the local businesses. Hopefully we can leverage one of the first roll-outs in the area.”