By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Tuk, Covell re-elected in Lyndonville
Photo by Tom Rivers – Owen Toale, left, and Todd Bensley were elected to two-year terms on the Village Board today. The terms begin on April 1.
MEDINA – Todd Bensley and Owen Toale were elected to two-year terms to the Village Board today.
Only 311 voters came out, down from the nearly 1,500 that voted on Jan. 20 public referendum on the village dissolution.
Bensley led with 285 votes followed by 180 for Toale, who was a write-in candidate. Jeremy Hogan, co-owner of O’Brien’s, also was a write-in and received 98 votes.
The two-year terms will start on April 1. Bensley and Toale will replace Mark Irwin and Mark Kruzynski, who didn’t seek re-election.
Bensley and Toale were both outspoken against dissolution leading up to that vote. They believe cost savings can be achieved by working with the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.
“I don’t think enough effort has been put in with the towns to find common ground and solutions to problems,” said Toale, a retired newspaper publisher and public transportation manager.
Toale has served on the Village Board before. He believes his management experience will be an asset to overseeing village services.
Bensley is a teacher at Medina. He teaches AP government and participation in government.
“I teach the kids about civics and about giving back to the community,” he said.
Bensley has been active in the village as historian, and a member of the Boxwood Cemetery Commission and Planning Board. He will have to give up his appointed positions on the Planning Board and Commission to become a Village Trustee. He expects he will also step back from historian to devote more time to village trustee.
Bensley said he will continue to promote Medina history and work on projects at the cemetery, which was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places.
He would like to see more economic development for the community, more attention on vacant houses, and more aid from the state for the village and a greater share of the local sales tax from the county.
The village also needs to work on its infrastructure. “That’s on everyone’s mind as we drive down the roads,” he said.
In Lyndonville, incumbents Charles Covell and James Tuk – both unopposed in today’s election – each received 15 votes and were re-elected.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Martin Mackenzie, new administrator at The Villages Health and Rehabilitation Center, is pictured with Buddy, a popular Golden Retriever at the nursing home.
ALBION – The change from a county-owned nursing home to a private ownership hasn’t been without glitches, some nursing home employees and the union president for the employees have told Orleans Hub.
After a difficult beginning – payroll mistakes, supply shortages, understaffing and unsatisfactory food – the union leader said the situation is improved.
The union credits Martin MacKenzie, the new administrator for The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, for working hard to address issues raised by employees and residents.
“Martin is a godsend,” said Dylan Miller, president of the employees’ union. “He is definitely working to better the facility.”
MacKenzie started on Feb. 2. He worked the previous three years as administrator for the nursing home owned by Wyoming County in Warsaw. He remains a consultant there.
He was hired to lead the 120-bed nursing home in Albion, which is now owned by Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC. That company paid $7.8 million for the nursing home and took ownership on Jan. 1.
The company is looking to renovate the lobby, a rehab/gym room, and some of the hallways on the western entrance that lead to the Board of Elections and the alternative education program for Albion Central School. There are also plans for new flooring and lighting, and expanded recreational programs including concerts.
MacKenzie said his top focus is care for residents, and that means he will work to make sure the employees have what they need to do their jobs.
MacKenzie is a registered nurse who has worked in the healthcare field for two decades. He started as personal care aide for patients with cerebral palsy in Niagara County.
He has pitched in at The Villages, helping to feed residents and walk them to activities. He has stayed late on bi-weekly payroll periods the past two paydays, making sure the paychecks were accurate.
“I think he does care,” Miller said. “I feel he is an advocate for the residents and the staff.”
Miller said the union still has issues with supplies – food, diapers, cleaning products – sometimes being in short supply.
He would like to see a full staff to make sure the place is clean and residents get timely care.
Miller and some employees interviewed said the nursing home lacked leadership the first month. It showed with dissatisfaction in food, payroll errors and piled up laundry. (Some workers didn’t get paid overtime and in some cases, straight time, issues that still need to be resolved, Miller said.)
A new food service provider was only offering one choice for meals, down from three choices from the previous operator. The new vendor is now offering two meal choices and will work to offer three.
MacKenzie said a new food supervisor is starting this week as well as a registered dietician. He is pushing to fill certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse positions.
This file photo shows the 120-bed nursing home in Albion, which was sold for $7.8 million to Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC.
The facility had 148 employees under county ownership and now has 130. Miller said understaffing has made it a challenge for workers to get all of their work done. If they need to stay late for overtime the request is often not granted.
MacKenzie said filling the CNA and LPN positions is a priority.
“It’s the CNA that makes or breaks the place,” MacKenzie said during an interview on Tuesday.
He is pleased with the dedication from the employees, and the level of participation from residents and families. He established a Family Council and the first meeting had 28 people in attendance, up from the 6 to 8 that usually attend those meetings at the nursing home in Warsaw.
“The staff here has impressed me,” MacKenzie said. “It’s a top-notch crew. I’ve worked at a lot of places. This home has a very friendly atmosphere. I know that’s a cliché. Everybody here is polite, even the residents.”
MacKenzie said The Villages also is in good shape as a facility. The county spent about $10 million in a renovation and expansion in 2007.
Orleans, like many county-owned sites, began to see big deficits as government reimbursements failed to keep pace with the costs. MacKenzie said half of the county-owned homes have either been sold or closed in recent years, with more likely to sell, including in Genesee County.
“The heart of the story here is there are still 120 seniors being taken care of,” MacKenzie said.
He said he also is impressed with the principal owners at Comprehensive, who are looking to invest at the Albion facility.
“I believe they will have a premiere nursing home here,” he said. “I am part of a company that is growing.”
He acknowledged there is work to do at The Villages as the new ownership settles in. He expects many of the issues raised by the union to be resolved soon.
He said he keeps an open door to employees, residents and their families.
“My number one priority is the residents and the front-line caregiving staff,” he said. “Communication with families is a priority. I will not let them down.”
Photos by Tom Rivers
CLARENDON – Crews are on the scene of a house fire at 16323 Church St., Clarendon. The home is owned by Stephen Beck and appears to be a total loss.
There were no injuries during the fire and one dog was rescued from the blaze.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 March 2015 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Village residents will go to the polls today from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center at 615 West Ave.
Two trustee positions are open in Medina and both incumbents, Mark Irwin and Mark Kruzynski, aren’t seeking re-election.
Village Planning Board member and historian, Todd Bensley, was the only candidate to submit petitions to be on the ballot. Bensley, a Medina social studies teacher, is running under the independent “The Medina’s Future Party.”
Two other candidates are mounting write-in campaigns. Owen Toale is a former village trustee and a retired newspaper publisher. Jeremy Hogan is co-owner of O’Brien’s Tavern in Medina.
All three candidates have sent letters to the editor to the Orleans Hub. Click here to see the letters.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association kicked off an art show and fundraiser on Friday, a display that will continue at Hoag Library until a closing reception on June 13 from 5 to 7 p.m.
There were 83 entrants of art on 5-by-7-inch canvasses. Submissions included paintings, drawings and photography. More people are welcome to enter. All artwork will be sold for $10, with proceeds going to downtown flowers in Albion.
Kim Pritt holds the painting she made for the “Art in Bloom” project. She created a fashion girl with Kilroy, a character that was popular in American culture during World War II. Pritt said she enjoyed drawing fashion girls in high school. She was asked to participate in the art project by Lisa Stratton, owner of the Hazy Jade Gift Shop. Hazy Jade and Bindings Bookstore have the canvasses for interested artists.
There are about 60 to 65 different participants who submitted art for the project, including high school art students in Kim Nesbitt’s class.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – This former one-room schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the Erie Canal, has been largely abandoned since decentralization in the mid-1940s. A Gaines resident would like to see the building be saved and preserved for years to come.
GAINES – A building that has been vacant since about World War II could get new life through the efforts of local preservationists.
Gaines resident Al Capurso is leading the effort to save, stabilize and seek resources for a former cobblestone schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the Erie Canal.
The Orleans County Historical Association will discuss efforts to preserve Gaines Basin District No. 2. The association meets 2 p.m. Thursday at Hoag Library. The public is welcome to attend and share ideas for the building.
“It is sitting there, just waiting for us to take care of it,” Capurso said about the building.
The schoolhouse was built in 1832. A log cabin schoolhouse preceded that structure at the site. Capurso said some of the early pioneers in the Albion and Gaines area attended the school. Caroline Phipps was one of the teachers at the log cabin. It’s where she got her start as a teacher.
She would later start a women’s academy, the Phipps Union Seminary, in Albion. That school was located where the County Clerk’s Building now stands next to the courthouse.
There is an effort to have a historical marker outside the building and also to get the site listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
Capurso would like to have a historical marker by the cobblestone building that notes the significance of the site as a school. He wants the Orleans County Historical Association, where he is a member, to apply for a grant from the Pomeroy Foundation for the marker. That foundation funded a marker in Clarendon for Hillside Cemetery last year.
Capurso has also recruited help from Melissa Ierlan and Erin Anheier, members of the Clarendon Historical Society, to help get the cobblestone schoolhouse on the state and national registers of historic places. Anheier wrote successful applications for several sites in Clarendon and in the Brockport area, helping the properties to be listed and making them eligible for tax credits for renovations and preservation efforts.
Capurso said community members will also be needed to help with some of the work to make the building usable as a possible museum, display area and meeting place, perhaps for the Orleans County Historical Association.
“Saving the building will be a longer term effort with human power,” Capurso said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
RIDGEWAY – The Town Board agreed to seek a $750,000 grant from the state to help sway a Canadian company to commit to a $10 million project at the former BernzOmatic site, which was vacated last July by Worthington Cylinders.
Pride Pak Canada Ltd. in Ontario, Canada, proposes to establish a new vegetable processing, packaging and distribution facility in the former BernzOmatic property located at 1 BernzOmatic Drive.
The company wants to expand its operations and better serve a large northeastern US grocery chain, said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
Pride Pak, formed in 1983, is Ontario’s largest fruit and vegetable processing company. Barone told Ridgeway officials that the company currently exports approximately 50 percent of its product to the U.S. market.
Pride Pak wants to purchase the BernzOmatic property – a 180,000-square-foot facility with 30-plus acres of land. The company will do substantial renovations to the existing plant and purchase new machinery equipment at a total initial project cost of $9.6 million, Barone said. Additional capital expenditures are planned for future phases of the project in years 2 through 5.
It’s not a done deal because the company is considering another site in Pennsylvania. The incentive packages will be part of the company’s decision.
“So while we are cautiously optimistic, we also need to be realistic – the project principals are weighing options being presented by New York State and Pennsylvania,” Barone said at a public hearing on Monday.
Pride Pak expects to create up to 80 new permanent full-time positions by the end of year one. The state Office of Community Renewal grant of $750,000 will assist Pride Pak U.S. affiliate in the acquisition and installation of new machinery and equipment.
By year five, the company could have up to 200 workers at its U.S. site, Barone said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The giant snowpack has been transformed in the past week or so into a giant snow melt with huge puddles throughout Orleans County.
This picture, taken at about 12:30 p.m. today, shows seagulls by the sidewalk in front of the Albion Central School campus on East Avenue.
With a high of 38 degrees today, more snow will likely melt. On Wednesday, the high will be below freezing at 29 degrees. On Thursday, the high is forecast for 33, followed by 42 on Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The issue of whether Watt Farms needs to move a 154-foot-high turbine away from its farm market and U-pick orchard will go to the state Appellate Court.
GAINES – The Town Board again said on Monday that town officials acted properly in demanding that Watt Farms move a wind turbine away from its farm market and U-Pick operation on Route 98.
The Town Zoning Board of Appeals said the project did not have a proper building permit. The ZBA said the site should have a 169.4 feet minimum setback (154 feet multiplied by 1.1).
James Punch, acting State Supreme Court judge in Orleans County, agreed with the Gaines officials in a December ruling.
The state Ag and Markets in January said the town was wrong to insist on the 169.4 foot setback. Forcing farm owners, Chris and Karen Watt, to move the turbine at a cost of $20,000 is unreasonable and unnecessary, according to a letter on Jan. 14 from Richard A. Ball, commissioner of Ag and Markets.
He sent the letter to town officials, telling them they needed to comply with the Agriculture and Markets Law.
The issue will now go to the State Appellate Court, Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said during the Town Board meeting on Monday. She said both sides will submit their filings to the court in April. She expects the arguments will be heard in October-November, with a decision to follow within 30 days.
She read the following statement prepared by attorney Dan Spitzer on Monday:
“The Board is extremely pleased that the State Supreme Court has determined that the ZBA acted properly in determining that the wind turbine was placed in a location that unnecessarily presented a threat to public health and safety.
“Based on a review of the record, such as the testimony of a number of patrons of the farm, the detailed site plans submitted by the Watts, the information provided by state and local agencies including proper setbacks, the Court found the ZBA had not acted ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in establishing a 169.4 foot setback from public use areas.
“The Court confirmed that the areas used for the train ride, farm market, corn maze and U-Pick’em areas were properly designated as public use areas.
“The Town Board reaffirms its support for the town’s agricultural community, noting that this was the only time in town history where the ZBA had been forced to take action to protect the public health and safety.
“The situation arose because the turbine was built on an illegally obtained building permit without proper review, and in violation of town laws and state setback guidelines. The ZBA, as directed by the Supreme Court, carefully reviewed the history of the turbine, evaluated submissions from the Watts, state agencies, and the public, and held an extended public input process (including a well-attended public hearing) before issuing its detailed findings.
“The ZBA’s involvement solely rose from the intersection of the turbine’s location and the farm’s public use areas. Towns are specifically granted the power to act on properties in Agricultural Districts where public safety is at issue, and, the ZBA limited itself to the minimum intrusion on farm practices to protect the public.
“The Town and the ZBA remains open to working with the Watts to resolve any outstanding issues in the best interests of the community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2015 at 12:00 am
These are some of the designs for new signs for the Town of Gaines as proposed by Bill Downey of Downey Signs.
GAINES – The Town of Gaines will have new welcome signs on Route 104, and also two signs each at the Town Hall and Highway Department.
The Town Board approved a bid from Bill Downey of Downey Signs to make six new signs total for $4,150. Downey will make the signs using carved redwood. He will prime them and put on three coats of paint, Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said.
Downey made the town signs for Barre in a similar style. He has 25 years in the sign business.
“I just think with the redwood there is no substitute,” Culhane said.
Culhane is an artist and will try to develop a town logo for the signs that includes cobblestones and a stagecoach.
In other action, the Town Board:
Approved a $9,000 contract with Wendel Energy to take an inventory of the town’s 10 meter pits, including photos and an assessment of the conditions of each site.
Discussed eliminating the $75 hook-up fee for town water customers who turn off their water during winter. They wouldn’t be charged the restoration fee as long as they continue paying a $16 quarterly service charge.
The board may vote on the issue next month.
Approved a resolution seeking more state funding for towns and villages through the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities program, which currently gives $715 million annually to upstate cities.
The resolution, approved by the Town Board calls on the state to increase AIM funding by 50 percent with more money going to municipalities based on population density, and police and other services provided, with considerations made for tax exempt property as well.
Passed a resolution seeking a repeal of the SAFE Act, a gun control measure approved by Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature in January 2013.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Ridgeway woman also arraigned on welfare fraud
ALBION – An 18-year-old facing charges for burglary, criminal mischief and petty larceny was arraigned in Orleans County Court today and jailed on $25,000 bail.
Joseph Taylor, 18, of Shelby Center allegedly broke into a house in Albion on Long Bridge Road on Jan. 15. He also has been charged with several car break-ins in Albion, and has been charged with breaking into a church and damaging property.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch arraigned Taylor this afternoon for second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, five counts of petty larceny, two counts of criminal mischief in the fourth degree, and one count of criminal possession of stolen property.
The judge issued orders of protection for the victims in the crimes. Taylor also has prior charges of resisting arrest and criminal trespassing.
In other cases:
The judge arraigned a Ridgeway resident on charges of third-degree welfare fraud and first-degree offering a false instrument.
Kathy Mungenast, 51, of Ridgeway allegedly accepted $5,267 in welfare benefits she was not entitled to from July 1, 2012 to Nov. 30, 2013. She allegedly filed false paperwork to access those benefits, according to the District Attorney’s office.
A 17-year-old Albion boy, who was facing possibly 6 months in jail when he was to be sentenced on April 20, has been jailed without bail after he was arrested for another crime last week.
The 17-year-old already has pleaded guilty to attempted burglary in the second degree for the previous crime. The judge said he was willing to give the defendant youthful offender status. Because of that, Orleans Hub won’t publish the boy’s name.
He admitted he broke into a house on East State Street on Oct. 16, 2014, and took guns from the homeowner. Those guns were later recovered.
The boy was arrested again last Tuesday after another break-in on East State Street. The boy and a 16-year-old friend fled on foot and were caught by police.
The 17-year-old has been charged with second-degree burglary, criminal mischief, grand larceny, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of marijuana.
District Attorney Joe Cardone said the latest arrests may negate the plea deal for the previous crime. Judge Punch will consider the direction in the case. In the meantime, he is keeping the 17-year-old in jail without bail.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Worthington Industries closed its Medina plant last July 31.
RIDGEWAY – The Town Board will be joined by economic development officials at a 7 p.m. public hearing today, seeking state funding for a company to use the former Bernz-O-Matic site for vegetable processing and distribution.
Ridgeway intends to seek a Community Development Block Grant through the state. The manufacturing facility was vacated by Worthington Cylinders last summer and about 150 people were laid off.
Worthington bought Bernz-O-Matic in 2011. Bernz-O-Matic had operated in Medina since 1969, making torches.
Worthington makes cylinders for the torches in Wisconsin. The company closed its site in Medina and shifted the torch production to Wisconsin, where the company said it could do everything at one site, saving in transportation costs.
Orleans Economic Development officials said a Canadian company is eyeing the space for a vegetable and food processing facility at 1 Bernzomatic Drive. The company is considering another location in addition to Medina so the Medina project isn’t a done deal, an economic development official said.
The state funding would make the Medina site a more attractive option for the Canadian company, the official said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Niagara farm still has below-ground concealed chamber used to hide runaway slaves
Photos by Tom Rivers
BURT – Albion students in the multicultural clubs at the elementary and high schools visited Murphy Orchards last Friday. The Niagara County farm on McClew Road was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The students are shown entering the barn at Murphy Orchards, which owner Xander Murphy said is largely unchanged from the Underground Railroad era in 1850 to 1861.
A concealed chamber in the barn remains. A ladder leads to a room that is 12 feet below ground.
The Murphy family and historians are unsure if the concealed room was originally built to hide people escaping slavery or for McClew family members to hide from invading British soldiers or hostile Native Americans. An archeological investigation is underway to help solve that mystery.
Charles and Anna Maria McClew were active in humanitarian work along the Underground Railroad from 1850 to 1861. After the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850 (when Buffalo native Millard Fillmore was president), the federal government allowed bounty hunters to track down runaway slaves in the North and return them to their owners in the South.
If the runaway slaves could make it to Canada, they would be free. Orleans and Niagara counties were a popular route along the Underground Railroad, as runaway slaves, often led by Harriet Tubman and other conductors, travelled along the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario shoreline, working their way to Canada, Murphy told the students.
The farm in Burt was a popular spot on the Underground Railroad. It was out in the country and people could move at night, less likely to be detected by the bounty hunters.
Murphy said some farmers would transport escaped slaves in horse-drawn wagons. Some of the farmers and other residents opened up their homes and barns for the runaway slaves, feeding them and giving them a place to rest before the next stop on their journey.
“People like the McClews stood up to bullies,” Murphy told the students in the multicultural clubs. “If we could all stand up to injustice, the world would be a better place.”
Students walk from a barn through an orchard to reach Hopkins Creek, a popular route used by runaway slaves about 160 years ago.
There were 21 students from Albion on the tour on Friday, as well as parent chaperones and the club advisors, Carmen Rose Brittan in the elementary school and Della Morales in the high school.
Xander Murphy, right, leads the students to Hopkins Creek. Escaped slaves would likely follow the creek to the Lake Ontario shoreline and then head west to Niagara Falls.
Murphy said many of the runaway slaves only had their feet covered in cloths or they were barefoot. Often they travelled at night, walking through streams as they moved closer to Canada.
Jeremiah Knight provides a steady hand to an Albion student who wanted to touch the water in Hopkins Creek.
Murphy said students were walking on the same ground, seeing the same stones and much of the same landscape as the runaway slaves.
