By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was given a tour of CRFS this afternoon by Sean Snook, the company’s chief operating officer.
CRFS moved into the former Chase site over a year ago and now has about 600 employees workers out of the site on East Avenue. The company also has about 50 employees that work out of San Antonio, Texas.
“For a county this size to have all of these employees is just awesome,” Hochul said on the tour. “This is a great success story for this county.”
CRFS was started by company founder Jodi Gaines with two employees in 2002. Gaines had been working in the claims department for Dime Bank, which was acquired by Washington Mutual. WaMu phased out the claims department.
Gaines wanted to stay in claims and started her own company. She and her staff learned the regulations in all 50 states and rapidly took on more clients. CRFS employees work with attorneys, county clerks, utility companies and investors from all over the country. CRFS works to recover past-due interest, unpaid principal, unpaid taxes and unpaid insurance on houses.
Kathy Hochul, the lieutenant governor, listens to CRFS human resources director Dan Zatkos, center, and Sean Snook, the company’s chief operating officer.
The company’s latest expansion came when Chase closed its Albion site, eliminating 413 jobs from the community in June 2013, leaving a 60,000-square-foot building empty.
Gaines and CRFS in September 2013 committed to moving into the site, putting its Orleans County sites under one roof and giving the company room to grow. (Gaines was driving back from Buffalo to meet with Hochul today but was delayed due to traffic and the bad weather.)
“I remember when Chase was leaving,” said Hochul, a former congresswoman. “It was a scary time.”
Zatkos said 80 percent of the workforce at the site is within a 15-minute drive of Albion.
The company continues to look for opportunities to grow the business, Zatkos told Hochul.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul touts a $500 million plan to expand broadband Internet access throughout the state during a stop in Albion at Hoag Library today. The plan is part of the governor’s budget proposal and “Opportunity Agenda.” Hochul also shared details for boosting the economy, fighting poverty, enacting educational reforms, mitigating property tax increases and adopting new ethics reforms in Albany.
ALBION – David Callard said it was “historic” day for Orleans County today when Kathy Hochul, the state’s lieutenant governor, visited the county. Hochul didn’t just make a quick stop and deliver a speech.
She sat down in the conference room at the legislative chambers in the County Clerks Building before giving her speech. She wanted to hear from county officials and other local leaders about issues in the community.
Callard is the Legislature chairman. He has been on the County Legislature for more than 20 years. Seldom does a lieutenant governor stop in the county. Hochul’s successor, Robert Duffy, didn’t make any official stops in Orleans the previous four years. Duffy lived close by. He is the former Rochester mayor.
After giving a half-hour speech at the library, highlighting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal, Hochul also stopped for a tour of CRFS, a site with 600 employees in Albion. (Hochul also stopped at the Village House for about 20 minutes with the Orleans Hub editor to discuss issues in the community.)
Callard appreciated that Hochul wanted to hear from many in the community.
“This is probably a first when the lieutenant governor has visited the county and also visited with the Legislature,” Callard said. “We have a very good rapport with the lieutenant governor.”
Hochul represented the county as part of a seven-county Congressional District. Hochul, a Democrat, lost a close election to Chris Collins in a Republican-dominated district in November 2012. She said she is thankful to Gov. Cuomo for giving her the opportunity to return to public service.
She noted that she was in Orleans County 52 times during her 18 months in Congress. She said she sees “tremendous opportunity” in Orleans with the Erie Canal, “charming downtowns” and a historic flavor that could draw more tourists and small businesses.
David Callard
During her visit with the local officials, Callard said the group pushed for Broadband funding for the county, better maintenance of canal bridges and state roads, more regulation for “zombie houses,” where properties are foreclosed by banks but left in limbo. Those houses, often left to rot with no contact person, have devalued nearby properties as well, Callard said.
Callard and Eileen Banker, a trustee for the Village of Albion, also asked Hochul to look into the disparity of state aid between villages and similar-size small cities.
The villages only get about $7 per capita in state aid while small cities typically get $100 to $150 in aid per capita.
“It’s disproportionate,” Callard said.
The county officials would like to see the state assume more of the Medicaid cost, easing that burden from county governments, which would result in lower county property taxes, Callard said.
Orleans and Niagara counties have been working together to bring high-speed Internet access to underserved rural pockets of the counties. Internet providers have submitted proposals for the work.
The cooperative effort between the two counties over the past few years comes at an opportune time when the governor wants $500 million of the $5 billion in bank settlement funds devoted to Broadband.
Cuomo wants Internet download speeds available at 100 megabits per second. Nowhere in Orleans County does that speed currently exist. According to state data, all but 6 percent or 2,383 of the county’s 42,883 people have access to Internet service with at least 6 megabits per second.
The governor wants the faster Internet service in place state-wide by Jan. 1, 2019, which will be a “major undertaking” especially in the mountainous rural areas, Hochul said.
“The governor is committed to give our businesses, our schools and our people a competitive advantage,” Hochul said.
She visited the county today after being invited by Callard during a recent Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council meeting in Rochester. Callard was pleased to see Hochul seize the chance to connect with local officials and present the governor’s policy initiatives.
“She has been and is a friend of Orleans County,” Callard said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There were a few protestors on Main Street in front of Hoag Library in Albion today when Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited and discussed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal.
These protestors from New York Revolution stated their opposition to New York’s gun control law known as the SAFE Act. Shawn Lembke, leader of New York Revolution in Niagara County, holds the sign saying Cuomo should go to prison.
New York Revolution members today were protesting the SAFE Act and also the governor’s plan to provide $25 million in college assistance to undocumented immigrants.
Orleans Hub will have more on Hochul’s visit to Albion.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Some of the snow on the courthouse lawn in Albion hangs over the stone wall along Platt Street.
After a brief break from the deep cold, Orleans County residents should brace themselves for more punishing cold.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning beginning at 12 a.m. tonight and going until 10 a.m. Friday.
The wind chill could fall to 15 to 20 below tonight, 20 to 25 below on Thursday and it could plummet to 35 below on Thursday night.
“Dangerous cold and potentially life threatening wind chills will be possible by Thursday night,” the National Weather Service said. “This could lead to frostbite and hypothermia if you are not dressed properly.”
The windchill warning applies to all of western and central New York.
Today is forecast for a high of 21 degrees with a low of 2. On Thursday it will only reach 2 degrees with a low of minus 5, followed by a high of 6 degrees and a low of 5 on Friday. It will warm up on the weekend with a high of 28 on Saturday and 27 on Sunday, according to the Weather Service.
Photos by Tom Rivers – This photo shows apples in an orchard in September at the corner of East State Street and Butts Road in Albion.
Press Release
NY Governor’s Office
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced that New York is once again the second highest producer of apples and the third highest producer of grapes in the nation, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
New York produced an estimated 1.26 billion pounds of apples and 188,000 tons of grapes last year, combining for a total $358.4 million crop. The standings come on the heels of a series of record agriculture harvests and unprecedented international recognition of New York’s agriculture products over the last four years.
“New York is home to some of the best agricultural products in the world, and these numbers show that this state remains a national leader,” Cuomo said. “A sustainable farming sector not only grows the economy and creates jobs, but also makes it clear that New York is open for business.”
With these estimates, only California and Washington exceed New York in grape production and only Washington produced more apples than the Empire State last year. The growth of the wine industry in particular was cited as a factor in New York’s naming of “Wine Region of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine last October. Other factors included the quality of wines and greatly improved business climate – particularly over the last four years with Gov. Cuomo’s support.
Paul Schwenk checks over the vidal grapes during the 2013 harvest at his vineyard in Kent. Schwenk uses a 1960 Oliver tractor to haul the crop.
According to USDA Statistics Service, New York is home to 40,000 acres of apple orchards. Apple growers produced an average of 31,500 pounds per acre of apples. Last year’s crop totaled $289 million, a 22 percent increase from 2013.
New York is also home to 37,000 acres dedicated to the production of grapes. In the wake of a very harsh winter following the best crop in the state’s history, grape growers produced 5.08 tons per acre of grapes in 2014 with crop production totaling $69.4 million.
“Our apple and grape industries are symbols of excellence within New York agriculture and I congratulate both industries on their successes in 2014,” said State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball. “When agriculture does well, the New York economy does well. I see nothing but a bright future for agriculture here in New York State.”
Governor Cuomo’s Taste NY program has promoted the New York apple industry at Thruway rest stops and physical Taste NY stores located across the state, as well as through cider tastings at industry events such as the annual International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse. Many apple orchards and cideries also proudly display the Pride of NY label on their products.
In October 2013, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation making a new license available to farm cideries that use crops grown exclusively in New York State. The new law has opened new opportunities for the state’s apple industry while creating 11 farm cideries across New York.
New York apples have year-round availability in more than 20 varieties, including Cortland, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, RubyFrost and Zestar. According to the New York Apple Association, one medium apple (about 80 calories) provides one-fifth of dietary fiber requirements for cardiovascular and digestive health and contains no fat, sodium or cholesterol.
“We might be number two in national apple production, but New York has the best growing conditions and best tasting apples in the country,” said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association. “That puts us number one in the hearts of consumers from around the world. Snow may be on the ground, but New York apples, ciders and other apple products are available at food establishments throughout the year.”
According to a recent economic impact study commissioned by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the grape, grape juice and wine industry has a $4.8 billion economic impact and attracts 5.3 million tourists annually to the New York State. The industry supports 25,000 full-time jobs with wages amounting to more than $1.4 billion.
“The 2014 New York grape crop turned out a lot better than many people expected after the extreme cold of three ‘polar vortex’ events upstate during the winter, followed by a relatively cool spring and summer,” said Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. “But September turned out to be pure magic for ripening, so the quality was superb and the quantity was larger than envisioned earlier. Tonnage was 9 percent below the previous year, but that’s because 2013 was the largest harvest on record. All in all, it was a very good year.”
New York has ranked second in apple production every year since 1996 and third in grape production every year since 1987, with an exception in 1996 when the state ranked second. New York State also traditionally ranks in the top ten nationally in the production of blueberries, peaches, pears, strawberries, sweet cherries and tart cherries. In 2014, the state ranked fourth in pear production, fifth in tart cherries, eighth in sweet cherries, ninth in strawberries, and eleventh in peaches and blueberries.
Provided photo – This photograph shows Sgt. Leo J. Grabowski, a prisoner of war in World War II with two Japanese guards. The one standing is likely Watanabe, known as “The Bird” in the film “Unbroken.”
Press Release, GCC
BATAVIA – Although the film “Unbroken” was not nominated for Best Picture for this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony scheduled on Feb. 22, the story of a American soldier surviving a World War II Japanese prisoner of war camp resonated with Edward Grabowski and his Introduction to Criminal Justice students at Genesee Community College.
While the film captures the extraordinary life and survival of Louis Zamperini, Grabowski’s father survived the horrors of a Japanese POW camp, and experienced his own hellish encounters with some of the guards, including the notorious Watanabe, the brutal guard known as “The Bird” who tortured and killed many prisoners.
When Ed Grabowski of Medina happened to mention this coincidence to his students, they wanted to know more. And when he told them he had a photograph of his father standing behind two Japanese guards – one likely “The Bird” – his students wanted to see it.
“They found it interesting so I brought in some of the historic materials about my father to share,” said Grabowski, who is an attorney with an office in Medina.
The photograph taken by a French photographer shows Leo J. Grabowski standing in a doorway unnoticed by the two prison guards who are in the foreground holding their rifles.
“I am 99 percent sure that the guard standing is Watanabe,” Grabowski stated. “My father said he would have been brutally beaten by those guards if they had known he was in the photograph.”
Sergeant Leo Grabowski served in the U.S. Army from 1932 through 1945, and was one of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor as part of the 31st Infantry at Fort Santiago in Manila.
Captured by the Japanese, Grabowski survived the 60-mile Bataan Death March through the Philippine jungles to Camp O’Donnell. From there he was among the thousands transferred in overloaded freight cars, and he was eventually shipped to Mitsushima, a prisoner of war camp northwest of Tokyo where prisoners provided slave labor to construct the Hiraoka Dam.
Like Zamperini in “Unbroken,” Grabowski senior made it home bearing the scars of a POW, but he put together a meaningful post-war life with a career and having a family, including three children. His youngest son, Edward, spent 27 years teaching criminal justice at BOCES, and is now adjunct faculty member at GCC.
Upon request, he reflects on his father’s military distinctions with quiet pride, sharing a little of that tortured past through books, photos and clippings from decades-old newspapers. In doing so, he is giving his students a sense of world history, not from the silver screen of Hollywood or a text book, but from the connection of family and the bond of father and son.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Orleans County Courthouse is a silhouette on Monday morning when the temperatures hovered around 0.
Orleans County and Western New York is getting a respite from dangerously cold temperatures today with a high forecast at 16 degrees.
But the harsh cold will be back on Wednesday and will continue through early Saturday. The National Weather Service in Buffalo is warning of hazardous weather conditions in the coming days with lake effect snow along the Lake Ontario shoreline from Wednesday night through Friday.
“Significant localized accumulations will be possible, especially across Orleans and Monroe counties,” the Weather Service said.
The deep freeze will be back on Wednesday when the low temperatures will fall to 1 degree, followed by a high of 2 on Thursday with a low of minus 7, according to the Weather Service. On Friday, the high will be 8 with a low of 2 degrees. The wind chill could be below 30 from Wednesday through Friday, the Weather Service said.
Saturday will provide some relief from the punishing cold. The high temperature is forecast to reach 25 degrees.
Some icicles hang on the roof of the Catholic Church’s lyceum on Main Street in Albion in this photo taken on Sunday morning, when many churches were closed due to dangerously cold temperatures.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Orleans County judge will decide on Thursday if hunting competition will go on
Photo by Tom Rivers – Richard Brummel walks out of the Orleans County Courthouse today at about 5 p.m. after filing an injunction to stop the Holley Squirrel Slam, saying the hunting event damages the environment.
ALBION – A Long Island man filed an injunction in Orleans County today, seeking to stop the “Squirrel Slam” run by the Holley Fire Department.
Richard Brummel made the trip across the state and arrived in the courthouse at about 4:20 p.m. He filed the injunction in the courthouse and county clerk’s office. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch is expected to make his decision on Thursday morning, whether the Squirrel Slam will go on or not.
The Squirrel Slam has been criticized by animal rights’ groups. Some protestors on behalf of Friends of Animals have protested the last two Squirrel Slams in late February. Some state legislators have proposed legislation to ban hunting contests where participants shoot animals.
Participants in last year’s Squirrel Slam on Feb. 22, 2014, carry squirrels to the Holley fire hall to be weighed.
Brummel filed the injunction on behalf Lauren Sheive of Williamson in Wayne County. Brummel said he tried to get financing for the legal action from Friends of Animals, but was turned down.
Brummel said he is an environmental activist. He believes he has a compelling argument to stop the Squirrel Slam, or at least move to a different time of year when squirrels are less likely to be pregnant.
Brummel argues in the legal papers that the Holley Fire Department fails to comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act with the hunting contest. (Last year’s event sold out with 650 people buying tickets. Each team of two hunters can kill a maximum of five squirrels for the contest. Prizes are awarded to hunters with the heaviest squirrels. The event raises about $4,000 in profit for the fire department.)
Brummel argues the event damages the environment – “large quantities of vegetation or fauna (animals).” The Holley Fire Department has failed to address that environmental impact with the hunt, Brummel said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2015 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The Hoag Library Board of Trustees last week approved a 2015 budget that stays under the tax cap and will go before voters on May 19.
The $698,601 budget increases spending by 2.2 percent or by $14,941 from the $683,660 approved for 2014. However, the amount of taxes collected to support the library would increase by 1.6 percent or by $10,551 from $669,860 to $680,411.
Most of the spending increase can be attributed to the $10,000 in “transition costs” for selling the former Swan Library and clearing out the historic building. The library has incurred legal costs, and expects it will hire a professional mover and will need to rent storage units for some of the valuable items that remain in the Swan building.
The library expects to close on selling the building next month for $53,000 from Chad Fabry of Holley. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down the mortgage on the Hoag Library, which opened in July 2012.
The library budget reduces payroll from $278,337 to $269,384. Social Security and Medicare would rise from a budgeted $17,256 in 2014 to $24,550 this year.
The library budgeted $61,000 for new library books in 2014, but only spent $37,698. The 2015 budget sets aside $50,000 for new books.
The vote for the budget will be from noon to 8 p.m. on May 19 at the elementary school.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2015 at 12:00 am
State aid was paid over 15 years, instead of 20
MEDINA – The school district has some big bills to pay, nearly $1.7 million a year over four years beginning in 2017-18.
Medina took out $23.8 million in debt service for a capital project around 2000. State building aid would cover $16,763,234 of the project with the local share at $6,609,474. Aid on the costs of the bond issuance would generate another $459,579.
The state payments were to be spread over 20 years because the project was new construction. However, the paperwork with the state Education Department labeled the project reconstruction, which turned it into a 15-year schedule for state aid.
The state has paid its share, but it paid it five years early, David Boyle, the district’s interim business administrator, advised the Board of Education.
The district still needs to pay the final five years of debt service. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, Medina’s local share on the debt service will be $41,480 and then $43,805, respectively, Boyle said.
However, that payment will jump to $1,698,543 in 2017-18, $1,693,350 the following year, $1,668,081 in 2019-20, and then $1,665,625 in 2020-21. Those payments will need to be made without an influx of state aid.
Boyle advised the Board of Education and school officials to take stock of reserve funds and fund balance to help with what he called the upcoming “fiscal cliff.” Some of the higher-than-expected state aid over the 15 years helped the district build up its reserves and fund balance.
The district will also need to factor in those four big debt payments as it plans two budgets before the first large payment is due.
“We caught it now and we can deal with it now,” Boyle said. “We’ll try to ease into the cliff so it’s not a cliff.”
Boyle said the district needs long-range planning for its finances, and a multi-year approach for tackling the debt payments.
Board of Education members agreed and said they would work with the business administrator and Superintendent Jeff Evoy for a long-range plan for finances.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
The Lenten season kicks off tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. For 40 days many Christians will try to give up some indulgences, including gorging on richer, fatty foods.
With a day before the start of Lent, some churches served up pancakes this evening as part of “Shrove Tuesday,” also known as “Fat Tuesday” in New Orleans.
In the top photo, Kevin Doherty at Christ Episcopal Church in Albion has pancakes on the grill as part of a church dinner.
The Episcopal church will host Lenten lunches in Albion starting next Wednesday through the Easter season.
Georgia Thomas works in the kitchen during a pancake dinner at the Millville United Methodist Church. Millville and Knowlesville United Methodist churches are part of a merged congregation with two church locations. The Knowlesville site will serve fish fries on Fridays up until Easter. The first one is this Friday.
The Presbyterian Church in Medina hosts Lenten luncheons on Thursdays with churches in the Medina area taking turns preparing the meal.
Cathy Rosenberg pours maple syrups into bottles as part of the pancake dinner at the Millville church, which served 97 meals this evening.
ROCHESTER, NY – The following local residents made the Dean’s List for fall 2014-2015 semester at Rochester Institute of Technology:
Michael Fischer of Albion, is a second-year student in the chemical engineering program in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.
Alyssa Hering of Albion, is a second-year student in the diagnostic medical sonography program in RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology.
Rebecca Atwell of Albion, is a fourth-year student in the diagnostic medical sonography program in RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology.
James Cooper of Albion, is a third-year student in the mechanical engineering technology program in RIT’s College of Applied Science and Technology.
Kyle Appleman of Albion, is a third-year student in the mechanical engineering program in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.
Roland Sanford of Albion, is a third-year student in the physics program in RIT’s College of Science.
Steven Dill of Holley, is a third-year student in the game design and development program in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.
Michael Pernicano of Holley, is a third-year student in the international hospitality and service management program in RIT’s College of Applied Science and Technology.
Jessica Dill of Holley, is a fifth-year student in the mechanical engineering program in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.
Raquel Roberts of Kent, is a fourth-year student in the biomedical sciences program in RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology.
Daniel Marek of Lyndonville, is a fourth-year student in the management information systems program in RIT’s Saunders College of Business.
William Barber of Medina, is a fourth-year student in the film and animation program in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
Jonas Hartway of Medina, is a third-year student in the illustration program in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
Erika Edwards of Waterport, is a second-year student in the interior design program in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
Degree-seeking undergraduate students are eligible for Dean’s List if their term GPA is greater than or equal to 3.400; they do not have any grades of “Incomplete”, “D” or “F”; and they have registered for, and completed, at least 12 credit hours.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 February 2015 at 7:58 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A two-car accident resulted in minor injuries at about 6:45 p.m. on Route 31A, just east of Route 98.
Albion firefighters and Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies were on scene, along with Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance. COVA personnel were examining a woman who complained of pain in her wrist and arm.
(Katelynne Klossner wrote on the Orleans Hub Facebook page that she was in the accident and suffered a broken arm. Her car was also totaled, she said.)
The accident is under investigation. The slippery roads were likely a factor. Orleans County dispatch said a few drivers slid off the roads today when temperatures were either below 0 or in the single digits. It was 2 degrees out when firefighters, COVA and law enforcement responded to this call.
Dan Morrow, a member of the Albion Fire Department, directs traffic at the routes 31A and 98 intersection.
MEDINA – The Medina Winterguard competed for the first time this season on Saturday at Victor. Medina is in the Scholastic A class and they took second place with a score of 63.18 while Victor took first with a score of 70.81.
Medina’s Winterguard season began in November with auditions and practices. The Varsity Guard consists of 30 students in grades 7 – 12. Their show this year is “From Cocoons to Wings” with music selections from Aaron Copeland’s “Appalachian Spring.”
Winterguard is part of the marching band program and under the direction of Jim Steele and Cheri Pritchard. The show was designed by Vincent Monacelli and Kristen Costa, choreographed by Kristen Costa and Matt Winans and instructed by Diana Baker. Winans and Baker are both Medina alums.
Medina’s performance schedule includes Feb. 28 at Marcus Whitman, March 7 at Lancaster, March 14 Medina’s Home Show and March 21 in Holley. The championships are on Sunday, April 12, at SUC Brockport.
KNOWLESVILLE – The Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension recently picked its officers for 2015.
The slate includes Ed Neal, President; Erin Anheier, Vice President; Laura Bentley, Secretary; and Mike Zelazny, Treasurer. Also serving on the board are Gary Blackburn, Gary Davy, Chris Flansburg, Vince Flow III, Kathy Harling, Tim Kirby, Don O’Keefe, Charlie Pettit, and Pete Toenniessen along with County Legislature representatives Don Allport and E. John DeFilipps. Peter Landre, Cornell Cooperative Extension State Extension Specialist, serves as a liaison between the board and Cornell University.
The CCE Board of Directors set its meeting schedule for 2015 to be at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15, March 19, May 21, Aug. 20 and Oct. 15 in the Education Center at the 4-H Fairgrounds at 12690 State Route 31, Albion.
Election of board members takes place each year at the annual meeting. The 2015 OCCCE Annual Meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1 in the Trolley Building at the Fairgrounds. All meetings are open to community members in adherence with the Open Meetings Law.
Please contact the OCCCE Program Director, Jennifer Wagester, at 585-798-4265 or orleans@cornell.edu if you have an item for consideration at an upcoming board meeting. Information about OCCCE, including board and committee minutes, newsletters, and educational opportunities, can be found online by clicking here.
