By Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian
EAGLE HARBOR – This photo was taken in May 1959 at the two-room District Schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor. It was the last district school to operate in Orleans County.
Mrs. Mary Long, the teacher, stands in the back of one of the classrooms while 16 of her students work on a lesson.
ALBION – An Albion man, 24, could face state prison when he is sentenced on March 23.
Matthew Mudge admitted in Orleans County Court on Monday that he had a loaded .380 caliber automatic pistol on Aug. 16. Mudge acquired the pistol at a gun show, he told Orleans County Court Judge James Punch.
Mudge did not have a pistol permit. He was arrested on Aug. 16 for third-degree and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was charged following investigation of a “suspicious person” complaint on Bass Road in the Town of Carlton.
Mudge said he was lost in Carlton when he knocked on a door looking for directions. A deputy stopped him soon after and did a search, finding the pistol on Mudge.
Mudge could be sentenced to up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.
In other cases:
An Albion woman avoided jail and Probation after facing drug charges on April 1. Julie Hardy, 47, pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.
Judge Punch gave her a conditional discharge, saying her only condition is to not break the law for a year. She was arrested after cocaine was found in the pocket of a black leather coat in her room at her home during a police search. Hardy said the coat wasn’t hers.
Her husband, J.W. Hardy, faced more serious drug charges and was found guilty by a jury on Monday, following a trial.
Judge Punch said Mr. Hardy was orchestrating the drug activities at the house.
“Clearly you were not the main operator and were somewhat of a bystander,” the judge said during sentencing.
A woman from Ridgeland, SC, was arraigned on charges of grand larceny in the third and fourth degree. Carly S. Wells, 25, allegedly racked up $28,000 in fraudulent purchases and/or cash withdrawals on someone else’s credit card.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges. She is free on $50,000 bail.
A Lyndonville man pleaded guilty to violating terms of his Probation. He could face up to 7 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 9.
Joseph R. Hagen, 31, was charged in October with harassment for pushing and threatening to kill a person, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
In court on Monday, Hagen admitted to pushing his wife, failing to report to numerous Probation appointments, traveling to Florida without Probation permission, moving in October without notifying Probation of a change in his address, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and not paying restitution since October.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Craig Lacy addresses Medina village officials on Monday during a public hearing. The group includes, from left: Village Clerk Debbie Padoleski, Village Trustee Mark Kruzynski, Trustee Marguerite Sherman, Mayor Andrew Meier, Trustee Mike Sidari and Trustee Mark Irwin.
MEDINA – The Village Board approved two local laws on Monday, one that establishes a 15-minute parking space on North Main Street in front of Napa Auto Parts and another law that regulates temporary storage shelters.
Craig Lacy, owner of Napa, said his customers are often frustrated with the parking situation near the store at 345 North Main St. The village has a 2-hour parking limit on Main Street, but many vehicles seem to be there much longer, making it a challenge for merchants, Lacy said.
His store and others on North Main Street don’t have the option to park behind the building, freeing up space on Main Street. He tries to point some customers to a lot in the Canal Basin, but customers prefer being closer to the store.
Lacy requested two 15-minute parking spots and the Village Board voted to give him one from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Trustee Marguerite Sherman said Lacy’s building is in an unusual spot at an intersection with a bump-out.
“There is a need for something,” she said about the parking situation. “I can feel for what Mr. Lacy has to say. You hate to open up a can of worms, but something needs to be done to help out.”
The board approved the 15-minute spot and Mayor Andrew Meier said the board would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis. Meier said Lacy faces competition from the chain auto parts stores that have their own parking lots.
The board and Medina Business Association said they would again remind downtown business owners and their employees to park behind their buildings if possible and use municipal lots to free up space on Main Street.
Police Chief Jose Avila reported to the board that the police enforce parking laws, and wrote 180 parking tickets throughout the village last year.
The board also approved a law for temporary storage containers – Pods and shipping containers – that are becoming increasingly popular.
Some of these containers stay on sites for months, resulting in deteriorating appearance in property and in complaints, village officials said.
The new regulations for temporary storage containers establish them as portable storage units without a permanent foundation. They may include cargo containers, truck trailers, construction trailers and bulk solid waste containers.
The village is limiting sites to a maximum of two cargo containers for no more than 60 days per calendar year. If homeowners suffer a fire or flood and need the container longer, they can seek a demolition or building permit with the cargo container to be removed a week after the demo or building permit expires.
The regulation proposes similar standards for portable storage containers and establishes setback requirements.
Semi-truck trailers are limited to commercial or residential sites. Construction trailers are allowed in commercial, residential and industrial sites but must be removed a week after a building permit expires or certificate of occupancy is issued.
Bulk solid waste containers are allowed for up to 45 days in a year. They must be kept at least 5 feet from side and rear property lines and at least 10 feet from front property lines, according to the new regulation.
By Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian
ALBION – In this picture from the early 1950s, an unidentified woman at left talks about a work of art with Albion art teachers. They are, left to right: Mary Poland, Doreen Sundell and Geraldine Larwood.
MEDINA – The Board of Education will take comments from the community on Tuesday about whether the district should adopt a tax exemption for veterans.
School districts can offer up to a 15 percent reduction in assessed value on property owned by veterans who served during a time of war. They may receive another 10 percent if they served in combat zones.
If a veteran was approved for a 15 percent exemption that would save them $349 for a house assessed at $100,000. (The school district’s tax rate is $23.31 per $1,000 of assessed property.)
Districts also have the option of giving veterans a reduction based on service-related disabilities. For example, a veteran with 100 percent disability could get a 50 percent property tax reduction.
The Board of Education will have a public hearing on the issue at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Board Room located at the District Office, One Mustang Drive.
The district has estimated the impacts of the Alternative Veterans’ Tax Exemption for other property owners.
On a $100,000 home, with the minimum or lowest option, the estimated increase for a non-veteran would be a $32.00 or 1.37 percent tax shift. If the maximum exemption was offered, nonveterans would see a $51.00 or 2.19 percent increase in their taxes, according to school officials.
Approving the exemption would also reduce the STAR payments for district residents. The STAR is applied after other exemptions are factored.
The district is expected to discuss those impacts at Tuesday’s meeting.
ALBION – An 18-year-old from Medina who sent threatening text messages last May, saying he would kill other students, was sentenced to six months in county jail today.
Mackenzie Barrett on Oct. 20 pleaded guilty today to making a terrorist threat, which carried a maximum of 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison. As part of a plea deal, Barrett faced a maximum of one year in jail.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch gave Barrett half of the maximum sentence as part of the plea. Punch said Barrett showed no signs of following through with the threat, which was sent in text messages to a friend.
Punch said Barrett has an “extremely limited criminal history.”
Barrett was suffering from depression, anxiety and was being bullied at school, his attorney Dominic Saraceno said during sentencing today.
“He did something incredibly stupid (by sending those threatening text messages),” Saraceno said.
Barrett has been in jail the past eight months. He was free to go today, but first had to report to Probation. He will be on Probation the next five years. Punch told Barrett he is not to send any offensive electronic communications and won’t be permitted to possess weapons or ammunition.
The judge denied youthful offender status for Barrett, which would have sealed his record.
“I’m expecting you to deal with your problems,” the judge told Barrett. “If anything like this happens again, state prison is the only option.”
Barrett apologized for the threatening messages in May, and the panic that resulted in the community.
“I didn’t think of the consequences when I did it,” he said. “It was just spur of the moment.”
Barrett may have taken no steps to follow through with the threat, but Punch said the issue was serious, and was emotionally and financially costly to the community.
“We have to take threats seriously,” the judge said. “You can’t just sweep them under the rug.”
Photo by Tom Rivers – Jonathan Higgins, a captain with Medina Fire Department, speaks to the Village Board tonight, asking the group to pursue a federal for more firefighters.
MEDINA – The Village Board will pursue a federal grant to add staff for the Fire Department. Whether the village will seek two or four full-time firefighters remains to be decided.
Jonathan Higgins, a captain with the Medina FD, presented the grant program to the board during today’s board meeting. The federal Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grants would cover firefighters’ salary, benefits and retirement contributions for three years, as long as Medina maintains its existing staffing levels of 13 full-time firefighters.
The department also has two temporary paid positions. Those spots could be made full-time without the temporary status as part of the grant, Higgins said. He would the department to add four staff, making the two temporary part of the regular paid crew and adding two more.
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier wants to pursue the grant, but he isn’t convinced the village should go after four more paid positions. He worries if the community could afford the salaries after the grant expires in three years.
Medina isn’t obligated to continue the positions after three years.
The village tried for the SAFER grant last year and sought two positions. It wasn’t approved for the grant. Higgins believes the Fire Department has a compelling case for the grant.
The department responded to nearly 3,000 calls last year. The Fire Department went from six to 13 full-time staff in 2006 when it took over the ambulance service in western Orleans from Rural Metro.
The Fire Department estimated then that there would be approximately 1,500 annual calls for service. Last year it responded to 2,986 calls. The call volume has been growing about 200 calls a year since the village become primary ambulance providers for western Orleans.
“If we keep increasing our calls by 200 we’ll be drowning,” Higgins told the Village Board.
He said the department’s application would have a better chance for approval by seeking four firefighters, rather than two.
The Village Board agreed to pay $1,800 to Grantmasters Inc. in Lewiston to write the grant, which is due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency by March 6.
The board, however, wants more time to decide whether to seek two or four firefighter positions. Meier said the department may not be able to offset 17 full-time positions through ambulance-generated revenue.
“I see four firefighters as being a very tough pill for the community to swallow,” Meier said.
Higgins said the increasing call volume has generated larger than expected revenues for the fire department. The village in October also approved higher mileage reimbursement rates for the ambulance (from $20 to $30) and a $50 out-of-district surcharge for calls outside western Orleans.
Over a full year, Higgins said those charges should add another $250,000 in revenue for the department.
The Village Board voted to start the grant application process, while Meier and the fire department look at revenues and costs for the department, trying to project the future.
If the village is approved for the grant, the new firefighters likely wouldn’t be hired until early 2016 with the grant covering their salaries until early 2019.
ALBION – An Albion man with a criminal history dating back nearly four decades was sentenced today to 10 years in state prison for several drug crimes.
Charles G. Ingram, 59, was arrested last April 1 along with 15 others following a six-month investigation into the sale and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, prescription narcotics and marijuana in the village of Albion, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported then.
Ingram’s case went to trial and he was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 31. Today he was sentenced for two counts each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, as well as one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.
Charles Ingram
His attorney Kevin McKain said Ingram’s more recent crimes included “minuscule sales, very small sales” with Ingram acting as the middle man.
“He certainly was not profiting greatly from these sales,” McKain said during sentencing this afternoon.
Ingram has a long history of crack cocaine use and alcohol abuse, and has used his criminal actions to pay for his addictions, McKain said.
Ingram also suffers from diabetes and had his left leg amputated since he was jailed last April.
District Attorney Joe Cardone said Ingram has a lengthy criminal history since 1975, with repeated convictions for narcotics sales.
Ingram has served four prison terms since 1975, adding up to 32 years behind bars.
When he was most recently arrested, he was living at 175 North Main St., Room No. 20.
County Court Judge James Punch gave Ingram 10 years in state prison.
“You’ve been profiting from these sales for a long time,” the judge told Ingram at sentencing. “You’ve been doing this type of thing and other crimes for decades.”
ALBION – The union representing workers at the former Orleans County nursing home announced the employees have approved a contract with the site’s new owner, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services.
Comprehensive purchased the 120-bed Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, effective Jan. 1. The company paid $7.8 million for the facility on Route 31.
Chautauqua County also sold its nursing home in Dunkirk to a private company, VestraCare.
CSEA employees at both the Albion and Dunkirk sites approved five-year labor deals with the new owners of the nursing homes.
“These companies have shown a commitment to the residents and to the workers,” said CSEA Western Region President Flo Tripi. “They came into negotiations sharing our goals, and they honored the workers’ experience and dedication to quality care.”
Both contracts provide wages comparable to former agreements. They also retain the former county employees’ seniority, offer health insurance and provide other terms and conditions geared toward maintaining an experienced and dedicated staff for the residents.
“VestraCare and Comprehensive Healthcare know that quality care will suffer if you lose good, long-term workers and replace them with low-paid, inexperienced staff,” said CSEA Private Sector Director Bob Compani. “These companies are not willing to punish good workers for profit. They are looking to make changes the right way, to continue to provide quality care and to protect middle class jobs.”
Press Release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley
ALBION – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) has been reappointed as Assistant Minority Leader as well as Minority Ranker of the Assembly’s Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Hawley also announced that he was reappointed to the Agriculture, Insurance and Ways and Means Committees.
“I am honored to serve in our conference’s leadership once again,” Hawley said. “Our members and leadership are tremendously devoted to crafting the best public policy possible and I am motivated to get back to work. Furthermore, as a veteran, I am proud to serve as Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. I have always sought to protect the rights of veterans and advocate for them in Albany. My years in the military have given me the knowledge and experience to meaningfully contribute to the policy process. I look forward to heading back to Albany to continue working for veterans during this year’s session.”
Hawley, a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves, has served in the State Legislature since 2006 and as Assistant Minority Leader since 2013. The 2015 Legislative Session opened on Jan. 7, when members took their oaths of office in the Assembly Chamber. Assembly members Sheldon Silver and Brian Kolb were elected to the positions of Speaker and Minority Leader, respectively.
Photos by Tom Rivers
BARRE – A new resident to the Town of Barre suffered minor injuries in an accident at about 11 a.m. today in Barre, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Judith Sumption recently moved from Illinois to East Barre Road, deputies said. She was traveling eastbound on East Barre Road when she lost control of her vehicle near Cushing Road. The vehicle slid off the road and came to a rest near a row of small trees.
She was transported to Strong West in Brockport by the Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance in Albion.
Deputy Brian Larkin looks over the scene.
By Bill Lattin, Orleans County Historian
MEDINA – Can our readers recognize this fine red brick residence in a photo from the 1930s? The house remains today, although without the awnings and screened-in porch.
Our clue is in the lower right corner. Note the old-fashioned cast-iron road signs, and notice what they state: “Niagara Falls †’ 41, Lockport †’ 18, Gasport †’ 11, Middleport †’ 5, 45 † Rochester, 20 † Holley, 11 † Albion.”
The road signs could only have been in one place. Our answer is: East Center Street at the head of State Street diagonally across from State Street Park in Medina. You know, where all the Christmas decorations are displayed.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Former Village of Medina Trustee Owen Toale, left, and current Trustee Mike Sidari share their views on why they oppose dissolution of the village government, which goes to a vote on Jan. 20.
MEDINA – Two sides, one for dissolving the Village of Medina government and the other in favor of keeping it, shared their views during a debate on Orleans Radio this afternoon.
Dissolution opponents say Medina Mayor Andrew Meier has pushed too hard and too fast for dissolution before exhausting possibilities of shared services and cooperation with the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby.
Village Trustee Mike Sidari and former Village Trustee Owen Toale say dissolution would result in less services for villages residents, and they are doubtful they would see much tax savings.
“I’m disappointed we basically had this dissolution vote shoved down our throats,” Toale said in the debate. (Click here to be directed to Orleans Radio, and then click on the podcast to hear the debate.)
Meier and OneMedina leader Dean Bellack spoke for dissolution, which goes before village voters on Jan. 20 from noon to 9 a.m. at the Senior Center.
The village has suffered from falling tax assessments, a shrinking population and rising tax rates, the two said.
Meier said the village government is an unsustainable model. A dissolution plan would preserve existing services while reducing the tax rate in the village by $6 per $1,000 of assessed property.
(The vote on Jan. 20 will be whether or not the village should dissolve, and won’t be about a specific plan.)
OneMedina leader Dean Bellack, left, and Medina Mayor Andrew Meier both spoke in favor of the village dissolution, saying it would reduce taxes, making the community more attractive for residents and businesses.
The village has been forced to pare back some services and cut back on employees in recent years, Meier said. He only sees more reductions without a major change in how the services are provided.
“We will see declining services and staff until we fix this problem,” he said.
The $54 overall tax rate in the village is the highest in the Finger Lakes region. It is a major disincentive for investment and retaining and attracting residents and businesses, Bellack said. Meier said the high tax rate in the village has trapped the community “in a downward spiral.”
Bellack said dissolution would be a first step in reducing government costs and drawing more state aid for the community. If the village dissolves, OneMedina will then push to have the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway consolidate into one. That would provide a more efficient government, and also give the community more clout, Bellack said.
Without dissolution and its promise of reduced taxes, Bellack only sees more decline in the village. He also worries for the current village workforce with the existing village model.
“If I were a village employee I am working for a municipality that is running out of money,” Bellack said.
Sidari believes there can be savings with more shared services, perhaps through code enforcement and clerk functions, as well as highway duties.
Meier said there won’t be significant savings by “tinkering” with shared services. The village will still be stuck in a model that oppresses village residents, he said.
Sidari said the village should press for more state funding through Aid and Incentives to Municipalities. Villages only get $7 per capita in AIM while cities get an average of $277 per capita. Sidari would like to see all of the local municipalities pass resolutions, and see if a movement can spread around the state for fair treatment in AIM for the villages.
“We’re not going to get anything if we don’t ask for it,” Sidari said. “It’s time to fight for what is ours.”
Meier said dissolution would provide $541,000 annually in new state aid. That is a state law to encourage dissolution, he said.
Toale and Sidari both said they have misgivings if the state would come through each year with that money.
Dissolution also would provide $277,000 in efficiency savings, which is less than 3 percent of the village and two towns’ budgets. That is a narrow margin, dissolution opponents said.
Bellack and Meier both see more savings through attrition as employees retire and village debt is paid down.
If the dissolution vote fails on Jan. 20, it can’t be brought up again for at least four years. If it passes, the village and towns would have at least two years to implement a transition plan.
Bellack said the community needs a change, otherwise it could see more population loss and higher taxes.
“People are choosing not to live in the village,” Bellack said. “That is our story. Nothing our opposition says will change that.”
Toale said he hopes the dissolution vote fails, and the community gets more time to pursue shared services. He believes significant savings and partnerships can be reached while keeping the village government structure.
“There is more than one solution, but we haven’t worked hard enough to find it,” he said.
It will take strong leaders at the village and town levels, working for the good of the community, Toale said.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Garrett Rustay, in red hat, gets off a shot in today’s Street Brawlers Hockey Game at Bullard Park in Albion.
Nearly every Sunday for the past two years, whether it’s freezing or stifling heat, a group of Albion hockey enthusiasts gather at Bullard to play street hockey.
The group was out today in about 25 degrees temperatures. They meet at 10 a.m. and play to 1 p.m. They said more players are welcome to stop by and join the action.
Jonas Trapiss, right, tries to get in position to fire off a shot.
Dakota Johnson is ready to attack.
Andy Ashworth plays goalie. The group only had one goalie today, leaving one empty net.
Garrett Rustay is on the move.
File photo by Tom Rivers – A souvenir glass from the Ale in Autumn is pictured in September 2013. Ale in Autumn started in 2009 and sells out with 750 participants at each event.
MEDINA – The postcard mailer proclaimed there would be no more Ale in Autumn, Wine About Winter and other events if dissolution goes through on Jan. 20.
Medina’s heritage is at stake with the vote, according tot the mailer from “Taxpayers for Medina.”
“If the village was dissolved we would lose our history and identity,” the mailer states. “Our rich cultural traditions set us apart from other communities. Events like Wine About Winter and Ale in Autumn make Medina great. They would not continue.”
The mailer has irked the Medina Business Association’s president. Cindy Robinson, leader of the group, said the dissolution vote won’t have an impact on the events, which are paid for and planned by the Business Association.
“The events will go on regardless of dissolution,” she said. “They are being done by the MBA. There is no reason we would stop doing it.”
The MBA teams with the Village Tourism Committee for the Olde Tyme Christmas celebration the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, an all-day celebration that is capped with a Parade of Lights. If the village dissolves and the Tourism Committee goes away, Robinson said MBA could step up and fill the roles from the Tourism Committee.
The postcard includes images of downtown banners and decorations that were paid for by the MBA, not the village. The clock at Rotary Park, also featured on the postcard, was a local fund-raising effort, and wasn’t paid for by the village.
