By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – School district voters will go to the polls form 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. today to decide whether the district can move forward on an $8.9 million capital project.
The project includes roof top HVAC units, windows, radiators, flooring and exterior doors. The district also wants to improve the student drop-off area and the playground at the elementary school and move the tennis courts.
The district already has $2.5 million set aside in a capital reserve account to cover the local share of the project, which will be mostly paid for from the state. District officials say local taxes won’t be increased because of the project.
The proposal follows about $32 million of school improvements at Holley Central School. But more work needs to be done and the district is ready to pursue “nuts and bolts” on improvements that weren’t part of a recent capitol project, said Robert D’Angelo, the district superintendent.
D’Angelo expects the projects in the capital plan will make the district more efficient and reduce energy costs. The work would likely be completed in 2016 and 2017.
Voting today is in the middle/high school foyer. Voters must be at least 18, a United States citizen and a legal resident of the school district for at least the last 30 days.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The Medina sewer plant is in line for $1.2 million in upgrades whether the village government dissolves or not.
The Village Board voted on Monday to borrow $1.2 million in interest-free money from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation. The money will be paid back over 30 years from sewer users. The sewer project isn’t funded by property taxes or through the village’s general fund.
“We wouldn’t be assessing tax to support this,” Medina Mayor Andrew Meier said at Monday’s board meeting.
The sewer plant is one of the village’s economic assets, Meier said. The plant is currently underutilized. The village treats about 1 to 2 million gallons of sewage each day at the plant, which has a permitted capacity for 4.5 million gallons. The plant could handle even more, about 8 million gallons a day, he said.
The village will upgrade infrastructure and components at the site and also will boost the capacity to 10 or 11 million gallons with the $1.2 million project, Meier said.
That excess capacity could be used to attract big users in the village or the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, he said. Village officials also are discussing providing sewer services to the Town of Alabama in Genesee County for the proposed STAMP project.
Meier sees Medina and the Route 63 corridor as ideally situated for STAMP-related businesses. Besides a close proximity to high-tech companies at STAMP – Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park – the Route 63 area is within a 30-mile radius for low-cost hydropower from the Niagara Power Project.
“This is very much a pro-economic development project,” Meier said about the upcoming sewer work. “It shows Medina is open for business.”
The village will be seeking bids for the project, which is expected to be complete in 2015.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – I’ve posted quite a few pictures of the Lyndonville waterfalls since the Orleans Hub started in April 2013. It’s a can’t miss spot.
These waterfalls plunge about 11 feet along Johnson Creek. I’ve been trying to come up with angles and vantage points for some of the familiar local spots.
Today I tried some pictures of the waterfalls looking through the bridge on Main Street. Sometimes I can’t decide which is the best picture. I asked my wife for help and she liked the photo above.
I like this one best of the waterfalls, looking under the bridge.
I also took this one from near the top of the waterfalls looking towards Veterans Park where there are 43 Christmas trees decorated. They will be up until a little after New Year’s Day.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Dan Fitzgerald (second from left), project manager for Apex Clean Energy, meets with residents during a public meeting today at the Yates Town Hall. He is joined by Dahvi Wilson, Apex communications manager, at left.
LYNDONVILLE – Apex Clean Energy would like to build 60 to 68 wind turbines Yates and Somerset, structures that could tower nearly 600 feet in the two rural lakeshore towns.
The projects would bring the prospect of significant revenue to the towns, school districts and Orleans and Niagara counties, while also paying landowners to have the turbines on their land.
“Both the landowners and towns stand to profit,” said Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex.
“Lighthouse Wind” would generate 200 megawatts of power, enough to power 59,000 homes. Each turbine would generate about 3 megawatts of power, up from the 1.5 to 1.8 megawatts with turbines about a decade ago.
The company is in the early stages of the project. It has lined up leases with some landowners, but will need more to make the project a reality, Quarles said.
Dudley Chaffee is a dairy farmer with land in both towns. He has been approached to lease land for turbines. He hasn’t signed off on a 30-year lease.
“It looks like a good deal,” he said at an informational meeting today at the Yates Town Hall.
Chaffee has dairy farmer friends in Wyoming County. They told him the construction portion of the projects can be disruptive to the land. But once the turbines are up, they take up a small footprint and the farms coexist with the structures.
“One guy in Wyoming County told me he’d do it again in a minute,” Chaffee said.
More than 60 people attended to the meeting to look over information from Apex Clean Energy.
Cathi Orr lived in Orangeville, a Wyoming County town. She moved to Somerset last January to get away from the turbines, which she said are noisy.
“They go ‘thump, thump,” she said. “They make a creaky noise.”
She had 21 within a 1 ½ miles of her house. She was part of the Clear Skies Over Orangeville group that opposed the turbines. She knew Somerset had been approached before about a wind farm, but she thought that project had gone away.
Apex wasn’t involved the other project. The company is eyeing a different project with taller turbines. The added height allows the turbines to reach faster moving wind.
Turbines with blades that peak abut 400 to 450 feet, like many in Wyoming County, weren’t quite tall enough to get the stronger, more consistent wind, Apex said.
At a higher distance, there is likely enough wind, Apex officials said. They have one meteorological tower up on Lakeshore Road in Somerset to test wind strength. Quarles said they could put up four or five more in the target area that is west of Route 63 in Yates and most of Somerset. The project eyes the northern half of the towns, where there is lots of open farmland, another plus for the project, said Dan Fitzgerald, project manager.
A major transmission line also runs through Somerset, which would allow Apex to tap in and get its power to the market. That is another attraction for siting the project in Somerset and western Yates, he said.
Fitzgerald was one of four Apex officials at a public information meeting today at Yates Town Hall. The company had a similar meeting in Barker in October. Apex will have more informational meetings to explain the project and its benefits to the community, Fitzgerald said.
“This is in the very beginning of the project,” he said today at the Yates meeting. “We’re still a ways out.”
The company is going through a required 150-day public involvement effort. To see that 60-page public involvement plan, click here.
Fitzgerald said the company will continue to meet with the public after the 150-day period, which started Oct. 31. The company will reach out to the Amish and Mennonite communities, as well as other residents and officials.
“The goal is to make sure everyone in the community knows about the project,” Quarles said.
Apex will follow the public involvement period with a preliminary scoping document that would assess environmental impacts, including potential harm to birds, wildlife and other issues. The company will need to consult with the FFA on flight pattern impacts, especially with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
The company will need to secure approvals through local, state and federal agencies. Fitzgerald said construction on the project could start in 2018 if the agencies, landowners and experts all see Yates and Somerset as a good spot for the project.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Orleans has seen growth in sales tax, but that could stop with cheaper gas
Photo by Tom Rivers – The gas prices are getting close to $3 at the Crosby’s gas station at the corner of routes 98 and 104 in the Town of Gaines. This photo was taken Monday evening.
Consumers are getting relief at the gas pump with prices locally falling near $3 per gallon, down from prices that were closer to $4 in the spring.
Prices nationally on average have dropped below $3 for the first time since 2010. The falling gas prices could cut into the sales tax revenues for the state and county governments.
Gas is taxed 8 cents per $1 with the state and county splitting that for 4 cents each. Every time someone fills up, a few dollars is typically generated in sales tax.
But a smaller gas bill means less in sales tax.
Orleans County officials opted not to forecast higher sales tax revenues in 2015, even though the county is currently 5.4 percent ahead of the 2013 pace.
“We’re seeing gas prices drop dramatically and we could see our revenues drop dramatically as well,” Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said during a county budget hearing last week.
The county has budgeted $13,785,000 in sales tax revenues for 2015, the same as in 2014. In addition, another $1,366,671 from the local share goes to towns and villages in the county.
Orleans in 2013 was about $363,000 below its sales tax budget. This year, through the first nine months, it’s up by $601,482 (from $11,111,414 to $11,712,897) for the first three quarters of the year, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
The percentage growth in Orleans is the ninth highest of 57 counties in the state. State-wide, sales tax receipts are up 2.7 percent for the nine months, compared to 2013.
Sales tax is important for the local and state governments because it helps offset the need for other revenue, including higher property taxes. If the sales tax revenues fall, Orleans might have to either raise taxes or dip into its reserves to maintain existing services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Congregation sought measure as way to protect building
File photos by Tom Rivers – St. John’s Episcopal Church was built in 1832, making it the oldest remaining church in Orleans County. The church was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as “The church in the middle of the street.” Church Street splits by the church near the intersection with East Center Street (Route 31).
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board approved local landmark status on Monday for St. John’s Episcopal Church, a designation that will require any exterior alterations to the building to get Village Planning Board approval.
The church requested the designation for the building, which opened in 1832. It is Orleans County’s oldest remaining church. It was built with Medina sandstone before there were any commercial quarries.
This is the first Medina church outside a historic district to be declared a landmark. The Presbyterian Church is part of the downtown business district that is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The local designation could pave the way for St. John’s to pursue inclusion on the state and national registers of historic places.
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier praised the Episcopal congregation for seeking the local landmark status.
“I’m glad to see the church sees the merits in doing this,” Meier said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “It is one of the oldest structures in the county.”
The village about five years ago sought to have other churches near the downtown district be declared local landmarks, but the First Baptist, United Methodist and St. Mary’s Catholic Church all opposed the move, saying they feared the designation could saddle them, making building upkeep more costly.
“I’m hopeful some of the other churches will follow suit,” Martin Busch, the village’s code enforcement officer, said after Monday’s meeting. “There is no reason to feel threatened. It’s a recognition of the historic significance of the building to a community.”
ALBION – Photographer Bill Covell took this picture in 1965 of the Little League Team “Sandstone Park” in Albion.
This shot was actually taken on the Albion High School Athletic Field. First row, from left: Michael Maas, Ed Monacelli, Richard Colonna, David Stackwick, Ken Pettine, John Grillo and Ron Mannella.
Second row, from left: Tim Kirby, Dave Colonna, Mike Murphy, Ray Colonna, Gary Mannella, Pat Murphy, Paul Salisbury, Mark Adema and Brian Rush.
Coaches in the back, from left: “Babe” Colonna, Ken Pettine and Guido Mannella.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – School district residents, by a more than 2-to-1 vote, approved an $8.9 million capital project today.
The proposition passed, 175 to 72. The project includes roof top HVAC units, windows, radiators, flooring and exterior doors. The district also wants to improve the student drop-off area and the playground at the elementary school and move the tennis courts.
The district already the local share of the project set aside in a reserve fund. District officials say local taxes won’t be increased because of the project.
The proposal follows about $32 million of school improvements at Holley Central School. The project approved today includes “nuts and bolts” on improvements that weren’t part of a recent capitol project, said Robert D’Angelo, the district superintendent.
The district will need to submit designs to the State Education Department before sending the work out to bid. The project is expected to be completed in 2016 and 2017.
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Music Boosters put on a basket raffle and craft show on Saturday, an event that included performances from the Junior/Senior High School Chorus and also the Jazz Band. (The chorus is shown singing in the top photo.)
The Lyndonville Jazz Band performs for the craft fair-goers.
The Lyndonville school gym was transformed into a craft fair. Linda Karp, one of the organizers of the event, said that proceeds from the craft fair and basket raffle benefit the Lyndonville Music Boosters. The funds raised will assist with various activities and travel costs for the school’s music groups.
Santa took some time from his busy schedule to attend the craft show for a few hours on Saturday. Hunter Sachanowski of Alexander is shown posing with Santa for a photo.
There were many basket lined up for people to take a chance on.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – An Albion woman pleaded guilty to attempted arson in the second degree, a charge that carries a possible sentence of 3 ½ to 15 years in state prison.
Crystal McGuire, 22, of West Lee Road admitted in court today she set a fire inside the dryer of a house on Beaver Street on Aug. 16, 2013. She told Orleans County Court Judge James Punch she knew there was at least one person inside when she started the fire.
She was charged with second-degree arson and fourth-degree criminal mischief. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge today and will avoid a trial.
Her attorney considered a possible defense that she was too intoxicated at the time of the crime, but that wasn’t found to be a sufficient defense.
“Were you so drunk that night that you didn’t know what you were doing?” Punch asked her in court today.
“No,” McGuire responded, saying she was aware of her actions.
She was also examined by a psychiatrist who found she did not have a mental disease or defect.
She will be sentenced on Feb. 15.
In another case in court today, a Holley resident pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular assault and driving while ability impaired in the fourth degree.
William O. Kuyal, 54, faces a possible punishment of 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison when he is sentenced on March 2.
He was arrested on June 18 after a car accident on Route 237 and Powerline Road in the town of Clarendon. Kuyal allegedly drove through a stop sign while going westbound on Powerline Road, crossing into Route 237. Kuyal and three other people were injured in the crash.
Kuyal has an extensive criminal record with 25 prior arrests and 13 convictions, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
ALBION – In the fall of 1960, two longtime employees of Swan Library retired. Seated in front is Miss Inez Warner, assistant librarian, retiring after 41 years.
In back are, left to right: Francis H. Blake Sr., president of the board of trustees; Miss Lucy Fancher, retiring after 17 years as librarian; John D. Robinson, Albion mayor; and Joan Farnsworth, library staff.
At the time this picture was taken a reception was tendered for these dedicated servants.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Sr. Master Sgt. Cliff Thom was deployed to Afghanistan
Photos by Tom Rivers – Cliff Thom walks down the hallway in the Albion Middle School this morning with his son Jacob and wife Tara. All of the classrooms emptied into the hallway and students and teachers applauded for Thom and his family.
ALBION – The High School Band played “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” And then Cliff Thom entered into the band room, wearing his military uniform. He walked up to his daughter Catherine and put his arm around her.
Catherine, a sophomore, had her back to the door and was focused on playing her clarinet. But then she realized the person who cozied up to her was her father.
Catherine jumped up and gave him a hug. Her father is back home today after more than 5 months of active duty in Afghanistan.
Today he saw his three kids for the first time since June 29.
Catherine Thom and her father Cliff Thom embrace after seeing each other today for the first time since late June.
Thom, 42, has served in the military for 24 years. He also is a full-time electrician, working in Rochester. He and his wife, Tara, live in Gaines with their three children: Catherine, 15; Jacob, 11; and Sarah, 8.
He is a senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He is in the Reserve, which typically requires one weekend a month and two weeks a year of training. There is always the chance of deployment.
Thom talks to middle school students in Jonathan Sanford’s class about Afghanistan. Thom’s son Jacob is in the class.
Thom does his training out of the Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls. He is a command chief from that site. In Afghanistan, he served as an operations superintendent.
At a base in Afghanistan, Thom and his unit loaded cargo from aircraft.
“My job is loading the planes,” Thom told a class of Middle Schoolers today. “It’s an important job because it supports everyone else.”
Thom surprised his son Jacob, a sixth grader in Jonathan Sanford’s class, this morning.
Thom told students it’s very hot in Afghanistan with temperatures well over 100 degrees. In his five-plus months there, it seldom rained and there were very few clouds the entire time.
It cooled down to about 90 degrees during the summer nights. In early December, the temperatures were in the 70s during the day and dropped to the 30s at night.
“It’s windy, dusty and dirty,” he told the students. “It’s very sandy. It’s all tan or brown.”
Jonathan Sanford, a social studies teacher, takes a picture of Cliff Thom with his son Jacob and Jacob’s classmates.
Sanford, a social studies teacher, thanked Thom for his service and willingness to go so far away.
“I know I speak for all of the kids when I say thank you for your service,” Sanford said.
Sanford told the students that the United States enjoys its safety and peace due to soldiers. He noted they all volunteer to enlist.
“They serve their country,” Sanford said. “It’s a very noble thing to do.”
Thom walked through a corridor of students and staff in the middle school, all thanking him for his service.
After surpirsing Jacob at the middle school, Thom and his wife headed to the high school to surprise Catherine who was in band.
Mike Thaine, the band teacher, thanked the Thom family for sharing the surprise with students.
“This is one band practice you will never forget,” Thaine told the students.
Cliff Thom, right, greets the high school band where his daughter plays the clarinet.
Thom admitted he was nervous this morning before seeing his children. He doesn’t like a lot of attention, he said.
He didn’t want to wait until the end of the school day to see them. He said the deployment and separation was a little easier because he could text with his family and talk with them through Google Hangouts, which is similar to Skype.
Many of his local friends also saw him do the Ice Bucket Challenge while in Afghanistan. His wife posted a link to the video of that on her Facebook page.
Thom greets his youngest daughter Sarah during lunch in the elementary school cafeteria. Sarah grabbed his hat.
After connecting with his children, Thom said the family was headed for lunch at the Village House restaurant. He wanted a bacon cheeseburger deluxe.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association is playing Santa this holiday season giving out donations to several local organizations.
OONA met with the Carlton Volunteer Fire Company officials tonight to give them a $700 check. The following are pictured, from left: Deanne Borrie, OONA membership secretary; Jeanne Lauta, OONA vice president; Jim Tabor, president of Carlton Fire Company; Andrew Niederhofer, Carlton fire chief; Ed Bellnier, OONA president; Sue Zeppetella, OONA treasurer; and Eileen Wuethrich, OONA member.
Carlton will use the funding to help buy new cold water rescue gear, Tabor said.
The fire company in October mailed letters to town residents and they have responded with about $12,000 in donations, with many from seasonal residents who spend the winters away from Carlton, Tabor said.
OONA wanted to support the fire company “because of what they do in our community,” Bellnier said.
OONA also have given other donations with money coming from its annual concert series, sponsorships and membership fees.
The organization approved $700 for the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Association with $500 of that as a memorial for the late Joette Haines; $200 each for Hospice of Orleans, VALOR (Volunteer Alliance Linking Orleans Resources) and Project LIFE. In addition, OONA donated $173 t0 the Just Friends program through the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Orleans and several other counties for Tuesday evening through Thursday morning, when 6 to 12 inches of snow could fall.
The storm could hit Orleans, Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario and northern Cayuga counties.
The Weather Service warns that visibility could be below a half mile at times.
“A prolonged period of snow will result in slick roadways and difficult travel,” according to the Weather Service.
Provided photo – Medina FFA students include, kneeling, from left: Amber Castrechino, Victoria Grimes, Lindsay Fulwell and Lillian Duffield. Standing: Devin Cleveland, Devin Eick (his eye and nose), Joe Mangiola, Deja Carter, Katie Young, Tyrellis Atkins, Kyle Allport, Olivia Jones, Keara Pitt.
Press Release
Medina Central School
MEDINA – The FFA is drawing all sorts of Medina students who are interested in agricultural science. The FFA was formerly known as the Future Farmers of America and even though a large number of the 120 students enrolled in the program did not grow up on a farm, they are interested in farming, livestock and food.
Medina High School Agriculture Education teacher Todd Eick has been in charge of the school’s FFA for the past four years.
“Thanks to a Monsanto grant for $25,000 it allowed us to build a miniature working farm, purchase a hydroponics unit, and will allow us the opportunity to install a couple community gardens,” Eick said. “We have also had a number of generous donations of livestock and machinery which has allowed the students to learn all sorts of aspects of farming. A former student has invented a seed starting machine that we have incorporated into the program. We are testing it out for him and giving him feedback. That has been pretty neat for the students and great for him since this is the age group of the farmer who will be using this in agriculture.”
The farm consists of a barn, a pasture, a rabbitry and there are hopes, thanks to the annual citrus sale fundraiser and other fundraisers, of adding chicken coops and a small medical center within the barn.
“The model farm doesn’t cost the district a cent,” Eick said. “Our intent is that it won’t and we will run this all with grants, donations and fundraising.”
The livestock consists of a calf, a goat, two sheep, two llamas and 21 Black Copper Maran chickens that are year-round residents at the farm.
Eick, his family and volunteers take care of them when school is closed and the students divide up chores during the school year.
“They are responsible for the animals, everything from feeding them, giving them their vaccinations and repairing their habitat,” Eick said. “We were recently gifted with the Black Copper Marans. They were donated earlier than expected, so the students also had to figure out how to house them and feed them. It was a great learning experience for them.”
The chickens are gourmet birds that produce chocolate brown eggs which are highly prized by chefs, so the students have been learning about breeding and selling the eggs and the chickens.
Eick says he does a survey at the beginning of the school year and asks the students what they want to focus on.
“We have a very heavy veterinarian science curriculum,” he said. “Obviously it is very hands-on with the students literally getting their hands dirty with the soil, building and animals. What is nice is that the curriculum, although relatively set, is student driven, not state driven. The students love it here and have really stepped up to the plate to get the farm in shape.”
Freshman Jack Hill says the organization is a lot of fun. “One of the reasons I like coming here is you are not just sitting at a desk. You are going outside and you are doing all sorts of cool projects.”
Charlie Ricci has been with the FFA since the 6th grade. “Everything here is agriculture based and I love that it is hands-on and not a lot of text. I am looking forward to using the hydroponics in our greenhouse to grow feed for the animals.”
When it comes to mechanics, Mr. Eick encourages the students to take either the Diesel/Agricultural Mechanics or Welding programs at Orleans/Niagara BOCES to give them other skills that will benefit them if they decide to own or work on a farm.
“Obviously I can’t teach everything, so this is a good way for them to enhance their education and save money doing their own repairs,” he said.
Many people think that the FFA is about tractors and cows, Eick said, but the Medina programfocuses on the science of agriculture and growing crops to either feed people or livestock.
“Because we are really interactive I think it is more valuable to students and they see why it is important to keep the barn clean and how to handle animals correctly,” he said. “We are fortunate to have it all right here for them,” as he points to the picturesque farm across the school parking lot.
“Even though it is small scale, it is good learning environment for them,” Eick said. “They have to think about where are the animals going to sleep, how are we going to feed them, where do you get the money to make repairs or add to the farm. It is teaching them to be self-sufficient and creative. These are skills that will translate into whatever career they decide upon.”
