By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2016 at 12:00 am
ALBION – These tulips are out by the United Methodist Church on Platt Street in Albion.
The weekend weather shows mostly sunny and a high of 69 on Saturday, with a chance of showers after 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Sunday also has a chance for showers after 1 p.m., partly sunny and a high near 55.
The extended forecast shows a high of 61 on Monday, followed by highs of 63 on Tuesday, 65 on Wednesday, and 73 on Thursday.
Chris Finney, an employee with the Orleans County Buildings and Grounds Department, trims the grass by trees on the Courthouse Square lawn on Friday.
MEDINA – Two people were arrested on Thursday for selling prescription narcotics in Medina.
Allen E. Snook
Betty J. Russell
The Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and Medina Police Department executed a search warrant at 14 Edgewood Drive in the Applewood Trailer Park, where police seized prescription pills (200 MG morphine pills and Zanax), cash, packaging material, several rifles and shotguns, and other drug paraphernalia, The Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.
Police arrested Allen E. Snook, 33, of 14 Edgewood Drive. He was charged with two counts each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, which are class B felonies.
Police also arrested Betty J. Russell, 57, of 1004 West Ave., who allegedly was selling hydrocodone pills. She was charged with two counts each of both criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Both Snook and Russell were arraigned in Ridgeway Town Court by Town Justice Joseph Kujawa. They were both committed to Orleans County Jail on $25,000 bail. The investigation is ongoing and more charges are pending, the Task Force reported.
MURRAY – The Orleans County Youth Board will holds its 34th annual Youth Recognition Dinner at Hickory Ridge Golf and Country Club on May 12 and will recognize 20 young people for their commitment to community service and/or their impressive role in their family. Additionally, the dinner will recognize one adult youth worker and an adult volunteer.
The following young people will be recognized: Amanda Blackburn, Randal Eblacker, Evan Gaesser, Kenzie Galletta, Allyson Irwin, Dixon Keon, Jessica Mandigo, Natalie Mrzywka, Rose Pajek, Cassandra Sargent, Damian Schoonmaker, Zachary Shaffer, Ian Smith, Julia Smith, Kyle Thaine, Andrea Toussaint, Joseph Velez, Baylee VerCruysse, Austen Vroman and Angela Weaver.
Gerry Golden is receiving the Helen R. Brinsmaid Memorial Youth Worker Award from his position as a caseworker at Orleans County Department of Social Services for going above and beyond with the families he works with.
Robert Brice is receiving the Eileen Heye Adult Volunteer Award for all the work he does for the Holley community.
The keynote speaker for the evening will be Jeremy Babcock, an Albion volunteer firefighter who is currently is the Executive Director of Housing at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Babcock, 39, oversees a staff of 24, the residential halls and 1,000 apartments. He deals with everything from keys, pest control, furniture, laundry facilities and many other issues.
Babcock is also a talented golfer. He lives an active life despite being born with birth defects in both arms.
“I’m really fortunate with what I can do,” Babcock told the Orleans Hub in a previous interview. “My family and friends always pushed me.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Taylor Daughton, director of the Cobblestone Society & Museum, is pictured in the Proctor Room at the Cobblestone Universalist Church, the site of a reception on Friday for an art show.
The free event will also be a chance for the public to meet Daughton, who was hired in February to serve as the museum’s director.
The show is part of First Fridays, which for the previous seven years was organized by Kim Martillotta Muscarella at her home at 229 North Main St. Muscarella is continuing to run the events, which this year will shift to the Cobblestone Museum. There will be new art shows each month until the museum closes for the year in October.
Tony Barry, a Holley artist, painted a tugboat on the Erie Canal. The art show on Friday also features artists Tom Zangerle, Pat Greene, Kim Martillotta Muscarella, Connie Mosher and Suzanne Wells.
The reception on Friday will be free from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the museum, 14389 Ridge Road. The museum also opens for the season on Sunday, Mother’s Day, although the buildings will be available for tour on Friday for an admission price.
The Proctor Room is named for John Proctor, a prominent pioneer on Ridge Road in Gaines.
The Cobblestone Museum is the only National Historic Landmark in Orleans County. For more on the museum, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2016 at 12:00 am
The vice president of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Employees Association says all of its members currently live within the county.
The union represents about 60 employees – correction officers, jail cooks, civil clerks, and dispatchers. They ratified a three-year contract with the county providing 2 percent annual raises. The contract also requires residency within Orleans County for workers hired after April 27, 2016.
Chris Caufield, vice president for the union and a corrections officer, said the union members supported the residency requirement because they already live within Orleans.
“The union was of the opinion that New York State Public Officers Law allows the county to require us to maintain residence in the county without negotiation,” Caufield said today. “That notion, coupled with the fact that every member currently resides in Orleans County, the union membership did not have a problem with agreeing to this contract with that requirement included. We viewed this as something the county could enforce anyway, regardless if we agreed to do so. Essentially, we didn’t feel like we were giving anything up.”
County officials pushed for the residency requirement because they wanted more community commitment for employees to county taxpayers.
Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said the county will likely push for the residency requirement in other county contracts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2016 at 12:00 am
District attorneys in New York State will get about $30,000 a year raises after the state followed the NYS Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation recommendation for salary increases.
The state had previously agreed to pick up salary increases for district attorneys, but the recent state budget didn’t include those increases that account for an extra $1.6 million throughout the state.
Counties already had their budgets in place, and they continue to have limited room for additional costs due to the state-imposed tax cap, Orleans County legislators said.
They joined counties around the state in passing a formal resolution for the state to pick up the increase in salary.
Many state legislators, including State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, support the state paying for the increase.
“Our hard-working district attorneys deserve this recognition, the invaluable work that they provide make our communities safer and better places to live,” Hawley said. “Mandating that counties pick up this cost however is a direct burden on our middle-class families and I’m glad my bill will provide the proper compensation for our public servants while also protecting the hard-earned money of our taxpayers.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – About 30 people gathered outside the Orleans County Courthouse at noon for the National Day of Prayer, which was created in 1952 by Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman.
The Rev. Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, leads the group in a prayer. Many of the prayers were directed towards the community and country’s leaders.
Some of the prayer participants lifted their hands in seeking God’s direction and blessing for Orleans County and the United States.
The Rev. Dan Thurber, right, is pastor of the Oak Orchard Assembly of God in Medina. His father, Stanley Thurber, is next to him. The elder Thurber also led Oak Orchard as pastor for many years.
Sheldon Silver, the leader of the State Assembly for about 20 years, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Tuesday after being convicted on Nov. 30 of corruption, including honest services fraud, money laundering and extortion.
“I am glad to finally see Sheldon Silver meet the fate he deserves,” said State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia. “I am extremely dismayed to hear that he will be receiving a near six figure taxpayer-funded pension behind bars. No one who purposely betrays the public for decades and denigrates his/her office like Silver should receive any form of taxpayer-funded pension.
“The Assembly Majority promised us comprehensive ethics reform months ago. Since then they have ignored the desires of New Yorkers in exchange for protecting one of their own. Corruption in Albany should not be business as usual and I will continue to beat the drum for a return to integrity here in the Capitol.”
Other former state legislative leaders also await sentencing on corruption. Dean G. Skelos, the former Senate majority leader, will be sentenced on May 12. John L. Sampson, a former leader of the Senate Democrats, will face his own sentencing on May 19.
Press Release, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
MIDDLEPORT – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that Phase Two of the soil remediation effort will begin on June 27 on the grounds of the Royalton-Hartland (Roy-Hart) High School and on May 3 at residences located on the K and M Blocks in the Village of Middleport, Niagara County.
This remediation is part of the overall 14.4-acre remediation effort required under the Final Statement of Basis (FSB) issued by DEC in May 2013 regarding the cleanup of the FMC Corporation Middleport facility site.
The 2013 FSB requires the removal of arsenic contamination exceeding the 20 part per million soil cleanup objective from the Roy-Hart High School property. To date, approximately 8,000 cubic yards of material has been excavated from the school property by DEC due to FMC’s refusal to implement the remedy.
During phase two, DEC will excavate and remove approximately 900 cubic yards of arsenic-contaminated soil from the Roy-Hart High School inner courtyards and grass areas adjacent to the southwestern side of the high school during the summer of 2016.
DEC is currently working with the Royalton-Hartland Board of Education and school district officials to develop a construction schedule for all remaining soil remediation activities at the school.
Remedial work will also restart this month to complete the excavation and removal of arsenic-contaminated soil from three residential properties within the K and M Block areas as well as the remaining 28 residential properties within the K and M Block areas that have signed on to the project.
DEC and partnering contractors have worked closely with the Village Mayor and public works staff to coordinate this work on the K and M blocks. The DEC project team has also engaged in extensive outreach with residential property owners in this area and will continue these activities until the project is complete.
The FSB identifies a total of 182 properties in the Village of Middleport for cleanup and DEC will continue its cleanup activities until all impacted properties have been addressed, as required by the FSB. Any property owners within the K and M Blocks who have not already responded to DEC to schedule remediation of their properties are encouraged to contact Dave Chiusano at 518-402-9813 or David.Chiusano@dec.ny.gov.
Additional information regarding the cleanup of the FMC Middleport Facility and a map of the K and M Blocks can be found at DEC’s website by clicking here.
Marissa Pecorella is pictured with her gold medal.
Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – Medina junior Marissa Pecorella took first place in the Esthetics category at the New York State SkillsUSA competition.
Marissa competed against eight other BOCES cosmetology students from across the state for creating a makeup look that incorporated a bird theme. It was the first time that the New York SkillsUSA competition has held this particular contest.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry that work together to ensure America has a skilled workforce while encouraging students to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.
Marissa Pecorella created this winning design in a bird theme.
Marissa, who attends the Cosmetology program at the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center, designed the makeup look on her model around the New York State bird, the bluebird.
Marissa is already working freelance as a makeup artist and says she will continue to do so to put herself through law school after graduation. She will represent New York State in Louisville, Kentucky at the National SkillsUSA competition at the end of June.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2016 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Ben Yazman, Heritage Wind project developer, is pictured by the Barre water tower on Route 98 behind the firehall.
BARRE – Apex Clean Energy last week announced its plan for Heritage Wind, a 200 Megawatt project, the same power proposed for Lighthouse Wind in Yates and Somerset.
Apex put out a map that showed the project focused in Barre but also spreading out into surrounding towns, as far northeast as Fancher and south into Elba.
Apex said today the project will be focused entirely in Barre. Ben Yasman, Heritage Wind project developer, said Barre’s elevation is about 200 feet higher than most of the county. It has access to transmission lines and state roads.
It also is the least populous town in the county with lots of open farmland.
Apex is just beginning the public outreach process. The company expects to have many meetings with town officials and residents in a siting process that could take several years. Yazman said feedback from residents, landowners, town officials and other stakeholders will determine the location and size of the turbines.
“The locations will be dependent on the landowners who want to participate,” he said.
Apex has been meeting with Yates landowners for about two years. The company has fielded questions about the Lighthouse Wind project at its booth at the 4-H Fair. Apex officials were told by several Barre landowners said they would a support a project in Barre, said Taylor Quarles, Apex’s development manager.
The company sees the potential in Barre, which was eyed for a project by Iberdrola before the company withdrew its effort about a decade ago after concerns by the Pine Hill Airport.
Yazman said he wants to alleviate worries from community members, including the airport. It will be part of the company’s public outreach plan and later environmental studies and scoping documents.
“We want to involve the town in this potential project,” said Cat Mosely, Public Affairs manager for Apex. “We see it as a community owned project.”
Apex has already done its public outreach plan for Yates and Somerset, and also submitted a Preliminary Scoping Document. It is working to address environmental concerns and other issues raised for the Yates-Somerset project.
Mosely and Yazman said today the company remains committed to Lighthouse Wind.
The intent to develop the Heritage Wind project shows the company’s commitment to Orleans County and the region, Mosely said. (Apex is also working on a project on Galloo Island near Watertown.)
Yazman said the projects will take years of work. He welcomed residents and government officials to reach out to him. He can be contacted through the Heritage Wind website. Click here for more information.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 4 May 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Holley School Board of Education candidates, Christine Klafehn, Brenda Swanger and John Heise (left to right) take questions from the audience during a Meet the Candidates forum prior to the district’s annual meeting Tuesday evening at the Holley Elementary School.
HOLLEY – The proposed Holley Central School budget for 2016-17 includes a 1.99 percent increase in the tax levy, which school officials say falls below the tax levy cap of 2.219 percent.
Members of the Holley School Board of Education held their annual meeting Tuesday evening, which included a presentation on the proposed budget by Assistant Superintendent for Business Sharon Zacher.
Zacher said the $24.4 million proposed 2016/2017 budget is 4.73 percent higher than the current year budget. The nearly 5 percent budget-to-budget increase is due to the district’s share of the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES Capital Project, she said.
“We pay our portion as an expense item,” Zacher said, and explained this is the first of a three-year contribution. A portion of the expense will be aided on the revenue side of the budget, she noted. Without the BOCES Capital Project, the budget-to-budget increase is 2.32 percent.
The 1.99 percent increase in the tax levy brings the average tax rate to approximately $22.81 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The proposed budget maintains current staffing and programs, District Superintendent Robert D’Angelo said.
The garden in the open courtyard area has flowers in bloom at the Holley Elementary School.
Zacher said on the appropriations side, health insurance costs have increased 6 to 7 percent over the current year.
On the revenue side, the district will receive $15.87 million in state aid. The district will collect $6.86 million with the tax levy.
Zacher noted the ending of the Gap Elimination Adjustment in the state budget will mean a restoration of $284,309 for the district. Foundation Aid increased 1.48 percent to $141,880.
The proposed budget uses $1.3 million of appropriated fund balance, Zacher said.
Voters will see three propositions on the ballot May 17.
Proposition 1 is the $24.4 million annual district budget; Proposition 2 regards authorizing the purchase of schools buses – two full-sized and two 30-passenger school buses not to exceed $339,000; Proposition 3 is the budget for the Community Free Library in Holley of $116,061.
Additionally, three candidates are running for two 3-year term seats on the School Board. John Heise and Brenda Swanger are running for re-election, and Christine Klafehn is also running for an open seat.
Before the annual meeting Tuesday evening, a meet the candidates forum was held. All three candidates discussed their desire to run for the School Board and also answered questions.
Both Heise and Swanger, who currently serves as School Board President, said they would like to continue serving the district. They have both been board members for 12 years.
“I’m proud of our district,” Swanger said.
Heise noted the district is seeing positive results of its programs with higher test scores. He currently serves as the Holley representative on the BOCES 2 Board of Education.
Christine Klafehn is a retired special education teacher and a former member of the Kendall Central School Board of Education, serving part of that time as president. She is also a former Kendall Recreation and Hamlin Recreation soccer coach. She noted her experience in Kendall would be helpful as the two districts plan to look into ways to work together.
“I know the district (Kendall) quite well,” she said.
Klafehn said she has been very happy with the education her children have received in the Holley Central School District. “I’m excited to put my name in the hat,” she said of her candidacy.
Voting will take place May 17 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the foyer of the Holley Middle School/High School.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2016 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A new contract that gives 2 percent annual raises to about 60 employees in the Sheriff’s Department will also require any new employees live in Orleans County.
The County Legislature approved the contract for 2016-2018 last week, following ratification by a union representing workers in the county jail, civil clerks and dispatchers at the Sheriff’s Department.
This is the first contract where the county is making new hires to live in the county, although some department heads currently have that requirement.
“We feel we will get a better product for the community if the employees are invested in the community,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer.
County officials pushed for the residency requirement because many of the corrections officers and other civilian staff live outside of the county. The existing employees won’t be required to move within Orleans to keep their jobs. The contract includes employees hired beginning on April 27, when the Legislature approved the deal.
Nesbitt said the county may implement the residency requirement in other union contracts.
“It will probably be a continuing theme,” he said today.
MEDINA – Medina High School English teacher Karen Jones recently had an honored guest in her classroom. Medina High School alumni and author, Julie Berry, paid a visit to Mrs. Jones’ 7th and 9th period seniors to discuss her book, “All The Truth That’s in Me.” The students had just finished reading it for an assignment.
The book is about a young woman named Judith and what happens to her after her best friend and she disappear from their small town. She returns permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those around her and eventually finds her voice again.
The book has won critical acclaim and has an Edgar Award nomination, A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten Title, A Junior Library Guild Selection, A School Library Journal Best Book of 2013, A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book for 2013, A Horn Book Fanfare 2013 title, a 2014 TAYSHAS Top Ten Pick and was on the short list for the Carnegie Medal.
“It was such a pleasure to have Julie in my class. We went to school together,” says Mrs. Jones. “It was a great opportunity for my students to be able to discuss the book with her. She also shared with them her new book that has recently been released. I am very appreciative she came in and spent time with all of us.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 May 2016 at 10:00 am
ALBION – Orleans County officials have approved bids to replace deteriorated bridges on Carton Road in Kendall and over Fish Creek on East Scott Road in Ridgeway.
The County Legislature last week approved the low bid from Union Concrete and Construction Corporation in West Seneca to replace the East Scott Road Bridge for $724,346. The new bridge will replace one from 1936.
The Legislature also accepted the low bid from Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport to replace the Carton Road Bridge for $793,729. It will replace a bridge from 1959.
The work will be paid for as part of an $8 million bond the county took out in 2014 for a series of infrastructure projects over three years.
Construction on the two bridges is scheduled to start at the end of this month.
