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Lyndonville schools expect no tax increase in next budget

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tom Klotzbach, a former Lyndonville Board of Education member, addresses the board on Monday, voicing his displeasure over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision not to release preliminary aid runs for school districts. Klotzbach represents Lyndonville on the Orleans-Niagara BOCES board of directors.

LYNDONVILLE – Even with the uncertainty over state aid in 2015-16, Lyndonville Central School leaders expect to present a budget to the public in May that doesn’t raise school taxes.

The district will see about a $90,000 drop in employee benefits, mainly through a reduction in retirement contributions, said John Wolski, the district’s business administrator.

He presented the early work of a budget proposal for 2015-16. The overall budget would be up about $25,000 from the $13,188,750 budget in 2014-15. The tax levy would be unchanged at $4,666,578.

Lyndonville didn’t raise taxes with the 2014-15 budget, either. If state aid comes in at about a 1 percent increase, Wolski said the district won’t have to raise taxes. Lyndonville can utilize some reserve and fund balance to prevent raising taxes.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo didn’t give the preliminary school aid projections with his budget proposal in January. The governor is pressuring the State Legislature to adopt a number of school reforms. If the Legislature approves the reforms, Cuomo said he would support a 4.8 percent school aid increase. If the Legislature blocks the reforms, Cuomo said education aid would only increase 1.7 percent.

“It’s a new wrinkle he’s never done before and we’ll have to work through it in the coming months,” Wolski said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.

Tom Klotzbach, a former Lyndonville BOE member, was more critical of Cuomo’s decision to make districts guess about their aid.

“I think it’s unconscionable that governor is withholding preliminary state aid runs,” Klotzbach said at the board meeting. “I’m very disappointed in the governor doing that.”

The district is considering not doing about $100,000 in buildings and grounds improvements. Some of those savings could be used to maintain a college readiness program known as AVID. A grant for that program expires after this school year and Lyndonville wants to continue the program.

Some of the building and facilities money could also be used for a building conditions survey that would take stock of school buildings and infrastructure, including sewer pipes, Wolski said.

There is a chance the state could give the district more than 1 percent in aid. If that happens, Lyndonville wouldn’t need to use as much fund balance. It could also consider a building project or perhaps reduce taxes, Wolski said.

“Let’s see how the revenue plays out,” Wolski said about the state aid.

The district by March 1 needs to submit a proposal to state for how much it intends to collect in taxes in 2015-16 as part of a tax cap calculation. The state budget is due to be adopted by April 1. Under Cuomo, the state has passed four straight on-time budgets.

Districts should approve their budgets by late April and early May, with the spending plans to be voted on by the public on May 19.

Medina votes against tax exemption for combat vets

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – Combat and disabled veterans who served in wartime won’t get a discount on their Medina school taxes, the Board of Education voted tonight.

The board was considering offering the minimum tax exemption allowed by a new state law. That would have lowered the taxable assessments by $6,000 for veterans who served in wartime (World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Persian Gulf Conflict since Aug. 2, 1990). With $6,000 off the assessments that would save eligible veterans about $140 each.

But in a 5-2 vote, the board opted against the exemption with the majority not thinking it was fair to other school taxpayers who would see an increase in their taxes.

“Our duty is to all of the taxpayers,” said William Keppler, a Board of Education member. “We have to lower everyone’s taxes so all people see a savings.”

Keppler’s father served in World War II.

“I respect the vets,” Keppler said. “I love the vets.”

Board Vice President David Sevenski also opposed the exemption. He thought it was discriminatory towards some veterans, including those in the Cold War and those who are renters and don’t own their own homes.

“The law doesn’t treat all veterans equally,” Sevenski said.

Sevenski comes from a military family. His daughter leaves next week for the Marines. He would prefer to see tax relief for all residents.

“Our goal is to try to reduce the tax rate for everyone,” Sevenski said.

Several veterans attended a Jan. 14 public hearing about the exemption with most speaking in favor of it. Other community members worried about the tax shift, especially on lower-income young families.

The minimum tax exemption for veterans would have raised taxes by $32 for nonveterans for a property assessed at $100,000.

BOE President Chris Keller and board member Carol Heiligenthaler both voted for the exemption.

“I went with the idea that providing it for combat and disabled veterans was do-able in my mind,” Keller said after tonight’s meeting. “That’s a different category of citizen.”

Sevenski said the board wrestled with the issue. Medina is the first Board of Education in Orleans County to bring the exemption to a vote since the state passed a law in December 2013 allowing school districts to offer the exemption.

“Everyone lost sleep over this,” Sevenski said.

Wind energy foes urge Lyndonville School Board to be wary of project

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

LYNDONVILLE – The 60 to 68 wind turbines that could be built in the towns of Yates and Somerset could be lucrative to the community, with annual payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps more.

But local officials should look beyond that short-term windfall, the Lyndonville Board of Education was told on Monday by members of Save Ontario Shores, a group of property owners that has formed to oppose the project.

Apex Clean Energy would like to build the wind turbines in Yates and Somerset, and the structures would tower nearly 550 feet in the two rural lakeshore towns. In Yates, the turbines are eyed for the northwest quadrant of the town.

John Riggi is president of the S.O.S. He also recently moved to the Lyndonville community from Caledonia-Mumford.

“We are not in favor of these things,” he told the Board of Education.

He thinks the community would see tax assessments drop in the 8-square-mile area of the turbines, and that drop in assessments would shift more tax burden to other property owners in the community, Riggi said.

“The message is please take the time to educate yourselves,” Riggi told the board.

Glenn Maid, another local resident, also opposes the wind turbine project, saying the mammoth turbines have negative impacts on the landscape, wildlife, and nearby homeowners’ quality of life.

“I love living in Lyndonville,” Maid said. “I love small-town America. I love the parades.”

The large turbines don’t fit in such a small community, Maid said.

“Learn about the magnitude of the project and what it could do to the community,” Maid told the board.

Apex is currently doing the public outreach phase of the project. It had an open house in Lyndonville on Dec. 9 at the Yates Town Hall.

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,” Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex, said on Dec. 9.

“Lighthouse Wind” would generate 200 megawatts of power, enough to power 53,000 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.

Maid said the projects are heavily subsidized by the state and federal governments. If they’re built in Yates and Somerset, residents in the cluster of turbines could see their property values go down, forcing others to pick up the difference in tax load, Maid said, thereby resulting in locals subsidizing the project as well.

“They don’t have an interest in living here,” Maid said about Apex. “They just want to make money.”

Lyndonville man sentenced to state prison after violating Probation

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A Lyndonville man had his Probation revoked and was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison on Monday.

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 last month, Hagen pleaded guilty last month to violating terms of his Probation. He 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.

Hagen could have faced up to 7 years in prison. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch decided on 1 1/3 to 4 years.

“He wishes he had done better on Probation,” said Hagen’s attorney Dominic Saraceno.

In other cases in County Court:

An Oakfield resident, Jeremy Lyons of Pearl Street, pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and could be sentenced to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison on May 4.

Lyons, 30, admitted he broke into a house on Eagle Harbor Road in Barre on Aug. 10, 2014. He said he was retrieving items that belonged to him. He took those items and also stole copper piping, he told Judge Punch.

A 17-year-old Albion boy pleaded guilty to attempted burglary in the second degree. The judge said he will likely give the defendant youthful offender status. Because of that, Orleans Hub won’t publish the boy’s name.

He admitted he broke into a house on East State Street on Oct. 16, 2014, and took guns from the homeowner. Those guns were later recovered.

The 17-year-old could be sentenced to up to 6 months in jail and be on Probation for five years. Sentencing is April 20.

Jeffrey J. Farrell Jr., 27, of 431 West State St., Albion, was arraigned for third-degree burglary, fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and petty larceny. Farrell was charged on Dec. 20 and suspected, along with four others, in a series of break-ins in November and December.

Farrell pleaded not guilty in court on Monday. He remains free on $5,000 bail.

A Holley resident pleaded guilty to attempted burglary in the second degree. Dylan DiPlato, 26, admitted he was in a house uninvited on Sept. 21. Stolen items were in his backpack.

DiPilato said he was drunk when he committed the crime. He said he didn’t intend to be inside the house or steal.

He considered not pleading guilty to attempted burglary in the second degree, but he didn’t want to go to trial and risk being convicted of second-degree burglary.

Assistant District Attorney Susan Howard said DiPilato was interviewed by police when he was arrested and he answered officers’ questions. He also walked upstairs in the house. He wasn’t extremely intoxicated, she said.

Sentencing is set for April 20.

Medina votes to pursue federal grant to pay for 2 firefighters

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The Village Board voted on Monday to pursue a federal grant to cover the salaries and benefits of two full-time firefighters.

The board has discussed the issue in recent meetings. Medina Fire Department leaders asked the board to seek four firefighters. That would cover the department’s staffing needs and also give Medina a better chance of getting the funding for over two years, said Captain Mike Maak.

The department currently has 13 full-time firefighters and two full-time temporary positions, as well as about 20 call men. The grant could be used to make the temporary positions permanent.

Village Board members said they didn’t want to boost staffing to an unaffordable level after the grant expired.

“It’s certainly in the village’s interest to pursue it and have some of the personnel costs covered even for two years,” Mayor Andrew Meier said. “The question is, ‘Is it sustainable for the long-term?'”

The village received a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant before, when the department became the primary ambulance provider for western Orleans beginning in 2007.

Medina Fire Department leaders have been pushing the past year to have more staff for the department. The call volume reached 2,986 in 2014, the highest ever. When the department pitched the plan to take over ambulance calls, the projections were for 1,800 calls annually for the department.

The department has raised mileage reimbursement rates for ambulance calls and added out-of-district charges for calls outside western Orleans to try to boost revenues. However, Meier worries if the village can pay the salaries for 17 career firefighters when the grant expires. Right now there are 13 on the payroll, plus the two temporary positions.

Other board members agreed to pursue the grant for only two positions.

“Why hire four when we know we can’t sustain them after two years?” said Trustee Marguerite Sherman.

In other action, the board:

Appointed Tim Elliott to the Village Planning Board, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Rachael Tabelski. The Village Board also appointed Kathy Blackburn as an alternate to the Planning Board, filling the spot by the late Marcia Tuohey.

Accepted the resignation from Krista Bacon as a part-time water billing clerk. Her last day will be Feb. 19.

GCC announces fall 2014 Dean’s List

Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Press Release, Genesee Community College

The Dean’s List at Genesee Community College recognizes students enrolled either part-time or full-time who have earned a grade point average of 3.50 to 3.74.

GCC proudly announces that the following are among 366 students who were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2014 semester.

Makaila Albanese, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Arielle Ashton, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Zachary Beecher, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Halie Gray, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Kimberly Haight, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Tricia Holtfoth, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Ashley Johnson, a full-time student and resident of Albion

William Jones, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Alec Pinson, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Kelly Sargent, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Shannan Wells, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Jenna Wildschutz, a full-time student and resident of Albion

Joshua Carpenter, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Alicia Ford, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Gary Heale, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Priscilla Hills, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Annemarie Lang, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Jenna Livezey, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Nicole Mauro, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Dominique Mendes, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Danielle Oliver, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Rebecca Reid, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Jaimie Smith, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Emily Smith, a full-time student and resident of Holley

Jennifer Stenshorn, a full-time student and resident of Kendall

Amy Herman, a full-time student and resident of Knowlesville

Seth Earle, a full-time student and resident of Lyndonville

Katherine Grochowski, a full-time student and resident of Lyndonville

Chelsey Silversmith, a full-time student and resident of Lyndonville

Abigail Andrews, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Rebecca Bashford, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Christine Capstick, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Jenna Carpenter, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Mikaela Cherry, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Christina Greco, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Valeri Kujawa, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Haley Noreck, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Felton Poole, a full-time student and resident of Medina

Mackenzie Lamirand, a full-time student and resident of Waterport

Courtney Traxler, a full-time student and resident of Waterport

Yetunde Awopetu, a part-time student and resident of Albion

Denisolt Beterbiyev, a part-time student and resident of Albion

Katelynne Klossner, a part-time student and resident of Albion

Bambi Heideman, a part-time student and resident of Lyndonville

Kimberly Eick, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Sara Marciniak, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Kevin McMullen, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Melody Parker, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Lucas Silversmith, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Victoria Szott, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Andrea Tombari, a part-time student and resident of Medina

Orleans unemployment rate rises

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Orleans County’s unemployment rate rose from 6.8 percent in November to 7.1 percent in December, according to the State Labor Department. That 7.1 percent rate is actually 1.2 percent lower than the 8.3 percent rate for the county in December 2013.

The 1.2 percent difference is one of the bigger gains in the state among counties. However, Orleans is still much higher than the state unemployment rate of 5.7 percent and the national rate of 5.4 percent for December.

Orleans County had 17,000 people working in December and 1,300 unemployed. That compares to 17,400 in December 2013 and 1,600 who were unemployed.

In the four-county GLOW region, Orleans has the highest unemployment rate. Genesee was at 5.6 percent in December, followed by Livingston at 5.9 percent and Wyoming at 6.5 percent.

Tompkins County had the lowest rate in the state at 3.5 percent while the Bronx was the highest at 9.3 percent.

2 from Medina arraigned in county court on numerous drug charges

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A man and woman from Medina were both arraigned this afternoon on numerous drug charges.

Both Steven J. Johnson, 35, and Tamara L. Butler, 37, have been jailed. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch set bail at $250,000 for Johnson and $25,000 for Butler.

They are both accused of selling drugs between June and July. They face one count each of third-degree criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance, one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, and four counts of criminal sale and five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

They were arraigned this afternoon in county court. Butler pleaded not guilty. Johnson did not have an attorney and his full arraignment is scheduled to be completed Tuesday at 11:45 a.m.

Johnson and Butler both live at 301 Park Ave., Medina. Butler has a past felony for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Johnson has an extensive out-of-state criminal record, District Attorney Joe Cardone said in court.

Cat survives after being found with paws frozen to ground

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Provided photos – This cat was found Friday in Holley with its paws frozen to the ground. Sanitation workers found the cat in between two garbage cans.

HOLLEY – A cat found Friday with its paws frozen to the ground is on the mend.

The white, underweight cat was removed on Friday, and its skin peeled from its paws. A neighbor on Geddes Street took the cat to Wiley’s Animal Ark in Holley, where Dr. Krista Wiley says the cat, which appears to be a stray, is recovering.

The pads on its feet remain bright red, and they worry the tips of the cat’s ears are frostbitten.

“It’s amazing she lived,” Wiley said today. “In this kind of cold weather it is hard for cats to maintain their body weight.”

Wiley suspects the cat was looking for shelter in between the garbage cans. Wiley said no one has called looking for the cat.

She said she will likely work with Debbie Mignano of Stray Cat Solutions to try to find a home for the cat.

Wiley has been a vet in Holley for 12 years. This is her first time she has helped a cat recover after it was found with its feet frozen to the ground.

She urged people to not leave their pets outside for very long in the brutal cold.

Lyndonville votes to keep sharing some programs with Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Some want Lyndonville to field own soccer team

Photos by Tom Rivers – Lyndonville Board of Education President Ted Lewis said the cooperation with Medina Central School has been a positive for both districts.

LYNDONVILLE – Some Lyndonville students and parents want the school to bring back its own varsity boys’ soccer program.

For the past three seasons, Lyndonville students have played with Medina’s team. Lyndonville was down on soccer players, but now there are enough to field a competitive varsity team, Board of Education members were told tonight.

“We could have our own Sectional banner from our own kids hanging up in the gym,” parent Kristen Nicholson told the board.

She believes the school district could build a strong soccer program, starting with elementary “house” programs and working up to JV and varsity.

“You got to give it a chance now for the kids who are here and have the numbers to form a team,” Nicholson said.

One Lyndonville senior said he tried out for the team in Medina and was cut after a week. Another parent said her son, who had played JV, didn’t want to play varsity with Medina so he didn’t try out.

The issue was brought up because Medina and Lyndonville have been talking about extending the inter-municipal agreement for some extracurricular activities. The Board of Education voted tonight to extend a partnership with Medina Central School, where Lyndonville students can play soccer and football at Medina and can also be in Medina’s marching band.

Harold Suhr, a member of the Lyndonville Board of Education, speaks in favor of continuing an agreement with Medina Central School where Medina and Lyndonville share some sports teams and other extracurricular activities, including marching band and the high school musical.

Medina students perform in Lyndonville’s school musicals. Districts also share professional development programs for staff.

“Right now it’s a very positive relationship with Medina,” said Jason Smith, the Lyndonville district superintendent. “They’ve been great working with us.”

Lyndonville faces a declining enrollment, and that reality is forcing the district to be creative to offer opportunities for students. Jim Moody, a board member, said the shared programming may just be in the early stages for the school districts if the enrollments continue to fall.

“The same kinds of issues will be dealt with in the future,” Moody said. “There has been a demographics change in the community.”

Board members Harold Suhr and Michelle Dillenbeck said the student body, even in its declining numbers, needs to be part of more activities at the school to make those programs more viable. They both said boys are spending too much time on video games when they could be part of sports and other programs at school.

The board vote was unanimous to continue the boys soccer program with Medina. Dillenbeck worried if Lyndonville pulled out of soccer, the other opportunities for Lyndonville with Medina would be lost.

Michelle Dillenbeck, a Board of Education member, said it currently isn’t sustainable for Lyndonville to have enough athletes for some sports. She voted to continue partnering with Medina for some sports and activities.

She also doesn’t think Lyndonville would be able to field a competitive boys soccer team long-term, given the school’s declining enrollment.

Board President Ted Lewis said the partnership with Medina has gone well and he wants it to continue.

“The essence is how can we do more sustainable opportunities for our students given the demographics of our county,” Lewis said.

Suhr, a Lyndonville board member, says the cooperation has helped both districts. The new agreement is for two more years and both districts can opt out with 30 days notice.

Suhr said the agreement has allowed Lyndonville kids to play football, be in the marching band and play soccer. Suhr said the Medina soccer coach has cut some Medina students to make room for good Lyndonville players.

He remembers when he was a senior at Lyndonville and the school eliminated football. He transferred to Albion for his senior year and played for the Purple Eagles.

“When one door closes another opens,” Suhr said.

He is thankful for the year in Albion, saying he made many new friends.