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Bower says many campaign goals have been met at Sheriff’s Office

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 August 2016 at 2:41 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers – Sheriff Randy Bower talks with deputies and members of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office last week when Jim DeFilipps was recognized at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds as NY Deputy of the Year.

ALBION – Sheriff Randy Bower was elected last November with some bold initiatives, including drug treatment services for inmates in the County Jail.

Bower said the Sheriff’s Office has met many of his goals in his six months of office, including a new Sheriffs Transition Addiction Management Program (STAMP), which provides inmates with drug and mental health counseling. Inmates approved for the program also receive Vivitrol, a drug that helps block opiate cravings.

Bower went over some of the highlights of his first six months in office in a report last week to the Orleans County Legislature.

• The Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division K9 Unit to have a drug-sniffing dog come through the jail to search for drugs. Bower said it has made the jail safer and been a deterrent for people trying to smuggle in contraband.

• In the first months of the year, deputies have made 526 traffic stops, served 501 papers, responded to 317 motor vehicle accidents and 167 alarms, executed 57 warrants, and responded to 18 assaults, 45 burglaries, 106 larcenies, 116 calls for harassment or aggravated harassment, and 61 overdoses or psychiatric calls.

• The Sheriff’s Office has pushed to bring a “STOP DWI” traveling display to local school districts. The display includes victim statements, personal items from crashes, newspaper clippings and aftermath accounts.

Provided photo – Chief Deputy Michael Mele and Holley Principal Sue Cory are pictured with the STOP DWI “Courage to Serve” traveling display at the Holley school in April.

• The Sheriff’s Office has collected more than 1,000 pounds of prescription narcotics during drug take-back days. There is a drug take-back bin in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office and Bower said he wants drug take-back collections sites to also be available at the Albion, Holley and Medina police departments.

• The Sheriff’s Office has boosted participation in community events, including DWI crash simulations at local school districts during prom and graduation season.

• The Orleans County Marine Division added patrols along the Erie Canal, using an $8,000 state grant. The Marine Division also patrols 24 miles of Lake Ontario shoreline and Lake Alice.

• On June 15, the Sheriff’s Office and County Highway Department erected a roadside sign on Gaines Basin Road in memory of Deputy David Whittier, who was struck by a drunk driver on the road. He died on Sept. 8, 1989. Bower said Whittier is believed to be the only Orleans County deputy to die in the line of duty.

Photo by Tom Rivers – This sign was installed on Gaines Basin Road, about a quarter mile south of Route 104. The marker is a memorial for Deputy David Whittier, who was fatally injured here in 1989.

• The Sheriff’s Office added a part-time animal control officer, Ariel Strickland, to help with a high call volume, Bower said. Starting June 1, the county assumed animal control duties in the Village of Medina.

• Bower, in his campaign for sheriff, wanted public safety dispatchers to have access to school cameras in case of an emergency inside schools. Medina has partnered with dispatch to allow access to its cameras, and Bower said he is working to have all school districts in agreement by the start of the new school year.

“The men and woman of the Sheriff’s Department have really stepped it up,” Bower told county legislators in highlighting the initiatives.

The sheriff has other goals including establishment of a K9 service to be led by Deputy Jeff Cole. Bower also said he is pursuing grant funding for a bomb-sniffing dog.

Bower has also reached out to the faith community and has about a dozen chaplains, from a diversity of faiths and denominations, available to assist staff on calls.

“A lot has happened and we’re excited about some of the new programs being developed,” said David Callard, Legislature chairman.

Kendall school sees progress on many fronts

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 5 August 2016 at 1:58 pm

Photo by Kristina Gabalski – Work continues this summer on the Kendall Jr./Sr. High School as part of Phase Two of the Kendall Central School Capital Project.

KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Board of Education held their regular meeting Wednesday evening in the Jr./Sr. High School cafeteria. The board normally meets in the school’s library but work is well underway on Phase Two of the district’s capital project which includes renovations to the science wing and the main office.

Kendall Superintendent Julie Christensen reported that work is slightly behind as there has been a delay in the delivery of new cabinetry for the science wing, but the district continues to plan an open house celebration for Sept. 1 when residents can come and see the completed Phase Two work.

The district held a similar open house last year at the close of Phase 1, and like last year, this year’s celebration will include the Sports Boosters’ Chicken BBQ, root beer floats from the PTSA and music provided by student ensembles.

Those attending Wednesday’s meeting were also given updates on several issues facing the district.

Christensen reported on a meeting held July 25 about the closing of the First Niagara Bank in Holley. Officials from the Kendall and Holley school districts, towns of Clarendon, Kendall and Murray, and Holley village attended the session.

“We are encouraging KeyBank to reconsider,” Christensen said. If the branch closes as slated in October, the school districts and municipalities as well as residents who use the branch will have to travel 6 miles farther east to Brockport for banking. Christensen said officials have contacted state legislators regarding the planned closing.

Kendall BOE President Nadine Hanlon reported on the July 18 workshop held by school board members, administrators and other officials from both the Holley and Kendall school districts.

“We had great conversations,” Hanlon said. “We discussed all kinds of sharing of services. We are moving ahead…. I was pleased with the meeting and we will meet again.”

Christensen said the districts discussed sharing services in three areas: instructional enrichment, such as summer programs; non-instructional, such as transportation and sharing supplies; and extracurricular, such as 4-H programming and marching band.

One member of the audience asked Christensen if wrestling had been discussed. The district superintendent said it had been. She noted that the sport is declining in student participation and Kendall currently has few wrestlers. She explained that discussions over combined sports teams (the districts fielded a combined baseball team this past spring) are a challenge because the starting of a combined sport that may take away from another well-established sport.

“It’s challenge to balance,” Christensen said.

She said many opportunities exist for “behind the scenes” sharing between the districts, particularly by increasing purchasing power for supplies.

Hanlon also reported on the effort to reduce the speed limit on Rt. 18/Roosevelt Highway in front of the Jr./Sr. High School, which currently is 50 miles per hour. Christensen was able to research the effort in 1998 to reduce the limit from 55 to 50 miles per hour and Hanlon said the district has now sent a letter to Kendall Highway Superintendent Warren Kruger.

In order for a study to be done by the State Department of Transportation, the request must go through Kruger, Hanlon explained. Letters in support of the change from Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower and the Kendall Fire Chief have also been presented to Superintendent Kruger, Hanlon said.

She added that she requested the Orleans County Department of Transportation to paint crosswalks in front of the Elementary School on Rt. 237, as the road there is being re-paved.

Board members entered executive session at the end of the meeting to interview three candidates for the school board seat recently vacated by board vice-president Chris Gerken. Christensen said the board will make its choice at the next regular board meeting scheduled for Aug. 24.

Veteran school leader will serve as interim superintendent for Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2016 at 3:17 pm

Tom Cox

MEDINA – The Medina Board of Education hired Tom Cox t serve as interim school district superintendent. Cox has served as interim school leader for several local districts, including Lyndonville in 2011.

The board named Cox as interim school superintendent on Thursday evening. He will provide temporary leadership for the district while it works with Dr, Clark Godshall, superintendent of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES, to fill the position.

“Tom has had a long career in education in New York State,” said Wendi Pencille, the board president. “He has held numerous interim superintendent positions since he retired.”

Medina lost its leader on June 23 with the death of Jeff Evoy, who had served as district superintendent for about five years.

A former music teacher and baseball coach, Cox has served in many positions including assistant superintendent, elementary, middle and high school principal and deputy superintendent in many districts. He has served as a school administrator at Wayne Central, Canandaigua Academy, Marion, Ganada, Starpoint, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Warsaw, East Irondequoit and other districts.

Medina Main Street dinner becomes a hot ticket

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2016 at 3:13 pm

137 enjoy 5-course meal on blocked off section of downtown

MEDINA – A first ever Farm-to-Table Dinner event in Medina proved popular this evening with 137 people enjoying the fine dining experience on a closed off section of Main Street.

These types of dinners are more typical in trendy urban areas, but Medina proved an ideal setting with a vibrant downtown with well-maintained buildings.

Before the food was served, the group was engaged in conversation at a long table on Main Street.

Michael Zambito, chef at Medina’s Zambistro restaurant, prepared a full five-course dinner. Each course included pairings from local Niagara Wine Trail wineries, 810 Meadworks and a WNY brewery.

“Medina showed it can pull off these types of events, too,” said Jonathan Oakes of the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, who was one of the dinner-goers this evening.

He was part of a similar event in Rochester at High Falls where Leonard Oakes provided the wine and Oakes discussed different types of wine with the diners.

The events appeal to people looking to slow things down and enjoy an authentic experience with locally sourced food, Oakes said.

The event was organized by the Orleans Renaissance Group, which is using proceeds to support the Canal Village Farmers’ Market. ORG started the farmers’ market last year. It now draws about 500 people every Saturday at the corner of West Center Street and West Avenue.

The market can use the funds for entertainment, insurance, building improvements and to “make it more welcoming,” said Gail Miller, the market manager.

Glasses are filled with water. The soon-to-open Fitzgibbons Public House is in back.

Zambistro set the table for fine dining right on Main Street. Tickets were $100. The Orleans Renaissance Group hoped it could sell 100. It sold 137 with more people interested.

Chris Busch, ORG president, said there was strong demand for the debut event. He said the proceeds will allow the ORG “to take the (farmers’) market up to the next level.”

Liam Cooper from Zambistros pours water in glasses before the event started.

The event, with a long dinner table on Main Street, provided a backdrop for some iconic images.

The ORG also is preparing for its next big event, a Sept. 17 concert at St. Mary’s Catholic Church featuring acclaimed tenor Ronan Tynan. Busch said 500 tickets have already been sold for the concert with 150 remaining.

For more information on the ORG, click here.

Rhinos soccer players promote reading in visit to Holley library

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 2 August 2016 at 6:19 pm

Photos by Kristina Gabalski-Rochester Rhino Sean Totsch reads, Rhinos Who Play Soccer, during a special Summer Reading program Monday evening at the Holley Community Free Library. His teammate Jordan Becker joined him during the program.

HOLLEY – Two members of the 2016 Rochester Rhinos read stories, talked about soccer and ran through some drills with young patrons at the Holley Community Free Library on Monday evening.

The event was part of the “On Your Mark, Get Set…. Read!” Summer Reading Program, which this year stresses fitness, a healthy lifestyle and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rhinos players Jordan Becker and Sean Totsch also signed team pictures and soccer balls for those attending.

Totsch read an appropriately titled children’s book – Rhinos Who Play Soccer by Julie Mammano. The illustrated book tells the story of rhinos (the animals, not the Rochester team) who play a spirited game as Team Rhino, but lose in the end.

“I’m not too happy that Team Rhino loses, but they were good sports,” Totsch said.

He added that in addition to golf, he enjoys reading in his spare time between soccer games.

Participants line up for a soccer drill with the pros.

Totsch and Becker use their heads to demonstrate some soccer moves.

State approves $165K for Lyndonville school for classroom technology

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2016 at 2:39 pm

LYNDONVILLE – The state has approved $39 million for 30 school districts to upgrade technology, including $165,000 for Lyndonville in classroom technology.

Lyndonville will use the funds for interactive white boards, said Jason Smith, the school district superintendent.

The funds were announced last week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. The money is part of $2 billion approved by voters in 2014 as part of a Smart Schools Bond Act. The money will support investments in education technology that will equip students with the skills they need to thrive and succeed in the global economy, Cuomo said.

The investments will help close the “digital divide” and increase access to technology and high-speed broadband in hundreds of schools across New York, the governor said.

“Through the Smart Schools Bond Act, we are ensuring that all New York students have access to high-speed internet and new technology, regardless of their zip code,” Cuomo said. “The tools and resources schools will be able to attain with this funding will help equip the next generation of New Yorkers to lead this state into the future.”

The Smart Schools Review Board met last week for the third time and approved investment plans submitted by school districts. The Board is comprised of the Director of the Budget, the Chancellor of the State University of New York, and the Commissioner of the State Education Department.

With the Smart Schools Act, school districts are investing in technology such as computer servers, interactive whiteboards, tablets, desktop and laptop computers, and high-speed broadband and wireless connectivity.

This technology helps students to learn at their own pace, expands access to advanced courses and interactive curriculum, and enhances communication between parents and teachers, Cuomo said. Smart Schools funds will also facilitate necessary investments in pre-kindergarten classrooms, removal of classroom trailers and high-tech school security.

Fire destroys Eagle Harbor home

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 July 2016 at 8:26 pm

EAGLE HARBOR – Albion firefighters Chuck Prentice, right, and Mike Dalle spray water on the smoldering remains of a house in Eagle Harbor. Fire torn through the house this afternoon, leveling the structure at 3248 Eagle Harbor Rd.

Firefighters were dispatched to the home of Richard Clark at about 1:30 p.m. The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Albion firefighters were close by at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. Many fire departments were there as part of a display of fire trucks.

The quick response to Eagle Harbor wasn’t enough to prevent the house from being a total loss. The structure was set back from the road in a wooded area. Live wires that were sparking added to the challenge.

Live wires that were sparking made part of site unsafe. National Grid arrived after this photo was taken to deaden the wires.

Clark wasn’t home at the time when the fire started. He thinks an animal could have started it or perhaps a sparking electric wire. The fire is under investigation.

Carlton firefighter Dave Bertsch gets water on the fire. Dale Banker, the county’s emergency management coordinator, is at right.

County forgives $75K in back taxes to help develop old Holley High School

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 July 2016 at 6:13 pm

File Photo by Tom Rivers –The old Holley High School is being eyed by a developer for senior apartments. The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday agreed to forgive back taxes.

HOLLEY – Orleans County legislators on Wednesday forgave $75,421 in back taxes for the old Holley High School, hoping that tax relief can help a prospective developer revive the site and turn it into senior housing and offices.

Home Leasing, LLC, is eyeing the site for senior housing apartments as well as office space for the Village of Holley.

The former school at 1 Wright Street has been vacant for about two decades. The school was built in 1931 at the corner of routes 31 and 237. It is one of the most prominent buildings in Holley.

It was last used by Liftec Manufacturing, which went bankrupt. Liftec’s owner and his wife are both now deceased.

The site hasn’t generated local taxes since 2002. The county will often acquire buildings when taxes aren’t paid after several years, but the county hasn’t taken ownership of the former school because county officials didn’t want that liability on the county.

Local government leaders have been trying to find a solution for the building for many years. The site was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, making the developer eligible for tax credits for 40 percent of the project’s rehabilitation costs.

“It’s going to be great for the east end of the county,” Legislator Lynne Johnson said in supporting the resolution to forgive the taxes.

Legislature Chairman David Callard said there is still a lot of work to do to make the project a reality.

“It’s still not a done deal,” he said. “It will be a wonderful project if it comes to fruition.”

County loans EDA $100K for sewer work at Medina Business Park

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 July 2016 at 2:55 pm

MEDINA – Orleans County legislators approved loaning the Orleans Economic Development Agency $100,000 to complete a water and sewer upgrade at the Medina Business Park.

The EDA is managing improvements to the park for Pride Pak, as well as a possible new hotel. There isn’t a firm commitment yet for the hotel, but Pride Pak is nearing completion for a new 62,000-square-foot vegetable and fruit processing facility on Route 31A across from the GCC campus.

Pride Pak will use about 400,000 gallons of water and sewer daily, which will be a big boost to the Village of Medina, said Jim Whipple, EDA chief executive officer.

The water and sewer upgrade will cost about $500,000. The EDA is having some cash-flow issues, Whipple said, and asked for a loan from the county.

The state is expected to come through soon with $80,000 toward the project, Whipple said.

The County Legislature on Wednesday approved the short-term loan for the EDA so the water and sewer improvements can be completed.

“This is not a line of credit,” said David Callard, Legislature chairman. “It’s a one-time shot.”

Pride Pak had looked at the former Bernz-O-Matic site in Medina, which wouldn’t have required new infrastructure. But the company decided to build a new facility. Pride Pak could add two or three additional buildings with future expansions in Medina that would be served by the water and sewer improvements, Whipple said.

Pride Pak officials have said the company would have 85 to 100 employees as part of the first phase. It could have 200 employees in Medina at full build-out.

The Legislature approved the loan with it to be paid back at 2 percent interest within a year.

Courthouse, Clerk’s Building will be painted for $106K

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 July 2016 at 2:33 pm

ALBION – The paint has been flaking off the historic Orleans County Courthouse in recent years.

The iconic building, the centerpiece of the Historic Courthouse Square, will soon be repainted. The County Legislature on Wednesday approved a bid from Panek Coatings of Albion to paint the building, as well as the neighboring County Clerks’ Building, for $106,450.

Construction of the courthouse was completed in 1858 in the ornate Greek Revival style. The dome is 36 feet wide.

The courthouse and 34 other buildings are part of the Courthouse Square Historic District, which was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Most of the $106,450 bid by Panek is focused on the courthouse, but the Clerks’ Building will also be painted. That building was built in 1888 and brought the Eastlake architectural style to Albion’s Courthouse Square.