Photo by Rich Miller
KENDALL – The sun casts an array of colors while rising this morning over Lake Ontario at Cleng Peerson’s Point, a spot overlooking Bald Eagle Bay in Kendall.
Rich Miller shared the photo with Orleans Hub. Today will provide a break from the harsh cold. Temperatures will be in the high 30s, low 40s.
Photo by Tom Rivers – COVA paramedic Steve Cooley holds Melayla Wenner, a baby he delivered in an ambulance on Feb. 27. Melayla visited the COVA crew today at the organization’s headquarters, 239 South Main St. Terry Bentley, back right, helped deliver the baby. Jake Crooks, also in back, drove the ambulance.
ALBION – Ayla Staats has watched television shows before when babies were born in an ambulance. She didn’t think that would ever happen in real life. She thought a woman would feel the baby coming, and give herself plenty of time to get to the hospital.
Staats gave birth to two children before her third child was born on Feb. 27. She was in labor for 17 hours with the first baby, followed by 15 hours with the second child.
Her daughter was due Feb. 24. Last Thursday, after the baby missed her due date by three days, she suddenly decided she wouldn’t wait any longer.
Melayla Wenner was born only 30 minutes after Staats’s water broke. Melayla was born in an ambulance on Feb. 27 at 11:51 a.m. The ambulance was staffed by Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance and was traveling on Route 31 near Manitou Road when the baby took her first breath.
Today, eight days after her birth, Melayla and her mother visited the COVA headquarters at 239 South Main St.
“I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you,’” said Ayla Staats. “They did an awesome job.”
Terry Bentley, an intermediate EMT with COVA, holds a baby she helped deliver last week. The baby’s mother, Ayla Staats, is pictured in back with Jason Spencer, COVA administrator.
Eights days after she was born in an ambulance, Melayla Wenner visited the crew at COVA this afternoon. The baby is pictured with Steve Cooley, right, the baby’s mother Ayla Staats, intermediate EMT Terry Bentley, and COVA driver Jake Crooks, left.
Staats lives in Medina. She was visiting her mother in Albion last Thursday when they decided to call the ambulance. That was 11:15 a.m. COVA was on the scene at 11:20.
The birth was a first for Steve Cooley during his 22-year career as a firefighter and paramedic for 22 years. He took the lead in the delivery and was assisted by Terry Bentley, an intermediate EMT.
Both Cooley and Bentley tried to keep Staats calm. Initially they didn’t want her to push too hard. But when the baby’s head showed, they encouraged Staats to keep going and push out the baby.
When the baby was born, they wiped her off and kept her warm. It was another seven minutes before they reached Unity Hospital in Rochester. Hospital staff and another ambulance crew were waiting for them.
Staats said she was scared and nervous as the birth moved quickly. She praised Cooley and Bentley for taking control of the situation and delivering a healthy baby, weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches long.
COVA has delivered other babies during its 35-year history, but it’s not very common, said Jason Spencer, paramedic and administrator for COVA. The crew trains for it, and was ready on Feb. 27.
If Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport was still open, Melayla probably would have been born there. Medina Memorial Hospital also would have been a close option, but that hospital closed its maternity wing in July 2011.
Spencer said Melayla is the first baby COVA has delivered since the two hospitals stopped delivering babies. Now, COVA has a longer ride to get a patient to a hospital.
Jake Crooks drove the ambulance last Thursday during a cold, snowy day. Staats was on a stretcher in the ambulance, which she said was kept warm.
Staats said she is grateful she called for an ambulance. She thought she had a lot of time. She almost had her mother drive her to the hospital.
“I’m happy they delivered my baby,” Staats said. “She’s healthy and her siblings love her.”
Provided photo – Jep, a 6-month-old beagle, hopped a fence this morning and is on the loose in Albion.
(Update – Dog has been found and will be reunited with owner.)
ALBION – An Albion family is looking for their 6-month-old beagle puppy, which jumped a fence this morning on Temperance Street.
The tri-colored dog is named Jep, after a character from the Duck Dynasty show. Jep is wearing a silver metal collar.
“We love him dearly,” said the dog’s owner, Kristen Ostrander.
For more information, contact Ostrander at 330-2741.
Lawhorn
A Rochester man faces numerous drug charges after being arrested today following a year-long investigation in the sale and distribution of crack cocaine from Rochester to Orleans County, the OC Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.
Luke L. Lawhorn, 27, of 136 Copeland St., Rochester, was charged with four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.
The Task Force arrested Lawhorn today on Lyell Avenue in the city with assistance from the Rochester Police Department. He was arraigned by Judge James Punch in Orleans County Court on a sealed indictment. Lawhorn was remanded to Orleans County jail on $25,000 bail or bond.
Lawhorn was to graduate from the Monroe County Drug Court on Friday. He was in that program following a 2011 drug arrest in Rochester, the Task Force reported.
The Monroe County Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team assisted with the investigation. The Task Force said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges and arrests are pending.
Press release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) voted to take the first steps to stop Common Core’s negative effects in New York classrooms.
The legislation Hawley voted for would end Common Core-aligned testing for grades K-2 and allow parents to prevent their child’s data from being shared with a third party. Hawley considers this an important first step, but will continue to push for a full moratorium on Common Core mandates that put a stop to high-stakes testing and promote a creative learning environment in New York classrooms.
“While there is still much left to do, this legislation brings us closer to removing Common Core from the classroom,” Hawley said. “We are going to continue talking to parents, students and teachers and turning their input into initiatives that create a positive, productive learning environment in New York’s schools.”
Hawley said the Assembly majority and the State Senate need to support the legislation for there to be a moratorium on Common Core’s high-stakes testing.
Hawley and the GOP in the Assembly support the APPLE Plan, which would place a moratorium on Common Core testing until a full review of the Common Core standards is completed. The APPLE Plan also restores education funding that was cut in 2011 and gives teachers professional resources to further improve their ability to teach our children.
ALBION – Two Medina women admitted in Orleans County Court to selling drugs. The cases are not related. Both pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, which carries a maximum sentence of 2.5 years in state prison.
Gale V. Morehouse, 51, can withdraw her guilty plea if she is sentenced to more than six months in county jail on June 9.
She admitted she sold methadone from her home on Church Street in Medina on April 22. She is a first-time offender. Morehouse has since moved to Lockport.
She told County Court Judge James Punch she “needed some money” when she sold the drug.
Another Medina woman, Serina Winters, also pleaded guilty on Monday to CPCS in the fifth degree.
Winters, 37, of 909 Church St., Apt. 1 was charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of third-degree welfare fraud.
In exchange for pleading guilty to one of the drug charges, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to withdraw the other charges.
Winters admitted she had prescription narcotics and gave them to her estranged husband.
She has been in jail on $5,000 bail since Jan. 15. Her attorney, Shirley Gorman, asked that Winters be released from jail or that her bail be reduced. Gorman said Winters is pregnant.
Judge Punch agreed to lower the bail to $1,000. Winters will be sentenced on May 5.
Photo by Tom Rivers – A tree stands in front of the County Clerks’ Building in Albion in this photo taken Wednesday at about 5:45 p.m.
The weather will finally warm up above freezing on Friday, ending a miserable stretch of days in a deep freeze. Today is forecast to reach a high of 26 degrees, but this morning it’s only in the teens.
On Friday it will warm up to 42 degrees, with a high on Saturday of 35, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
LYNDONVILLE – The 16th Annual Orleans County Farmer to Neighbor Night will be Saturday on March 15. The event will include awards, a silent auction, a showcase of FFA students, and dinner and dancing.
The event will celebrate the county’s leading industry. Agriculture generates more than $100 million in sales to the farms, and that doesn’t count the spinoff economic impact with tractor dealerships, veterinarians and other businesses.
Farmer to neighbor night begins at 6 p.m. at the White Birch Golf Course, 1515 North Lyndonville Rd. The event is sponsored by Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Farm Bureau, Soil & Water Conservation District, Chamber of Commerce and Albion FFA Alumni.
Reservations are due by March 12 and can be made by calling the Cooperative Extension at 585-798-4265 ext. 26.
By Bill Lattin, Orleans County Historian
Pictured here around 1940 is Fred Canham next to his huge tractor used as the power source for a threshing machine.
This was a Huber painted green with hard rubber tires. It’s now believed to be in someone’s collection of early tractors.
He purchased this in the mid-1930s and did grain threshing for many local farmers. Later, Mr. Canham’s son-in-law, Howard Bigger, ran this business until about 1956 when combines had taken over.
Press release, State Sen. George Maziarz
State Sen. George Maziarz and members of the Senate Republican Conference on Tuesday unveiled their “Young Farmers NY” plan to address issues related to the advancing average age of New York farmers and to preserve the future of family farming.
“Young Farmers NY” is a series of proposals to smooth the transfer of farmland to the next generation, preserve existing farmland, and help young farmers overcome obstacles to give them a greater opportunity for a successful career in agriculture.
“Getting young people involved in farming is critical to the future of our state,” said Maziarz, R-Newfane. “We need to strengthen the environment in which tomorrow’s young farmers will work, not only for the sake of carrying on a family tradition, but because young farmers are central to our state’s economy and our future ability to grow crops, raise animals, and put food on our tables.”
Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau, said the average age of farmers grows each year, making it imperative for the state to encourage and promote the development of young farmers.
“This plan is designed to not only help young farmers that are already involved in agriculture, but to get more young people involved in farming,” Norton said.
Senators were joined at the news conference by Orion and Jessica Behling, co-operators of Behling Orchards, a family-run apple farm in Mexico, Oswego County. Orion is president of Young Farmers and Ranchers of Oswego County.
“When farming is in your family’s DNA, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else,” Behling said. “Farming is hard work at any age, but beginning farmers face particular challenges in starting their business, and the Senate’s plan takes away some of the uncertainty, and helps us create a foundation for future success.”
Young Farmers NY is in response to research that shows the average age of New York farmers is increasing, as fewer young people pursue farming careers. According to new data from the USDA Census of Agriculture, the average age of New York farmers is now 57.1 years. There are two farmers aged 65 and older for each one under age 35. This and other factors lead to farmland being lost forever to development. About 50,000 acres of farmland were lost in New York in each of the last five years, the federal agency reported.
Young Farmers NY addresses these problems in two ways, by helping to encourage more young people to consider a farming career, and by reducing financial roadblocks to starting a new agriculture business. The plan calls for a state investment of more than $30 million.
Highlights of the Young Farmers NY program include:
Loans, grants, and tax credits for the sale or lease of land and equipment, as well as for new technological innovations;
Estate tax reforms to encourage farm preservation from generation to generation;
Agricultural education efforts including an apprenticeship program, student loan forgiveness and increased funding for the in-school Future Farmers of America (FFA) program.
LAND OWNERSHIP
The biggest single obstacle to starting a farm business is the high cost of land, equipment and supplies for starting farmers. Long-time farmers face pressure to sell to developers for higher prices than can be gained from keeping land in farming, lenders can be wary of extending credit to untested new farmers, and the state’s tax code makes it difficult for farmers to pass on their business to the next generation.
Young Farmers NY seeks to help prospective farmers overcome these obstacles.
Young Farmer Farm Preservation Tax Credit: Provides eligible farmers with up to 10 percent of the sale or rental price for the sale or lease of land or equipment to a new farmer. This preserves farmland, allows retiring farmers a more equitable return on their lifelong investment, and lowers the cost of farmland for beginning farmers. ($5 million)
Young Farmer Revolving Loan Fund: Provides $5 million for start-up loans for land and equipment purchases by new farmers. ($5 million)
Young Farmer Innovation Grants: Allocates up to $50,000 for new farmers through a competitive grant program that seeks to encourage new technology or production innovation. ($1 million)
Farm Savings Accounts: Establishes savings accounts similar to college or retirement accounts. Savings intended for the purchase of farmland or equipment would grow tax-free. ($5 million)
Estate Tax reform: Increases the estate tax exemption and lower rates as proposed in the Executive Budget. ($14 million)
AGRICULTURE EDUCATION
Just as many other successful industries, modern farming relies on technology and cutting-edge information to improve production, cut costs and boost profits. Young Farmers NY includes:
Young Farmer Apprenticeship Program: Provides funding to BOCES programs to establish partnerships with real working farmers to help young people gain hands-on experience they can bring to their own successful farm operation. ($500,000)
Young Farmer Student Loan Forgiveness Program: Directs the Board of Regents to establish a student loan forgiveness program for up to 10 agriculture degree graduates annually who agree to work full-time in agriculture a minimum of five years. ($100,000)
Funding for Agriculture Education: Increases funding for the in-school FFA program, which encourages careers in agriculture. There are 77 FFA chapters in New York, including in New York City. ($158,000)
The Young Farmers NY program will be included in the Senate’s budget resolution.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Terry Laubisch posed for this picture on Feb. 3, 2012, part of a series of portraits of farmers and their hands. Mr. Laubisch died on Feb. 20.
SHELBY – Drive on Route 63 in Shelby and you’ll see a sign for Flyway Farms, noting a maple syrup producer is on West Shelby Road.
Many maple producers in the state have the signs on state highways, pointing potential customers to sugar shacks on rural roads. Terry Laubisch pushed for the signs more than a decade ago. He saw how vineyards and wine trails used the roadside signs to brand their product and help promote tourism.
The Flyway sign near Laubisch’s farm was the first for all the maple producers in the state. It’s one of the many ways Laubisch helped promote the maple industry in New York, which is the country’s second-leading maple producer behind only Vermont.
“That really helped get customers out there to some of the places off the beaten path,” said Lyle Merle, a maple producer from Attica.
Laubisch was 66 when he died on Feb. 20. He was a participant in the popular Maple Weekend events in March, when producers opened their sugar shacks to the public. Laubisch saw the weekend as another way for maple producers to promote their industry.
“He was creative and innovative and always looking for new ways to do things,” Merle said.
Laubisch and Merle had a friendly rivalry every State Fair when their syrup and maple flavored products were judged. Laubisch perennially challenged for some of the most prestigious awards. He took pride in the quality of his syrup.
He urged the other producers to use the blue ribbons and awards to help brand NY maple as a superior product and to help the individual farms sell their syrup.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Terry Laubisch opened Flyway Farm in 1990. He tapped 900 maple trees.
The other producers welcomed Laubisch’s ideas, whether it was in selling the syrup or trying technology and techniques for tapping trees and making maple products. However, one time Laubisch had an idea that had the other producers shaking their heads in disbelief.
Laubisch saw the popularity of cotton candy and he thought a maple-flavored cotton candy would be a big seller. The cotton candy machine would have to be altered for maple, and Laubisch talked the manufacturer into making the changes.
“We thought it was crazy,” Merle said.
Maple cotton candy has been a sensation at the State Fair in recent years. Laubisch was often behind the booth, volunteering and happily selling the treat.
“I was impressed with that,” Merle said. “He found a way to make it happen.”
Laubisch and his wife Pat tapped about 900 trees for Flyway Farm. They attended many industry events. Mrs. Laubisch said her husband liked to experiment with maple and growing orchids. If Laubisch was involved in something, he gave it his full attention, his wife said.
“He was a special man who did it all and did it in a big way,” she said.
Laubisch first tapped trees and captured the sap with lasagna pans. He learned to use sophisticated equipment, and had a network of tubes to collect and move the sap at his maple farm.
When he made a discovery or perfected a process, Laubisch would eagerly share what he learned. He taught maple classes at the Erie County and State Fairs. He served as a director on the NYS Maple Producers Association and also was a president for the NYS Maple Foundation.
“Whatever Terry got into, he jumped in with both feet,” his wife said.
Friends and family celebrated his life this past Saturday during a memorial service at East Shelby Community Bible Church. For many summers, Laubisch and his wife manned the candy store at the church’s Old Fashioned Day celebration.
Jesse Bolt
Press release, Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force
MEDINA – A Medina man was charged today with criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance after a month-long investigation into the sale and distribution of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) in the village of Medina, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.
The Task Force and the Medina Police Department arrested Jesse S. Bolt, 38, of 723 South Main St., Apartment 1. He was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.
Bolt was arraigned in the Town of Shelby Justice Court by Judge Dawn Keppler. He was sent to Orleans County Jail on $25,000 cash bail or bond. Bolt is to return to Shelby court 6 p.m. on Thursday.
This investigation is still ongoing and further charges and arrests are pending, the Task Force reported.
Provided photo – Assemblyman Steve Hawley, center in front row, is pictured with other lawmakers, highway superintendents and highway workers in the State Capitol advocating for local roads. They are pictured at the Million-Dollar Staircase.
Press release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley
ALBANY – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) joined county and town highway superintendents from throughout the state in seeking an additional $50 million in state funding to improve local roads and bridges.
This funding is necessary to improve New York’s deteriorating local infrastructure, and will also create jobs related to infrastructure improvements, Hawley said. These roads cost each New Yorker an average of $1,600 in damage to vehicles because of roads in disrepair, he said.
“After a particularly harsh winter, the importance of having well-maintained roads has become clear,” Hawley said. “We need to make sure that our roads and bridges are safe for the people who rely on them to go about their day to day lives. I stand with highway superintendents across the state in saying that our local roads do matter, and proper funding is critical to keeping them safe.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – Schwenk’s Wine Cellars in Kent pours wine during the Wine About Winter event on Feb. 1, which sold out with 750 participants. Schwenk’s was in the basement of the Bent’s Opera House.
MEDINA – They draw lots of people and breathe new life into large old buildings. Wineries and microbreweries have been “wildly successful” in other Western New York communities, said Martin Busch, Medina’s code enforcement officer.
He is part of a village government that is working to tweak the zoning in the downtown and in the business districts to state that wineries and microbreweries are allowed uses.
The current village code doesn’t specify wineries and breweries are allowed. That doesn’t mean they are prohibited in Medina, but the businesses would have an unpredictable path if they tried to pursue that type of project in the village. They would need approval from the Medina Zoning Board of Appeals.
The current language in the code doesn’t give the village controls over the businesses, either. Medina wants to welcome the business ventures, while also establishing standards for noise, odor, and storage and disposal of waste products.
Busch said “more than one” business is interesting in Medina for a winery or brewery. The community is ideally located in the middle of the expanded Niagara Wine Trail, which now runs from near Niagara Falls to the west side of Rochester.
The wineries and breweries have been successful in former cold storages and other large buildings in Western New York, Busch said. He visited the Woodcock Brothers Brewing Company in Wilson, which opened in May in a former cold storage. That brewery is part of a restaurant and has attracted customers to that community.
He sees a winery and brewery feeding other nearby businesses in Medina, including agriculture that would provide hops and grapes to make the product. The businesses could also help the village by using water and sewer services, Busch said.
The Village Planning Board will consider a zoning revision. It won’t be a radical change. It may just be an insertion of a paragraph about breweries and wineries in the business district.
Any changes would require a public hearing through the Village Board. The changes could be approved as soon as in May or June.
“We’re trying to get ahead of the game if someone applies,” said Planning Board member Todd Bensley.
Photo by Tom Rivers – This photo shows the clock at Rotary Park in Medina on Tuesday night.
It might not feel like it today, after more snow fell on Orleans County and temperatures remain below freezing, but spring is around the corner. One annual rite will be early Sunday morning when the clocks spring forward an hour.
That officially happens at 2 a.m. on Sunday. The Medina Fire Department urges people to use this time to also inspect, test and clean their smoke detectors.
About 3,000 people die in fires each year, and nearly two-thirds die in homes without smoke alarms or without working smoke detectors, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
The Medina firefighters union, IAFF Local Union 2161, has teamed with Evans Ace Hardware to purchase 50 smoke detectors at a discounted price. Those smoke detectors are available to village of Medina residents.
Firefighters are willing to install them. Any village resident can stop in or call the firehouse at 798-1661 during business hours to inquire about a smoke detector install.
