By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2014 at 12:00 am
MURRAY – The Orleans County Conservative Party Committee on Tuesday passed a resolution, demanding the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo repeal the SAFE Act. The local group may have made history.
The party’s committee members met at Christos Restaurant on Route 104 and approved the resolution for the controversial gun control legislation approved in January 2013.
“We hadn’t seen any other political parties come forth and do it,” said Allen Lofthouse, Conservative Party chairman in Orleans County. “We hope it will set a precedent.”
The resolution will be forwarded to Cuomo, U.S. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and other state and federal officials.
Lofthouse and the Conservatives were praised for their public stance by County Legislator Don Allport during today’s Legislature meeting. The Legislature has passed several resolutions against the SAFE Act.
Every elected town and village board in the county have also formally opposed the SAFE Act. Lofthouse said it infringes on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
MEDINA – In this post card by W.C. Eaton we see the Clark Allis & Son Cold Storage east of Medina. This card is post marked March 24, 1913.
This storage was located at the railroad crossing on the Allis Road, which is a dead-end road off Route 31. In our photo looking northeast, we see a box car on a siding.
Provided photo – Alaina Boyce is pictured with some of the baskets that will be raffled on Thursday night.
Press release, Medina FFA
MEDINA – The Medina FFA is getting ready for its annual Pancake Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 13 in the high school cafeteria. Proceeds from the event will help the FFA put on the state FFA convention from May 8-10.
The dinner will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and all-you-can-eat tickets are $7. A special Valentine’s Day treat will be served as well. Students have collected baskets for a basket raffle during the dinner.
Tickets for baskets will be available all day Thursday with a drawing at 7 p.m. Winners do not have to be present to claim the prize.
For more information about the dinner, or to volunteer to help with the convention, contact the FFA advisor, Todd Eick, at 585.798.2700 x5116 or at teick@medinacsd.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Marisa Hanlon advanced to zone competition
File photo by Tom Rivers – Marisa Hanlon, a junior at Kendall, delivers a speech about the Constitution during the Jan. 8 Orleans County Legislature meeting. Legislature Chairman David Callard is pictured in back listening to Marisa. Her mother Nadine Hanlon is the Legislature clerk. She is pictured at right. Hanlon won the county contest and advanced to the district and then zone levels.
KENDALL – After winning the oratorical contest at Orleans County and advancing past the district level competition, a Kendall student’s journey ended on Saturday in the American Legion’s annual competition.
Marisa Hanlon won a $500 scholarship after making it to the zone competition. The top two finishers from five zones in the state advance to the finals in Albany next month.
Hanlon was the only public school student in the zone competition in Mount Morris. The other participants all had speech coaches.
Marisa recited her memorized speech “A Perfect Union” on Saturday and also had to be prepared to give a 3- to 5-minute speech on a random Constitutional amendment. The amendment chosen was the 1st Amendment – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Marisa was joined in Mount Morris by Charles Eberhardt, her escort from the American Legion. He is the commander of the Jewell Buckman Post 529 in Holley.
She thanked her Kendall social studies teacher, Mr. Petrosino, who helped her to prepare for the competition. Marisa also credited the Kendall school district for encouraging students to compete in the contest.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Taylor
ALBION – A former state track champion and football star from Albion, who already faced robbery and rape charges, now has been accused of selling cocaine.
Morris Taylor, 23, was arraigned on Monday on charges of third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He allegedly sold cocaine in the village of Albion on Sept. 4.
Taylor is in jail on $75,000 bail. Last Feb. 28, he allegedly was armed with a knife and robbed a pizza delivery person outside Mark’s Pizzeria in Albion. After the robbery, Taylor allegedly left the area with $300. Judge James Punch set May 7 as the start date for a trial for that case.
Taylor is represented by attorney Mark Foti of the Parrinello Law Firm in Rochester. Foti told Judge Punch the firm was hired first to represent Taylor for the robbery charge and hasn’t yet agreed to represent Taylor for the additional charges. Foti agreed in court to do so on a provisional basis.
Taylor on Dec. 2 was arraigned on first-degree rape and forcible compulsion rape. Those crimes allegedly occurred on Thanksgiving morning.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
I think we’re all worn out from all of cold in Orleans County the past two months. Enough already. The temperature is forecast to drop to 3 below tonight. It will warm up to a high of 25 on Wednesday.
I took these photos of the arch leading into Mount Albion Cemetery at about 8:30 tonight. The arch is just one of many Medina sandstone wonders in this cemetery. The arch feels like a bright spot on our frozen landscape.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The punishing cold winter has produced many icicles, including these hanging on Oak Orchard Health in Albion. The prolonged cold also will be hitting the wallets of electric customers.
HOLLEY – The 792 Village of Holley electric customers should brace themselves for big increases in their bills, village officials said tonight during the monthly Village Board meeting.
Holley has a municipal electric department. It buys power from three sources and all are passing along big increases to the village, which then in turn will have to charge more to its customers.
“On March 1, when people get our bills they will be in for sticker shock,” said Village Trustee Skip Carpenter.
Holley buys most of its electricity from the New York Municipal Power Agency. It charged Holley $84,553 for electricity from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31. In January the bill jumped to $188,513 and is expected to rise this month, Carpenter said.
Holley also buys power from National Grid and the New York Power Authority, usually paying each of them about $20,000 each a month. But those rates are also going up, Carpenter said. He expects the village’s total bill to be about $300,000 for February, about 2.5 times a normal winter month.
“I just feel bad for the residents because it’s going to be hard,” said Village Clerk Jane Murray.
She said the Department of Social Services has been calling the village a few times most days, telling them some low-income village customers expect additional HEAP funding to help with their bills. The federal government on Jan. 30 approved $454 million more for the Home Energy Assistance Program, including $50.62 million more for New York.
The electricity increases come at a time when many village residents are already struggling to pay their bills. Carpenter said about $84,000 in past due bills is owed to the electric department with about $58,000 of that more than a year old.
The Village Board is considering hiring a collections agency that would receive 30 percent of the past due bills. The board is considering whether it should first focus on bills that are at least a year old, or if it should use the collections agency to also go after overdue bills that are two, three or four months overdue.
Mayor John Kenney said Holley needs to “do something” to recoup funds for the electric department.
Carpenter said he feels for residents because many of them simply don’t have the money to pay.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – An Albion man who admitted to selling drugs with his mother was sentenced to 3 years in state prison on Monday.
David Nichols, 28, on Dec. 16 pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. Nichols admitted to trying to sell prescription narcotics that were rolled into cigarettes.
He faced 1 ½ to 4 years in state prison as a second-felony offender. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch gave Nichols 3 years.
Nichols has a prior charge of first-degree criminal contempt in Genesee County in November 2008 as well as other charges when he was granted youthful offender.
He was represented by the public defender’s office, which said in court that Nichols was left to “fend for himself” in ninth grade when he was mother was sentenced to prison. Nichols quit school in ninth grade and tried to support himself.
Judge Punch said Nichols had several opportunities through probation to avoid crime but he “failed miserably.” The judge said Nichols capitalized on the misery of others by “spreading synthetic narcotics.”
His mother and brother also await sentencing. Theresa S. Nichols, 51, has pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court to selling hydrocodone and other prescription narcotics.
She could face up to four years in state prison after she pleaded guilty to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. She will be sentenced on Feb. 24. She admitted in court to selling hydrocodone to an undercover police officer.
She also faces a charge of felony welfare fraud in the third degree.
Her son Josh Nichols, 26, will be sentenced on March 24. He could face up to 2 ½ in state prison after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial
Governor’s incentives for municipal cooperation come a little late for Orleans
File photo by Tom Rivers – The village of Albion Department of Public Works paves West State Street on Sept. 11, 2013 with help from the highway departments from Orleans County and the towns of Albion, Barre and Gaines, which all hauled dump trucks full of blacktop.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo frequently says New York has too many layers of government, and those entities – 10,498 in all – are a prime reason for the state’s high property taxes.
“You just have to reduce that bureaucracy,” Cuomo told reporters last month. “You can’t feed that many mouths every morning.”
As part of his state budget proposal he has offered incentives for municipalities to share services and resources, including enticements to consolidate. That sounds like a good thing, some state funds to urge local municipalities to share resources to ease local taxes.
Orleans County governments have been doing a lot of what the governor would like to see, and we’ve been doing it for years. Unfortunately, for Orleans and the local towns and villages, we did it before the governor’s big speech, so we won’t get incentives.
“We’re being punished for being a leader in this area,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer. “We’ve been doing these things pretty much consistently.”
The state, if it’s going to offer money for shared services, should recognize communities that have been doing this for years. We deserve some funds, retroactively.
Here is some of what happens in Orleans County with shared services:
The village of Medina abolished its court system and now the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway run a consolidated court that meets in the Shelby Town Hall. The three entities had six justices about seven years ago and now there are two. The town of Yates also has dropped from two to one judge and has an agreement with the western Orleans towns for their judge to step in when needed.
The village of Albion also abolished its court with those duties shifted to the towns of Albion and Gaines. In Gaines, there is now one justice, Bruce Schmidt, when there used to be two.
The village, town and county highway departments share equipment and manpower for building roads, clearing ditches and other big jobs. That spares the municipalities from each paying for a full arsenal of loaders, excavators and dump trucks.
The county has handled all of the dispatch calls for more than 15 years. Medina used to have dispatchers before shifting the service to the county. In other counties, some towns and villages still have dispatching units when the service could be handled at a county-wide level.
The towns of Albion and Gaines no longer have their own assessors on the town payroll. The two towns contract with the county for the service.
Orleans County manages the solid waste contract for all 10 towns and four villages. That gives us buying power and helps get us a better deal for pickup with garbage and recyclables. It also means fewer taxpayer dollars go to people managing multiple contracts in the county.
Orleans County and Genesee County share the same health department director, Paul Pettit. They are the only two counties in the state doing this.
Orleans contracts with Genesee to run the youth bureau for Orleans. Genesee also is paid by Orleans to maintain the county’s tax maps. Nesbitt said all of these agreements with Genesee save Orleans money compared to the county cost for doing he service by itself. The agreements also provide some revenue for Genesee.
In an internal restructuring, Orleans combined its buildings and grounds department with the highway department.
The governor would like to see neighboring municipalities share back office functions, procurement and other services. If municipalities agree to abide by the governor’s 2 percent property tax cap, homeowners would get a 2 percent tax rebate in the first year. In the second year, homeowners would only qualify for the credit if the municipality also submits a plan to consolidate or share services with their neighbors.
The governor’s proposal has been criticized by some county leaders around the state. They insist Cuomo and the State Legislature could best reduce local property taxes by reining in the costs with some state mandated programs, such as Medicaid, rather than casting blame on the local governments.
The state should take a look at each county and the shared services that already exist. These villages, towns and counties are saving the state money with pared down workforces. That’s less state pension and other salary and benefit costs for taxpayers.
State officials should develop a rubric or formula for those savings and give some of that money back to the local communities that have been leading by example.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – An Albion man was arraigned on robbery and burglary charges on Monday, when Orleans County Court Judge James Punch set bail at $75,000.
Kyle Depoty, 23, of Albion faces charges of third-degree robbery and petit larceny for allegedly taking items from the Albion Wal-Mart on Dec. 8 and then threatening to harm a store employee.
Depoty also has been charged with second-degree burglary and petit larceny for allegedly stealing a camera, camcorder and cigarettes from an Eagle Harbor home on Dec. 4. He also faces probation violation charges.
In other cases in county court:
An 18-year-old Murray man was arraigned for disseminating indecent material to a minor. Damien Jost of Ridge Road was remanded to jail on $2,500 bail.
He was charged in September with endangering the welfare of a child, use of a child in a sexual performance and disseminating indecent material to a minor. An investigation showed he was allegedly sending and receiving photos of a victim who was 12 years old that he was messaging on-line. Jost also allegedly sent the 12-year-old images of him having sex with his girlfriend.
Jost will be represented by the public defender’s office. Judge James Punch issued an order of protection for the 12-year-old.
Tricia Stoller, 29, of Groth Road in Holley pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. She faces a maximum sentence of 1 to 3 years in state prison when she is sentenced on May 12.
Stoller told Judge Punch that she stole a credit card on Sept. 27, 2012 from her sister-in-law and used the card. Stoller also admitted in court to having stolen coins and currency from a Murray residence. She said she planned to sell them at a pawn shop.
A Rochester man admitted to selling cocaine at the Burger King in Albion on Nov. 22. Kamerin Burroughs, 23, of Normandy Street pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.
Burroughs, a first-time offender, will be sentenced to no more than six months in jail as part of a plea deal. He will be sentenced May 19.
A Brockport woman admitted to helping sell cocaine in Albion on Oct. 6. Brigitte Lutsch, 20, allegedly drove a drug dealer to Albion. She said she was aware cocaine was in her vehicle and that the drug was to be sold.
She has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 2 ½ years in state prison. She has been accepted into drug court. If she completes the program, which usually takes about a year, the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor.
An Albion man also was accepted into drug court. Jeffrey Starkweather, 51, admitted he had a prescription narcotic that wasn’t prescribed to him on Aug. 1, 2013.
A first-time offender, he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. The charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in county jail. The charge will be dismissed if he completes drug court.
A former Orleans County resident was arraigned for third-degree welfare fraud. Otis Hardy was allegedly living in Florida while collecting local welfare benefits. He is in jail on $5,000 bail.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Village planning officials want to update the zoning for the downtown business district to allow for wineries, breweries and micro-breweries.
The village zoning currently doesn’t state that wineries and breweries are an allowed use in the downtown. That doesn’t mean they are currently prohibited. A project would require a special use permit and extra scrutiny under the current code.
The Planning Board has been discussing the zoning change since December. Planning Board members and Code Enforcement Office Marty Busch have reached out to other communities with wineries and breweries in their business districts.
“We’re gathering information and we have some good information coming in,” Busch said at last week’s Planning Board meeting.
He wants to get a sense of sales volume and parking needs at wineries and breweries in downtown business districts.
Planning Board member Todd Bensley said he wants any zoning changes to include provisions against odor and noise that could be a deterrent to other businesses.
“We need to protect the integrity of the downtown business district,” Bensley said. “It can be a positive if it’s done right.”
Busch said the village has been approached about a winery and brewery in the downtown. He also thinks the village should look at allowing wineries and breweries on the Maple Ridge Road corridor.
The state Legislature and Gov. Cuomo last year approved an expansion of the Niagara Wine Trail through Orleans County to Rochester.
“Medina is a in a good place with the expansion of the wine trail,” Busch said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Board backs James Bell of Brockport, a ’70 Albion grad
ALBION – The Town Board finally resolved an impasse over hiring a municipal attorney. James Bell of Brockport, a 1970 Albion graduate, was hired at a $25,000 base pay.
Bell will also bill the town $175 an hour for work involving litigation. He works as the Sweden town attorney and also for Orleans County for some legal matters.
The decision at Monday’s board meeting followed three meetings in January when the board couldn’t reach a majority decision for an attorney. The board couldn’t muster three votes to bring back Robert Roberson of Lockport, who served in the roles in 2012 and 2013 at a $36,000 annual pay. The board also considered John Gavenda of Albion and Andrew Meier of Medina.
Board members Dan Poprawski, Richard Remley, Todd Sargent and Town Supervisor Matt Passarell all voted for Bell on Monday. Town Councilman Jake Olles abstained.
The Town Board also recognized members of the Downtown Albion Neighborhood Advisory Committee which volunteered for two years helping with a downtown grant that provided more than $300,000 in matching funds for building projects and nearly $50,000 streetscape improvements that should debut in the spring.
The DANAC members include Clifford Thom Sr., Brad Shelp, Gary Katsanis, Gerald Baehr, Ron Ebbs and Neil Johnson, as well as alternates Kim Remley, Dean Theodorakos and Sue Starkweather Miller.
Passarell thanked the committee for helping to see the grant funds approved for several projects in the downtown.
Kevin Lake, president of the Albion Main Street Alliance, thanked past Town Boards for pursuing the grant and working to approve the projects. Lake said AMSA would like to work on additional community projects for the community with the current Town Board.
“This summer I saw a downtown I’d never seen before with so many lifts,” Lake told the Town Board. “People were busy working on their buildings. That was pretty cool.”
ALBION – In this picture from the late 1940s we see a steam locomotive at the West Academy Street Railroad crossing in Albion.
After this period of time diesel engines replaced steam. To the left we notice an open box car on a siding next to the Woods & Sprague Mill. In the distance is the Albion Cold Storage. (The cold storage building was most recently used by the Orleans Pallet Company and burned in an Oct. 17, 2013 fire.)
Carl Sargent shovels his sidewalk this morning on Caroline Street in Albion after more snow fell. The National Weather Service is forecasting 3 to 5 inches of snow today for Orleans County.
The NWS has issued a lake effect snow advisory until 10 a.m. for eastern Niagara and northern Orleans counties.
The Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge in Albion is blanketed with snow this morning.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2014 at 12:00 am
Roy Harriger pleads not guilty to sex abuse charges
Harriger
The pastor of the Community Fellowship Church in the town of Hartland was told to stay away from church and any other locations where there are children 18 or younger.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch made that stipulation on Roy Harriger today. Harriger, pastor of the Community Fellowship Church, faces six counts of sex abuse charges. He was arraigned in county court this afternoon and pleaded not guilty.
He asked through his attorney, Larry Koss of Brockport, to be permitted to attend church. But Punch said Harriger needs to stay away from church and any homes with children. He also must not email and have any communications with children.
“There will be no exceptions,” Punch said at the arraignment.
Harriger was arraigned on three counts of coarse sexual contact in the first degree and three counts of incest. He was first arraigned in the Yates Town Court on Nov. 27 after being charged by the state police. He posted $250,000 bail. Punch kept the bail at $250,000.
He also ordered Harriger to surrender all of his guns after the request was made by District Attorney Joe Cardone. Harriger has already surrendered one gun but Cardone said he believes Harriger has others, and Cardone wants them turned over.
The alleged crimes by Harriger occurred against three family members between September 2000 and September 2001, when he was pastor of the Ashwood Wesleyan Church in Lyndonville.
Harriger, 70, of Middleport was the pastor at Ashwood Wesleyan for 12 years before he was terminated by the church in 2009 after a falling out with denomination leaders. Harriger then started a new church, Community Fellowship Church in Johnson Creek, which is in Niagara County.
A state police investigation revealed the alleged crimes were perpetrated in New York, as well as the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania between 1974 and 2003. The alleged incidents in Michigan and Pennsylvania have been referred to their respective State Police agencies, New York State Police said.
Cardone is prosecuting the charges against Harriger in Orleans County. Cardone said he had no comment if charges will be pursued in the other states.
Harriger is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 24.
