By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The economic development agencies for Orleans County and New York State are each providing some help for Claims Recovery Financial Services to move into the former Chase call center and add 150 jobs.
The company already employs about 600 people in Orleans County at the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina and next door to Chase in Albion.
Empire State Development has offered CRFS an $872,500 incentive package to assist with job creation and retention, which includes a $472,500 wage tax credit and a $400,000 capital grant to help pay for new computers, desks and other office furniture.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency approved a $250,000 low-interest loan from the Orleans Revolving Loan Fund. That money will help CRFS with some of the upfront costs for creating the new work spaces. The EDA also will approve a sales tax abatement for the equipment purchases.
The Chase building at 231 East Ave. has been acquired by Roger Hungerford and his development company, Talis Equity. Hungerford owns the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina.
The EDA board of directors hasn’t met to discuss a tax abatement plan for the building, which is assessed at $4,046,000. The EDA approved a 10-year abatement plan for Chase in 2011. That first year Chase didn’t have to pay any taxes to the local governments. With each following year, the company would pay 10 percent more of a $4,046,000 assessment until the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) expired in 2021.
Once Chase shut down the Albion site, the PILOT was cancelled and the property returned to the tax rolls at 100 percent of its assessed value.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – They were popular during the Revolutionary War, tall wooden poles typically put up in town squares. They were painted red on top, a sign of defiance against British rule.
In 1982, the people of Gaines and the Cobblestone Society Museum erected a replica Liberty Pole next to Farmer’s Hall on Route 98, just south of Route 104.
I’ve noticed the pole before, but I didn’t know what it symbolized until Saturday, when I stopped by the museum for its “Traders of the Lost Arts” event. A lady demonstrating flax processing clued me in on Liberty Poles. She said they were popular in New England. There aren’t too many around anymore.
The Liberty Pole in Gaines includes a carving of a bald eagle. The pole went up in 1982, “The Year of the Eagle,” according to a marker by the pole.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Shutdown talks keep them in Washington, D.C.
ALBION – A big announcement about jobs usually draws a crowd of politicians.
Two members of Congress were expected for the news conference today about Claims Recovery Financial Services adding 150 workers in Albion, while the company moved to the former JPMorgan Chase site.
Sen. Charles Schumer’s staff on Friday sent a notice to the media that the senator would be in Albion today at 1 p.m. But this morning, with the threat of a federal government shutdown, the senator’s staff apologized in another e-mail, saying the senator would have to stay in D.C.
Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, also was expected, but he, too, stayed in D.C.
President Obama urged Congress to act before a midnight deadline to avoid the first government shutdown in nearly two decades.
Although they didn’t make the Albion news conference, Schumer and Collins were both quoted in a press release about the company’s expansion.
“This effort has been months in the making and the results speak for themselves: jobs, jobs, jobs,” Schumer said. “Fifty-five former Chase workers are putting their skills to work for CRFS and there are even more jobs to come. Thanks to Jodi Gaines and her commitment to the local workforce, CRFS will expand in New York State. The future is bright for CRFS and Orleans County.”
Collins is quoted with the following statement: “The relocation and expansion of Claims Recovery Financial Services, LLC, is a solid shot in the arm for the economy of Albion and all of Orleans County. Now, the largest private employer in Orleans County is putting more people to work and giving life to the former JPMorgan Chase complex. Jodi Gaines has built a thriving national business and regional employer. I applaud her vision and look forward to continuing to work with her for the betterment of this community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Jodi Gaines faces the gauntlet of cameras after a press conference today, when she announced the company would be actively recruiting to fill 150 more positions in Albion.
ALBION – When Washington Mutual took over the former Dime Bank in 2002, the Seattle-based company phased out the claims department.
Jodi Gaines worked in that department. Gaines started as a claims clerk in 1989 for the former Anchor Savings Bank in Albion. She stayed in that department as ownership of the facility changed to Dime Bank and the North American Mortgage Company and then to Washington Mutual.
She was offered a different job to stay with WaMu, but Gaines opted to start her own company in claims, helping banks and investors to recover money with foreclosed properties.
She started the new venture from her kitchen table in Albion. That was December 2002. She had two employees.
In May 2003, Gaines moved the claims work to the former Lipton’s office in Albion, a building that had been taken over by the Orleans Economic Development Agency. The Orleans EDA offered Gaines and her staff space, office furniture and equipment, while the company got started.
Gaines recalled those roots and help from the EDA today when she announced Claims Recovery Financial Services would add 150 more workers and move its operations to the former JPMorgan Chase site in Albion, where the site is projected to have about 750 CRFS employees in March.
“This organization prides itself on results and quality each and every day,” Gaines said during today’s press conference about the expansion in Albion. “The work ethic of the CRFS managers and employees is why we are now poised for such tremendous growth.”
Jodi Gaines is pictured with Orleans Economic Development Agency officials Gabrielle Barone, left, and Jim Whipple.
The news from CRFS comes to a community in need of employment opportunities. The August unemployment report showed Orleans County, with an 8.4 percent unemployment rate, had one of the highest rates in upstate New York.
“From humble beginnings in Orleans County, using a collection of not-so-gently used office furniture, cramped office space and an untriedbusiness model, Jodi Gaines and an outstanding, small group of predominately women, redefined the American dream,” said David Callard, the Orleans County Legislature chairman.
Vinny Esposito, Finger Lakes regional director for Empire State Development, praised Gaines for her vision in building the company, and for her commitment to Orleans County.
“It is really a great American success story,” Esposito said. “It’s a home-grown company that has grown into a highly successful company.”
Only 10 years ago, Gaines had fewer than 10 workers. She quickly outgrew the Lipton’s office space and moved her staff to the former Navarra’s Family Restaurant in Albion.
The company continued its rapid growth and made a name for itself in the claims industry by working with banks and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, recovering past-due interest, unpaid principal, unpaid taxes and unpaid insurance on houses.
CRFS moved up to East Avenue next to the Chase site about five years ago with 75 employees. The site had more than 300 workers about a year ago and Gaines needed to find more space.
Roger Hungerford, owner of the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina, renovated one of the Pickle Factory buildings, allowing CRFS to bring 230 employees to Medina while Gaines kept more than 300 in Albion.
‘We started in Orleans County. We’re staying in Orleans County and the best is yet to come.’ – CRFS leader Jodi Gaines
But the company kept growing, as more clients sought out CRFS for claims. When Chase announced in June it was leaving, eliminating 413 Albion jobs by September, the vacant facility presented an opportunity for CRFS to have its Orleans County workforce in one location with plenty of room to grow. Gaines said there is space for 1,200 employees in the 60,000-square-foot building.
Hungerford is in the process of acquiring the building from Chase. Hungerford, the former owner of the Sigma International company in Medina, has proven himself as a developer with the Olde Pickle Factory. He also has shown his dedication to the community.
“Everyone should be happy that Roger Hungerford has the building,” said Jim Whipple, the Orleans EDA chief executive officer. “It’s no longer in the hands of the banks.”
The banking industry has been particularly volatile the past 25 years, with the former Chase site often changing hands.
“Every five years we were dealing with somebody new,” Whipple said.
With each new owner, high-powered members of Congress intervened to keep the site in Albion. First it was former Congressman John LaFalce, a member of the House Banking Committee. He was critical in getting Dime Bank to come and expand in Albion.
After LaFalce retired, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer provided the arm-twisting to get Washington Mutual and then Chase to stay in Albion.
Now, with local people owning the building and running the business, the site won’t be vulnerable to a sudden shutdown or relocation.
Gaines said she sees the company continuing its rapid growth, to the point the Chase site may be too small. That’s why she intends to keep the neighboring site, where CRFS currently has more than 300 workers, as an option for the future.
“CRFS is primed to do more for Orleans County than ever before,” Gaines said. “We started in Orleans County. We’re staying in Orleans County and the best is yet to come.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Jodi Gaines, CEO and co-owner of Claims Recovery Financial Services, announces the company will consolidate its Orleans County locations in the former Chase call center in Albion, and add 150 employees. She is pictured inside the Orleans County Legislative Chambers.
ALBION – Claims Recovery Financial Services will not only move into the former JPMorgan Chase site in Albion, the new tenant plans to add 150 jobs there.
CRFS will move employees from sites in Albion and Medina into the Chase site. The move may begin in December and it’s possible the company’s transition to the building could be done by March.
The company, led by Albion resident and CEO Jodi Gaines, has been on a rapid upward trajectory and Gaines said it’s possible it will need more than 150 additional hires.
The 60,000-square-foot Chase site is being purchased by Roger Hungerford of Medina, who currently is leasing Gaines and CRFS space in the Olde Pickle Factory. The Chase site has been emptied in recent months of 413 employees.
“One of the many benefits of the Chase complex is that it’s a state-of-the-art, turnkey facility, which will allow CRFS to ramp-up quickly and fast-track our much-needed expansion,” Gaines said.
CRFS has hired 55 former Chase managers and employees, workers who have fit in well with CRFS because of their background in the banking industry, Gaines said.
The space at the Chase site allows CRFS to begin actively recruiting to fill an additional 150 positions.
Gaines and CRFS were praised by local elected officials, including Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos. The Chase closing has been difficult for the community, but the mayor said CRFS has the potential to more than offset those Chase losses.
“What Jodi has been able to do is just marvelous,” Theodorakos said.
The community also expects to benefit with Hungerford owning the building. He has shown he will keep up his properties, including the Olde Pickle Factory, which previously was used by Fisher-Price.
“We’re getting local ownership with the building and someone who will invest in the property,” Theodorakos.
OrleansHub.com will have more soon on today’s announcement.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – JPMorgan Chase closed its Albion call center earlier this month after the company worked five years out of this East Avenue site, which was previously home to Washington Mutual. Claims Recovery Financial Services will be the new tenant in the building, which is being acquired by Roger Hungerford of Medina.
ALBION – A company that has grown so fast it couldn’t fit its entire workforce in one building in Orleans County has found a local home for its 500-plus workers.
Claims Recovery Financial Services will move into the former JPMorgan Chase call center on East Avenue. That site once housed 1,000 workers at Washington Mutual’s peak in Albion.
CRFS outgrew space next door to Chase and added 230 workers to the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. The company has 320 employees in Albion.
At 1 p.m. today the company is announcing the move to the Chase site. Roger Hungerford, owner of the Pickle Factory, is buying the Chase site and CRFS will be his tenant.
The news is viewed as a major positive for Albion, which will benefit from all the workers visiting local businesses. The Chase building also is highly visible on Route 31. The sprawling parking lot full of vehicles will be good for the community’s morale.
Jodi Gaines started the business from her kitchen table 11 years ago. It has grown into the county’s largest private employer.
CRFS works with banks and investors to recoup money when a home is foreclosed. Gaines and her employees are committed to knowing the industry regulations in all 50 states and meeting all deadlines for clients.
CRFS also has a site in San Antonio with 80 employees.
OrleansHub.com will have more on today’s announcement following the press conference in the Orleans County Legislative Chambers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Workers from N. Choops Painting in Lancaster are giving the three-story Five Star Bank site in Albion a fresh coat of paint. The new color is darker than before. Painters also are painting the medallions up high a blue that matches the company logo.
“I love the color,” said Wendy Hinkley, the Albion branch manager. “It stands out more and it looks classy.”
The front on the building facing 102 North Main St. has two rows of medallions that will be painted blue. N. Choops may be able to finish the project later this week.
“It’s going to look sharp,” Hinkley said.
The project is partially funded with a NY Main Street grant, which provided matching funding for several other downtown projects.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Other new apple, RubyFrost, has another 3 weeks to mature
Photos by Tom Rivers – These SnapDragon apples from Kirby Farms have red color, good size and a juicy crispness.
ALBION – They represent high hopes for New York apple growers and they will soon be put to the taste test. SnapDragon and RubyFrost, two new varieties developed by Cornell researchers, are ready to make their public debuts.
The two new apples will be released at about 40 farm markets throughout the state.
“There’s a lot of people asking, ‘Where can we get it?’” said Roger Lamont of Albion, chairman of the New York Apple Growers LLC. That group formed in a partnership with Cornell to sign up growers and manage the supply.
The apples won’t be readily available in grocery stores until 2015 when recent plantings have a full crop. But they will be at many local farm markets in the next two years.
“Farm markets are good because of the direct contact with growers,” Lamont said.
There is a bigger supply of RubyFrost apples this year, and some will be held in storage until January, when Lamont said they will be released in a limited supply through grocery stores.
“We want to get the consumers’ reaction,” Lamont said.
Lamont drove a truck load of SnapDragons across the state on Friday so farm markets in eastern New York would have the apples. He wants to start developing an eager customer base for the apples.
The new varieties represent a major change in how new apples are managed and marketed. Cornell and other apple breeding programs used to develop new varieties which were then typically slowly released and often in a haphazard manner.
If a variety became popular, growers would plant trees en masse, leading to an oversupply and falling prices.
Tim Kirby checks on his SnapDragon apples in an orchard along Route 31 in Albion. Kirby is selling the apples at Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport.
Lamont said the new system ensures there is a big supply, but not too many where prices will fall below profitable levels. New York Apple Growers LLC is also directing funding to Cornell’s apple breeding program, to fund research for more new varieties in the future.
The program is open to all New York apple growers, but not to growers outside NY. Some other apple-growing “clubs” have formed in recent years and not all growers had an opportunity to grow and sell new varieties. That put some growers at a disadvantage.
Tim Kirby of Albion said he is grateful the new varieties are open to all of the growers in New York, and that the apples will be managed so there isn’t an oversupply.
“People want something new and different,” he said. “This is real positive for the industry.”
Kirby planted SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples in 2011. SnapDragon has proven “grower-friendly,” requiring less work than another popular variety, the Honeycrisp.
The SnapDragons all seem to ripen at about the same time, meaning they can get picked at once, rather than multiple times.
RubyFrost is a late-season variety. It’s a red apple that tastes sweet and tart.
The Kirby farm picked SnapDragons last week and was one of the first in the state to sell them at a farm market. Kirby’s Farm Market is located on Route 104 in Brockport.
Kirby said they should prove popular with customers because of the apples’ red color, the crispiness and the size. They are a little smaller than Honeycrisp, which some consumers perceive as too big.
Kirby was in an orchard off Route 31 near Riches Corners Road on Friday. He had already picked many of the SnapDragons and had them in crates.
“They color well,” he said about their red skins. “Look at them. They’re beautiful.”
SnapDragon gets its juicy crispness from its Honeycrisp parent, and it has a spicy-sweet flavor.
RubyFrost takes longer to ripen on the tree. That apple will be picked in about three weeks. It’s a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Tonight, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted, 228-201, to demand a one-year delay in the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that individuals buy health insurance.
The House legislation also denies federal subsidies to members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff, executive branch appointees, White House staff, the president and the vice president. They would be forced to purchase their health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s new insurance exchanges.
Congressman Chris Collins voted for the legislation. He issued this statement following the vote:
“For the third time in nearly as many days, I was proud to once again vote for a measure that fully funds the government, and protects the residents of New York’s 27th district from the train wreck that is Obamacare,” Collins said.
“Tonight, I voted to send a strong message to Washington politicians that neither Congress nor its staff deserves special treatment or exemptions from Obamacare. Now, it is time for the Senate to do the right thing, fully fund the government, treat the American people the same as big business, and eliminate any special treatment for Congress and career politicians.”
In a message on Twitter, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said the House vote “sure makes it seem they want a gov’t shut down.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Annual Ghost Walk draws 500 to Mount Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion student William Pecorella portrays William Barlow, the man who designed the County Courthouse and numerous other distinctive local buildings.
Chey-Rain Eagle depicts Elizabeth Proctor, the third wife of John Proctor, who is considered the “Paul Revere of Gaines” for riding his horse and alerting residents all the way to Lewiston that the British were coming.
ALBION – Some prominent Albionites in business, politics and community affairs in the 19th Century returned Saturday during the annual Ghost Walk at Mount Albion Cemetery.
The Albion drama program told the stories of 15 Albion residents who are buried in the oldest part of the cemetery, which opened in 1843. Students dressed in period costume and portrayed some of the Albionites, including perhaps Albion’s most famous native son, the Honorable Sanford Church. He served as lieutenant governor, state comptroller and chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
Not all of the Albion residents on the Ghost Walk achieved great success and acclaim. Students featured two children – Jane Lavery and Lydia Harris – who perished in the Main Street bridge collapse on Sept. 28, 1859.
Alyssa Lawrence tells the story of Jane Lavery, who was 16 when she died in the bridge collapse in 1859.
Joe Madejski portrays Sanford Church, who rose to the highest levels of state government in the mid-1800s.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – J.T. Thomas was among the 750 people who bought tickets to sample beer throughout downtown Medina on Saturday.
MEDINA – When the Medina Business Association first started Ale in Autumn in 2009, the organization hoped an event with beer tastings would bring in a few outsiders and get more locals to visit Medina merchants.
Ale and Autumn has done far more than that. It quickly sells its 750 tickets, and creates a buzz on Main Street.
“It’s about people coming together and spending the day together,” said J.T. Thomas, a local DJ who helps promote the event. He was an eager participant on Saturday, sampling 30 different beers at locations mostly in the downtown business district.
“This shows off our town and gets people going into all of our historic spots and our businesses,” Thomas said. “We’re trying to keep more things in the village, which is a special place.”
Ale in Autumn attracted many participants from outside Medima on Saturday, including this group, from left: Bob Slocum from Syracuse, Bill and Rosemary Rausch of Middleport, Joe Moll of Barker and Dottie Barr of Middleport. They are pictured inside The Bread Basket.
The event is a fund-raiser for the Medina Business Association. It uses proceeds to help pay for banners, the downtown sound system, bike racks, flower barrels and other projects.
Rollie Phillipps, co-owner of The Book Shoppe, poured beer and mingled with customers on Saturday. He was surprised how many from outside Medina were in town for the event.
“It’s good for the merchants because it gets people in the store,” he said. “A lot of the people say Medina has a lot going for it.”
Dottie Barr of Middleport joined several friends in sampling the beers. She has been to Ale in Autumn three times, and also comes to Medina for Wine about Winter, which features wine tastings.
“They’re both fun,” she said about the events. “You see people you don’t normally see and you see businesses you don’t normally see.”
Each participant in Ale in Autumn received a souvenir glass.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Merrill-Grinnell puts on first classic car show
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Fifty classic cars and trucks are lined up on East State Street today and at the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home parking lot, and the classic car show still had an hour to go before it started.
The funeral home is hosting its first-ever classic car show today from 1 to 5 p.m. Proceeds from the event, including a 50/50 raffle and entry fees for the cars, will go to Hospice of Orleans.
Funeral Home Director Rebekah Karls is pictured with a 1975 Plymouth Scamp. Karls organized today’s car show.
Scott Schimdt, owner of 2004 Viper SRT-10, gives the car a shine before today’s car show. Schimdt was parked next to his father Bruce, who brought along a 1973 Triumph TR6.
Contributed Story Posted 29 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Michael Karcz
KENDALL – The school district celebrated homecoming over the weekend, including a carnival on Friday where Kendall students and teachers took pies in the face.
The carnival also included a bounce house and other games and activities. The school district had a parade on Saturday and graduates were welcomed back to participate in alumni soccer and baseball games.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Tom O’Connor of Rochester works in the blacksmith shop at the Cobblestone Society Museum on Saturday. He is one of the “Traders of the Lost Arts.”
The event continues today from 1 to 5 p.m. when the museum grounds will be open for half price.
Besides the blacksmith, the museum is showcasing flax processing, quilting and printing. The museum is located near the routes 98 and 104 intersection in the town of Gaines. The site has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
O’Connor said the blacksmith shop is a “gem,” featuring original equipment that still works.
