ALBION – A Medina man will face 2 to 4 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty on Monday to attempted assault in the second degree.
Leo Woodrich Jr., 50, of North Street allegedly hit his wife in the head with a baseball bat on May 30. He is a second felony offender, the District Attorney’s Office reported.
He will be sentenced by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch on Oct. 28.
Photo by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – A man walks with an umbrella while it was raining this evening at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. The rain thinned out the crowds. When lightning hit around 9 p.m., fair officials opted to cancel the popular grease pole competition at 10 p.m.
Photo by Tom Rivers – State Sen. George Maziarz speaks at the opening ceremonies for the Orleans County 4-H Fair on Monday. He encouraged residents to sign a petition urging the governor and State Legislature to repeal the SAFE Act.
KNOWLESVILLE – Visitors to the Orleans County 4-H Fair can sign a petition this week to repeal the NY-SAFE Act, legislation that has been roundly criticized by many legislative bodies in upstate New York.
The petition at the fair is sponsored by Sen. George D. Maziarz. Residents can sign it at the Orleans County Republican Party booth located in the Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building.
“The NY-SAFE Act, which I opposed, trampled on many of the rights that responsible gun owners hold dear,” Maziarz said in a statement. “I continue to try to build public support for overturning the law.”
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, has already turned in a petition to the state signed by more than 1,000 local residents.
Hawley has asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to re-examine the process for enacting the law and allow his constituents to make their voices heard. Hawley and many of the county governments say Cuomo and the majority of the Legislature rushed the law into passage in January without feedback from the public.
Many of the provisions of the law are confusing and open to interpretation, Orleans County legislators said in a resolution asking for the law to be repealed. The county Legislature also has criticized the law for prohibiting firearm magazines with more than seven rounds, when most magazines have 10 rounds.
Hawley is critical of the way the law was approved without input from New York residents.
“Their voices were not heard during the hurried passage of this law,” he has said.
Hawley has sent a letter to the governor, telling him the SAFE Act did not protect the safety of New York families, but instead “trampled” the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The CSEA union is backing a lawsuit that seeks to keep the 120-bed nursing home in Albion as a publicly owned facility.
ALBION – The union representing 135 county employees at The Villages has sued the county, the County Legislature, its Chairman David Callard, and a newly formed local development corporation that is charged with selling the 120-bed nursing home.
The lawsuit alleges the county improperly formed the LDC – the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation – and the county’s fee title is invalid. The suit alleges other “arbitrary and capricious actions” and wrongdoing by the county, including efforts “to circumvent the stringent requirements of public health law.”
The lawsuit is the second that seeks to stop the county and its LDC from selling The Villages of Orleans. The first lawsuit, filed by local resident Mary Bannister and nursing home employee Dawn Hazel, contested the LDC was improperly created by the Legislature. Acting State Supreme Court Judge James Punch ruled in favor of the county last month.
The new lawsuit was filed July 10 and is not the same as the first one, said Cindy Troy, president of the CSEA union in Orleans County.
“This is in a different direction,” she said.
Legislature Chairman David Callard declined to comment on the lawsuit, except to say he favors due process through the court system.
CSEA and county attorneys are to appear in court on Aug. 6.
The suit was brought in the names of nursing home employees Jan Standish, a dietary at the nursing home since 1990, and Mary A. Lewis, a custodial worker since 1990 and member of the CSEA bargaining unit. Both have family living at The Villages.
The lawsuit notes that the union has a two-year contract running until Dec. 31, 2014. The Legislature in September 2011 also passed a resolution saying the nursing home would remain a public facility, subject to public governance, until at least the end of 2014.
The LDC was incorporated on March 7, 2013. The three-member board is led by its chairman, former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino. Other members include Clarendon Town Supervisor Richard Moy and Richard DeCarlo, a former Gaines town supervisor.
CSEA outlines six points in the Article 78 lawsuit. They include:
The state only allows LDCs to be used for economic development, the CSEA attorneys say in the lawsuit. The county created the Health Facilities Corporation to sell the nursing home to a third party, which the CSEA attorneys say is outside the purposes of the not-for-profit corporations law.
The county also violated the not-for-profit corporations law by transferring an interest to the LDC while the county retained the operating assets and operating responsibility for the responsibility, according to the lawsuit.
The county needs to determine property sold or transferred to an LDC first is no longer required for use by the county, according to the lawsuit. The county made the move without “fact-based determination,” the plaintiffs allege. The state Department of Health projects a 360-bed nursing home need for the county by 2016. Currently there are 310 beds, suggesting the nursing home will be in demand.
The lawsuit also contends the Legislature was wrong to create the LDC to sell a county asset. The Legislature can’t delegate that authority, and it should determine whether a sale is in the best interests of the county.
The lawsuit also says the county’s creation of an LDC to sell the nursing home is an attempt to circumvent public health law. The state DOH highly regulates nursing homes. The county formed the LDC without approval of the public health council. The LDC also can’t acquire, sell or lease property without permission of the commissioner of health. The county “failed to comply any of these provisions,” according to the lawsuit.
The CSEA attorneys also allege the county used “legal fiction” to create the LDC with a lease hold on the nursing home. However, the county retains all interests, rights and obligations to occupy, operate and maintain the site.
The LDC would take ownership of the site when it is ready to approve a sale. The sale would be made on behalf of the county, but in the name of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation.
“This results in a questionable transaction that takes the county’s name off of the sale of the Villages to a new owner-operator,” the lawsuit states, calling the plan an “excess of the authority” to act under a county law.
The suit seeks to annul the Legislature’s resolution that created the LDC, annul the “illegal lease and leaseback” between of the Villages between the county and the LDC, and declare the county’s delegation of authority a violation of the statue and the state Constitution.
MEDINA – Medina firefighters passed the boot on Friday and raised $4,222.92 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, firefighter Jerry Lewis reported.
Firefighters stood for eight hours at the Main and Center street intersection, and passing motorists left donations.
MEDINA – Chris Busch was out enjoying a gorgeous sunny day today, and talked his way to the rooftop at the R.H. Newell Shirt Factory building at 115 West Center St.
He sent along these photos looking toward the First Baptist Church at 203 West Center. You can also see the Post Office in the front right and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the back right.
Busch’s other photo includes the Sandstone Apartments and Bent’s Opera House.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Ferris Wheel, pictured at last night’s sunset, is among the attractions at the fairgrounds being provided by Midway Rides of Utica.
Daily Feature: Orleans County 4-H Fair Dunk Tank, located across from Senior Council stand
8 am: Senior Council Stand Opens
9:30 am: English Horse Show – Carlos Marcello Arena
9:30 am: Dog Show (Classes 5-22 and C3) – Show Arena
10 am: $5 Admission per car starts
10 am: All Buildings Open
10 am: Horticulture I.D. Contest – Curtis Pavilion
12 pm: Leader’s Pie Stand Opens
12 pm to 4 pm: Rabbit and Cavy Showmanship – Wachob Pavilion
1 pm: Story Hour: Sponsored by Yates Community Library – Trolley Building
2 pm: Rabbit and Cavy Knowledge Contest – Wachob Pavilion
3 pm: Story Hour: Sponsored by Yates Community Library – Trolley Building
3 pm to 10 pm: Midway Rides of Utica $18 unlimited ride wristbands
3:30 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – Orleanshub.com Stage
4 pm to 8:30 pm: Master Gardener – Lawn of Education Center
4:30 pm: Fearless Flores
5 pm: Beef Showmanship and Show – Show Arena
5:30 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – OrleansHub.com Stage
6 pm: Registration Ends for Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull – Fair Office
6 pm: Rabbit and Cavy Costume Class and Cloverbud Show – Wachob Pavilion
6:15 pm: Rabbit and Cavy Show – Wachob Pavilion
6:30 pm: Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull. Pedal Tractor Course: Fair Office
6:30 pm: Fearless Flores
7 pm to 8:30 pm: Local Entertainment Variety Acts – OrleansHub.com Stage
7 pm: Spanish/English Story Hour: Sponsored by Yates Community Library – Trolley Building
8 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – OrleansHub.com Stage
8:30 pm: Fearless Flores
9 pm: $1000 Karaoke Challenge – OrleansHub.com Stage
10 pm: Buildings Close
Photo by Tom Rivers – The front entrance to Boxwood Cemetery includes mammoth sandstone pillars and chapel made of the local stone in 1903.
Press release
Medina Sandstone Society
MEDINA – Medina’s annual ‘Historic Walk,’ sponsored by the Sandstone Society, will take place at Boxwood Cemetery and will offer a generous slice of history surrounding some of the village’s most prominent people buried there.
The Aug. 10 event will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the cemetery on Route 63.
This is the fifth year for the Historic Walk with others having covered the downtown area of Medina, the Erie Canal basin, a historic residential district and three sandstone churches.
Susan Holland and Mary Zangerle, co-leaders of the walk, met last week with Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin to start plans and they paid tribute to Lattin’s background.
“Bill has created great interest in all of our annual walks here and cemetery locations are among his specialties.”
Then the two added that the 2013 walk will be blessed with a full staff of history specialists.
“Helping Bill will be Todd Bensley, village historian of Medina; Adam Tabelski, who has made history a hobby, and Craig Lacy, an official of the Medina Historical Society. We can’t miss with a group of hosts like that.”
Boxwood in itself has a certain drama and its massive central hill displays some of the most striking monuments in the region. Added to those are numerous large mausoleums of stone, built to house the remains of entire families and fully inscribed.
One eye-catching point at Boxwood is the chapel sitting just inside the large iron gates. This century-old structure boasts some outstanding stone masonry and also a stained glass memorial window that will get a full description.
The co-leaders added, “There is no charge for this annual walk and the society offers it as a public service.” They said previous walks have drawn as many as 70 enthusiasts.
Following the Historic Walk the Medina Tourism Committee has announced that a special event will be held in the Canal Basin at Medina. At 4 p.m. a musical variety program will be presented right in the dock area and the main features will be Medina’s popular Dave Viterna blues group and a visiting Creek Bend Band offering Blue Grass music.
“The music will run from 4 to 8 p.m. as a free concert,” said Jim Hancock of the Tourism Committee. “All the crowd needs is to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the entertainment.”
As an added attraction a new Medina food business will be offering baby back ribs and other specialties at the concert site.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Lucas Powley, 5, of Albion rides the mechanical bull on opening day at the Orleans County 4-H Fair in Knowlesville.
Nikki Renko, 18, of Kendall sings “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence during karaoke tonight.
Customers line up at one of the food vendors.
Leah Weinbeck of Brockport performs “Little Red Riding Hood” with a group from Lisa’s Dance Boutique in Holley. They won the mini-division of the talent show and qualified for the State Fair in Syracuse.
Madeline Bilicki of Medina performs “It should have been me” with Dance Theater from Medina. The group won an honorable mention at the talent show in the maxi division. Bilicki was part of a group that won second place for their performance of “Blown Away.”
ALBION – Jeffrey Paul, 40, of Holley was supposed to face a trial last week for charges of criminal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud, both in the third degree.
But Paul claimed a series of medications prevented him from thinking clearly, and unable to help with his defense during the trial.
County Court Judge James Punch told Paul today that a trial will be scheduled and Paul won’t be able to claim “fuzzy thinking” to avoid a jury.
In an appearance before Punch today, Paul listed several medications he is taking, including prescriptions for stomach pain, heart medication, a steroid and a lung treatment as well as others.
Punch asked Paul if the medicine was making him unable to concentrate. Paul said the medication sometimes causes concentration problems as a side effect.
But the judge said there was no reason to put off the trial.
“Let me tell you something,” he told Paul, “you don’t have to be at the top of your game to assist in your own defense.”
Punch said the trial will begin at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21.
Paul and his father David allegedly stole two backhoes, a box truck and a car and buried some of it on David Paul’s property on the Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road.
David Paul, 68, was sentenced to a year in the county jail in January.
ALBION – An Albion man, currently in Genesee County Jail, faces 2 to 7 seven years in state prison after he pleaded guilty today to second-degree rape.
Scott D. Stanley allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old girl in his apartment at 220 East State St. between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28, 2011. He will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 28. Judge James Punch said the sentence will be between 2 to 7 years in state prison, plus 3 to 10 years of post release supervision. Stanley will also be registered as a sex offender and could face civil confinement when his prison time is over.
Stanley is already a Level 3 sex offender, the most serious. He admitted in court today to having sex with the underage girl.
Stanley in February was indicted in Genesee County Court and charged with first-degree rape, second-degree rape and two counts of third-degree rape. He allegedly raped a girl under age 13 while in Pembroke in 2010 and 2011.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Brooke Bensley brushes “Desi,” short for “My Heart’s Desire” in preparation for today’s llama show at 10 a.m. Brooke, 18, of Albion has been showing llamas at the fair since she was 10.
Adam Eick, 18, of Medina and Joe Cecchini, 9, of Medina clean cows this morning.
Skip Lear and his daughter Jamie Schutz, 16, of Waterport lead beef cattle to the washing area at the fairgrounds. Lear, a former 4-H’er, volunteers as the beef cattle superintendent at the fair.
KNOWLESVILLE – The 4-H’ers and animals have arrived at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville, and this morning has been busy for 4-H’ers. They have been cleaning animals, and setting up stalls and pens for the animals’ week-long home.
The fair starts today and the first competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the cloverbud horse show and a walk/trot horse show. A llama and alpaca show begins at 10 a.m.
There will be an opening ceremony at 5:45, which will include a mortgage burning. Donors have paid off the mortgage on the new education center.
A talent show at 7 p.m., swine show at 7 p.m. and karaoke contest at 9 p.m. are also on the schedule for today.
Parking will be $2 per vehicle today after 4 p.m. It will be $5 per carload from Tuesday through Saturday.
Taylor Soule, 8, of Barre and her brother Matthew Mathes, 6, brush their dairy animals at the fairgrounds this morning.
Noah Preston, 17, of Barre hoses down livestock. The 4-H’ers strive to present a good image of the agricultural industry to the public during this week’s fair.
Photos by Tom Rivers
State Sen. George Maziarz, right, joined in the mortgage burning ceremony for the “Buzz” Hill Education Center at the opening ceremonies for this year’s 4-H Fair. Maziarz is joined by CCE Fund Development Committee Chairman Pete Toenniessen, left, and Ed Neal, chairman of the CCE board.
KNOWLESVILLE – Late last year, the board of directors at the Cornell Cooperative Extension set a goal of paying off the remaining $35,000 mortgage for the CCE’s education center, a nearly $1 million complex that opened in 2007.
The group wanted to pay off the mortgage a year early. It sent out letters to supporters in January. Donors responded en masse. The debt has been paid. Tonight, the CCE celebrated the milestone by burning the mortgage.
“It was certainly gratifying to see the donations come in,” said Ed Neal, CCE board chairman.
State Sen. George Maziarz was part of the mortgage burning celebration this evening. He praised the community for rallying their dollars in 2006-07, and for heeding the call again to pay off the debt.
“It was the community that built this education center,” Maziarz said during the opening ceremony.
The center has 6,114 square feet. It allowed the CCE to sell its historic office space on Main Street and move to the fairgrounds, making use of the fairgrounds year-round. The center includes offices, classrooms and a lab. It is named for Buzz Hill, a former buildings and grounds superintendent who died in an accident at the fairgrounds.
Orleans County legislators approved $10,000 to pay off the debt in January, and local private donors gave the remaining $25,000.
Russell Young, a member of the American Legion in Medina, plays the trumpet during the opening ceremonies.
Local veterans were part of the opening ceremonies, raising the flag next to the Trolley Building.
Interim CCE Director Pal Lehman praised the fair supporters, and a dedicated corps of about 100 4-H leaders for making the week-long fair such a success.
“We couldn’t be prouder of the Cooperative Extension and the good work it does,” said David Callard, the Legislature chairman.
Fair royalty also welcomed the community to the fair. That group includes Queen Mikaila Harmer, Duke Joseph Trautwein and Dutchess Megan Blackburn.
World War II veteran Michael Paduchak, right, and George Blakeman, a member of the Marine Corps League in Albion, salute during the flag-raising ceremony.
Press release, Smoke Free NOW
ALBION – Ten years ago New York State passed the Clean Indoor Air Act, which made businesses, restaurants and bars smoke-free and continues to save countless lives.
Community leaders, restaurant and bar owners, health advocates and youth will celebrate this monumental achievement and recognize those who helped make breathing clean air a reality in New York.
On Wednesday, Smoke Free NOW will give away prizes and gift cards at Tillman’s Village Inn, where there will be a smoke-free celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be $1 off lunch and $2 off dinner for people attending the party at 14369 Ridge Rd.
The Clean Indoor Air Act firmly established New York as a leader in tobacco control for taking this historically significant step for public health, but smoking continues to kill more than 25,000 New Yorkers every year. Just as New York protected workers, we are now challenged to protect youth by addressing tobacco marketing in stores.
Members of Smoke Free NOW – a program of GCASA, Reality Check of Orleans County, and local community supporters – will be on hand Wednesday to answer questions and share the significant impact CIAA legislation has had on our community. The legislation has resulted in reduced exposure to second-hand smoke and the health issues associated with it.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Many fair animals, including this cow, are ready for their moment in the show ring.
Today’s Feature: $2 Paid per car admission beginning 4:00 pm
Today’s Feature: Midway Rides of Utica $9 unlimited ride wristband 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Daily Feature: Orleans County 4-H Fair Dunk Tank, located across from Senior Council stand
9:30 am: Walk/ Trot Horse Show and Cloverbud Horse Show, Carlos Marcello Arena
10 am: Market Auction Weigh-In
10 am: Llama and Alpaca Show (classes 1-42) – Show Arena
10 am to 12 pm: Common Garden Vegetables, Market Packages, Cut Flowers, Indoor Gardening, Fruits and Nuts, Plan Collection (Preserved and Scrapbook), Landscape Pictures and Plants, Experiments, Horticulture Methods judged – Trolley Building
11am: Field crops judged – Trolley Building
1pm to 3pm: Group Exhibits, Food Preservation, Baked Goods and Visual Arts judged – Trolley Building
4 pm: Paid per car admission begins: Special Opening Day $2 price
4:30 pm: Goat Fitting Competition – Knights Building
5:45 pm: Opening Ceremony, Presentation of Colors by Orleans County Veterans – Flag Pole Garden
6 pm: Dog Show Grooming and Handling /Showmanship, Classes 1 -4 and C1 – Show Arena
6 pm: Leader’s Pie Stand Opens
6 pm: 2013 4-H Clothing Revue: Fun in the Sun – OrleansHub.com Stage
6:30 pm: 4-H Bake Sale – Trolley Building
6:30 pm: Trolley Building Youth Exhibits Open – Trolley Building
6:30-8:30 pm: Master Gardener – Lawn of Education Center
7 pm: Talent Show – Orleanshub.com Stage
7 pm: Swine Show – Swine Pavilion
9 pm: $1000 Karaoke Contest – OrleansHub.com Stage
9 pm: 4-H Exhibitor Only Event – Show Arena
10 pm: Buildings Close
