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Medina reaches contract agreements with teachers, superintendent

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The Board of Education has reached a two-year contract with the Medina Teachers’ Association, an agreement that gives teachers an average of 1.5 percent annual raises and also is projected to save the district $770,000 in health insurance costs over the two years.

The board on Monday also approved a five-year contract with Jeff Evoy, the district’s superintendent of schools. Evoy started as the district’s top administrator in Nov. 1, 2011. He signed a contract then for three years and seven months.

The new five-year deal is effective the beginning of the current 2013-14 school year.

“We talked about long-term and we wanted consistency,” Evoy said today. “I want to retire here.”

Evoy’s contract calls for modest salary increases of 2 percent each of the first two years, then 1.5 percent, 0.68 percent and 0.67 percent the final year. His pay will go from $142,800 this school year and end at $149,841 in 2017-18.

The contract with teachers will only be for two years because both the Board of Education and the union want to see the impact of Obamacare on the district’s health insurance costs, Evoy said.

He praised the teachers for stepping up to help with the district’s health insurance costs. The union agreed to a less costly point of service plan, and all teachers will now pay towards a share of the premiums.

Teachers also agreed to two additional work days during the 2013-14 school year and three more work days during the 2014-15 school year. These days may be used for professional development and increased instructional time for students.

“I would very much like to thank the leadership of the Teachers’ Association for the professional approach to these talks and to the recognition that these are very different and difficult financial times,” Evoy said. “This agreement will allow the district to move forward in a financially responsible manner, rewarding unit members for their efforts while keeping students and student learning as its top priority.”

Joe Byrne, the union president, said the contract will keep the district focused on educating Medina students.

“Through the negotiations process, our number one priority was to maintain present – and ensure future – programs for our students,” he said.

Hospice hires new development director

Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Marsha Rivers

Press release, Hospice of Orleans

ALBION Marsha Rivers is the newest member of the Hospice of Orleans team. She joined the staff as Director of Development and Community Relations on June 17.

Rivers has been working in Albion since 2008 at Care Net of Greater Orleans, a pregnancy resource center. She served as Care Net’s part-time executive director from 2009 until this summer, when she joined Hospice full time.

As successor to Cora Goyette, who retired in March following the successful campaign to build the Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, Rivers will be reinforcing support for the residence as well as all the vital services Hospice of Orleans provides, including home care, transitions, and bereavement assistance for our community.

“I consider it a high honor to be part of Hospice,” Rivers said. “I agree wholeheartedly with the hospice philosophy of considering all aspects of a person’s needs as they navigate life-limiting illness. Also, it’s a real blessing for me to have meaningful work so close to home.”

Rivers’ first public appearance for Hospice will be the Ducks Ahoy Race at 3 p.m. on July 4 in Johnson’s Creek, as part of the Lyndonville Lions’ Annual Independence Day Celebration. Duck tickets, each one representing a chance to win cash prizes donated by Baxter of Medina, are for sale at the Hospice office, 14080 Route 31 West, or at the Hospice booth near the creek in downtown Lyndonville on July 4.

An Orleans County native, Rivers graduated from Albion High School and then earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester. She worked as a reporter for the Batavia Daily News before returning to her alma mater, where she filled several roles, including admissions, alumni relations, public relations and marketing, ultimately serving as editor of the college magazine, Roberts Today, for nine years. During that time, Rivers also earned her master’s degree in theological studies, with a concentration in nonprofit leadership and management, from Northeastern Seminary.

Editor’s note: Marsha Rivers is married to Tom Rivers, editor of OrleansHub.com.

DA makes plea offer to woman who allegedly stole $20k in Lotto tickets

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A Medina resident who allegedly stole $20,000 in lottery tickets was offered a plea deal on Monday that would result in no more than six months in county jail plus five years of probation.

Kim Capstick and Orleans County Court Judge James Punch will consider the deal that will come with restitution. Capstick can make an offer on restitution or Punch can set a hearing to determine the amount.

Capstick worked Curvin’s News and Smoke Shop in Medina from February 2011 to June 2012 when the alleged thefts occurred.

She has been charged with one count of third-degree grand larceny and could face 1 1/3 to four years in state prison.

In other cases Monday in County Court:

Judge Punch set $250,000 bail or bond for Robert W. Tetrault, 32, of Albion, who is currently in the Orleans County Jail. During a court appearance June 25 at Albion Town Court, Tetrault allegedly threatened a witness while he was being escorted from the courtroom. Punch also issued an order of protection for that person.

Tetrault was charged in May for second-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and unlawful possession of marijuana.

A Lyndonville man pled guilty to driving while intoxicated and could face 1 to 3 years in state prison.

Jeremy H. Boyce, 30, of 32 Maple Ave. will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 19. He was charged on March 31 for driving while intoxicated, failure to keep right, drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle, failure to use an interlock device, aggravated unlicensed operator, aggravated unlicensed operator, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

Boyce has a prior DWI from Oct. 3, 2011. He faced a sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison for the March 31 DWI, but now is looking at a maximum of 1 to 3 years.

Hub’s top 10 stories in first 3 months

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Orleans Hub launched on April 2 and we’ve been building a growing and faithful audience since that first day. Thank you.

We thought you’d be curious about the stories that have generated the most page views in our first three months. Here they are, from number one to 10:

Day-old baby left with Medina FD, on May 28

Lyndonville woman dies in Carlton crash, on June 10

Suspect in lockdown surrendered to police, on May 23

Long-time Lyndonville store shuts down, on April 30

Kendall makes US News list of top schools, on April 26

Missing Albion girl is found safe, on May 2

Lockdown lifted at Albion schools, on May 23

8 face drug charges in multi-agency investigation of cocaine in Albion, on June 21

Kendall tops Orleans County school district rankings, on June 19

20-year-old charged after Albion girl is located unharmed, on May 2

We’ve published hundreds of photos on The Hub in the past three months, and many of the site visitors say they enjoy the photography the most. My favorite picture was published on our first day – April 2.

It shows Baillie Oberther, 16, of Medina being crowned queen of Dyngus Day during a celebration at Sacred Heart Club. Bonnie Boyd, last year’s queen, passes on the crown.

I like their happy faces and the intergenerational bonding. I like that Medina keeps up the Dyngus Day tradition, and that it is embraced by people of all ages.

Gaines weighs art co-op, 2 labor camps

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

GAINES Three projects – the renovation of a historic brick house, the conversion of a home into a labor camp, and the construction a new camp for farmworkers – are all before the town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Town residents can air their views about three projects during public hearings and meetings in the next month.

Ray Burke is working to convert a single-family house at the corner of routes 98 and 104 into a co-op for high-end crafters and artists. Burke plans to add a driveway to the south of the building that will be accessible to Route 98. He also is planning a parking area for about 15 vehicles.

Burke is seeking a permit to run the business in the town’s commercial and historic overlay district. There will be a hearing on July 16. That will follow a 7 p.m. hearing on one of the labor camp projects. The Orleans County Planning Board will review Burke’s project during its 7 p.m. meeting on July 25. The Gaines ZBA will then meet 7 p.m. Aug. 5 to vote on it.

Burke and a group of volunteers have been working on the 3,000-square-foot house, which was built around 1840, for several months. They still have a lot of work to do, Burke told the ZBA on Monday night. He would like to be open in the fall, but that may be too ambitious.

He believes the project will complement the cobblestone historic district, which includes the Cobblestone Society Museum, Tillman’s Village Inn and several nearby antique dealers.

“There are a lot of people who do nice things craft-wise, but they have no place to show their wares,” he said.

Two fruit growers also are trying to establish housing for their seasonal workers, who come to pick apples for about 10 weeks in the fall.

Kast Farms wants to add four manufactured housing units, with a capacity of eight people in each building, at 2824 Densmore Rd. The manufactured housing buildings are about 1,000 square feet – 14 by 76 feet. They each include two bathrooms.

The town will have a public hearing at 7 p.m. July 17 on the project. Kast is seeking a variance to have a maximum of eight people per unit, which is two more than the town’s standard. Kast’s orchard manager Gary Davy said the units are designed for up to eight people.

The project also needs a variance because Kast wants to set the manufactured units on a piers rather than a full foundation. Gaines’ zoning requires a full foundation, but HUD standards allow the piers, said Roger Kopas, the town’s code enforcement officer.

Oded Kalir of Brockport also is working to add farmworker housing in Gaines at 13105 Eagle Harbor-Knowlesville Rd. Kalir wants to convert an existing single-family house into farmworker housing. The house currently isn’t in an agricultural district but Kalir has applied to have it added to County Agricultural District No. 3.

Because the project isn’t in a certified ag district, he needs a permit. The ZBA set a hearing for 7 p.m. July 16 at the town hall.

Migrant Ed program using shuttered Lyndonville Elementary School

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Lyndonville Elementary School is again a center for learning. The building was closed by the district after the 2011-12 school year. It is being used this summer for a migrant education program.

Photo by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE A year after Lyndonville closed its elementary school due to a falling enrollment, the building is again alive with the sounds of children and teachers.

This summer there will be 120 students from grades K to 8 learning to read, write and do arithmetic – as well as participating in art and physical education. The students are in the migrant education project through Brockport State College. The college is sending students from Orleans, Genesee, Niagara and Monroe counties for the six-week program that started yesterday and runs until Aug. 9.

“This is beneficial to everybody,” said Jason Smith, the Lyndonville district superintendent. “It’s great to see the school used again. The last thing the Board (of Education) wanted to see was the building sit underutilized.”

Brockport is paying Lyndonville $10,000 to use the building for the program. Brockport is also is working out transportation for the students and is paying a food service provider. There are 10 teachers and 10 teachers aides working in the program.

The money for leasing the building should cover the utilities for the school year at the site that was closed after the 2011-12 school year.

The school was down to 100 students in grades three and four, and a special education class during its last year. Those classes and grades were shifted to the main campus where all grade levels are now in one building.

Convicted murderer wants evidence checked

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Joyce Powell allegedly wrote a song about the crime in 1992

ALBION – Two years after she was sentenced to 25 years to life for a drug-related slaying, Joyce Powell is working on an appeal. Her attorney wants to examine critical evidence that led jurors to convict her.

Powell in 1992 allegedly shot John Rutledge, 37, of Rochester and dumped his body in a ditch along Sawyer Road in Carlton. The murder was a cold case for 19 years until 2011.

The most damning evidence against Powell may have been a cassette tape that was seized from a car driven by Powell in 1992. She was stopped in Ontario County. The tape include a song that Powell allegedly wrote and sang that details how she murdered Rutledge, District Attorney Joe Cardone said.

The song was on a store-bought music tape. The tape sat in evidence storage for nearly two decades. Investigators didn’t play it until January 2011.

During the trial, experts studied the tape for authenticity, and deemed it hadn’t been altered, Cardone said. Musical friends of Powell also said it was her voice on the tape, he said.

Powell’s attorney Marcel Lajoy of Albany wants to have the tape studied again. He was in Orleans County Court this afternoon with Powell, and asked Judge James Punch to allow Lajoy’s experts to look at the tape to make sure it’s authentic.

Cardone doesn’t want to let the original tape out of his possession.

Punch didn’t issue a ruling today.

Powell was a high-profile anti-violence leader in Rochester in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, that image changed in 2007 when she was convicted of brutally assaulting a woman. Powell was sentenced to 16 years in state prison for burglary and assault for that crime.

Schools get much-needed aid increase

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Five Orleans districts to receive $3.2 million more

Photo by Tom Rivers – Albion Central School officials say they will be able to preserve their programs at the middle school (pictured) and other schools in the 2013-14 budget.

District	2012-13	2013-14	Increase
Albion	$20,389,686	$21,203,440	$813,754 (4.0 %)
Holley	$10,879,581	$11,621,917	$742,336 (6.8 %)
Kendall	$8,273,703	$8,826,811	$553,108 (6.7 %)
Lyndonville	$6,066,589	$6,357,344	$290,755 (4.8 %)
Medina	$18,008,806	$18,812,657	$803,851 (4.5 %)
Orleans County	$63,618,365	$66,822,169	$3,203,804 (5.0 %)

Source: NYS Division of the Budget

State aid increases are making life a little easier for school leaders this budget go-round.

The five districts in Orleans County will receive between 4 and nearly 7 percent more in state funds next school year, according to the state budget approved last week. That follows two years of meager increases. The districts were all cut significantly when David Paterson was governor. The state sliced education spending by nearly $3 billion state-wide during Paterson’s tenure.

“With the latest aid increases we are now back to the funding levels of 2009,” said Clark Godshall, superintendent of the Orleans-Niagara BOCES.

The 13 districts in the Orleans-Niagara BOCES cut 700 positions during the school funding crisis over the past five years, Godshall said. Some of those reductions were made due to shrinking enrollments. But many teachers, administrators and staff lost their jobs because districts were contending with rising costs and tepid revenue growth. The state also imposed a tax cap of about 2 percent on local governments.

“With the tax cap you were forced to reduce,” Godshall said.

State-wide education funding is up nearly $1 billion for about 700 school districts. The five districts in Orleans County collectively will receive $3.2 million more in operating aid, or a 5.0 percent increase to $66.8 million.

“We will be able to preserve all of our programs,” said Shawn Liddle, Albion Central School assistant superintendent for business. “We’re always grateful for the aid we receive from New York State.”

State and federal governments pay for about 80 percent of the district’s $33 million annual budget. The state budget gives Albion about $800,000 more in operating aid for 2013-14.

Although programs will be maintained, Liddle said the Finance Committee is eyeing some staff cuts to mirror a drop in student enrollment. The committee will make its budget recommendation to the Board of Education during Monday’s 7 p.m. meeting.

The district went the past six years without raising taxes. Albion cut staff and tapped reserve funds to stave off a tax increase during that time. But Liddle said the committee is looking at a 1.5 percent tax increase for 2013-14, which will be under the 2 percent cap.

Lyndonville also expects to preserve all of its programming and stay under the tax cap, said Board of Education President Ed Urbanik.

Rather than dig deeper into its reserve funds, the district can preserve those funds due to the increase in state aid. That gives Lyndonville a cushion with the uncertainties with health care costs, Urbanik said.

Rural schools have been lobbying the state to boost funding the past several years. Rural districts say they were disproportionately hit hard with the state funding cuts under Paterson.

Educate NY Now, an advocacy group of school stakeholders throughout NY, praised the new state budget, particularly the sizable increases for some districts. But Billy Easton, executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, said the state needs to do more to help school districts, especially those in rural areas.

“There remain urgent educational needs that must be addressed, such as closing the now widening gulf in educational opportunities between wealthy and poor schools,” he said in a statement. “Legislators are getting the message loud and clear that our schools are in crisis. This budget will slow the rate of classroom cuts, not stop it.”

Gaines and Watt will redo wind turbine permitting process

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

GAINES – Two years ago Chris Watt erected a 150-foot-high wind turbine on his farm next to the Watt Farms Country Market on Route 98.

Next month he will go before town officials seeking approval for the project.

Watt believed the town took care of the permitting process properly before the windmill went up in August 2011. His next-door neighbor Mary Neilans and her brother Robert sued the town, claiming proper procedures weren’t followed. The board waived site plan review and didn’t offer residents a chance to comment on the turbine during a public hearing, according to their lawsuit in state Supreme Court.

The town and Watt said they followed the town and state laws for siting windmills for agricultural purposes. State Supreme Court Judge James Punch ultimately decided to put the issue back in the town’s hands. Punch issued a ruling in January 2012, not siding with either party.

Watt was a member of the Planning Board when the project was first approved. He abstained from voting.

The Town Board in January 2012 voted to abolish the Planning Board and shift its duties to the Zoning Board of Appeals. That board will hold a public hearing on Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. at Gaines Town Hall to take comments about the Watt project.

“We’ve done this before,” Watt told the ZBA during its meeting tonight after it set the hearing. “Why do you need to do the same thing again?”

Watt said he met the requirements for setbacks and an environmental impact statement with the project.

“I’m not sure the setbacks were followed,” responded ZBA member Marilynn Miller.

Watt said the project was approved by the town’s code enforcement officer two years ago.

“We’re just following through with the letter of the law,” said ZBA Chairman Michael Grabowski.

Our sandstone heritage

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Kent resident takes pride in cobblestone house, sandstone step

Photos by Tom Rivers – Pete Consler bought two hitching posts and a carriage step about three decades from a Hulberton man who didn’t want them. Consler keeps them in immaculate shape in front of his historic cobblestone home on Kent Road.

KENT – Pete Consler was driving through Hulberton about three decades ago when he saw buckled sandstone sidewalk panels. He thought they would be a nice complement to his home, a cobblestone house built in 1843.

Consler has just moved into his parents’ former cobblestone cottage home on Kent Road more than 30 years ago. Consler and his wife Joan would raise two sons in the historic house.

Consler’s father Art added sandstone steps a few years before Consler noticed the sidewalk panels. He stopped in Hulberton and the owner said he would sell them – if Consler took all the pieces.

Consler also noticed a carriage step and two hitching posts. He asked if they were for sale and the owner threw them in the deal. The owner was glad to be rid of them.

Consler had a friend help him move the heavy stone to his home, where Consler established two sandstone walkways and put the hitching posts and carriage step near the road, trying to recreate a setup from the horse-and-buggy days.

I was on Kent Road last evening to do a story on Chet Wheelock and his family’s hot air balloon ride. I drove past Wheelock’s farm and ended up at Consler’s. His property is a showcase of our cobblestone and sandstone heritage.

The house has been in his family since 1949, when his parents Art and Rose Consler bought it as a cottage. Consler remembers spending the summers in Kent, and working for a dairy farmer down the road – “Boy did I get an education.”

Consler worked as a union plumber and as a pipefitter for General Motors. He has used his skills and hard work ethic to keep up an immaculate property. He repointed all the mortar on the house and has kept many of the house’s interior pieces, including a cast-iron potbelly stove and pre-rotary phone. His wife has developed a garden that could be featured in a magazine. Pete’s mother secured the tops of two old Rochester street lights that her son fixed up and mounted in the front lawn with toned-down lights.

The hitching posts include Italian lettering. Consler would like to know the story behind the symbols.

Pete Consler is a proud owner of a cobblestone home, and a sandstone carriange step.

Consler has battled cancer five times in the past 22 years. He is thankful for each day, he said.

“I’ve been blessed to have the best doctors in the world,” he said.

Consler also traveled to Rome, and met the Pope. Consler even shook his hand. He thinks that experience has helped him survive cancer.

I told Consler about my hitching post obsession, how I’m trying to build a database of all these relics from the horse-and-buggy era. I think Orleans County may be home to more of these than anywhere else, and could be part of a draw for tourists, especially if the hitching posts and carriage steps are part of a bigger sandstone and cobblestone story.

Consler’s two posts have lettering in Italian. If anyone reads this and knows what it means, please send me a note. These are two of the most ornate posts that I’ve seen. I’d guess they were owned by a well-to-do resident of Hulberton.

Consler feels such pride in his home, he had his name etched in the carriage step, just like many families did more than a century ago.

I told him he has done a great job with the place.

(If you have a hitching post story to tell, send me an email at tom@orleanshub.com.)

Orleans names legislator to emerging 3-county network

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Johnson joins effort to preserve Falls Air Reserve Station

ALBION – County officials from Orleans, Niagara and Erie are working to develop a three-county network to bring a regional voice to shared issues.

The group has identified a top issue as the long-term future of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station as a viable large-scale employer. The Orleans County Legislature appointed Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville, to represent Orleans on the group.

The three-county network will work on the Air Reserve Station and expects to take up the following issues:

The viability and sustainability of regional industry as serviced by and positioned due to the access to various transportation networks.

The interface of transportation networksinterstate highways, freight rail, Great Lakes ports, access to the oceans, international crossing points for highway and rail, and airports capable of transporting passenger and cargo up to and including wide-body aircraft.

Seeking support for needed investment in the same with an emphasis on tying commercial and freight traffic to our two major airports, and allowing direct and high-speed access for container shippers to and from the airports, including through the construction/redesignation of interstate highways and rail lines.

Emphasizing regional transportation infrastructure, including access to ports along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, access to the Welland Canal, and the existing rail lines including in southern Erie County.

Devising a regional strategy for utilizing and enhancing this transportation infrastructure to position Western New York to be globally competitive.

Reaching long-range agreements to develop communications infrastructure partnerships to position Western New York to be globally competitive.

First-time balloonist says trip was ‘wonderful’

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Chet Wheelock flew over his farm and rural Carlton last night

Photo by Tom Rivers – Chet Wheelock takes off over his farm on Kent Road. He was joined by his daughter Peggy Bropst, grandson Jeremy Mikels and great-grandson Mason Mikels. Greg Livadas of Penfield piloted the balloon.

Photos courtesy of Peggy Bropst – The shadow of the balloon appears in a cornfield.

KENT – He waited a long time to finally go up in the air, and Chet Wheelock says his debut hot-air balloon ride surpassed his expectations.

“It was wonderful,” Wheelock said today after his journey in the sky last night aboard the “Yeowza” balloon piloted by Greg Livadas of Penfield.

Wheelock, an 82-year-old farmer, was given the trip as a Father’s Day present. It had to be postponed until the weather cooperated.

Wheelock flew over the trees with his daughter Peggy Bropst, grandson Jeremy Mikels and great-grandson Mason Mikels.

“You don’t feel any wind up there,” Wheelock said. “You’re traveling with the wind. It’s as still as can be.”

The balloon took off over his farm on Kent Road and passed over cornfields, the Oak Orchard River, Brown’s Berry Patch, and the Harbor Pointe Country Club before settling at the Riverview Camp Site on Park Avenue in Waterport. They were up in the air about an hour.

Afterwards, they celebrated the voyage with cheese, crackers and some champagne.

“It was great, Wheelock said. “I’d love to do it again.”

Photos by Peggy Bropst – The balloon travelled near the Oak Orchard River, where you can see two of the bridges and Brown’s Berry Patch to the left.

Chet Wheelock sits on the packed-up balloon. His grandson Jeremy Mikels is at left.

Views from the top of the Presbyterian spire in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos courtesy of Ron Mathes

ALBION – In 2000, a contractor was hired to climb to the top of the 175-foot-high spire at the Albion First Presbyterian Church, part of an inspection and repointing of the steeple.

Ron Mathes of Holley asked one of the workers to take up a camera and get some shots from up high.

Mathes, a retired Postal Service worker in Albion, unearthed these photos and shared them with The Orleans Hub.

“I watched the man climb the steeple using a long rope which he would throw around the steeple and work his way up like a lumberjack,” Mathes wrote in an email. “After the first day, he used a chair-platform that was suspended from a pulley. I was talking with him one day, and he offered to take my camera up and snap some photos for me.”

Mathes saved the photos on floppy discs. The images were recently moved to his PC.

“I especially like the close up of the top of the steeple,” Mathes said. “From the ground you have no idea how big it really is.”

The last picture shows the very top of the steeple.

Trek will soon move to Lockport

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 June 2013 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – A Medina manufacturer expects to move to Lockport from July 11-14, and begin operating from Building 4 in the former Harrison Radiator plant on July 15, Trek Inc. states on its web site.

Trek’s Medina building at 1601 Maple Ridge Rd. won’t be empty for long. Takeform Architectural Graphics is moving from Mahar Street to Route 31A as part of an expansion for that company.

Trek, an electronic instrument manufacturer, shifted its engineering, and research and development groups to Lockport in 2011.

Collins says he’ll back immigration and Farm Bill, but will fight ‘Obamacare’

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – U.S. Rep. Chris Collins discusses legislation and the impact of Obamacare with residents during a “Coffee with Chris” event Saturday at The Village Inn.

GAINES – After six months in Congress, Chris Collins sees the role of conservative Republicans as playing defense in the nation’s capitol, trying to minimize the impact of what he said is a liberal agenda “in the nanny state,” a push to grow government programs and “hand-outs” at the expense of hard-working Americans.

“We’re trying to prevent additional laws like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank,” Collins said Saturday during a “Coffee with Chris” meeting at The Village Inn. The public event was attended by about 30 people, including many local elected officials.

Collins expects Obama will push hard to enact laws that would cut fossil fuels before his term is over. Climate change legislation would cripple the country’s economy, Collins said.

However, he said conservatives shouldn’t be extremists or obstructionists with every proposal. He is trying to take a pragmatic approach so Congress can pass much-needed legislation, including a Farm Bill that would offer a five-year plan for agriculture. The Farm Bill has been stymied over food stamps, which account for about $80 billion of the $100 billion Farm Bill.

Collins also favors immigration reform, but not the plan approved by the U.S. Senate on Thursday. That would allow a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally. Collins said those people can have work permits if they are working in agriculture and other jobs that are difficult to fill with Americans.

But Collins wouldn’t give the people who are here illegally a pathway to citizenship, nor would they be eligible for any government benefits. However, he said he would support the possibility of citizenship for the children of people who came to the country illegally.

Collins said agriculture desperately needs access to foreign workers who can milk cows and harvest crops without the threat of deportation. Farmers can’t find enough Americans to do these jobs. Without legal workers from Mexico and other countries, the nation’s food supply and rural economy is very vulnerable, Collins said.

A group of many local elected officials turned out to hear Chris Collins discuss his first six months as congressman.

Orleans County Legislator Bill Eick, a former dairy farmer from Shelby, said local farmers have been traveling to Washington to lobby for immigration reform for 15 years. Farmers are starting to switch from labor-intensive crops to corn because of the lack of legal workers, Eick said.

“I hope you can get something done,” Eick told Collins about the immigration proposal.

Collins was harshly critical of Obama’s health care plan – “Obamacare is the worst law ever passed.” That legislation is starting to take effect and causing numerous problems, Collins said.

Healthy people are resisting the high-cost of health insurance, while businesses aren’t hiring or have cut hours to stay under thresholds for providing health insurance, he said. That has reduced job opportunities and take-home pay for residents.

“This law is beyond a wet blanket,” Collins said. “It’s destroying people’s lives.”

The congressman also blamed Albany politics for much of the New York state’s economic problems. The growing welfare state in New York has resulted in oppressive taxes, chasing away residents and businesses, he said.

“We are shrinking and shrinking every day, and dying,” he said about the state. “We should be a prosperous, growing area. We have great climate, a lot of water and an educated workforce. But Albany hurts us. Fix Alabany and you would see this state grow again.”