LYNDONVILLE The Lyndonville Central School District will host a Common Core Night at 7 p.m. today at the Middle-High School Library.
Lyndonville school officials will discuss how the district has implemented new standards for elementary and secondary math and English-language arts classes, as well as the district’s expanding AVID program and special education annual reviews.
The meeting tonight will begin with a brief overview at 7. Parents will then move on to their choice of two of the following 20 minute sessions: Common Core Math and ELA 7-12, Common Core Math and ELA Elementary, AVID Elementary, AVID Secondary, and Special Education Annual Reviews.
Babysitting and refreshments will be available, but the district requires that babysitting services will be requested ahead of time at 585-765-3107.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
A dusting of snow coats the bottom of a magnificent tree outside the middle school in Albion. This photo was taken at about 6:40 p.m. on March 25 when it was lightly snowing.
Winter won’t leave. Last Thursday, nearly a week ago, was the official start of spring and yet we continue to face snow flurries and 20-degree temperatures.
Wednesday will be more of the same with a high of 21 and a low of 13 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
It will break freezing on Thursday when temperatures reach a high of 43. It will hit 50 on Friday.
The same tree by the middle school in Albion shows its strength.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Monsanto gave $2,500 each to Community Action or Orleans & Genesee and Hospice of Orleans County. Jim and Jean Peglow, farmers in Barre, nominated the agencies for the grants from Monsanto. Monsanto Northeast business manager Jeff Cunningham, center, presented the checks to the agencies in Albion on March 22. He is joined in the photo by, from left: Jean and Jim Peglow; Mary Fischer, executive director of Hospice; Annette Finch, community services director for Community Action; and Ed Fancher, Community Action executive director.
ALBION – Jean Peglow and the other members of West Barre United Methodist Church have long been supporters of Hospice of Orleans County and Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.
The church wanted to boost its contributions to the two agencies, and found a way to meet that goal through a grant program offered by Monsanto. Peglow applied to the “America’s Farmers Grow Communities.” She was successful in securing $2,500 each for both agencies.
On March 22, Jeff Cunningham, Monsanto’s Northeast business manager, arrived in Albion with large ceremonial checks for Hospice and Community Action. The company, which sells seeds and other agricultural products to many local farmers, has been offering the grants for three years.
“We wanted to put more money back in the local communities where are customers are,” he said.
Both agencies say they will put the money to good use.
Community Action is seeing increased demand at its food pantries in Albion, Holley and Batavia, said Annette Finch, the agency’s community services director.
The $2,500 will allow Community Action to supplement some of the food donated by Food Link. The agency may use the money to purchase vouchers at grocery stores for milk and eggs, which aren’t available at the pantries due to space constraints.
Hospice opened a new residence in December for terminally ill patients. The $2,500 will help pay for personal care items and support the care for residents in the home, said Mary Anne Fischer, Hospice executive director.
Peglow’s husband Jim and his brother Jon are co-owners of Angevine Farms in Barre. The brothers use Monsanto products.
Mrs. Peglow said she is pleased to see the Monsanto funds will help the local causes.
“This is basically seed money for the different agencies,” she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The village of Albion has 10 to 15 “zombie houses” that have been left abandoned after residents were foreclosed on by a bank. The banks often fail to maintain the sites. The top photo shows 347 West State St., Albion.
Just down the street at 327 West State St. stands another abandoned house.
Another abandoned house in Albion stands at 324 West Park St.
They are called the biggest problem properties in residential neighborhoods locally. So-called “zombie houses” are abandoned homes and the owners of the buildings, typically banks that let the sites sit in limbo for years, are hard to pinpoint.
There are thousands of these abandoned properties state-wide, and at least a couple dozen in Orleans County. The issue has caught the attention of State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who wants state legislation that would require mortgage lenders to take responsibility for estimated 15,000 abandoned properties statewide.
The attorney general also plans to create a statewide registry that would allow municipalities to track abandoned homes and enforce local codes.
Local code enforcement officers welcome any help from the state in going after the owners of the properties and requiring them to maintain the sites.
“It’s a huge problem,” said Marty Busch, the code enforcement officer in Medina. “It’s very hard to track down the owner, whether it’s a bank or a mortgage company.”
The villages often will board up broken windows and have the DPW mow lawns. A fee is added to the property’s taxes, and billed to the owner.
The village of Albion billed $22,350 for mowing last year for the multiple trips at neglected properties. The village also billed $1,970 for boarding up fees.
Ron Vendetti, Albion’s code enforcement officer, said the houses are his biggest headache because there often isn’t a clear owner or contact person.
“I write the violations and some of the banks may assign a property manager, but some don’t have them,” he said. “You don’t have anyone you can deal with.”
He sees houses that could be sold sitting empty for several years, often falling into disrepair. Some people have expressed interest in buying the houses, but Vendetti said the owner – the banks or mortgage companies – don’t move on a sale.
Vendetti and Busch both think the banks lost track of what they actually own because there was so much mortgage selling among the entities in the mid to late 2000s.
“It’s a consistent problem, but the banks don’t give a rat’s a– about us,” Vendetti said. “People want some of these houses but they go nowhere.”
Schneiderman wants to change that, and is proposing stiff financial penalties for banks or mortgage companies that are unresponsive. If a bank fails to register an abandoned house, it could be fined as much as $1,000 a day.
The attorney general also wants to double the size of land banks to 20 in the state. These nonprofit organizations could acquire abandoned or foreclosed properties and then decide whether to rebuild, demolish or redesign them.
Vendetti and Busch both estimated there are 10 to 15 “zombie houses” in both Albion and Medina. Vendetti is also the code officer in the village of Holley and he said there are at least four there, plus eight houses left vacant from a chemical leak at Diaz Chemical more than a decade ago.
The zombie houses are easy to spot. Drive around on garbage day and they don’t have garbage out, Vendetti said. Many are missing curtains. In the winter there are no footprints in the snow. When the warm weather comes, the grass will grow wild.
For neighbors, the houses bring worry. Some of them have had squatters, Vendetti said.
Busch welcomed the attention from the attorney general. He wants to see the issue become a bigger priority.
“It’s extremely difficult just to establish the owner,” Busch said. “If it’s an out-of-state bank or mortgage company, it’s hard to find someone who even knows about the property. Half the time I don’t think they know what they have.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Orleans County Court Judge James Punch sentenced five people to at least a year in county jail or state prison on Monday for various drug crimes.
Joshua Nichols, 26, of Albion was sentenced to a year in jail for selling prescription narcotics. He was arrested on Oct. 1 for selling drugs in Albion with his mother and brother. Police said the three were selling hydrocodone and tramadol pills, which were prescribed to the mother.
Nichols’ mother Theresa Nichols was sentenced on Feb. 24 to 3 ½ years in state prison for selling prescription narcotics. Her son David, 28, was sentenced to three years in state prison on Feb. 10.
Joshua Nichols was charged after a single drug sale. His attorney, Larry Koss, asked the judge for a split sentence, where Nichols could work full-time and spend weekends in jail. But Punch said Nichols has a prior criminal history.
“State prison is not quite appropriate, but it’s close though,” Punch said during sentencing.
An Elba man was sentenced to a year in jail despite his attorney’s request for no jail time.
Edgardo Aponte, 41, of Hundredmark Road pleaded guilty to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree for selling cocaine in May.
Aponte has no prior criminal history. He apologized to the community and his family for selling drugs.
Punch said Aponte sold the drugs on multiple occasions, and is “responsible for spreading misery in the community.”
Jose Gallegos-Gonzalez, 56, of Hamlin was sentenced to two years in state prison. Last June he was charged with four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Gallegos-Gonzalez has a prior criminal history with multiple charges for driving while intoxicated, Punch said. Deportation proceedings have started against Gallegos-Gonzalez.
“You’ve been endangering people on the highways with multiple DWIs and now you’re endangering the community with drugs,” Punch said.
Jorge Villanueva-Ledesma, 34, of Zig Zag Road in Albion was sentenced to a year in state prison. Last June he was charged with nine counts of criminal sale and nine counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Through an interpreter, Villanueva-Ledesma said he has struggled with using drugs. He asked for forgiveness.
The judge said Villanueva-Ledesma was “fully involved” in several drug sales, and profiting from the transactions.
Rudolfo Juarez-Ramerez, 30, of Lakeshore Road in Kendall was sentenced to a year in the county jail. He was charged in June with one count of criminal sale and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
In another drug case, Punch said he would sentence Alexander Gelo, 22, of Brockport to up to a year and half in state prison.
Gelo in January pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. He was able to withdraw that plea if his sentence exceeded six months in county jail.
Punch said he wouldn’t agree to a six-month sentence. Gelo was arrested after allegedly selling cocaine in Murray on Dec. 1, 2012.
Gelo can either accept the 18-month sentence or face trial. He is scheduled to appear in court at 2:30 p.m. on March 31.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2014 at 12:00 am
CARLTON – The town has hired an Amherst firm to collect data on 2,400 properties as part of an effort to update the assessments.
GAR Associates Inc. will be paid $68,000 to visit every property in town. GAR won’t be going inside the houses and buildings, but the firm will be making note of swimming pools, additions, sheds, garages and property improvements, Town Supervisor Gayle Ashbery said today.
The town is working to update its assessment records so accurate and fair values can be designated for the properties. A year ago Carlton was engulfed in controversy when new values for properties were assigned. Residents packed the Town Hall to complain about some of the big increases.
Residents also complained some properties were under-assessed. The town’s records didn’t show all the structures and improvements at some properties with low assessments, town officials said.
The Town Board chose not to re-appoint its assessor and worked out an arrangement with Kendall to share its assessor, Gene Massey.
The board also voted to freeze the assessments at 2012 levels, rather than allow the big increases to take effect. The board voted again to keep the 2014 data at the 2012 numbers, unless there has been an building project at a property.
The Town Board will meet with GAR on April 4, and the firm will present its action plan for the coming months. Besides going door to door, the firm is planning two or three public meetings with residents, Ashbery said.
The updated property data plus the experience of Massey should ensure accurate assessments in the future, Ashbery said.
Photos by Megan Rosato, FFA Reporter – FFA President Sara Millspaugh, left, reads “Who Grew My Soup?” to an elementary classroom on Thursday, which was Ag Literacy Day. She was joined by FFA member Mackenzie Luft.
By Kellie O’Hearn, Albion FFA Vice President
ALBION – Ag Literacy Day was this past Thursday on March 20. Ag Literacy Day is celebrated every spring by educating members in the community about agriculture.
The Albion FFA made a point to celebrate the day by reading and educating every second grade classroom in the Albion Elementary School. Fourteen FFA members and FFA officers visited seven second grade classrooms.
The FFA members read “Who Grew My Soup?” a short story about Phineas Quinn who needed to know where all the vegetables in his soup came from. The story taught the second graders that in order for them to get all their fresh produce and food, there is an entire agriculture process involved.
The students then learned about the five food groups and why each is important. They colored cut-out hands with the five groups, as a reminder to eat a balanced diet and stay healthy. Students learned plenty about how agriculture works and the processes involved in getting their families not only fresh food but also other essential items.
This group of Albion FFA students spread the word on Ag Literacy Day, sharing the story, “Who Grew My Soup?”
New York State has selected a new high school equivalency test called Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) to replace the General Education Development (GED) as the primary pathway to a New York State High School Equivalency Diploma, effective Jan. 2, 2014.
The TASC will be aligned to the Common Core Standards over the next three years, increasing in difficulty each year.
“The TASC is very different from the GED exam that we have given since 2002,” said Susan Diemert, adult literacy coordinator for Orleans-Niagara BOCES. “It measures examinees’ levels of achievement relative to that of graduating high school seniors, and readiness for college and the workforce.”
The test was developed by CTB/McGraw-Hill and is now available on paper or online. The TASC is composed of five sections including math, reading, writing, science, and social studies.
“The GED exam was primarily a reading comprehension test – if the student had good reading and math skills, then he/she could probably pass the exam. The TASC now requires the individual to have knowledge of basic social studies and science content and advanced math skills,” Diemert said. “Adult students will now have to learn facts about government, historical documents, American history, and World history for social studies. The science section will require the student to have prior knowledge in the areas of biology, chemistry, and earth science.”
All five sections are different and will become increasingly more difficult through 2016.
Orleans-Niagara BOCES Adult Literacy program is one of 13 districts throughout the state to give the TASC online. We are the only district that has multiple sites, four in total throughout Niagara and Orleans counties.
“Students can take the exam online in one of our computer labs or on paper at scheduled times,” said Jessica Bush, chief examiner for the TASC. “Due to the more difficult nature of the test, we recommend that individuals take a Readiness Practice Test. The Readiness Practice Test is half the length of the actual test and determines the student’s ability to pass it.”
Orleans-Niagara BOCES is offering preparation classes at 14 different locations including Niagara Falls, Lockport, North Tonawanda, Sanborn, Albion, and Medina. A student may start class at any time. Morning, afternoon, and evening classes are available. Classes are free to any Niagara or Orleans resident.
“We do not recommend that anyone take the TASC without proper preparation,” added Diemert. “We have TASC preparation classes throughout Niagara and Orleans counties that specifically teach the skills needed to pass the test.”
Anyone who took the GED exam and failed any section of it prior to Jan. 1 can carry over the passing scores for two years and re-take failed areas. GED scores will expire on Dec. 31, 2015. The student can combine the passing GED scores with the new TASC scores to obtain a high school equivalency diploma.
To obtain further information on anything related to high school equivalency or for a schedule of Readiness Practice Test sessions, please call Susan Diemert at Orleans-Niagara BOCES, 1-800-836-7510 or 731-4176 ext. 3003.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 March 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Rochester man who was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on March 3 for robbing a bank in Albion was back in Orleans County Court today.
Jeremy Rothmund was arraigned for second-degree assault, a charge that could result in seven more years to his prison sentence.
While an inmate in the county jail, he allegedly injured a corrections officer on Oct. 16. Rothmund is represented by the public defender’s office. He entered a not guilty plea today.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch arraigned Rothmund, who is now an inmate at the Elmira Correctional Facility. He is due back in county court April 7 for his next court appearance.
Rothmund, 30, admitted in previous court appearances he robbed the Bank of America on July 2. He said he was trying to feed a heroin addiction.
MEDINA – This 1890s Queen Anne style house was located on East Center Street in Medina.
For many years it was the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Adelbert J. Richards. He was for decades the leading professional photographer in Medina. A.J. Richards lived from 1868 to 1949.
In the early 1970s this house and one west of it were torn down for a super market, leaving the Richards’ house site for a parking lot.
The present business located there is an Ace Hardware. A Jubillee grocery store was at the site prior to the Ace Hardware.
