By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – There are a lot of frosted windows in Orleans County today. I took this picture this morning looking out one of the windows in my house in Albion. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory through Saturday at 7 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Orleans County and Western New York through 7 p.m. Saturday. There will be blowing snow with visibility as low as a quarter-mile at times.
The advisory begins at 2 p.m. today for Orleans, and the following counties: Wyoming, Genesee, Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.
Southwest winds are expected to reach 20 to 30 miles per hour Friday afternoon with gusts to 45 mph possible. As much as 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible through Saturday, the Weather Service said.
The temperature is forecast to peak at 16 degrees today and reach a high of 25 on Saturday. It will drop to 4 degrees on Saturday night.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislator Don Allport said he is fully behind the push to sell the county-owned nursing home, saying the site will be better run by a private company and will spare county taxpayers an annual deficit in the millions. He is speaking at a Legislative Luncheon today at The Village Inn.
GAINES – Orleans County Legislator Don Allport didn’t mince words today when asked questions during a Legislative Luncheon organized by the Chamber of Commerce.
About the push to sell the county nursing home, a sale that could be acted on next month: “I am completely in support of this sale,” he told about 75 people at the luncheon. “I’m adamantly against government being involved in the healthcare system. The private sector does it better.”
Allport said the nursing home could ring up a $3.4 million deficit this year. The 120-bed facility is a burden on taxpayers, he said.
If a three-person local development corporation votes next month to accept a purchase offer for the nursing home, the deal isn’t done. The sale needs to be reviewed by the state Department of Health, and that could take a year or more.
Once the sale is final, Allport said county taxpayers “will see a significant cut in taxes.”
The Villages of Orleans will also go on the tax rolls, perhaps boosting the village, town, county and school district assessments by $5 to $10 million, Allport said.
The switch to a private owner should ensure the site stays opens for years to come, he said. The county can’t afford the steep losses. He expects the service will improve under a private operator that is focused on nursing home care.
“Give it to someone who knows what they’re doing,” Allport said. “Because government doesn’t.”
Allport of Gaines was the county’s representative during the Legislative Luncheon that included state legislators George Maziarz and Steve Hawley. (They’ll be featured in a separate article.)
‘Oh Lord, help us if we go down the road and a New Yorker ever becomes president.’ – Legislator Don Allport
Allport was critical of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature for enacting a property tax cap about three years ago that did not provide significant mandate relief for local governments. Mediciad and eight other state mandated programs account for more than 100 percent of the county property tax bill, Allport said.
He was asked about whether Cuomo is jockeying to run for president, and whether that would be good or bad for the county.
“I don’t think America is foolish enough to put someone in that position who lied about mandate relief,” Allport said.
He also said the governor took an oath to uphold the Constitution and violated it by pushing through the SAFE Act, which Allport said infringes on Second Amendment rights.
In New York, Democrats have a major enrollment edge over Republicans for state-wide offices. New York is still a high-profile state, and many of the political talking heads speculate Cuomo’s policy pushes are aimed for a higher office.
Allport said he worries for the country if Cuomo or another liberal Democrat was elected U.S. president.
“Oh Lord, help us if we go down the road and a New Yorker ever becomes president.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 January 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The Albion Village Board will see a change a leadership on April 1. Mayor Dean Theodorakos isn’t seeking re-election in March, and Kevin Sheehan, a trustee the past eight years, also isn’t running.
Another Village Board member, Fred Miller, resigned last month so he could serve as an Orleans County legislator. Another trustee, Eileen Banker, is seeking re-election in March, but she could have a challenger from the Democratic Party.
There will be changes on the board, and the current members don’t want to be lame ducks, going easy their final 10 weeks or so in office.
Theodorakos identified the upcoming village budget as a priority. The current budget totals $6.3 million and runs until May 31. A new budget needs to be approved by April 30.
It would be a lot to ask a new board to do all of the budget work in one month, when the new members take office on April 1.
Theodorakos wants the current board to have the bulk of the budget work done by March 31, with the new members having a say in the process and finishing up the spending plan.
Village department heads are scheduled to submit their preliminary budgets by Jan. 31. The board will then meet with the departments to set priorities for the departments and perhaps trim the initial requests.
The board also has two union contracts that expire on May 31. The police officers and Department of Public Works both need to negotiate new labor deals with the board.
Theodorakos wants to leave those contracts to the next board.
“It’s silly for us to start it and leave it for somebody else to finish,” he said at Wednesday’s board meeting.
The DPW union sent a letter to the board, asking for an initial meeting about the contract. Theodorakos said the first meeting will be after March 31, when the new administration takes office.
“Realistically it should be the new board,” the mayor said about the contract negotiations. “We want to make the budget the priority.”
ALBION – This portrait is of John G. Sawyer, 1825-1898. He was the last person from Orleans County to be elected to Congress.
Sawyer was first elected Orleans County district attorney in 1862 and then county judge in 1863. In 1884, he was elected to Congress on the Republican ticket and served three consecutive terms ending in 1891.
He and his wife Eliza lived in a large house on South Main Street in Albion. This house was torn down in the early 1960s for the A & P store that is now the Sheret Post for the American Legion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Dean London gains unanimous backing at GOP caucus
Dean London
ALBION – Republicans tonight gave unanimous support at the party caucus for Dean London, the retired police chief, to serve as the next village mayor.
London retired from the Police Department in April 2011 after a 20-year career, including the last seven years as police chief.
“I’m not afraid of challenges,” London said after the caucus. “I really believe in this community. There’s a lot that can be done.”
Republicans at the caucus also endorsed incumbent Trustee Eileen Banker for another four-year term. The party also backed Stan Farone for a four-year term and Gary Katsanis for a two-year term.
The Democratic Party will have its caucus on Jan. 28. The election is March 18.
London, 48, ran for town clerk in November 2011, losing to Sarah Basinait. He has been working at Baxter Healthcare in Medina in the service department. He said he is eager to return to public service.
“I took a break from that and I’ve missed it,” he said. “I’m not one to sit on the sidelines.”
Banker
London, a resident of Goodrich Street, has served a five-year term on the Albion Board of Education. He also served 14 years on the board of directors for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, and was involved in the Albion Business Association.
As police chief he was active in the Neighborhood Watch program and worked to secure grants for the police department to outfit police cars with laptops, license plate readers, and a digital fingerprint scanning machine.
Dean Theodorakos, the current mayor, worked closely with London at the end of his career as police chief. Theodorakos said he is confident London can step in at Day 1 and do the job for the community. The village operates on a $6.3 million budget with about 50 employees.
“We had a good working relationship,” Theodorakos said. “He is a great administrator. He’s level-headed and analytical. He thinks things through.”
London and the GOP team said a priority will be working with the state Department of Transportation on a $2 million-plus replacement of the Clarendon Street bridge, a project that has been more on the drawing board for more than a decade. The village has secured 80 percent of project funds through the federal government. The state is expected to pay another 15 percent.
Farone
“The funding is there and we need to see it through,” London said.
He also wants to work towards upgrading the sewer and water plants.
Banker, 50, has served about four years on the board. She works as chief of staff for State Assemblyman Steve Hawley. She said that position shows her how many state policies hurt small communities like Albion, driving up operating costs and taxes.
“I see how it all trickles down to Albion,” said the Clarendon Street resident.
She wants to keep the Village Board committed to several big projects, including the Clarendon Street bridge and sewer plant upgrades.
Farone, 64, is making his first run for elected office. He is a long-time member of the Albion Fire Department, serving as a past president. He was a co-founder of the Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance about four decades ago and remains on the group’s board of directors.
Farone worked 33 years for Kodak. He served in the Navy for four years, and also has six years in the Army Reserve. He is a member of the Orleans County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Katsanis
He would like to see the Village Board establish better working relationships with neighboring town boards. The different boards should get together often and brainstorm ways to bring more tourism dollars to the community, Farone said.
“We need to see what we can do to build up the village and the towns, working together,” he said.
Farone, an East Park Street resident, also would like to see the village push for better sidewalks.
Katsanis, 55, was endorsed to fill the last two years of Fred Miller’s term. Miller resigned last month. He is now a county legislator.
Katsanis lives on North Main Street. He worked in medical data analysis for Strong and then Blue Cross. He managed a staff that stretched from Buffalo to Utica.
“We need to look past the surface issues,” Katsanis said. “We need to be careful and put thought into all of our decisions.”
He has served on a committee helping with recent the $477,000 grant for the downtown.
Katsanis said a “scarcity of money” is a problem for the village and other local governments. He said he wants to talk to stakeholders in the community, to get their ideas and their priorities.
KENDALL – Three people were transported to the hospital this morning following a two-vehicle crash in the town of Kendall.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. in the 16800 block of Roosevelt Highway (State Route 18).
William A. Ireland, 85, of Kendall was operating a 2001 Ford Ranger Pick-Up truck eastbound on Route 18. He attempted to make a left turn into Crosby’s Mini-Mart and crossed into the path of a westbound 2005 Ford F-150 Pick-Up truck operated by Thomas Johnson, 50, of Waterport.
Ireland’s daughter, Denise M. Norton, 53, of Kendall was a passenger in her father’s vehicle. She was trapped for about 30 minutes before being extricated by Kendall firefighters. Both she and her father were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
Thomas Johnson, who was the sole occupant of his vehicle, was transported to Unity Park-Ridge Hospital in Greece.
The incident was investigated by Deputy T.C. Marano.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 January 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Village and county officials agree that the Orleans County Major Felonies Crime Task Force is a success in deploying a team of officers with specialized training to target drugs and major crimes.
The Task Force includes an officer from Albion, Medina and Holley police departments and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.
Since the Task Force formed about a decade ago, a reoccurring issue has been how to best fund the operation. The county pays $50,000 towards the salaries of the Albion and Medina officers, and Holley receives $25,000 for its part-time officer assigned to the Task Force.
Albion and Medina have asked for either more funding for its officer or assurances that the officers’ overtime can be contained.
A new year has started for the task force and the Medina and Albion village boards have yet to sign off on the contract with the county.
The contract proposal says the two villages will receive $50,000 towards the officer. The contract then asks each village to commit to $2,500 in overtime.
Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos said he would be thrilled if Albion only had to pay $2,500 towards the officer overtime, which village officials said often reaches $8,000 to $10,000 or more annually.
Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said he thinks the contract is asking the village to commit to at least $2,500 in overtime, as well as any OT costs that exceed that. He said the contract hasn’t always been clear and is interpreted differently among the Task Force’s board of directors.
The Task Force board includes the police chiefs, sheriff, mayors of the three villages, some county legislators and District Attorney Joe Cardone. The group meets Jan. 31 to talk about the funding issue.
“It all comes down to money,” Nenni said Wednesday after the Village Board discussed the issue.
Nenni said it costs about $80,000 annually to have a full-time officer on the Task Force. That includes the salary, overtime and benefits.
The county’s $50,000 to Albion and Medina for a dedicated officer on the Task Force has not changed in a decade. The county tried to drop that to $25,000 last year, but the villages protested.
Medina would like to see the $50,000 increased because the officer is working on issues county-wide, and sometimes works outside the county. Assigning an officer from the village police departments also takes an officer away from those departments, sometimes leading to increased overtime costs for the village police.
Medina assigns an officer to the school district for about 10 months a year and the district pays $60,000 to the village for that officer. The district tries to cover the full cost of having an officer there for 10 months.
The Task Force arrangement right now pays about 63 percent of the Albion costs. Albion Trustee Kevin Sheehan said the county should at least cap the overtime to the villages at perhaps $7,500. If the officer exceeds that cap, the county should pick up the difference, Sheehan said.
Sheehan would also like to see funds from the forfeiture account be used to help reduce the villages’ overtime costs for officers on the Task Force.
Some of those funds are paying for a $20,000 renovation to the Task Force’s headquarters at the Public Safety Building.
Nenni urged the Village Board members to attend the Jan. 31 meeting and state their case.
“If you want it, go there and ask for it,” Nenni said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – I took the above photo through the frosted front window of my house when the Albion school bus stopped to pick up elementary school children this morning.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory for several Western New York counties, including Orleans, from 10 p.m. today until noon on Friday.
The overnight low is forecast at 0 degrees, but the 10 to 20 mile an hour winds could make it feel like 20-below.
It’s cold out today with a high forecast at 10 degrees.
The wind chill advisory was issued for the following counties: Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Erie, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Ontario, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany.
“If you will be outdoors use common sense and dress warmly, making sure that all exposed skin is covered,” the Weather Service advised. “If possible avoid prolonged exposure to the cold to prevent frostbite and hypothermia.”
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) is skeptical of the governor’s executive budget, which was presented Tuesday in Albany.
Hawley notes that this proposal is a starting point in negotiations over the budget and will be changed before a final product is passed in late March. In that time, Hawley will be working to improve the budget by supporting the good elements and seeking to have the bad parts removed.
Overall, Hawley’s impression of the budget is that the numbers do not add up since increases in education spending and tax relief measures are both larger than the surplus the governor is touting.
“The governor certainly rolled out some bold ideas for tax relief and increased education spending. However, I do not see how the math adds up,” Hawley said. “This budget proposal includes $2.2 billion in overall tax relief and $3.8 billion in increased education spending, when we supposedly only have a $2 billion surplus projected for 2017.”
Hawley wants the state to avoid taking on more debt. He also wants to see the state get serious about unfunded mandates, which contribute to high local property taxes.
“A more realistic tax relief plan would involve eliminating some of the unnecessary mandates handed down to municipalities by Albany,” Hawley said. “For example, the state forces counties to spend more on Medicaid than any other state in the country. This is why our property taxes are so high. Curbing spending on this and other mandates would have a much greater impact on property taxes on New York.”
Hawley is also blasting the governor’s proposal for taxpayer bankrolled political campaigns. This proposal would give taxpayer dollars to politicians to use on commercials, mail pieces, robo-calls, and other annoying campaign materials that hard-working families are bombarded with during campaign season. Hawley strongly opposes this idea and will fight to have it removed from the budget.
“Taxpayer bankrolled campaigns are essentially welfare for politicians,” he said. “Taxpayer money should be given back to the overtaxed families of Western New York before it is spent on endless political commercials and mailers. I am going to fight against this proposal and redirect this money back to the taxpayers who actually need this money.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 January 2014 at 12:00 am
GAINES – The plunging temperatures and snow-covered landscape may be a harsh reality of winter. The past month has been particularly brutal, with an ice storm followed by many very cold days.
The photo on the top shows the Erie Canal with a barn just north of the historic waterway. He picture was taken from canal bridge.
I took this picture about two months ago on Nov. 16. It was a warm fall day back then.
Those of us in Orleans County have the pleasure of experiencing a variety of weather, from sub-zero temperatures to 90-degree summer days.
I think the changing seasons is one of the appeals of this area. I wouldn’t want to live in Florida with all of their insects and alligators. Their constant warm days would get a little boring after a while.
