By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
It’s going to be a white Thanksgiving. The National Weather Service is forecasting 2 to 4 inches of snow each of the next three days. There could be 6 to 12 inches of snow in a storm that is expected to come through later this afternoon.
The Weather Service has issued a winter storm warming effective from 4 p.m. today until 1 a.m. on Thursday. That includes the counties of Orleans, Genesee and Monroe.
There will be heavy and blowing snow with winds at 15 to 25 miles per hour and gusts up to 40 mph.
‘Heavy snow will result in very difficult Thanksgiving travel with snow covered and slippery roads,” the Weather Service said in its advisory. “The heavy wet nature of the snow may result in isolated power outages.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Rate jumped from 7.7% in September to 8.5% in October
Orleans County’s unemployment rate jumped in October, following a month when JP Morgan Chase closed its center in Albion and cut about 400 jobs.
The county’s unemployment rate for October is the fourth-highest rate in the state, according to the state Department of Labor. The county rate went from 7.7 percent in September to 8.5 percent in October. About 200 more people were added to the county’s ranks of the unemployed.
Bronx County, 12.2 percent, has the highest unemployment rate, followed by Kings County at 9.6 percent. Both of those are in New York City. In upstate, only Jefferson County in the North County, at 8.7 percent, topped Orleans.
Other nearby rural counties have lower unemployment rates. Genesee is at 6.1 percent, while Wyoming is at 6.5 percent and Livingston, 6.7 percent.
Orleans, despite the current high rate, is actually is better shape for jobs than in October 2012, when it had a 10.0 percent for unemployment.
There were 1,600 unemployed people in the county last month, according to the DOL. In October 2012, there were 1,900.
State-wide the unemployment rate went up from 7.6 percent in September to 7.7 percent for October. However, 9,000 jobs were added in the state in October, followed by a 24,800 increase in September. The current job count in the state, 7,490,100, is an all-time high, the DOL reported.
Photos by Tom Rivers – In 1927, the Daughters of the American Revolution put up this historical marker at the corner of Ridge Road and Transit Road in the town of Murray. It marks the eastern boundary of the Holland Land Company.
By Adam Tabelski
The Transit Line was run by Joseph Ellicott, agent for the Holland Land Company, in 1798 using a transit instrument. It marked the eastern boundary of the Holland Purchase and stretched from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario.
In order to make the line semi-permanent, Ellicott’s surveying team cleared trees along the entire route to the width of four rods (one chain), or about 66 feet.
According to the“Pioneer History of Orleans County,” the long break in the forest resulted in “a convenient land mark to the early settlers in locating their lands, and serving as a guide in finding their way through the woods.” Indeed, the pioneers traveling westward 200 years ago crossed this noticeable break in the trees and knew they had finally reached the Holland Purchase.
The Transit Line is where the surveying of the Holland Purchase began, and when you drive down Transit Road today you are literally following in the footsteps of Joseph Ellicott and his team, not to mention the numerous pioneer families who first settled in our region.
Photo by Adam Tabelski – This photo taken in early fall shows modern-day Transit Road, looking north. On the left is Carlton, on the right is Kendall. The road separates many townships in Western New York.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
RIDGEWAY – The canal bridge on Marshall Road will be posted next month with a maximum weight restriction dropped from the current 16 tons to 11 tons.
The state Department of Transportation sent out an advisory today. It expects to have the bridge posted for the reduced weight limit on or about Dec. 6.
The DOT recently inspected the bridge and determined it was no longer capable of the 16-ton weight load. The bridge can handle 11-ton loads and under, the DOT said.
A detour will not be posted. The nearest unrestricted canal crossing is Route 63 in the village of Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand received a warm welcome inside the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley on Monday.
She was there to serve food and pack Thanksgiving food boxes for local needy families.
But not everyone at the event was a Gillibrand well-wisher. A small group of protestors, holding signs about the SAFE Act, also tried to send the senator a message. They stood outside the community center near the Salisbury Fountain in the Public Square.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature passed the gun control measure in January. That law prompted the formation of the grass-roots New York Revolution, a group determined to protect Second Amendment rights.
Before heading to a Head Start center in Wellsville, Gillibrand spoke with Gia Arnold, one of the local leaders of NY Revolution.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Linda Reed died in crash Saturday near Mobile, Ala.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Linda Reed in August became owner of the Clothesline at 18 East Bank St.
ALBION – Linda Reed was known among the downtown Albion merchants for her big heart. She especially took time for needy residents.
“She was a really nice person who looked out for others,” said Lisa Stratton, owner of the Hazy Jade.
Reed died on Saturday in a car accident in Poarch, Ala., near Mobile. She was down south visiting family, including two new grandsons she met for the first time in Texas, her daughter Lisa LaRose said.
Reed stopped and saw other family and friends in Louisiana. She was on her way home Saturday when her 2003 Ford Explorer left the road and struck a tree at 11:55 a.m. on I-65 in Escambia County. (Click here to see news article from al.com.)
Reed, 65, had been volunteering at The Clothesline, a consignment and gift shop. She became owner of the business in August and took pride in the site, changing the decorations in the front window several times.
Reed in a photo on her Facebook page
“I had just talked with her and was excited about decorating for Christmas,” Stratton said.
Reed, a cancer survivor, may have been best known in the community for her passionate fund-raising for cancer research. She sought donations and participants for a Relay for Life team in Lockport. She put purple ribbons on her home on East Park Street.
She also had purple toilets that she put in people’s front yards and in front of businesses as a fund-raiser for cancer research.
“She was relentless,” Stratton said smiling about Reed and her creative and persistent fund-raising.
Reed closed the store for a couple weeks so she could go see her family. A sign in the front window says she intended to be back at the store on Nov. 29.
She is the second East Bank Street merchant to die in a car accident in less than a week.
Joshua Lunn, 25, owned the Grease Lightning business at 102 East Bank St. He died in a Nov. 20 accident in Kendall. He was traveling westbound on Route 18 when he attempted to pass a westbound vehicle. Lunn lost control of his pickup truck and left the south shoulder striking several trees.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – The village of Medina knocked down these two houses on Genesee Street last week. This photo was taken in April.
MEDINA – Two boarded-up houses that have long been eyesores and targets of vandalism were torn down by the village of Medina last week.
“It’s great to see them down and the lots cleared,” Marty Busch, the village code enforcement officer, told the Village Board on Monday.
The houses at 613-615 and 617 Genesee Street have depressed the neighborhood, Busch said.
The village in recent years has been taking down one or two houses a year. Busch said many more should come down because of their poor condition and negative impact on the neighborhood.
Medina Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich said firefighters were able to practice drills and other valuable training on the houses before they were demolished.
Busch said he will soon have a report on the final costs of the demolition.
In other action on Monday:
The board is looking to fill a vacant captain position in the Fire Department. That spot has been open since R.J. Morgan retired about two years ago.
The department typically has two captains who each lead a platoon of six firefighters. Mike Maak, the current senior captain, heads the EMS training and responsibilities. The new captain will help head up the firefighting efforts.
Three internal candidates are seeking the captain’s position. The candidates will all be interviewed Monday by the Village Board, Zinkievich and Maak.
Approved an agreement with the Medina School District allowing the school to use the village’s fueling station. The school district will pay the state contract price per gallon, plus another 5 percent, which will help the village with maintenance and other costs of the fueling station, said Mayor Andrew Meier.
Discussed a letter from Stop Polluting Orleans County, a citizens group in the Albion area that is opposed to more landfill operations in Albion. The group is seeking a resolution from Medina, stating its opposition to another landfill.
Meier said the board will consider the request at an upcoming meeting. The board usually doesn’t weigh in on issues in other communities, but Meier said the Village Board may want to go on the record against another landfill in Albion.
“There would be a significant impact on the quality of life and the truck traffic through our village,” Meier said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Jeffrey Paul also pleads guilty and will be sentenced Jan. 27
ALBION – David Paul, a construction company owner who was jailed for a year after stealing equipment from another company, needs to pay restitution or he could face another year in jail, Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said on Monday.
David Paul, 69, of 3823 Monroe-Orleans Countyline Rd., owes more than $100,000 in restitution, and only has paid an “insignificant amount,” said District Attorney Joe Cardone.
Paul said he is only earning about $150 a week. He lost about 80 percent of his business due to his time in jail, he told Judge Punch.
Paul also said he has few assets. The judge assigned the public defender to work with Paul. Punch said he wants a restitution plan the next time Paul appears in court, 2 p.m. on Dec. 9.
Paul and his son Jeffrey were accused of stealing two backhoes, a box truck and a car from a Wayne County business. They buried some of it on David Paul’s property on the Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road.
David Paul already served a jail sentence for the crime. His son’s case was delayed in court after Jeffrey claimed he had difficulty concentrating and couldn’t help with his defense. Judge Punch declared Jeffrey Paul, 40, mentally incompetent to stand trial in August.
Paul was sent to a psychiatric facility. He was there until October. During a Nov. 4 court date, Paul announced he was changing attorneys, which Punch saw as a stalling tactic. Punch set Nov. 13 for the start of a trial.
A day before that Paul pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree. He will be sentenced Jan. 27 and faces a maximum of one to three years in state prison.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – I couldn’t help but stop and take a photo of this hitching post and carriage step last night in Medina, with a historic home as a backdrop with its Christmas lights.
This house is located at 801 West Center St., at the Erie Street intersection. For the next month or so Orleans Hub will feature properties decked out in the holiday spirit.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The village may have had a record-breaking year in 2013 for issuing violation notices for properties with unmowed lawns.
Code Enforcement Officer Marty Busch sent out 234 violation notices, which he said was up from the previous year.
“More and more houses are sitting empty,” Busch told the Village Board on Monday. “We’re cutting more.”
If the property owner doesn’t cut the grass soon after the notice, the village imposes a $100 fine for tall grass and wild weeds. Medina will also have a contractor cut the grass. The $100, plus $65 fee for the grass cutting, is then charged to the property owner. If the bill isn’t paid, it is put on the village tax bill.
The village billed $15,569 for grass and weed violations in 2013, Busch said. A lawn-mowing contractor was paid $4,437. The net of $11,132 goes to the village.
Busch said he spends a lot of time on the issue, inspecting lawns throughout the village and then checking on them after the notices go out.
He wants to keep the fine at $100.
“We want to provide an incentive for people to take care of the problem,” Busch said.
