By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 October 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – In June, JPMorgan Chase announced 413 employees at its Albion call center would be out of jobs in September.
That set off a scramble by political leaders and officials at the Department of Labor to help those workers find other job opportunities. Chase hosted five job fairs at its Albion site, connecting employees with 25 prospective employers, including companies like GEICO, Yahoo, Paychex and AMS Servicing.
Many of those employees have found new jobs, including 110 with positions at JP Morgan Chase’s Rochester location, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s office reported.
Claims Recovery Financial Services as hired 55 Chase workers, and CRFS CEO Jodi Gaines said CRFS welcomes more of the workers from Chase, who typically have a shorter transition time to the company due to their background in the banking industry. CRFS announced on Monday it is looking to fill 150 new positions as part of a move to the Chase building.
Schumer reported that GEICO offered positions to 10 former Albion employees and AMS Servicing in Buffalo has made offers to 35 former Chase workers with 28 accepting. AMS is still looking to fill up to 75 new positions over the coming months, his office reported.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, but I am proud of the progress we’ve made in finding new jobs for these workers and I’m optimistic that, with CRFS and CEO Jodi Gaines at our side, we can foster further job growth in Orleans County,” Schumer said in a statement.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Fund provides about $50K annually to families fighting cancer
Provided photo – Walkers and runners join in last year’s Knights-Kaderli walk and run. About 500 people are expected for the 25th anniversary event on Saturday, beginning at the East Shelby Fire Hall at 11 a.m. Registration starts at 9:30.
MEDINA – Two families that lost loved ones to cancer have been working together for 25 years, raising money for Orleans County residents and their families fighting the disease.
The Knights and Kaderli families on Saturday will have their 25th anniversary run/walk, beginning at the East Shelby Fire Hall. The course covers about 3.5 miles. Organizers say 500 could be attend the event, which would be a record.
“It’s turned into a huge party, said Melissa Knights Bertrand.
Her father, Richard Knights, died from cancer in 1984. Five years later Sue Scharping Kaderli died from the disease.
The walk-run has raised about $200,000 since 1994, with the annual walk/run raising more money as participation has grown. It netted about $20,000 last year. A golf tournament in memory of David Millis of Albion also nets about $15,000, while a wine-tasting organized by the Zinkievich family in November raises $10,000. Other fund-raisers, including a Pink Crystal Ball, help push the fund to about $50,000 total a year.
That money helps about 50 families a year pay for out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays, transportation and other bills. Bertrand and Mary Kaderli Zelazny take requests for aid. A recipient must be undergoing a cancer treatment and must be an Orleans County resident.
“We’re a very unique fund,” Bertrand said. “You can have a check within a couple of weeks. We work really hard to get money to people because we know they are in a desperate need.”
The Knights and Kaderli families share the workload in planning events and managing the fund. Both families are well-known in the Medina area. They have worked to be inclusive, welcoming others in the community to help raise funding for families suffering a physical, emotional and financial toll from cancer.
“We’re there at a difficult time in people’s lives,” Bertrand said. “They let us in and we keep it all confidential. We give to the patients as a gift, expecting nothing in return.”
The Knights and Kaderli families expect to be committed to the fund for many years to come. The grandchildren of Richard Knights and Sue Scharping Kaderli have joined the effort.
For more information’s about the fund or Saturday’s walk/run, check the organization’s web site by clicking here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo courtesy of Pamela Brower
MEDINA – In August, Buddy started to drag his back right leg. Pamela Brower thought her cat had pulled a muscle.
But then both back legs stopped working. The cat had to drag itself with its front legs.
A trip to the vet revealed the cat had a bulging disc and would need surgery in the thousands of dollars just to have a 50-50 chance to regain use of the back legs.
Brower, an aide at Medina Central School for the past 24 years, pitched an idea to some of the students in Michael Lepkyj’s technology class. Would they try to make a walker/wheelchair for the cat?
The students in the class came up with a contraption that is helping Buddy move inside and outside of the house.
“It is helping him to go out and get around,” Brower said.
The students are now working to make the wheelchair a little wider and higher to better fit Buddy.
Brower is impressed by the students for their ingenuity and their compassion.
“Kids don’t get enough credit these days,” she said.
Click here to watch the video on Facebook of Buddy using the new walker that was created by Medina High School students in their technology class.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 October 2013 at 12:00 am
The 401 national parks are closed and 21,000 parks employees are furloughed. A bill offered by House Republicans would fund the parks and also the National Institute of Health.
The Democratic majority in the Senate refuses to consider a piecemeal approach to funding the federal government.
Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, issued this statement on Wednesday evening following the rejected offer from the Senate.
“Tonight, the House continued to work and offer reasonable and commonsense solutions to the partial government shutdown by passing bills to fully fund the National Institute of Health for critical research and open all national parks and museums.
“The American people should not be short changed because Washington can’t get its act together.
“Unfortunately, Senate Democrats continue to slam the door on our efforts to reopen the government by refusing to talk to House Republicans and negotiate a responsible budget solution.
“Congress must stop putting itself ahead of the American people. I continue to encourage my colleagues to voluntarily suspend or donate their pay, as I have, during a shutdown and refuse the special Obamacare exemptions for Congress, its staff and the White House.”
New York State Department of Transportation today announced two paving projects that are taking place in Orleans County this month.
Work begins this week on a project to resurface Route 104 from the Niagara County Line to Knowlesville Road in the town of Ridgeway through mid-October.Traffic will be reduced to alternating single-lane travel.
Beginning next week, work begins to resurface the eastbound travel lanes on the Lake Ontario State Parkway between Route 237 (including interchange ramps) and Route 272 in the town of Kendall. Work should be complete by late-October. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane in the eastbound direction.The ramps will temporarily close while being worked on.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
I’ve wanted to share more from last week’s quick trip to the Albany area, but it’s been a particularly busy week. I hope to have articles about the Million-Dollar Staircase in the State Capitol building, and the impressive Civil War monuments in Ballston Spa and Saratoga.
For now, I want to share a photo of three elevator plaques from the World Trade Center. They are among several 9/11 exhibits in the State Capitol that also include an American flag from the WTC site, and pieces of steel from the fallen towers. There is also a door from a New York City fire truck, a fire hose that was recovered, badges from the state Office of Tax and Finance, and other artifacts from that tragic day.
When the exhibits were unveiled on Sept. 11, 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued this statement: “Communities throughout New York, our nation, and the entire world felt the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11th. This year, on the 11th anniversary, we remember the thousands of innocent victims and honor the countless heroes who responded on that day and in the months that followed. This exhibition will serve as a way to educate New Yorkers and those who visit our state about the tragedy that unfolded on September 11, as well as remind each of us about the bravery and courage of our first responders.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Kim Pritt, a fifth-generation member of the First United Methodist Church in Albion, volunteers with the hospitality ministry that provides coffee and refreshments for people waiting to take their driver’s test at the corner of East State and Platt streets.
ALBION – The church that voted in August to abandon its historic building isn’t giving up on serving the community.
The First United Methodist Church in Albion is serving spaghetti dinners, offering coffee and conversation at a hospitality table, and planning other events.
“We’re still here,” said Kim Pritt, a fifth-generation member of the church at the corner of East State and Platt streets. “We’re alive and well.”
The church doesn’t have a timetable for when it will leave its building. That is in the hands of the conference. The church voted Aug. 21 to turn over the building, which needs a $1 million roof and building repair.
The Upper New York Annual Conference, which has its main office in Syracuse, is weighing the offer. Church buildings have been abandoned before, but in those cases the congregation typically disbanded. The Albion congregation is staying together and looking for alternatives for a meeting place, perhaps at another local church, Pritt said.
In the meantime, the church doors are open to the community. Last Wednesday the church held its monthly spaghetti dinner and served 73 meals to the community, an all-time high. The church will have a rummage sale this Friday and Saturday and it is planning its annual Country Fair, set for Oct. 19. That includes lunch, crafts, baked goods and other activities.
Kim Pritt has the coffee ready as part of the hospitality ministry at the United Methodist Church in Albion. The church is hosting a rummage sale on Friday and Saturday.
About 10 years ago, church volunteers started a hospitality ministry on Mondays and Wednesdays for people taking the state driver’s test. The test starts in front of the church on East State Street. Church members noticed people often stood outside by the church waiting to take their test or for a friend or child to finish the exam.
The church started to serve coffee and refreshments to those waiting, and to let them come inside the building. Sometimes the testers want to use the bathroom. Sometimes they need a walk in the church to calm their nerves.
Pritt likes to volunteer for the hospitality table. She has met people from throughout the state. Many come from outside Orleans County to take their driver’s test, she said.
“Every single time I have at least one wonderful conversation with someone,” she said. “Sometimes I get lucky and get two or three great conversations.”
She and other church volunteers often give people tours of the historic church. The volunteers also share local history and point people to other local attractions.
When the church building is closed, Pritt said the United Methodists want to keep up the hospitality ministry, but they said it may need to be run from a church across the street, the Free Methodist Church. United Methodists want to help provide the manpower to keep the ministry going, she said.
“It’s a blessing,” she said about the hospitality table. “All of us who volunteer love to meet people.”
LYNDONVILLE – Our view in this photo in the 1930s shows a huge pile of apples behind crates at the Lyndonville Canning Company.
One of the plant’s products was applesauce, which was sold with a label bearing the letters VB. This stood for Visher Brothers, who owned the canning factory. The two letters also doubled for “Very Best.”
Former Gov. Pataki, Comptroller McCall will lead effort
Press release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office
ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced the New York State Tax Relief Commission that will identify way to reduce the state’s property and business taxes to provide relief to New York’s homeowners and businesses.
The Commission will be co-chaired by former Gov. George Pataki and former State Comptroller Carl McCall. The Commission’s recommendations will be due by Dec. 6, for inclusion in the governor’s 2014 State of the State message.
“The responsible budgets and fiscal reforms put in place over the last three years have put the state in a position to seriously tackle the ‘tax capital’ mentality that for too long has driven businesses and families from New York,” Gov. Cuomo said. “The new Tax Relief Commission includes two of our state’s most respected leaders, former Gov. Pataki and Comptroller Carl McCall, as well as other highly-qualified New Yorkers who will examine new ways that we can reduce the burdensome taxes facing our businesses and our families, and by doing so make our state more competitive and fuel economic growth.”
The Tax Relief Commission is in addition to the governor’s efforts to streamline New York’s tax code to make the state more affordable and competitive, ultimately creating jobs and helping grow the economy. The new Tax Relief Commission will collaborate with the Tax Reform and Fairness Commission, launched last December to conduct a comprehensive review of the State’s taxation policy, including corporate, sales and personal income taxation and make recommendations to improve and simplify the current tax system.
The formation of the Tax Relief Commission is enabled by three years of fiscal integrity and responsible budgeting that puts the state in a position to examine new ways to provide tax relief to New Yorkers. Actions taken over the past three years to restore fiscal integrity to the budget process include:
Three budgets that held state spending to 2 percent or below;
• The elimination of automatic inflators that previously accounted for unsustainable increases in Medicaid and education spending;
• Tier VI pension reform that will save taxpayers an estimated $80 billion over the next thirty years;
• A state labor force reduced from 137,000 to 120,000;
• Three responsible state labor contracts that will save taxpayers $450 million.
Building on these fiscal reforms, the governor is charging the Tax Relief Commission with identifying new strategies to deliver tax relief to homeowners, renters, and businesses alike. The Tax Relief Commission’s recommendations may include additional property tax relief, business tax relief proposals to encourage job creation and economic growth, as well as other ideas to reduce the tax burden on families and businesses that will make New York State more competitive with other states.
The governor’s actions recognize that New York has been viewed as a high tax state for too many years, hurting the state’s competitiveness and driving businesses and families from the state.
The members of the Tax Relief Commission include:
George Pataki, former Governor of New York State
Carl McCall, Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees
Dall Forsythe, former New York State Budget Director
Jim Wetzler, Director, Deloite Tax LLP and former New York State Tax Commissioner
Heather Briccetti, President & CEO of New York State Business Council
Bill Rudin, CEO Rudin Management, President of the Association for Better New York
Jack Quinn, President of Erie Community College
Denis M. Hughes, Senior Advisor at Brown & Weinraub, PLLC
