By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Republicans in 3 towns will pick candidates
Republicans in Carlton, Clarendon and Ridgeway will go to the polls today to choose candidates for town offices. Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. The winners today will appear on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election.
Carlton has the most Republican contests. Incumbent Town Clerk Pam Rush is being challenged by Lea Olles. Incumbent Dave Krull, the town highway superintendent, faces a challenge from Paul Snook, Sr. And for the Town Board, Bilal Huzair forced a primary against incumbents Joyce Harris and Jim Shoemaker. Republicans can back two of the three candidates.
Voting is at the Town Hall, 14341 Waterport-Carlton Rd.
In Clarendon, three people are running for two seats on the Town Board. The candidates include Marc Major, Donna DeFilipps and incumbent Paul Nicosia. Voting is at the Town Hall, 16385 Church St.
Ridgeway also has a primary for highway superintendent with incumbent Mark Goheen facing a challenge from Raymond Wendling. Voting is at Town Hall, 410 West Ave., and the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, 11392 Ridge Rd.
There is one other primary for members of the Independence Party in the 144th Assembly District, which is mostly in Niagara and Erie counties. The district also includes the town of Shelby.
Independence Party members in the 144th district will elect three delegates to the 8th Judicial District Convention. The delegate candidates include Paul G. Colangelo, David J. Haylett, Scott R. Scheffler, Albert A. Festaiuti, William W. Rooney and Ryan B. Rooney.
Independence Party members in the 144th will also choose three alternate delegates for the convention. Those candidates include Richard L. Woll, John L. Ryan, Sean M. Nowicki, William A. Nemi, Michael E. Tucker and Frederick J. White.
ALBION – A group of residents of the Orleans County House posed for this picture around 1900. The photo was taken by Frank L. Weller of Holley.
The man standing in front of the screen door and the man sitting on the railing are staff members of the County House or the “Poor House.” It was located on County House Road and was the forerunner to the Orleans County Nursing Home.
Back when this photo was taken, the residents were referred to as inmates. Many lived there for reasons other than ill-health, including just being poor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Snook wins Carlton primary for highway superintendent
Several incumbents faced Republican primary battles today and nearly all of the veteran elected officials staved off the challengers.
In Carlton, however, Paul Snook won the GOP line from incumbent David Krull for highway superintendent. Snook received 215 votes to Krull’s 155. Krull was elected four years ago.
The other Carlton incumbents managed close victories, including Town Clerk Pam Rush against Lea Olles, 215-155. Two Carlton Town Board members, Jim Shoemaker and Joyce Harris, kept the Republican line for the general election, holding off Bilal Huzair. Shoemaker led with 212 votes, followed by 190 for Harris and 145 for Huzair. Huzair has the Conservative and Democratic lines so there will be a rematch on Nov. 5.
In Clarendon, incumbent Town Councilman Paul Nicosia led three candidates for two board seats with 185 votes. Marc Major, who forced the primary, secured the GOP line with 111 votes, edging out GOP-endorsed Donna DeFilipps, who had 96.
In Ridgeway, incumbent Highway Superintendent Mark Goheen was able to keep the Republican line after holding off Raymond Wendling. Goheen received 225 votes to 196 for Wendling.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2013 at 12:00 am
U.S. Rep. Chris Collins said he will listen with an open mind to President Barack Obama’s speech tonight about Syria, but the congressman from Clarence said 4,000 constituents in the 27th District have overwhelmingly told his office they oppose U.S. military involvement.
“The American public is tired of wars,” Collins said this afternoon on a conference call with reporters. “The president will have to work very hard to convince me and the American public the wisdom of a military strike.”
The congressman has conducted an online poll and he said 95 percent of the respondents reported they oppose U.S. military action in Syrian.
Collins is critical of the president’s foreign policy, which the congressman said is in “disarray.” Obama has vacillated on how to handle Syria, Collins said, ultimately allowing Russia to step in and offer to take Syria’s chemical weapons so they could be turned over to international control. Collins said he is “disappointed in the president as the commander in chief.”
“Vladimir Putin rides in on a white horse,” Collins said. “That’s a travesty.”
Collins said Obama has proposed limited military strikes that the congressman said won’t overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. The missile strikes would just “knock out a few pieces of hardware,” Collins said. Before he comes out against using military force, he wants to hear from the president about his justification for taking that action and what the repercussions could be. But he emphasized Americans are solidly against firing missiles at Syria.
“Everywhere I go people are saying, ‘We don’t want a part of this. This isn’t America’s war.’”
The president is scheduled to speak later today at 9 p.m.
Contributed Story Posted 10 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Michael Karcz
RIDGEWAY – Albion Boy Scout Ben Kirby is working on his Eagle Scout project at Camp Rainbow, installing a new entrance gate, building new seesaws and removing the old ones, and replacing the doors on a tool shed.
Kirby is overseeing a team of Scouts and volunteers on the projects at the camp owned by The Arc of Orleans County. In the top picture, Kirby watches Josh Raymond work on removing an old seesaw. Kirby’s father Dennis, left, provides some instruction on the projects.
In the bottom photo, volunteer Ryan Haight, left, works to remove an old door on the tool shed with some help from Kevin Gardner.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Botello
ALBION – A judge raised the bail from $250,000 to $2.5 million for a Kendall man charged last week with attempted murder of a state trooper.
Carlos J. Botello, 42, of Kendall was charged with second-degree attempted murder of a state trooper following a traffic stop on Sept. 3. Botello was stopped by Trooper Dan Metz. Botello allegedly attempted to back over the trooper. Metz avoided being struck, but Borello smashed into a state police vehicle.
Botello then fled the scene by vehicle. Metz pursued the suspect until Botello entered into a farmer’s field and became disabled, police reported.
A Yates town justice set Botello’s bail at $250,000. In Orleans County Court on Monday, Judge James Punch increased the bail to $2.5 million.
District Attorney Joseph Cardone noted in court that Botello has twice attempted to harm law enforcement officers. The previous incident occurred in 1994 when Botello fired six rounds into the home of a deputy who lived in Kendall.
BROCKPORT – Brockport State College has jumped 14 spots in the annual US News & World Report’s, “America’s Best Colleges” guide.
Brockport is ranked 54th, the highest ranking it has ever achieved, in the Best Regional Universities-North category of the magazine’s soon-to-be-released rankings. Brockport also was ranked No. 11 among public universities in the northern region.
“It is an honor that our students, faculty, staff, and alumni have again been recognized for their achievements by US News & World Report,” said Brockport President John R. Halstead. “This type of recognition tells the nation what we already knowthat the entire Brockport community is completely committed to ensuring the success of our students and our graduates.”
Brockport earned its first ranking in the 2007 edition. The rankings are tabulated based on an array of criteria, including graduation rates, percentage of alumni who donate to their alma maters, the school’s reputation among peers and the academic profile of incoming students.
“As we continue to work with Gov. Cuomo to position SUNY and New York to lead in affordability, access, and quality, and President Obama puts these issues into focus nationally, we are proud to be recognized and ranked favorably by US News & World Report,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to Brockport and the many campuses representing SUNY on this list.”
Press release, Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
ALBION – An organization that has been providing rape crisis services in Orleans County for 40 years will be honored with a humanitarian award by an Albion church.
Pullman Memorial Universalist Church is proud to present Planned Parenthood of Albion in the Rochester Syracuse Region with the church’s 2013 Humanitarian Award. The organization will be honored at 11 a.m. on Oct. 13 at the church on East Park and Main streets.
Jeff Pier, regional manager of Rape Crisis Service for Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties, will accept the award for his organization. Pier will speak at the ceremony and at a public reception to follow at noon.
The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church Humanitarian Award is given by Pullman’s board of trustees on behalf of the congregation to individual residents of Orleans County or a local organization most exemplifying Pullman Memorial’s liberal religious principles of social justice and equality.
“The Pullman Memorial Universalist congregation historically affirmed that ‘God is Love’ and continues to this day to believe that ‘Love wins,’” said Pullman Pastor H. Lee Richards. “This love is expressed in doing good works for others so that justice and peace may reign throughout the world. To that end, the congregation approves of, and supports, the rape crisis work of Planned Parenthood of Albion.”
Since 1973, Rape Crisis Service of Planned Parenthood in the central New York region, including the four GLOW counties, has provided personal support and advocacy for survivors and significant others of sexual assault and violence. Staff members and trained volunteer counselors at Planned Parenthood’s rape crisis center in Albion provide for sexual assault victims’ medical needs, psychological support, and police and legal intervention.
“I’d like to say at a time when the crime of rape has become politically trivialized and many times denied as even being a crime it’s more important than ever that victims of these vicious assaults be supported and empowered to receive the medical, psychological and legal assistance that are due them,” said Gay Smith of Kendall, chairwoman of the Pullman board of directors.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Formula leaves canal spans short on funding
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Brown Street Bridge in Albion was shut down in July 2012 after a DOT inspection revealed structural deficiencies.
ALBION – Bob Traver hears the outcry from elected officials in Orleans County, that too many canal bridges are either closed or have weight restrictions.
That hinders commerce, school buses and emergency vehicles, and also inconveniences residences, Traver, regional director for the Department of Transportation, told Orleans County officials during a meeting today.
But Traver said the funding formulas for prioritizing bridge repairs are against rural counties. The state and federal governments, which have both cut bridge funding in recent years, want the dollars to go to high-volume projects, he said.
Canal bridges not only tend to be located in small towns without heavy traffic, but the bridges are historic structures that are far more costly to repair or replace than modern spans, Traver said. A lift bridge, in particular, is a budget buster, costing about three or four times the maintenance of the historic truss bridges, Traver said.
The truss bridges, which were constructed about a century ago during the canal’s widening, cost about twice as much as a modern bridge for upkeep.
“You have lower volume and higher cost,” Traver told a trio of county officials – Legislature Chairman David Callard, Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt and Highway Superintendent Jerry Gray.
The state Department of Transportation overhauled the Ingersoll Street lift bridge, spending $3.5 million on the Albion bridge, which reopened in 2007. A revised funding formula makes it more difficult to devote that much money to a low-volume bridge.
“For the price of fixing a canal bridge we can do three bridges that handle a lot more traffic,” Traver said.
He has advocated the state and federal governments to bend the formula and devote more resources for the canal bridges because a closed bridge can paralyze parts of a canal community. The spans are also critical to moving farm products and other commercial goods.
“I’ve been lobbying that the canal bridges are vital to the communities they serve,” Traver said.
The DOT has 11 regions with Orleans part of Region 4 based in Rochester. That region is home to 53 percent of the historic canal bridges and 12 of the 17 lift bridges. Seven of the lift bridges are in Orleans, more than in any other county.
Traver has told state officials that Region 4 should get more money than the formula provides because of the added costs of the canal infrastructure.
“I’ve been lobbying behind the scenes that we’re different than the other regions,” Traver told county officials. “I don’t think we’re being given what we need.”
The state will find resources for the lift bridges should they go down, Traver said, because those bridges are “sacred” in the eyes of the state. However, the truss bridges, like the one that was shut down last year on Brown Street in Albion, may wait years for the funding to come through.
Orleans officials said the formula shouldn’t be geared so much to traffic counts. Orleans County and other rural areas are important farming communities and agricultural commodities are needed by residents in the bigger counties.
“When I drive in the city of Rochester, I’m yet to see a farm field,” Jerry Gray, the county highway superintendent, told Traver. “We provide your food and nourishment. You need us.”
Traver said he continues to try to make those arguments to high-ranking state officials, as well as playing the tourism angle for lift bridges, that they are unique with historical value.
He said all of the DOT regions want more money for bridge maintenance.
“Everyone is feeling the same pain,” he said. “State-wide we’re definitely losing ground on our highways and bridges.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 September 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION A Rochester woman was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison today for driving while intoxicated with two children, both age 4, in the back seat.
Kizzie E. Ford, 29, was charged with DWI on Sept. 13 in the village of Albion. She was stopped by police after she nearly struck an unmarked Albion police patrol car. She faced charges of felony DWI, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, two counts of aggravated DWI (Leandra’s Law), two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of improper child restraint devices and improper right turn.
Ford was operating the vehicle with her two 4-year-old children in the rear seat without child restraint seats. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch sentenced Ford today, calling her actions “an appalling crime.”
In another DWI case, Julie M. Makowski, 50, of Rochester pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Albion on March 31. She will be sentenced Dec. 9 and faces 1 to 3 years in state prison.
Makowski was charged with felony DWI, criminal possession of a controlled substance, speeding and inadequate headlights. She has a prior DWI and prior charge of driving while ability impaired.
Makowski admitted in court today she had been drinking prior to driving. She took a breath test two hours after being arrested on March 31 and registered a 0.15 blood alcohol content, nearly double the legal limit for driving drunk.
