SHELBY – Zach Waild, an Eagle Scout who built a pavilion in Shelby, is joined at a ribbon-cutting celebration on Tuesday by several local, county and state officials, as well as a representative for Congressman Chris Collins.
Waild organized the fund-raising for the project and was actively involved in its construction. The pavilion is located at the boat launch along the Erie Canal. The site is on Route 31E at Hoffman Road.
Several officials attended the ribbon-cutting, including Town Supervisor Skip Draper, State Sen. George Maziarz, and county legislators Lynne Johnson and Bill Eick.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 July 2013 at 12:00 am
June rate of 8.4 percent was down from 10.4 percent in 2012
ALBION – Orleans County’s unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent in June, down from 10.4 percent in June 2012. The state Department of Labor reported the county had 200 more people in the workforce in June, compared to the same month a year ago.
The county’s workforce grew by 300 people from May, when the unemployment rate was also 8.4 percent. That is higher than the state average of 7.5 percent.
New York’s economy is improving, based on the report that showed the state’s private sector job count increased by 110,500 from June 2012 to June 2013.
Other nearby rural counties also added jobs and cut their unemployment rates. Genesee is down to 6.2 percent unemployed, compared to 7.4 percent the previous year.
Wyoming County had an 8.2 percent unemployment rate in June 2012, and that fell to 7.2 percent last month. Livingston’s unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in June 2012, and dropped to 7.2 percent a month ago.
The Buffalo-Niagara region rate fell from 8.5 percent to 7.4 percent during the year, while the Rochester region rate was 7.0 percent, compared to 8.4 percent in June 2012.
The counties with the lowest rates include Saratoga and Tompkins at 5.7 percent, while Bronx County in NYC has the highest at 11.8 percent. In upstate, St. Lawrence County has the highest rate of unemployed at 9.6 percent.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 July 2013 at 12:00 am
CHA submitted this “concept plan” to the Village of Albion for a Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street, between the railroad tracks and Tim Hortons.
ALBION – A proposal for a new Dunkin’ Donuts in Albion would have access for motorists on both Main and Platt streets, helping to ease congestion on Route 98, village officials said.
Dunkin’ hasn’t submitted a formal plan to the village yet. The coffee and baked goods franchise has hired the CHA firm for engineering and design of the Albion site.
CHA and Dunkin’ expect to have a formal site plan submitted to the village in August.
Dunkin’ wants to demolish a warehouse next to Tim Hortons in Albion for the new store. The concept plan shows about 40 parking spaces at the site.
The warehouse is owned by Charles Breuilly. The building occupies almost the entire property. The Dunkin’ plan would add green space to the site, improving runoff and water quality, said Village Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti.
ALBION – Senior citizens are welcome to attend the annual Senior Citizen’s Day Picnic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31. The picnic will be at the east end pavilion at Bullard Park.
Senior Citizens are urged to bring a dish to pass and optional place setting. The menu will include hot dogs, hamburgers, pop, chicken wings, pizza and treats.
There will be some fun games and activities provided for those who want to participate. The event is sponsored by the Village of Albion Recreation Department.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Ferris Wheel, pictured at last night’s sunset, is among the attractions at the fairgrounds being provided by Midway Rides of Utica.
Daily Feature: Orleans County 4-H Fair Dunk Tank, located across from Senior Council stand
8 am: Senior Council Stand Opens
9:30 am: English Horse Show – Carlos Marcello Arena
9:30 am: Dog Show (Classes 5-22 and C3) – Show Arena
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Rabbits, steer get their chance in limelight
Photos by Tom Rivers
Allison Mathes, 9, uses all her might to get her dairy steer to cooperate during today’s show at the Orleans County 4-H Fair in Knowlesville.
Judge John Stenson looks over the rabbits during today’s show at the fair. The three boys waiting for their rabbit inspections include, from left: John Gabalski of Byron, Ian Smith of Lyndonville and Brian Neal of Albion. There are 84 rabbits at this year’s fair. Club leader Neil Johnson, right, served as emcee for the show.
Jayne Bannister, 15, of Point Breeze won the grand market steer competition at the fair today.
Lauren Becht, 14, of Barre tries to keep her dairy steer calm during today’s show at the fair. Lauren won the dairy steer category.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Medina man will face 2 to 4 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty on Monday to attempted assault in the second degree.
Leo Woodrich Jr., 50, of North Street allegedly hit his wife in the head with a baseball bat on May 30. He is a second felony offender, the District Attorney’s Office reported.
He will be sentenced by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch on Oct. 28.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – A man walks with an umbrella while it was raining this evening at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. The rain thinned out the crowds. When lightning hit around 9 p.m., fair officials opted to cancel the popular grease pole competition at 10 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – State Sen. George Maziarz speaks at the opening ceremonies for the Orleans County 4-H Fair on Monday. He encouraged residents to sign a petition urging the governor and State Legislature to repeal the SAFE Act.
KNOWLESVILLE – Visitors to the Orleans County 4-H Fair can sign a petition this week to repeal the NY-SAFE Act, legislation that has been roundly criticized by many legislative bodies in upstate New York.
The petition at the fair is sponsored by Sen. George D. Maziarz. Residents can sign it at the Orleans County Republican Party booth located in the Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building.
“The NY-SAFE Act, which I opposed, trampled on many of the rights that responsible gun owners hold dear,” Maziarz said in a statement. “I continue to try to build public support for overturning the law.”
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, has already turned in a petition to the state signed by more than 1,000 local residents.
Hawley has asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to re-examine the process for enacting the law and allow his constituents to make their voices heard. Hawley and many of the county governments say Cuomo and the majority of the Legislature rushed the law into passage in January without feedback from the public.
Many of the provisions of the law are confusing and open to interpretation, Orleans County legislators said in a resolution asking for the law to be repealed. The county Legislature also has criticized the law for prohibiting firearm magazines with more than seven rounds, when most magazines have 10 rounds.
Hawley is critical of the way the law was approved without input from New York residents.
“Their voices were not heard during the hurried passage of this law,” he has said.
Hawley has sent a letter to the governor, telling him the SAFE Act did not protect the safety of New York families, but instead “trampled” the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The CSEA union is backing a lawsuit that seeks to keep the 120-bed nursing home in Albion as a publicly owned facility.
ALBION – The union representing 135 county employees at The Villages has sued the county, the County Legislature, its Chairman David Callard, and a newly formed local development corporation that is charged with selling the 120-bed nursing home.
The lawsuit alleges the county improperly formed the LDC – the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation – and the county’s fee title is invalid. The suit alleges other “arbitrary and capricious actions” and wrongdoing by the county, including efforts “to circumvent the stringent requirements of public health law.”
The lawsuit is the second that seeks to stop the county and its LDC from selling The Villages of Orleans. The first lawsuit, filed by local resident Mary Bannister and nursing home employee Dawn Hazel, contested the LDC was improperly created by the Legislature. Acting State Supreme Court Judge James Punch ruled in favor of the county last month.
The new lawsuit was filed July 10 and is not the same as the first one, said Cindy Troy, president of the CSEA union in Orleans County.
“This is in a different direction,” she said.
Legislature Chairman David Callard declined to comment on the lawsuit, except to say he favors due process through the court system.
CSEA and county attorneys are to appear in court on Aug. 6.
The suit was brought in the names of nursing home employees Jan Standish, a dietary at the nursing home since 1990, and Mary A. Lewis, a custodial worker since 1990 and member of the CSEA bargaining unit. Both have family living at The Villages.
The lawsuit notes that the union has a two-year contract running until Dec. 31, 2014. The Legislature in September 2011 also passed a resolution saying the nursing home would remain a public facility, subject to public governance, until at least the end of 2014.
The LDC was incorporated on March 7, 2013. The three-member board is led by its chairman, former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino. Other members include Clarendon Town Supervisor Richard Moy and Richard DeCarlo, a former Gaines town supervisor.
CSEA outlines six points in the Article 78 lawsuit. They include:
The state only allows LDCs to be used for economic development, the CSEA attorneys say in the lawsuit. The county created the Health Facilities Corporation to sell the nursing home to a third party, which the CSEA attorneys say is outside the purposes of the not-for-profit corporations law.
The county also violated the not-for-profit corporations law by transferring an interest to the LDC while the county retained the operating assets and operating responsibility for the responsibility, according to the lawsuit.
The county needs to determine property sold or transferred to an LDC first is no longer required for use by the county, according to the lawsuit. The county made the move without “fact-based determination,” the plaintiffs allege. The state Department of Health projects a 360-bed nursing home need for the county by 2016. Currently there are 310 beds, suggesting the nursing home will be in demand.
The lawsuit also contends the Legislature was wrong to create the LDC to sell a county asset. The Legislature can’t delegate that authority, and it should determine whether a sale is in the best interests of the county.
The lawsuit also says the county’s creation of an LDC to sell the nursing home is an attempt to circumvent public health law. The state DOH highly regulates nursing homes. The county formed the LDC without approval of the public health council. The LDC also can’t acquire, sell or lease property without permission of the commissioner of health. The county “failed to comply any of these provisions,” according to the lawsuit.
The CSEA attorneys also allege the county used “legal fiction” to create the LDC with a lease hold on the nursing home. However, the county retains all interests, rights and obligations to occupy, operate and maintain the site.
The LDC would take ownership of the site when it is ready to approve a sale. The sale would be made on behalf of the county, but in the name of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation.
“This results in a questionable transaction that takes the county’s name off of the sale of the Villages to a new owner-operator,” the lawsuit states, calling the plan an “excess of the authority” to act under a county law.
The suit seeks to annul the Legislature’s resolution that created the LDC, annul the “illegal lease and leaseback” between of the Villages between the county and the LDC, and declare the county’s delegation of authority a violation of the statue and the state Constitution.
