By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Linda Redfield, an English as a Second Language teacher, is pictured with a former student Jose Iniguez, who became an American citizen last October.
WATERPORT Thirty years ago Linda Redfield started going to local migrant labor camps, meeting with farmworkers to teach them English. They would sit at picnic tables after the workers often had long days in the field.
Redfield in three decades has developed a family literacy program for the workers, welcoming women and children to the World Life Institute school on Stillwater Road.
Students learn English while using computers, making pottery and learning the guitar. They study citizenship as well. Some of her students have gone on to college.
One former student, Jose Iniguez, became a citizen last October. He is an orchard manager and part-owner of the 500-acre Lamont Fruit Farm. He first started meeting with Redfield in 1995, when he knew very little English.
“She’s very passionate about it,” Iniguez said about Redfield and her role as teacher. “Working with her was an important first step for me. She does a lot for the community that people don’t know about.”
She is well known by members of the New York State Association of Adult Continuing Education Programs, which named her “Teacher of the Year” during a ceremony in Albany last month.
Redfield was nominated for the award by Sue Diemert, the literacy coordinator for the Orleans-Niagara BOCES. She praised Redfield for developing the program that includes families, and teaches many skills.
“She is the glue that makes this all happen,” Diemert said before a graduation program this evening. “She holds it all together.”
Some of the pottery created by ESL students at the World Life Institute in Waterport.
There were 35 students who received certificates for learning English and other skills during the graduation program. They learned the skills after working at local farms and Intergrow’s hydroponic tomato site in Gaines. The workers were from Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, the Ukraine, Indonesia and Brazil.
They meet for class at the WLI site on Stillwater Road or at Hoag Library in Albion.
Redfield pushed for a broadened family literacy program so more women and children could learn with their husbands and fathers. In 2004, she partnered with BOCES and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to offer pottery for women. They would learn English while creating art.
“The whole families come and are served,” Redfield said. “It’s wonderful getting to know the people.”
The program is unusual, especially in a farming community, Redfield said.
“The workers are very happy they can get these services in a rural area,” Redfield said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Lawsuit sought to disband LDC, force public referendum
Photo by Tom Rivers – A State Supreme Court judge didn’t find fault with the Orleans County Legislature’s decision to transfer The Villages of Orleans to a Local Development Corporation that is tasked with finding a buyer.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature crossed an important legal hurdle when a State Supreme Court ruled the county acted legally in transferring the publicly owned nursing home to a Local Development Corporation.
A local resident Mary Bannister and nursing home employee Dawn Hazel, who has family in The Villages of Orleans, challenged the Legislature’s decision in court.
Judge James Punch issued a decision on Tuesday, supporting the county in all key aspects of the case. The decision allows the Legislature and the LDC to keep working towards a sale of the 120-bed nursing home. County officials learned of the judge’s decision at 11:45 a.m. today.
“The discussion regarding the nursing home has been a very emotional one, but the ultimate goal has always been to ensure its long-term sustainability,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard. “Now we must return to our goal for The Villages: to continue to provide a high quality of care for our residents, maintain its jobs, preserve its programs, and continue its community ties without dire financial consequences to the taxpayers.”
The lawsuit sought to disband the LDC, to vacate the transfer of nursing home property to the LDC, to compel the issue to be brought to a public vote, and to restrain the LDC from negotiating transfer of The Villages to another operating entity.
The county’s attorneys argued that Bannister and Hazel failed to establish any harm in the Legislature’s decision to create the LDC, and their allegations were “speculative claims as to future actions.” The county attorneys said the LDC ownership did not change the current operations, staffing or delivery of services.
Punch agreed, noting the employees have continued as county workers and the county continues to control the operation of the facility.
The county argued in court the decision to create the LDC and transfer ownership were “proper tools to use for cost analysis and cost containment.” Legislators worry the facility will require a $2 to $4 million annual subsidy from the county taxpayers due to rising operating costs and slowing reimbursement rates.
“I commend my colleagues in the Legislature for having the courage to make this very difficult decision.” – Legislature Chairman David Callard
“The choice here hasn’t been about privatization versus public ownership,” Callard said today after the court decision was announced. “It has been about maintaining the facility or losing it altogether. We can no longer delay the decision and hope everything will be all right. That is fiscally irresponsible and brings grave uncertainty.”
The petitioners in the lawsuit sought a public referendum on the issue, contending the county created the LDC to circumvent public discourse. But Punch sided with the county, saying it acted within its rights in the Not-for-Profit-Corporation Law.
The Legislature, in a 6-1 vote, created the LDC on Feb. 27. Callard noted it passed in a super-majority vote. Only Legislator George Bower opposed it, and he warned the deficits at the site could force the county to take up the issue. He said then he was opposed to the timing because the Legislature had said it wouldn’t sell the facility until 2014.
That may be an ambitious time frame, even with the decision to create the LDC four months ago.
The LDC – the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation – met this afternoon. The three-member group, headed by former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino, moved forward with selecting a broker to establish a value for the nursing home and identify buyers for the site.
The LDC picked a Chicago firm that specializes in selling nursing homes to help with the sale of The Villages. Marcus and Millichap’s National Senior Housing Group will receive 2.5 percent of the sale price for its services. The firm is assisting nine other New York counties in selling their nursing homes.
The firm said it will identify a buyer by the end of a year, a sale that needs to be approved by the state Department of Health. Marcus and Millichap said it would target January 2015 for the sale to be closed and the new owner in operation at The Villages.
“The actions being taken are intended to balance the interests of the residents, the employees, and the taxpayers,” Callard said. “I commend my colleagues in the Legislature for having the courage to make this very difficult decision.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – With the latest state grant for $137,466, the state has contributed more than $800,000 towards the new public library in Albion.
ALBION – For the third straight year the state will use “Public Library Construction Grants” to help with the new library in Albion.
The new grant program started just in time for Albion to access the funds for the new Hoag Library. Albion used $373,000 in state funds in 2010-11, and was approved for $327,000 in 2011-12.
State Sen. George Maziarz announced today another $137,466 will be coming to Hoag to help with the construction costs. That brings the state’s total contribution to the project at $837,466.
The library has been eligible for the funding for three years now because the construction has spread over than two years with site work, building construction and interior work on the new 14,600-square-foot building, which opened last year on July 7.
The state approved $14 million in matching capital funds state-wide in the 2012-13 budget.
Another Orleans County library was approved for funding. Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina will receive $112,110 towards its roof replacement project.
The three-county NIOGA Library System is based in Lockport. It was approved for $43,482 to accomplish technology upgrades at its computer training center and e-mobile training lab. That will make both facilities ADA-compliant, Maziarz said in a news release today.
Public Library Construction Grants are intended to help libraries with such tasks as accommodating users with disabilities, promoting energy efficiency, facilitating Internet access and rehabilitating old building spaces. Almost half of the public libraries in New York are more than 60 years old and in need of upgrades, Maziarz said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
The three casinos in Western New York owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians will see a portion of their profits directed to counties in the region, according to the “Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act,” which was announced by Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday.
The legislation doesn’t specify dollars for the counties in the region, but Orleans County is expected to get a tiny slice of a big pie. The state will share 10 percent of the gaming revenue it receives from casinos and video gaming centers “to provide tax relief or educational assistance,” according to the legislation announced on Wednesday.
The bulk of the state’s casino and video gaming revenue, 80 percent, will be used for school aid or property tax relief. “The educational aid will be additive and will not be part of the state’s existing education formula,” the legislation reads.
The Senecas keep 75 percent of the casino profits with 25 percent directed to the state, which currently then gives some to host cities in Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca.
The legislation announced on Wednesday would direct some of the state’s share of the casino profits to counties in the region while preserving the funds to the host communities.
The revenue sharing is part of a plan to develop four Las Vegas-style casinos in Upstate New York, all outside of WNY.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Farmers looking for direction from Washington about the country’s agriculture agenda will have to keep waiting.
The House of Representatives rejected a five-year Farm Bill today that totaled nearly a trillion dollars for nutrition and farm programs, including subsidies, conservation programs and crop insurance as well as other safety nets for the industry.
The bill would have cut funding for food stamps, which prompted U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to work against the bill’s passage. She said the bill would have cut $20.5 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over five years.
She issued this statement this afternoon: “Just as important as the health of our
agriculture industry, is the health and nutrition of our children and families. I am proud to see House Democrats stand strong and reject this draconian cut that would literally take food away from millions of those who desperately need it – from veterans and military families, to seniors living on fixed incomes, hungry children and struggling families who rely on SNAP to make ends meet.
“Families who are living in poverty – hungry children, seniors, troops and veteranswho are just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on and put food on the table – they did not spend this nation into debt, and we should not be trying to balance the budget on their backs.They deserve better from this Congress.”
Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, is a member of the House Agriculture Committee. He supported the Farm Bill legislation.
He issued this statement: “Today’s unfortunate defeat of the House Farm Bill speaks to the dysfunction in Washington that continues to stand in the way of solving real problems for real Americans.
“Agriculture is a critical industry in New York’s 27th Congressional District, impacting our local residents far beyond those directly doing the hard work of farming.Our farmers and growers deserve a Congress that can come together and pass a long-term Farm Bill. It is essential to help our agricultural industry plan and prepare.
“As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I remain committed to the work ahead to see a Farm Bill become law.”
New York Farm Bureau wanted the proposal to pass. The organization released this statement: “It is with great disappointment that we watched House lawmakers defeat the 2013 Farm Bill. The farmers in this state deserve a reasonable farm policy that has been delayed for far too long.
“While there were concerns over certain provisions of the bill, we were hoping its passage and a vigorous debate in conference would reach an appropriate compromise that would provide a fair safety net for the people who produce healthy, local food and the consumers who need help putting it on their dinner tables. New York Farm Bureau will continue to work hard with the state’s Congressional delegation to do what is right for our farm families.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Editor’s Note: An article about the local parks on June 16 had some incorrect dates for summer camps. The correct dates are below.
ALBION – Four village parks will have supervisors and activities for children opened on Wednesday. The park season runs until Aug. 2 and is open to children, ages 5 to 16 in the Albion school district.
Park supervisors will be on duty from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following parks: Bullard – Route 31, east of the village; Pee Wee – Route 31 (part of Bullard); Veterans – corner of Linwood Avenue and Brown Street; and Lafayette – West Park and West State Streets.
The park program includes the following week-long camps that run from Mondays through Fridays:
TENNIS from June 24-28 for grades 5-12 at the school tennis courts from 9 to 11 a.m. and again the following week with July 4 an off day.
WRESTLING from July 8-12 for grades 6-12 at the high school gym from 9 to 11 a.m.
BASEBALL from July 22-26 from grades 4 through 8 at the varsity baseball field from 9 a.m. to noon.
VOLLEYBALL from July 22-July 26 for grades 6-12 at the high school gym from 9 a.m. to noon.
The camps are free to children in the Albion school district.
Parents are urged to attend the registration during the first week of the Parks Program to meet the supervisors and to fill out important paperwork.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Seven sites featured on ‘Garden Tour’ on July 13
Photos by Tom Rivers – Gary Wilson leads a group on a train ride at a garden in Barre he has created the past 34 years with his wife Doreen.
Doreen Wilson is pictured with the S-shaped Weeping Atlas Cedar, part of a 2-acre landscape at the Wilson property on Route 31A.
BARRE – For 34 years Gary and Doreen Wilson have nurtured flowers and trees, stacked stone to create old English walls, and designed 16 gardens in their backyard.
Mr. Wilson built a miniature train with a gas engine and laid 1,000 feet of track that weaves between trees, goes under a tunnel covered in flowers and vegetation, and circles the lush landscape.
The Wilsons have happily shared the space with their grandchildren and friends. On July 13 they will open it to the public as part of the fifth annual Garden Tour organized by the Master Gardeners.
“It’s a lot of work,” Mr. Wilson said tonight while giving a preview of the tour. “We enjoy sharing it. Otherwise what’s the point?”
He gave train rides to visitors this evening. The train is a 2 ¼ scale model of a steam engine. Wilson pulls three cars, two gandolas and one box car with the train.
The track passes along the banks of Otter Creek, and goes over a trestle bridge.
The tunnel for the train is covered with wisteria, yellow trumpet vine and autumn clematis.
The property also features raised beds, an organic vegetable garden, and compost piles. The site was picked the fourth best garden in the world in a 2009 contest by the Walker Lawn Mower Company. Walker published an annual “Beautiful Places” calendar the Wilsons’ backyard was featured.
The Wilsons are one of seven stops of the Garden Tour, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 13. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Other stops on the tour include Paul and Joyce Beatenbough of Lyndonville, Anne Smith of Lyndonville, Tom Wenhold of Lyndonville, Brown’s Berry Patch with berry demonstrations in Waterport, Ginny Byers of Kendall and Gertrude Hauck of Kendall.
For more information, call the Extension at 798-4265.
Gary Wilson likes to share his garden. “Otherwise what’s the point?”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Consultant recommends making Bent’s Opera House a ‘cultural hub,’ telling sandstone story and highlighting local foods
Photos by Tom Rivers – Ted Pietrzak, a consultant hired by the Orleans Renaissance Group for a Medina development plan, believes Medina and all of Orleans would benefit by promoting its canal and sandstone heritage. He is pictured under the Canal Culvert in Ridgeway, a sandstone structure that goes under the canal.
MEDINA – A consultant hired by the Orleans Renaissance Group to develop a plan for Medina’s future has proposed establishing a Sandstone Trail along Route 31.
That trail would not only benefit Medina, but all of Orleans County, especially the canal towns that are rich in sandstone architecture, said Ted Pietrzak, a consultant who presented the proposal on Tuesday to the Medina Business Association and county officials.
“The Erie Canal and sandstone architecture may be the two most widely recognized attributes of the region,” Pietrzak said.
He told the MBA and county officials that there hasn’t been a “cohesive and sustainable tourism plan” to fully capitalize on those assets.
Pietrzak was hired by the ORG to focus on a redevelopment plan for the Bent’s Opera House, a mostly vacant building that dominates a corner of Main Street in Medina. That three-story sandstone building would make for a great beginning for the Sandstone Trail, with exhibits and displays about the area’s sandstone history, Pietrzak said.
The first floor space at Bent’s should also tell a history of the immigrants who worked in the quarries and the site should highlight some of spectacular structures they built locally, in the region and throughout the state. In fact, an unofficial sandstone trail already runs along the canal, with Medina sandstone buildings from Buffalo to Albany, and even into New York City, Pietrzak noted.
Pietrzak sees the Bent’s Opera House as a high-profile building that could be used to tell the region’s sandstone story, while also showcasing local products.
The Bent’s site has room for the sandstone exhibit, and samplings of local food, art and culture, as well as more space for a first floor tenant, perhaps an Amish or Mennonite craftsman, Pietrzak said. The site should be developed into “a cultural hub,” he told the MBA.
The ORG has envisioned the second floor of Bent’s for a restaurant and the top floor as a performing arts venue. Pietrzak has ideas for those floors, but first wants to present that plan to the ORG board before making it public.
He presented the trail initiative Tuesday because he said it has potential to include many businesses and community stakeholders.
I met with Pietrzak in early May and drove him to sandstone sites north and south of the canal from Medina to Albion. I’ve emailed him pictures from Hulberton and Holley. We share the belief that a Sandstone Trail would raise awareness for these structures, boost community pride, and would highlight other local “trails” that could intersect, including routes focused on cobblestones, Amish/Mennonite businesses, farm markets, and other local attractions.
He believes the trail and the attractions along the route would draw people from west of the county in Buffalo and Niagara Falls and east of Orleans in the Rochester area. If the trail is promoted with “a series of desirable experiences,” Pietrzak said people would come and stay for a few days.
A Sandstone Trail could run from Medina to Holley, with a stop at the Murray-Holley Historical Society Museum, a site that includes quarrymen photos and tools.
Pietrzak and I both addressed a planning committee at the county after he met with the Medina Business Association. If we pursue the trail, we need someone to take the lead and manage the project, including the minutia of securing permits for roadside signs. Some of these roadside markers could go on the existing Route 31 signs. That’s how Niagara County does many of its “Niagara Historic Trail” signs on 31.
Other communities have beer and wine trails that help connect wineries and breweries. The state helps pay for these, knowing that tourism dollars mean sales tax for the state and the local government. We could pursue a grant for the Sandstone Trail from the state. The governor and state legislators know about Medina Sandstone. The Million-Dollar Staircase in the state capitol building is made of our sandstone.
Pietrzak suggested there be town hall-style meetings, with two each in Medina, Albion and Holley to gauge public support for a trail, and solicit ideas on how it could be used to promote local businesses.
I think the trail should run from one end of the county to another, and we should have sandstone signs in each community with the name of the town or village. We might consider replacing some of the wooden signs with stone ones.
There’s a lot of features we could add, to build appreciation for our sandstone heritage, and draw people here to spend money at our businesses.
The trail grant could be part of a bigger sandstone grant application from Orleans County. I’m a member of Arts, Culture and History Subcommittee on Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. The subcommittee is trying to identify and build public support for projects that promote the area’s culture and history. Clearly, the immigrant quarrymen and Medina sandstone are a big part of our local, regional and state history and their story isn’t being told or showcased at a site.
In addition to the sandstone trail, there are two other projects that I think have a good shot at state funding and would give the area a lift. A bronze statue of a quarryman on Main Street in Albion and the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame and Museum in Medina would complement the Sandstone Trail, and tell the story of the skilled stonecutters and some of the state’s finest buildings.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo By Tom Rivers – Paul Fulcomer, right, was sworn in Tuesday as the new commander of the American Legion in Orleans County. He is joined by outgoing commander John Hucknall, left, and Al O’Donnell, the commander of the 8th District in WNY.
MEDINA – The 633 members of the American Legion in Orleans County have a new leader: Paul Fulcomer.
He is no stranger to local veterans. The Vietnam War veteran serves as the county’s director of the Veterans Service Agency. Fulcomer was sworn in as new commander on Tuesday, replacing John Hucknall of Albion.
Hucknall praised the group of Legion leaders for continuing to work on behalf of veterans in the county.
“Teamwork is what does it,” he said at the Butts Clark Post in Medina. “Without teamwork, you can’t move one darn inch.”
The local Legion leaders were joined by Al O’Donnell, commander of the 8th District, which includes 162 posts and 120,000 Legion members in eight counties, with some members in Canada.
O’Donnell of West Seneca said the Legion needs to remain active in the local communities, and reach out to new veterans.
“There’s an old phrase, ‘Numbers talk,’” he said. “If we drop in numbers, the government won’t listen to us.”
The Legion was a strong force in securing the GI Bill for soldiers, allowing them to go to college, he said.
“We’re trying to talk to the young people about the American Legion and the things that we do for them,” he said. “We’re here to help them and make sure they’re taken care of.”
ALBANY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, is calling on the State Assembly to pass the Public Assistance Integrity Act, which would prevent tax dollars from being spent on cigarettes and liquor while protecting a crucial safety net for families in need.
The measure, which Hawley has signed onto as a co-sponsor, would not only crack down on the illicit use of public assistance, but would ensure that New York State is not disqualified from $120 million in federal funding meant to support children and families struggling to put a roof over their heads. The legislation recently passed in the State Senate.
“The abuse of public assistance not only robs taxpayers of their hard earned money, but it jeopardizes the children and families who truly need a hand up in their time of need,” Hawley said. “Spending welfare dollars in strip clubs and liquor stores reduces the resources available to help provide shelter and warmth for a poor child, and the situation is made that much more dire by the loss of federal funding if we do not close this loophole. It is imperative that the Assembly pass this legislation before the close of session, because there is simply too much at stake for our hardworking taxpayers and vulnerable families to let this bill fall through the cracks.”
The Public Assistance Integrity Act would limit where EBT cards can be used and what they can be used for. The federal government has mandated that each state establish a system of fraud prevention by February 2014. If the state does not act, the federal government will penalize New York by cutting federal funding for Cash Assistance by five percent – $120 million.
