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Consultants make pitch to help sell county nursing home

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Russ Martino, chairman of Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation, jots down notes during a presentation today during the organization’s meeting at the public health department. Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, is pictured across from Martino.

ALBION – The consultants and firms are lining up to help Orleans County sell its 120-bed nursing home, The Villages of Orleans on Route 31.

From accounting, legal and real estate services, several firms are pitching their services to Orleans County and its newly created entity, the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation. The County Legislature in February voted to transfer the Villages of Orleans to a three-member Local Development Corporation, which that group tasked with finding a buyer and selling the facility.

County officials want to be out of the nursing home business because projections show $2 million to $4 million annual operating losses at the site.

Despite the deficits, the county nursing home has plenty of value to other operators, said a real estate professional who helps counties sell the properties.

“These nursing home are a commodity and they’re extremely valuable if run the right way,” said Josh Jandris, a senior associate with Marcus and Millichap’s National Senior Housing Group, a Chicago firm that specializes selling nursing homes.

That firm is working to sell nursing homes for nine NY counties – Chautauqua, Chemung, Essex, Ontario, Orange, Rockland, Saratoga, Steuben and Ulster.

Shrinking government reimbursement rates plus rising employee costs for publicly owned facilities have led to a big push to sell the municipally owned sites in the past three years, Jandris told the LDC during its meeting today.

Josh Jandris, a senior associate with Marcus and Millichap’s National Seniors Housing Group based in Chicago, discusses how the firm can help get a good price for The Villages of Orleans.

The firm is working with 21 governments in six states to sell nursing homes. Jandris said the company has helped governments sell sites at 25 percent above the minimum bid. The firm can help determine the market value for The Villages and then market the site to 2,500 potential buyers, Jandris said. His firm would receive 2.5 percent of the sale price.

Another organization, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester, said it would work with the county to sell the property for a fee that would likely range from $60,000 to $100,000, depending on the services. CGR’s cost also includes the services from Health Dimensions Group, which has connections with potential buyers throughout the country, said Don Pryor, CGR’s director of human services.

CGR would also work to determine the market rate for The Villages, and could research potential buyers to make sure they are good fit for the county, committed to quality care and serving “hard-to-place” residents who may have behavioral problems or be on Medicaid.

Jandris said Marcus and Millichap would also vet potential buyers to make sure they have good track records for serving patients and employee retention.

Don Pryor, director of human services research for the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester, meets with county officials and members of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation on Wednesday to discuss how CGR could help sell the 120-bed county nursing home.

Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said the county wants a buyer that would continue the Communty As Schools program with Albion Central School, where at-risk students take classes and work in internships at the nursing home. Jandris said the county can stipulate that and set other demands on the buyers, but that may result in a lower sale price.

Nesbitt also wants to hear proposals from potential buyers on how they would reuse the entire facility, including wings from the early 1960s that are mostly empty. That space might be able to be used for a senior daycare or respite site.

The new LDC will seek proposals from firms to market the nursing home and provide consulting services for the sale. That proposal will go out May 17 and will be due June 3. The LDC is expected to meet soon after June 3 to review the proposals.

The LDC during today’s meeting approved two agreements for professional services. The Harris Beach legal firm in Pittsford will represent the group on an as needed basis and will bill by the hour, including defending the county in a lawsuit filed by two citizens who say the county illegally transferred the nursing home and its assets to the LDC.

The Bonadio Group, a Pittsford accounting firm, will charge $8,500 annually to make sure the LDC submits the appropriate regulatory filings with the state.

“We assure you they will be done and be done on time,” said Nick Mazzo, a municipal consultant with Bonadio.

The LDC is aiming to complete a sale by Dec. 31, 2014.

Mary Martin has one more chance to shine on stage as high schooler

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mary Martin was named an outstanding lead by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League for her performance as Belle.

Mary Martin helps “The Beast,” played by William Grimble, during Albion’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.”

ALBION – Mary Martin will have one last chance on the stage as a high schooler before she heads to Niagara University this fall to join that school’s theater program.

Martin, a senior at Albion, is among 16 female leads from a nine-county area who will perform May 23 at the Auditorium Theatre in Rochester. That 7 to 9:30 p.m. event that also features the top 16 male leads.

The winning female and male will represent the Rochester region in the fifth annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City.

Martin is performing May 23 after being picked a top female lead for her performance as Belle in Albion’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” She also was a top female lead in the Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s “Stars of Tomorrow” program last year for her performance as Maria Rainer in “The Sound of Music.”

Gary Simboli, Albion’s musical director, said it is very rare for a student to be awarded a top female or male lead two years in a row in the Stars program.

“If you look at a bell curve, she is really on the far end of the bell curve,” Simboli said. “She continues to work on her craft. She has a lot of dedication.”

Martin also is among the “Fan Favorites” listed in the Stars program. That on-line voting contest will award the student with the most votes the title of “Fan Favorite” and also four VIP seats to the opening night of “GHOST The Musical” on Oct. 8.

To vote for Martin, click here.

On the contest’s Web site, Martin thanks Simboli, other musical and band teachers, and her fellow cast members:

“The past four years have gone by so quickly! I can hardly believe that I am about to go on to college to pursue performing arts,” Martin writes. “I was honored to be given the part as Belle and I would like to say that I have never in my whole life worked with such an AMAZING and talented cast. I love you all and I will miss you! Mr. Simboli and Mr. Thaine, what would I do without you?! Mrs. Winans, Mrs. Berg and Mrs. Pettit, thank you for being so patient with me! I wish all of you every happiness.”

Big FFA crowd makes it unlikely Albion will host convention again

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – About 160 FFA students crowd into the middle school band room, waiting to be awarded Empire Degrees. The auditorium was full so these students had to wait in a different room.

ALBION – Don’t expect to see the FFA state convention return to Albion again. The school is too small to accommodate the growing crowd of students, advisors, chaperones and parents who come from all corners of the state.

“We’re done because we’ve run out of room,” said Adam Krenning, Albion’s FFA advisor and agriculture teacher.

In 2007, about 800 FFA students, advisors and chaperones came to Albion for the three-day state FFA convention.

When the school hosted the event May 2-4, there were 1,106 students and about 500 more adults on the school campus for the convention.

There weren’t enough seats in the middle school auditorium for closing ceremonies on May 4, forcing Albion to crowd 160 students into the band room. Those students were receiving their Empire Degrees, the highest award for FFA in New York. They watched the closing ceremonies on television while waiting their turn on stage.

FFA has soared in popularity in recent years with new chapters opening and existing chapters adding members. That reality makes it difficult to find a school that can handle the influx of people.

Not only does the school need a big auditorium with about 2,000 seats, but it needs several nearby hotels to house all the guests. Most of the visiting FFA students stayed in Batavia, a half-hour drive, during the recent convention.

Most rural schools don’t have 1,000 hotel rooms so close by. And most rural schools that offer FFA programs don’t have auditoriums that can fit the FFA crowd.

Medina will host the convention next year. That school has a smaller auditorium than Albion’s. Medina will need to use technology so students and guests can witness the events live in other rooms, besides the auditorium, said Todd Eick, Medina’s FFA advisor.

“It’s an outstanding problem to have,” he said about the space crunch. “There are some new schools started chapters and the numbers are rising.”

The big numbers for the convention are eliminating some long-time host sites, and may result in designating regional locations for the FFA convention. That could mean the convention center in Rochester, said Krenning, a member of the state FFA’s governing board.

The convention was held two years in a row at Cobleskill State College. Those conventions in 2010 and ’11, were in partnership with the Walton and Sidney FFA chapters.

Jenny McKenna, the Albion FFA president, prefers to see the convention rotate sites so students can experience new areas.

“If they do it in the same location so many years in a row, it’s not as exciting for the students,” she said.

The experience on the college campus didn’t work too well when junior high and high school students were sharing a campus with college students. But Krenning said the FFA leaders are wondering if the convention could be at a college following commencement when the campus is mostly empty. The students could then stay in dorms, have access to classrooms and a big auditorium, and participate in tours of local agriculture.

Some FFA officials have suggested two schools close together share their facilities for a convention. But that would still leave FFA with an auditorium that’s too small. And Krenning said he wouldn’t want to be split up on two campuses for a convention.

FFA leaders need to work out a solution so the students can all be accommodated, Eick said.

“It’s definitely something that needs to be talked about,” he said.

Orleans remembers two police officers who died in the line of duty

Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess

ALBION – Tomorrow on May 15th, as we celebrate National Peace Officers Memorial Day, we honor the memory of two Orleans County law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty:

New York State Police Sergeant Harry A. Adams was killed on Sept. 1, 1951. Adams was directing traffic at the scene of a motor vehicle accident on Sawyer Road in the Town of Carlton when he was struck by a drunk driver.

Sergeant Adams was a 28-year veteran of the State Police, having enlisted in December 1923. He had been assigned to Orleans County since 1932 and was in charge of the Gaines sub-station. At the time of his death, Sergeant Adams was 55. He was survived by his wife and four children.

Orleans County Deputy Sheriff David H. Whittier died on Sept. 8, 1989 from injuries sustained eight months earlier on Jan. 19, 1989.  On that January night, Whittier was on patrol when he came upon an un-occupied vehicle on Gaines Basin Road in the Town of Gaines.

While Whittier was out checking the abandoned pick-up truck, the truck was struck by another vehicle operated by a drunk driver. The impact pinned Whittier between his patrol car and the truck he was checking. Whittier never recovered from the injuries he sustained as a result, and eventually succumbed to those injuries.

Whittier was a two-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and was fulfilling a life-long dream of a career in law enforcement. At the time of his death, Deputy Whittier was 41. He was survived by his wife and two children.

We salute these brave men who gave their lives in the performance of duty. They are not forgotten.

The Men & Women of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office

Orleans schools make switch to optical scan voting machines

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

The mechanical voting machine may not see another local election.

When residents vote on the school budgets in Orleans County next Tuesday, they will cast their ballots on the new optical scan machines that have been used by towns and county since 2010.

The old mechanical lever machines, technology that had been used for about a century, may have seen their last local election.

“Some of them are getting unrepairable,” said Clara Martin, a deputy election commissioner for the Orleans County Board of Elections.

The county’s voting machine technicians met with the five school districts and they reached a mutual decision to phase out the old machines for the optical scans.

The change to optical scan machines will cost Albion Central School about $1,500 more for the election. Each ballot cost 60 cents, said Shawn Liddle, Albion’s assistant superintendent for business.

The mechanical voting machines have been phased out for most elections throughout New York as part of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The federal government paid most of the upfront costs for the new machines that have electronic scanners.

I hope we can keep some of the old machines around as museum pieces. I know some of the local towns have taken them to the scrap yard.

Lee-Whedon Library budget approved

Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library

MEDINA – A $573,063 budget for Lee-Whedon Memorial Library was overwhelmingly backed by Medina school districts residents on Monday, passing with an 83-6 vote.

This budget represents an increase of 1.8 percent. Residents also re-elected incumbent Trustee Isabella Mark to another five-year term.

“We are grateful to the community for the continuing support,” said Maryellen Dale, Board president. “We authorized a major but necessary expense this year – the replacement of the 45-year-old roof at a cost of $215,000.”

A state construction grant will pay 50 percent of the roof costs.

“We look forward to decreased energy costs as a result of the newly insulated roof,” Dale said. “However, as the building approaches its 50th year, we notice that it is in need of updating. Many of the ceiling tiles are stained and broken. The walls were last painted in 1994, the carpet was replaced in 1996. It is time to freshen up! We plan to give the community a building it can be proud of. Plans are afoot for this major renovation project to be completed in the fall.”

Orleans/Niagara BOCES recognizes nursing students

Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Front row from left: Michelle Neal, Shentelle Shaffer, Kasey Turrell, Lauren Zulick, Tara Milton Back row from left: Nicole Szatkowski, Jessica Makowski, Tanya Kopp, Stacy Erck, Brynne Perfitt, Erica Stahl, Todd Harris, Daniel Beatty

Press Release: Orleans/Niagara BOCES

May is the month when nurses of all types are recognized and celebrated. The Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) students at the Orleans and Niagara Career and Technical Education Centers have been working hard to complete their 1,730 hour course that will allow then to take the NCLEX exam for their license. The Orleans/Niagara BOCES students spend 510 hours at local hospitals to get their clinical hours and assist the nurses in many of their duties taking care of those who are recovering or require treatment. They deserve big congratulations for all the hard work and dedication to starting this rewarding career.

Firefighter sentenced for sex crimes

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Elsenheimer admitted to sex acts with two teen-age boys

ALBION – A former Medina firefighter was sentenced to two years in state prison on Monday after he admitted in court in March that performed sexual acts on two teen-age boys.

Jeffrey J. Elsenheimer Jr., 32, worked as a full-time Medina firefighter for six years. Investigators from the Orleans County Major Felony Crimes Task Force found nude photographs of a 16-year-old boy on Elsenheimer’s cell phone, which were sent while he was on duty.

The alleged abuse with the two boys occurred between March and August 2012.

Elsenheimer faced a 29-count indictment, including 17 felony counts and 12 misdemeanors. He pled guilty to one count of third-degree sexual act with each boy, and faced up to four years in state prison.

He was sentenced to two two-year sentences that will run at the same time. Elsenheimer also will be registered as a sex offender and will have eight years of post-release supervison when he’s out of prison.

Elsenheimer served as Medina Fire Department public information officer in addition to his duties as firefighter. He had to surrender his EMT license. He also worked as a part-time dispatcher for the county, and was fired from that position when he was charged with the sex crimes. He previously worked as a teacher at Kendall.

Fruit farmers fight freeze

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Overnight irrigation helps protect crop from cold

Photos by Tom Rivers – Ice coats the blossoms on the blueberry bushes at Brown’s Berry Patch in Waterport.

This riser sprays water on blueberry bushes at Brown’s.

CARLTON – This morning the blueberry blossoms at Brown’s Berry Patch were coated with about a half-inch of ice after being doused with water overnight.

It may seem counterintuitive to spray water on orchards when it’s freezing, but the ice provides some protection for the crops. As the ice freezes, it gives off heat to keep the buds from dropping below 32 and freezing.

Brown’s pulled an all-nighter last night running an irrigation system for the blueberries and strawberries. The plants were in full-blown blossom stage when the cold hit last night. Brown’s was ready, spending the previous days setting up irrigation systems, running pipes into the orchards with sprinklers and risers.

“Your early bloom is your biggest berries,” said Eric Brown, co-owner of Brown’s Berry Patch and Orchard Dale Fruit Farm. “They’re in the delicate stage. You have to protect them.”

Brown walked through the orchards this morning, and inspected the blossoms. He didn’t see black in the flowers, which would have been a sign the blossoms were dead. He believes the irrigation made a difference overnight and helped stave off big losses. The freeze can kill off blossoms when they are so vulnerable in early May.

That happened last year when a very warm March caused fruit trees to blossom early, and then a deep freeze hit in late April with several days of temperatures in the low 20s. That caused widespread damage to the apple crop, resulting in the worst season since 1945.

“Last year there was damage everywhere,” Brown said.

Eric Brown looks over a field of strawberries this morning after an overnight freeze.

Last night the temperatures didn’t plunge into the low 20s. Apples, when they’re in the blossom stage, can endure 30 to 31 degrees, the low temperatures earlier today in Waterport.

Apples are heartier than strawberries and blueberries. That’s why Brown’s focused on keeping the berries alive by running the irrigation system.

“You buy it as insurance and hope you never have to use it,” Brown said at the farm a little after 6 this morning.

The farm set up an irrigation system to help strawberries survive the cold.

This year’s cold spell isn’t nearly as bad as last year, when the farm irrigated the berries at least six nights. That allowed Brown’s to have a berry crop last year.

Some farmers in Wayne County lost all of their apple crop last year. Many of them have purchased wind machines that help move out cold air and pull down warm air, Brown said. A couple degrees difference in the orchard can make the difference in the blossoms surviving and the farmers having a crop.

Grants give Medina properties a facelift

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – This home at 204 West Center St., Medina, was one of 17 houses in the village to receive matching funds for improvements through a grant administered by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce. The $200,000 grant also provided money to 11 businesses for façade and sign upgrades.

MEDINA – Kathy Blackburn drives down Main Street and some of Medina’s residential streets, and she sees new signs for businesses, fresh paint on buildings, and new siding and roofs.

And more of those projects will soon be tackled, with the prospect of more improvements next year.

Blackburn, executive director for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, is administering a $200,000 grant that provides matching funding for the projects that are all in the village of Medina. An anonymous funding entity is paying for the grant, and that entity will likely continue a second round in December, Blackburn said.

The grant has paid for $121,000 worth of work on 17 houses and $68,000 for 11 businesses. Some of the projects have been completed, and others will soon get under way, Blackburn said.

More than 50 applicants sought matching funds through the program after it was announced in November. A committee reviewed the proposals.

“We would have liked to do more projects, but you only have so much money,” Blackburn said.

The committee included Medina Code Enforcement Officer Marty Busch, a contractor, investor, banker and accountant.

The group was focused on projects that would have the biggest impact for “curb appeal,” Blackburn said. The grants were capped at a maximum of $20,000 per property.

The grant program is expected to be focused on the Medina area again if a new funding round goes forward, Blackburn said.

“This project pulled at your heart strings because it is helping some people stay in their homes and do work they couldn’t have afforded on their own,” she said.