The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning and lake effect snow warning for Orleans County.
The lake effect warning continues until 10 p.m. today when up to 7 to 13 inches could fall in Orleans and Niagara counties.
The wind chill warning is in effect from 5 a.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday.
Today will have a high of 23 degrees but temperatures will fall to 3-below tonight, according to the Weather Service. Saturday there will only be a high of 0 with temperatures falling to 7-below. Sunday is forecast for a high of 10 degrees and a low of 7.
A wind chill warning is issued when a strong wind combines with cold temperatures to create dangerously cold conditions for exposed skin. The wind will make it feel like it is 25 degrees below 0 or colder for several hours.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2016 at 12:00 am
James Tuk, John Belson vie for Lyndonville mayor
The slate of candidates is set for village elections next month in Orleans County.
Lyndonville has the only contest featuring a race for mayor with James Tuk and John Belson running for the village’s top elected official. Tuk is the current deputy mayor and has been leading the village since Steve McAvoy resigned as mayor on Oct. 31 due to the demands of his full-time job.
Belson lost a close re-election for Yates town supervisor in November to Jim Simon. Belson wants to continue in public service. He is running under the Lyndonville Party while Tuk picked “The Lake Party.” The mayor’s post is a four-year term.
Three people are running for two seats on the Village Board, including incumbents Ellen Tuohey (Independent Party) and Danny Woodward (Peoples Party). Andrew Cousins (Sustainable Futures) also is running for village trustee.
The election will be on March 15 with voting from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall.
In Medina, Michael Sidari, a current village trustee, is the only candidate for a two-year term as mayor. Sidari is running under The Village Party, along with incumbent Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott, who are seeking two-year terms on the Village Board. Current Mayor Andrew Meier isn’t seeking re-election.
Voting in Medina is from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center.
In Lyndonville and Medina, candidates run under independent parties without the official backing of either Republicans or Democrats.
In Albion, the Republican and Democratic parties still hold caucuses to pick candidates. Albion has two four-year seats open on the Village Board. The Republican Party is backing incumbent Gary Katsanis, and Democrats are backing Mattea Navarra-Molisani and incumbent Peter Sidari.
Voting is from noon to 9 p.m. on March 15 at the Village Hall.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos courtesy of Kurt Wannenwetsch
MURRAY – There have been numerous accidents today in Orleans County due to slick roads and treacherous winter weather at times.
The top photo shows a vehicle on fire off Hindsburg Road in Murray at about 11:30 a.m. There was another vehicle on fire later in the afternoon in Clarendon on Route 31A between Manning and Hibbard roads.
Dispatchers said there weren’t any injuries in those incidents. There were accidents without serious injuries reported today on Kendrick Road in Carlton, 31A in Albion between Lewis and Culver roads, Roosevelt Road (Route 18) in Kendall, and on 31A in Barre near Eagle Harbor Road (involving two tractor trailers).
Firefighters respond to the scene of a car on fire late this morning off Hindsburg Road.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2016 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Samantha Roskowski, executive director for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, is pictured inside the Chamber office at 102 North Main St., Suite 1. Today was the last day the office will be open full-time. It will be open 9 to 11 on weekday mornings until closing March 31.
ALBION – The organization that promotes businesses and events in Orleans County will do so without an office. The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce is closing its office on Main Street in Albion.
Today was the last full-time day for the office. It will be open 9 to 11 on weekday mornings until closing on March 31.
The Chamber will maintain an on-line presence, and its director and volunteer board members will continue to work hard promoting businesses in the county, said Samantha Roskowski, the executive director.
She will work remotely, either from home or at other locations in the county. She is the Chamber’s lone employee. Not being committed to office hours at a building will allow her to be out more in the community, working with businesses.
She said few people stopped by the Chamber office anyway. The office is next to Five Star Bank at 102 North Main St. The Chamber has many brochures spread out on tables, highlighting museums, attractions and events in Orleans County.
But Roskowski said only 30 to 40 people a year would come into the office looking for information. She instead wants to build a more robust on-line presence for the Chamber, with an easy-to-navigate directory of members in the county.
“We’re trying to adapt and stay relevant,” Roskowski said this afternoon. “We’re trying to provide the best service for our members.”
The Chamber will save on rent by going without an office. She said other Chambers have made the same decision to function without an office and redirect energy into the on-line presence and other services for members and the community.
The Chamber had considered a shared office with the County Tourism Department, but county officials opted instead to have Tourism in the Orleans County Administration Building on Route 31, the building that includes the DMV and Department of Social Services.
Roskowski said the Chamber may revisit an office again someday. If it goes that route she would prefer to share space with another organization.
The Chamber will work to clear out its materials and files by March 31, the end of its lease with Five Star. The Chamber also is planning one of its biggest events, the Home and Garden Show on April 16-17.
Roskowski said the community can expect the Chamber to be active and visible in the community, even without an office.
“We’ll be just as available as before,” she said today from the office. “I just won’t be here physically.”
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 12 February 2016 at 12:00 am
KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Board of Education have approved $3.03 million in construction bids in the second phase of an upgrade at the school campus, a $25 million overall capital project ongoing since 2014.
The following bids were approved on Wednesday evening:
General trades – Holdsworth Klimowski Construction, Victor, NY for $1,903,000.
Plumbing – Thurston Dudek, LLC, Ontario, NY, for $284,400.
HVAC – Nairy Mechanical, LLC, Webster, NY, for $425,700.
Electrical – Suburban Electric of Albion, Inc., for $417,200.
Phase II of the project is much smaller than Phase I which included a new cafeteria at the Jr./Sr. High School and extensive improvements to school libraries, hallways, classrooms and the fitness room at the Jr./Sr. High School.
Phase II includes work on both the Kendall Jr./Sr. High School and Kendall Elementary School and will involve upgrades to elementary classroom bathrooms, the Jr./Sr High School Science wing and site work.
Remaining work from Phase I including the Jr./Sr. High School main office, main entrance and counseling area is expected to begin in June with completion of all Phase I and Phase II work expected by September 2016.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 11 February 2016 at 12:00 am
Chief commends school district for security efforts
HOLLEY – If you’ve noticed more Holley Police vehicles on the campus of Holley Central School lately, there’s a good reason.
Police Chief Roland Nenni spoke to members of the School Board during their regular meeting Monday regarding his efforts to increase police presence at the school and around the village in general.
Nenni said he has had officers working days stop at both the elementary and middle school/high school buildings on a regular basis over the past few weeks to assist with “bonding with staff and students.”
He explained that the recent efforts are only the beginning of work to strengthen ties between the village police and the school district.
“We want to build bridges,” Chief Nenni told board members. “We want to build a relationship … interact with students … bridge those gaps and make a bond. I can’t thank the staff of the school enough.”
The police chief also thanked board members and commended the district for their campus security efforts. Nenni explained that he acts as commander for the county-wide SWAT team and that, “Holley is above the grade of everybody else,” he observed. “It’s phenomenal, Holley really stepped up over the need for security. I can’t commend you enough.”
Nenni serves as chief of both the Albion and Holley Police Departments and he said he sees the stepped up efforts at the school as part of building a relationship with the entire Holley community.
“It’s nice to see us doing this together,” Board President Brenda Swanger told Nenni. “It’s what we need … I’ve seen your cars around more.”
Board member John Heise agreed with Swanger. “I see the (police) cars much more, they are active around the community. It’s amazing, the change.”
Nenni took over leadership of the Holley Police force in October 2015. He said he is well acquainted with the needs of small communities and wants to respond well to residents’ concerns.
“I want to do our business better,” he said, “have our customers tell us what they are looking for. We want to serve you the best we can.”
In other business, Elementary School Principal Karri Schiavone said parents will see different looking report cards next year as the school is working to move to a standards-based report for parents.
Schiavone said the district has formed a committee that is looking at samples from other districts and working on templates. She noted Holley is behind in aligning grades to standards.
“We need to start reporting to parents on standards,” she explained. “We work with standards in the classroom and on curriculum writing … this is going to be a huge shift and an uncomfortable shift, but we need to do it.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2016 at 12:00 am
LYNDONVILLE – “Need to Know,” a public affairs program produced by WXXI in Rochester, aired a segment on Lyndonville’s character education program on Feb. 4.
Jason Smith, the district superintendent, is pleased with the attention for the program, We R 3C. The segment on Need to Know includes interviews with teachers and students at Lyndonville.
The core of the We R 3C curriculum promotes values, respect, kindness and compassion and recognizes the definitive responsibility of the individual to the well-being of the community and reciprocally, the community’s responsibility to the well-being of the individual.
To see the feature on Lyndonville, click here for a link to the show. Lyndonville starts at the 23:50 mark.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 11 February 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Ken Draper, owner of KD Flooring & Supply stands next to one of the displays of flooring options available at his store, which he recently opened in the historic Old Stone Store in Clarendon.
CLARENDON – The latest chapter in the history of the Clarendon Stone Store has begun with the arrival of KD Flooring & Supply as the new tenant in the ground floor commercial space.
Owner Ken Draper, a Kendall native who now makes his home in Clarendon and who has been in the flooring business since he was 15, says he is thrilled with the location and especially appreciates the history of the building – built in 1836 from Medina sandstone.
“I love this location, I love this old building. I’m here to stay,” he said. “I have no intentions of leaving.”
Draper previously owned Orleans Carpet, which was located on Rt. 104 east of Rt. 98. Recently, his business was located in the village of Holley, but he said parking was an issue. He says he initially was interested in the old grain mill, which sits in the Clarendon hamlet just south of the NYS Routes 237 and 31A intersection where the Stone Store is located, but after looking into that property found, “it would have been too expensive to rehab.”
That’s where Clarendon Historian/Code Enforcement Officer Melissa Ierlan comes in. Draper said she suggested the Stone Store, as the former tenant was leaving.
“It’s a perfect situation for us,” Ierlan says of the flooring business, noting it is a great fit for Clarendon and the Stone Store location. After Draper opened, Ierlan took a stack of 8 X 10 copies of historic photos of the store to the shop and Draper said customers have enjoyed looking through them.
The Old Stone Store was built in 1836 from Medina sandstone.
The building, which is listed on the State and National Historic Registers, functioned as a general store until 1975. It was broken into apartments in later years but by 2007 was sitting empty. The Town of Clarendon was ready to demolish the landmark in 2011 when a group of concerned residents formed the Old Stone Store Preservation Committee and rallied to save the structure from the wrecking ball.
The town agreed to put the building on the market and sell it for one dollar, as long as the new owner could provide a suitable plan for restoration and future use. Late in 2012, Sue and Joe Fertitta of Parma purchased the building and began the work of restoration/ rejuvenation.
Clarendon Supervisor Richard Moy said he is overjoyed with the way the Old Stone Store turned out. “Joe and Sue Fertitta did an outstanding job refurbishing the old store so it could become a viable business and at the same time preserve its historic past. Too many times old historic structures get demolished and once they are gone, some of our history goes with it.”
Supervisor Moy said many people in the Clarendon community are appreciative of the work done by the Fertittas.
The interior of the store includes a display for KD Flooring & Supply.
“It is also important to note that the building is still on our tax rolls and the building generates sales tax for the entire county,” Moy added.
Draper now has the ground floor shop filled with displays and flooring samples from which customers can choose – carpet, tile, linoleum, laminate, hardwood, and ceramic choices abound for both commercial and residential customers.
“I do whatever I can to save customers money,” Draper said. “I keep overhead low and sell below the suggested retail price. I can beat anybody’s price.”
Draper provides installation, but also can guide customers through do-it-yourself projects. He offers “a premium product … first quality name brands with the best prices guaranteed,” he said, and added that 90 percent of the products he sells are American made.
The quality and durability of flooring choices has improved dramatically in recent years – “Some flooring will now last a lifetime,” Draper said.
He works to make sure the shop offers the latest designs, styles and colors and follows that up with customer service. “I educate the customers,” he said. “There’s a lot they don’t know. I educate them here and in their home.”
Draper also offers additional discounts to seniors and veterans, and will continue to honor warranties for customers of Orleans Carpet.
“I stand behind any flooring products you purchase,” he noted, guaranteeing labor for life.
KD Flooring & Supply is open 10 am – 7 pm Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., and Sat. The store is closed on Wed., and Sun., but Draper says he is available to come to the store anytime. Customers can call 585-638-2492.
In the wake of alarming news reports, where a deadly batch of heroin has led to 23 deaths in Erie County and numerous other overdoses in less than two weeks, state senators Rob Ortt, George Amedore, and Terrence Murphy are calling for the enactment of “Laree’s Law.”
This legislation (S.4163) would allow law enforcement officials to charge a dealer with homicide if heroin or an opiate-controlled substance they sell causes an overdose death.
In the 11-day period beginning on January 29, 23 people aging in range from 20-61 in Erie County died as a result of overdose from heroin use. The majority of the overdoses are believed to be linked to an extremely deadly batch of heroin laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opiate that can be 50 times stronger than heroin.
“The heroin in our backyard is stronger and deadlier than anything out there. This must serve as a wake-up call to our community and to our state,” said Senator Rob Ortt. “We lost at least 23 lives over the last two weeks as a result of this heroin. That’s 23 of our sons and daughters. And that should be 23 homicide charges against the dealers bringing these drugs onto our streets and into our schools. Enforcement alone will not cure the heroin epidemic, but it will provide a serious tool to law enforcement officials and a serious blow to the criminals killing our citizens.”
“The State of New York is facing a heroin crisis, and we need to do everything we can to stop the flow of these deadly drugs into our streets,” said Senator George Amedore. “Our efforts to increase prevention, treatment and recovery to help those suffering with addiction need to go hand-in-hand with stronger penalties for those who are bringing these drugs into our communities.”
“The face of heroin has changed. It is no longer solely associated with disreputable people in crumbling communities,” said Senator Terrence Murphy. “It has come to roost amongst the rich and the poor, in our schools and our homes. We need to protect our families through more stringent legislation that seeks to punish drug dealers peddling their poison. Of the 17 pieces of legislation the senate passed last year, only one became a law. If we are serious about winning the war on drugs the Assembly needs to act.”
Laree’s Law is named after Laree Farrell Lincoln, a Colonie teenager who died of a heroin overdose three years ago. This bill would establish the crime of homicide for drug dealers who sell opiate-controlled substances that result in overdose, an A-1 felony punishable by 15-25 years in jail.
The legislation targets mid-to-high level drug dealers who profit from heroin sales, and includes a co-user carve out. In 2011, New York adopted a “Good Samaritan” law to protect individuals from charges related to an overdose if they attempt to help the individual and report the incident in a timely manner.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed Laree’s Law last year, with a vote of 53-9, but the Assembly failed to bring it to the floor for a vote.
