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James DeFilipps named NY Deputy of the Year

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 January 2016 at 12:00 am

File photos by Tom Rivers  – Deputy James DeFilipps is pictured with his wife Marie and their infant son Jake at the Orleans County Public Safety Building on May 19 during a recognition program.

ALBANY – An Orleans County deputy sheriff was named “Deputy of the Year” by the New York State Sheriff’s Association in Albany today.

Jim DeFilipps, an Orleans County deputy sheriff, was recognized for performing an act of valor and heroism, above the normal call of duty, the Sheriff’s Association said.

It was 3 a.m. on March 21 when DeFilipps was shot twice following a high-speed chase with James Ellis of Wyoming County.

DeFilipps was the first police officer on scene when Ellis wrecked his vehicle in Clarendon on Route 31A. Police were pursuing Ellis after a 911 call when he threatened an ex-girlfriend in Shelby with a gun.

After the crash in Clarendon, Ellis fled to a nearby wooded area and opened fire on DeFilipps and other deputies and police to arrive on the scene. DeFilipps, despite getting hit twice by gunfire, shot Ellis, killing him and ending his threat.

Police feared Ellis could have shot more officers on the scene if DeFilipps hadn’t been there. Ellis could have fled to a neighbor’s house.

DeFilipps as wearing a bullet-proof vest which likely saved his life. After recovering from his wound to his stomach, he returned to the night shift for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, where he has worked nearly 13 years.

Deputy James DeFilipps is pictured with deputies Brian Larkin, left, and Kevin Colonna, who also responded to the March 21 incident with James Ellis. The deputies and other first responders were recognized during an April 22 County Legislature meeting.

DeFilipps, a Holley resident, did not attend the ceremony in Albany today because he and his wife just had a newborn baby.

Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower said DeFilipps will receive the award in the spring during a ceremony at the Orleans County Courthouse.

“It is absolutely a proud day for the Sheriff’s Department,” Bower said after the announcement this afternoon.

DeFilipps described the incident on March 21 in a previous extended interview with the Orleans Hub. Click here to read it.

The Sheriff’s Association named two deputies for the top award. Joe Tortorella, a Niagara County deputy, was the other winner.

Tortorella responded to a 911 hang-up call at a residence in Wheatfield on April 17. While investigating the 911 call, Tortorella was confronted by an armed man who had just shot both his parents. During a lengthy shootout with the suspect, Tortorella was struck by a bullet in the chest.

The residence in Wheatfield was located next to an elementary school that was in session at the time of the incident. During the gun fight, Tortorella called dispatch over his radio to alert the school to lock-down. The suspect was shot three times, and ran back behind the house. Tortorella ran towards the school to place himself between the school and the suspect.

Medina bans electronic signs

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 January 2016 at 12:00 am

File photo – The Village of Medina won’t allow electronic signs like this one at Medina Central School on Maple Ridge Road. The school district isn’t subject to the village’s zoning laws.

MEDINA – The Village of Medina passed a law this evening that bans electronic signs, those featuring animation, flashing, scrolling or spinning messages.

The Village Planning Board recommended the new law, saying it wanted to preserve the character, heritage and history of the community. That emphasis on historical preservation has driven the current “renaissance” in the downtown business district, Planning Board Chairman Chris Busch wrote to the Village Board.

Busch said the Planning Board strives for sign designs that inform but don’t overwhelm people. Digital signs can pose a safety concern because they tend to hold a drivers’ attention for an extended period of time, he said.

Busch said the Planning Board was united in the push to ban the electronic signs. Tim Elliott, a member of the Planning Board, attended tonight’s Village Board meeting.

“In the village you’re coming into a historic area and we don’t want them in,” he said about the signs.

The school district has an electronic sign. That sign was put in before the new law was passed. The school district also isn’t subject to village zoning regulations.

GCC, Hawley host entrepreneurship program for veterans on Feb. 4

Staff Reports Posted 25 January 2016 at 12:00 am

BATAVIA – Genesee Community College and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley will host Operation Entrepreneurship, which provides free business start-up training for veterans and military family members.

The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at GCC in Batavia, room T119.
“As a veteran and small-business owner, I know firsthand the challenges and dedication it takes to succeed in both of these fields,” Hawley said. “I built my business from the ground up and am constantly evolving, evaluating and challenging myself to succeed in New York’s lackluster and competitive business climate. I look forward to meeting and working with veterans and their families who have an interest in starting and owning their own business because the American dream is alive and well, and I want to help people realize it.”

The event is being sponsored by the Small Business Association (SBA) and topics covered will include introduction to business ownership, finding the right idea, introduction to business planning, understanding market research, choosing the correct legal entity and other issues.

SBA Buffalo District Office Director, Franklin J. Sciortino, praised the event’s merits.

“The SBA supports our veterans, service members and military families through a number of initiatives,” said Sciortino. “The Operation Entrepreneurship program creates an opportunity for our veterans to learn how to start up in a day, discover resources available to support their business success, and network with other like-minded entrepreneurs.”

To register, contact Greg Lindberg at 716-551-5670 or visit www.events.sba.gov.

Medina raises ambulance rates

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 January 2016 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The Village Board is raising the ambulance rates for the Medina Fire Department by 3 percent, and increasing the mileage rate by $3 to $33 per mile.

The new rates are right in line with ambulances in the area, said Eric Dodge, client relations executive for MedEx Billing, Inc.

The village in October 2014 raised the ambulance mileage rate from $20 to $30.

The Village Board this evening approved the 3 percent overall increase in ambulance bills. Medina billed an average of $570.79 per call in fiscal year 2013-14 and $553.41 in 2014-15, according to the report.

The village uses MedEx for is billing. Dodge compared the revenue for the ambulance from the two fiscal years. The amount paid for ambulance services increased from $999,253 (from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014) to $1,063,610 (from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015).

The Fire Department is seeing less revenue per call on average as more patients are on Medicare, rather than private insurance. Medicare pays at a lower rate. The total Medicare patients increased from 1,233 in 2013-14 to 1,458 in 2014-15, according to the ambulance report.

“What you guys are experiencing is pretty much what everyone else is since the Affordable Care Act,” Dodge told the Village Board.

The number of patients on private insurance dropped from 340 in 2013-14 to 196 the following fiscal year.

Medina was able to increase the percentage of calls that were paid from 88.3 percent to 91.1 percent. That helped boost the total revenue for the ambulance service.

Dodge said Medina has a higher collection rate than the typical ambulance provider. He suggested the village use a different collection agency that sends outstanding bills to credit agencies, affecting the delinquent payers’ credit score. Right now the collection agency doesn’t send that report. Dodge said some people may need that incentive to pay their bills.

Some insurance providers send the bill to pay for the ambulance service to the patient, who should turn those checks over to the Fire Department for the ambulance service. In 2013-14, there were 133 checks kept by patients, and 123 in 2014-15.

Ethanol plant fined $87K for environmental violations

Staff Reports Posted 25 January 2016 at 12:00 am

Industrial cleaning company also fined $50K

MEDINA – Western New York Energy, owner of an ethanol plant on Bates Road in Medina, has been fined $87,000 for violating the State Environmental Conservation Law.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation reported today that the company was fined in Shelby Town Court on Jan. 14 for illegally disposing of industrial waste on its Shelby property.

The fine stems from a 2013 investigation into illegal activities at Western New York Energy by the DEC’s Police’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation unit.

The investigation, lead by DEC Investigator Chris Didion, determined that WNYE and Hydro-Klean, LLC, a company based in Iowa that specializes in industrial cleaning operations for the ethanol industry, were disposing industrial wastes generated during bi-annual plant cleanings.

WNYE processes corn into fuel grade ethanol, and high-pressure water is used to clean burned corn out of the evaporators used in production. The resulting waste wash water, which included trace amounts of ammonia and diesel range organics and is considered an industrial waste, was loaded into a vacuum truck and transported to an area at the rear of the facility and dumped into the ground, the DEC said in a news release.

The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office. In addition to the fine for Western New York Energy, Hydro-Klean pleaded guilty in the Town of Shelby Court in August 2015 to the unlawful disposal of industrial wastes and was fined $50,000.

WNYE has since changed its practices and now collects all waste water from cleaning operations and disposes of it at a local waste water treatment plant.

DEC encourages anyone with information on environmental crimes and violations to call its 24-hour hotline, at 1-844-DEC-ECOs (1-844-332-3267). An online form also is available by clicking here.

Mural in hospital highlights local history

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 January 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Stacey Kirby created a mural on the second floor of Medina Memorial Hospital about three years ago. The mural’s dominant image highlights the Erie Canal, which runs through Orleans County.

The mural also includes paintings of the Orleans County Courthouse in Albion, an iconic structure built in 1858.

Kirby, an Albion native, also painted the former site of the hospital. Before the hospital was built in 1925 on Ohio Street, the hospital used the former home of local industrialist A.L. Swett at northwest corner of Eagle and Prospect streets. The hospital operated out of that location from 1910 to 1925.

The mural was unveiled to public in March 2011. I was at the hospital on Tuesday and thought the mural worked wonders in dressing up this hallway.

County government has experienced “complete transformation” in past decade

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 January 2016 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson speaks during Friday’s Legislative Luncheon at Tillman’s Village Inn.

GAINES – Orleans County government leaders are tackling infrastructure projects, streamlining departments, and partnering with neighboring counties for some services in a push to reduce costs to taxpayers.

“The county is witnessing a complete transformation of county government over the last decade,” Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature vice chairwoman, told about 100 people Friday during the Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Luncheon.

The county has reduced the number of employees on the government payroll by 124 full-time and 69 part-time since 2011, with the sale of The Villages of Orleans, the county nursing home, accounting for many of those.

The sale of the nursing home, shared services among local governments and other staff reductions are part of $10.5 million identified in taxpayer savings the past three years, Johnson told the Chamber crowd.

Johnson said the workforce is leaner, and is working faster and smarter, utilizing more technology.

“The business of county government has gotten increasingly complicated over the last decade and we strive to hire good, smart, creative leaders to face those challenges,” she said.

Orleans has become a leader in the state with its “unprecedented” collaborations with other counties, she said, citing shared public health services, tax mapping, Stop DWI and the youth bureau with Genesee County. Orleans also is partnering with Niagara County in a push for high-speed Internet in rural underserved areas.

Johnson highlighted investments in new emergency communications for first responders, $8 million in capital projects with new roofs, bridges and culverts. The county also staved off pressure from the state for a new jail by spending $1 million in the current building, making it meet state standards.

County officials are pressing state leaders to better maintain state-owned bridges and roads in the county, she said, and the federal government also hears from Orleans on the importance of dredging the Oak Orchard Harbor for boaters to support the county’s tourism industry.

Johnson praised the efforts of the Orleans Economic Development Agency for recruiting Pride Pak, a Canadian company, to spend $12.5 million for a new vegetable processing plant in Medina. Pride Pak is expected to have 40 employees in its first year, another 40 the second year and would reach about 200 at full capacity.

The EDA also has worked for “shovel ready” sites in Medina and Shelby that have access to infrastructure. Johnson said a new hotel could commit soon to the county, and the EDA secured a $600,000 state grant for a “spec” building that will make it faster for a developer to be in business in Orleans County.

She also cited efforts by the county’s Mental Health Department to develop satellite offices at school districts and expand same-day, walk-in services at the county clinic.

Unfunded mandates, crime and community development remain challenges, but Johnson said the county is “better positioned than ever to make a difference.”

Sheriff’s Office adds Facebook page to boost outreach

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 January 2016 at 12:00 am

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office has a new Facebook page as part of effort to better reach out to the public, said Sheriff Randy Bower.

The new page went live on Friday. It has more than 500 “friends.”

Bower said the page will have regular updates from the Sheriff’s Office, including safety classes and other information. There is a contact form on the page for businesses to provide current contact information.

Bower has visited and called many businesses since taking office on Jan. 1. The Sheriff’s Office wants up-to-date information from businesses in case a door is left unlocked after hours or if there is an emergency and the business owner needs to be contacted, Bower said.

For see the Facebook page, click here.

Students compete in cursive handwriting contest

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 23 January 2016 at 12:00 am

Historical Society recognizes what is becoming a lost art

Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Winners of the 2016 Clarkson Historical Society Handwriting Contest display their certificates. Seated, from left: Emma Lenhard, Quest School in Hilton; and Carli Kirkwood, Byron-Bergen Central School. Standing, from left: Louie Conte, Kendall Central School; Aubrey Hammill, Erie, Pa. (Aubrey’s grandmother lives in Brockport); Christina Bishop, Oliver Middle School in Brockport; and Madison Marsh, Holley Central School. Not pictured: Jacey Donahue, Byron-Bergen Central School; Kennedy Jones, Holley Central School; Dakota Thompson, Holley Central School.

BROCKPORT – Orleans County students were well represented in a local cursive handwriting contest.

Students from both the Kendall Central and Holley Central School Districts were among winners honored Saturday afternoon at the Clarkson Historical Society’s Second Annual Handwriting Contest. The award ceremony was held at the restored Clarkson Academy on Rt. 104 just east of Clarkson Corners.

January 23 is John Hancock’s birthday (2016 marks his 279th) and Clarkson Historical Society President Mary Edwards explained that the national “Campaign for Cursive” group has chosen his birthday to celebrate cursive handwriting as his signature is, “the boldest on the Declaration of Independence.”

Madison Marsh, a 9th grader at Holley Jr./Sr. High School, accepts her award for second place in the High School division in the Clarkson Historical Society’s 2016 Cursive Handwriting Contest. Clarkson Historical Society President Mary Edwards looks on.

The Clarkson Historical Society holds summer camps and hosts field trips each year for local students and has emphasized teaching cursive handwriting – quickly becoming a lost art – during these events.

Edwards said Campaign for Cursive reached out to Clarkson regarding holding an event on National Handwriting Day and the cursive writing contest was born.

Winners this year include Louie Conte from Kendall Elementary School, who took second place in the 4th and 5th Grade division. Holley Central School took all three places in the High School division – First Place going to Kennedy Jones, second place going to Madison Marsh and third place going to Dakota Thompson.

Thompson and Jones were unable to attend the award ceremony due to a conflict, but will be presented with their prize on Sunday.

Winning entries were displayed at the Clarkson Academy Saturday afternoon. Those taking part had to write out the sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Students at Kendall Central and Holley Central took four of the nine awards.

Louie Conte, a student at Kendall Elementary School, accepts his cursive handwriting award from Mary Edwards, president of the Clarkson Historical Society during ceremonies at the Clarkson Academy.

Marsh, a 9th grader who lives in Clarendon, says she “loves to write in cursive,” and was inspired by her English teacher, Suzanne Lepkowski, who has a poster about cursive hanging in her classroom.

“It made me want to get into the habit of writing in cursive,” Marsh said.

Louie Conte, who lives in Kendall, said he “just started writing in cursive this year,” and he also enjoys it.

Conte was the only young man among the winners this year and Mary Edwards commended the Kendall School District for their submissions.

“Kendall is doing a really great job,” she said.

The Clarkson Historical Society received 140 entries this year and Edwards encouraged those attending to continue to work on their cursive handwriting skills.

“It’s like your fingerprint,” she said. “No one else can write exactly like you.”

She said learning how to sign your name is part of growing up and being able to sign your name in cursive “will distinguish you in the coming years. It’s a wonderful accomplishment.”

Town of Clarkson Historian Leanna Hale (left) and Clarkson Historical Society President Mary Edwards discuss the importance of cursive handwriting prior to presenting awards Saturday afternoon at the Clarkson Academy on Route 104 in Clarkson.