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Albion varsity star also is committed youth football coach

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Tyler Rotoli has a passion for football, mentoring young players

Photos by Tom Rivers – Tyler Rotoli greets members of the Albion JV youth football team when they are introduced before a Sept. 19 game versus Medina.

ALBION – Last Friday, Tyler Rotoli ran for 142 yards in leading the Albion varsity football team to a 27-14 win over rival Medina.

Early the next morning, Rotoli was at his job at Burger King at 5:30, getting the Main Street location ready for the day. He worked till lunch and then hustled to Oakfield to join a team of 10- and 11-year-olds from Albion. That team had a big playoff game against Medina.

Rotoli is one of the coaches of the youth team, the offensive coordinator for a group that likes to throw the football and break off long runs. Rotoli has taught the team more than 70 plays, many of the formations and techniques from the varsity team.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Tyler Rotoli fights for yardage in a 14-12 loss on Sept. 25 to East Aurora/Holland.

This year was the first time the JV youth squad made the playoffs in years.

Rotoli has juggled his varsity schedule, his work at Burger King, and his homework with a devotion to practices and games with the youth team.

“He’s a natural born leader,” said head coach Geno Allport, who coached Rotoli when he played on the youth teams. “He has the passion and he has the heart.”

Allport said it’s unusual to see a high school player anywhere in the region be so committed to working with a youth program. Besides Rotoli, Jared Hollinger also has been working with the Albion youth program. Hollinger is a junior lineman for the varsity team.

Rotoli is running back, quarterback, linebacker, whatever position the teams needs him. He preaches unselfishness and a “Team First” attitude for the youth players. He fires them up before the game, and shouts encouragement and instruction throughout the contests.

After a tough loss to Medina on Sept. 19, Rotoli gathered the group on the sideline, reminding them to keep working hard in practices. The team would close out the regular season with several victories.

After a tough loss to Medina on Sept. 19, Tyler Rotoli gathered the youth JV team, offering encouragement and motivation to keep working hard in practice and the rest of the season.

“I just want to give back to the next generation and be a positive role model,” Rotoli said. “You don’t really remember the wins and losses. You remember the coaches.”

Rotoli, 17, said Allport has been a steady and positive influence in his life for many years.

“He’s been there through the ups and downs,” Rotoli said.

He knows some of the players need male role models. That is part of his drive to be at the practices and games, even when he is fighting exhaustion.

“All I want to do is touch another life,” Rotoli said. “I want to be that big brother to somebody else and motivate them.”

Rotoli aged out of youth football after seventh grade. In eighth grade, he offered to help with some of the youth teams. His younger brother Junior plays on this year’s JV team. Two of Rotoli’s cousins, Amari and Javon Jones, also are on the team.

Rotoli found as an eighth-grader that the kids responded to his instruction. The following year he took an on-line program and became a certified coach. That program makes sure coaches know proper techniques for tackling. (Click here for more information.)

Rotoli impressed Allport and the other coaches with his grasp for the game, his analysis of the players’ strengths and how to devise plays to best use those talents.

Allport said Rotoli typically calls the plays on offense, and the team usually finds the end zone several times a game.

“I gave him freedom to run the offense because he knows what he’s doing,” Allport said.

Most of the JV youth players would watch Rotoli during Friday home games at the varsity field. The next day, Rotoli would join them for their game. Allport said Rotoli inspires the kids “to see where they can go” as a varsity player.

Rotoli is considering majoring in criminal justice in college so he can work as a police officer. Allport is hopeful Rotoli will stay in the area after college, and continue to coach and work with the youth football players.

Allport also said Hollinger has been a big help with the youth football program. He and Rotoli help set up the field and with clean up after the games.

“You’re not going to find kids that busted their butts more than those two,” Allport said.

Tyler Rotoli and Geno Allport, head coach of the Albion JV youth team, talk strategy before Saturday’s playoff game versus Medina.

Rotoli said he would like to be a coach in the future. He enjoys the life lessons with the game, and often gives fiery speeches to the players.

“If you work hard, you get good outcomes,” he tells the players when they’re doing push-ups or finishing sprints.

“You got to be disciplined,” he bellows.

Rotoli said spewing those words has been good for him. It reminds him he needs to keep working hard, too, including the early morning shifts at Burger King following an away game on Friday.

“I’m preaching you need discipline and perseverance,” he said. “It motivates me, too.”

800 were without power in Albion last night

Staff Reports Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – Power was out in the northwest side of the village last night with about 800 National Grid customers without electricity.

The power was restored overnight. At 6:42 a.m., National Grid reported all of its Orleans County customers had service.

There was no official cause of the outage reported. An Orleans County dispatcher said weather likely was a factor.

FFA brings fall fun to elementary students

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Rae Kwon Riley, an Albion third-grader, paints a pumpkin today in the high school ag shop.

He is one of about 700 elementary students who are enjoying a fall festival through the FFA this week.

FFA students spent a few hours on Saturday picking about 800 pumpkins from Panek’s for the festival.

Jayden Lewis gives his pumpkin a personal touch. Jayden and Rae Kwon are both in Kelly Robbins’ class.

Here are some of the painted pumpkins by elementary kids. The Fall Festival will continue on Wednesday, with more students painting pumpkins and trying other stations.

FFA member Ellen Narburgh slices apples, and Dylan Sherman, center, and Nick Calkins provide some muscle with an old-fashioned cider press.

The Albion FFA is one of the oldest chapters in the state, dating back to 1927.

Medina man pleads guilty to DWI, faces prison sentence

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A Medina resident pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and could face a 1 to 3 year sentence in state prison.

Justin R. Carpenter, 31, of Medina was charged with felony DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation after he was stopped Aug. 22 by state police.

Carpenter admitted in Orleans County Court on Monday that he had been drinking on Aug. 22. He registered a 0.20 Blood Alcohol Content, 2 ½ times the legal limit.

He has a prior misdemeanor DWI from November 2006 in the Town of Shelby.

Carpenter could have faced a maximum of 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison, but as part of a plea deal on Monday the sentence will be a maximum 1 to 3 years. He will be sentenced on Feb. 1.

In other cases in County Court, the following were arraigned:

Stacy Hamilton, 31, of Yates-Carlton Townline Road, Carlton. She is charged with grand larceny in the third degree, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree. She allegedly took about $15,000 from an elderly person, who she was managing the finances for, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Stuart J. Rodden, 25, of Medina was arraigned for violating probation. He was previously arraigned on Oct. 5 for driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree.

Rodden was charged on Aug. 7 following the investigation of a motor vehicle accident with an unregistered dirtbike on South Lyndonville Road (Route 63) in the Town of Ridgeway. The DWI and AUO represent a violation of his probation.

Jeddida Manning, 19, who was an inmate at the Orleans Correctional Facility before being moved to the Lakeview Correctional Facility in Oswego County.

Manning has been charged with aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate after he allegedly bit a corrections officer, and exposed the officer to Manning’s blood. Manning is currently serving a sentence of 2 to 6 years for attempted arson and criminal possession of stolen property.

Weather has been nice for apple harvest

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Not quite a bumper crop in 2015

Photos by Tom Rivers – This photo shows an apple in an orchard on East State Street near the Butts Road intersection in Albion.

Local apple growers say the weather for the harvest season has been ideal for picking and packing the fruit.

New York is the country’s second-leading apple growing state, behind only Washington State. In a big year, NY will harvest 30 million bushels or boxes of apples. This year, the crop is expected at 26 to 27 million bushels. A frost over Memorial Day weekend damaged some of the buds and blossoms, taking a chunk out of this year’s crop.

“We are the second-largest apple growing state in the nation, so apple fans don’t have to look any further for great apples,” said Jim Allen, president of the NY Apple Association. “They will be glad they did, because closer means fresher, more flavorful apples.”

This photo shows a bin of apples at Excelsior Farms in Point Breeze.

Orleans County is NY’s second biggest apple producing county, behind Wayne County.

Holley says its at impasse with EPA on 8 houses

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

HOLLEY – What began as a snag in late August has now become an impasse in talks between the Village of Holley Development Corporation (VHDC) and the EPA over the turn-over of eight “Diaz homes” in the village.

“This LDC is not a dumping ground,” VHDC President Daniel Schiavone said during the board’s meeting Monday evening. Schiavone reported details regarding a conference call he was on with the Village of Holley attorney and EPA officials over the EPA’s insistence that lead abatement in the homes be completed by a certified lead abatement contractor rather than by the property owner.

“The news is grim,” Schiavone said. “We are at an impasse.”

The VHDC has not signed the most recent agreement to take ownership of the homes due to wording in the agreement requiring the certified lead abatement.

Schiavone has said the cost of the abatement threatens the future ability of the VHDC to sell the homes. Additionally, the VHDC Board has learned that lead abatement contractors will not provide an estimate of the cost of the work until a survey of the properties is done to access the situation. That cost will be approximately $5,500, Schiavone says, money neither the VHDC nor the EPA has budgeted.

“As the president of the LDC, the last thing I’m going to do is get us into a position where we own the homes and can’t afford to get them cleaned up so we can sell them,” Schiavone said during the meeting.

Several of the homes are valued at less than $25,000 and with the cost of lead abatement potentially reaching $10,000-$15,000, Shiavone said he has told the EPA, “… the bottom line is that this (lead abatement) costs a lot of money, we are not going to be able to sell the homes.”

He explained that officials at the EPA are working to find a federal agency that might be able to fund the lead survey, but noted he has been surprised by, “…how uniformed EPA people are about lead clean-up. I think they are learning as they go along.”

Schiavone said eventually tearing down the homes is not out of the realm of possibility, noting the EPA is currently working to tear down the former Diaz facility in the village.

“The EPA still wants us to take these homes,” he said, and added that he understands the desire of the EPA to, “leave a trail clean for people who are going to live in these homes… but we have to reach the middle ground of reasonableness (regarding the lead issue).”

Schiavone noted that EPA officials are concerned about code violations which could become an issue the longer the properties sit vacant. Members of the board suggested that they try to contact the office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer to see if he could be of assistance in resolving the lead abatement issue.

“Right now, everything is on hold,” Schiavone said.

Board members do no plan to meet again until January.

Hawley: Federal court infringes on gun rights with SAFE Act decision

Staff Reports Posted 20 October 2015 at 12:00 am

A day after a federal court upheld most of provisions of the controversial gun control law known as the SAFE Act, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, has issued a statement saying the court infringes on the rights of gun owners.

The SAFE Act was passed in January 2013, after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., when 20 first-graders and six educators were killed when 154 rounds were fired in less than 5 minutes.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the main parts of the SAFE Act did not violate the Second Amendment because of the relationship between bans on assault weapons with large-capacity magazines and controlling crime.

Hawley issued this statement:

“I am deeply disappointed in the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Second Circuit to uphold the core provisions of the NY SAFE Act. This legislation infringes on the constitutional rights of gun owners across New York State and is clearly unconstitutional. My district alone is filled with thousands of law-abiding citizens with firearm ownership as part of their family’s traditions. This law disrespects their way of life and hinders their ability to defend themselves in the unfortunate event of a burglary or break-in.

“Aside from the facts that this law is arbitrary to a fault and lacks the enforcement mechanisms to make it effective, the process by which it was passed through the Legislature is deeply troubling. The SAFE Act was passed under cover of darkness on one of the first days of the legislative session, and I can attest to the fact that few members of the Legislature had even read the bill before it was voted upon.

“As lawmakers, we are supposed to hold transparency and accountability in the highest magnitude. The SAFE Act was forced through the legislative process with complete and utter disregard for these objectives and should be repealed immediately. I will continue to sponsor legislation that repeals this unconstitutional measure and places integrity above political ambition.”

Cuomo pleased SAFE Act upheld by court

Staff Reports Posted 19 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Federal judges have mostly upheld a controversial gun control law known as the SAFE Act. The law was passed by the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January 2013.

The law was passed after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., when 20 first-graders and six educators were killed when 154 rounds were fired in less than 5 minutes.

Orleans County’s elected officials at the village, town and county level all passed formal resolutions opposing the SAFE Act and calling for it to be repealed because it violated Second Amendment rights and was approved in a hasty manner without public comment.

“When used, these weapons tend to result in more numerous wounds, more serious wounds, and more victims,” according to the ruling written by Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes. “These weapons are disproportionately used in crime, and particularly in criminal mass shootings. They are also disproportionately used to kill law enforcement officers.”

While the court upheld most of the SAFE Act, it found Connecticut’s ban on a non-semi-automatic Remington 7615 to be unconstitutional. The court also said a seven-round load limit in New York could not be imposed, according to Associated Press reports.

Gov. Cuomo issued this statement today about the court’s decision:

“Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld what we have long known to be true – that the core provisions of the NY SAFE Act do not violate the Second Amendment. Today, common sense prevailed.

“When we passed the SAFE Act, just days after the tragedies in Newtown and Webster, New York proved to the nation that it is possible to enact sensible gun control that coexists with the Second Amendment. We showed that it can be done with bi-partisan support from both urban and rural communities. And we took a fundamental step forward to help end the stream of senseless killings by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.

“This case validates a simple, fundamental truth about gun control: that it is possible to have strong laws that keep our communities safe, while at the same time respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. New York has set the example – and it’s far past time for Washington to follow suit and pass a sensible national gun control policy.”

Drennan announces his choice for undersheriff, a Rochester PD sergeant who lives in Kent

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County sheriff candidate Tom Drennan, left, and Brett Sobieraski meet with reporters this afternoon. If Drennan is elected sheriff on Nov. 3, he said his choice for undersheriff would Sobieraski, who has a 27-year career in law enforcement.

KENDALL – When Brett Sobieraski’s house was broken into, and guns and jewelry were stolen seven years ago, the Rochester Police Department sergeant knew what it was like to be a victim of a crime.

He didn’t like feeling so vulnerable.

Sobieraski lives in Kent. About two days after the crime, Tom Drennan and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office had it solved. Drennan, the chief deputy for the Sheriff’s Office, worked with investigators to make the arrests. Sobieraski’s possessions were returned to him.

“Tom Drennan was most responsible for solving that crime,” Sobieraski said today when he stood by Drennan, a candidate for sheriff. “I was astounded by the professionalism shown by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.”

Drennan announced today if he is elected on Nov. 3, he would make Sobieraski his undersheriff. The two have known each other for about two decades. Their children attended Kendall Central School together.

Drennan and Sobieraski made the undersheriff announcement today at the Kendall community park gazebo across from the elementary school. Drennan wanted to highlight his small-town roots and commitment to protecting residents.

Sobieraski has a 27-year career in law enforcement. He started with the Lockport Police Department, and has worked the past 23 years with the Rochester Police Department, including the past 15 as a supervising sergeant with the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team.

He leads the multi-agency task force of undercover officers. He has participated in more than 2,000 search warrants, including some with the Major Felony Crime Task Force from Orleans County.

Tom Drennan and Brett Sobieraski take questions from the media this afternoon.

Sobieraski said Orleans County is not immune from drugs, especially heroin, and violent crime. He wants to take his years of experience and help train and raise the standards of professionalism in the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

He said he and Drennan are similar in expecting high standards and accountability for officers.

“When someone shows up for work, they work hard for their paycheck and their community,” Sobieraski said.

Drennan has shied away from picking an undersheriff, saying residents should focus on the sheriff’s name on the ballot. Randy Bower won a close primary over Drennan for the Republican line on Sept. 10, 1,671 to 1,650.

Bower, a public safety dispatcher, has been campaigning with Chris Bourke, a long-time lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, as the undersheriff choice.

Drennan said he has been asked repeatedly who he would name as undersheriff.

“It’s a topic that everyone’s bringing up and I don’t want it to be a distraction anymore,” he said.

Drennan said Sobieraski would bring “fresh eyes” to the department and help Drennan in his push for an accredited department through the state. To be accredited, the department will need clear policies and training for officers, as well as regular audits.

Drennan said accreditation would establish uniform standards and responses for deputies when they are working with the public.

“It would create standardization, whether it’s Deputy A or Deputy Z,” he said. “It would become a much more professional agency.”

Sobieraski has served as a police academy instructor the past nine years. He has taught SWAT, police supervisor, active shooter and enhanced in-service classes.

He also is a board member and former chairman for seven years of Huther Doyle, an outpatient addiction recovery agency.

Sobieraski said he welcomes the chance to work where he lives. He wants to help equip and train the local deputies. He also said the department is small enough, where Sobieraski can spring into action and help on calls.

Drennan said he too would be visible and working on police calls.

The Nov. 3 election also includes retired Medina police investigator Don Organisciak, who is running as a Democrat. He hasn’t said publicly who would serve as his undersheriff.

Holley will survey community about best ways to promote library programs

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 19 October 2015 at 12:00 am

HOLLEY – The Community Free Library is planning an upcoming survey to find out how people in their circulation area get information.

Library Board President Barb Kerns last week advised the Holley Village Board of the survey. Kerns explained to trustees that the library officials want to use tax money efficiently and the survey will help them to do that.

“Sometimes we have programming with more people than we can cope with, sometimes no one shows up,” she said. “We want to have programming people want and will attend.”

Kerns said those who complete and return the surveys will be entered into a drawing to receive a $50 Walmart gift card.

The survey will be conducted during the month of November with a Dec. 5 deadline to return surveys, Kerns said. She explained that the library is placing surveys and return boxes in local restaurants and community newsletters and asked the board if surveys could be placed in the next village mailing.

Village Attorney John Sansone recommended that the survey not be placed in a village mailing because the village has never included flyers from non-profits in mailings in the past, and that doing so would set a “dangerous precedent.”

Trustees offered advice and assistance regarding having the survey placed in local publications, placing e-surveys via social media and passing along surveys to the Office for the Aging.

Kerns thanked board members for their suggestions and said she would return to share information garnered from the survey. She noted the local library provides a fantastic source of information for residents.

“Local taxpayers have always provided support and we feel sad when they don’t know about something,” she said.

Kerns added that a second survey is planned in January regarding the perception of library programs and services.

In other business last week, board members unanimously passed a resolution approving the lease of space at the Police Department to the Holley Joint Fire District. Under the agreement, the Holley Joint Fire District will lease office space and two bays at the Police Department on Thomas Street.

The lease has been approved by both the Village Board and the Fire District and the resolution passed Tuesday gives the Board of Trustees’ consent to enter into a lease for the space and authorizes Mayor John Kenney, Jr. to sign the lease.

Orleans legislators say they have county on the right track

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard speaks to 250 people during the Republican fall rally on Saturday at the Ridgeway firehall.

RIDGEWAY – Taxes are down, businesses are moving in, and the county is tackling other needed projects, from replacing bridges and culverts to laying the groundwork for high-speed Internet.

That was the message from six incumbent Orleans County legislators who spoke on Saturday during the Orleans County Republican fall rally at the Ridgeway firehall.

“If you like to be involved and do good things for the people of Orleans County, then the Orleans County Legislature is the place to be,” said David Callard, the Legislature chairman.

He spoke to 250 people on Saturday during the rally at the Ridgeway firehall. Callard of Ridgeway is the longest-serving legislator with 22 years on the county board.

He said the county’s fiscal position is strong after selling the county nursing home. The sale from the nursing home and the annual relief from having to subsidize the facility with tax dollars has allowed the county to reduce taxes by 1.5 percent in 2015, Callard and Legislator Lynne Johnson of Lyndonville noted. (Callard serves as a county-wide legislator from the west end of the county.)

The Legislature also approved taking out an $8 million bond to replace bridges, culverts and roofs (on Public Safety Building and County Administration Building), while also adding two new pole barns for the highway department to cover expensive equipment, including a paver.

Callard said the county and the Orleans Economic Development Agency are positioning Orleans to agricultural economic development projects. Pride Pak is the latest to announce a big investment in the county – $15 million for a new vegetable processing and packaging plant in Medina. That facility is expected to be ready in June 2016 with 85 to 100 employees. Additional expansions could bring the workforce up to 200 employees.

Other agriculture-related businesses – Western New York Energy in Medina, Intergrow Greenhouses in Gaines, Lake Ontario Fruit in Gaines, and H.H. Dobbins in Lyndonville – have also recently made big investments.

Callard said the county has more land with infrastructure in place that can attract more businesses.

The Legislature has seven members with six Republicans. The GOP isn’t running a candidate against Fred Miller, a Democrat from Albion. Ed Morgan, the Republican Party chairman, said Miller has done a good job in his first term on the Legislature.

Johnson

Two of the Republicans, Johnson and Don Allport of Gaines, have opposition on Nov. 3. Johnson is challenged by Paul Lauricella of the Conservative Party while Allport faces James White, a Democrat.

Each of the six Republican legislators were given a few minutes to speak at the rally on Saturday.

Allport highlighted the partnerships through Orleans and Genesee counties in sharing a public health director and board of directors. The shared staff has saved Orleans $400,000 annually, said Allport, a county-wide legislator from central Orleans.

Allport

“We are leading the state,” he said about the shared service initiatives with Genesee.

Allport is a past chairman of the board for The Arc of Orleans. That agency has also approved a merger with the Genesee County ARC. The merger should reduce costs for the two counties while maintaining services for people with developmental disabilities, Allport said.

He also highlighted efforts by the Mental Health Department to improve services, including same-day service for walk-ins.

DeFilipps

John DeFilipps of Clarendon serves on the EDA board and he said the agency has the county well positioned for new businesses and expansions with shovel-ready sites. DeFilipps is an at-large legislator from the east side of the county.

He noted Pride Pak’s $15 million commitment to the new site in Medina, the prospect of a new hotel in Medina and a “virtual spec” building at the Medina Business Park.

The county also stepped up with three e-waste sites to collect TVs and other hosuehold electronics after they were being thrown in ditches because of a state law that banned them from being accepted with curbside trash pickups.

DeFilipps and Johnson both highlighted the effort to bring high-speed Internet to the community. Johnson is the county’s representative on the Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance.

That two-county partnership has the two counties prepped and in good position to benefit from $500 million available from the state to expand high-speed Internet service, especially in rural underserved areas.

“The students, farmers and businesses all need it,” Johnson said about the fast Internet. Johnson represents a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a portion of Shelby.

Legislator Bill Eick talks about the county’s efforts to improve infrastructure.

Legislator Bill Eick serves a district that includes Barre, Clarendon and most of Shelby. He also is on the county’s Highway Committee.

He said Orleans will use about $5 million of the $8 million bond to replace six bridges and some culverts. Those projects started last year.

The state and federal government used to pay up to 95 percent of the bridge replacement costs, but that money has been hard to come by recently. The county took out the bond last year after several bridges were in danger of being closed.

Eick said harsh winters and heavy equipment are taking a toll on the bridges, culverts and roads.

“It’s going to be an ongoing issue,” he said about the infrastructure. “They’re not lasting.”

The county will continue to press the state and federal governments to help pay for the bridge and culvert work, Eick said.

DeRoller

Ken DeRoller of Kendall represents a district that includes Kendall, Murray and Carlton. He said the canal bridges, with several at weight reductions or closures, pose a challenge for businesses, farms, school buses and emergency equipment. The county continues to push the state to better maintain the bridges at higher weight limits.

DeRoller highlighted successes in public safety, including the work of the Major Felony Crime Task Force, which includes officers from the Sheriff’s Office, and Albion, Medina and Holley police departments.

The Task Force has made 905 drug arrests since 2007, and has a nearly 100 percent conviction rate, DeRoller said, and also has seized $840,000.

The county also started a Traffic Diversion program in 2010 which keeps that ticket revenue, up to $150,000, with local courts, while giving motorists the chance to have their tickets reduced, DeRoller said.

He also noted a drug take-back program, led by jail superintendent Scott Wilson, has collected nearly 3,000 pounds in unused prescriptions, keeping that medicine from being abused and also being flushed into local waterways.

Albion grandmother sentenced to up to 4 years in state prison

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – An Albion grandmother who violated her probation and also faced felony charges for lying on her pistol permit and welfare application was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison today.

Elsie Biaselli, 71, of East State Street on Aug. 24 admitted to violating probation, and two counts of offering a false instrument.

She has a prior conviction of promoting prison contraband for allegedly smuggling illegal drugs in to inside Attica Correctional Facility, where her grandson was an inmate. Biaselli was sentenced to five years on probation in 2013.

She violated her probation by not disclosing she was a convicted felon on an application for a pistol permit. She filled out the pistol permit application in February.

Biaselli also admitted to filing a false instrument by making a false statement on a welfare application, claiming a grandchild was a dependent who doesn’t live with her.

Biaselli faced a maximum to 2 to 4 years in state prison. Judge James Punch gave her 1 1 /3 to 4 years.

In other sentencings today:

A Gaines resident was sentenced to 2 years in state prison. Shane M. Maynard, 37, was arrested in July on multiple drug charges. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, which carries a maximum sentence of 2 ½ years in state prison.

Maynard is a first-time felony offender. Punch sentenced him to less than the maximum.

Maynard told the court in August that a confidential informant purchased methamphetamine from his residence at 12801 Ridge Rd., Apt. B.

An Albion man who admitted to selling cocaine was sentenced to six months in the county jail.

Martin Eusebio, 20, admitted in a previous court appearance he sold cocaine in Albion last Oct. 28. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and could have been sentenced to a maximum of 1 to 2 ½ years in state prison.

Eusebio isn’t a U.S. citizen. He could be deported after serving his sentence.

Bower asks Republicans to unite behind his candidacy for sheriff

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Randy Bower speaks during the Republican fall rally on Saturday night at the Ridgeway fire hall. Bower won the Republican Primary on Sept. 10.

RIDGEWAY – Randy Bower, the Republican candidate for Orleans County sheriff, addresses 250 people on Saturday night during the Republican fall rally at Ridgeway fire hall.

Bower discussed some of the goals he has for the Sheriff’s Office, including a drug treatment program in the county jail, and stepped up sheriff’s patrols for Kendall and Lyndonville schools and rural businesses.

“It’s the people of Orleans County that we work for,” Bower told the Republican crowd.

He also wants a deputy assigned to help with animal control calls, and Orleans County dispatchers to have access to video links inside the schools. (School superintendents would be notified if the Sheriff’s Office was using those video links, Bower said.) The access to see what’s happening in the schools could speed up a law enforcement response in an emergency or crisis.

The jail is the largest division of the Sheriff’s Office with 30 corrections officers, two cooks and a jail superintendent. The jail can peak with 80 inmates inside the facility on Platt Street in Albion. Many of the inmates have drug problems, which often fuels their other crimes, Bower said.

Providing the inmates with treatment will make them less likely to commit more crimes when they get out of jail, and also will help them to regain control of their lives, Bower said.

Bower, a dispatcher for the county for nearly 30 years, said he would push the state for funding of the drug treatment program. He believes state officials could be convinced to make Orleans County a pilot program for such an effort.

He said he would push for local, state and federal dollars to ensure the Sheriff’s Office has the personnel and equipment to do serve the public in Orleans County.

Bower pushed for the Republican endorsement last spring, but committee members in a close vote picked Tom Drennan, the chief deputy, as the Republican candidate for sheriff.

Bower forced a primary, and has campaigned with Chris Bourke, a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, as Bower’s undersheriff choice if Bower is elected. Many of the deputies also are backing Bower, and have been visible wearing red shirts for Bower during community parades and other events. (Many Bower supporters also cheered and applauded loudly while he went through some of his goals for the Sheriff’s Office on Saturday night.)

Drennan lost the primary by 21 votes, 1,671 to 1,650. He is staying in the race under the Independence and Reform lines.

Bower, in addition to the Republican line, has been endorsed by the Conservative Party.

The Nov. 3 election includes a third candidate: retired Medina police investigator Don Organisciak, who is running as a Democrat.

Bower urged Republicans to unite behind his candidacy and keep the Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of a Republican.

Bower addressed the group from a stage in the firehall. Two high school students lifted him to the stage in his wheelchair. Bower has been paralyzed from the waist down since a car accident when he was 18.

“This wheelchair is just a perception,” he told the Republican crowd. “I can do anything I want.”

Bower, in a previous interview, said he lives a blessed life with his wife Robin and their two grown children: Jessica and Jacob. In addition to working as a dispatcher, he has been a member of the Sheriff’s Department’s Off-Road Patrol from 1992-1998, riding all-terrain vehicles to help locate missing persons, stolen property and respond to other situations.

Bower wants to be sheriff because he said he has the leadership skills, vision and communication skills to run the department and serve the public.

Scouts serve up spaghetti in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Boy Scouts in Troop 164 in Albion served about 100 meals of spaghetti on Saturday night at the St. Mary’s Athletic Club on Moore Street.

Sawyer Braley puts salad in a to-go container. Other Scouts pictured include Cole Spierdowis, back right, and Noah Wadhams. Doyle Wadhams, a Scout volunteer and Noah’s father, helped organize the dinner.

The Scouts may try to have quarterly community dinners to help raise money for the Troop.

Mike Grabowski, a Scout volunteer, drains the hot water out of a pan of spaghetti. Freeman Lattin, a Scout in Troop 164, helps in the kitchen on Saturday night.

Horse-drawn bus once served the Albion area

By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 18 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – This image likely taken in the 1890s shows the horse-drawn bus that was responsible for transporting patrons of the Orleans House around Albion. Most commonly the bus was used to carry passengers from the railroad station at Clinton Street to the hotel on East Bank Street.

After the turn of the century, the proprietor of the Orleans House experimented with the method of transportation by offering rides to Point Breeze during the day. The image was probably taken in the vicinity of Platt and East Bank Streets and depicts a time in Albion’s history when dirt streets were the norm.

The Orleans House was a popular meeting space for many prominent groups in Orleans County including the Orleans County Bar Association, which adopted their bylaws and constitution at the site on September 13, 1877. The 151st New York Infantry and the 17th New York Light Independent Artillery frequently held reunions at the hotel.

The drivers of this bus seem to have experienced a number of misfortunes, as a quick scan of the local papers reveals a team of horses that were frequently skittish.

On one such occasion on March 15, 1895 while passing over the canal, the horses were frightened by a steam shovel causing the team to “take off,” damaging the carriage. On a similar occasion, a frightened team pulled the bus into the canal.

A closer look at the bus reveals a decorative paint job and two oil lanterns centered at the front of the carriage for driving at night. An animal-skin blanket is draped over the seat, likely to make the hard, bumpy ride a little more comfortable.