300 boxes of food were gone quickly

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Community Action of Orleans & Genesee employees help serve boxes of food and bags of potatoes this morning in Albion, including Ricky Standish, lower right.

Community Action and the Office for Aging in Orleans County teamed with Foodlink to serve 300 boxes of food that were each 25 pounds.

They were set up in the parking lot on South Main Street in front of Community Action’s Main Street Store. This photo was taken about 10 a.m., when the line was noticeably much shorter.

The event was advertised to be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. But people started showing up after 6 a.m. with lines forming by 7:30 a.m.

Foodlink arrived with a truck by 8:30, and the food distribution started soon after that. By 10:45, the boxes were all gone.

People who arrived when the food was gone were offered a bag of potatoes and were also encouraged to try the Community Action food pantries in Albion and Holley.

Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni helped set up the plan for the event. Vehicles would enter the parking lot from Chamberlain Street and were then split into two lines.

An Albion police officer directs traffic on Platt Street. This photo was taken about 9 a.m., when there was already a long line for the food distribution, which wasn’t supposed to start until 9:30.

Annette Finch, community service director for Community Action, said she is working with Foodlink to have another distribution in the near future.

Finch estimated that 40 percent of the people who pulled up for a box of food were senior citizens. Many others were younger adults with families.

Jeff Atwell of Community Action carries a box to the trunk of a car. Drivers and passengers all had to stay in the vehicles with the windows closed. They pulled up with the trunks open. When the food was put in the trunk and closed, Atwell and other helpers tapped the trunk for people to drive away.

Greg Gilman of Community Action directs motorists on which line to enter. Albion Mayor Eileen Banker, left, assisted with the distribution this morning.

There were small bottles of hand sanitizer given to all the people helping move the boxes to trunks of vehicles. After each interaction, the volunteers or Community Action employees needed to sanitize their hands. The sanitizer was packaged by inmates at the Albion Correctional Facility.

Provided photo. These Office for the Aging employees assisted with the food distribution this morning. They include, front row, from left: Leanne Donovan and Samantha Koons. Back row: Becky Karls and Susie Miller.

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‘We want to send our seniors some love’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – James Denoncourt, an Albion High School senior, picks up a lawn sign that was distributed today outside Hoag Library. James is shown with his mother, Linda Yockel.

James and his classmates have been out of school since March 16. Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced all public schools in the state will remain closed until at least May 15.

James said he misses seeing his friends at school. He has been looking forward to the baseball season, with the varsity team expected to compete for the league title and possibly advance deep into the playoffs.

James hopes students can return to school before the year ends, and he can end his senior year with the prom and graduation.

His mother appreciated the lawn sign, celebrating all the seniors in the Class of 2020.

“I think it’s awesome,” Yockel said. “They’re doing something for seniors who have had so much taken away.”

Kelly Ricker, left, and Kathy Harling passed out the signs today. They coordinated the efforts to have about 135 signs made for seniors.

They will be at the library again next Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. to pass put signs. Harling, president of the Board of Education, asked that parents or students send her an email at skharling@yahoo.com to request a sign.

The signs with the post were $12 each. They are all already paid for with the Albion Alumni Foundation covering half of the cost.

Harling’s son Michael is a senior this year. Sidari’s twins, Patrick and Laiken, also are in the Class of 2020.

“We are trying to make it a special time for them,” Harling said about the seniors.

“We want to send our seniors some love,” said Ricker, who is a lifeguard and assistant swimming coach at the district.

Kelly Ricker hands off a sign to Jocelyn Wilson, whose son Cody is in the Class of 2020.

Some Albion community members also are encouraging people to participate in “Friday Night Lights” every Friday until the end of June. They are encouraged to turn on their porch lights in support of the Class of 2020.

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ALBION – There will be a drive-through food distribution from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday outside Community Action’s Main Street Store, 131 South Main St.

Community Action of Genesee Orleans is partnering with Foodlink and the Orleans County Office for the Aging for the food distribution. They will be giving out a 25-pound box of emergency food in response to the Covid-19 public health crisis.

There should be enough boxes of food for about 300 families. It will be distributed on a first come-first served basis.

There are no income restrictions. The food on Friday will be available for people with vehicles. Walk-ins won’t be served.

People who arrive for the food must stay in their vehicle and keep their windows rolled up. They should have their trunks cleaned out and open. Once the food is set in, the trunk will be tapped and people can drive away.

Staff and volunteers at the distribution will be wearing masks and gloves, and using sanitizer, said Annette Finch, director of community services for Community Action.

Community Action is seeing more demand for food at its Albion pantry and its community center in Holley, Finch said.

The Albion food pantry is open from 8 to 11 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That site is located at 409 East State St.

The Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley also provides take-out lunches from Monday through Friday beginning at 11:30 a.m. The site has served 600 take-out meals the past month. It also provides emergency food bundles.

“The demand has been unbelievable,” Finch said about the need for food in the community.

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ALBION – Mount Albion Cemetery will be closed to the public today due to concerns about the high winds, which could bring down trees and branches in the historic cemetery on Route 31.

The cemetery is a popular place for walkers and joggers. Mayor Eileen Banker said she expects it will be reopened on Tuesday as long as there isn’t any danger to the community from the wind storm.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A line of 25 vehicles heads down East Park Street this afternoon to welcome Sue Babbitt home. Babbitt is a well-liked office manager at the Ace Hardware in Albion.

She battled through a near fatal case of the flu and pneumonia, which deteriorated into acute respiratory distress syndrome. She came home on Friday. She was admitted to intensive care on March 11 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Sue Babbitt is emotional when she was greeted this afternoon by a procession of family, friends and co-workers. Her husband, Ray Babbitt, is with her on the front porch.

Babbitt’s family and friends weren’t able to see her in the hospital after March 16. That’s when Strong instituted a policy of no visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After pulling through at Strong, she was transferred to Elderwood of Lakeside in Brockport. She was discharged on Friday and was finally able to see some of her loved ones.

But it wasn’t until today that many of her friends, family and co-workers were able to see her. They were relieved to see her in good spirits.

“Everybody wanted to see her so badly,” said Sue’s daughter, Jennifer Deskins.

She put an invitation on Facebook for a welcome home parade for her mother. There were 25 vehicles in the procession. They lined up at the CRFS parking on East Avenue and then headed past Sue’s house.

Gerry and Molly Ulrich, owners of Ace Hardware in Albion, made the trip from Lockport today to drive by Babbitt’s house. Babbitt is popular at the store, especially with her co-workers. She oversees the cashiers, who tend to be high school and college students.

“She awfully good to the cashiers,” said Ray Babbitt, Sue’s husband and an Ace employee. “She’s like a mother to all of them.”

Ray said he is grateful for his wife’s recovery. It feels miraculous to see her now. About a month ago doctors were doubtful she would survive the illness.

Sue said she feels much better now and is grateful for the medical staff at Strong.

“The people who cared for me you couldn’t ask for better people,” she said.

She was amazed to see so many people drive by her house today to show her some love, especially on the Easter holiday.

Many of the vehicles had signs, welcoming Sue Babbitt home after a difficult month battling flu and pneumonia.

Jennifer Deskins captured a video of the procession and streamed it online through Zoom for friends and family around the country and world, including a stepbrother, Michael Babbitt, who is in the Air Force and stationed in Germany.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Flags throughout Orleans County and New York State have been lowered in honor people who have died from Covid-19 in the state.

The top photo shows the flag on the Courthouse lawn with the First Presbyterian Church of Albion in the background.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday ordered that flags be lowered for the Covid-19 victims. The deaths in the state from the virus totaled 7,067 deaths as of Thursday.

“That is so shocking and painful and breathtaking, I don’t even have the words for it,” Gov. Cuomo said on Thursday. “We’ve lost so many New Yorkers to this silent killer. It has been a silent explosion that just ripples through society.”

The flags will be lowered while the state is on “Pause,” with schools and nonessential businesses closed until at least April 29.

The state has about 160,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, more than any country besides the United States.

The flag is at half-staff in front of Hoag Library in Albion.

The American flag and POW/MIA flag are lowered at the Canal Corporation’s maintenance facility in Albion.

Ace Hardware in Albion has its American flag lowered out of respect to the victims of Covid-19.

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ALBION — The Albion Village Board has put together a $6,872,286 budget that keeps the tax rate at $17.80 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The budget would increase the tax levy, what the village collects in taxes, by $17,252, or by less than 1 percent (0.6 percent). The tax levy would go from $2,730,417 in 2019-2020 to $2,747,669 in 2020-21.

The board held a public hearing on the budget Wednesday. Residents could only comment through the Zoom online option because the village hall is currently closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. No one commented on the budget during the hearing.

The board is scheduled to adopt the budget at 6 p.m. on April 22. The fiscal year starts June 1 and runs to May 31, 2021.

Mayor Eileen Banker is pleased the budget doesn’t increase the tax rate. She is concerned state and county revenues that are in the budget may not come through at the budgeted amounts. That includes road paving and maintenance funding from the state (CHIPS) and some of the local sales tax revenue distributed by the county.

If those revenues don’t meet expectations, the village will likely have to make some adjustments.

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Caden Crosby, a senior at Albion High School in 2018, helps a plant a bur oak tree on Nov. 1, 2017 as part of his community service requirement for all students at Albion.

ALBION – The school district requires all graduates of Albion Central School to complete at least 30 hours of documented community service.

Some students complete the community service during their freshmen or sophomore years, and often exceed 100 hours of service. But many students also tend to wait until late in their senior year to complete the 30 hours.

There are some students to graduate in June who haven’t reached the 30 hours of community service yet. The Albion Board of Education on Monday decided to give them a waiver on reaching that threshold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many organizations where students could do their community service are currently closed to the public.

Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, said the district values service learning and isn’t making the decision lightly about the service requirement. Students who met the requirement and also reached 100 hours will be noted in the commencement program.

In other action at Monday’s meeting:

• The board accepted a bid from P-A-Z Masonry of Albion to construct two dugouts each for softball and soccer. P-A-Z submitted the low bid of $66,100. Thompson Builds of Churchill submitted a bid for $81,531. The project includes a concrete pad for the dugouts which will be cinder blocks with a roof. One of the soccer dugouts also includes a small room for a sound system.

• The board agreed to allow online view of tax bills, where property owners could also print the

school tax bills and receipts. Derek Vallese, the district’s business administrator, said Albion receives many requests from individuals, attorneys, and tax preparers for public access to tax bills and receipts.

Vallese said Albion is the only school district in the county that does not have this service available. Currently an individual has to call the tax collector and request a copy of the tax bill or the receipt.

Vallese said the tax bills are public information. Albion won’t charge to view the bills. The district will grant “view only” access to the tax bills.

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Packets of school work, on-line learning while school buildings off limits to students

Photos courtesy of Albion Central School: Cafeteria workers at Albion prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for students. From left include Leslie Merrill, Jenn Gonzalez and Kelly Rosato.

ALBION – The school district has served more than 13,000 meals since March 18, and also is doing weekly packets of school work or on-line assignments for students who are home from school.

This is the start of the fourth week of students being out of the school buildings due to health concerns over the coronavirus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has closed schools in the state until at least April 29.

The cafeteria staff at Albion prepare the meals which can be picked up outside the elementary school or taken to drop site at the Barre Center Presbyterian Church parking lot, Elk’s Club parking lot, Oak Orchard Estates, Lydun Drive Extension – Canal Town Commons and the Carlton Rec Hall.

Two school bus drivers deliver the meals with staff helping at the drop sites.

Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, praised the efforts of the district staff to prepare and distribute so many meals to students. The meals are available free of charge to all students in the district.

The district is providing a bagged lunch with sandwich, fruit, vegetable and milk as well as a breakfast for the next day.

(For more on the program or to sign up, click here. There won’t be any meals distributed next week.)

Albion police officer Chris Goglowski and Kevin Beaumont, assistant elementary school principal, greet students and families picking up meals at the school.

The district has also been keeping students engaged with remote learning. Bonnewell said packets are prepared each week for students in elementary and middle schools. Older students receive assignments on-line.

The district has sent 150 Chromebooks or laptops for students without computers at home. Some students don’t have high-speed internet at home. In that case, students are sent homework. They are also encouraged to use public WiFi outside the school or Hoag Library, or maybe piggyback with permission off a neighbor’s WiFi.

“I certainly want to thank our teachers, our teacher assistants, teacher aides, secretaries and administrators who are making all of that work,” Bonnewell said about the packets prepared at the elementary and middle schools.

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ALBION – The school district is accepting applications until May 1 for universal prekindergarten during the 2020-21 school year.

Applications are available by calling the District Office Registrar at 589-2051 or the Elementary School’s main office at 589-2030 to request an application be mailed. Or click here to be directed to the three parts to the application that can be filled out online.

Children are eligible for the Albion UPK program if they are 4 years old on or before December 1, 2020 and if they reside in the Albion Central School District.

There are two sessions each day: AM session (9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) and the PM session (1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Parents may not choose which session (AM or PM) the child attends.

Parents will be notified by mail in early May of their child’s status for the UPK program.

There are 80 available slots for students. If there are more than 80 applicants, a random lottery will take place. In the event of the need for a lottery, students not “drawn” will be added to a wait list and will be contacted if openings occur during the school year.

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Tonight’s Albion Board of Education was done online through the Zoom. The district also presented the meeting for the public live through YouTube. Top row from left include Mary Leto, assistant superintendent for instruction; Michael Bonnewell, district superintendent, Derek Vallese, district business administrator; Second row from top: Board of Education members Chantelle Sacco, Elissa Nesbitt, Margy Brown and David Sidari. Third row from top: Board members Kathy Harling (president), Wayne Wadhams, Greg Boose and Linda Weller. Bottom row: Board member Joyce Riley.

District anticipates some mid-year state aid reductions

ALBION — The Albion Board of Education tonight adopted a $36,841,032 school budget, up 3.62 percent or $1,285,522 from the $35,555,510 in 2019-20. The budget keeps the tax levy at $8,449,094 in property taxes, the same as in 2019-20.

This is now the 12th time in the past 14 years the school district has either kept taxes flat or reduced them.

“It’s best at this time to try not to hit up the taxpayers for any more money if we don’t have to,” said Derek Vallese, the district’s business administrator.

The budget is usually voted on by the public the third Tuesday in May, but the election has been pushed back to at least June 1. The governor hasn’t given a directive yet on the specific date for the school elections or the village and library elections except to say they will be later than in May. He moved them back due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The school district’s fiscal year starts July 1. That is also when the new terms start for members of the Board of Education. Three spots are up for election.

The district was able to prevent a tax increase after the state was able to maintain its aid (using $650,000 from the federal government through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act).

Albion also will use money from its fund balance and may dip into some reserves to help stave off a tax increase.

The budget comes with some uncertainty in the state aid. Gov. Cuomo said the state will be forced to look at its revenue during the state’s fiscal year and if revenues are off target the state will likely have to reduce its funding to local governments, including school districts. The first revenue review for the state will be on April 30.

“He is certainly in a difficult position, one we can all understand,” said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent. “We know the numbers, but the governor has been very clear that he will continually to watch the budget and make adjustments as necessary.”

Bonnewell said the district could absorb some drop in state aid because Albion has “a history of putting money away for a rainy day.”

The state aid also includes $250,000 for a Covid response. With students out of school until at least April 29, some students are expected to need academic intervention services next school year to help catch up. The district is expecting it will need to hire more staff to help students after this prolonged time out of school. (The district has been sending home packets of schoolwork and offering other assignments online.)

“We know coming back from this is going to require some extra energy, which means extra resources,” Bonnewell said during the meeting tonight.

The budget also includes funding for a superintendent’s search with Bonnewell to retire on June 30, 2021.

Albion also is budgeting $85,200 for its share of a grant program to replace school doors and add more security cameras. That expense depends on Albion receiving a COPS grant that covers 75 percent of the cost. The Albion Police Department is applying for the grant with the school district paying the local share.

The grant for a maximum project cost of $500,000, which would be a local share of $125,000. The estimated cost for the work would put the Albion share at $85,200.

• BUS PROPOSITION — The budget vote (when it happens) also will include a proposition to spend up to $525,000 from a bus purchase reserve fund for five new busses. That is a $20,000 increase from last year. Vallese said the cost of steel has gone up, increasing the expense for busses.

• HOAG LIBRARY — Voters also will decide a proposition for Hoag Library to receive $713,000 to be collected by the school district. That is down from the $714,920 in 2019-20.

• BOARD OF EDUCATION — The Board of Education election isn’t a simple matter. The district sought advice from its attorney and the New York State School Boards Association. There are two expired terms that are currently filled by Greg Boose and Joyce Riley who were appointed in July and took the oath of office on Aug. 5. They are filling less than a year of the terms vacated by Steve LaLonde and Marie Snyder.

The election includes those two seats as well as a full five-year term for a seat currently filled by Chantelle Sacco.

The candidate with the most votes will serve immediately following the election until June 30, 2025. The candidate with the second most votes will serve from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025. The candidate with the third most votes will serve immediately following the election until June 30, 2022.

Petitions for candidates will be available at the district office.

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Press Release, Hoag Library

ALBION – Hoag Library is still working diligently to serve its community during this COVID-19 closure.

With the growing number of community members needing reliable internet, Hoag Library recently installed a signal booster to increase WiFi access. Residents can use the WiFi from the library parking lot, green space, and garden area (west side of the building) with plenty of room to maintain social distancing.  A library card or password is not required – simply join the network named “Hoag- Guest.”

Hoag Library also encourages patrons to take advantage of the free digital services included with a library card, such as ebooks, audiobooks, emagazines, research databases, and more!

Explore your family history with AncestryNY, NYS Historic Newspapers, and HeritageQuest; answer home improvement or gardening questions with the GaleOnefille database; keep the kids busy with TumbleBooksLibrary and Kids InfoBits; and find reading recommendations with NovelListPlus. All these resources, and more, can be found at www.nioga.org.

Those wishing to explore all of Hoag Library’s digital services, but do not have a library card, can email hoag_library@yahoo.com. Reference questions and all other inquiries can also be sent to this email.

Hoag Library continues to share relevant information on the website www.hoaglibrary.org and Facebook, including video storytimes with Children’s Librarian Teresa Gaylard. Librarians can be contacted to provide limited remote services using the email above.

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