Photo by Tom Rivers: John Bennett, executive director for GCASA, goes over the plan for a 25-bed women and children community residence, which he said will help women in recovery. The project will primarily serve women in the four rural GLOW counties.

ALBION – The Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse’s proposed 25-bed women and children community residence on Butts Road would be the first residential program for GCASA that serves women and their children.

The agency has seen more women in recovery and addiction programs with the opioid epidemic, with the prevalence of addictive painkillers, said John Bennett, GCASA  executive director.

He spoke during a public hearing on Wednesday at Albion Town Hall about the site plan for a proposed $4.6 million community residence, the first in the GLOW region for women in recovery.

About 12 years ago, women accounted for 23 percent of the GCASA census or people served by the agency. But by 2016-17, that percentage jumped to nearly 40 percent, Bennett said.

GCASA has residential programs for men, but doesn’t for women. The Albion site will allow women, 18 and older, to receive services to aid in their recovery while in a residential setting. Five of the 25 units will accommodate women with children younger than kindergarten. Up to two children can stay in those units. The property will include walking trails and a playground.

Keeping the mothers with the children eliminates a huge barrier preventing some women from going into acute recovery programs, Bennett said.

This project will be one of the few residential programs in the state that is solely for women with room for their children.

“Women have been neglected in residential programs,” Bennett said.

GCASA picked Albion for the project because many of the agency’s other residential and treatment programs are based in Batavia.

The project has been awarded a $4.6 million grant from the state Department of Health for construction of the residence. That grant doesn’t include the operation of the site, which will be staffed 24-7, including two employees at night.

GCASA will have 25 employees at the site, including mental health counselors, a nurse, peer counselors, aides, drivers, a child care coordinator, administrators and kitchen staff.

Bennett would like to break ground on construction this fall with the site opening in about a year.

Bennett said the site will be primarily self-contained, but the women will be encouraged to shop locally, and use the local library, gym and other services.

The Town of Albion Planning Board held a public hearing on the site plan on Wednesday. An environmental impact study is close to being complete. Because that isn’t done, the Planning Board voted to keep the public hearing open until Sept. 7. The board will accept comments until then.

Cassandra Irvine spoke during the hearing on Wednesday. She lives on Butts Road and said she didn’t hear about the project until recently. She said she is concerned about the site being so close to the Butts Road railroad overpass, which is often struck by trucks or vehicles will back up when they see the low clearance often using her driveway as a turnaround.

Planning Board Chairman Isaac Robinson said most traffic to the site would come off Route 31 and wouldn’t go near the bridge. (The residence would be just north of the Orleans Community Health center and south of the bridge.) Robinson said the board can’t tell people how to drive and observe signs.

He said GCASA has been meeting with town officials for about two years on the project. The meetings have been publicly posted, he said.

ALBION – The Board of Education on Monday approved a contract with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office to have a deputy assigned to the district as a school resource officer.

The district wasn’t able to reach an agreement with the Village of Albion and opted to go with the Sheriff’s Office.

Mickey Edwards, the district superintendent, praised the work of Albion police officer Chris Glogowski, who served as the SRO since February 2019. He established great rapport with students and staff, Edwards said.

The district will continue to work closely with the Albion Police Department for lockdown drills and other issues at the school, he said.

Edwards during last month’s board meeting said the village wanted about $20,000 more annually than the previous contract, which expired on June 30. The previous contract was at $81,250 annually.

The superintendent and board also liked how the contract with the Sheriff’s Office was based on a daily rate, and not a lump sum for the school year.

An article in the Orleans Hub last week stated the district was considering having two school resource officers. But Edwards said that isn’t the plan right now. Albion may look to add a second SRO in the future.

For now the district looks forward to welcoming a deputy from the Sheriff’s Office, with a start date on Sept. 1.

Edwards said the county will be reimbursed about $91,000 as part of the first year of the contract. That includes $502.10 per day in the 2022-2023 school year and $510.26 per day the following school year.

Overtime will be $61.05 per hour the first year and $62.53 per hour the second year.

The contract runs from Sept. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. The deputy will be off as school resource officer in the summer and will work with the Sheriff’s Office in other duties in July and August.

The Sheriff’s Office will also provide a fully equipped patrol vehicle for the school resource officer.

Kendall and Lyndonville also contract with the Sheriff’s Office for a school resource officer, and Edwards said the Albion contract mirrors the agreements with Lyndonville and Kendall.

ALBION – The Board of Education changed a school policy on Monday and will again allow select seventh-graders the chance to be on junior varsity and varsity teams.

The board in 2020 voted to keep seventh-graders at the modified levels, without a chance to be on JV or varsity. The board revisited the issue last month and on Monday voted to allow seventh-graders to be on JV or varsity.

Wayne Wadhams, the board president, said there will likely only be one or two seventh-graders a year who would move up to JV or varsity. Those students need to have strong grades, be emotionally mature and be exceptional athletes.

The district has an Athletic Placement Process (APP), a protocol for moving 7^th and 8th graders up the JV or varsity levels.

Mariah LaSpina, the athletic director, in a presentation to the board last month said the APP is aimed at a select few students who would benefit from placement because of their level of readiness. The process is not used to fill a position or roster. It can also be used when there isn’t a modified program.

With the APP, the 7^th and 8^th graders need written permission from parents and guardians to participate before there is any evaluation.

The athletic director also needs to confirm the student is suitable for consideration and there needs to be medical clearance to make sure having a 7^th– or 8^th-grader play at JV or varsity doesn’t increase the likelihood of injury.

Other steps in the process include:

• Sport Skill Evaluation: sport coach will rely on past personal observations; consider input from the student’s former coaches; if coach is unfamiliar with the student, the coach may observe the student in a physical education class
• Physical Fitness Testing: must be done by a certified physical education teacher
• Qualification Determination: the results of the three evaluations are sent to the director of physical education/athletics
• Try-Outs: student is allowed to try out for the sport and level requested or student must return to the modified level of competition.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is supporting the site plan for 12,659-square-foot building at 3594 Butts Rd., a site that will be a 25-bed women and children community residence.

The Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse plans to develop 3.5 acres for the project. GCASA acquired 9 acres of land from the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

“The EDA was very happy to secure services for residents,” said Paul Hendel, the EDA board chairman and also a member of the Orleans County Planning Board.

The project includes a 25-foot-wide driveway and a parking lot with 27 spaces. The residence will be staffed 24-7 by GCASA.

Five of the units will be for women with space for up to two preschool-age children in each of those units. Residents can stay for up to six months. The women in the residence will have on-site addiction programs and learn other life skills. Staying with their children increases their chances for recovery and success, said Kathy Hodgins, GCASA’s chief clinical officer.

The Planning Board last Thursday recommended the Town of Albion approve the project. One issue that needs to be settled is the property having access to the Village of Albion sewer as an out-of-district user.

Dan Strong, the code enforcement officer for the town, said an agreement is expected soon between the village and town for sewer services. A draft proposal calls for the town to be charged an extra $500 a year for the GCASA connection and then a 2 percent annual increase. GCASA will be charged 125 percent of the sewer rate to village users.

ALBION – The Village Board on Wednesday approved running an electric line at Bullard Park that will serve a new scoreboard for youth football.

The village will pay for the $5,500 cost as part of its share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The electric service will be extended from near the new bathrooms and pavilion to the youth football playing field. The 100 amp line will be big enough to serve other possible uses in the future, said Village Trustee Tim McMurray.

The youth football and cheerleading program raised money for the scoreboard through many fundraisers.

Bullard Park has long hosted Albion youth football teams, but the park hasn’t had a working scoreboard for years. Mark Cammilleri, owner of the local Burger King, also donated $4,300 scoreboard which has been delivered and is ready to be installed.

A group of volunteers and the Albion Department of Public Works will work on the scoreboard installation. Aric Albright, the sewer plant chief operator and electrician, and Jay Pahura, the DPW superintendent, will take the lead with the electric service.

Albion has been the only team in the youth football league without a scoreboard and the team often gets fined by the league about $50 every home game it doesn’t have one.

Not having the scoreboard also is challenging for spectators, players and coaches who often aren’t sure of the score and how much time is left on the clock.

In other action on Wednesday, the Village Board accepted the resignation of Jessica Saraceno from the Albion Police Department.

Agreement would give Albion 2 SROs if contract renewed with Albion PD

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved a two-year contract today where a deputy sheriff will be assigned to Albion Central School as a school resource officer.

The deputy is expected to be the second school resource officer at the district. Chris Glogowski, an Albion police officer, has served in the role since February 2019. The contract between the school district and Albion Police Department expired June 30.

Sheriff Chris Bourke said it is expected the Albion PD will continue to have an officer at the school and would work in tandem with the deputy. Bourke said the school campus is a big place for one officer.

The agreement approved today by the Legislature would reimburse the county about $94,000 annually. That includes $502.10 per day in the 2022-2023 school year and $510.26 per day the following school year.

Overtime will be $61.05 per hour the first year and $62.53 per hour the second year.

The contract runs from Sept. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. The deputy will be off as school resource officer in the summer and will work with the Sheriff’s Office in other duties in July and August.

The Sheriff’s Office will also provide a fully equipped patrol vehicle for the school resource officer.

Kendall and Lyndonville also contract with the Sheriff’s Office for a school resource officer.

Bourke said position will be posted with the deputy to start at the school on Sept. 1.

The new position was created by the Legislature today and won’t take away from the existing deputy positions in the Sheriff’s Office.

Provided photo

ALBION – Santa Claus read a story and met with children during a Christmas in July celebration at Hoag Library today. Santa is wearing his summer “Santa casual” outfit. He read to the students.

Santa wasn’t able to meet with kids in-person during Christmas time visit to the library in late 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions and concerns.

Photos by Tom Rivers

In addition to meeting with Santa, the kids had an indoor snowball fight. The children also played reindeer ring toss and made ornaments as part of a summer reading program.

Press Release, Albion Central School

ALBION – Albion Central School is holding a job fair on Tuesday, August 16, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the District Office, Conference Room A.

Interested applicants can call ahead for an appointment, walk-in or attend for further information. Please enter through the elementary school community entrance and bring a photo ID.

The district is looking to fill numerous positions including: substitute teachers, substitute teacher aides, cafeteria monitors, substitute cafeteria monitors, cleaners, substitute cleaners, bus drivers, substitute bus drivers, custodial workers, bus monitors, substitute bus monitors and any open teaching positions.

For questions, more information or to schedule an interview, please call the district office at 585-589-2056.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Vickie Elsenheimer, left, and Laurie Banker serve fried chicken dinners on Saturday next to Arnold’s Auto Parts on North Liberty Street in Albion. They are members of the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries. In back are the church’s pastor Albert Wilson, left, and Jeff Elsenheimer.

The Royal Body Shop served 220 dinners on Saturday. Proceeds from the dinner will go towards the ministries’ fund to offer free community events. Some of the Royal Bod Shop community programs included gifts and activities as part of Christmas celebration, an egg hunt near Easter and a Juneteenth celebration at Bullard Park.

This 1987 Ford Mustang was one of about 40 classic cars at a cruise-in as part of the event.

John Hollenbeck, 12, tries to rally support for a 50/50 drawing. His family is active in the Albion Masonic Lodge which helped with the event on Saturday.

ALBION – The Albion Village Board removed “provisional” from Albion Police Chief David Mogle’s title on Wednesday.

David Mogle

Mogle recently passed the Civil Service test for police chief. He has been leading the Albion Police Department since Roland Nenni retired on March 31, 2021.

Mogle has worked with the Albion PD for 14 years. His appointment was made permanent by the Village Board on Wednesday. His base salary is $95,000, which doesn’t include any longevity pay.

Mogle leads a department with 12 other officers. He said he prefers the small-town atmosphere in Albion.

“The people here treat us like human beings,” he said about the Albion community. “The people wave to us and say hi. It’s just different.”

Mogle said smaller departments like Albion face retention challenges because they don’t pay as much as city and larger suburban departments. Some of those departments can offer lifetime health insurance, which is too costly for Albion.

But Albion is more attractive for officers in other ways, mainly with a community atmosphere that is respectful of officers.

Mogle and his family are committed to Albion. Mogle’s wife Amber Mogle owns the Roots hair salon on East Bank Street. Mogle father, David Mogle, owns DK Autobody on Childs Street. Mogle and Albion police officer Chris Glogowski also teamed up to open The Coffee Joint in downtown Albion in October.

The Village Board on Wednesday also voted to make Lt. Brandon Annable’s salary at $90,000 a year, plus longevity pay.

In other action on Wednesday, the Board:

• Approved Owen Frederiay and Vincent Tarricone as new members of the Albion Fire Department.

• Voted to create a Civil Service position with a full-time water plant operator trainee position. Chief operator Adam Rush said a senior operator who is also the lab director will soon be retiring and trainee can work alongside that employee. Rush said the village reduced the full-time positions at the water plant by two in 2012.