Photos by Tom Rivers

FANCHER – Neal Muscarella, a mason from Albion, chips away old and loose mortar today on the Fancher Clock, a World War II Memorial at the curve on Route 31 on the east side on Murray.

Muscarella will be putting in new mortar and it will be the color green like the original. Muscarella said this is the only sandstone structure that he has seen with green mortar.

The four-sided clock at the Fancher Curve is a memorial to 10 young men from the community who died in World War II. The memorial was dedicated on Aug. 14, 1949.

Murray town officials are pushing to have the restoration done in time for the anniversary of the clock’s dedication.

Neal Muscarella removes the mortar between the sandstone blocks.

Fancher native Fred Fiorito has donated to cover the costs of restoring the monument. Fiorito is a retired chiropractor who lives in Mount Vernon, outside New York City. He grew up on a farm at the intersection of Fancher and Telegraph roads.

He was only 10, and he has never forgotten seeing the Gold Star mothers in mourning during the clock’s original dedication.

Fiorito in trips home over the years has noticed the memorial’s gradually deterioration. Sometimes the clocks haven’t worked. The mortar has crumbled.

Fiorito wants the site to be a well cared for showcase for the 10 local residents who died in World War II. Those 10 include John Christopher, Joseph Christopher, Cosmo Coccitti, John Kettle, Jr., Leonard Licursi, Martin Licursi, Richard Merritt, Camille Nenni, Floyd Valentine and Richard Vendetta.

Provided photo: Dan Mawn, president of the Murray-Holley Historical Society, removes one of the clock faces. The clocks will have new movements put in, and a new electrical service. They will be programmed to automatically adjust for Daylight Savings in March and also for way the clocks “fall back” an hour in November.

The four clock faces also will have new metal rings so they can slide in more easily into the monument and have better structural support.

The project also is expected to include upgraded landscaping and improvements to the flagpole.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Debbie Rothmund, center, director of the Eastern Orleans Community Center, accepts a check for $6,000 from the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund. Representing the Fund are, from left, Eugene Urban, former director of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home in Lockport for more than 30 years;  and board members Oradell Banker, Clement Olson and Barbara Quick.

HOLLEY – The Eastern Orleans Community Center got a boost Friday when representatives from the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund visited the center to present them with a check for $6,000.

Appearing on behalf of the Fund were Eugene Urban, former director of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home in Lockport for more than 30 years; and board members Oradell Banker of Mehoopany, Pa.; Barbara Quick of Binghamton; and Clement Olson of North Tonawanda.

The donation came about because the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund had money to donate from the sale of their Odd Fellow and Rebekah Rehabilitation Center in Lockport 3 1/2 years ago.

“The courts decided how the money was to be dispersed,” said Banker.  “We have money available to donate to agencies which provide or support delivery of programs to promote physical, social or mental health. Healthcare is more than a doctor, dentist or hospital.”

Banker went on her computer looking for 501c3 agencies.

“I read about each one that fit our criteria,” she said. “There was the Eastern Orleans Community Center, and I called Debbie and told her we have financial help available, if you’re interested.”

Debbie Rothmund runs the Community Center and Banker told her how to get a grant application. Rothmund wrote the grant for the purchase of food, containers, dehumidifiers and computers. Once it was received, the donation committee reviewed it and took it to the board, which approved the  $6,000 gift.

“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it,” Rothmund said.

Banker said they’d like to come in the future and see how the Community Center is making use of the funds.

During the week, the Community Center provides meals five days a week. During the pandemic, they provided 800 Grab and Go meals a month, and still continue to do it.

“It’s not just that we feed people,” said Annette Finch, director of Emergency Services at Community Action, which runs the Community Center. “The people who come in here take of each other. If one doesn’t show up one day, someone else is on the phone checking up on them. We also make sure the people who can’t cook go home with food for the weekends.”

Another service the Community Center provides is making food donations from Wegman’s three times a week available outside for people to pick up.

A donation last year from the local Lions Club has resulted in another service to the community, Finch said.

“With their donation we were able to buy a generator, and we are now considered a warming center,” she said.

She cited an instance last winter when several families were forced from their burning apartment house in the middle of the night. The victims were taken in their pajamas, some shoeless, to the Community Center, where they were warmed and fed. A clothing depot maintained next door by the Center provided shoes and clothing for the families.

Four representatives from the Odd Fellow & Rebekah Benefit Fund visited the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley on Friday afternoon to present them with a donation. From Community Action are Rachael Escobar, assistant at the Center; Annette Finch, director of Emergency Services; Renee Hungerford, executive director; and from the Benefit Fund, Oradell Banker of Mehoopany, Pa., Barbara Quick of Binghamton, Clement Olson of North Tonawanda and Eugene Urban of East Amherst. At right is Debbie Rothmund, director of the Community Center.

Rothmund added the Center is a destination for many children who come after school when their parents are working.

“They know we are a safe place to hang out,” she said.

The Center also sponsored cooking classes and special speakers before Covid restrictions were placed on their activities.

“We are going to continue those things, now that we can get back in the swing of things,” Rothmund said.

“I don’t know what people in the community would do without the Community Center,” Finch added.

Urban explained how the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Lodge has a history steeped in helping others.

“The primary tenets of our organization are caring for widows and orphans and burying their dead,” he said. These go back four or five hundred years, when somebody took the responsibility of seeing that widows had food on the table, that their children were cared for and their dead were buried.”

Olson explained how centuries ago the Masonic Lodge in England was formed by men whose livelihood was the masonic trade.

“When a group of men wanted to join, they were refused because they were not masons by trade,” Olson said. “Those men decided to form their own group, calling themselves ‘Odd Fellows’ due to the fact it was considered odd at the time for someone to care about others, such as widows and their children.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Debbie Smith and other members of the Holley Garden Club were out this morning planting flowers in 24 large planters on Route 31 near the former Holley High School and also in the Public Square.

The Garden Club has planted the flowers in the Holley downtown area since 2005.

Some of the Holley Garden Club member are shown this morning at the Public Square where they planted flowers and added mulch. Pictured from left includes Mylynda Kuba and her bulldog Biz-Kit, Denise Bedard, Beverly Whiteman, Dee Langfitt, Debbie Smith, Janet DeGraw, Jude Lane and Ingrid Lestorti.

Beverly Whiteman joined the group about a year ago. Besides the annual spring project, ordering and planting the flowers, the group of about 10 members gets together for garden tours.

“We have a good time and have fun together,” Whiteman said.

Ingrid Lestorti and Jude Lane plant flowers in front of the former Holley High School, which is now apartments and the village offices.

The village pays for the flowers. The Garden Club orders them through Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport. The village Department of Public Works will water the flowers in the coming months.

Mylynda Kuba adds flowers to one of the planters. She stopped by last year when the Garden Club was working on the flowers and offered to help. She joined the group and she said she has learned a lot from the other members.

“I fell in love with what they do,” Kuba said. “We share plants when we have extras. They have a lot of knowledge.”

Dee Langfitt  gets a batch of flowers from the back of the Holley DPW truck. Langfitt joined the Garden Club about five years ago and is the acting president.

“I look forward to this every year,” she said about planting the flowers in the downtown. “We’re beautifying the village. It is so pretty when the flowers fill out.”

Denise Bedard spreads mulch in the Public Square.

For more information on the Holley Garden Club, which started in 1998, check their Facebook page by clicking here.

(Editor’s Note: This was updated from an earlier version that stated three candidates were elected to the BOE instead of four.)

HOLLEY – The school district’s proposed $26,150,000 budget passed today, with 359 yes votes and 137 against.

The budget increases spending by 1.44 percent or $370,000 from $25,780,000, the amount the past two school years. The budget increases taxes by 1.95 percent to $7,572,763, which is under the tax cap.

• Proposition No. 2 authorizes up to $318,000 to purchase two 72-seat passenger school buses and one 22-seat bus – passed 338 to 160.

• Proposition No. 3 authorizes $189,287 for Community Free Library in Holley – passed 358 to 141.

• Board of Education – Four candidates were elected to the Board of Education with three getting 3-year terms: Brian McKeon with 301 votes, Anne Smith with 298, and Salvatore DeLuca Jr. with 258. Tracy Van Ameron, 241 votes, was elected to a one-year term.

There were three other candidates: Nancy MacPhee, 178; Jennifer Verhagen, 170; and Michelle Hodge, 160.

Photo courtesy of Susan Persia: These two 4-H’ers, Ariella and Alaya Bisig, hold some cherry tomatoes that they had picked at the community garden.

HOLLEY – The Holley Community Garden has opened for a new season. The garden was formed in 2017 after the village received a grant for the project.

It has raised 28 beds, 4 by 8 feet, that anyone can rent for one year. There are currently three beds left for this year, at a cost of $20 for 2021, said Susan Persia, who helps manage the garden. For more information, call Persia at (585) 638-5750.

The beds were constructed by the Clarendon Lions Club, community members, and the Holley Garden Club, with five new beds were created this spring. There is a 550-gallon water tank and two 55-gallon tanks at the garden the fire department supplies us with water. A transfer pump and a contractor hose were installed this year.

“There is a teaching bed each year,” Persia said. “This year we are learning about garlic. Other topics have been growing potatoes, making tents out of plastic for plants to ward off insects,  making a trellis, and learning how to use organic sprays.”

Teaching children about gardening is another fun part of the garden, she said. The 4-H Club of Clarendon, the Mini Rascals, have planted vegetables and flowers, and this year they are doing a special project about dahlias.

Dahlias have been sent to the club from all over the United States. The 4-Hers are each planting  a dahlia tuber. They are going to have a competition, and the Rochester Dahlia Society is coming  to  the garden to judge the competition.

Provided photos

HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department recently welcomed three new police officers. They were sworn into their positions by Bob Barton, the acting police chief.

The top photo shows Chief Barton, right, welcoming Thomas Kirk to the Police Department.

Timothy Quatro shakes hands with Chief Barton.

Charles St. John is among the new officers with the Holley PD.

7 candidates seek 4 spots on Board of Education

HOLLEY – School officials went over a proposed $26,150,000 budget this evening during a public meeting at the elementary school cafeteria.

The spending plan is up by 1.44 percent or $370,000 from $25,780,000, the amount the past two school years.

The budget would increase taxes by 1.95 percent to $7,572,763, which is under the tax cap, Sharon Zacher, Holley’s assistant superintendent for business, said during the district’s annual meeting.

Holley district residents will vote on the budget, candidates for the board, and two other propositions from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 18 at middle/high school foyer.

Zacher said there are some uncertainties in the future for the district, including guidance on how to spend about $3 million in federal aid. Those parameters are expected to be released in mid-May and districts need to submit a plan by July 1, detailing how they will spend the funds over the next three school years.

There also is uncertainty with how the school year will start in the fall – how many days per week will students be in school, will they be required to wear masks, will there be barriers between students to help stop the spread of Covid. Zacher said Holley will need to work hard to help students who have falling behind during the pandemic.

Zacher said many districts are concerned about a fiscal cliff when the extra funding ends after 2024, and districts will be need to be careful with their long-range planning.

“Be careful how you spend it because it will go away,” she said about the extra federal aid.

The budget for 2021-22 includes a $100,000 capital project that would be 91 percent funded by state aid. The project at the middle-high school would replace several interior and exterior doors, add card reader access controls to main office entrance door, replace auditorium orchestra pit lighting and replace the auditorium projection screen.

The proposed budget continues a stretch where Holley hasn’t increased taxes by more than 2.5 percent in a year in at least 12 years.

Holley Central School recent property tax history

• 2010-11 – $7,153,485, no change
• 2011-12 – $7,248,923, up 1.3%
• 2012-13 – $7,393,901, up 2%
• 2013-14 – $7,541,779, up 2%
• 2014-15 – $6,741,480, down 10.6 %
• 2015-16 – $6,741,480, no change
• 2016-17 – $6,875,941, up 1.99%
• 2017-18 – $6,968,766, up 1.35%
• 2018-19 – $7,108,141, up 2%
• 2019-20 – $7,285,845, up 2.5%
• 2020-21 – $7,427,919, up 1.95%
• 2021-22 – $7,572,763, up 1.95%

Source: Holley Central School

Seven candidates are running for four positions on the Board of Education. They include Brian McKeon, Jennifer L. Verhagen, Nancy M. MacPhee, Tracy Van Ameron, Michelle Hodge, Anne Smith and Salvatore DeLuca Jr.

There are four open positions on the board including the seats of current board members Melissa Ierlan, Mark Porter and Anne Smith. (Smith is the only one seeking re-election.) Those spots are for three-year terms. Holley will also be filling the final year of a vacant seat from the late John Heise.

Other propositions, besides the budget, on the ballot include:

• Proposition No. 2 – Authorize up to $318,000 to purchase two 72-seat passenger school buses and one 22-seat bus.

• Proposition No. 3 – $189,287 for Community Free Library in Holley, which is up from the $183,773 in 2020-21.

Eligible voters must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident of the Holley school district for at least 30 days prior to the vote, and must have a proper ID or signed affidavit.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Firefighters from the Albion Fire Department, right, and Medina Fire Department search the water in a former quarry on the night of April 23. Ryan J. Perkins, 30, of Canal Road drowned trying to rescue a dog.

MURRAY – There were about 50 firefighters working on the night of April 23, trying to locate a 30-year-old Murray man who went into the chilly water of a former quarry in search of a dog.

The man drowned. He was found after a 2 ½-hour search with firefighters in four rescue boats. Other firefighters were along the shoreline.

For many of the firefighters it was the first time they had responded to a fatal call. They went to the scene expecting it to be a rescue, but it changed to a recovery.

Harris Reed, the fire chief for the Murray Joint Fire District, recognized there were many young firefighters on the call and they might be struggling to cope when someone close to their own age did not survive.

“This was the first fatality for many of the new members,” Reed said. “It can be very difficult for new members.”

Orleans County has had a stress debriefing team for firefighters for about 15 years. Mental health professionals are part of the team. Firefighters Tim Fearby of Shelby and Guy Scribner have been co-leaders of the group since it started.

Fire chiefs can request the team if they sense firefighters would benefit in talking through how they’re feeling and also hearing from other firefighters struggling with their emotions. The stress debriefing team might be called after a fatal car accident, fire, drowning or an emergency medical response with a child who doesn’t survive.

Reed said in those incidents where someone dies, firefighters will feel guilt that they may not have done enough, or if they had responded differently the person may have lived.

“My message to them is they didn’t cause the harm,” Reed said. “They did nothing wrong. They did the best they could.”

Reed has been a firefighter for about 25 years. When he started and there has a difficult call with a fatality, firefighters didn’t really talk about it.

“Years ago you came back to fire house and just went home,” he said.

But fire chiefs and the veteran firefighters know better now about the mental health toll of responding to those calls.

“Our people here come first,” Reed said. “Everyone responds to a situation differently. But I wanted to open up (the stress debriefing) to everybody who was at the incident.”

Murray Joint Fire District Chief Harris Reed, left, and Justin Niederhofer, deputy director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, set up a command post during on April 23 during a response for a man in the water. He was found after a 2 ½ hour search.

Danielle Figura, director of the Orleans County Mental Health Department, is trained in leading the critical incident stress management. They are usually done within 72 hours of the incident.

The stress debriefing in this case was last Monday on April 26, three days after the drowning. Figura and the team met with 12 firefighters at Fancher-Hulberton-Murray fire station. That included firefighters from Murray, Albion and the western battalion.

It is a peer-driven response where the group will often replay the scenario with “what if.” No one takes any notes and people are encouraged to share.

“It is a safe space where there is no judgement,” Figura said.

‘First responders are human first. They are hearing from others with similar reactions which helps validate how they are feeling.’

Figura said it is very helpful to firefighters to articulate how they are struggling and to know others are feeling a similar way.

“They are hearing from others with similar reactions which helps validate how they are feeling,” she said.

Volunteer firefighters often go from being at work or at home to a scene a few minutes later where a person they know has been killed in an accident.

“First responders are human first,” Figura said. “They need to take care of themselves.”

While mental health still has a stigma, especially among first responders, Figura said she is encouraged the critical incident stress management team is called more frequently. That shows her the team is being successful in helping the first responders process some difficult emotions.

“Twenty years ago this wasn’t very well accepted,” she said. “But we’re seeing this push as first responders hope to grow and recruit more to stay in that role.”

Most of the stress debriefings are about 60 to 90 minutes, and Figura and the team members can direct the first responders to additional help if needed.

Photos courtesy of Samantha Zelent

HOLLEY – Lily Newman and Allison Merle, students in the Holley Interact Club, carry bags with trash along the Erie Canal towpath on Saturday during the Canal Clean Sweep event.

There were 68 volunteers for the project and they covered 9 miles of the canal towpath in the school district, and also picked up garbage and debris along all of the village streets.

Holley Rotary Club member Jeff Martin, Interact students Grace McKeon and Sara Kingdollar, and Rotary member Krista Wiley worked together on a section of the towpath.

Two girls in front, Emma Brady and Samantha Bates, go trash-hunting in the park near the Holley Waterfalls.

Interact students Thomas Dobri and Mason Neale team with Sal DeLuca and venture into a grassy area in search of trash. The volunteers filled about 20 bags with garbage.

Breanna Girangaya, Libbie Pechora, volunteer chaperone David Weaver, Casey Onisk and Hayley Lipke teamed up on a section of the canal. Casey Onisk designed the shirts with an Earth Day theme.

The Holley Rotary Club and Interact Club hope to make the event an annual springtime tradition, said Zelent, a social worker in the junior-senior high school and co-advisor with Kelly Marzano, a chorus teacher at the school.

Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan: The congregations of the United Methodist churches in Albion and Holley held a joint service today at the Disciples United Methodist Church in Holley/Clarendon on Route 237.

Article courtesy of Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon town historian

Linda Glantz (left) is the pastor for the two congregations. She is joined in addressing the congregation by Vonda Fossitt, the district superintendent.

CLARENDON – Religion was very important to the pioneers who made their way to the wilderness that was Orleans County in the early 1800’s. They brought their families and belongings to a strange place and the people who were their neighbors most likely were of similar circumstance and what brought them together was religion and hard work.

Today was history in the making as Albion First and Disciples United Methodist Churches came together to worship and to vote on the merger of the two congregations.

Albion and Holley have been faithfully serving their communities for many decades. Today District Superintendent Vonda Fossitt spoke to the two congregations. She oversees 100 churches including those in the Finger Lakes area and is the former pastor of the church in Albion.

“You will be embarking on a spiritual journey with this merger,”

Fossitt said. “I encourage you to learn how to hear God’s voice. God wants you to get this merger right and grow.”

Her message also included: “People should not lean on their own. Lean on God and listen to his voice. Trust in God and let him guide you.”

After the service was concluded Fossitt addressed the congregations and said: “Today is a big day, it is going to change your future and for me it’s a celebration.”

The congregations split up and went into separate rooms to conduct the vote. Pastor David Underwood spoke to and answered questions of the Disciples United Methodist congregation and District Superintendent Vonda Fossitt spoke to and answered questions of the Albion First United Methodist congregation.

They were instructed that they would be voting on the merger, a new name Disciples First United Methodist Church and on a new leadership council to carry out the legalities and paperwork.

The Disciples United Methodist congregation voted unanimously on the ballot to merge.

The Albion First United Methodist Church vote 15 yay and 1 nay to merge.

The two churches held a combined service for both congregations today.

The newly merged church, if accepted, will unite on the first Sunday of July. A celebration service is planned for July 11 at 10 a.m. with fellowship afterwards.

The period of time between the acceptance and the uniting celebration will be a time of preparation for the legalities of the merger. Each church will maintain its current status until the merger is completed.

The Albion congregation met for more than a century out of a building at the corner of Platt and East State Streets. It vacated that site in 2015, fearing the building faced a costly roof repair that church members said would take $1 million to fix. That proved too much for the congregation. The site has since been acquired by North Point Chapel.

The United Methodists in Albion started to share a building with the Episcopal congregation at Christ Church in Albion, before shifting to the same building with the Disciples congregation in Route 237.

Linda Glantz became pastor on July 1, 2016 of the United Methodist churches in Albion and Holley. For the first several years she went to both sites on Sunday mornings to lead services. Now the two groups will soon to be together as one body and for the same services.

Photos by Tom Rivers

(UPDATED at 12:30 a.m. on April 24: The man was located deceased at about 11:15 p.m. near the embankment on the south side of the quarry in a deeper water hole, Murray Fire Chief Harris Reed said. Firefighters in one of the rescue boats found the man before the dive teams from Niagara and Monroe counties arrived.

The man’s body was taken by Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes. No additional information is available.)

MURRAY – A man is presumed to have drowned after going into the cold water of a former quarry near Canal and Fancher roads on Friday night, trying to rescue a dog.

The top photo shows rescue boats from the Albion Fire Department, Medina Fire Department and the Murray Joint Fire District.

They are near the south side of a quarry owned by Mike and Michelle Vendetti.

A man went into the quarry after a dog and was calling for help. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 8:45 p.m.

It is a steep embankment with lots of brush on the south side. (This photo is looking towards the north side.) The quarry water where the man went in is about 15 to 20 feet deep. The water is muddy with a current, making it hard to find someone, said Harris Reed, fire chief of the Murray Joint Fire District.

Dive teams were coming from Niagara and Monroe counties to help find the man, Reed said.

Dogs that can detect the scent of humans from the top of the water also were being called to assist.

The dog that went into the water was found safe on a ledge on the south side of the quarry. It was brought to shore on the north side of the quarry along Canal Road by Murray firefighters. Murray had two rescue boats in the water, one from the Holley Fire Department and one from Fancher-Hulberton-Murray. Those departments formed a joint district on Jan. 1, 2021.

The dog was soon covered in a towel and was kept warm inside a Carlton rescue truck. Carlton also put a rescue boat in the water.

Albion firefighters, including Steven Papponetti in front and Fred Piano in back, try to locate the man who went into the cold water after a dog.

Emergency responders created a grid to track spots in the quarry where they had searched. The man and the dog went down the embankment shown in the photo.

Firefighters from Albion, Carlton, Clarendon, Medina and Murray responded to the scene, with Brockport filling in at the Murray fire station.

Town Supervisor doesn’t want to see prime farmland lost to renewable energy projects

MURRAY – The Town Board expects to pass a moratorium to give Murray officials time to review and update its ordinances for solar and wind energy projects.

The board could approve the moratorium during the May 17 Town Board meeting. Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Moore said the town should update the laws, especially for large-scale solar. Murray might consider looking at an overlay district where extra protections can be put in place for residents, Moore said.

The current ordinance doesn’t include any regulations or standards for battery storage systems for the solar projects, Moore said.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said the town should also look at its ordinance for large-scale wind projects as part of the moratorium.

Sidonio said he wants to see protections for prime farmland from the projects. The renewable energy projects should be steered to marginal farmland, he said.

“Orleans County has some of the best farmland in the world,” Sidonio said. “It’s tragic that these projects are looking at some of our prime farmland.”

In other action, the Town Board:

• Voted to raise the water rates for farmers by 25 cents from $4.25 to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons. This is for agriculture that uses water from town hydrants. The town provides meters for those users.

The 25 cents reflects the same increase to the town from the Monroe County Water Authority. The other town users will remain at a $4.99 rate per 1,000 gallons.

• Accepted the resignation of Kevin Moore as the town’s code enforcement officer, effective May 1. Moore works full-time as code enforcement officer for the Town of Clarkson and he said his duties will be increasing in that community. He thanked the Town Board for the opportunity to work in Murray.

• Accepted the resignation of Annette Curtis as the town’s clerk for the planning and zoning boards, effective May 1. Curtis will continue to work as the deputy town clerk. The town will look to fill the clerk and code officer positions.

• Agreed to hire Jeff Martin as an attorney for the Planning Board on an as-needed basis at $175 an hour. That expense would be paid for by applicants for projects in the town, unless Martin is providing training for board members.

MURRAY – The Town Board is discussing whether it should expand health insurance eligibility to the domestic partners of town employees, and the children of those partners.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said Murray would be the first municipality in Orleans County to offer that coverage. He said it could be a significant cost increase for Murray taxpayers.

The current cost for a single health care plan is $539.06 a month ($6,468.72 a year) for a single plan, $1,078.12 per month ($12,937.44 per year) for a two-person plan and $1,536.32 per month ($18,435.84 a year) for a family plan. Town employees pay 15 percent of the costs.

Sidonio said four employees could be eligible for two-person or family plans if the town approves the expanded eligibility.

There is currently one employee with domestic partner coverage, but town officials declined to comment on how that happened during Monday’s Town Board meeting. John Sansone, the town attorney, advised the board to not discuss specific personnel matters in public.

Sidonio urged the Town Board to thoroughly go over its policy for health insurance coverage for town employees.

“I don’t want to do a sloppy job on a complicated subject,” he said.

Sansone said the town would need to determine what qualifies someone as a domestic partner, whether it’s financial support and living together, and what documentation would be needed. He suggested an affidavit from the parties testifying to the relationship.

If the town approves the policy and an employee has a domestic partner and dependents on the health insurance policy, the employee should be aware there will be a taxable liability for the expanded insurance which could result in smaller take-home pay.

Sidonio was faulted by Town Board member Paul Hendel for a recent Facebook post, where Sidonio called out the other four board members as “No Show Board” for not attending a work session on April 8 to discuss a domestic partner health insurance policy.

Sidonio’s Facebook post resulted in many comments from residents critical of the other board members.

“I don’t think that moves the agenda of positive, collaborative working relationship with you, Joe,” Hendel said about the social media post and its response.

Hendel said the Town Board members all have near perfect attendance for the regular monthly meetings and they do other work for the town outside of the meetings.

“Social media is a platform for uninformed people to bully others,” Hendel said.

Hendel didn’t attend the work session because Sansone wasn’t going to be there and there wasn’t a draft policy yet to discuss. Sansone doesn’t attend the work sessions as a cost-saving measure from Sidonio, Hendel said.

Sidonio said he doesn’t control peoples’ comments on social media. He also wrote a letter to editor on the Orleans Hub.

Hendel said he didn’t see the letter, but he wouldn’t write a letter about Sidonio if he was trying to build a good working relationship.

The board tabled the discussion until the May 17 board meeting. It will continue to research the issue. Samson, the town attorney, also was encouraged to attend any work sessions about the issue.

Town will try to lower speed, add signs and will seek more law enforcement patrols

Photo by Tom Rivers: Brian Fauci, a resident of Gulf Road, presents a petition signed by about 50 people, highlighting safety concerns on Bennetts Corners and Gulf roads.

MURRAY — The Town Board and highway superintendent will look for ways to make Gulf and Bennetts Corners roads safer after residents presented a petition on Monday, highlighting concerns on the roadways.

Brian Fauci, a Gulf Road resident, circulated the petition along with Dave Knapp. Fauci said drivers often exceed the 45 mile per hour speed limit on a narrow winding road without sidewalks. Pedestrians and other drivers are in danger in the current conditions, which he said would also benefit from signage about school bus stops and blind driveways. Fauci also asked for more presence from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and State Police.

The petition asks for the town to pursue lowering the speed limit to 30 miles per hour on the two roads, with the Bennetts Corners section north of Route 31. Dirk Lammes, the highway superintendent, said he would take that request to the state Department of Transportation for approval. The town can’t lower the speed limit without DOT approval, Lammes and the Town Board said.

But Murray does have discretion for putting up signage, double-striping the road for no passing, and modifying the intersection on the curve, where Bennetts Corners transitions to Gulf Road.

“This petition is all safety,” states the document which was signed by about 50 people. “Both roads lack proper signage, which would include speed limit postings, schools stops, blind curves and canal bridge approaches.”

Google Maps: Residents want more signage and a lower speed limit on Bennetts Corners Road and Gulf Road in Murray.

Fauci said he worries schoolchildren could be killed with so many motorists speeding on the road without clear sight lines ahead.

“Speeding on both roads is out of control with no law enforcement presence,” the petition states. “These roads have seen an increase in traffic from the mobile home park combined with the fact that a lot of local and neighboring town residents use these stretches of roads as a shortcut between Route 104 and Route 31.”

The petition also requests to transform the curve transition of Gulf Road and Bennetts Corners Road into a 3-way stop intersection. This would slow down traffic in both directions and be easier to plow for the highway department. “Currently the plows have to back up and take extra passes to remove the snow out of the intersection,” the petition states.

Lammes said he would start the process for getting more signs on the road and modifying the curve to an intersection with a 3-way stop.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said he would write a letter to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and State Police, requesting more patrols on the two roads.

Callie Updike

HOLLEY – A Holley senior is among the 13 finalists for the Young Woman of Distinction Award, which is given by The Women’s Council, a Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce affiliate.

Callie Updike and the other 12 finalists affiliate will be recognized during a virtual celebration on May 18 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The top four finalists will receive $2,500 scholarships.

The program is modelled after the ATHENA Award and is designed to discover high school seniors who have displayed outstanding leadership, academic excellence, and involvement in the nine-county Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region.

Updike has been very involved at Holley Junior-Senior High School, serving as president of Student Council, president of the Class of 2021 and the Interact Club. She also performs in Holley’s annual school musical, sings in Concert Choir, plays the trumpet in Concert, Jazz and Marching Band, and competes with the Varsity Masterminds team. She also serves in the National Honor Society, the Superintendent Advisory Council, and the Gay Straight Alliance.

She has been accepted to Columbia University. She is an undeclared major and expects to study involving English or History with a potential music minor.