MURRAY – The Town Board wants to hear from residents whether the town should allow marijuana to be sold from a legal dispensary, where people could purchase adult-use cannabis products.

The board set a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Sept. 9 at the Town Hall on Route 31 (3840 Fancher Rd.).

The state is giving municipalities until Dec. 31 to decide whether they will opt out of allowing marijuana dispensaries. The municipalities also need to decide by the end of the year if they will opt out of allowing onsite consumption at businesses such as a smoking lounge.

The state has approved a 13-percent excise tax on marijuana with a breakdown that includes 9 cents for each taxable sale to the state, 3 cents to the municipality that has the dispensary, and 1 cent to the county. Municipalities that opt out wouldn’t be eligible for the 3-cent share of the 13-percent sales tax.

Towns and villages can’t overstep the state and ban recreational use of marijuana. But the towns and villages can prohibit dispensaries and smoking lounges.

If the municipal board for a village or town decides to opt out, residents could still push a permissive referendum, with the matter going on the ballot.

Municipalities could also decide to opt out, and later decide to “opt in” and allow the dispensaries and lounges.

Senator touts nearly $8 million in American Rescue Plan funds for project in 2 counties

Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer speaks during a news conference today in Holley’s Public Square. He is joined by Assemblyman Steve Hawley, left, and other officials from Orleans County, the Village of Holley, Town of Murray and Community Free Library.

HOLLEY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer met with local officials today to celebrate progress in the effort to close high-speed internets gaps in Orleans and rural Niagara counties.

Both counties recently approved a contract with RTO Wireless of Wellesley, Mass. to co-locate their transmitters on existing communication towers. The counties are using part of their federal American Rescue Plan funds for the build out.

“The Covid pandemic made it all too clear that the digital gap in Orleans County is far too wide,” Schumer said with local officials by the Salisbury Fountain at Public Square.

Schumer was instrumental in the American Rescue Plan being passed in the Senate. The Orleans County Legislature last month voted to spend $3,608,435 to make high-speed internet available county-wide, including for 1,351 addresses that currently don’t internet access, and another 6,700 addresses with only low-speed access. That’s nearly 40 percent of the county’s addresses without access to high-speed internet. That project should be complete in 2022.

“Whether it’s working from home, finding a new job, completing schoolwork, or accessing healthcare options, the rural digital divide has kept many New Yorkers from reaching their full potential,” said Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature. “Success in the 21^st century is dependent on universal, affordable access.”

Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said the federal funds will solve the high-speed internet  crisis for thousands of homes in the county. There are 1,351 addresses without access to high-speed internet and another 6,700 out of 22,000 total addresses with only access to low-speed internet.

Orleans and Niagara counties are both working with RTO Wireless of Wellesley, Mass. The Niagara County Legislature earlier this month approved a $4,286,325 bid to make high-speed internet in unserved areas of the county.

In Orleans, RTO will co-locate their technology on existing county-owned communication towers. Those sites include at the Emergency Management Office on West County House Road in Albion, Route 31A in Clarendon, Maple Ridge Road in Medina, Route 31 in Albion next to Public Safety Building, West Avenue in Lyndonville, Route 237 in Kendall, Route 237 in Holley by the water tank.

Orleans and Niagara have been working together for a decade on the project. The Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance made it a priority but only now has it had the funds to proceed with closing the internet gaps.

“The money is there,” said Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey. “We’re going to make it happen.”

Schumer also said broadband internet access is a key to reversing the population decline in rural areas. The U.S. Census Bureau last week released population counts for each county in the United States.

The data shows a 5.9 percent decline in Orleans County, which was biggest drop among Western New York counties and most in the GLOW region. Orleans shrunk by 2,540 people in the 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, dropping from 42,883 in 2010 to 40,343 in 2020.

“Broadband is really vital,” Schumer said. “In this new world where broadband connects you, it will bring more businesses here, it will keep businesses here, you will have more people come live here. Lots of people want to live in a beautiful place like this. But if they can’t be connected, they lose out.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer waves to people during a stop in Holley today. He was influential in the redevelopment of the former Holley High School as well as the cleanup of the former Diaz Chemical site in Holley.

Schumer said there will also be funding available to help people pay the costs to connect to the internet, and there will be assistance to help pay for the service.

The infrastructure bill that passed in the Senate includes $42.45 billion nationwide for broadband grants in unserved and underserved communities, $14.2 billion for permanent broadband affordability (with eligibility at 200 percent the federal poverty level), and $2.75 billion for “Digital Equity and Inclusion” – providing digital literacy and skills to low-income residents, senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Lynne Johnson also highlighted a new program through the Federal Communications Commission that offers financial assistance for monthly internet. Click here for more information.

200 attend event at restored monument on Route 31

Photos by Tom Rivers

FANCHER – The memorial at the “Fancher Curve” on Route 31 was rededicated on Saturday, 72 years after it was originally dedicated on Aug. 14, 1949 as a monument to 10 young men from the Fancher community who were killed in World War II.

Those men include John Christopher, Joseph Christopher, Cosmo Coccitti, John Kettle, Jr., Leonard Licursi, Martin Licursi, Richard Merritt, Camille Nenni, Floyd Valentine and Richard Vendetta.

The top photo shows Richard Christopher of Albion placing a commemorative wreath by the monument. Richard is the son John Christopher, who was killed on November 26, 1943 when the transport ship carrying his unit was struck by a German glider bomb and sunk off the coast of Algeria. He was laid to rest at the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunis, Tunisia.

John’s brother Joseph also was killed during the war. Another pair of brothers from the Fancher community – Leonard and Martin Licursi – also died in the war.

The monument was in disrepair with mortar crumbling, the clock often not working and the landscaping unattractive. Fred Fiorito, a Fancher native now living near New York City, gave the largest donation to cover the expense of the improvement project.

The donations paid to have new mortar put in, new movements and electric wiring for the clocks (which will now automatically fall back an hour and spring an hour ahead during the time changes), a new replica bronze plaque on the north side of the property, and a repainted flag pole which now also includes a World War II flag below the American flag. There also are sandstone steps on the north side with the stone donated by Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio and set in place by the Town Highway Department.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio speaks at the rededication. He said the Fancher community created the memorial 72 years ago to honor the young men, and the community again rallied to preserve the monument made of locally quarried Medina sandstone.

Sidonio noted that Fiorito was just a boy when he saw the monument originally dedicated and memory of seeing the grieving Gold Star mothers has forever impacted him.

Sidonio also announced on Monday will ask the Town Board to approve a resolution to recognize Aug. 14 as “Fancher Monument Memorial Day” and order that the flags at the monument and at the town municipal buildings be lowered to half-mast for 10 days “to remind us that we owe these 10 boys the dignity of being better citizens and Americans so that they shall not have died in vain.”

These four M1 Garand or M1 Rifle are stacked on top of the monument in the same way they were for the original dedication in 1949. Scott Galliford used a 10-foot ladder to climb up and stack the four rifles on Saturday.

Louis Horschel of Dunkirk flies “Mad Max,” a 1945 P-51 Mustang during a flyover at the start of the rededication program. The original dedication service in 1949 also had a flyover.

These veterans in the Honor Guard watch Horschel in the airplane fly upside down and do other aerial stunts.

Father Richard Csizmar, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Albion, offered the blessing during the service. He shared that his uncle John Csizmar was killed during World War II and Father Csizmar still has a strong memory of going to the train station in North Tonawanda when his uncle’s body was brought home. His photo was displayed over the family piano for the next 45 years, along with a Gold Star plaque.

Csizmar said the 10 young men from Fancher lived out John 15:13: “Greater love than this no one has, than one lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”

“Today we come to this Fancher memorial to remember those 10 men from Fancher, who gave their lives for freedom during World War II,” Csizmar said in his prayer. “Their valiant efforts and heroic service for all of us, and our nation, are remembered to this day. They said yes to God, their country, and to freedom, by serving our nation far away.”

Congressman Chris Jacobs meets veterans in the Honor Guard at the rededication service. Jacobs presented a Congressional Commendation for the community for its efforts to restore the monument.

Mary Wojciechowski sings “America the Beautiful” while accompanied by the Brockport Symphony Orchestra which is directed by Jonathan Allentoff, left. Wojciechowski, a Canadaigua resident, also sang the national anthem. The BSO also performed “To Reap The Blessings of Freedom” and “Brother James’ Air.”

“We are so honored to be have been asked to do this,” Allentoff said about performing during the rededication. “We love this community and being a part of events that bring people together, and we wanted to help pay tribute to the boys.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley thanked those that worked to restore and upgrade the memorial site.

“Monuments are testaments to our greatest sacrifices and our greatest triumphs,” he said.

Christian Coccitti is the great-nephew of Cosmo Coccitti who was declared missing in action during the fighting in Holland on November 10, 1944. To date his remains have not been recovered. His great-nephew is the U.S. Navy and travelled from Annapolis, Md. To attend Saturday’s rededication. He is sitting between Congressman Chris Jacobs and Aubrey Christopher.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley comforts Richard Vendetta, who was named after his uncle who was killed during World War II, one of 10 from the Fancher community who died in the war. The younger Vendetta was among many family members in attendance of the 10 men honored with the monument.

The late Richard Vendetta, a second lieutenant, earned his flight wings and was flying a bomber and was killed when another plane collided with his over Stanford, England on July 8, 1944.

Matthew Passarell, commander of the VFW Post in Albion, shared biographies of each of the 10 men memorialized at the monument. Daniel Mawn, next to Passarell, rang the bell after each description was shared by Passarell.

The Honor Guard, including Scott Galliford at left (commander of the Jewell Buckman Post in Holley), fired three volleys during the rededication ceremony of the World War 11memorial at the Fancher Curve. Jim Freas, lower right, leads the Honor Guard.

Ron Ayrault, the chaplain at the American Legion post in Holley, offers the benediction. Ayrault, 89, attended the first dedication 72 years earlier when he was 17. He remembered there was a parade, the Legion band and a procession that included Gold Star mothers who lost their sons to war.

Photos courtesy of Erin Reed

HOLLEY – Hunter Salamaca, an EMS officer with the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Company, is shown at the fire hall in Holley today where there are free face masks, sanitizer and thermometers being given away from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 7 Thomas St.

“Due to the unknown of the new Covid variant (Delta), the possibility of mandated masking and your children going back to school, we would like to take some stress off of you,” Murray Joint Fire District officials said in a Facebook post. “Stop down and grab a box or two of masks and some hand sanitizer free of charge.”

The masks are in children’s and adult sizes.

Erin Reed, an EMS lieutenant, was able to secure the PPE (personal protective equipment) for today’s event.

The Murray Joint Fire District includes Holley and FHM firefighters.

Provided photos

MURRAY – The Old Crow Motorcycle Club from Kent recently present $1,200 to the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Company. The motorcycle club organizes a fundraiser every year to give back to a local nonprofit.

The Crows organized a pig roast last weekend and donated the proceeds to the FHM Fire Company. Other motorcycle clubs that came out to support the benefit were Peacemakers MC, Redrum MC and the Webster Legion Riders.

“On behalf of the membership of the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Company, we thank them for their generous donation to our department and their continued support in the community,” said Capt. James Fox.

Several improvements at monument with clock on ‘Fancher Curve’

FANCHER – The top image shows the program for the rededication of the Fancher memorial this Saturday at 2 p.m. It is mostly a replica of the program from the original dedication exactly 72 years earlier on Aug. 14, 1949.

The Fancher community built the memorial out of local Medina sandstone as a tribute to 10 local soldiers who died in World War II. Those soldiers include John Christopher, Joseph Christopher, Cosmo Coccitti, John Kettle, Jr., Leonard Licursi, Martin Licursi, Richard Merritt, Camille Nenni, Floyd Valentine and Richard Vendetta.

Provided photos: The monument includes a new plaque mounted on the north side of the property.

Representatives from some of those families will be at the rededication on Saturday to lay a commemorative wreath.

The memorial on the “Fancher Curve” on Route 31 is a four-faced clock in a stone monument made of local sandstone. It gradually deteriorated over 72 years and recently was overhauled. The crumbling mortar was chipped out and replaced with new matching green mortar.

New movements for the clocks and new electrical service were installed. The flag pole was painted. New sandstone pavers were added as a walkway on the north side of the property.

And a new bronze plaque was mounted on the north side near the flagpole. The original plaque remains, but it is on the west side facing the guardrails and wasn’t in an easy-to-see location for most people to know the true purpose of the monument.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said it should be clearer now that the site isn’t a municipal clock, but is a war memorial dedicated to local soldiers who died serving the country.

The project was funded with a donation from Fred Fiorito, a former local resident who now lives in the New York City area. He would typically home a few times each year to see family, including his brother Ted Fiorito. Fred noticed the memorial gradually deteriorate.

Sometimes the clocks didn’t work. The mortar was crumbling. The site wasn’t a great showcase or memorial for the 10 who in World War II, he said.

“I knew some of those families,” Fiorito said in a recent interview. “The monument’s condition was distasteful.”

Saturday’s rededication will include comments from State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Congressman Chris Jacobs.

The Brockport Symphony Orchestra will perform “To Reap The Blessings of Freedom,” the national anthem, “America the Beautiful” and “Brother James’ Air.” Mary Wojciechowski will be a vocalist with the orchestra.

Father Richard Csizmar, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Albion, will give the invocation. Matt Passarell, commander of the VFW Post 4635, will read the names of the soldiers and a bell will be rung with each name. That bell is from the former American Legion Post in Fancher.

An Honor Guard from the local American Legion and VFW will fire three volleys and Taps will be played.

Sidonio encourages people to either park at the Post Office in Fancher on Route 31 or north of the railroad tracks on Fancher Road. Route 31 at the Curve will be open to traffic during the rededication program but fire police will be out urging people to slow down during the service with the crowd of people close by.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – Holley Central School students attending kindergarten this fall are invited to attend the Transportation Department’s School Bus Safety Event on Aug. 28 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Middle School/High School Parking Lot.

Participants will have the opportunity to ride a bus to the Elementary School Parking Lot and rotate through five, 15-minute safety stations. Buses will depart every 15 minutes.

Please RSVP to attend this event by Aug. 20 and select a time for departure (9 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m. or 10 a.m.) by calling 585-638-6297 or emailing tbeaney@holleycsd.org. Limited space is available, so participants should only bring their kindergarten student to this event.

In the event of severe weather, the event will begin at 1 p.m. on Aug. 28. We will notify registrants of this change.

Additional cost will be paid 100 percent from employees

MURRAY — The Murray Town Board on Monday voted to expand the town’s health insurance policy to include domestic partners of employees. However, the cost of adding the partners to the health insurance will be 100 percent funded by the employees with domestic partners.

That differs from the health insurance plan for employees with spouses, where the employees pay 15 percent of the cost, which is $1,078.12 per month ($12,937.44 per year) for a two-person plan.

Town officials said Murray is the first town in Orleans County to include domestic partners in the health insurance.

Two Councilman Paul Hendel urged the board to consider a domestic partner like a spouse.

“This is the 21st Century,” Hendel said during Monday’s board meeting. “People are doing things different than in the 1950s.”

Councilman Lloyd Christ said he favored offering the health insurance to domestic partners, but didn’t want taxpayer dollars going towards the coverage.

The state and health insurance providers allow domestic partners to be included in the coverage. Murray said the employee will need to show proof of a domestic partner, who can be the same or the opposite sex. Some factors to be considered will include joint residency and length of relationship. A blood relative won’t be considered as a domestic partner.

Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said the issue has been widely debated around town in recent months. He said it is an “emotional topic.”

An employee with a domestic partner on the town’s health insurance plan will need to periodically provide proof of the relationship. The town also needs to be notified if the relationship ends so the coverage can be discontinued for the partner.

Town officials are having the cost of the plan come from the employee so the town isn’t pursuing the payment from the partner.

“The town shouldn’t be chasing after money from someone who doesn’t work for us,” said Councilman Michael Mele.

With the payment coming from the employee, the town can be assured of the money in case the relationship ends and the town isn’t immediately notified to discontinue coverage.

Kellie Gregoire, a resident, spoke in favor of the town offering the health insurance to a domestic partner, but not having the town pay towards the insurance for the partner. Gregoire said marriage is a legally binding agreement.

Louise Passarell, the town assessor, said many of the domestic partners have been in relationships for years and those relationships shouldn’t be viewed as “transient.”