By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 November 2016 at 12:38 pm
LYNDONVILLE – School district leaders expect to soon present a $10.7 million capital project to the community, an initiative that would do a host of improvements to the school campus on Housel Avenue.
The district already has $4.5 million in a reserve for the local share of the project. The state is expected to pay about 83 percent of the overall costs.
“We’re getting some needed upgrades and improvements,” said Jason Smith, the district superintendent. “It’s a conservative project that really addresses needs for students, staff and the community.”
The project is focused on the Housel Avenue campus, where students in grades prekindergarten through seniors in high school all attend classes. The former elementary school on Main Street isn’t in the project.
The projects include roof work, new air-conditioning (currently only 1/3 of school has AC), interior renovations (including removing a wall and added two classrooms), lighting improvements, and site work that will add parking spaces and improve traffic flow. It will also add a clearly designated drop-off spot for parents taking their children to school.
The athletic fields will also be improved with drainage, new dugouts, fencing and electric service.
Lyndonville expects the Board of Education will vote on Dec. 12 to send the project to the community for a vote, tentatively planned for Feb. 13.
The project will be paid over 20 years. It won’t result in increased local taxes because the local share already is available in the reserve account, Smith said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2016 at 6:46 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: Lyndonville’s former elementary school closed after the 2011-12 due to declining enrollment. The district tested 25 water sources at the building on Sept. 26 and 60 percent or 15 spots were too high in lead.
LYNDONVILLE – The results are back on the lead in water sources at Lyndonville Central School.
The district tested 126 locations in the middle/high school and 32 came back with elevated levels of lead in the water.
Although the elementary school is now closed with those students at the middle-high school, the elementary school showed 15 spots with elevated lead levels out of 25 water sources.
The district hired Envoy Environmental Consultants to complete water testing. The company also tested three sources and the bus garage and those were all under the state threshold.
New York State on Sept. 6 passed a new law requiring water in schools be tested for lead. The state gave the school until Oct. 31 to get the tests done. (New York State has determined permissible lead levels in potable water to be 15 parts per billion (ppb). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s permissible level is 20 ppb.)
“The health and safety of students, staff, and visitors remains our top priority and we are committed to ensuring that water in our district’s buildings is safe,” Superintendent Jason Smith said in a statement posted in the district website.
The water sources that tested above state limits in the initial sampling will be remediated, Smith said. The remediation measures could include replacement of plumbing/fixtures or completely shutting down the water source.
Lyndonville’s water sources were all tested on Sept. 26.
Here are the results in the middle/high school, where about 600 students attend classes:
• Of the 126 locations tested, 32 were above 15 ppb.
• Five were identified as kitchen sinks.
• Seven were identified as bathroom sinks.
• Eighteen were identified as classroom sinks.
• Two were identified as drinking water bubblers (drinking fountains).
In the former elementary school:
• Of the 25 locations tested, 15 had elevated lead levels.
The water supply has been shut off to the two drinking fountains with elevated lead levels. Additionally, Smith said signs have been posted by the sinks that indicate “Hand-Washing and/or Cleaning Only” where the water tested above the state limit.
Smith said a letter will be going home to parents on Wednesday with the test results.
Three other schools in Orleans County – Albion, Holley and Medina – are awaiting their results. Kendall also had some classroom sinks and drinking fountains test too high for lead.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2016 at 5:43 pm
Provided photo from Save Ontario Shores: Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, talks to Save Ontario Shores supporters outside the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station on Monday.
NIAGARA FALLS – Save Ontario Shores, a citizens’ group opposed to the Lighthouse Wind turbine project in Somerset and Yates, were joined by Congressman Chris Collins and State Sen. Robert Ortt on Monday, again stating their concerns that the 600-foot-high turbines could jeopardize future missions at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
Just last week, the operations group commander at the base told The Buffalo News the turbines wouldn’t have an impact on the base, which is changing to higher-flying tanker plans next October.
The eight KC-135 tanker planes will fly at altitudes above 3,000 feet, higher than the training missions for C-130 transport planes. Col. Joseph D. Janik told The Buffalo News the turbines are a non-issue because of the planes’ height and travel routes.
Save Ontario Shores said the base’s future missions aren’t fully known and the turbines could be a detriment to the base operations.
SOS also said Apex Clean Energy, developer of the proposed project in Yates and Somerset, has hired a Washington-based lobbying firm, Cassidy and Associates, to work behind the scenes and promote the Lighthouse Wind project.
“They are well-connected inside the Beltway, and they have been relentless in their efforts to ignore the majority of residents in the towns of Somerset and Yates who have repeatedly gone on record in opposition to the installation of these mammoth wind turbines in our towns,” said Pam Atwater, SOS president.
She said Cassidy and Associates has been hired by the state of New Jersey to help protect several military installations in New Jersey that make up Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, as well as the Earle Naval Weapons Station, the 177th Fight Winger and a Coast Guard Training Center.
“The same firm that is promoting wind turbines here, turbines that could jeopardize the future of NFARS, has been hired by a neighboring state to land a re-fueling mission while keeping an eye on the chief competitors and threats to New Jersey’s military installations,” Atwater said.
Apex has hired Cassidy and Associates to lobby for its industrial wind turbine project in Western New York, which could put NFARS at risk the next time Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission decides which military installations will close, she said.
“We’ve been fortunate here, twice,” Atwater said. “The BRAC Commission has voted to save NFARS, but what happens in the next round?”
Collins and Ortt joined SOS outside the base on Monday, speaking against the turbines near the lakeshore in Yates and Somerset.
Apex officials said the local community doesn’t need to worry about the turbines having a negative impact on the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
“We are perplexed about why this topic continues to be raised, especially after Lighthouse Wind has received a letter directly from the DoD Siting Clearinghouse stating the project is ‘unlikely to impact military testing or training operations in the area,’” said Cat Strumlauf, a public affairs associate for Apex.
“More recently, a top official at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (NFARS), when asked whether the new KC-135 mission makes the wind turbines a nonissue for the base replied, ‘With the new mission, yes.’”
“Niagara County residents can be confident there’s no current or projected mission impact on Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, which is more than 20 miles from the Lighthouse Wind project area. At this point, it is clear that the concerns being raised about potential impact to the base are unfounded and entirely speculative,” Strumlauf said. “We are surprised at the audacity being shown by these few civilian anti-wind activists in questioning the DoD Siting Clearinghouse as well as the expertise and knowledge of local military experts and advisors about their own base. We trust that our professional national security experts are doing their duty and acting in the best interest of our nation and our armed forces.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: Some of the new members of the Leos Club in Lyndonville are introduced on Wednesday during the Lyndonville Lions Cub meeting at the White Birch Golf Course. The Leos formed last month and will be doing service projects in the school and community.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2016 at 10:16 am
LYNDONVILLE – The school has a new army of student ambassadors dedicated to community service and good works.
Thirteen high schoolers are part of the new Leos Club, a youth service organization that is sponsored by the Lions Club.
Lyndonville formed the group after seeing the success of the Leos in Kendall. Students also wanted to step up their involvement in serving the school district and community.
The new Leos were welcomed to the regular Lions Club meeting on Wednesday. Lynne Johnson, the club president, said the students will be “a shot in the arm” for the club, which manages many community service projects throughout the year, including a pumpkin carving event on Saturday at the firehall from 10 a.m. to noon.
Aimee Chaffee, Leos advisor
Aimee Chaffee, a special education teacher and AVID instructor at Lyndonville, is serving as the club advisor. She grew up in Lyndonville and saw the good works of the Lions Club, including planning the annual Fourth of July festival, serving people who are blind, providing scholarships and serving in other ways.
She expected students to step forward and want to help in the community and at their school.
“I love these kids,” she said. “They have really good hearts.”
The following are the first members of the Leos Club in Lyndonville: Tamara Huzair (president), Christopher Clark (vice president), Faith Chaffee (treasurer), Shantel Benedict (secretary), Tyler Coyle, Leah Gerety, Dustin Solomon, Savannah Poler, Sawyer Wilson, Jacob Kalson, Hunter Fuller, Nick Hartwig and Allyson Deslatte.
The “L” in Leos represents leadership, while the “E” is for experience and the “O” for opportunity. For more on Leos, click here.
The students will support the Lions Club with some of their programs, including the Christmas tree lighting and celebration on Dec. 3.
“We’re a small club so we’re thankful for the Leos,” Johnson said. “It’s the perfect fit at the perfect time.”
The Leos also have their own programs, including a pet supply drive, where food will be donated to the Orleans County Animal Shelter in Albion. The Leos also are planning events for senior citizens, including a tea and luncheon next Thursday.
Richard Pucher, a retired Lyndonville school superintendent, tells the students they can improve their school, community and themselves through service.
Richard Pucher, a retired Lyndonville school superintendent, used to run programs and events for the Key Club, the youth service component of Kiwanis.
He listed the many programs by the Lions Cub, including the medical loan closet, sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop, cleanup along Route 63, the Fourth of July festival, scholarships and the efforts to help people, locally and around the world, with their sight.
“The reason we do it is to make Lyndonville a better community,” Pucher said. “Hopefully you can make Lyndonville Central a better school and make yourself a better person as you go through life.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2016 at 11:30 am
File photo by Tom Rivers: Wind turbines that peak at about 400 feet high are pictured last fall in Sheldon, Wyoming County. The town has 75 turbines that stand high above trees. The turbines proposed for Yates and Somerset would be about 600 feet high.
YATES – The mission is changing at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station with higher-flying tanker planes expected to replace c-130 transport planes by next October.
The training flights for the eight KC-135 tanker planes will take place at altitudes above 3,000 feet, Col. Joseph D. Janik, operations group commander for the 914th Airlift Wing, told The Buffalo News. (Click here to see ‘Air Force officer debunks claim that wind turbines endanger Niagara Falls base.’)
Apex Clean Energy is proposing about 70 wind turbines in Somerset and Yates that would peak about 620 feet. The turbines would be at least 25 miles from the base in Niagara Falls.
Opponents of “Lighthouse Wind” in Yates and Somerset have said the turbines would have a negative impact on the training missions at the military base, possibly jeopardizing its future in Western New York. Congressman Chris Collins and State Sen. Robert Ortt have spoken out against the turbine project because they said it would harm the base’s mission and contribute to its closure.
Janik told The Buffalo News the turbines are a non-issue because of the planes’ height and travel routes.
“Flying the C-130, some of our tactical low-level routes would take us up to that part of the lakeshore, over Lake Ontario, but with the new tanker, we’ll be at higher altitudes,” he said.
Save Ontario Shores, a citizens’ group opposed to turbine project, said the base’s future missions aren’t fully known and the turbines could be a detriment to the base operations.
Cat Mosely, a spokeswoman for Apex, said she hopes The Buffalo News article “clears up misinformation.”
Apex is working on its application for the project, currently going through the stipulation phase and responding to questions and concerns by 23 parties. Mosely said there will be public comment opportunities throughout the process as the company works to get to the final application phase of the project.
Apex has done its due diligence in showing the turbines won’t have a negative impact on the Niagara Falls base, she said.
“It’s great to put this to bed,” she said about the issue.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2016 at 5:26 pm
YATES – A Canadian-based company that acquired the former Atwater Foods building on Route 18 in Yates was approved for a $150,000 low-interest loan today by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
Niagara Food Specialties is a meat processor for gourmet markets, including restaurants and hotels. It specializes in prosciutto ham.
The company formed in Canada in 2001 and is based in Niagara Falls, Ont. Niagara Food is moving its meat processing, salting and aging lines from Ontario to Yates.
It is upgrading the former Atwater site, and will use the $150,000 loan for new machinery and equipment, EDA officials said. The company is to pay back the loan over 66 months at 75 percent of the prime rate, current 2.625 percent.
The company is investing about $3.5 million total in the Yates site, a 51,000-square-foot facility. It is projecting to have 18 ½ employees in Yates, said James Whipple, chief executive officer for the Orleans EDA.
Niagara Food co-owners and brothers Mario and Fernando Pingue looked at other sites for the project, including locations in Ontario and Michigan. The Yates site will allow the Pingue brothers to increase production, introduce new products and bring efficiencies to its production process.
Niagara Food Specialties also has been awarded a $100,000 capital grant from Empire State Development. The Town of Yates also has applied for $250,000 in Office of Community Renewal funding to assist the company.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2016 at 8:21 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – The school district kept up a tradition this morning when students decorated floats and had a parade down Main Street and some village side streets.
The top photo shows the junior high classes of seventh- and eighth-graders. This year the floats had a sports theme.
Seventh- and eighth-graders are in the school spirit.
Some members of the freshmen class join the parade procession.
The sophomore class decorated a float with a volleyball theme.
The sophomores head down Main Street during the morning parade. Today’s festivities also included sporting events and a dance to cap homecoming.
Juniors went with a softball/baseball theme for their float.
Some of the senior boys dressed as cheerleaders for a basketball themed float.
The school district returned class-decorated floats for homecoming in 2014. Prior to that students used to decorate halls with class themes during homecoming. The floats and student participation will factor in the winner of the Spirit Stick, which will be presented during the Homecoming Dance this evening.
LYNDONVILLE – The Huzair family of Waterport performed in a concert Monday to benefit the Yates Community Library. The group is called Dounya and includes, from left: Qasim, 12; Alana (mother of the three other singers); Tamara, 14; and Salma, 17. They are singing “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber.
“The Huzair family’s musical talent is on a professional level – they put their all into producing this concert and they worked so beautifully together,” said Emily Cebula, library director. “They are very good at interpreting the music and projecting their joy in it to the audience.”
Salma sings “All That Jazz” from the musical, Chicago.
Qasim performs “Marry You” by Bruno Mars.
Audience members were invited to participate in “Cups” by Anna Kendrick. Pictured, include, from left: Natalie Allen, Sierra Blanar, Tamara, Qasim and Salma Huzair.
Tamara accompanies Salma and Qasim in “Lost Boy” by Ruth B.
Tamara sings “Who’s Loving You” by Michael Jackson.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 September 2016 at 11:41 am
LYNDONVILLE – The Village of Lyndonville and the Town of Yates are lifting a water use restriction that had been in place since July 13.
The recent rainfall has reduced demands on the Lyndonville-Yates water system, Village Clerk Teri Woodworth said today. The village and the Yates Water District 4 urged residents to scale back on water use for about six weeks while the area was gripped in a drought.
The restriction policy sets out to conserve water. Some of the restrictions included no public water can be used to wash vehicles, and watering lawns or gardens is limited to between 4 and 5 a.m., and 9 and 10 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 August 2016 at 12:16 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers Dan Fitzgerald, senior director of development for Apex Clean Energy, addresses the Orleans County Planning Board on Thursday.
ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is recommending the Town of Yates issue a variance and allow construction of a nearly 200-foot-high meteorological tower at the northeast corner of West Yates Center Road and Route 269.
Yates currently has a moratorium on wind energy projects, including Met towers. The Town Board will have a public hearing 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Town Hall to consider if the town should allow a variance from the 180-day moratorium.
The Town Board will review the application for the Met tower from Apex Clean Energy at a later meeting if the board decides to give a variance from the moratorium, Town Supervisor Jim Simon said.
He told county planners the moratorium is simply “a timeout” to give the town more time to update its local laws for siting wind energy systems and Met towers. The town has already passed a local law for turbines. The 600-foot-plus turbines proposed by Apex Clean Energy would need setbacks of a half-mile, according to the new town law.
Dan Fitzgerald, senior director of development for Apex, said the meteorological tower will help the company site the project, which could include 70 turbines in Yates and Somerset. The Met tower would measure wind speed and consistency. Apex would also like to have microphones on the tower to help study the bat population, he said.
Most of the turbines are planned for between Lower Lake Road and Route 18, with some south of Route 18 as well. Fitzgerald said a series of Met towers will help to pinpoint the locations to best capture the wind. That information will be released to the public after the company gains the wind strength data from the Met towers, Fitzgerald told county planners.
He said the moratorium from the town delays the company from gathering that information, and giving the public a more precise plan for turbine locations.
Fitzgerald said the Met tower is a temporary facility for up to three years and should be considered separate from the larger Lighthouse Wind project.
The 17-member Planning Board voted for Yates to give the variance. The board’s vote is an advisory opinion. Gary Daum and Ed Urbanik from Yates both abstained from the vote on Thursday.
Planners said the Met tower is the most effective method for measuring wind strength with no other viable alternatives to getting accurate wind data. Apex, as part of its application through Article 10 with the the state’s Public Service Law, needs to provide wind measurement data, planners said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 August 2016 at 3:05 am
BARKER – Residents didn’t let a downpour keep them from gathering by Lake Ontario this evening to sound off against a proposal for about 70 industrial wind turbines in Yates and Somerset. Those turbines could be as high as 650 feet to the top of the blade.
About 200 people gathered at the boat launch at Golden Hill State Park this evening to voice their opposition to a proposed turbine project by Apex Clean Energy.
The rain became more intense soon after the event started at 6 p.m.
Dan Engert, the Somerset town supervisor, told the crowd that the turbines are far out of scale for a rural community by Lake Ontario. He said the public opposition has grown, and Apex should look elsewhere for its project.
The gathering this evening was by the historic lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park. Engirt said that lighthouse and park are treasures that should be spared from being so close to large turbines.
He faulted the state and Gov. Andrew Cuomo for passing Article 10 legislation that gives a state siting board the say on which energy projects are approved. Engirt said that change has taken power from lower communities to determine land use and zoning. He said he is trying to rally town officials from across the state to oppose the Article 10 process.
“We are trying to build a coalition among the towns,” Engert said, to fight “an unprecedented power grab” by the governor.
A resident holds a sign against siting the turbine project in Western New York. Several speakers said the state is pushing wind energy upstate to feed electricity needs in New York City.
People of all ages gathered near the boat launch, urging Apex to “go home!”
Jim Simon, the Yates town supervisor, said the community is still waiting to hear where Apex plans to put the turbines. Simon was elected last November in a write-in campaign. Simon ran with Save Ontario Shores’ backing and defeated the incumbent town supervisor. It’s unusual for a write-in candidate to win, and his election showed how strong the community feels against the turbine project, said Kate Kremer, SOS vice president.
Simon said he was impressed by the big crowd Thursday.
“I am in this fight for you,” Simon told the soaked gathering. “I will remember this day and everyone of you who stood in the rain. God bless you.”
State Sen. Robert Ortt said the turbine project, Lighthouse Wind, would bring few if any jobs to the community while destroying the lakefront.
“They are preying on peoples’ desperation – people who want fast money,” Ortt said.
He reiterated his concerns that the tall turbines would be a detriment to the military base, and could give the federal government a reason to close it in the future.
“It would be unconscionable to put the base in jeopardy,” Ortt said.
He also opposed the changes in Article 10 that shift power from the local communities to the state. Ortt also praised the group for coming out in the rain.
“This kind of turnout in this kind of weather should send a crystal clear message,” he said.
Dennis Vacco, the former state attorney general, has been hired by the Town of Somerset to fight the turbine plan. Vacco is a partner in the Buffalo law firm of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman.
He said residents with their sustained opposition are making their voices heard in Albany. He said he fears the state will be pushing for more big turbine projects as a result of a new goal to have 50 percent of the electricity in state to come from renewable sources by 2030. Sacco said it would take 1,400 turbine and solar projects in upstate New York for NY to reach that goal.
“They’re not going on the top of the Empire State Building,” he said.
The fight will continue against Article 10, Vacco said, so local communities can dictate their future.
“It’s about home rule,” he said. “You deserve the right to decide how your community is governed and how your land is used.”
Pam Atwater, SOS president, addresses the crowd and encourages them to keep speaking out through signs and letters.
(Editor’s note: SOS announced at the meeting that 500 attended the rally but it looked more like around 200. After speaking with other people at the event, they agreed 200 was an accurate count for the crowd size.)
Atwater is standing in front of a large sign that says, “Go Home Apex.”
Niagara County Legislator John Syracuse also noted that Niagara, Erie and Orleans county legislatures have opposed the project. He said the project is driven by Apex’s “crony capitalism and greed.”
He urged the Virginia-based company to seek other communities where Apex would be welcome.
“Please scrap your plans in Niagara and Orleans counties and go home,” Syracuse said.
Provided photo – Lyndonville Central School Superintendent Jason Smith, left, and Board of Education President Ted Lewis congratulate Dr. Elissa Smith on her appointment as elementary school principal.
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Central School District has appointed Dr. Elissa Good Smith as the Elementary School Principal. The Board of Education made the appointment on Monday evening. Smith starts her new job today.
She has worked the past 12 years at Lyndonville as a Spanish and public speaking teacher. In addition to teaching Spanish, Smith has served as a Teacher Leader and AVID Coordinator. She has had articles published extensively in professional literature and has given presentations at both the state and local levels on educational initiatives and programs.
Recently, she earned her Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy from Niagara University.
Smith was selected from over 30 applicants through a search and selection process that included participation from faculty, staff, parents, and Board of Education members, as well as a public presentation on the Strategic Plan.
“I am incredibly excited to be able to serve as the next Elementary Principal at Lyndonville,” Smith said. “I am beyond fortunate to have been given the trust on behalf of the Board of Education to support the next generation of learners and those staff whose jobs are critical in the foundation building of our students.”
Smith grew up in Albion. Her mother Nancy Good, now retired, served as Lyndonville’s elementary principal.
Smith completed graduate and undergraduate degrees at St. Bonaventure, Brockport College, and the University of Mount Union.
When she was a student at Albion, Jason Smith a social studies teacher in the high school. Later, when Elissa Smith was a Spanish teacher, Jason Smith was an assistant principal at Albion.
Jason Smith, who is now Lyndonville’s district superintendent, said the new principal will be a strong leader for the school.
“The district is incredibly excited about the leadership and experience that Dr. Smith will bring to this important leadership position,” Smith said. “Dr. Smith has demonstrated the instructional leadership needed to advance the goals of the District Strategic Plan and I am looking forward to the many positive contributions she will bring to our students, staff, and community.”
Dr. Smith is a native of Albion, and resides in Medina with her husband Shaun and two children Colton and Maddox.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 August 2016 at 6:47 pm
LYNDONVILLE – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce put on its first wine walk on Thursday at the Robin Hill Nature Preserve in Lyndonville.
The Chamber was expecting about 25 people for the event and nearly 100 showed up to sample wine, mead and Steampunk Cider from four stops and explore the 45-acre nature preserve.
Bryan DeGraw, left, of 810 Meadworks in Medina serves samples of mead to Emily Cebula of Lyndonville, her daughter Margaret Mink of Rochester, and Margaret’s husband Josh Mink.
Cebula said she has long admired the Robin Hill property, which includes 250 varieties of trees on Platten Road in Lyndonville.
William and Mary Smith built this Medina sandstone house from 1948 to 1952.
Today, Doug Pratt lives in the house created by his grandparents. Pratt has created the Robin Hill Foundation with an educational mission. He has opened the property up to colleges, and also the community.
William Smith planted a variety of trees to attract birds to the property.
William and Mary Smith created the site after their daughter Lucille died from Scarlet Fever at age 19. They named it Robin Hill.
Lauren Stack, a server from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, serves Riesling to Donna Merritt and her daughter Melissa Ryczek, both of Holley.
Jerod Thurber, a manager at Leonard Oakes, said Robin Hill is a great setting for events, including wine tastings. Thurber and DeGraw are both on the Chamber’s board of directors. Thurber said he expects the wine walk will return next year at Robin Hill.
Thurber is so enamored with Robin Hill, he built his home on the edge of the property.
“It is a valuable asset,” he said about the preserve. “We need to figure out how to promote it and make sure it’s here forever.”
Robin Hill includes the grave for Clarence Pratt, a World War II soldier.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 August 2016 at 8:00 am
Apex plans to take people on tours of other wind farms to hear directly from landowners, government officials
Photos by Tom Rivers – Ben Martin walks through a barn with his daughters Lydia (in his arms) and Adeline during a tour of the farm with other supporters of the Lighthouse Wind project on Wednesday. Ben and his brother are partners and sixth-generation owners of a dairy farm on Lower Lake Road in Somerset. Karlis Povisils, vice president of development for Apex, is at left.
SOMERSET – It’s been a tough year for Atwater Farms, a dairy that dates back to 1852. Milk prices are low for farmers, and the drought conditions have hurt yields for feed for the cows.
Ben Atwater and his brother Seth are partners at Atwater Farms, sixth-generation owners of a farm that milks 1,020 cows.
They also are supporters of Lighthouse Wind. They have signed a lease with Apex Clean Energy to have turbines on their land.
Ben Atwater, 39, says the farm wouldn’t get rich by having turbines, but the revenue would certainly help, and be reliable income in a tough year like 2016.
“If we can get a little bit of money in the down years it would help sustain us long-term,” he said on Wednesday, when his farm hosted a tour and pig roast for supporters of Lighthouse Wind.
Atwater Farms on Lower Lake Road near the Golden Hill State Park keeps a sign in the farm’s front yard in support of the Lighthouse Wind project.
Apex has leases with many of the dairies and larger land owners between Route 18 and Lower Lake Road in Somerset. Atwater’s neighbor Charlie Lyndacker has a meteorological tower on his property. That MET tower has confirmed a strong wind presence for the project, said Karlis Povisils, vice president of development for Apex.
The company is going through the permitting process with New York, which Apex officials believe will take another 1 ½ to 2 years. The company would like to erect nearly 70 turbines in the towns of Yates and Somerset, with the turbines generating 201 megawatts of electricity.
Lyndacker and his father, Elmer, are from Lowville in the North Country. They go back home often, transporting heifers and dairy animals. They saw wind turbines go up in the Tug Hill region, resulting in an economic boost for that area.
“Tug Hill had more or less been abandoned,” the elder Lyndacker said. “The windmills have been a godsend to them.”
Elmer Lyndacker rides with Susan Atwater on a tour of the Atwater dairy farm on Wednesday evening.
Elmer Lyndacker said Lighthouse Wind has resulted in strained neighbor relations. Yards on Route 18 and the side roads show many signs either in support or against the project.
Officials in both Yates and Somerset have formally opposed Lighthouse Wind, and county and state officials, as well as Congressman Chris Collins oppose it. Collins says it could endanger the area’s chances of keeping the military base at Niagara Falls.
Other detractors worry the turbines, which would peak at over 600 feet, would harm wildlife, property values and disrupt the peacefulness in the rural countryside.
“It’s like a Civil War in Somerset,” Lyndaker said. “I hope it goes through. I have no objection to them.”
Willard Martucci of Yates is an outspoken supporter of the project, even though he doesn’t have a lease with the company. Martucci has a trucking company. In a busy year, he has five employees. This year he has three.
“We need jobs,” he said at Wednesday’s gathering at Atwater’s. “There is nothing here.”
Martucci and his wife Carol told about 50 people at the Atwater event they were camping in Laramie, Wyoming, with nearly 200 wind turbines nearby. They didn’t hear them.
“You could hear the sound of the wind, just like here,” Martucci said. “(The turbines) boosted their economy, and they were thankful. That’s what we need here.”
Gary Thering owns a 102-acre farm on Millers Road in Yates. He has cows, corn, fruit and hay at his farm.
He would like to have a turbine on his land. He said the turbines take up about a half-acre. He would gladly give that up for the steady revenue from a turbine.
“Your land is a resource and you have to get as much out of it as you can, and still take care of the land,” Thering said.
He came up with the words for a banner that Apex has been displaying at the county fairs in Orleans and Niagara counties: “Providing Energy from a breath of Fresh Air.”
Thering said the turbine project would be a lift to the local economy, and would also mean less burning of fossil fuels.
Apex is giving out signs in support of Lighthouse Wind, urging the community and state to “Harvest The Wind” and say “Yes” to the project.
Apex also said it will follow a suggestion from Howard Pierce, a Lighthouse Wind supporter from Yates, to take people on tours of other wind farms so they can hear directly from landowners, residents and government officials about the projects. Apex said it will reach out to communities in the North Country, where several projects have been built and are under development in northern New York.
“People often ask me, ‘What does a wind turbine look like and sound like,'” Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex, told the group at Atwater. “I say, ‘Go see one.'”
Quarles said visiting communities with wind turbines will provide “a more real-world experience” and let local residents speak directly with people affected by projects.
Quarles and Apex officials took questions from supporters on Wednesday. They were asked if there is a decommissioning plan for the turbines.
Quarles said the leases with landowners make provisions for removing the turbines, which he said are expected to have a useful life of 30 years. If Apex secures a permit for the project from the state, one stipulation includes a plan and funds for removing turbines. The company needs to have a decommissioning bond from a third party for removing turbines and restoring the land, Quarles said.
“There is absolutely no way, after 30 years, a wind turbine will sit there rusting or be left with a town or landowner to deal with,” Quarles responded to the question.
Apex also will need to work out agreements with municipalities for restoring roads after the construction.
“We know we’re going to have to pay for what we take out of the roads,” said Povisils, vice president of development for Apex.
About 50 people who support the Lighthouse Wind project gathered at Atwater Farms in Somerset to hear from Apex officials on Wednesday evening.
Apex was asked what happens if another company acquires the Lighthouse project. Quarles said the leases and permit standards would pass to a new company, should Apex sell it. The company built five projects last year and did sell one, although Apex is the operator and contact for lease holders.
Quarles said he expects Apex will be the owner and operator for its projects in New York. The company is ramping up its presence in New York and the Northeast, adding employees and planning investments.
New York has set a goal for having 50 percent of the power in the state be provided by clean energy sources by 2030. That would be about double the current percentage from clean energy. That goal, announced Aug. 1 by the New York State Public Service Commission, makes New York fertile ground for wind energy projects, said Dan Fitzgerald, senior director of development for Apex in the northeast.
The state also has a strong agricultural sector, and farmers tend to be supportive of wind energy projects around the country, Povisils said.
“In New York wind energy is compatible with agriculture,” he said. “It helps diversify their income. (The turbines) aren’t susceptible to weather and prices.”
Quarles said Wednesday’s pig roast (from a pig Apex bought at the 4-H market auction in Orleans County) was intended to thank landowners and supporters for backing the project. Quarles said the company wouldn’t be able to advance the project without leases from landowners.
“We’re a private company,” he said. “We’re not taking land through eminent domain.”
The project’s target area runs near Route 18 from north of Lyndonville to the Somerset coal plant.
Atwater, the dairy farmer, said the project has been controversial. But he thinks the community will support Lighthouse Wind if the turbines are built. He said they will become an accepted part of the landscape.
“I think after they’re up a couple of years they will be just like utility poles,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2016 at 2:39 pm
LYNDONVILLE – The state has approved $39 million for 30 school districts to upgrade technology, including $165,000 for Lyndonville in classroom technology.
Lyndonville will use the funds for interactive white boards, said Jason Smith, the school district superintendent.
The funds were announced last week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. The money is part of $2 billion approved by voters in 2014 as part of a Smart Schools Bond Act. The money will support investments in education technology that will equip students with the skills they need to thrive and succeed in the global economy, Cuomo said.
The investments will help close the “digital divide” and increase access to technology and high-speed broadband in hundreds of schools across New York, the governor said.
“Through the Smart Schools Bond Act, we are ensuring that all New York students have access to high-speed internet and new technology, regardless of their zip code,” Cuomo said. “The tools and resources schools will be able to attain with this funding will help equip the next generation of New Yorkers to lead this state into the future.”
The Smart Schools Review Board met last week for the third time and approved investment plans submitted by school districts. The Board is comprised of the Director of the Budget, the Chancellor of the State University of New York, and the Commissioner of the State Education Department.
With the Smart Schools Act, school districts are investing in technology such as computer servers, interactive whiteboards, tablets, desktop and laptop computers, and high-speed broadband and wireless connectivity.
This technology helps students to learn at their own pace, expands access to advanced courses and interactive curriculum, and enhances communication between parents and teachers, Cuomo said. Smart Schools funds will also facilitate necessary investments in pre-kindergarten classrooms, removal of classroom trailers and high-tech school security.
