Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions Club recently received confirmation that the 911th United States Air Force Reserve from Pittsburgh, Pa. will open the July 4th celebration with a military flyover again this year.

The crew that flew last year stated that the Lyndonville flyover was very special for them.  One of the commanding officers held it in special regard due to the fact that he spent his youth growing up in the Oakfield-Alabama area.

The crew was amazed at the size of the reception they received once over the Village of Lyndonville. It is expected that the flyover will pass over Main Street right at noon, just before the start of the parade.

The Lions Club has a full day planned on July 4th with arts and crafts, chicken barbecue and live music throughout the day. New activities like bounce houses and pony rides have been added this year.

The evening events will see the band Flipside perform from 7 p.m. until the start of the fireworks at 10 pm. Flipside has been voted western New York’s top rock band for the last eight years.

Chicken barbecue tickets can be obtained at the information booth on the school front lawn on July Fourth. Indoor seating in the school cafeteria will be available for those purchasing chicken barbecue dinners.

The Lions want attendees to know that coolers and folding chairs are welcome for the evening concert and fireworks. They ask attendees to avoid glass bottles and practice a carry in, carry out refuse policy.

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

LYNDONVILLE – At the Lyndonville Lions Club recent meeting, the July Fourth Planning Committee unveiled the theme for this year’s 49th Annual Independence Day Celebration. The theme will be “An Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration.”

The Lions are encouraging all residents to fly American flags or banners and encourages all participants to reflect the theme. The Lions have plans to hand out over 5,000 American flags to parade goers.

Provided photo: Lyndonville Lions Cub President Harold Suhr, left, congratulates Russ Martino on serving as parade marshal in the upcoming Fourth of July parade.

The committee announced the musical lineup for this year’s Firecracker Concert Series, funded by GO ART!, sponsors, and Lyndonville Lions Club. A local one-man band, Mike McCauley, will be leading off the evening with his easy rock playlist at 5 p.m.

McCauley will be followed the headliner band, Flipside. They will take the stage on the upper baseball field at 7 p.m. The Lions would like to encourage all concert goers to stay for the fireworks immediately following the end of the concert, at approximately 10 p.m.

The Fourth of July Celebration will include an arts and crafts sale, chicken barbecue, hot dog stand, food vendors, pony rides, antique & classic car cruise-In, and other activities.

The grand marshal for this year’s parade will be Russ Martino. The committee wanted to recognize Martino for all of his hometown efforts. He has a long and distinguished career as a high school educator and administrator, serving both as a teacher and principal. He has been active in local government serving on numerous county, town and village boards and as the Yates Town Supervisor. He continues to be active in many civic organizations and is the longest serving member in the Lyndonville Lions Club.

Any group or organization wishing to participate in the parade should contact the parade director at Gwendolynlarge002@gmail.com.

The Lyndonville Lions Club also has plans for an inaugural golf tournament at Hickory Ridge Golf Course on Sept. 10. Plans call for a foursome scramble format with a 9 a.m. tee off, followed by an awards presentation and steak roast dinner. There will be more information and registration packages available in the coming weeks.

LYNDONVILLE – Village and town officials, as well as leaders of the fire department are positive about a new change for funding and managing the Lyndonville Fire Department.

On Jan. 1, the management shifted from the Lyndonville Village Board to commissioners on a newly formed Lyndonville Fire District.

The funding also is collected through the fire district, rather than by the Village of Lyndonville, which also had a contract with the Town of Yates for fire protection.

Lyndonville followed the Village of Holley in a shift to a fire protection district. The Village of Albion also is discussing moving the fire department’s management and financing to a fire protection district.

“It was definitely a smart move governmentally,” said Jim Simon, the Yates town supervisor.

The town in recent years funded about 80 percent of the fire department budget through a contract with the village and he said the contract negotiations were often challenging with some “minor disputes.” Simon said the town officials didn’t always feel included in the fire department’s budget and operations even though town residents outside the village paid the bulk of the bill.

With the fire district, the costs are spread out through the overall assessed value in the town (which includes the village) with property owners paying a fire district tax. That rate is $1.05 per $1,000 of assessed property in 2023. The previous year, Yates property owners outside the village paid a 74-cent rate per $1,000 of assessed property as part of the contract with the village.

The Town Board and Village Board each appointed commissioners to the fire district, and those posts will be up for election this year. Scott Goetske is the group’s chairman. Other commissioners include Jim Hydock, a retired Rochester firefighter; John Flanagan, a Lyndonville firefighters; Edward Jay, a banking executive; and Terry Woodworth, Lyndonville’s DPW superintendent.

David Hydock is the Lyndonville Fire Department president and Mike Heideman is the fire chief. There are 27 active firefighters.

“We have five really good people,” Simon said about the commissioners. “They can answer directly to public. My vote was in support of a fire district. It’s better use of governance and the responsibilities of a governing body are more clearly defined.”

Lyndonville Mayor John Belson and the Village Board also backed the move to the fire district. He said the commissioners can be focused on managing the fire department.

“It puts the people in charge,” Belson said.

The fire district can also use the fire hall for fundraisers, and is more autonomous whoch may appeal to new members, Belson said.

The fire district has a new off-road vehicle that is was able to purchase with proceeds from fundraisers and donations from the community.

The fire district is still subject to the 2 percent tax cap imposed by the state. That cap can be exceeded by a vote of the commissioners.

The Village Board agreed to transfer ownership of the fire hall, trucks and equipment to the fire district without a charge.

“We made them clean going in, with no debt,” Belson said.

The Village Board recently adopted a village budget for 2023-24 that doesn’t include the fire department. The department’s budget is now managed and collected by the fire district.

Not having the fire department is the main reason the village tax rate is falling 3.1 percent from $16.46 to $15.95 per $1,000 of assessed property. The tax levy for the village is down 2.6 percent from $501,199 in 2022-23 to $488,066 in the new budget for 2023-24.

Goetske, chairman of the commissioners and recently retired after 35 years with the Air Force (including as a chief master sergeant), said the group of commissioners has been visiting other fire districts to gain insights on how to best run a district.

He appreciates that there are commissioners, Jim Hydock and John Flanagan, who have experience as firefighters. The commissioners also work closely with Fire Chief Mike Heideman and Fire Department President Dave Hydock.

Goetske wants to make sure the fire department has the equipment and personnel needed to serve and protect the community, and to do it in a cost-effective way.

“I commend the mayor and the town supervisor for bringing everyone together,” Goetske said.

Heideman, the fire chief, said he is glad for the change to commissioners who are focused on the fire department. With the Village Board, the mayor and trustees were managing multiple departments in the village government and other community issues.

“I think it’s a big weight off their shoulders,” Heideman said about taking the fire department out of the village budget. “We can focus solely on safety and meeting the needs of the public.”

The fire district increased the budget for the department from $184,000 to $206,586, with legal expenses at $14,240 as part of the formation of a new district.

The fire district can’t utilize village staff to clean the fire hall or to fix fire trucks. Goetske said the district appreciates that the village will continue to plow the parking lot at the fire hall and maintain the generator.

Goetske said the cost of running a fire department has been an eye-opener. The district recently acquired three sets of turnout gear with ants and a coat and that was $8,500, not counting the helmet, hood and gloves.

The fire district will likely need to soon replace some of the fire trucks for Lyndonville. The district has five fire trucks and a new off-road utility vehicle.

One pumper is 31 years old, another is 22 years and a tanker is 18 years old. Replacing one of those trucks is in the $500,000 range.

Hydock said the commissioners are working cooperatively with the fire department to address the issues. He is pleased the village and town voted to make the change to a fire district.

“It has always been a struggle to make a budget for the fire department,” he said. “Everybody is wrestling with numbers in this day and age.”

LYNDONVILLE – Steve Goodrich, commander of the Houseman Tanner American Legion Post, has a goal to let everyone know about the activities of the Post.

He recently announced an inaugural Post newsletter for May, which he plans to make a regular occurrence. The newsletter is electronic and anyone who is interested can receive one online by sending Goodrich their e-mail address at americanlegion1603@gmail.com.

Goodrich said they especially want to connect with veterans. Locally and nationally, Legion membership is quite literally dying out, he said. Younger veterans are not joining as they once did. He has been commander of the Houseman-Tanner Post since 2009. During his first year, they had 24 members who attended on Memorial Day. This year, only six or eight will be there.

“If membership does not change, I’m not sure if the Legion will survive,” Goodrich said. “So the newsletter is our way of building connections with our fellow veterans.”

Some of the highlights of 2022 were a Memorial Day ceremony, a veterans’ float in the July 4 parade, a flower booth at the town of Yates birthday event in August and a brunch in support of the Wreaths across American program in December.

Goodrich is anticipating a busy 2023 season, starting with placing flags at the grave of veterans at Lynhaven Cemetery and other local cemeteries. All volunteers will meet at the Civil War cannon at 4 p.m. on May 25.

The Post will participate in the traditional Memorial Day parade and program on May 29 at the library honoring heroes who have gone before. A ceremony at the library will follow the parade. Parade participants should gather at St. Joseph’s Church parking lot at 8:30 a.m. The parade will start at 9 a.m. and participants will march to the library for the ceremony which follows. All participating groups are encouraged to bring a bouquet of flowers or potted plant to place at the memorial stone when prompted during the ceremony.

To date, the following groups are planning to participate in the parade – Lyndonville Joint Fire District, Lyndonville Central School District band and chorus, Lyndonville Lions and Lyndonville Boys/Girls Baseball League. Further information is available by calling Scott Goetze at (585) 765-3983 or e-mailing Goodrich at the above address.

On July 4, the Post will have the Veteran’s Trolley in the Lyndonville parade. Anyone wishing to ride on the trolley or help should contact Goodrich. The American Legion booth will be the first one at the bridge. They will have a 50/50 raffle, as well as some amazing patriotic themed art.

In August, the Post will provide flowers and vases to raise funds at the town of Yates street dance. The date has yet to be announced.

September will be the American Legion Labor Day Yard Sale.

Again this year, the Post will support Wreaths across America. December 16 is the date for this event. Last year, they provided brunch before the ceremony at the cemetery at the newly renovated Weber Café.

Goodrich urges all veterans to consider joining their local post. He said they provide needed services to the local community for veterans, donate funds to related charities and support the Boys State Program.

“We are looking for new members all the time, so please join and help make a difference in our community,” Goodrich said.

LYNDONVILLE – The school district will be presenting a $16,939,491 budget to the public for a vote on May 16. That budget increases spending by $1,234,538 or by 7.9 percent from 15,704,953 in 2022-23.

However, the tax increase would be 1 percent or by $46,187 to $4,664,927. The district projects the average tax rate among the four towns in the district will increase from $16.32 to $16.48 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The budget calls for a state aid increase of $1,702,433 or up by 17 percent. That will help the district with an 8 percent increase in the consumer price index.

Voting for the budget will be from noon to 8 p.m. at the Stroyan Auditorium Foyer at the school.

Lyndonville is the smallest of the five school districts in Orleans County. Lyndonville is projecting student enrollment will stay at 560 in 2023-24.

The district’s cost-per-pupil was $21,217 in the 2020-21 school year, more than the $18,955 county average and less than the $23,468 state-wide average, according to Lyndonville’s financial transparency report.

The vote on May 16 also includes:

• A proposition to purchase one 64-seat passenger bus and one mini-bus, not to exceed $275,000. The bus will be purchased from the bus reserve.

• A proposition to collect $124,808 for Yates Community Library, which is up 4.7 percent or $5,625 from $119,183 in 2022-23.

• Election of a member of the Board of Education. Jerod Thurber, a current member, is the only candidate for a three-year term.

Isaac Despard, a sophomore in Jeff Qamoos’s class, shows a plastic pilot helmet he designed and built. Despard used an Ender 3-D printer to make the pieces for the helmet which he modelled after one in the video game Titanfall.

Company seeks to build 30-unit labor housing on Route 63

LYNDONVILLE – A Lyndonville farm and packing operation that has expanded in recent years said foreign workers are critical to their success.

H.H. Dobbins has put in a new pack line and added a warehouse for storing apples. The company now ships apples 1.1 million bushels year-round or 44 million pounds for 55 apple farms.

While Dobbins has many reliable and hard-working staff from the local community, during its peak harvest and packing season about half of the 130 workers come to work in Lyndonville from Jamaica, Mexico and Honduras.

Dobbins is looking to build a new 30-unit farm labor building on Route 63, north of the village, and the project has critics in the community. Some town officials and residents have urged Dobbins to put the building on land it owns on the less-prominent Alps Road. Dobbins wants to use that land for an orchard, with either peaches or popular apple varieties.

Dobbins has machines for automated bagging, and other equipment that quickly scans apples for defects, whether scabs or too much water coring inside. Even with the push towards automation, Dobbins still needs 90 workers in the packing house operation.

There will be a public hearing at 7 p.m. today about the farm labor housing project. It will be held in the school auditorium at 25 Housel Ave. and will give residents a chance to comment on an area variance, special use permit and site plan for the 104-by-40 foot building. Dobbins is seeking a 50-foot sideyard setback variance. Dobbins said that would allow the company to put the building closer to a side of the property where there isn’t a neighboring resident.

The new project will offer the workers more comfort after their shifts, have more showers, and allow Dobbins to not rent a house in Medina for workers, and also shift away from two older farmhouses in the Lyndonville community.

“We want our guys to be able to relax and feel respected,” said Brett Baker, executive vice president and sales manager for Dobbins and its sales company, United Apple.

The building would have six bedrooms with five men to a room. They would be offered cable TV, the internet, air-conditioning in the summer, eight showers, eight sinks, and laundry facilities. Dobbins would set up reliable transportation for them to go shopping, go to the bank and tend to other errands, Baker said.

The new worker housing would primarily be for Jamaican and Mexican workers that work in the orchards through the federal H2A program that brings in legal foreign workers for agriculture. Dobbins hires 40 workers through that program.

The business also needed help with its packing facility. It turned to the federal H2B program to have 12 Honduran workers on the packing lines and sanitation crew for the first time from October 2021 to May 2022. Those employees fit in well with their American co-workers and proved very dependable. Dobbins hired 20 Hondurans since last October through later this month. Many returned from the initial group of 12.

The H2B program is available for temporary positions that aren’t directly on a farm. The U.S. has doubled number eligible the program from 66,000 cap in the federal fiscal year. The workers are screened through the Department of Homeland Security.

The government boosted the cap to help businesses have reliable workers in landscaping and groundskeeping, forest and conservation, amusement and recreation attendants, maids and housekeeping cleaners, construction, cooks and other industries.

The Honduran workers at Dobbins have impressed the leaders of the company and the American co-workers who are often alongside them in their shifts.

These workers including the five men from Honduras are part of the sanitation team at Dobbins. They include from left Andi, Johan, Julie Pries, David, Beth Miller, Oscar and Davey.

Beth Miller is the sanitation supervisor who works with five Honduran men after the packing lines closed down around 4 p.m. The sanitation team works to about midnight cleaning the machines and equipment, sweeping the floors, emptying tanks and getting the place ready for the next day.

Miller said the workers showed an immediate commitment to the job in October 2021 when they first started at Dobbins. They men have stayed positive, even during the harsh winter weather.

“I want to thank Dobbins for looking into this program,” she said. “These guys are all very nice men. They’re all smiles.”

They are learning English through a program run by the World Life Institute in Waterport. When they make it back to Honduras, they send messages through Facebook to let their American co-workers they are home safe.

Davey, 21, is finished his second seven-month tenure at Dobbins. Davey said the jobs are hard to come by in Honduras and they don’t pay much. Many positions are $6 a day and there are numerous applicants for those jobs. He worked a job in Honduras that was high-paying by that country’s standards. It was $20 a day. But he had to carry 130-pound batteries up a narrow mountainous path.

Davey has good English through the WLI program in Waterport. He said he hopes someday he could stay permanently in the United States and have more family members join him.

He said he is grateful for the chance to work at Dobbins.

“I like everything I do here,” he said. “I’m getting more experience.”

Julie Pries is a local woman who works on the sanitation crew with the men from Honduras. They have impressed her with their work ethic, and their kindness towards each other and the other co-workers.

“It’s been a really nice experience,” she said on Tuesday at the start of her shift. “They’re all very nice men.”

Miller, the sanitation supervisor, took the men out bowling Saturday in Medina. Some of them have been to Niagara Falls. Often, when they aren’t working, they stay in a labor house and play cards.

Dobbins would like for the new housing to be available for the Honduran workers when the H2A workers aren’t needed.

Those 60 workers through H2A and H2B are essential to the overall operation which has 130 employees at peak, Baker said.

Without the Honduran employees, Dobbins would likely have to scale back the winter and early spring packing schedule by a third, said Dave D’Anniballe, financial controller for the company.

D’Anniballe said the workers spend lots of their money with local businesses, often going to the Dollar General, Hojack Ice Cream Shack and Crosby’s.

“They have come from nothing and they love it here,” he said. “They generate a lot of income for the local economy.”

Dobbins has been in business for more than a century, going back to 1905. It recently expanded a packing line and warehouse in Lyndonville.