By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 September 2017 at 11:26 am
ALBION – There are about 1,000 jobs currently available in Orleans County, ranging from entry levels positions to many mid-management and more technical jobs.
There are also about 1,000 people on unemployment in the county.
If the skills of those people matched the skill set for the available jobs, the county wouldn’t have any unemployment, said Jim Whipple, chief executive officer for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
Many businesses have been waiting for qualified applicants to come forward for positions, said Kelly Kiebala of the county’s Job Development Agency. Some of the businesses hiring include Baxter and Brunner in Medina, and Saint-Gobain Adfors in Albion.
She is working with other agencies and Genesee Community College to boost training programs so residents can better fill available positions.
“There is frustration from businesses,” she told the EDA board of directors during this morning’s board meeting.
Some of the positions are third shift, which doesn’t appeal to many job hunters. Other available positions are in agriculture.
But many are jobs with day shifts at manufacturing and other local businesses. Kiebala said transportation is an issue for many residents. Many out-of-county residents aren’t willing to commute to Orleans, Kiebala said.
“It’s a precarious position,” Paul Hendel, EDA chairman, said about the unfilled jobs for local businesses. “We need to close the gap so there are more employees for businesses.”
EDA board member Ken DeRoller said the community, including schools, need to have the conversation about the local employment opportunities, and the skills and training needed to fill the positions.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 September 2017 at 7:52 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Sanford Church speaks at a retirement party on July 27 for James Punch, back right. Church has strong support to become the county’s next elected judge.
ALBION – Sanford Church, Orleans County’s public defender for the past two decades, is expected to get the Republican Party’s formal blessing next week to be the next county judge.
Sanford has the support of the local Republican leaders, said Ed Morgan, the county’s GOP chairman.
The county’s executive committee will meet Thursday, Sept. 14, and Morgan said they are expected to nominate Church for the position that was vacated with James Punch’s retirement on July 29.
Punch’s retirement came after the normal endorsement and petition process for candidates. (The 8th Judicial District has six judges serving on an interim basis at the different courts led by Punch: Criminal Court, Family Court, Surrogate’s Court and State Supreme Court.)
The Republican chairman from the 10 town committees plus the county’s state committee representatives will meet next week to pick the party’s choice for judge.
“Sandy has a lot of support throughout the county,” Morgan said on Thursday.
The GOP leader also noted that Church has the backing of 18 attorneys in the county. That group includes the now retired Punch, District Attorney Joe Cardone, County Attorney David Schubel, Assistant DA Susan Howard and many others who have worked closely with Church.
As public defender, Church has represented indigent defendants in felony prosecutions, as well as overseeing the public defender’s office. Church has worked as an attorney for 32 years, including as an assistant district attorney for Punch and Cardone, as well as two other DAs.
He has practiced law in all of the courts a county judge will preside.
Church also served on the Albion Board of Education, as chairman of the Albion Historic Preservation Commission, a past director of Hospice of Orleans, past president of the Albion Rotary Club and current member of the Lions Club. He has been a long-time youth baseball coach, and just finished another season with the Rotary Lions team.
Photos by Tom Rivers: State Sen. Robert Ortt met with government officials in Orleans County today at the Murray Town Hall to highlight recent state grants for capital improvement projects, including $200,000 for the snow plow/dump truck for the Murray Highway Department. The officials behind Ortt, from left, include: Chuck Nesbitt, chief administrative officer for Orleans County; Lynne Johnson, Orleans County legislator; Bill Eick, county legislator; Richard Moy, Clarendon town supervisor; Paul Hendel, Murray town councilman; Jim Whipple, chief executive officer of Orleans Economic Development Agency; Bob Miller, Murray town councilman; John Morriss, Murray town supervisor; Lloyd Christ, Murray town councilman; and Ed Morgan, Murray town highway superintendent.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 September 2017 at 6:58 pm
MURRAY – Some municipalities in Orleans County are tackling capital projects with assistance from state funding secured by Sen. Robert Ortt. The projects include new plow trucks, water districts, town hall and fire hall renovations, playground equipment and other improvements.
Photo by Kristina Gabalski: Clarendon has been approved for $200,000 for painting its water tower, which was erected about 20 years ago on Route 31A by the fire hall.
Ortt stopped by the Murray Town Hall to highlight the $1.6 million in grants for Orleans County through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. (The funds were applied through the the State and Municipal Facilities Capital Funding Program or SAM.)
Ortt worked to get $200,000 for Murray for a new dump truck that cost $220,000. He also secured $100,00 for Carlton for a new plow truck, $154,000 for Barre for a plow truck, and $50,000 for the Town of Albion towards a plow truck.
The trucks are “a piece of equipment that doesn’t come cheap,” Ortt said while speaking in front of the truck and several local officials.
Ortt said the DASNY funds are needed for municipalities to take on capital projects during an era of tax caps. Ortt said he favors the tax cap, but he said those restrictions make it difficult for towns, villages and the county to move forward on many needed projects.
Without the DASNY grants, Ortt said local taxpayers who are already stressed from high property taxes would be burdened even more.
Ortt said the only drawback with the funds is the lengthy processing time. The Murray truck funds were approved last year, but the town didn’t get the check until this past Saturday. Murray took out a short-term bond while waiting for the state funding.
John Morriss, the Murray town supervisor, was among the contingent of local officials who thanked Ortt and his staff for pushing to get the funding.
“This new truck will help the highway department do a more efficient job of road maintenance making travel through the Town safer of all who use our roads,” Morriss said.
Murray Town Supervisor John Morriss said the new truck will be put to good use by the town, plowing roads in the winter and hauling materials during the warm weather months. Behind him and Ortt are Paul Hendel, back left, and Jim Whipple.
In addition to the funds for plow trucks, some of the grants approved in Orleans in the past two years include:
Town of Clarendon – $200,000 to paint the interior and exterior of its water tower;
Town of Kendall – $150,000 will go toward constructing a new water district to supply clean water to approximately 60 residents who currently rely on wells for water;
Town of Carlton Fire Company #1 – $100,000 for repairs and renovations to the town’s fire department facilities;
Orleans Economic Development Agency – $76,800 for infrastructure upgrades to Medina Business Park that fast-tracked Pride Pak’s expansion last year;
Orleans County Office of Emergency Management – $75,000 for a fire training trailer;
Town of Gaines – $75,000 for upgrades to town hall;
Village of Medina – $65,000 toward improvements to village facilities;
Village of Medina – $64,000 toward a heavy duty fire rescue vehicle and trailer;
Town of Albion – $50,000 to purchase a highway dump truck;
Village of Albion – $50,000 for Bullard Park Playground renovations;
Village of Lyndonville – $50,000 for improvements to dam control gate;
Town of Shelby – $50,000 for renovations to town hall and court facility.
County Legislator Lynne Johnson said the grants show that Ortt is committed to bringing state resources to Orleans County municipalities. Behind her and Ortt are John Morriss, Lloyd Christ and Ed Morgan, the Murray highway superintendent.
The capital funds for projects may be used for equipment, including construction vehicles, snowplows, and heavy duty emergency response vehicles, costs of construction, demolition, replacement, renovation, or planning and design, including engineering and other services.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane stands in the main meeting room/court room of the Town Hall. A $75,000 state grant will pay for several energy efficiency improvements and accessibility upgrades in the Town Hall, including new windows, insulation, an enclosure at the front entrance, and a new exit door in the downstairs.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Keeler Construction is shown on July 10, working on replacing a small bridge over Fish Creek in Culvert Road in Ridgeway. The project should be complete in November when a new precast bridge is in place.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2017 at 12:30 pm
RIDGEWAY – Motorists will have to wait a little longer for two culverts to be complete on Platten Road in the town of Yates.
Keeler Construction has been working on the culverts this summer.
The road won’t be open to traffic in time for the start of school next week, county officials said.
The rainy weather this summer has pushed back the completion of that project, but it could be ready in mid to late September, said Jerry Gray, the county’s highway superintendent.
The culverts need some additional paving and guard rails.
Keeler Construction, which is based in Barre, has been working on the project after submitting the low construction bid of $817,643.
Keeler also has been working to replace a small bridge on Culvert Road in Ridgeway. That new bridge, just north of the Culvert on the Erie Canal, should be ready in November, Gray said. Keeler is doing the project for $466,030.
Keeler also is the low bidder at $947,335 to replace the Marshall Road Bridge over Johnson Creek in Yates. That project is expected to be complete in December.
These projects are being funded with an $8 million bond the county took out in 2014 for a series of infrastructure projects over three years. This is the last year for those projects as part of the bond.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 August 2017 at 9:18 am
ALBION – Verizon will pay Orleans County $18,000 annually to lease space on the county’s cell tower at the Emergency Management Office at 14064 West County House Road.
Verizon will pay $18,000 in the first year of the five-year contract, and then 2 percent annual increases.
The agreement, approved recently by the County Legislature, also gives the county the option of renewing the agreement in four additional 5-year extensions.
Photos by Tom Rivers: John DeFilipps takes the oath of office from Orleans County Clerk Karen Lake-Maynard.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2017 at 11:15 am
Clarendon resident fills vacancy from David Callard’s resignation
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has a new chairman. John DeFilipps of Clarendon was backed for the position in a 4-2 vote this morning. Lynne Johnson of Lyndonville received the other two votes.
DeFilipps, 60, has been a county legislator for nearly four years, following 12 years as a Clarendon town councilman.
He is an at-large legislator, which is a county-wide position. He was praised by Legislator Ken DeRoller for attending many town and village meetings the past four years, while being active on county committees, including as a board member for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
“He’s a team player,” DeRoller said in nominating DeFilipps for chairman. “He’s a good listener and he does his homework.”
DeFilipps has also worked to increase his understanding of county government through the New York State Association of Counties and the Intercounty Association of Western New York, DeRoller said.
DeFilipps also represents the county the Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, which includes officials from nine counties.
“He takes the time to be in the room,” DeRoller said.
DeFilipps was backed for chairman by DeRoller, Fred Miller, Don Allport and DeFilipps. Lynne Johnson received yes votes from Bill Eick and herself.
John DeFilipps sits at the chairman’s desk after being picked to serve as Legislature chairman.
He will fill the vacancy created when David Callard resigned on Aug. 2, citing “personal reasons.” Callard was the Legislature chairman for nearly eight years.
The seven-member group will vote again on a chairman in early January. DeFilipps will serve the remaining 3 ½ months of Callard’s term. It will be a busy time as the Legislature and department heads craft the county’s budget for 2018.
“I’ve enjoyed being involved and working on the issues with the my fellow legislators and department heads,” DeFilipps said.
The Legislature also is looking at an addition for the County Administration Building. The county also is working on a law enforcement efficiency study with the villages of Albion, Holley Lyndonville and Medina. DeFilipps said information continues to be gathered with that study. He expects there will be public hearings in the future about a possible plan for law enforcement services in the county.
Johnson will remain as Legislature vice chairwoman. She congratulated DeFilipps after he was elected chairman this morning.
Eick, who backed Johnson, said there isn’t division among the legislators.
Provided photo from Orleans County Sheriff’s Office
ALBION – Deputy Torry Tooley of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office last Thursday spoke to 25 students in George Lonnen’s driver’s education class about distracted driving.
Tooley focused on talking and texting on cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. The students were enrolled in the driver’s education program in Albion.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. The younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes, Sheriff Randy Bower said.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to increase public awareness about the dangers associated with distracted driving.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 August 2017 at 1:07 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Tim German (left), a planner with the Orleans County Planning Department, and Jim Bensley, director of the Planning Department, haul some batteries to a roll-off dumpster as part of today’s household hazardous waste collection by the Orleans County Highway Department on West Academy Street.
About 250 residents signed up to dispose of batteries, propane tanks, oil-based paints, solvents, polishes/waxes, aerosols, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, adhesives & resins, motor oil & filters, acids, corrosives, antifreeze and other household hazardous waste.
Employees with Environmental Enterprises in Cincinnati empty fluids into large drums to be hauled away.
The county pays the company about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste. The state usually reimburses the county for half of the cost.
The county has made the collection an annual event since 2015. It used to be every other year but has been doing every year “because of the demand,” Bensley said.
Environmental Enterprises sorts and collects the household hazardous waste today.
The collection event doesn’t include explosives, pressurized tanks, ammunition, PCBs, pathologic waste, infectious waste, radioactive waste, syringes, pharmaceuticals, computers and electronics.
Paul Gray of the Orleans County Highway Department carries two propane tanks to a dumpster. Nancy Kelly-Schicker of the Health Department also carries a propane tank. The county had several employees working at the event today.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2017 at 11:08 pm
File Photo: Leonel Rosario is pictured inside Mariachi de Oro, which the Rosario family opened in September 2011.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce has announced its award winners for 2017, with Mariachi de Oro the “Business of the Year.”
The Rosario family opened the restaurant on Sept. 9, 2011, offering authentic Mexican food. The business has expanded since it opened on Maple Ridge Road, just east of Route 63.
Other award-winners include:
• Small Business of the Year – Canalside Tattoo
• New Business of the Year – Orleans Millworks
• Business Person of the Year – Deborah London (Bloom’s Florist)
• Community Service Awards – Warren Kruger (Kendall Highway Superintendent) and Jackie Mowers-Sciarabba (Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern)
• Phoenix Award – Fitzgibbons Public House
• Agricultural Business of the Year – Kludt Farms
• Lifetime Achievement – Bruce Landis (Photos by Bruce)
Photos by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Court Judge James Punch is pictured a week ago during his last day in the courthouse. He served as the county judge for nearly 27 years.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2017 at 10:22 am
‘The opioid crisis is different because it seems to cross over all social, economic and other lines. We’re seeing people from nice families … who are in serious trouble because of these drugs.’ – Judge James Punch
ALBION – Orleans County Court Judge James Punch retired on July 29 after nearly 27 years as the county judge. Punch, 62, worked five years as district attorney before he was elected judge.
After his final court session last Friday afternoon, he sat down for a 25-minute interview with Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers.
Q: I’d like to talk about some societal changes since you’ve been judge. Nearly 30 years ago I don’t think the court volume was nearly what it is today.
A: Things have certainly changed. I could enumerate on some ways society has changed.
Q: You have a very good vantage point.
A: Good or very bad, depending on how you look at it. I think the biggest change in the last 30 years is the change in people brought about by the opioid crisis. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’m going back farther than 30 years, it’s closer to 40 as an attorney. I guess it would be 38 years starting as a defense attorney, a Family Court attorney, then later as district attorney. I actually started out as a Legal Aid lawyer for a year.
So I have pretty much 1980 from today as a reference point. The drug use that we used to see – in the old days it was heroin and then crack cocaine started coming into the area around 1986 – it seemed there was limited populations using those drugs.
The opioid crisis is different because it seems to cross over all social, economic and other lines – geographic. We’re seeing people from nice families whose parents have actually tried who are in serious trouble because of these drugs.
Quite honestly I don’t think we have as a court system a good way of dealing with it. I’m not sure there is one. We have to keep things together at the seams with a certain amount of punishment for the sellers and at times possessors. I still believe in drug court but I think it’s much harder to get someone through drug court with a heroin or opioid habit than it was before when it was typically a cocaine or alcohol problem.
They just seem to go back to it. It’s a much more powerful addiction. It has to be a combination of the courts and public health in order for it to work and I’m not sure how that can actually in practice be implemented. But I think they have to start looking at it differently and I think they are.
That’s the biggest change I’ve seen.
‘Things have changed a lot. I don’t want to be an old fogey and say how great things were in the old days, but things have gotten a little be shaky these days.’
The other big change I’ve seen is there seems to be a general change in the way people look at government institutions and authority in general. When I started for example the jurors wore coats and ties, and the ladies wore dresses. It’s much different now. You’ve seen it.
As a judge or police officer, you were respected. There was a presumption that you would be respected until you did something to lose that respect. Now it’s the inverse where you’re not respected in these positions until some individual sees a reason to respect you. That also cuts across a lot of lines with the clergy, doctors, lawyers, judges, police.
That’s made it a little bit trickier to try to enforce these laws when people are less apt to accept your authority. That’s a bad thing for society, but you have to deal with. In any of these positions you have to be very careful and behave as ethically as you can, and don’t give any appearances of unethical or irresponsible conduct, and then just hope for the best.
So there’s two changes.
As far as the numbers go (for caseloads), when I started the numbers were quite a bit lower than they are now. They really peaked in I’d say the mid-’90s when they were very high. Then they levelled off for a few years. In the last few years, not only in my courts but in the neighboring counties, family court has actually decreased. That’s in the last three or four years. I’m not sure why. It could be demographics.
Q: I’d be inclined to think we have less families in the community now given the enrollment drops in local schools.
A: I think it could be. I know the divorces, the raw numbers, have gone down and that’s because fewer people are getting married.
Things have changed a lot. I don’t want to be an old fogey and say how great things were in the old days, but things have gotten a little be shaky these days.
Q: I wonder, and I think many others do, why you stuck with this for so many years, especially in a small town where this job could be a real burden for someone?
A: It’s funny you don’t know your job is stressful because you’re trying to buck up and deal with the stress, but the last couple of days I’ve finally discovered it was stressful. I’m starting to feel the release. I never thought I was under stress. I love to have a mission. When I was DA and judge, in a strange way the more serious the case or the bigger the problem, the more it engaged me. I felt like I was running on all cylinders.
Those challenges weren’t what scared me away. They are actually what kept me not only in the job, but loving the job.
I talked last night (during retirement gathering at Tillman’s Village Inn) about those murders, those were terrible, tragic things that occurred. But I felt like that was what God put me on the Earth to do. That’s why I say I love this job because I feel like this was what I was meant to do.
Q: I wasn’t familiar with the murder on Murdock Road (which Punch referenced during comments at retirement). Was that a boy who was killed?
A: A 17-year-old boy, his name was Randy Neal. It happened June 2, 1986. He became involved with a little group of criminals. One of them was a guy named Harry Ayrhart. It was a brutal murder. They went up into his room, and I say they because we always suspected there was an accomplice but we only had evidence against Harry Ayrhart. They surprised him in his sleep and cut his throat and then some.
It was a tough case to prosecute. We had to really dig for evidence and get some statements from people who knew what happened. I think back then everyone who was a cop in the county worked on that case in one way or the other. We got the conviction and it was confirmed on appeal.
Later Harry Ayrhart decided to be a witness. There was a prosecution against a fella by the name of Paul Rutherford. He was the suspected accomplice. With Harry Ayrhart’s statement they felt they had enough to proceed with the prosecution against Paul Rutherford. This is about 10 years ago, and he was acquitted. Part of the reason is you can’t be convicted just on the testimony of an accomplice. There is inherent suspicion on its reliability. So he was acquitted.
James Punch served as the sole county judge in Orleans, leading Criminal Court, Family Court, Surrogate’s Court and State Supreme Court. He also started specialized courts for drug and domestic violence.
Q: Is the intention to keep this as a one-judge county?
A: I’m afraid so. There is no plan to increase it. It can be handled by one judge, it really can. But you have to do a lot of studying and you have to read the law in all of these different areas. You can’t go into any court and tell yourself this isn’t my area. You can’t be an amateur in any area. You have to study up.
I have a big filing system I use. Every time I read something that comes up I print it and get it into hard copy and I throw it into these files. I can’t possibly remember it all so that’s my memory. It’s divided into Family Court, Surrogate Court, Supreme Court, and County Court. When I have an issue come up, I pull up that little sub-file on confidential informants or any number of issues. There are probably 300 different sub-categories. That’s how I’ve managed to do it. It’s old-fashioned and low-tech but it’s worked for me. It still can be done by one person.
We’re told if our population ever hit 55,000, they would consider a second judge. (Editor’s Note: The Census estimate in 2016 for Orleans County was 41,346 people.)
The courthouse renovations were done with eye towards having two judges. There are two chambers, and there is extra space for another secretary. We don’t see it in the future. The population just isn’t there.
Q: We’re just about the same as Wyoming County, and they have two judges. I think they have more Family Court cases than we do.
A: They have something we don’t have and that is Attica Correctional Facility, and that – back I think in the ’70s, they had so many lawsuits out of the facility and so many indictments out of the facility, they got a second judge because of the facility.
It’s huge. It’s much bigger than our two facilities put together. (Albion is home to two state prisons – Albion and Orleans Correctional.)
Why they have more Family Court cases than we do, I don’t know. For a lot of years we were neck and neck but theirs has increased a little bit.
All the other counties have more population so we’re kind of in this odd position as the only county in Western New York with one judge.
Q: I wasn’t covering the court when you had cancer. I didn’t realize you had it twice.
A: Well I can tell you about it if it’s not too boring.
Q: Sure. I don’t even know what type of cancer you had.
A: I had run-of-mill prostrate cancer. I missed four days of work. I had a prostatectomy and it was no problem. That was in 2006.
The next year I could see hard lumps about the size of a baseball forming. They started to hurt like crazy. I went to the doctor and had a scan and it turns out they were cancer of unknown primary, which is called CUP – cancer of unknown primary. When they first diagnosed it, it was really a nondiagnosis really, but it was really aggressive.
I would up with about seven tumors. Two of them were bigger than baseballs. The others were reoccurrences. I’ve had two reoccurrences. I’ve had most of my abdominal muscles surgically removed and I wear a brace to hold myself together. But I can still play tennis and racquetball and stuff like that, but I can’t play golf. I’m a lefty and I can’t pull through that way. I still have a good vigorous game of tennis.
I went to Roswell, and they, in conjunction with Sloan Kettering, came up with a treatment plan that involved some very unusual and heavy chemotherapy. I was really sick as a result of the chemotherapy. I also had radiation for nine weeks. I had four major operations/surgeries.
They had at one point written me off, actually. That was one doctor at Roswell. The other doctor said we think we can go in there surgically and they did. So that and the nasty chemo allowed me to survive.
Q: Why not retire then?
A: I was only 51, and I wouldn’t have a pension. I could have had a disability pension. I had a certain amount of faith I could get through it. I worked through most of it. I had to go into the hospital for a week because I had a double line going in for five straight days and then I needed time to recover so there were judges helping me. But for most of it I worked and I needed that motivation to stay focused and keeps my hopes up, keep my prayers up. Working really helped me to get through it.
Q: So when were you out of the woods with cancer?
A: I was pretty sick for 2 to 3 years after the chemo. The cancer itself took a couple of years. I would say probably out of the woods just before the last election in 2010. I was sick, but not too sick to do the job. I was anemic for two or three years because my blood was just battered by the chemo. It took two to three years to get that back. But I was still working. I was cross country skiing. I could only go 100 feet or so at a time but I was still out there trying to get back into shape.
I lost all of my hair and my eyebrows. You know why you lose your hair with chemo? Because it hits the fast-growing cells. The faster the cell grows, the thinner the cell wall, and the chemo penetrates the cell wall. It will penetrate the thinner cell walls and not the slower-growing, thicker cell walls. Your hair and fingernails grow fast, and your stomach lining grows fast so those are your vulnerable spots.
The cancer, if you’re lucky, is growing fast, and mine was very fast and very aggressive. It actually worked in my favor. It grew so fast the cell walls didn’t have time to thicken so it eventually killed what was left of the cancer once I got the right chemo.
The first chemo had no effect and that’s when they wrote me off. Then they got their ducks in a row and came up with this new chemo which made me very sick. But it saved my life.
So you know my fingernails fell off. My toenails fell off. My stomach, I was in terrible shape. And of course I had no hair, no eyebrows, no eye lashes. I remember walking out into the courtroom after my hair had fallen out. It doesn’t just fall out. It starts falling out and you can’t sleep because it’s in your mouth. I couldn’t sleep, I’m a clean person and it was driving me crazy. I went to the mirror and there was a clump of hair. In about 90 seconds, I pulled it all out. It all came out in clumps and then I was able to sleep that night.
Suzanne (Punch’s wife) woke up the next morning and said, ‘What happened to you?’
So that’s the story on cancer. I was able to work through the vast majority of it. I did think I was going to have to take a disability retirement but fortunately, thanks to medical science and Roswell and Sloan Kettering, I was able to get right through it. I feel good today.
Q: Did the defendants seem shocked while you were fighting through that?
A: When I came out the first time with no hair, it was the defendants – and the defendants aren’t always terrible, horrible people. I learned from my days as DA, the way you get a statement from the defendants is to be kind of nice to them, and they’ll be nice to you. I tried to do that a little bit. I called them by their first name. I tried to tell them when I’m sentencing them, even if it was the maximum under the plea bargain, something positive to send them off with. – so when I came out the first time it was the gallery over here of the defendants that I heard the gasps from. I was walking very slow. I must have looked like I was 90 years old. They weren’t used to that. They looked horrified. I was sort of touched by their reaction.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2017 at 4:53 pm
ALBION – David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County Legislature, has announced his resignation from the seven-member body, effective today.
Callard is stepping down for “personal reasons,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
The chairman had already stated this was going to be his last term after nearly 24 years as a county legislator. He wasn’t seeking re-election this November to another two-year stint as a legislator. (The Republican Party endorsed Skip Draper, current Shelby town supervisor, to succeed Callard, beginning Jan. 1, 2018.)
Lynne Johnson, who has been vice chairwoman, will serve as leader of the Legislature for at least the short-term. The Legislature has begun working on the 2018 county budget.
Callard was the group’s chairman for nearly eight years. He was picked by his colleagues to be their leader for four two-year terms.
Nesbitt issued this statement about Callard’s resignation:
“The County Legislature has been informed that David Callard has resigned from the County Legislature effective Aug. 2, 2017. Mr. Callard has served on the County Legislature for 23 years. We thank him for his service to the county. Lynne Johnson, vice chairwoman of the County Legislature, will act as chair until such time as a new chair is elected.”
Prior to being elected a county legislator, Callard was on the Ridgeway Town Board for four years. Callard, a Ridgeway resident, is a retired banking executive. He ran for Congress in 1996, losing to a long-time incumbent, John LaFalce.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Court Judge James Punch, right, was honored during a retirement party on Thursday at Tillman’s Village Inn. Here he receives gifts of appreciation from the 8th Judicial District from Eugene Pigott, a former associate judge on the Court of Appeals, and Paula L. Feroleto (center), the District Administrative Judge for the 8th Judicial District. Pigott said Punch has had "a stellar, stellar career."
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2017 at 1:05 pm
ALBION – Judge James Punch would often set bail for hundreds of thousands of dollars for defendants with long criminal histories, and he would typically give them the maximum sentences.
“He’s a tough sentencer, we all know that,” said District Attorney Joe Cardone during a retirement party for the judge last Thursday. “It sends a message to the drug dealers from other counties not to do business in Orleans County.”
Punch served as Orleans County Court judge for nearly 27 years until his retirement on July 29.
Cardone said Punch also was demanding of attorneys, insisting they be prepared – and on time.
Twice Punch fought cancer, and continued to carry out his duties on the bench with distinction, Cardone said.
“He came to work to maintain the integrity of our court system,” Cardone said. “We’ll be forever grateful for your hard work and decency.”
Cardone said Punch had a great “BS Barometer” in seeing through excuses and lies from some of the defendants.
District Attorney Joe Cardone was among the speakers during a retirement party for Judge James Punch last Thursday.
In addition to Criminal Court, Punch was judge for Family Court, Surrogate’s Court and State Supreme Court. He also started specialized courts – drug and domestic violence courts.
The 8th Judicial District has six judges scheduled to fill in during Punch’s absence until a new judge is elected and begins on Jan. 1.
“We have a full contingent trying to replace one person,” said Paula L. Feroleto, administrative judge for the 8th Judicial District. She is among the judges that will preside over cases in Orleans the next five months until a new judge starts.
Feroleto said Punch has shown himself to be “an honorable person,” looking for ways to serve justice and fill the needs of the judicial system in the county. That hasn’t always been punishment-focused.
“He really has a tender heart,” she told about 250 people at Punch’s retirement party. “He is a tender person.”
Before he was judge, Punch worked about five years as district attorney. He was first elected at age 29, the youngest DA in the state. A week on the job as district attorney, he had his first murder case. Punch had seven of those cases as DA, and won convictions in all them.
He thanked the law enforcement officers for their work in those cases. During the retirement party, he insisted all the sheriffs during his tenure be acknowledged for their work.
He ended his speech with a toast to two words. Those two words – “To Justice” – were the same two words he used in a toast after securing his first murder conviction as a DA.
Former Sheriff David Green said Punch proved his dedication to the community, taking on many difficult cases.
Punch, a 1973 Medina graduate, said he is grateful for a career in the community where he grew up.
“My life has been a series of fortunate events,” Punch told the group. “Luck, hard work and God have been involved.”
He recalled going before the Albion Republican Committee when he was 29 and seeking that committee’s support for DA. Punch said one of his shoes came apart, and he didn’t think it would make a good impression.
“My left shoe had fallen apart,” he said. “It had detached everywhere but the heel.”
Just before his interview with the committee, he talked Jeff Rheinwald, former head of the Albion Federal Savings & Loan, into switching shoes. Punch wonders if he would have received the endorsement without Rheinwald’s shoes.
David Schubel, president of the Orleans County Bar Association, said Punch has served with distinction for nearly 40 years, beginning as a private practice attorney in Medina. He presented Punch with a ceremonial gavel and a piece of inscribed Medina sandstone, thanking him for his service.
When Punch was a young attorney, he rehabbed an old Medina sandstone building on West Center Street for his law office. Punch was a part-time district attorney with one assistant, handling the 10 towns courts, the village courts and the county court. Cardone said it was an immense workload for a part-time elected official. Punch would prosecute seven murders and 40 felony trials in five years before becoming judge.
David Schubel, Orleans County attorney, presents gifts from the Orleans County Bar Association to James Punch during a retirement party last Thursday.
Schubel praised the judge for the “totality” of his career in very demanding positions.
“We are enormously grateful for the years you have served,” Schubel said.
Sanford Church, the county’s public defender, also spoke during the retirement gathering, saying Punch could write a book – “Punch Lines” – with his many memorable quotes during court.
Punch said he was hoping for a low-key departure from his career.
“I just wanted to leave the keys on the desk,” he told the crowd at the party.
But his staff wouldn’t have that. There were many lawyers, law enforcement officers and local elected officials at the gathering on Thursday.
“You’re not going to hear this too many places but I’m really going to miss the attorneys I worked with,” he said to laughter.
Public Defender Sandy Church said the retiring judge should write a book, Punch Lines, that includes his many memorable quotes from the bench.
The judge said the county has a strong criminal justice system, from the law enforcement officers, to probation, child protective services, mental health and many support agencies.
“You don’t now how good we have it until you’ve been in other counties,” Punch said.
He commended Church for his work as public defender and Cardone as the district attorney.
“Joe knows when to be tough and aggressive, and he also knows when to give someone a break,” Punch said about Cardone. “He’s a good and decent guy.”
The judge said retirement will allow him to spend more time with his wife Suzanne, their three grown children and three grandchildren.
He thanked the staff at the Courthouse – “my work family.”
“I love every one of you,” he said. “I’m going to miss everyone of you.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2017 at 7:57 am
The Village of Medina and Orleans County both are seeking state grants to develop waterfront plans along the Erie Canal.
Orleans County asked Medina to join the county effort for about 25 miles of waterfront in Orleans along the canal.
Medina opted instead to pursue its own plan. The Orleans plan will focus on the villages of Albion and Holley, and towns of Murray, Albion, Gaines, Ridgeway and Shelby.
“I hope we’re both successful,” Medina village trustee Owen Toale said during last week’s Village Board meeting.
The village has been working on its waterfront development plan for nearly a year and didn’t want to start at the beginning of the process.
“I think we’re miles ahead of where the county is,” said Marty Busch, the village’s code enforcement officer. “We’re at different points and that makes it hard to mesh it all together.”
The Village Board approved a letter of support for the county application. Medina lined up support from local state legislators, and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, among several key officials and organizations, Busch said.
Medina wants a plan that stretches beyond the canal, including State Street Park, and downtown and neighborhood revitalization.
A waterfront revitalization plan would include public input to identify assets along the canal and identify projects and strategies to enhance the canal waterfront.
County legislators said they are willing to align and coordinate the county planning efforts with Medina’s plan.
A plan is critical for the municipalities to then receive larger state grants to support business projects and public improvements. The county and Medina both submitted applications by Friday’s deadline through the state Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process, where about $800 million is available through dozens of state agencies.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 July 2017 at 9:28 am
Goal: Build ‘civic capacity’ for local municipal boards, organizations
Courtesy of Lynne Menz: This is the logo for the new Leadership Orleans program.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved spending $33,000 for the county’s contingency fund to help start the “Leadership Orleans” program, which will begin with classes in January for about 25 participants.
The program will be run through Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. The county approved the $33,000 to help with the startup costs for the new program.
Most other counties in Western New York have leadership programs. Genesee County, for example, has been running its program for at least 15 years through the Cornell Cooperative extension of Genesee County.
“It will build civic capacity in Orleans County,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
The local municipal boards and civic organizations all could use more people with a deeper understanding of the community, Nesbitt said.
The Leadership Orleans participants will all pay a tuition to be in the program, which has monthly day-long meetings. The monthly programs will give participants insight about the agencies and different sectors of the community, from local government, cultural organizations, volunteerism, community health, tourism and recreation, agribusiness, education and economic and workforce development.
Leadership Orleans will run for a year with members of the group meeting monthly on the third Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program will focus on civic responsibility and community stewardship, Kelly Kiebala, the Orleans County Job Development director, told county legislators during a presentation last month.
Kiebala graduated from the Genesee program in 2010. She is helping to run the Orleans effort.
The tuition in the program could range from $750 to $1,500, depending on the size of the class.
The program wants to draw from a cross section of the community, including business, labor, education, arts, religion, government, community-based, ethnic and minority groups.
Leadership Orleans is looking for people to share their expertise and engage in “courageous conversations.”
The program will be open to adults at least 18 years old. They should be open be flexible and adaptable, open to different roles, including a student, beginner, learner, organizer, director, boss, volunteer, teacher and “servant leader.”
The program will soon begin an outreach effort.
Besides Kiebala, the Leadership Orleans program was developed by the following committee members: Laura Bentley, co-owner of Bentley Brothers and graduate of LEAD NY; Diana Fox, assistant clinic coordinator for Orleans County Mental Health and graduate of Leadership Genesee in 2002; Gary Graber, Darien Town Justice, terminal manager for Teal’s Express and Leadership Genesee graduate in 2005; Chuck Hoover, sales and marketing for Batavia Turf/CY Farms and Leadership Genesee graduate in 2013; Kim Pritt, retired Albion resident who was part of Leadership Sanford, North Carolina; Thad Thompson, golf course superintendent for Terry Hills and LG grad in 2013; Patrick Weissend, vice president and branch manager for Bank of Castile and LG grad in 2002; and Peggy Marone, director of Leadership Genesee and LG grad in 2002.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 July 2017 at 9:03 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature this afternoon presented a Special Recognition Award to James Punch, who is retiring Friday after nearly 27 years as Orleans County Court judge.
Punch accepted the award from Legislature Chairman David Callard, left. The judge received a standing ovation and applause from the legislators and others at the meeting, including Clerk of Legislature Nadine Hanlon, back left, and County Treasurer Susan Heard.
Prior to being elected judge, Punch served as the district attorney for nearly five years.
“Through your extreme professionalism serving as our County Judge and as our past District Attorney, our county has benefitted from your extensive knowledge and service,” legislators stated on the certificate. “Your pledge to protect Orleans County and beyond is widespread and long lasting. The Orleans County Legislature does hereby wish you success and happiness in all of your future endeavors, along with thanking you for your allegiance to the county you were raised in.”
The award is signed by legislators David Callard, Don Allport, John DeFilipps, Lynne Johnson, Fred Miller, Bill Eick and Ken DeRoller.
Punch grew up in Medina and graduated from Medina High School in 1973. Callard said he remembers the judge as a kid riding around the community on his bike.
Judge James Punch praised county officials and other departments for their service to the community.
Punch is retiring on July 29. His final court sessions will be on Friday.
“It has been an honor to serve,” Punch told legislators. “I’m proud of the county and I’m proud of the Legislature.”
He praised the Legislature and county officials for moving forward with an addition to the historic county courthouse a decade ago that made the building handicapped accessible, allowing it to continue to be used for a courtroom and for offices.
“That preserved what I think is the most beautiful courtroom in Western New York,” Punch said.
He also praised the Department of Social Services, Probation and the Mental Health Department for their work trying to help families in crisis.
In addition to leading County Court, Punch also has served as judge for Family Court, Surrogate Court, and Supreme Court, as well as judge for Drug Court and Domestic Violence Court.
“We have an awful lot to be proud of in this county and a lot of it is what you do in this Legislature,” Punch said.
