Photos by Tom Rivers: Pete Hendrickson, an Orleans County dispatcher, likes the new furniture which is adjustable for each dispatchers’ size, and also allows dispatchers to work while standing up.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2016 at 3:55 pm
The recent consolidation of the dispatch service from North Greece Fire District to Monroe County created an opportunity for Orleans County to upgrade the furniture for its dispatchers.
Kevin Colonna, an Orleans County deputy sheriff, looks for information from dispatcher Bill Oliver in this photo from April 2015 which shows the previous setup.
North Greece had tables and corner desks with keyboard trays for four dispatch stations. The North Greece furniture was ergonomically adjustable, able to go higher or lower depending on the size of a dispatcher. The setups could also be raised for dispatchers who wanted to work in a standing position. Both the keyboard and monitor could go up or down, with electronic controls.
Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower heard the furniture might be available and he reached out to North Greece to acquire it. Two weeks ago the Orleans County Buildings and Grounds employees, along with communications contractor Kevin Doherty, moved the pieces to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Three of the units were in place by Thursday. The county has three work stations for dispatchers and will add a fourth with some dispatch equipment for particularly busy times, such as an ice storm or power outage.
Dispatchers are praising the new setup. Pete Hendrickson, one of the dispatchers, used to work at North Greece and mentioned to Bower the equipment might be available. Hendrickson said it’s a significant upgrade, allowing dispatchers – who range from 6-foot, 4 inches to 5-foot, 2 inches – to set up their work station so they aren’t hunched over or straining.
Hendrickson said dispatchers would often fight fatigue from neck and back strain in the old setup.
“Now we have the ability to adjust to each individual,” said Allen Turner, communications coordinator for the dispatch center.
Today, Hendrickson started his shift sitting down and then raised the keyboard and monitor so he could stand up and answer calls as a dispatcher.
The dispatch setup also has fans to keep the equipment cool on hot days.
The dispatchers’ old furniture is going to the jail control room and the back-up dispatch station at the Emergency Management Office.
Provided photo: Randy Bower, the Orleans County sheriff, is pictured at left with Allen Turner, the communications coordinator for the dispatch center; Spencer Doherty of Doherty Communications; Willie Culverwell of Buildings and Grounds; Kevin Doherty of Doherty Communications; Ryan Woolston of the county computer services; and Bert Mathes, and Marc Petrin of Buildings and Grounds.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2016 at 5:29 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
These are my annual picks for some of my favorite “people pictures” from the past year.
The top photo shows Raymond James of Medina dancing with his daughter Tanaya, 2, during the Father-Daughter Dance on June 4 at the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company. The Ladies Auxiliary put on the event for the first time and it sold out with 150 people attending.
Lt. Tom O’Hearn of the Albion Police Department patrols in the food court on June 10 during the Albion Strawberry Festival. The next day was his last day in uniform after a 20-year career with the Albion PD.
Sebastian Stritzinger, almost 2 of Albion, watches the Albion Strawberry Festival parade from the shoulders of Ben Metcalf on June 11. It was a long parade and the participants avoided a storm despite ominous skies and a forecast for fierce winds, heavy rain and lightning.
A participant has outstretched hands on June 12 during a multi-church service at Oak Orchard Assembly of God in Medina. Jennifer Printup and Steve Hodgins, right, are members of the praise band at the church. About 300 people attended the “Awakening” service at Oak Orchard. Oak Orchard and several other churches and their pastors are part of PACT, Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation. The pastors and many of their church members get together regularly for prayer and ecumenical services. This year they had a focus of helping people break the cycles the addiction.
Martin and Jenna Bruning are pictured on July 2 at the first wedding at The Gallagher, a former dilapidated barn they turned into an events venue with room for 250 people. The Brunings are pictured inside the barn before the wedding. They spent more than a year working on the site, one of the area’s most iconic barns on North Gravel Road.
“Everything that we wanted it turned out better than we expected,” said Mr. Bruning, 31. “There is more to do. The wish-list goes on.”
Jeanette Sheliga of Medina directs an honors band featuring students from Albion, Medina and Lyndonville during the Summer Honor Music Festival concert in Medina on July 21.
Members of Borinquen Dance Theatre performed several high-energy dances on April 2 at the Medina Theatre as part of the Fiesta Latina celebration organized by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
Corrections officers at the state prisons in Albion held an informational picket in Albion on July 25, seeking more staff for the prisons.
Marines Pvt. Trey Liberatore and Sgt. Derek Yertich raise the American flag on May 26 during a ceremony at Mount Albion Cemetery, where a new memorial plaque was unveiled in honor of the Civil War soldiers from the county.
Eddie English, pastor of The Lord’s House, is pictured on May 15 when the church in Waterport celebrated its 10th anniversary. The church moved from downtown Albion to the former United Methodist Church in Waterport after acquiring the building at the county tax auction in 2011.
Joe Mahley of Lockport works on a portrait of Ben Franklin on June 11 during a chalk art competition at the Albion Strawberry Festival. Mahley won the top prize, $150, for adults. He said chalk art is a “serious hobby.” “Chalk the Walk” debuted at this year’s festival.
Nate Olmstead of Carlton empties the dugout and gets a big greeting from his teammates after hitting a home run against St. Mary’s on May 26 during Albion Midget League action.
Viennah, 1, is held by Josh Nickerson of Gerry, near Jamestown, while the bubble machine generates lots of bubbles at the Thomas the Train event on May 21 at the Medina Railroad Museum. In addition to riding the train, there were numerous activities at the museum and on its grounds for children. About 2,500 people rode the train that day.
Bob Schumacher of Schumacher Farm in Ridgeway gives a tour of his sugar shack on Mill Road on March 19. Schumacher Farm was one of 160 maple farms in New York that participated in Maple Weekend.
Members of the World Life Institute stand at attention after raising the American flag on April 2 when the organization held a dedication service for The Colonnade, the former Medina Masonic Temple at 229 West Center St. The Colonnade is now the world-wide headquarters for World Life Institute, which runs humanitarian and educational programs in several countries. These WLI members Chad Scott, left, and Ameen Ghani, right, both served in the military with Scott enlisted from 1999 to 2003 while Ghani served from 1964 to 1967. Chris Wilson, center, is World Life’s international director of the Project Life program. That program has hosted about 135 children from war-torn Bosnia, Afghanistan and Chechnya for a summer of peace and education.
Albion police officer Karol Hughes takes a photo of the damage at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School after an SUV crashed into a wall of the school on April 4. Police determined the cause of the accident to be a medical condition involving the driver of the vehicle.
Medina Band Director James Steele is joined by his son Robert in leading the Mustang band onto the field on Sept. 24 during the Fall Festival of Bands at Vets Park. They have blow pops in their mouths because staff are not allowed to yell instructions to the band once the show starts.
Brian Kent is pictured with his Nissan Leaf in May after he completed a 43,000-mile trip in the Lower 48 States in the electric car. He set a new record for longest journey in an electric vehicle. Kent, an Albion native who now lives in Batavia, also planted trees in most of the states and visited the state capitals. He wanted to show electric cars can make a long-distance trip.
Maria Higgs of Medina walks down a Main Street sidewalk with her twin 19-month-old sons, Lincoln (Thing 2) and Wyatt (Thing 1) during Beggar’s Night in Medina on Oct. 28.
Madison Holland, drum major for the Medina Mustang Band, leads the band during its halftime show on Sept. 23 at Medina’s Homecoming game.
Ben Atwater leads a tour of the family’s dairy farm in Somerset on Aug. 9 as part of an open house for supporters of the Lighthouse Wind project in Somerset and Yates. Ben has his daughter Lydia in his arms and another daughter Adeline by his side for the tour of the farm, which has been in his family since 1852. Karlis Povisils, vice president of development for Apex Clean Energy, is at left.
Albion firefighters Chuck Prentice, right, and Mike Dalle spray water on the smoldering remains of a house in Eagle Harbor on July 30. Fire tore through the house, leveling the structure at 3248 Eagle Harbor Rd.
Ellen Robinson, owner of Lone Oak Stables, saw many friends along the parade route during the parade July 8 at the Kendall Firemen’s Carnival.
This team poses for a photo after attempting to climb the grease pole on July 29 at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. The team includes, front row, from left: Iva McKenna, Jenny McKenna and Kerri Richardson. Back row: Adam Eick, Zach Welker, Kelsee Soule, Julie Cecchini, Emily Bannister, Jayne Bannister and Janie Schutz.
Thomas Follman plays the tuba in the Lyndonville Marching Band in the Fourth of July parade in Lyndonville. Follman joined about 85 other students in grades 5 through 12 in the band for the parade.
Torry Dames, 6, of Medina on Dec. 3 checks out some of the decorated Christmas trees in Lyndonville, when 61 trees were lit up for the holidays. The trees were decorated by local residents, businesses and organizations.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2016 at 2:36 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The cobblestone school house is part of a museum complex that has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
ALBION – The Cobblestone Museum, which has been shut out of Orleans County budget in recent years, was approved for $3,000 from the county’s contingency fund on Wednesday.
County legislators met for a year-end meeting and unanimously approved the funds for the museum, which operates with two part-time employees, as well as a buildings and grounds laborer.
The museum complex includes seven historic buildings, as well as outhouses and other important community artifacts.
The museum in August was approved for a $23,000 from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. That money will go towards restoring windows on the Cobblestone Church, and repointing on the historic building, as well as work on the next-door Ward House, which was built around 1840. The stairs on the house have been crumbling and will be fixed with the grant funds.
The museum’s Board of Trustees has reached out to the county and other supporters to help with a deficit in the annual operating costs of running the museum, which is the only National Historic Landmark in Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2016 at 1:48 pm
Sales tax from county for villages falls $25K over 4 years
Photo by Tom Rivers: Downtown Albion is pictured in this photo from December 2015.
ALBION – The sales tax for the four villages in Orleans County – Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina – has fallen by about $25,000 in the past four years because the assessed values of the towns are going up while the villages are shrinking in assessed value.
The county has a sales tax formula that freezes the share to the 10 towns and four villages at $1,366,671. That amount hasn’t changed since 2001, even though the sales tax has grown from about $9 million in 2001 to over $15 million.
However, the amount for the villages and the six towns with villages can vary annually as the assessed values change for the municipalities. If town values increase at a rate more than the villages, those towns with villages will get more of the village sales tax.
The share for the four villages in 2013 was $404,661 of the sales tax. The village share fell to $400,681 in 2014, to $398,111 in 2015, to $391,230 in 2016 and now the biggest drop yet, $379,265 for 2017.
The sales tax for the individual villages dropped the following from 2013 to 2017: Albion, $180,457 to $164,617; Holley, $47,595 to $45,671; Lyndonville, $15,626 to $15,316; and Medina, $160,988 to $153,661.
The villages’ loss has been the the gain for six towns, especially for the Town of Albion, which pocketed more than half of the total increase for the towns. Here is how the towns’ shares changed from 2013 to 2017: Albion, $111,754 to $124,978; Gaines, $85,317 to $87,933; Murray, $111,372 to $113,295; Ridgeway, $123,488 to $129,171; Shelby, $101,116 to $102,760; and Yates, $65,929 to $66,239.
The four other towns without villages did not have a change in their sales tax share. Those towns receive the following: Barre, $64,536; Carlton, $95,418; Clarendon, $116,261; and Kendall, $86,813.
Going back even farther paints an even more dismal picture for the four villages.
Since the county froze the share to the villages and towns, the village share peaked at $211,669.32 for Albion in 2004 (down about $37,000 to $164,617.48 in 2017). Medina dropped about $20,000 from $173,592.02 in 2002 to $173,592.02 in 2017. Holley hit a high of $62,549.14 in 2002 – 15 years later it’s down to $45,671.04. Lyndonville was at $18,591.94 in 2002 and has slid to $15,316.57 in 2017.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2016 at 10:43 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved a four-year contract with the Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, providing 2 percent annual raises from 2017-2020.
The contract also adds steps in the salary structure to boost the baseline pay for deputies, making the Sheriff’s Office more competitive with other local police agencies, including the Albion and Medina police departments, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
The deal will save the county an estimated $36,000 next year in health insurance premiums.
The Deputy Sheriff’s Association includes 24 members. With the contract approved, the county now has also bargaining units under contract through 2018, Legislature Chairman David Callard said.
In other matters at Wednesday’s Legislature meeting, Sheriff Randy Bower and Undersheriff Chris Bourke were given approval to pursue a $25,000 state grant through the Division of Criminal Justice Services for police protective equipment.
The grant doesn’t require a local match. Bower said the Sheriff’s Office wants to acquire ballistics helmets, secondary bullet-proof vests and patrol rifles. Some of that equipment would be shared with Albion, Holley and Medina police departments with a goal to have every patrol car outfitted with the equipment.
Bourke said the equipment will help police work together to “go after the threat and eliminate it.”
The Legislature also approved:
• Buying a 2016 Tahoe patrol vehicle for $50,912 from Niagara Leasing Inc. to be paid over three years.
• Approved an emergency purchase of a UniMac 80-pound Commercial Hard Mount Washer Extractor for the county jail at $12,500 from Statewide Machinery in Batavia. The new washer extractor replaces one that was 20 years old.
• Authorized filling two part-time corrections officers vacancies in the county jail at an hourly rate of $13.92.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2016 at 9:37 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature made it official on Wednesday, passing a formal resolution against industrial-size wind turbines within 40 miles of a military installation.
Congressman Chris Collins has introduced the “Protection of Military Airfields from Wind Turbine Encroachment Act” in an effort to ensure that any new wind turbines located within a 40-mile radius of a military installation will be deemed ineligible for renewable energy tax credits.
The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday followed Niagara County Legislature in supporting the legislation introduced by Collins.
The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station employs over 2,600 people and contributes over $200 million a year to Western New York’s economy, Collins said. Many of the employees live in Orleans County, said Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville.
She said the “Wind Turbine Encroachment Act” would help protect the Niagara Falls installation “from any future closure attempt.”
Apex Clean Energy is proposing to construct about 70 wind turbines that could peak at over 600 feet. The turbines planned for Somerset in and Yates would be at least 25 miles from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
Apex said the turbines wouldn’t have a negative impact on the base. The company has been consulting with the Department of Defense and Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Station regularly “to ensure that any concerns regarding the base’s operations are resolved before the project is built,” Cat Strumlauf, Public Affairs Associate for Apex, said on Nov. 29 when Collins announced Wind Turbine Encroachment Act.
Two Yates officials – Town Supervisor Jim Simon and Councilman John Riggi – thanked the Legislature for supporting the legislation pushed by Collins.
Simon said the Niagara Falls base has a long history with changing aircraft and missions.
“The debate on the Air Reserve Station is ongoing,” Simon said, calling the site a “critical asset” for the community and country.
Riggi said the Collins bill would help keep “encroachment” away from the base. Riggi said he worries the tall turbines could give the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) a reason to shut down the base in the future.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2016 at 7:45 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Neil Newton, a member of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation and NYS Conservation Council, favors allowing rifles for hunting deer and bears.
ALBION – Orleans County legislators are being asked by sportsmen to allow rifles for big game hunting – deer and bears.
County legislators were told by Sportsmen Club leaders on Wednesday that 41 out of 62 counties, including counties with more residents than Orleans, allow rifles for hunting.
Mike Elam, treasurer of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation, presented the Legislature with a petition signed by about 500 people, supporting center-fire rifles for deer hunting.
“As the times change so does technology,” said Jeff Atwell, president of the Barre Sportsmen Club.
He believes rifles are safer than shotguns, because hunters with rifles tend to use only one bullet. With shotguns, Atwell said hunters will often take multiple shots and slugs can “bounce.”
Terry Williams of Carlton, a hunting instructor for 40 years, also favors rifles for hunting. “You’re not overshooting,” he told county legislators.
Sportsmen leaders said studies have shown that rifles are safe for hunting deer and bears.
“The facts clearly support the passage of this proposal and the history of safety across New York with counties with far greater populations than Orleans County fully support it,” according to written comments from Michael Van Durme, a retired chief conservation officer for Region 8 of the DEC.
Van Durme’s career as a conservation officer included seven years in Orleans. He now manages a consulting company that specializes in hunter and firearms safety. He testified in favor of rifles for deer hunting when Genesee, Livingston and Ontario counties discussed the issue – those counties ultimately voted in favor of it.
He said hunting is much safer now than in the 1960s, when there were 19 incidents per 100,000 hunters. Now it’s 4.3 incidents per 100,000, he said.
Rifles are currently used in Orleans County to hunt smaller animals, with no injuries to hunters or the public, Van Durme said.
“Center-fire rifles are used almost all year long in Orleans County to hunt woodchucks, foxes, crows and coyotes, and there has never been a case of a bullet traveling miles from their target and hurting anyone,” Van Durme said in his written comments.
Paul Kroth, conservation officer, says he will enforce whatever laws are on the books. Ultimately, he said hunters are responsible for their shots.
Paul Kroth, a conservation officer in Orleans County, said whether or not rifles are allowed for deer hunting in Orleans, hunters still need to practice basic safety standards, such as identifying their target and knowing what is beyond it.
Some spots in Orleans aren’t appropriate for rifles, Kroth said, because roads and houses are too close by.
“Hunters, they’re still responsible for where their round goes,” Kroth said at a packed Legislature meeting. “There are a lot of smaller blocks where a rifle would not be appropriate.”
Hunters who use poor judgement and injure or even kill someone can face charges from reckless endangerment to manslaughter, Kroth said.
“We are going to enforce the law no matter which way you decide,” Kroth told the seven-member County Legislature.
David Callard, the Legislature chairman, said the group will continue to discuss the issue. He said the county doesn’t have the final say.
If the Legislature supports rifles for deer and bear hunting, Callard said local state legislators would then take the issue to Albany for a vote from the State Legislature.
File photo by Tom Rivers: The lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park in Barker is pictured in this photo when the sun was setting in early August.
A plan for regulating water levels at Lake Ontario is going forward despite outcries from many elected officials along the south shore of the lake, who fear water levels will have bigger swings, leading to erosion and threatening tourism industries.
Commissioners of the International Joint Commission today signed an updated order of approval regulating water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
The updated order makes it possible for the IJC to approve Plan 2014, a new regulation plan for determining the flows through the Moses-Saunders Dam located on the St. Lawrence River between Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, NY. The updated order and plan replace a system of regulating flows developed in the 1950s.
“Plan 2014 is a modern plan for managing water levels and flows that will restore the health and diversity of coastal wetlands, perform better under changing climate conditions and continue to protect against extreme high and low water levels,” US Section Chair Lana Pollack said in a news release.
‘As long as I am a Member of Congress, I will fight to block any and all funding paths this plan needs to be implemented.’ – Congressman Chris Collins
Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, is among the many elected officials who have been opposing the plan.
“As long as I am a Member of Congress, I will fight to block any and all funding paths this plan needs to be implemented,” Collins said in a statement today. “Additionally, the incoming Republican Administration will know from Day One how important it is to eliminate Plan 2014 once and for all.”
Collins vowed to “do everything in my power to protect the taxpayers, homeowners and small businesses along the Lake Ontario shoreline that are set to be devastated by this bureaucratic disaster.”
Plan 2014 will continue to protect shoreline property and will retain, essentially unchanged, the environmental conditions and coastal protections on the lower St. Lawrence River, below the Moses-Saunders Dam, the IJC stated today.
The plan will improve ecosystem health and diversity on Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River and provide net economic benefits, according to the IJC.
The plan will foster conditions needed to restore 64,000 acres of coastal wetlands and improve habitat for fish and wildlife. The plan will also frequently extend the recreational boating season, better maintain system-wide levels for navigation and increase hydropower production, the IJC said.
Plan 2014 is the result of more than 16 years of scientific study, public engagement and governmental review.
During the five-year Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study (2000-2006), technical experts and stakeholders together built evaluation models and tested hundreds of alternatives, with public participation throughout the process. The IJC continued to optimize alternatives developed during the study and held public meetings in 2012 and public hearings in 2013 before proposing Plan 2014 to the two federal governments.
“We are pleased that Plan 2014 will bring system-wide improvements, with consideration of ecosystem health and recreational boating along with shoreline communities, commercial navigation and hydropower production,” said Canadian Section Chair Gordon Walker.
The IJC plans to implement the plan starting in January 2017.
Photos by Kristina Gabalski: Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension Board President Ed Neal and Extension Interim Director Deb Roberts present Don O’Keefe, center, with a certificate of appreciation for his seven years of service on the Extension board. O'Keefe, an active master gardener, also was presented with a “Friend of Extension Award.”
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 7 December 2016 at 12:37 pm
Jeannette Riley, right, received the Friend of the Master Gardeners Award. The award was presented by Master Gardener/Sr. Agriculture/Horticultural Administrative Assistant Kim Hazel, left. Deb Roberts, interim Executive Director OCCCE, stands in the middle.
GAINES – On the cusp of the celebration marking the upcoming centennial of Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension/Orleans County Farm Bureau, the Extension held its 2016 Annual Meeting on Tuesday evening at Tillman’s Village Inn and honored many supporters.
“We will have a lot of things this next year to celebrate,” Extension Interim Executive Director Deb Roberts said as she opened the annual meeting.
She referenced the 2016 Annual Report which shows, “renewed vigor in our program. It’s really important to see that.” Roberts added that the search committee continues to work to find a new executive director following the resignation of Jennifer Wagester last summer.
Roberts said she is happy to have programs such as the Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program and the Master Food Preserver Program returned to OCCCE and revitalized.
Laura Bentley, Cheryl Kast, Ed Neal, Charles Pettit and Patrick Woodworth were elected to the Extension Board of Directors. Kast and Woodworth are new members.
Retiring board members Don O’Keefe and Gary Blackburn were recognized and O’Keefe additionally was presented with a Friend of Extension Award for his work to “bring awareness to the public of Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension,” Board President Ed Neal said.
Gary Blackburn
O’Keefe worked for 40 years as art director at Channel 13 in Rochester, and has used his artistic talents in his volunteer service for the Extension. He served as a member of the Extension Board of Directors for seven years and is also a Master Gardener.
O’Keefe created the Master Gardener Makeover contest and designed the 2017 OCCCE Centennial logo. Neal called O’Keefe a “deep thinker” and thanked him for his years of service.
Mike Elam
Retiring Board of Directors member Gary Blackburn of Medina was also presented with a certificate of appreciation for his service. Board President Ed Neal noted Blackburn’s tireless work of “taking care of everything” at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville.
Mike Elam also received a Friend of Extension award. Elam is well known to fairgoers and 4-Hers for his work in the log cabin on the fairgrounds.
This year Elam worked to repair and replace cracked pipes in the Lartz Building and also worked to winterize pipes on the fairgrounds. His work to replace and install a new water heater for bathrooms on the fairgrounds ensured that there would be hot water during fair week.
Elam’s efforts, “saved a lot of money,” Roberts said.
Pauline Lanning
Long-time 4-H leader Pauline Lanning received special recognition for her 50 years of service. She has been an active 4-H leader who runs the Senior Council Stand. (The Pauline Lanning Building is named in her honor.)
“There are no words to sum up” what Lanning means to Extension and the 4-H Program, said 4-H Educator Robert Batt said.
Linda Roth
Linda Roth received the Friend of 4-H Award. Robert Batt said Roth owns her own consulting and design firm and has designed many kitchens.
She has been helping 4-H to re-design the food stands for fair, including the 4-H Senior Council Stand, the Pie Stand and the French Fry Stand.
Jeannette Riley was recognized for sharing her garden on Braley Street by the Erie Canal in Albion in the 2016 Down the Garden Path tour, presented by Orleans County Master Gardeners.
Riley has also offered her spectacular yard as the site for a modified garden tour in 2017, which will feature a formal garden party.
Zach Welker and Chrissy Bloom received the Outstanding 4-H Leader Award. The two are leaders of the Orleans County 4-H Dairy Club, which has seen a large growth in members. The club annually hosts a fund-raising roast beef dinner and is assembling baskets of dairy products for families in need this holiday season. Batt said the highlight of his day is getting a call from Zach informing him, “…so I have this crazy idea.”
Zach Welker offers his thanks for receiving the Outstanding 4-H Leader Award along with Chrissy Bloom.
Orleans County Historian Matt Ballard also spoke at the annual meeting and presented a talk on “A Day in the Life: 1917,” as a way to begin the centennial year. Ballard noted that 100 years ago, there eight newspapers in Orleans County, 73 grocery stores and 22 hotels. He said the establishment of the OCCCE/Orleans County Farm Bureau in 1917 helped to lead the way in local conservation and educational efforts which made “rural life more attractive.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 December 2016 at 9:42 am
File photo by Tom Rivers: A road in rural Barre is pictured at sunset in this photo from May 21, 2015.
Orleans County has about 3,600 households without access to high-speed Internet, but that number would shrink to 77 as part of the Charter Communications and Time Warner merger.
Charter Communications has to make broadband Internet access available to an additional 145,000 homes and businesses in new York over four years as part of the merger.
Charter’s plan would nearly cover the remaining gaps in Orleans, leaving 77 households without access. Charter would also make significant improvements in Niagara County, reaching all but 943, with most of those gaps in rural eastern Niagara County.
Orleans and Niagara officials have been working together the past four years to bring more high-speed Internet to the two counties.
The state announced a $500 million broadband push last year, but Orleans and Niagara held off from applying because they wanted to see what Charter’s plans were for the two counties.
“It’s a great Christmas present,” said Lynne Johnson, an Orleans County legislator who has been working on the broadband initiative with David Godfrey from Niagara County. “It’s not 100 percent but it’s great news.”
Johnson and Godfrey say the remaining unserved areas after Charter’s work may be too small to get a vendor to step in and provide the service. The state funds, and possibly federal money being pushed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), may be able to reach the last mile so the entire counties are covered.
Johnson is pleased Charter has Orleans in its build-out plan. She believes about four years of work, of identifying unserved households and pressing the state and federal government about the lack of high-speed Internet, paid off with Charter putting Orleans among the 145,000 to be served.
The state and industry maps for service were wrong before, Johnson said. The state and broadband companies had said 97 percent of Orleans was covered. But local government officials and a consultant went house to house and identified a much bigger unserved population – about 3,600 of the approximately 20,000 households in Orleans didn’t have access to high-speed Internet.
The four villages – Albion, Holley Lyndonville and Medina – all have 100 percent access. But out in the country it’s a different story. There are entire segments of some rural roads with no high-speed Internet access.
Orleans officials will be meeting with Charter later this month to discuss the build-out. Johnson will urge the company to fill all of the missing gaps. She also wants Orleans to be early in the build-out that will be spread over four years in the state.
“This is truly a win for the two counties,” Johnson said.
Godfrey also is pleased with the plan for more service in Niagara.
“It’s quite amazing how much they will do,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2016 at 11:41 am
ALBION – Orleans County legislators in a 7-0 vote this morning approved the county’s $65,614,624 budget for 2017.
The budget wasn’t controversial. It was unchanged from a tentative plan filed last month by Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer, and no one opposed the plan during a budget hearing last week.
The budget will reduce the tax rate by 3 cents to $9.86 per $1,000 of assessed property.
However, the county will take in 2.5 percent more in taxes, up $405,260 to $16,728,410. The 2.5 percent increase remains under the tax cap because the county was under it in recent years and can carry over that difference.
David Callard, chairman of the County Legislature, said the tax cap leaves little cushion for legislators.
“It was important to hold the line on taxes, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult,” Callard said. “There’s always more that you could do and would like to do but we’re bound by constraints.”
The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.844 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.
Overall spending is up 1.8 percent or by $1.18 million to $65,614,624.
Some highlights of the 2017 budget include:
• The 2017 budget includes four mental health positions to staff ten new satellite offices across the five districts that had been added throughout 2016.
“These positions are revenue generating, justifying themselves from a cost benefit standpoint,” Nesbitt said in his budget message.
• The Office for the Aging has a grant to add a full-time aging service specialist. In January 2017, a statewide advertising campaign will encourage New Yorkers to contact NY Connects throughout the state as a No Wrong Door entity providing access to long-term care services. This newly created position will screen all calls and walk‐ins for individuals from birth to death for long-term care services.
• The amount budgeted for pensions with the New York State Retirement System was down $27,387 from 2016 at $2,627,117 (a reduction of just over 1%). This is reflective of some employees on Tier 5 and 6, Nesbitt said.
• The county jail shows the largest single increase of any department at $277,127.
“Regulators at the state level have forced the county to eliminate most of the revenue for boarding inmates in our facility,” Nesbitt said in his message. “The state has also required that the county change the methodology for allocation of command staff at the facility. This has resulted in additional costs to the facility.”
• The nine major state mandates that used to make up 90 percent of statewide county property taxes are down slightly from $16,397,378 in 2016 to $16,319,197 in 2017. This reduction is primarily due to reductions in the local Medicaid share resulting from enhancements in the Affordable Care Act.
“If the ACA is repealed, it will have a significant impact on property taxes across the state of New York and likely forcing universal Tax Cap overrides by counties across the state,” Nesbitt said.
• The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.8 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.
Agency funding
The Cornell Cooperative Extension was boosted from $232,500 in 2016 to $240,000 in 2017.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency was increased from $166,500 in 2016 to $170,000 in 2017.
The Soil and Water Conservation District was boosted from $77,500 in 2016 to $80,000 next year.
The four public libraries in Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina collectively will receive $10,000, the funding level since at least 2012.
The county will keep funding at $3,000 for the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
The Sportsmen’s Federation will continue at $1,000 in 2017.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 December 2016 at 12:20 pm
File Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Jail, built in 1970, may not be a long-term answer for housing inmates.
ALBION – Orleans County officials want to talk about a shared jail with Genesee County.
The project would be several years away, but David Callard, Orleans County Legislature chairman, wants to get started with looking at a regional jail.
Both counties may need upgraded jail facilities in the future. The state Commission on Corrections was pressing Orleans for a new jail, but has allowed the county to keep using the existing jail after Orleans spent about $1 million in 2013 for a new roof, boiler system, and a series of energy efficiency improvements, including new caulking around about 100 windows and also on the seams of the building.
The state however isn’t allowing the county to exceed the 82-inmate capacity. The county for many years was given a waiver to accommodate a bigger jail population on the weekends.
With no waiver, the county is boarding out some inmates, and also isn’t accepting inmates from other counties if the capacity tops 82 inmates.
That issue has cost the county about $350,000 in lost revenue this year, Callard said Monday during a county budget hearing.
Genesee is interested in an expanded and updated jail. Callard said the two counties should look at a joint project.
Orleans wants to work with Genesee on a study to see how a shared jail would be run and where it could be best located. The two counties would need State Legislature approval for a shared facility. The state law currently requires each county to have its own jail.
Callard said the two counties have already been trailblazers for shared services. They run a health department with a shared director and some shared staff, as well as a joint board of directors for the Board of Public Health. Orleans and Genesee are the only counties in New York, and one of just 16 in the country, with a shared health department, Callard said.
That example and experience of the two counties working together may help Orleans and Genesee overcome barriers to a shared jail.
Callard said Orleans is reaching out to Genesee officials to first pursue a study of the new jail.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2016 at 9:17 am
ALBION – Orleans County legislators will take comments from the public this evening on a proposed $65,614,624 budget. The financial plan increases overall spending by 1.8 percent.
The tentative budget would reduce the tax rate by 3 cents to $9.86 per $1,000 of assessed property. However, the county would take in 2.5 percent more in taxes, up $405,260 to $16,728,410. The 2.5 percent increase remains under the tax cap because the county was under it in recent years and can carry over that difference.
The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.8 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.
The public hearing will be at 7 p.m. today at the Orleans County Courthouse.
The County Legislature has scheduled a meeting for Monday, Dec. 5, at 9:30 a.m. at the Orleans County Legislative Chambers, 3 South Main St., Suite 2, Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2016 at 8:19 am
ALBION – Peggy Barringer of Albion won the 2016 Orleans County Tourism Photo Contest with her entry, “Springtime at Mount Albion Cemetery.”
Barringer wins 2 tickets to Sunday’s Buffalo Bills game with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Orchard Park.
Photographers were invited to send in photos of Orleans County with a “tourism-draw” subject matter such as recreation, heritage, nature, annual event or tourist attraction.
“We thank the participants for submitting images from around Orleans County and encourage everyone to continue snapping away as we will likely be announcing more photo contests in the future!” Tourism Coordinator Lynne Menz announced Friday on the Tourism Facebook page.
To see the honorable mentions, visit https://orleanscountytourism.com/.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 November 2016 at 10:01 am
There were fewer driving while intoxicated arrests in the latest DWI saturation patrol by law enforcement agencies in Orleans County.
The Albion Police Department hosted a multi-agency DWI saturation patrol from 9 p.m. on Nov. 23 to 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 24. Three people were arrested for DWI, a 40 percent drop from the five arrested a year before.
“This is positive news in our efforts to reduce accidents caused by intoxicated drivers,” said Roland Nenni, police chief for Albion and Holley. He supervised the multi-agency DWI patrol.
“The reduction of DWI arrests is a positive and motivating factor when these types of details are conducted,” he said. “Many believe that law enforcement wants to make more DWI arrests during these details, however we like to see the opposite. Law enforcement stopped many people and found the overwhelming majority to be responsible and not under the influence of alcohol.”
This detail combined the efforts from every law enforcement agency in Orleans County. The agencies involved consisted of the Albion Police Department, Medina PD, Holley PD, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Orleans County Probation, and New York State Parole.
The detail results are as follows:
DWI arrests: 3 – 1 in Holley (Holley PD), 1 in Medina (Medina PD) and 1 in the Town of Ridgeway (State Police).
• Holley PD – 18 stops, 1 DWI arrest, 1 Unlawful Possession of Marijuana Arrest, 1 Uninspected Motor Vehicle, 1 Fail to Keep Right Violation.
• NY State Police – 15 stops, 1 DWI arrest, 1 Unlawful Possession of Marijuana.
• Orleans County Sheriff’s Office – 7 stops.
This is the third year with a saturation patrol in Orleans County. Compared to last year, there was a 70 percent increase in vehicle stops.
“The data from this year’s detail indicates that less than 3 percent of the motorists stopped were intoxicated, whereas in previous years we have seen data as high as 20 percent of the motorists stopped were intoxicated,” Nenni said.
Each law enforcement agency had officers assigned to the detail in their respective jurisdictions, as well as officers doing their normal working patrol. There was a briefing at the Albion PD, and the officers then returned to their respective jurisdictions with the Albion PD assisting each agency with logistical and operational support.
“Intoxicated drivers do not follow jurisdictional lines, so we decided that we would not either,” Nenni said. “The Albion Police Department and its partners are planning similar details for the future. We will continue to use every resource and tool available to create a reduction in offenders and arrest those who continue to endanger others by driving while intoxicated.”
