Orleans County will have nine days of early voting beginning on Saturday at the Board of Elections at the County Administration Building on Route 31 in Albion.

The voting includes all registered voters in a special election to fill a vacancy in the 27 th Congressional District. There are also primaries at the local level, and state and federal positions, including the Democratic Presidential primary.

The County Board of Elections encourages voters to wear a mask for early voting.

The early voting schedule includes:

• Saturday, June 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Sunday, June 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Monday, June 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 16, from noon to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 17, from noon to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Friday, June 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Sunday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The elections on the ballot include:

• 27^th Congressional District: The 27th Congressional seat has been vacant since Chris Collins resigned on Sept. 30. Collins was sentenced on Jan. 17 to 26 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme to commit insider trading and for making false statements to federal law enforcement agents when interviewed about his conduct. He also was fined $200,000.

The special election was set for April 28 but was pushed back about two months due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The special election includes the following candidates:

• Nathan D. McMurray – Democratic, Working Families
• Chris Jacobs – Republican, Independence
• Michael J. Gammariello – Green
• Duane Whitmer – Libertarian

• Republican Primary for 27th District: There will also be a Republican primary on June 23 to see who gets the Republican line in the November election for a full two-year term. Jacobs, Beth Parlato and Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw are pursuing the Republican line.

• Presidential Primary: A Democratic Presidential primary will go on even though Joe Biden has the nomination secured. His name will be on the ballot, along with other candidates who have withdrawn, including Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bennet, Deval Patrick, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang.

The local primaries include the Orleans County Clerk, and the Republican Committees in Ridgeway and Murray.

• County Clerk: There are two Republican candidates are running for Orleans County Clerk. Nadine Hanlon, the current clerk of the County Legislature, is running against Diane Shampine, the current acting clerk. She assumed the post after Karen Lake-Maynard retired.

• Republican Committees in Murray and Ridgeway:

In Murray, there are primaries for three of the districts, with three candidates seeking two positions in District 3, District 5 and District 6.

In District 3, the candidates include Kathleen Case, Anthony Peone and Kerri Neale.

In District 5, the candidates include Lynn Wood, Cynthia Oliver and Ronald Vendetti.

In District 6, the candidates include Kellie Gregoire, Robert Miller and Adam R. Moore.

In Ridgeway, there are three candidates for two positions with District 2 on the Ridgeway Republican Committee. The candidates include Virginia Nicholson, David Stalker and Ayesha Kreutz.

All polling sites will be open in each of the 10 towns on June 23 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Employees with Environmental Enterprises Inc. in Cincinnati sort some the household hazardous waste at one of the stations on August 17, 2018. Orleans hosted a household hazardous waste collection each year since 2015. Before that it was every two years.

ALBION — Orleans County won’t be holding its annual household hazardous waste collection event this year. County officials expect the event to be back next year, likely in August.

The event allows residents to dispose of tires, propane tanks, auto/marine batteries and other hazardous household waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

The county typically pays Environmental Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste, with the state them reimbursing the county about half of the costs.

Orleans County last year accepted tires for the first time. There was a big response from the public with about 1,000 tires dropped off at by the Orleans County Highway Department on West Academy Street.

The county has been holding the household hazardous waste collection on annual basis since 2015. Before that it was biennially.

Last year residents also dropped off 349 propane tanks and 52 auto/marine batteries. They also disposed of oil-based paints, solvents, polishes/waxes, aerosols, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, adhesives & resins, motor oil & filters, acids, corrosives, antifreeze and other household hazardous waste.

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4,000 have filed for unemployment in Orleans in past 11 weeks

Orleans County and the state are still seeing large numbers of unemployment claims being filed, but at least the weekly filings are started to decrease.

Last week, there were 136 unemployment claims filed in the county and 13,379 statewide. That was down from 259 in Orleans the previous week and 195,958 statewide during the week of May 23.

The unemployment filings have far exceeded a normal week since mid-March, when the state closed or restricted businesses across the state to try to slow the spread of Covid-19.

In Orleans, the week of March 28 had the most unemployment filings at 824. The state had the most during the week of April 11 with 399,015.

Although the numbers were down last week to one of the lowest levels since late March, they are still significantly higher than the same week a year ago. Orleans had 37 people file for unemployment during the last week of May in 2019, compared to 136 last week.

Statewide, there were 13,379 unemployment filings the last week of May in 2019, compared to 85,479 last week. That’s about five times as many than a year ago.

Orleans County has now had 4,011 unemployment claims in the past 11 weeks. Orleans County has a workforce of about 17,000 people. The 4,011 unemployment claims represent about 23 percent of the workforce.

The state has now had 2,552,683 file for unemployment since March 14.

Here are the weekly filings among the GLOW counties and state-wide:

• Genesee: 178 (May 30), 383 (May 23), 480 (May 16), 450 (May 9), 482 (May 2), 589 (April 25), 421 (April 18), 931 (April 11), 886 (April 4), 1,308 (March 28), 268 (March 21)
• Livingston: 210 (May 30), 439 (May 23), 481 (May 16), 412 (May 9), 355 (May 2), 490 (April 25), 403 (April 18), 918 (April 11), 996 (April 4), 1,338 (March 28), 227 (March 21)
• Orleans: 136 (May 30), 259 (May 23), 298 (May 16), 285 (May 9), 285 (May 2), 326 (April 25), 297 (April 18), 581 (April 11), 595 (April 4), 824 (March 28), 138 (March 21)
• Wyoming: 75 (May 30), 256 (May 23), 252 (May 16), 228 (May 9), 234 (May 2), 326 (April 25), 266 (April 18), 601 (April 11), 603 (April 4), 837 (March 28), 155 (March 21)
• Statewide: 85,479 (May 30), 195,948 (May 23), 229,562 (May 16), 203,928 (May 9), 197,607 (May 2), 222,040 (April 25), 207,172 (April 18), 399,015 (April 11), 347,573 (April 4), 369,025 (March 28), 80,753 (March 21)

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Community Action employees distribute Foodlink boxes and also bags of apples from LynOaken Farms on May 1 in Albion.

Food distributions will continue in Orleans County and will be expanded from one to three boxes.

The Orleans County Office for the Aging, Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, and the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God will team up for the distributions.

There have been Foodlink distributions in April and May, with 300 boxes available for the distributions in Albion and Medina.

The distributions will expand from one to three boxes and Holley will be included this month. The schedule includes:

• Friday, June 5 – Community Action, Main Street Store, Albion, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Friday, June 12 – Medina Calvary Cupboard, Medina, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Friday, June 19 – Community Action, Main Street Store, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Friday, June 26 – Holley Community Center, Through Community Action, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

The new round of food distributions will introduce a new state-funded program called Nourish New York. This funding allows Foodlink to purchase local product.

On a federal level, the USDA has implemented a new initiative called CFAP (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program). In this program, distributors who would normally serve schools, restaurants, and municipal programs are able to pre-pack boxes of perishable product and deliver to distributions being done all over the country, said Melissa Blanar, OFA director in Orleans County.

These boxes will be packed in three types: Mixed Dairy, Cooked Meat and Produce. Each box will be approximately 25 lbs. and is meant for a family, Blanar said.

During the food distributions in June, each vehicle with have three boxes set in a trunk or back of a truck. There will be 900 boxes at each one, with enough for 300 different families.

The OFA and Community Action want to continue the food distributions in July and August, but they need volunteers to help with the distributions.

Volunteers need to be able to lift 20- to 25-pound boxes. People interested should contact Blanar at the Office for the Aging at 589-3191 or Annette Finch at Community Action, 589-5605.

Blanar said the groups would like to have the food distributions the first and third Fridays in Albion, the second Friday in Medina, and the fourth Friday possibly rotating to other spot sin the county.

The guidelines for the events includes:

• This will be a drive-thru model with no walk-ins. People must stay in car and have their ID visible and do not roll your window down.
• Please have trunk cleaned out so boxes of emergency food can be put into it. Have your trunk open and ready. Once your trunk is closed and tapped, you may drive away.
• This will be a no-touch distribution and proper social distancing must be maintained at all time.

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Pettit urges businesses to work on plans for reopening: ‘My advice is everybody should be ready’

Paul Pettit

Paul Pettit, the public health director for Genesee and Orleans counties, said start of Phase 2 for the two counties and the Finger Lakes region is “something to celebrate,” especially in the wake of discouraging news about so many community festivals and events being cancelled.

“I want to thank the residents of Genesee and Orleans counties,” Pettit said on Friday during a weekly press briefing. “It’s not easy. It’s not anything anyone wants to do.”

Pettit was speaking about residents being encouraged to stay home as much as possible the past 10 weeks. They have needed to adhere to social distancing and now must wear masks or facial coverings when in stores.

Pettit said residents have overwhelmingly met a new challenge of civic duty.

The public health director knows the restrictions and the shifting guidelines from the state can be frustrating for the community. Friday was much anticipated as the start of Phase 2 for the region. But the announcement from Gov. Cuomo didn’t come until 1 in the afternoon.

Pettit said the local officials often find out the governor’s directives during his daily press conferences. There typically isn’t any lead time for the public health officials, and then they have to wait a few days for more details from the state. Pettit said the frequent directives, with clear guidance, “makes it very challenging” for the local officials.

The businesses that open in Phase 2 will do so differently than before the Covid-19 pandemic. They will have to reduce capacity of people inside their businesses by 50 percent, and will need to insist that people wear masks and maintain social distancing. There needs to be hand sanitizer available and business owners will need to frequently clean spaces used by the public.

The Phase 2 businesses include offices; real estate; in-store retail; vehicle sales, leases and rentals; retail rental, repair, and cleaning; commercial building management; and hair salons and barbershops.

Pettit urged local businesses to have plans ready that include precautions to protect employees and the public from Covid-19.

“To reopen, every business or organization needs to have a plan to reopen,” Pettit said. “The plans need to incorporate all aspects of social distancing, capacity, face masks, and enhanced cleaning to protect employees and people who use the facilities.”

The plans need to be customized to reflect the layout and square footage of the buildings and the public spaces.

“My advice is everybody should be ready,” Pettit said.

Four other regions besides the Finger Lakes also moved to Phase 2: Central New York, North Country, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley regions.

Local officials from the five regions were vocal in criticizing the state for how Phase 2 was unveiled. The officials said the governor should have given more notice so businesses could schedule employees, order inventory and be ready.

Cuomo, speaking at his news conference on Friday, said experts were continuing to study the data to make sure the Phase 1 opening from May 15 didn’t lead to a spike in hospitalizations from Covid-19.

“Their data has been reviewed and the experts say to us it’s safe to move forward, because people have been smart and you haven’t seen the spike,” Cuomo said about the five regions.

Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson on Friday afternoon, during a weekly news briefing, said she looks forward to seeing the economy be reopened.

“We are feeling the economic devastation here,” she said. “We have a lot of mom and pop businesses. It’s going to take a long time to recover.”

She praised local agencies that are organizing food distributions and trying to meet peoples’ basic needs. Many people, who have been self sufficient, are lining up at the food distributions, she said.

Bob Duffy

Bob Duffy, the former state lieutenant governor with Cuomo, is leading the Finer Lakes control room, made up of officials from nine counties.

He responded to criticism about the governor’s roll-out of Phase 2.

“The governor always said it would be at least two weeks in between phases,” Duffy said during a Friday afternoon call with reporters.

He said Cuomo wanted to study the data to make sure it was safe to move to Phase 2, without a surge in cases that could overwhelm the hospital system.

Duffy urged the community to continue social distancing, wearing a mask and taking other precautions.

“I think we are on a roll right here,” Duffy said. “We just have to keep going.”

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Photos by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Historian Matt Ballard leads a tour and historical presentation to about 200 people on Sept. 13 in downtown Albion. Ballard gave frequent community presentations about local history, wrote a weekly column and worked behind the scenes to modernize the Department of History.

ALBION — Matt Ballard is five-plus years as Orleans County historian took the Department of History to new levels, county legislators said.

He wrote a weekly column highlighting local history, gave many community presentations, developed an online presence for the department, and catalogued the records in the office.

He did it in a part-time role, while working another full-time job and finishing a master’s degree in American History from Brockport State College. (He also has a master’s degree in library science from the University at Buffalo.)

Ballard is leaving Orleans County next month to take a position at the college in North Carolina. He will be assistant director of Collection Strategies at Davidson College.

The seven-member County Legislature on Wednesday presented him with a “Special Recognition Award” for his “outstanding service” as county historian.

Matt Ballard sported an unusual beard style during the June 30 Barre Bicentennial Parade. Ballard competed in a beard contest later that afternoon.

“Your dedication and expertise in modernizing the County’s Department of History along with presentations, articles and tours provided outstanding history to put residents that will forever be widespread, long lasting and extremely appreciated,” the certificate states.

Ballard, 31, started as historian on Feb. 26, 2015. He served in the part-time role while working full-time at Roberts Wesleyan College in North Chili, where he is director of library services.

The historian’s job paid $8,600 in 2019. Ballard said he needed to pick a career, and the library position pays better.

Ballard has been dedicated to the position. When he was on his honeymoon in July 2017, he and his wife Christine planned a trip to England, France and Poland. They visited the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, France and paid their respects at the graves of local soldiers who trained with Company F at the former Medina Armory.

Ballard is the former director of the Cobblestone Museum and then served as its board president. He has been president of the board of trustees for the Orleans County Historical Association and an active member of the Knights of Columbus.

Ballard is an Albion native. He joined Orleans County Genealogical Association when he was 18 and served as treasurer for more than a decade, and was a frequent speaker at the organization’s meetings.

His interest in genealogy led to him pursuing career as a historian and archivist. Ballard added to the Department of History’s digital presence, adding a laptop, email address and updated content on the website.

He has expanded the number subject files from 250 to about 1,400, and that doesn’t include about 750 family files for gathering genealogy materials.

Ballard was named a “Friend of Education” by the Albion school district on April 1, 2019 in appreciation for several projects with seventh-graders. Ballard teamed with Albion’s service learning class to secure a headstone for Civil War veteran John Frost at St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Brown Road in Gaines.

They also added a historical marker at Hillside Cemetery in Clarendon for Charles Herbert Taylor, the only known Orleans County resident killed in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Ballard also helped secure a historical marker for Lemuel Cook of Clarendon, the last living pensioner from the Revolutionary War. That marker is at Cook Cemetery on Munger Road. (Another marker is expected to be dedicated in Holley for home that was a safe house on the Underground Railroad.)

Ballard and the seventh-graders also had a large bronze tablet from World War I placed back at its original location on the Orleans County Courthouse. The historian and students also created interpretive panels in Albion about the Erie Canal and the former Poor House on Countyhouse Road in Albion.

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Photo by Tom Rivers: The courthouse dome was purple in this photo from Oct. 6, 2015 to highlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

ALBION – Orleans County would like to light up the county courthouse dome in the different school colors to celebrate the high school graduates of 2020.

Albion school officials asked that the dome be illumined in purple in honor of the graduating class. County officials want to honor that request and also would like to celebrate students from all five districts – Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina.

John Papponetti, the DPW superintendent, is trying to get the colors to make it happen, county legislators said during their monthly meeting on Wednesday.

In other action on Wednesday, legislators presented several proclamations and special recognition awards including:

• Recognizing National Police Week in Orleans County

National Police Week is set aside to honor America’s law enforcement community for their hard work and dedication in protecting and serving their local communities. The Orleans County Legislature recognizes the Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s, Albion Police Officers, Medina Police Officers, Holley Police Officers, the New York State Police, and all other law enforcement officials during the week, which was May 10 to May 16.

• Special Recognition Awards to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, Office for the Aging and the Calvary Cupboard

The County Legislature recognized the three groups for their efforts coordinating Foodlink distributions in Albion and Medina. The three organizations were commended “for helping our residents during this uncertain time in our history and appreciate your services in helping provide comfort and security during times of need by our residents and their families.”

• Proclamation of Older Americans Month in May

“We urge every resident to recognize older adults and the people who support them as essential members of our community.”

• Recognizing Orleans County Correctional Officers

National Correctional Officers Week was May 3-9. The corrections officers at the county jail provide care and custody of about 600 inmates a year.

“Our dedicated Corrections Officers have the responsibility to operate a safe and secure detention facility in compliance with the New York State Corrections Law and with regulations set forth by the New York State Commission of Corrections,” County legislators said.

Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson also noted that no inmates or jail staff have tested positive for Covid-19. She praised Sheriff Chris Bourke and Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson for keeping the virus out of the jail.

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State DOL data shows big jump in unemployment

The state Department of Labor today announced the unemployment rates for April in the state and counties. Orleans County is at 15.8 percent and state-wide the rate is at 15.0 percent.

In April 2019, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in Orleans and 3.6 percent state-wide.

In March, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in Orleans County and 4.2 percent in the state.

The state DOL report says 14,300 people were working in the county in April, which was down 2,300 from 16,500 in April 2019. The number of unemployed increased by 2,000, from 700 to 2,700.

The Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate for nearby metro areas at 19.2 percent for Buffalo-Niagara Falls and 14.9 percent in Rochester.

The unemployment rates for other nearby counties include Niagara, 21.9 percent; Erie, 18.6 percent; Genesee, 14.4 percent; and Monroe, 15.0 percent.

The state DOL has a list online showing the unemployment rates since January 1976. The 15.0 percent is the highest state-wide rate in the 44 years that records are available. The next highest was 11.2 percent in both January and February 1976.

The last time Orleans County was above 10 percent in unemployment was February 2013 (10.6 percent) and January 2013 (11.2 percent).

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New online database lists memorials dedicated to soldiers from Orleans County

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Civil War cannon at Greenwood Cemetery on Route 18 is a memorial for the community’s Civil War veterans.

There won’t be any big parades or official public gatherings in Orleans County on Memorial Day.

Residents can still have a meaningful Memorial Day without a crowd. The Orleans County Tourism Department has created a database of military memorials.

There is a war memorial in all 10 towns in the county. The most remarkable by size and for the number of dead it honors may be the tower at Mount Albion Cemetery, a 68-foot-high sandstone structure that includes the names of 463 county residents killed in the war. The names are in marble slabs inside the tower. That memorial was dedicated in 1876, on the country’s 100^th anniversary.

The most recent new memorial is a bronze statue of a soldier that was dedicated on Sept. 7, 2019. That statue honors the soldiers who trained at the former Medina Armory, which is now the Orleans County YMCA.

All of the memorials throughout the county pay homage to sacrifice of soldiers.

“Orleans County’s deepest respect and patriotism is demonstrated in the memorials and monuments scattered throughout the county,” the County Tourism Departments states in a message about the memorials. “Dedicated organizations and individuals have led the efforts to create these monuments in honor of those who served in the Armed Forces and several who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Click here to see the online site about the local memorials dedicated to soldiers from Orleans County.

This memorial in front of the Albion Middle School is a memorial to Orleans County residents who were killed in action during the Vietnam War. The memorial was dedicated on May 24, 1996.

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