There were 300 more people working in Orleans County last month compared to February 2015, and also 200 fewer people unemployed, according to the latest data from the state Department of Labor.

The unemployment rate in Orleans fell from 7.9 percent in February 2015 to 6.6 percent last month. There were 16,900 people working in the county and 1,200 unemployed.

Although the unemployment rate has dropped in Orleans County, it remains above the state average of 4.8 percent, which is the lowest in New York since November 2007. In the rural GLOW counties, the unemployment rates include Genesee at 5.5 percent, Livingston at 5.8 percent, Orleans at 6.6, and Wyoming at 6.8 percent.

Tompkins County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 3.7 percent. Three counties are at 8.0 percent or higher, including Lewis at 8.0 percent, and Hamilton and Bronx, both at 8.1 percent.

One of the issues emerging in the waning days of state budget negotiations is funding for the Medicaid program, which provides health care to low-income residents.

Medicaid is already consuming $54 billion a year in New York, far more than in any other state. New York requires counties to pay towards the program and it’s a big factor in the high property taxes in New York.

The state, however, had capped the share from counties. But now Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to squeeze $250 million more from counties to pay towards the rising costs of Medicaid.

That has ignited protests from county governments around the state.

“The state’s reliance on the local tax base has proven to be a loser for the local taxpayer for decades with the end result being the highest local taxes in the nation,” said William A. Cherry, president of the New York State Association of Counties. “County leaders strongly oppose this proposal advanced by the Governor and urge the Legislature to reject it in its entirety. Acting in haste to secure an ‘on time budget’ at the expense of local taxpayers is a disservice to the people of New York and will have long-term negative consequences.”

The move could add $300,000 for Orleans County property owners in their county taxes, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

“New York State is the only state in the nation that forces this kind of expense onto localities,” Nesbitt said. “We sit here and relatively quietly eat the false narrative that evil local government is the cause of high property taxes in New York State and now we have to watch as the state prepares to open the flood gates again of unfunded mandates and let it fall right on the heads of local property taxpayers.”

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) put out a statement today, condemning the cost shift to counties for the Medicaid program.

“I am outraged at the thought of the governor ending the expenditure cap for counties,” Hawley said. “Over one-third of our entire state budget is spent on Medicaid, and now the governor and his New York City cronies want upstate to pay even more because they can’t get their finances in order. That is absolutely outlandish. Our counties cannot afford any more expensive Albany mandates. Eliminating the cap would cause expenses to be passed down to homeowners in the form of higher property taxes. Downstate’s tax and spend mentality is out of control and I plan to fight tooth and nail against this injustice.”

The National Weather this morning issued a wind advisory until 5 a.m. Tuesday for Orleans, Niagara, Monroe and Wayne counties.

The Weather Service says winds will sweep through at 30 to 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 55 mph. That could cause minor property damage and isolated power outages.

County also keeps contract with lobbyist at $60K annually

ALBION – Deputies with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will be receiving 2 percent pay raises in 2016, according to a contract extension approved last week by the County Legislature.

The agreement extends the existing contract with the Orleans County Deputy Sheriffs Association for one year.

The Legislature last Wednesday also renewed an agreement with Park Strategies in Albany for government affairs services in the state capital.

Park Strategies was hired a year ago for $5,000 a month or $60,000 for the year.
The firm has helped the county connect with state officials, and form a plan for pressing the state for maintaining canal bridges, working on the Lake Ontario State Parkway, and other issues, including grant funding, legislators said.

In other action, the Legislature:

Set a 4:15 p.m. public hearing on July 27 for the review of a county-wide consolidated agricultural district. The hearing will be at the legislative chamber in the County Clerks Building, 3 South Main St., Albion.

Approved spending $22,324 for a new industrial fish grinder at the Orleans County Marine Park. Grinder will be purchased from Corrosion Products & Equipment in Rochester.

Approved a four-year lease for phone systems from American Capital in Lisle, Ill., to be paid $23,863 annually or $89,353 over four years. The lease will allow the county to have a more reliable telephone system, legislators said.

The county also approved an agreement with Time Warner in Buffalo to establish a point-to-point circuit between the Public Safety Building and Clerks Building for five years at annual cost of $13,680. The move will allow for greater telecommunications and data communications between multiple campuses of Orleans County government, legislators said.

Purchased a 2016 Chevy Tahoe for Sheriff’s Office patrols for $45,850 from Joe Basil Chevrolet in Depew, and a 2016 Chevrolet Express Cargo Van for $57,392 from Joe Basil Chevrolet for the county jail for inmate transports.

Authorized the sheriff to seek a $10,000 grant from the State Canal Corporation for marine patrols on the canal from April 1, 2016 until March 31, 2017.

Set Aug. 6 as a household hazardous waste collection day when residents can dispose of aerosol cans, anti-freeze, fluorescent tubes, household cleaners, oil filters, pesticides, poisons and other household hazardous wastes.

Appointed Nancy Mack of Albion to a three-year term on Office for the Aging Advisory Council.

Appointed Julie Christensen, Kendall Central School superintendent, and Darlene Waters of Medina as new members of the county’s Board of Ethics. Their terms run until Dec. 31, 2018.

Photo by Tom Rivers – These pastors are among the members of the newly formed PACT – Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation. The group pictured, includes, from left: Russ Peters from Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship, Randy LeBaron from the Albion Free Methodist Church, Tim Lindsay from Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, and Dan Thurber from Oak Orchard Assembly of God in Medina.

ALBION – Several church pastors in Orleans County have united in an effort to transform the community through the good news of Jesus Christ.

The church leaders are calling their new group, Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT). They worked together to plan the Good Friday service today at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship on Route 63, south of Medina. That service starts today at 6:30 p.m. and six pastors have roles in the service, including serving communion.

The pastors in PACT have been getting together for several years to pray for each other and the community. It was an informal group. But they have given their group a name, developed a mission statement and a purpose

“Christ is Lord and we want to share him with the region,” said Randy LeBaron, pastor the past 12 years at the Albion Free Methodist Church.

The pastors say the group isn’t elitist. It’s open to Christians who share the PACT mission, an evangelical message that they say will take people from personal transformation to a bigger impact in the community.

The PACT leaders say they aren’t splitting hairs over denominational differences, or worship style preferences. They want to focus on prayer and the Gospel message.

“It’s a message of unity under Christ,” said Thurber, who has been pastor at Oak Orchard for 13 years. “The churches will come alongside each other and not compete. We’re stronger together.”

Tim Lindsay has served as pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion for 29 years. He said vibrant churches will help build a stronger community.

“When the church is revived, the community will be revived,” Lindsay said.

The churches will also host individual events open to other congregations. Albion Free Methodist, for example, hosts several movie nights with Christian-themed movies. Oak Orchard last week hosted a prayer meeting open to the community. Harvest Christian Fellowship is planning a trip to Israel and organizes the annual Father-Daughter Dance.

Peters has led the Alabama Full Gospel church for 3 ½ years. His father, Robert Terry Peters, was the church’s pastor for 30 years. The elder Peters met frequently to pray together with Thurber’s father, Stanley, who led Oak Orchard for 41 years.

Russ Peters said PACT provides the pastors with a support network.

“We minister to each other,” he said.

The Good Friday service this evening also will include Chad Wirth, pastor of Faith Covenant Fellowship in Medina, and Richard Allis, pastor of The Light of Victory Church in Albion.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory in Orleans County for freezing rain and sleet from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday.

The advisory also includes Wayne, Monroe, Niagara, Genesee and northern Erie counties.

The Weather Service says there will be an inch or less of snow on Wednesday and also on Thursday.

With temperatures in the low to mid-30s for parts of Wednesday and Thursday, the Weather Service warns that untreated roads, sidewalks and parking lots could be slippery.

File photos by Tom Rivers – The Old Hippies became The Traveling Towpath Troubadours for a concert series at canal towns last July. The group, led by Bill McDonald, will be back July 8-11. They are pictured during a concert last summer at Medina’s Canal Basin.

The Traveling Towpath Troubadours will be back this summer for a series of concerts along the Erie Canal.

Bill McDonald of Batavia spearheaded the concert series last summer, traveling with his band mates from the Old Hippies. They played music atop a boat, visiting Middleport, Medina, Albion and Holley for concerts.

“It was a lot of fun,” said McDonald, who has enjoyed a musical career over 50 years, playing with the Ghost Riders, Old Hippies and other bands. “We were very happy.”

Bill McDonald and his wife Kay play in Medina last July.

This year the Troubadours will start the series in Lockport on July 8, and then head east. They are trying to piggyback on other events in the canal communities, including farmers’ markets, and arts and fitness programs.

After Lockport on July 8 for an evening concert, they will perform in Middleport on July 9. They will play in Medina on July 10 when hundreds of cyclists will be in town for the Cycling the Erie Canal event. The Troubadours will also play in Albion in the evening on July 10. They will conclude the series on July 11 in Holley.

McDonald is putting together the series and welcomes community organizations to help promote the series and have other activities going on for the canal concerts.

“We feel civic pride in it,” he said about the concerts. “We had a lot of fun last year and we want to help promote the canal.”

McDonald will be joined by his wife Kay and other members of the Old Hippies band, including Vinny Pastore and Jim Catino.

A grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council is covering some of the cost of the effort, including renting a packet boat for the trip. The concerts will be free to the public. Some of the municipalities also are contributing to the concerts.

For more on the Troubadours, click here. To see a YouTube video from last July’s concert series, visit youtube.com.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce sold many desks, tables, chairs and other possessions on Saturday. The Chamber is closing its office at 102 North Main St., Suite 1.

Samantha Roskowski, executive director for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, will work out of her home and remotely in other spots in the community. Roskowski, right, is pictured with Brooke Pontillo, president of the Chamber.

The organization announced last month it would be closing the office. Pontillo and Roskowski said there was little foot traffic to the site, and it made more sense to close it. That way Roskowski isn’t tied to the office and can better network in the community and promote businesses. The Chamber also will save money, allowing it to do more for Chamber members, Roskowski said.

Saturday was unusual at the Chamber site: There were a lot of visitors looking over items. Many of the furniture pieces were acquired by the county for the tourism office at the County Administration Building.

Roskowski said the Chamber may revisit having an office again someday. If it goes that route she would prefer to share space with another organization.

The Chamber is planning one of its biggest events, the Home and Garden Show on April 16-17 at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville. It will include a wine-tasting on April 16.

For more on the Chamber, click here.

In Medina, about 3 percent of voters went to polls

Photo by Tom Rivers – It was pretty quiet on Tuesday at the Albion Village Hall for the village elections. Only 210 residents out of 2,692 eligible voters went to the polls.

It was just over a year ago when Medina village residents stood in long lines to vote about village dissolution, whether the village government would be dissolved.

The issue was intensely debated in Medina and the outlying towns. Hundreds of people turned out for public meetings. On Jan. 20, 2015, dissolution was rejected, 949-527. About half of the eligible voters came out that day in one of the biggest turnouts in recent memory for a village election.

Tuesday may have been the tiniest turnout ever for Medina. Only 87 voters out of about 3,000 cast a ballot. That’s about 3 percent of the village residents. Village-Clerk Treasurer Debbie Padoleski has been on the job for about three decades and doesn’t recall so few people ever going to the polls in Medina.

The three candidates were all unopposed. Mike Sidari is the new mayor and Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott were elected trustees. No one else passed petitions to get on the ballot.

A year ago, when only two candidates – Todd Bensley and Owen Toale – were on the ballot, 311 people voted. The race had some added drama with Jeremy Hogan, co-owner of O’Brien’s, running as a write-in. He received 98 votes, which was more than anyone on the ballot this past Tuesday.

Albion village elections more than a decade ago used to draw 800 to 1,000 voters, especially in a mayoral election. This was an off-election for the mayor’s post, but two trustee spots were up, with three candidates running.

Republicans only fielded one candidate, incumbent Gary Katsanis, and he lost to Democrats Peter Sidari and Mattea Navarra-Molisani. There were only 210 voters, or 7.8 percent of the 2,692 who were eligible to vote.

Lyndonville had the best turnout in terms of percentage. There were 125 voters on Tuesday, 26.7 percent of the 468 who were eligible. The election included two candidates running for mayor and three candidates for two trustee positions.

A year ago, Lyndonville had two trustees running unopposed. Only 15 people voted that day, so Tuesday was a much bigger turnout.

John Belson, the newly elected mayor, said the community needs more participation from residents, not only in local government but with service organizations, churches, fire departments and other important roles in the village and town.

In Albion, Trustee Stan Farone has been leading monthly “Energize Albion” meetings to try to engage the community in local issues.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – After months of reading and discussing the 14th annual “A Tale for Three Counties,” a community reading effort culminated this week with visits and book talks by author Sarah M. Hulse of Spokane, Wa.

She met with Lyndonville students on Friday morning and later on Friday evening led a book discussion with about 75 people at Hoag Library in Albion. She is pictured in top photo, reading an excerpt from the book.

Hulse, 31, shared some of her writing and research strategies. She wrote the book as her master’s thesis at the University of Oregon. The initial 125,000-word novel was pared down to about 81,000 words. She compared the process to sculpting, starting with a hunk of material and then shaping it. It was a four-year process to write the book and then edit it.

Hulse talks about the book with about 75 people in the main meeting room at the Hoag Library.

Hulse visited GCC and Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia before spending much of the day in Orleans County on Friday. She is giving a book talk today in Perry, Wyoming County.

The story of Black River centers on Wes Carver, a retired corrections officer who is coping with the loss of his wife to cancer. Carver also returns to the Black River community for the parole hearing of an inmate who tortured Carver during a prison riot two decades earlier. That inmate badly broke Carver’s fingers, preventing him from playing the fiddle, one of his passions.

Hulse signs a book for Emily Cebula, director of the Yates Community Free Library in Lyndonville. Past books in the “Tale” series are on a table and were for sale on Friday.

Hulse thanked the enthusiastic crowds at her stops in Genesee and Orleans the first two days of her local tour.

Hulse said she read books on prisons and riots, as well as folk music to research the book. She also tried to learn to play the fiddle herself. She also spent a day with a blacksmith so she could better describe that trade, which is the profession for one of the book’s main characters, Dennis.

The novel explores faith, forgiveness, fatherhood and revenge.

“Basically every character in the book is doing the best that they can,” Hulse told the crowd at Albion. But she said the novel looks at relationships “when good people can’t get along.”

Hulse signs copies of Black River for readers after a book talk on Friday.

“Tale” organizers estimate about 1,000 in the three counties read the book, which is set a small town in Montana.

Organizers try to find up-and-coming authors as part of the series.

Catherine Cooper, director of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina, appreciates the community support and participation in the Tale events.

She said Black River was an immediate hit with the Tale committee that reads several books throughout the year to consider the best book for the Tale program.

All 14 of the Tale books have been memorable, capped by visits and talks by the authors, Cooper said.

“It’s the icing on the cake,” she said. “Other books we might forget, but not a Tale book.”

She praised Hulse for writing a novel “that enriches our understanding of the human experience.”

Provided photo

Hulse also met with two high school classes at Lyndonville on Friday morning. About 45 Lyndonville students read the book and wrote an essay about the novel.

The 14th annual Tale event for the first time included a local high school reading the book and discussing it in classes. Lyndonville used the book Grade 11 Pre-Advanced Placement English, Grade 12 AP English, and Grade 12 English.

For more on the Tale program, click here.

Photo courtesy of Steve Hawley’s office – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) poses with a group of local road and infrastructure supporters, including several highway superintendents from Orleans County, following today’s CHIPs press conference.

ALBANY – More than 750 highway officials from towns and counties went to Albany today to press state legislators for a boost in funding for roads, culverts and bridges.

Several highway superintendents from Orleans County were among the group in Albany for the “Local Roads Matter” advocacy campaign.

By joining forces, the New York State County Highway Superintendents Association and the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways hope to pave the way for increased budgetary funding and secure programs to assist local roads, culverts and bridges.

Both groups strongly support the governor’s proposal for a five-year Highway Capital Program for the NYS Department of Transportation and urged the Legislature to support it as well.

To address the critical condition of local transportation infrastructure, both associations urged the Legislature and the governor to include, as part of the final 2016-2017 State Budget, the following program enhancements:

Five-Year Capital Plan for the NYS DOT;

Parity funding between the NYS DOT and the MTA Five-Year Capital Programs, funding both at $26.2 billion;

Support PAVE NY, a new $1 billion pavement program;

Support an additional $100 million in CHIPs above PAVE NY for a total of $690 million annually for the next four years; and

BRIDGE NY split evenly between state and local projects, expanded to include culverts and funded at $150 million annually.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) joined the highway officials for a news conference in the state capitol today. Hawley said he supports more funding in the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program. Currently, the governor has proposed no increase in CHIPS funding in his executive budget.

“As I’ve said for many years, Western New York’s infrastructure needs are preeminent,” Hawley said. “Our roads, bridges and highways are constantly bombarded with ice wedging, agriculture vehicles and automobiles. Unlike downstate, we have few mass transit systems, so local families and businesses rely on these routes each day and expect them to be safe. Unfortunately, the governor and New York City politicians refuse to provide us the resources necessary to sustain our infrastructure. No increase in CHIPS funding would be devastating for our communities and I urge legislative leaders to do what is right for upstate.”