Provided photo – Sheriff Randy Bower (right), a former Orleans County public safety dispatcher, is pictured with dispatchers Bill Oliver, left, and Mike Draper, in back.

This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which shines a light on the important work of dispatchers.

“In a time of crisis, public safety dispatchers are the calming voice on the other end of the phone line, the one with answers or advice,” said Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower. “They’re the life blood of public safety, the true first responders. This is where it all starts.”

About 100,000 calls were made to dispatch in Orleans County last year, including informational calls that didn’t require police, fire service or other action.

Dispatchers assigned the following calls to local first responders:

Police calls, 23,792 total –  Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, 9,258; Albion PD, 5,146; Medina PD, 4,328; Holley PD, 3,057; New York State Police, 1,922; Lyndonville PD, 81. The Sheriff’s Department calls include 1,061 traffic stops, 888 papers served and 7,309 other police calls.

Dispatch also handled 5,930 ambulance calls, including 2,467 to Medina Fire Department, 2,082 to COVA, 681 to Monroe Ambulance, 318 to Holley Ambulance, 224 to Clarendon Ambulance and 158 to Kendall Ambulance.

Total animal control calls were 1,337 with 1,022 to Orleans County animal control and 315 for Albion animal control.

Total fire calls were 2,566 and include: Albion, 398; Barre, 201; Carlton, 262; Clarendon, 94; East Shelby, 54; Fancher-Hulberton-Murray, 192; Holley, 361; Kendall, 75; Lyndonville, 211; Medina, 249; Morton (in Orleans County), 41; Ridgeway, 261; and Shelby, 167.

Press Release, NYS Department of Taxation and Finance

To assist taxpayers who are filing their taxes during peak income tax season, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is extending the hours of its Income Tax Call Center through the April 18 filing deadline.

“As we near the end of the filing season, we’re expanding our hours of operation to assist more customers,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Jerry Boone. “Our Call Center stands ready to assist taxpayers. Don’t wait until the last minute, and here’s a tip: the first day of the week is typically the busiest day for call centers.”

Beginning Saturday, April 9, the call center (518-457-5181) will be open for more than 20 additional hours through the end of the filing season to help taxpayers who have last minute tax return filing questions. Representatives will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays for the remainder of the filing season.

The call center’s normal hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. So far this tax season, representatives have answered 400,000 calls from taxpayers. The Department expects to answer more than 150,000 calls in the final two weeks of the season.

For taxpayers comfortable using a home computer, many questions can be answered quickly by visiting our website, www.tax.ny.gov. Nearly 800,000 taxpayers access the Tax Department’s website each week during the income tax season.

Taxpayers who’ve already filed their returns and are looking for their refund status should use the tool available at www.tax.ny.gov. The refund tool is updated daily and provides the same information available from the automated refund telephone line (518-457-5149) and call center representatives.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Chamber officials are pictured last April at the Home and Garden Show. The group includes former Chamber Executive Director Kathy Blackburn, left, new Director Samantha Roskowski, center, and board member Greg Piedmonte. Last year there were 30-plus vendors at the Home and Garden Show.

KNOWLESVILLE – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce has canceled the Home & Garden Show planned for April 16-17 at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville.

The event usually has more than 30 vendors, but participants were down this year. That prompted the Chamber to cancel the event with intentions of bringing it back next April 8-9.

“We have to make it bigger and better and we have to figure it out,” said Kathy Blackburn, a former executive director for the Chamber who is now a Chamber board member and the grants manager.

The Chamber’s Event Committee met on Monday and decided to cancel the event. The Home & Garden Show first was run at the YMCA in Medina before shifting the Fairgrounds.

“Decreased visitor attendance, along with limited staffing resources, has prompted us to regroup for the 2017 Home Show,” Samantha Rosokowski, the Chamber executive director, posted on the Chamber’s Facebook page. “We were very much hoping to make this year’s Home & Garden the best yet, but given our resources and vendor/visitor response, it is clear we need to reevaluate what a home and garden show should look like in Orleans County. Now more than ever we are interested in your feedback. What do you feel would make a better home show experience for residents and vendors? Let us know!”

The Chamber is continuing a raffle to win a $1,500 landscaping package, courtesy of Erie Way Tree Farm. The raffle was to be announced at the Home & Garden Show. The raffle has been extended until May 10 with tickets available at the English Rose Tea Shoppe, Meggie Moo’s Ice Cream Parlor and Grill, 810 Meadworks and Brushstrokes Studio.

For more on the Chamber, click here.

Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Four participants in this year’s 4-H Clothing Revue qualified for District Clothing Revue. They are, from left: Lauren Becht, Peggy-Jo Gabalski, Emma Mathes and Naomi Haberger. Each is wearing her entry for the Revue.

KNOWLESVILLE – Two dozen Orleans County 4-Hers gathered at the Trolley Building on the 4-H Fairgrounds for the 2016 4-H Clothing Revue. This year’s theme was “It Draws You In,” which is also the 2016 Orleans County 4-H Fair theme.

The event “gives youth an opportunity to model their textile projects while gaining confidence and poise while sharing their projects with an audience,” said 4-H educator Robert Batt.

Morning activities on Saturday included judging – which is based on construction quality as well as fit – and workshops. 4-H’ers were able to practice runway modeling, grooming and make-up, and also prepared entries for a “Paper Doll” clothing revue.

The Clothing Revue portion of the event took place Saturday evening. Participants modeled their creations on the runway for family and friends.

Four participants were selected for District Clothing Review which will be held later this year. Those participants are Lauren Becht, Emma Mathes, Naomi Haberger and Peggy-Jo Gabalski.

The mesmerizing 2016 “It Draws You In” theme for the Orleans County 4-H Clothing Revue.

Emma Mathes of the Adventurers 4-H Club on the runway in her royal blue brocade party dress. She challenged herself to complete the dress in five hours and was able to do so.

Lillian Mathes of the Adventurers 4-H Club made a sundress in a retro-bicycle print fabric. Lillian noted that the heart-shaped cut-out on the back of her dress was one of the hardest sewing jobs she has had to complete.

Earlier in the day, Makenzie McGrath got tips on runway modeling from fellow 4-Her Lauren Becht during the runway modeling workshop. Makenzie is wearing a skirt she made with a butterfly pattern fabric. She made the skirt for her first 4-H Public Presentation which was on the life cycle of the butterfly.

Cloverbud Jackson McGrath models a hat he made with a Star Wars theme fabric. He needed his hat for the Saturday evening 2016 4-H Clothing Review as the spring weather turned snowy and cold.

4-Her Baylee Strapp of the Hindsburg Hilltop and Towpath Club practices modeling her apron Saturday morning during workshops before the evening Clothing Revue. Baylee said she enjoyed making her apron and couldn’t wait to get her license to drive – the sewing machine. Workshop leader Pauline Lanning reads Baylee’s commentary from the lectern in the background.

Cindy Eibl leads a workshop in make-up and grooming for 4-H Clothing Revue participants Saturday morning in the Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Participants in this year’s Orleans County 4-H Clothing Revue pose for photos following the Saturday evening show held in the Trolley Building.

Grains bins are pictured on Friday night during a blazing sunset. The grain bins are by Beals Road. This photo was taken in the corn field behind Faith Covenant Fellowship along Route 31.

ALBION – Orleans Hub went live three years ago as an online news site focused on Orleans County news.

We’re pleased the site has gained a devoted following in the county, and beyond. We average about 7,000 unique visitors each day. We’re fortunate local businesses backed us from day 1 as advertisers. Many more have joined us – about 100 advertisers now.

The Hub is run through the Lake Country Pennysaver. Karen Sawicz serves as publisher of the Pennysaver and also the Orleans Hub.

We have dedicated people working on the site, including many of the staff at the Pennysaver. Mike Wertman covers local high school and youth sports and his wife Cheryl takes great action shots at many of the games. Kristina Gabalski also has been dedicated as a correspondent covering eastern Orleans County.

I left The Daily News in Batavia on March 1, 2013, after 16 years to help start the Orleans Hub. I thought the county would benefit from a locally focused site that was also locally owned and operated. I also wanted to live and work in Orleans County.

We’re trying to make Orleans Hub better. We’re working on a mobile platform for people who get their news through Smart Phones. That should roll out this year.

In thinking about the long-term sustainability of the site, we may reach out to Orleans Hub readers for contributions to bolster staff. Although we cover many stories in the county, we don’t get nearly to everything and more staff would help us expand the news coverage. We have no plans to go to paid subscriptions to access the site, but we may make a push for contributions.

We have been able to shine a light on many of the positive attributes in the community, especially the local residents. We started the Hub partly because we felt the out-of-town media too often focused on crime stories in Orleans County, without featuring much else.

We have tried to highlight some of our challenges, from paltry state aid for villages to crumbling infrastructure.

We’re grateful so many people have been supportive of the Orleans Hub, especially in an era when many newspapers are going out of business or significantly downsizing. We seem to have found a winning formula for the Orleans Hub by sharing resources with the Pennysaver. Thanks again for helping make us a part of the Orleans County community.

Many people say they like the photos on the Orleans Hub, including the local landscape images. Here are three trees by Faith Covenant Fellowship during last night’s spectacular sunset.

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.