Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A reindeer on the lawn at Orleans County Courthouse Square is pictured while the sun sets in background on Sunday.

There is still no sign of winter hitting Orleans County and Western New York. On Dec. 4, Buffalo set a new record for the latest measurable snow, breaking the 116-year-old mark of Dec. 3 set in 1899.

Today has a high in the mid-40s, followed by highs of 52 on Wednesday, 53 on Thursday, 56 on Friday, 56 on Saturday, 59 on Sunday, 50 on Monday and 44 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Provided photo – This photo was taken at Lyndonville’s High School Gymnasium with Lee Dillenbeck, Dean of Students; Sarah May, program assistant for Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition; Aaron Slack, Lyndonville High School principal; Candice Pretko, Lyndonville mental health counselor; and Jason Smith, Lyndonville Central School superintendent.

Press Release
Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition

LYNDONVILLE – Parents, adults, teachers and students have a number to call 24 hours a day to report underage drinking parties or other activities that may be harmful to the health, safety and welfare of young people.

The Underage Drinking Tipline is anonymous, confidential and free. By calling the Tipline at 1-800-851-1932 and providing basic information, a caller can potentially save a life and divert tragedy.

What happens when you call the Tipline? Call center staff are trained to notify the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. If the party location is in the jurisdiction of another police agency such as the Medina or Albion police departments, call information will be promptly routed to the appropriate responding agency.

Sarah May, Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition program assistant, is working with coalition members to promote Tipline throughout Orleans County. This month, Tipline is featured on a Rt. 31 Medina billboard and lawn signs are being distributed to businesses and agencies in Orleans County.

“Do your part, if you know of underage drinking, call 1-800-851-1932 and take action to prevent harm caused by underage drinking,” May said.

Photos by Kristina Gabalski

KNOWLESVILLE – Rudolph and his fellow reindeer are made from peanuts and pipe cleaners. They form a portion of an entry by 11-year old Brandi Stephens on display at the 2015 4-H Holiday Faire on Saturday at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Orleans County 4-H’ers, their families, friends and community members gathered at the Trolley Building for the annual Holiday Faire.

The event showcases 4-H projects with a holiday theme. Club tables featured activities of various 4-H clubs and offered craft projects for those attending.

This entry – a sock snowman – was made by 8-year old Layne Walker. The snowman will be used as a holiday centerpiece.

The annual 4-H Holiday Faire brought together community members on Saturday afternoon at the Trolley Building on the 4-H Fairgrounds.

The “Jolly Ol’ Elf” – Santa Claus – made an appearance and checked out 4-H Club tables in addition to taking down holiday wishes from youngsters in attendance.

Five-year old Ella Wilson and her sister, two-year old Cora Wilson of Holley, check out a bunny at the Orleans County 4-H Rabbit Raisers table.

Lily Brigham, age 6, and Sawyer Brigham, age 8, of Albion, show off the snowman hat ornaments they made at the Orleans County 4-H Paw Praisers Club table.

No, it’s not one of Santa’s Reindeer, it’s Domino the Llama, owned by Orleans County 4-H Leader Barb Kurzowski. Domino sports a festive holiday headband at the annual 4-H Holiday Faire.

Photo by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – This photo shows the dam in Lyndonville at Johnson Creek near Main Street this evening with the Lyndonville Central School in back.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather statement for tonight, warning about black ice and patchy fog.

The conditions are expected in Orleans County and much of Western New York. The Weather Service says visibility could drop to a quarter mile or less in the dense fog. Patches of black ice are also possible late tonight and into Sunday morning.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – This photo shows the shadow from the Orleans County Courthouse on the former United Methodist Church building in Albion. This picture was taken at about 3 p.m. on Monday on a bright, sunny afternoon. (The church building is for sale.)

Orleans County and Western New York have dodged snowfall so far, and it looks like the warmth will continue through late next week.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo is forecasting a high of 42 on Friday, followed by highs of 48 on Saturday, 52 on Sunday and highs in the upper 40s from Monday through Thursday next week.

ALBION – The Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse spearheaded a coat collection effort that resulted in 86 coats being donated to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

Kirsten O’Grady, right, has been interning with GCASA and she was a big help with the coat drive. She is pictured with Michelle Figueroa, a case manager for Community Action in Albion. Figueroa noted that “these coats will be put to good use in the cold weather months ahead of us.”

The coats were collected at GCASA, Lyndonville Central School and the GCC satellite campuses in Albion and Medina.

GCASA has done a coat drive before to benefit families served by the Medina Area Association of Churches.

The coats were dropped off at Community Action on Tuesday as part of “Giving Tuesday.” Patricia Crowley, the Orleans United Drug Free Communities project director for GCASA, said Giving Tuesday is a day to celebrate generosity.

“It’s a movement that started three years ago and Orleans United felt it only fitting to deliver coats to Community Action here in Orleans County as a way of giving back,” Crowley said.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Randy Bower, right, and Chris Bourke celebrate on Nov. 3 after Bower won the sheriff’s election. Bourke, a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Department, is Bower’s choice to serve as undersheriff.

November was one of the best months for Orleans Hub for traffic since we started in April 2013. We had 678,666 pageviews over 30 days last month for a daily average of 22,622. We also averaged 6,879 daily visitors to the site.

The first part of the month was dominated by election coverage. We topped 10,000 unique visitors on both Nov. 3 and Nov. 4. There was some added election drama because some of the town races were too close to call and had to wait until absentee ballots were counted on Nov. 10.

The Letters to the Editor continue to be popular on the site and drew 36,714 pageviews, which nearly beat the record of 38,747 in September during the heated primary season.

Here are the top stories for the month. I expanded it from five to seven because numbers four through seven were so close in “clicks.”

A tractor trailer hauling milk and an SUV were in a violent collision Nov. 4 on Route 98 in Albion near the Allen Road intersection.

1. Milk truck, SUV collide on 98 in Albion

2. Medina man, 23, arraigned on assault after allegedly stabbing Albion teen

3. Barbecue business headed to Main Street in Albion

4. Bower wins sheriff election

5. Holley man, 18, faces charges after break-in

6. Winners announced for 2015 Parade of Lights

7. Woodchuck Alley in Kendall leads to historic cemetery

Even though sports was in an in-between season in November, with fall sports ending and winter sports getting started, Orleans Hub still drew 26,392 pageviews to sports. The top sports story was Kendall High senior Evan Gaesser accepting a Division 1 golf scholarship from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Pa. Click here to see that story.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County officials presented a $64,435,941 budget plan during a public hearing Monday evening in the main courtroom at the Orleans County Courthouse. Chuck Nesbitt, the chief administrator, provides details about the budget. Most of the attendees at the hearing were county department heads.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved a $64,435,941 budget for 2016 on Monday evening, a spending plan that reduces overall spending and holds the tax rate at $9.89 per $1,000 of assessed property.

County officials have worked in recent years to reduce the county workforce by streamlining departments and sharing services with other counties. The Legislature also sold the nursing home to a private company.

That has resulted in some tax relief for residents. (The tax rate was $10.11 per $1,000 in 2014). Local residents also should receive a rebate check from New York, which will make the state look like the heroes when it was the local governments that pared down costs, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer.

He said the state could provide significant relief to local taxpayers by reining in some of the state-mandated programs or assuming more of the expense for the programs.

“The state captures dollars from taxpayers and they do it in a lot of ways that you may not be aware of,” Nesbitt said during a budget hearing.

Nine state-mandated programs – Medicaid, Child Welfare, Temporary Assistance/Safety Net, Indigent Defense, Early Intervention, Preschool Special Education, Probation, Youth Detention and Pensions – account for 100 percent of the county’s tax levy of $16,323,150.

Although the tax rate is unchanged, taxes in the county budget are up by 0.7 percent, which is under the tax cap allotment of 1.4 percent.

Nesbitt, as he has in recent years, railed against the state for not taking more action on mandate relief. He pointed to a study by Pew Charitable Trust that looked at all 50 states and how they receive revenue for state programs. (Click here to see that report.)

Local governments provide 2.2 percent of funding for state programs as a national average. However, in New York the local governments pay 15.4 percent, by far the most in the country. Wyoming is No. 2 at 3.9 percent.

“When someone asks, ‘Why are my taxes so high?’ There’s the answer,” Nesbitt said during the hearing. “That’s what’s different about us.”

He urged local residents to press state officials to reduce the local share for state programs. That would have a big impact on lowering local taxes, Nesbitt said.

Instead, Gov. Cuomo and many state legislators point the finger at the local governments as the culprit for high taxes. The upcoming rebate checks, a reward for local governments that stayed under the tax cap and met an efficiency plan, are a “smoke screen,” Nesbitt said.

Paul Lauricella tells the Legislature the group should have reduced the tax rate instead of keeping it at the same level.

Paul Lauricella of Lyndonville said he wanted to see more reductions and a tax cut in the budget, especially with the nursing home no longer under county control.

He suggested the county pull back on its contributions to agencies, such as the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Orleans Economic Development Agency and Soil and Water Conservation District. Lauricella said those groups all have ways of generating their own funds.

The county budget provides the following funding for agencies with 2015 in parentheses: $232,500 for Cornell Cooperative Extension ($225,000); $166,500 for Economic Development Agency ($170,000); $77,500 for Soil and Water Conservation District ($75,000); $10,000 for four public libraries ($10,000); $5,000 for Mercy Flight ($5,000); $5,000 for Friends of Mental Health ($0); $3,000 for GO Art! ($3,000); $1,000 for Sportsmen’s Federation ($1,000).

Ed Neal, president of the Cooperative Extension board, thanked the county for keeping the agency in the budget and providing an increase. Neal said the agency provides important services for agriculture, children and families.

Joe Sidonio of Murray thanks the county for not cutting dollars to the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Sidonio said his daughter has benefitted from the 4-H program.

Nesbitt said the county is also working to build up its reserve funds and tackle infrastructure projects. Two bridges and two culverts will be replaced in 2016.

Sales tax also represents about a quarter of the revenue for the budget. After budgeting for no increases in 2014 and 2015, county officials are going to recommend another $250,000 in sales tax to $14,035,000.

After the public hearing, the Legislature convened in the legislative chambers and passed the budget.

While the rest of the region and most of the country saw personal income grow from 2013 to 2014, the income dropped per household in Orleans County, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In Orleans, the per capita household income went from $31,967 in 2013 to $31,720 the following year, a 0.7 percent drop.

The federal government said only 14 percent or 438 of the 3,100 counties saw per capita household income decline.

Nationally, it grew by 2 percent from $45,159 to $46,049 in 2014. The eight counties in Western New York all grew except for Orleans. Allegany saw the biggest growth at 3.7 percent, up from $31,946 to $33,128, according to a report from the Buffalo News.

Orleans County has a significantly smaller per capita household income than the other counties. Here are the per capita personal incomes of the eight WNY counties in 2014 with the percent growth in parentheses:

Allegany, $33,128 (3.7 %); Cattaraugus, $35,395 (1.2 %); Chautauqua, $34,296 (2.0 %); Erie, $44,740 (1.4 %); Genesee, $39,064 (1.5 %); Niagara, $39,077 (1.2 %); Orleans, $31,720 (-0.7 %); and Wyoming, $37,091 (2.0%).

Photo by Tom Rivers

There are many locally owned businesses in downtown Albion, with several in the historic Pratt and Day buildings. This photo was taken in 2014.

You wouldn’t think Black Friday would be so quiet on Main Street in small-town America, but it is. The shoppers head for the suburban malls, in a spending mood to cross off a lengthy Christmas checklist.

It was awfully quiet in downtown Albion today. I had to go to Main Street twice for errands and there wasn’t much traffic.

That should change tomorrow when Albion merchants will be part of the Shop Small movement around the country. The locally owned retail businesses don’t want all the dollars to go to the Big Box retailers and on-line sites, such as Amazon.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Albion in 2006. It’s been a nearly a decade, and more chain stores have followed with new dollar stores, and expansions at Rite Aid and other chain-owned stores.

The Orleans County population has decreased during this time. There are fewer shoppers with more corporate-owned sites in Orleans. That makes it tough for the small-town businesses to survive. Many haven’t been able to make the businesses work following the chain store invasion.

Somehow, many of the independent merchants have stayed. People continue to open new businesses and work to retool their existing operations, to compete on Main Street with the chains that often set up on the perimeter of the villages, dodging taxes but having access to the population centers.

This week we’ve been publishing essays about life in Orleans County. We have a lot to be thankful for with so much nature and wildlife in the community, some upstart politicians willing to go against the establishment, hard-working and productive farms, and many citizens who volunteer to make the community better in many ways. We’ll publish another essay on Saturday with another thankful theme.

Today, we celebrate the locally owned businesses. Without them, the Orleans Hub wouldn’t exist. They advertise so we can pay our bills and continue to cover local news. We appreciate their support.

Photo by Tom Rivers

Downtown Medina has experienced a renaissance in the past decade with many new shops opening in the historic business district.

Downtown isn’t what it was a century ago, when the buildings were bustling with activity from the basements to the top floors. But there is still a good nucleus of merchants. They offer items you likely won’t see at Wal-Mart. The local stores often carry locally made products. Buying those items not only supports the store, but helps another local artisan/business owner.

Those sales generate sales tax, which reduces some of the burden on property taxes.

The local merchants also tend to be the ones that donate for the many benefits in the community, and buy the ads in the local yearbooks and school musical programs.

Many of these businesses provide employment for local residents.

Buying from a local business is a vote for a stronger and better community. If you want a vibrant downtown business district, you need to spend some money there. You vote with your wallet.

The business owners do much more than run their shops. Many have banded together in business organizations and they put on concerts, wine-tastings, Beggar’s Night, and numerous other activities to entice people to visit the stores and business districts, and also to provide some fun for the community.

Medina businesses are putting on their big Old Tyme Christmas celebration on Saturday, highlighted by the Parade of Lights at 6 p.m. Click here for a schedule of events. Albion merchants also have specials and raffles on Saturday.

The locally owned businesses aren’t just on Main Street. They operate out of houses, garages, in cooperatives (sharing space with others), and on state roads and country lanes.

The Orleans Hub appreciates their entrepreneurial spirit, and their efforts to make a stronger local community.

Photos by Tom Rivers

BATAVIA – Jim McMullen, the Scout Executive for the Iroquois Trail Council, is pictured inside the Scout Shop at the Council’s new office at 201 East Main St., Batavia.

The Council moved from an office building on Library Street in Batavia to a more visible site in downtown Batavia. The Council serves Boy Scouts in five counties, including Orleans, Genesee, Niagara, Wyoming and Livingston.

The Council moved to the site at the corner of East Main and Bank streets on Nov. 2-4. The building is owned by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council. GO Art! has offices in the historic building as well as gallery space.

Parking is across Bank Street in a big parking lot shared by the mall and a bank.