Some of the Republican candidates for town offices have won the backing of the Democratic Party during recent caucuses.

Two of those candidates, Michael Neidert and Dale Brooks, have both forced Republican primaries on Thursday for town highway superintendent positions.

Neidert has challenged incumbent Jed Standish for Albion highway superintendent. Neidert has worked as a motor equipment operator the past 18 years for the Highway Department. The Primary on Thursday in Albion also includes Chris Kinter, who has 18 years experience with construction and runs his own business.

Standish has been highway superintendent for the past 16 years.

Regardless of the results on Thursday, Neidert will be on Nov. 3 ballot under the Democratic Party line.

Dale Brooks, the current superintendent for the Department of Public Works in the Village of Albion, also has the Democratic line for Barre town highway superintendent. He forced a Republican Primary against Bert Mathes, an employee with the Orleans County Highway Department. They are both seeking to succeed Dale Ostroski, who is retiring Dec. 31.

Other Democratic endorsements include:

Albion: Sarah Basinait for town clerk, Jake Olles for Town Councilman, and Darlene Benton for Town Councilwoman. Basinait and Olles both have been endorsed by the Republican Party.

Republicans also backed Paul Fulcomer for the Town Board, which sets up a three-way battle for two positions on Nov. 3.

Barre: Besides Brooks, Democrats backed Cyndy Van Lieshout for town supervisor, Maureen Beach for town clerk, and Joe Grabowski and Richard V. Bennett for Town Board.

Beach has the Republican endorsement for town clerk. The Republican Party also backed Mark Chamberlain for town supervisor, and Sean Pogue and Larry Gaylard for Town Board. Mathes has the GOP endorsement but faces the Primary challenge from Brooks on Thursday.

Kendall: Democrats endorsed Margaret Lynn Szozda for Town Board. She already has the GOP line.

The other Republican candidates are unopposed including Anthony Cammarata for town supervisor, Barbara Flow for Town Council, and Warren Kruger for highway superintendent.

In Shelby, Democrats are backing Darlene Rich for town clerk. Republicans aren’t running a candidate against her.

The other Republican candidates include Merle “Skip” for town supervisor, Kenneth Schaal, Jr. and Dale Stalker for Town Council, and Dawn Keppler for town justice. Mike Fuller and Ed Houseknecht are battling for the GOP line in a Primary on Thursday for highway superintendent.

Democrats have until Sept. 17 to file their nominations for candidates. The Gaines Democratic Party Caucus is scheduled for Sept. 14, The Board of Elections Office said no other town caucuses are scheduled before the Sept. 17 deadline.

Orleans Hub had one of our biggest months for traffic in August with 648,264 page views, an average of 20,912 each day of the month.

We also averaged 6,684 daily unique visitors. Both stats are up from July, when we had 6,569 daily unique visitors and 617,809 page views.

The top five stories (the ones with the most clicks) for August include:

1. Man drowns after jumping off Kenyonville bridge

Photo by Tom Rivers – Firefighters and law enforcement agencies search for a man who jumped off the Kenyonville Road bridge in Carlton on Aug. 6. A man, 67, from Ohio drowned after jumping into the water. He was visiting the area on a fishing trip.

2. Sheriff identifies 4 injured in Albion accident

3. 4 injured in Albion accident

4. Extreme makeover at Kendall Jr./Sr. High School

5. 2 from Orleans die in Bergen car accident

Mike and Cheryl Wertman also have stayed busy this summer covering local sports. The top sports story for the month was coverage of the season openers in the youth football leagues. Click here to see “Albion Varsity Eagles, Medina Broncos win youth football season openers”.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Mehkyron Drisdom picks up big yardage on a pass reception during the Albion Varsity Eagles season opening win on Aug. 15 over Akron.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Paul Fulcomer accepts a check for $6,000 from the Albion Rotary Club last week. Becky Karls, right, helped plan the Rotary Golf Tournament that raised the money to go towards a van to transport veterans to medical appointments.

ALBION – The director of the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans County will retire on Nov. 28 after 13 years of helping veterans and their families receive benefits through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Paul Fulcomer works to bring money to veterans from the VA, but also is active in planning services to honor veterans and also leads a volunteer-run van transportation service that takes vets to medical appointments.

Fulcomer is proud of the van transportation service that operates with five used vans. He thinks Orleans County is the only county offering such a volunteer-run service.

Last year, volunteers took 1,743 veterans to medical appointments with the vans. There are 33 volunteers in the van service, either driving or helping to arrange appointments.

“The people of Orleans County step up and help the veterans out,” Fulcomer told the County Legislature last week.

Donations help pay for the vans. Last week the Albion Rotary Club presented a check for $6,000 to go towards replacing one of the five vans. The Rotary Club also donated $5,000 in 2014 for the van service. This year’s golf tournament was able to raise more for the van service.

Fulcomer and his office helped return $20.3 million to the veteran community in Orleans County last year, he told county legislators in a report last week. That includes $11,467,000 for compensation and pension, $7,961,000 for medical care, $755,000 for rehabilitation and vocational services, and $178,000 for insurance and indemnities.

In addition, Fulcomer acts as the veterans’ burial officer in the county and was responsible for nine veterans’ burials last year.

The county cost for the Veterans Service Agency is $87,592. Fulcomer said his office returns $232.45 to the community for every $1 spent by the county for the Veterans Service Agency.

There are 3,239 veterans in the county and about 2,500 widows. Fulcomer’s office made 13,825 contacts last year with veterans, widows and children of veterans.

ALBION – A Medina woman was sentenced today to six months in jail and five years probation for fourth-degree grand larceny.

Carly S. Wells, 25, allegedly racked up $28,000 in fraudulent purchases and/or cash withdrawals on someone else’s credit card.

Special prosecutor Kevin McKain, Orleans County Court Judge James Punch and the victim in the crime agreed to $26,091 in restitution. Wells paid a $2,500 down payment by sentencing today.

“This has been a tremendous ordeal, not only financially,” McKain said about the impact on the victim from the crime. “She has been affected emotionally by this scheme.”

Wells did not speak during sentencing. Her attorney Kirk Okay said she has taken responsibility for the crime. He asked that she not be sentenced to jail.

“The sooner Carly can get back to work, the sooner restitution can commence and all concerned can move on from this episode,” the attorney said at sentencing.

Punch said Wells used “a series of deceptions” in obtaining the trust of the victim and then defrauding her of her money.

The judge said some jail time was necessary.

“You are completely self-centered and a user of people and a breacher of trust from people who have put their faith in you,” Punch said.

Wells will be required to pay back the money in 48 installments once she is out of jail.

In other cases in court today:

A Medina resident was given a conditional discharge and sentenced to time served in jail, a $200 surcharge and 6-month suspension of his driver’s license.

Jason Fidanza, 41, of Slade Road allegedly sold hydrocodone and another prescription narcotic in Ridgeway on June 18.

Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone said he was dismissing charges of third-degree welfare fraud and first-degree offering a false instrument against a Ridgeway woman.

Kathy Mungenast allegedly accepted $5,267 in welfare benefits she was not entitled to from July 1, 2012 to Nov. 30, 2013. She allegedly filed false paperwork to access those benefits, according to the District Attorney’s office.

However, the case proved difficult to establish how often Mungenast wasn’t home and visiting a boyfriend, Cardone said.

The judge arraigned an Albion man on third-degree grand larceny. Reilly D. Climenhaga, 28, of Gaines-Waterport Road allegedly stole $6,000 worth of jewelry and money from a house on Allen Road. The judge kept bail at $500.

The judge assigned Wesley Askew, formerly of Orleans County, as a level 3 sex offender, the highest possible risk for re-offending.

Askew, 47, has been in prison since May 2009 for second-degree rape. He is currently an inmate at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. He could be released as soon as Oct. 24.

Provided photos

ELBA – A historical marker on Route 98 about the Elba Mucklands was reinstalled with a fresh coat of paint on Thursday.

The muck is turning 100 years old this year. It started in 1915 when the Oak Orchard and Tonawanda swamps were drained. The muck continues to be highly productive agriculture soil.

Melissa Ierlan, the Clarendon town historian, has cleaned up many of the local markers in need of fresh paint.

This marker is located by a big drainage ditch for the muck, just south of the Barre town line.

The marker was installed in 2002 as part of the 200th anniversary celebration for Genesee County. Here is how the marker looked before it was repainted.

Ierlan also repainted a marker for a cobblestone house on Ridge Road near the Cobblestone Museum.

Orleans County Historian Matt Ballard is pictured with the marker by the cobblestone house on Thursday.

Ierlan said residents are welcome to donate painting supplies or money for the marker facelifts.

She estimated it costs up to $30 to prime, paint and clear coat the markers. People could donate to the Clarendon Historical Society at the Clarendon Town Hall, 16385 Church St. or to the Cobblestone Museum on Ridge Road in Gaines.

People could also drop off Rustoleum #7727 royal blue quart or pint, #7747 sunburst yellow quart or pint, and a spray can of Rustoleum metal primer gray or white for the post. Ierlan also uses Rustoleum glossy black and a spray can of clear glossy.

Ierlan also painted this sign in the Brockville hamlet in Murray. It was reinstalled earlier this month.

ALBION – Orleans County residents will soon have three drop-off sites for televisions and other “e-waste.”

Garbage crews stopped picking up the televisions on Jan. 1, and residents instead have been discarding many of the TVs into ditches and along country roads.

Legislature Chairman David Callard said about 500 have been picked up by highway crews this year.

The Legislature on Wednesday approved a deal with Sunnking Incorporated of Brockport to pick up and dispose of cathode ray tube televisions, monitors, computers, peripheral devices and other household electronics.

The company will be paid $14,782 annually for the service, effective Aug. 26.

“This is a plan in the interim while the state gets its act together,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer.

Residents will be able to drop the household electronics at the Murray Town Hall, Orleans County Highway Department in Albion, and Shelby Town Hall.

The state on Jan. 1 began banning curbside disposal of older TVs with cathode-ray technology. Many residents have upgraded from those televisions, switching to popular flat screens. Many of the older TVs have been dumped in ditches along rural roads.

Manufacturers were supposed to take back older TVs, but the state capped the amount of discarded material companies have to accept each year. Manufacturers have been hitting that cap midway through the year.

“The issue is exacerbated by the fact that electronics currently sold today are much lighter than the obsolete CRT devices that make up about 70 percent of the weight of e-scrap generated, which are cost intensive to responsibly manage,” according to a resolution passed by the County Legislature and other local municipalities.

“As a result, many local governments across the state have grappled with the burden to fund or cease e-scrap collection, which has been particularly difficult in rural communities that do not benefit from retail collectors or economies of scale,” according to the resolution.

The County Legislature and other local municipalities are asking Gov. Cuomo, the State Legislature and State Department of Environmental Conservation to work towards a long-term solution for electronic waste recycling for both urban and rural areas.

“We’re excited to get this under control,” Callard said on Wednesday, when the county announced the plan. “It’s a commendable program.”

Photos by Tom Rivers – Tom Drennan greets some of his supporters, including Michael Hanlon at left, during a chicken barbecue dinner this evening at the Elks’ Club in Albion. Drennan, the current chief deputy at the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, is running for sheriff and faces a Republican Primary on Sept. 10 against Randy Bower.

ALBION – Tom Drennan’s supporters showed up in force today to buy chicken barbecue dinners and lend support for the chief deputy seeking to become the next county sheriff.

Drennan has worked 23 years for the Sheriff’s Office, starting as a road patrol deputy in September 1992. He has been promoted to lieutenant, criminal investigator, major and chief deputy.

He is running a campaign with a message that “Experience Matters.” He faces Randy Bower in a Republican Primary on Sept. 10. Drennan has the Republican Party endorsement. Former Medina police investigator Don Organisciak has the Democratic Party endorsement for the Nov. 3 election.

Drennan’s supporters include a who’s who of local law enforcement leaders, including District Attorney Joe Cardone. The DA says he can’t endorse a candidate, but he said Drennan would be an asset for the county as sheriff.

“I’ve worked with Tom for 23 years,” Cardone said. “There hasn’t been a major investigation he hasn’t been involved with. He brings years and years of experience and good judgment to the job.”

Tom Drennan was out directing traffic on Route 98 during the 10-mile race in Albion, the debut of the Metro 10 that included about 400 runners.

David Green, a retired sheriff, served in that role for 20 years as a Democrat. Green is now the vice chairman of the Democratic Party and has taken some heat from Democrats for backing Drennan.

Green said he has known Drennan since he was a young boy. Green was friends with Drennan’s parents, the late Jack and Helen Drennan.

“I have known him and his family for 50 years,” Green said at the Drennan benefit this evening.

Green was sheriff when Drennan was hired 23 years ago. Green said Drennan has received many promotions and completed numerous training classes, developing contacts in the law enforcement community.

“The other two (Bower and Organisciak) are both good guys,” Green said. “But I think Tom is the best prepared. He’s worked hard to get to this point.”

Four members of the civilian staff at the Sheriff’s Office, who all work with Tom Drennan, serve up chicken barbecue dinners. The group includes, from left: Sandy Wolfe, Nicole Spohr, Debbie Hughson and Allison Lavigne. Karen Narburgh also is pictured at the end of the line. The group served 700 dinners today.

Allison Lavigne works as civilian staff in the office with Drennan. She and her civilian co-workers helped serve the chicken dinners today. They support Drennan to lead the Sheriff’s Office.

“He’s one of the most honest and respectful people I’ve ever met,” Lavigne said. “I believe he has the county’s best interest at heart. It’s not personal for him. He’s thinking of the county.”

Rocky Sidari, a former Albion fire chief, has 25 years with the Fire Department. He also started as a county cornorer in January, and he said Drennan has been helpful since Sidari started the new job.

“Whenever we had a serious fire, he’s been there,” Sidari said. “He’s dedicated and professional. It doesn’t matter the call, he’ll jump in. Honestly, I think he’d be one of the best sheriffs we’ve ever had.”

Drennan greeted people at the Elks door during the benefit. He said he’s pleased with the campaign and the encouragement from the community.

“The support has been awesome,” he said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been enjoyable.”

ALBION – An agency that serves people with disabilities in Orleans County voted to merge with a sister agency in Genesee County.

The Arc of Orleans County and Genesee ARC are already sharing a director, Donna Saskowski. The Arc of Orleans board of directors wants to join the two agencies, seeing an opportunity for reduced administration costs while preserving needed services for residents, said Don Allport, a member of the Arc board and a past president for the agency.

“The services will stay here,” Allport said during today’s Orleans County Legislature meeting. He is also a county legislator.

“It was a unanimous vote,” he continued. “We’re looking to a bright future.”

Allport said the smaller-county ARC chapters have struggled with Medicaid reductions and reimbursement changes through the Affordable Care Act.

“The smaller Arc’s are being forced to combine,” he said.

However, he thinks Orleans and Genesee are the first to do it.

The Genesee ARC board still needs to approve the merger and Allport said that board is expected to back the union this evening.

An exploratory committee has been looking at the issue with help from a consultant. The agency in Genesee County operates on about a $13 million annual budget with 340 staff members. In Orleans, the Arc has a $12 million budget and about 300 employees.

Saskowski, in an interview earlier this month, said some of the ARC chapters in the state are reducing programs and staff due to shrinking government reimbursements and other fiscal challenges.

“We might be able to provide services in a better manner and be more stable as an agency,” Saskowski said about a possible merged agency.

Two counties with a bigger land area, Livingston and Wyoming, have a single ARC chapter, the Arc of Livingston-Wyoming.

Photos and report courtesy of Howard Owens, The Batavian

BERGEN – Two people from Orleans County were killed in a car accident just after midnight on Sackett Road in Bergen. Police have not released the names of the people who were fatally injured in the crash.

A trio was returning from the Livingston County Fair in a red Mini Cooper. They were eastbound on Sackett Road when the driver lost control of the vehicle. A front seat passenger, who was transported to Strong, told a deputy a deer was in the roadway.

There was also fog at the time of the accident, which occurred at an S-curve.

The driver, a male in his 30s, and a back seat passenger, in her 20s, sustained fatal injuries, The Batavian reported (click here). The driver was wearing a seatbelt, the back seat passenger was not. The front seat passenger, also in his 30s, was wearing his seat belt.

The vehicle crossed the center line and traveled in a straight path for some distance before exiting the roadway on the south shoulder just before a ravine. At that point, it appears the vehicle flipped and struck a tree. All three occupants were from Orleans County.

Primary family notifications are complete, though the names of the victims have not yet been released.

Photo by Tom Rivers  – A truck hauling apples travels on Main Street in Medina on Tuesday evening.

A flash flood watch is in effect for Orleans County and Western New York today, beginning at 8 a.m. through this evening.

The National Weather Service says a strong storm system over the upper Great Lakes will bring warm and moist gulf moisture northwards into the lower Great Lakes region in advance of a slow-moving cold front. This will result in showers and thunderstorms with torrential downpours, which may result in localized flooding, the Weather Service says.

The weather will be sunny for the weekend with highs of 74 on Friday, 75 on Saturday and 78 on Sunday, according to the Weather Service.

Bower and his supporters believe they are poised to pull off upset

Photos by Tom Rivers – Randy Bower meets with about 100 of his backers and campaign team members on Wednesday night at St. Mary’s Athletic Club in Albion.

ALBION – Randy Bower’s campaign to be the next Orleans County sheriff may have appeared over on May 7.

That night, the Orleans County Republican Committee endorsed Tom Drennan to be the next sheriff, succeeding Scott Hess who is retiring on Dec. 31. About 70 members of the committee gave about 60 percent of the group’s support to Drennan.

There was speculation that Bower, a county dispatcher the past 29 years, would drop out of the race. He already had the Conservative endorsement, but many wondered if he would buck the Republican Party leaders and force a primary.

Bower refused to back off. He submitted Republican petitions signed by more than 900 people, well above the 525 threshold to force the primary.

“The energy has been phenomenal,” Bower, 50, said after a meeting with about 100 campaign supporters at St. Mary’s Athletic Club in Albion.

Bower has gained a following on the campaign, impressing his supporters with his energy in going to so many community events and talking to residents regardless of their background, from political party affiliation to socioeconomic status.

“I’ve seen him a lot more than his opponent,” said Bill Francis of Albion, who attended a rally for Bower on Wednesday night at St. Mary’s. “He’s thought this through from the get-go.”

Randy Bower speaks with his campaign supporters at St. Mary’s with about three weeks to go before the Republican Primary.

Francis chatted with Bower at the Lyndonville Fourth of July Parade. Bower had a booth after the parade and gave Francis one of the red “Bower for Sheriff” T-shirts. More than 300 people have those shirts and Francis said he is proud to wear it.

“You want my vote, you have to come talk to me,” Francis said.

Bower has been paralyzed from the waist down since a car accident at age 18. Francis has a daughter Erica, 25, who is legally blind and deaf. He sees a determination in his daughter to not let her disabilities keep her from an active life.

“Just like my daughter, Randy lets nothing bother him or hold him back,” Francis said.

Bower talks about living a “blessed life” with his wife Robin and their children: Jessica, 23; and Jacob, 20.

He is running to be sheriff to build a strong team in the Sheriff’s Department that he said will focus on service to residents, from stepping up road patrols by Lyndonville and Kendall schools, to timely delivery of civil papers to pushing for state-funded drug and alcohol addiction programs for inmates in the county jail.

Bower thanked his campaign team for their help the past few months, and then gave them more instructions before the primary on Sept. 10.

Bower has been campaigning with Chris Bourke, a 31-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, who would serve as undersheriff if Bower is elected. Bourke has been a lieutenant the past 18 years and a K-9 handler.

(Besides the primary, there is a general election on Nov. 3 and the Democratic Party has endorsed Don Organisciak, who worked 30 years in Medina, with 16 years as a patrolman, then a year as a sergeant and the final 13 years as the Medina Police Department’s first full-time criminal investigator. Both Bower and Drennan have other lines for the general election with Bower backed by the Conservative Party and Drennan picking up the Independence Party line.)

Bower has attended numerous community events, from chicken barbecues at churches to big community parades.

He has 700 campaign signs out on yards, bold red signs with the sheriff star. At least 300 people are wearing “Randy Red,” the bright red shirts that say “Bower for Sheriff.”

Randy Bower urges his supporters to keep wearing their red “Bower for Sheriff” shirts and work to get out more campaign signs.

He has the support of the Deputy Sheriffs Association, and the union for corrections officers and other civilian staff. Each of those unions has given $2,000 towards his campaign.

“They have been tireless in their efforts,” Amy Jenks, a member of the Deputy Sheriffs Association, said about Bower and Bourke. “If they are working this hard campaigning, imagine what they could do for the county if they win the election.”

Bower said the support within the department, plus the community has him optimistic he will win the Republican primary on Sept. 10.

His father, George Bower, was an Orleans County legislator for more than two decades, and won more than 10 county-wide elections.

“I’ve been very impressed,” George Bower said about his son. “He is surrounded by a lot of good people. He goes to the chicken barbecues and talks to the people. He has a great personality and he is a great kid, and he has been like that since he was 18.”

Randy Bower said voter turnout will be the key for the primary. He and his key supporters will be reaching out to Republicans to get out the vote on Sept. 10.

“This is the first time I can remember a contested sheriff’s election with this kind of energy,” Bower told his supporters.

He showed no signs of exhaustion from the pace of the campaign.

“Throughout this whole time, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed this job and being with the people of Orleans County,” he said.

Drennan has been chief deputy in the Sheriff’s Department the past nine years. He has worked in the department for 23 years. He has a campaign event on Aug. 27 at the Albion Elks Club. Orleans Hub plans to stop by and talk with Drennan and his supporters.

BATAVIA – The third annual golf tournament by officers from the Orleans Correctional Facility raised $6,500 for Crossroads House in Batavia.

The correctional officers had the tournament on July 20 at the Chestnut Hill Country Club.

In addition to supporting the Crossroads House, the tournament was held in memory of an officer who died suddenly earlier this year. Josef Young, who was assigned to Orleans Correctional Facility, was 49 when he died unexpectedly in January.

The Crossroads House is a comfort care house for the dying. The 24-hour care giving home serves the communities of Genesee and Wyoming counties at no cost to the patients or family.

The golf tournament had 142 golfers and numerous volunteers. Officers and civilian staff from Orleans Correctional Facility organized the tournament and were supported by local businesses in the area that donated raffle items and sponsored tee signs.

Numerous members of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association from Attica, Gowanda and Wende correctional facilities also supported and attended the tournament.

“Since Crossroads House relies 100 percent on the generosity of the community, efforts like the NYSCOPBA Orleans Sector Golf Tournament are an integral part of continuing to provide Comfort Care for the dying,” said Jeff Allen, executive director at the Crossroads House. “The proceeds from the tournament helped to fund the installation of security cameras without impact to our budget. Because of the efforts of the Orleans Correctional Facility staff and the participants of the tournament, Crossroads House is a safer place for the residents, families, and volunteers.”

Last year the tournament benefited the American Heart Association, which received $7,000 in the name of Officer Duane Catanesi, who passed away suddenly in 2014.

The golf tournament has now raised and donated over $20,000 to charities in Western New York over the past three years in honor or memory of correctional officers.

“I would like to thank each and every officer who volunteered their time in organizing and participating in this important charity event,” said Western Region Vice President Mike Dildine. “For three years now this tournament has supported great organizations who are dedicated to helping others. NYSCOPBA members raise money for a wide variety of charities throughout western New York every year. I am extremely proud of our members and the impact they have on the communities they live and work in. They work in a profession that is constantly scrutinized and criticized and they don’t get enough credit for how they serve the public.”

A man and woman from Rochester were arrested on drug charges on Tuesday, following an undercover buy operation of oxycodone pills by the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

The following were arrested:

Charles A. Verstreate

Charles A. Verstreate, 46, of 44 Lennox St. He was charged with 1 count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (Class B felony) and 1 count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (Class B felony).

Verstreate was arraigned in the Murray Town Court by Town Justice Gary Passarell and committed to the Orleans County Jail without bail due to Verstreate’s extensive criminal history, the Task Force reported. Verstreate is to return back to the Murray Town Court today at 6 p.m.

Jennifer L. Liberacki, 32, of 44 Lennox St. She was charged with 1 count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.

Liberacki was issued an appearance ticket for Murray Town Court on Aug. 19 at 4:30 p.m.