Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Staff and volunteers at Community Action of Orleans & Genesee are wearing red noses today as part of an effort to raise awareness for child poverty.

“We wanted to support the cause,” said Anni Skowneski, case manager at Community Action. “We wanted to raise awareness for child poverty, which is something we work with every day.”

The people pictured include, front: Kim Miller. Second row, from left: Wendy Hinkley, Andrea Severson, Anni Skonewski and Heidi Wyant. Back row: Barb Kiefer, Pam Wadhams, Carol Berray, Bonnie Malakie, Amy Lester, Freddie Stewart, Mary Guzik and Cathy Brien.

People throughout the world are participating in “Red Nose Day.” For more information, click here.

Orleans County is seeing an increase in the number of people in poverty. Orleans went from 4,731 or 11.6 percent of its population in 2000 to 5,194 or 13.0 percent in 2013, according to the Census.

The five school districts in Orleans County will ask for the blessing of local voters today for school funding, candidates to serve on the Board of Education and several other propositions, including library funding and new buses.

Here is a snapshot of each district:

Albion proposes $14M capital project and budget that cuts taxes

ALBION – The school district is proposing a $14.3 million capitol project on Tuesday that will address numerous maintenance issues and infrastructure upgrades.

The project includes work in the elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as the bus garage and athletic facilities.

The $14,370,548 project for building reconstruction, energy and safety improvements will be 91 percent covered by state funds. The district has its 9 percent share, $1,286,000, already in a local reserve fund, school officials said.

Residents will also vote on a proposed $33,240,940 budget reduces spending by $310,111 or 0.92 percent. The tax levy would drop by 1 percent to $8,355,939.

The budget vote also includes propositions to spend $460,000 for buses and $680,411 to be collected for Hoag Library.

There are two five-year positions up for election in Albion. Marie Snyder is seeking re-election while John King is not. Chantelle Sacco is seeking the other position and is unopposed.

Voting for the project, budget and other propositions will be from noon to 8 p.m. in the elementary school’s Conference Room A near the community entrance in the back of the school.

Holley school budget holds tax levy steady; Write-ins will determine one BOE position

HOLLEY – The school district is cutting its budget by about $1.7 million to $23,300,000. The budget keeps the tax levy unchanged at $6,741,780.

Residents will vote on the budget, Board of Education candidates and other propositions from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Holley Middle School/High School Foyer.

The proposition authorizing the purchase of school buses includes the purchase of two full-size school buses, one wheelchair bus and one 30-passenger school bus at a total cost not to exceed $355,000.

The proposition in support of the Community Free Library authorizes the district to raise $108,072 to be used in support of the maintenance and operations of the library in Holley.

In addition, residents will be voting on three Board of Education seats, with one to be decided by write-in votes. The three-year terms of office of current board members Mark Porter, John C. (Jack) Welch and Anne Winkley expire on June 30. Winkley and Porter are seeking re-election. No candidates submitted petitions for the third seat.

Kendall budget doesn’t increase taxes

KENDALL – Kendall residents will vote on a $15,065,842 budget that increases spending by 1.6 percent but keeps the tax levy unchanged.

Proposition 2 would create a school bus replacement reserve fund not to exceed $100,000 annually.

Proposition 3 would allow the purchase of school buses to replace existing vehicles at a sum not to exceed $250,000.

Proposition 4 would allow the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund not to exceed $5 million. Propositions 2, 3, and 4 will have no additional taxes if approved, the district said.

Proposition 5 is the election of one, five-year term member to the Board of Education. Current School Board President Nadine Hanlon is the incumbent and is seeking re-election. She is the only candidate for the open seat.

The vote will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Kendall Elementary School gymnasium.

Lyndonville proposes 5.4% tax cut

LYNDONVILLE – The school district’s proposed $13,253,892 budget increases spending by 0.5 percent, but taxes would be cut by 5.35 percent or by $250,000 to $4,416,578.

Other propositions include $90,653 for Yates Community Library (up from $84,637) and authorization to purchase one 66-seat bus at a maximum $105,000.

Three people are running unopposed for three-year terms to the Board of Education: incumbents Ted Lewis and Michelle Dillenbeck, and Kelly Cousins.

Voting will be from 1 to 9 p.m. at elementary library.

Several candidates seek BOE in Medina; No tax increase

MEDINA – Residents will vote on a $34,802,870 budget that increases spending by 0.94 percent but keeps taxes the same.

The budget maintains existing programming and will increase enrichment offerings in the elementary and middle school.

The budget includes vehicles purchases, which used to be a separate proposition. Taking those out of the regular budget would show a $25,124 decrease compared to the 2014-15 budget, said David Boyle, the district’s interim business administrator.
Medina is the only district with a surplus of candidates for the Board of Education.

The district has five candidates seeking three terms that are three years each. Ann Bunch, Carol Heiligenthaler and Renee Paser-Paull all have terms up for election. Bunch and Paser-Paull are seeking re-election while Heiligenthaler, a former board president, has decided against another term.

Three other candidates – Danielle Class, Brian Koch and former board member Virginia Nicholson – are on the ballot.

Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. in the Board Room at the District Office.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Justin Behrend-Jones, a member of the Kendall Fire Department, races to get his turnout gear on today during the final exam for the basic firefighting course.

Behrend-Jones and 12 other recruits spent the past three months of meeting for classes, typically two to three times a week. The volunteer firefighters took their final exams today to become basic firefighters.

The recruits went through a series of drills under the watchful eye of three state fire instructors. In this photo the new firefighters are checking their self-contained breathing apparatuses, verifying the gauges, making sure the straps are intact and the units are clean and working properly.

Ben Diltz, 22, from the Calrton Fire Department puts on the turnout gear, a multi-step task that needed to be done properly in less than 2 minutes.

Today’s final exam was at the Orleans County Fire Training Center on West Countyhouse Road. The fire training tower at the site was filled with smoke and firefighters had to show search and rescue skills as part of the final test.

Joe Robb is a member of the Kendall Fire Department. He waits for the signal to start getting on his turnout gear.

The recruits were from fire departments in Orleans and Monroe counties. Besides being tested on cleaning and assessing the condition of their equipment and putting their turnout gear on within 2 minutes, they also needed to pass tests for hydrant connections, setting up and using ladders, and primary search and rescue skills.

Tim Adams (left) from the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Volunteer Fire Company and Tiffany Petry from the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company work with their turnout gear.

“It’s been kind of a dream since I was a kid,” Adams said about being a firefighter. “It’s community service. Somebody has to help everyone else who needs help.”

Adams joined FHM in September. He looks forward to more training with his department.

“I plan on going farther after this,” he said about advancing his skills. “I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter.”

Jerry Lewis, the lead fire instructor, announces the closing seconds of the turnout gear drill as Tim Adams signals he has completed the task.

Adams and the new recruits put in 100-plus hours in the training. Adams said the practice is critical for firefighters when they are on emergency calls.

“You need the repetition and you need to keep building your skills,” he said.

State fire instructor Jim Weber checks to see how well Andrew Faskell did in putting on the turnout gear. Faskell is a member of the Barre Volunteer Fire Company.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, addresses about 40 human service professionals about challenges for low-income residents in the community. He is joined at a table of panelists by Nathan Varland (left) of Community Action and Paul Pettit, public health director in Genesee and Orleans counties.

ALBION – About 40 leaders of local agencies met this week to discuss poverty and other challenges in Orleans and Genesee counties.

These are problems that are decades in the making, and will take a long-term commitment to improve.

“This is a marathon,” said Paul Pettit, the public health director for the two counties. “We didn’t create these issues overnight. We’re looking for incremental steps. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort.”

Pettit was one of the panelists during the annual joint meeting of the Genesee County Interagency Council and the Orleans County Human Services Council. The 40 human service professionals met at the Care Net Pregnancy and Family Center in Albion, in a meeting led by Marsha Rivers, executive director of the United Way of Orleans County. She is also past president of the Orleans County Human Services Council.

Nathan Varland, director of Housing and Support Services for Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, shared highlights of the agency’s community needs assessment, a 200-plus page document.

Some highlights from the report:

The two counties have shrinking youth populations but a growing number of senior citizens.

In Orleans, the number of people under age 5 dropped 16.7 percent from 2,747 in 2000 to 2,286 in 2010. The 5-19 age group shrank 15.1 percent, from 10,039 in 2000 to 8,522 in 2010. The 20-64 age group held steady, while the numbers of senior citizens (ages 65 and older) increased by 12.9 percent from 5,472 to 6,178.

Every school district in the two counties saw enrollment decline from 2004 to 2010.

Orleans and Genesee both saw their overall populations decrease from 2000 to 2010. However, both saw an increase in people in poverty. Orleans went from 4,731 in 2000 to 5,194 in 2010. Genesee was up from 5,038 in 2000 to 6,952 in 2010.

Nathan Varland from Community Action shares statistics from a recent community needs assessment that shows a growing number of people in poverty in the two counties. Other panelists include, from left: Erik Fix, director of United Way of Genesee County; Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian; and Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action.

The poverty rate is far greater for people who are black – 40.4 percent in Genesee and 32.0 percent in Orleans. That compares to 11.2 percent of the white population in Genesee and 12.7 percent in Orleans.

In the two counties, nearly every school district saw an increase in students eligible for free and reduced lunch, Varland said.

There is more pressure on children to know more when they enter prekindergarten and kindergarten. Low-income children are more likely to be behind and have challenging behaviors, he said.

The number of child abuse/maltreatment cases has increased in both counties with Genesee going from 184 cases in 2006 to 223 in 2010. The cases in Orleans increased from 164 to 197 during those four years.

In regards to housing, 18 percent of housing units – 7,879 – in the two counties are considered substandard by the Housing and Urban Development. There is a significant need for home rehabilitation, especially with roofs.

Low-income residents and senior citizens have unmet transportation needs as well, especially after hours on weekdays an on weekends. Many poor residents who own a vehicle lack the money to repair it, according to the Community Action report.

The economy in Orleans County is stagnant compared to the rest of the state, while it is fairly healthy in Genesee County.

Marsha Rivers, executive director of the United Way of Orleans County, addresses the human service leaders during the meeting at the Care Net Pregnancy and Family Center in Albion. This space is the former cafeteria at Liptons in Albion.

There is growing demand in Orleans County for public assistance, help with utility payments, and requests for medical and prescription cost assistance.

The Batavia, Albion and Medina zip codes have large populations of low-income households.

Orleans County ranks 61st out of 62 counties in the state for worst health factors, which measure smoking rates, diet and exercise, alcohol use, risky sexual behavior and access to health care and other economic factors.

Pettit, the health department director in the two counties, said the agencies are working hard to meet many of the needs in the community.

“You guys are the answers to a lot of these problems,” he said.

Jim Moody, executive director for the Orleans Community Health Foundation, would like to see more funding for senior programs with that segment of the population rising.

“If you know where the dollars are, we’re looking for them,” Pettit said.

Genesee County is fortunate to have the Muriel Marshall Fund, a bequest that pays for many services for seniors, helping them to stay in their homes and have access to many services, Genesee County officials said.

Howard Owens, owner of The Batavian (an on-line news site in Genesee County), was one of the panelists. He said promoting entrepreneurship can be an effective way to lift people out of poverty and build a stronger community.

Some emerging entrepreneurs could use earned income tax credits to buy vendor carts and start their own businesses, he said.

I was also one of the panelists and I shared how the state gives so little in aid to villages, compared to cities. It is my opinion that this is a prime factor in the high taxes in the villages, which are chasing away residents and investment, resulting in declining housing stock, vacant homes and a struggling climate for small businesses.

I’ve written about the state aid disparity before (click here) and some of the villages, towns and the County Legislature have passed formal resolutions, asking the state for a fair formula for Aid and Incentives to Municipalities.

Marsha Rivers, the United Way executive director, is the former director at Care Net. She shared how every contribution, even pennies, can accumulate to benefit the community.

Care Net has an annual baby bottle drive, where supportors fill baby bottles with loose change. Some people tuck bigger contributions – $100 bills and checks – in the bottles. But most of the funds come from the donated coins. This year’s baby bottle fundraiser netted about $20,000.

“That shows that every little bit adds up,” Rivers said.

Employees get no raises in 2015, 2 percent for each of following 4 years

ALBION – The County Legislature and about 200 county employees have reached a new 5-year labor deal where employees won’t get a raise in 2015, but will get 2 percent raises each year from 2016 to 2019.

The CSEA membership approved the pact on Friday with the Legislature giving it an OK on Wednesday.

“I am very proud of our negotiating team for putting together a creative, fair and very practical deal,” said David Callard, Legislature chairman. “I am very appreciative of the CSEA team for being open minded and being respectful to the needs of the taxpayer. We worked together and came up with what I believe is a win-win contract.”

The agreement calls for all employees to pay towards their healthcare costs. Some employees had been excluded, but starting in 2017 all will pay towards health insurance costs.

All employees will also begin migrating to a high deductible healthcare plan with a health savings account. Deductibles will be $1,500 for singles and $3,000 for family plans, with the county continuing to pay 50 percent of the annual deductible.

The deal should save the county about $75,000, “conservatively,” in overall costs when the healthcare savings are factored in with the pay raises over the five years, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

“This has been another successful step in a long-term strategic plan to work closely with our bargaining units to make cost-effective benefit changes to employee healthcare,” Nesbitt said.

Chris Bourke, long-time lieutenant at Sheriff’s Department, would be Bower’s undersheriff

Photo by Tom Rivers – Randy Bower, right, and Chris Bourke want to lead the Sheriff’s Department. Bower is running for Orleans County sheriff.

HOLLEY – Randy Bower is staying in the race to be Orleans County’s next sheriff. Bower has the Conservative Party endorsement and will appear on the November ballot.

Last Thursday, the Orleans County Republican Party Committee endorsed Tom Drennan, the current chief deputy, to be sheriff. Drennan secured just over 60 percent of the GOP Committee’s support, getting 6,151 votes to 3,951 for Bower, a long-time dispatcher for the county. The committee has 75 voting members and uses a weighted voting system.

Bower said on Tuesday he hasn’t decided if he will force a Republican Primary. But he said he isn’t withdrawing from the race.

He will be campaigning with Chris Bourke, a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Department. Bourke started his 31-year career as a corrections officer in the county jail and has worked as a deputy on road patrol. He has been a lieutenant the past 18 years and is the department’s K-9 handler.

Burke and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association support Bower for sheriff.

“Randy is an organizer,” Bourke said. “I have no doubt he can do the job.”

Bower, 50, has worked with Bourke for nearly three decades. Bower has been a dispatcher, relaying information to Bourke and other officers in the field. Bower has been active in the community in numerous other ways, running a custom apparel company with John Cole, coaching youth soccer, basketball and baseball.

He was also the Holley girls varsity basketball coach for four years. That team lost every game its first two years with Bower, but it became a playoff team his third season. Bower was Genesee-Region coach of the year that year in 2010.

He also has been chairman of a bocce tournament the past 15 years in Hulberton, part of the St. Rocco’s Festival the Sunday before Labor Day. That tournament draws teams from throughout Western New York and Ontario, Canada.

Bower is in a wheelchair. He has been paralyzed from the waist down since a car accident when he was 18.

“I’m challenge-driven,” he said. “I love a challenge. I’m self-motivated and I have the ability to motivate others.”

Bower said very supportive friends and family helped him recover quickly from his accident 32 years ago. He said he lives a blessed life with his wife Robin and their children: Jessica, 23; and Jacob, 20.

The accident hasn’t prevented him from an active and athletic life. He said he loves his job as dispatcher. (He also was a member of the Sheriff’s Department’s Off-Road Patrol from 1992-1998, riding all-terrain vehicles to help locate missing persons, stolen property and respond to other situations.)

Bower wants to be sheriff because he said he has the leadership skills, vision and communication skills to run the department and serve the public.

“I’m seeking the endorsement of the people of Orleans County,” Bower said at his home on Route 31 in Holley. “I know how to treat people.”

Randy Bower

Bower was 18 when he worked for the Group W Cable company in Brockport, a company that was precursor to Time Warner. He installed cables on the telephone poles.

After his car accident in October 1983, Bower was hospitalized for three months. He returned to work at Group W, this time as a dispatcher.

He was hired as an Orleans County dispatcher in 1986 by former sheriff David Green.

Bower has worked 29 years as a county dispatcher, teaming with law enforcement and other emergency responders, including firefighters and ambulance staff. The dispatcher position has evolved over the years with more technology and training, working with members of the public in crisis situations.

It’s a job that Bower says requires “strict composure” and the ability extract vital information while remaining diplomatic and compassionate with the callers.

Before a big upgrade in 1998, when dispatch moved from the jail to the Public Safety Building, Bower and the dispatchers also ran the jail control room, a key part of the facility’s security.

Bower’s campaign for sheriff has picked up support from many Republican Committee members, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Conservative Party leaders. He presented to them a plan for the five divisions of the Sheriff’s Department, a plan that he said would make for a more efficient department, better service to the community and more revenue for the county.

The jail is the largest division of the Sheriff’s Department with 33 corrections officers, two cooks, a superintendent and eight other part-time COs.

The jail has a capacity for about 80 inmates. Bower said many of the inmates are “chemically dependent,” suffering from heroin, opiate and other addictions. He would like to see more services in the jail for those inmates to help them break the cycle of addiction.

“There is a revolving door right now,” he said.

He said he would pursue state funding to finance the drug addiction programs.

“There would be 0 tax increase to the county,” he said.

He would also push to have the county’s K-9 team regularly visit the jail to ensure no drugs are being brought in.

The county currently has two welfare fraud investigators through the Department of Social Services. Bower would like to add a fraud investigator to the Sheriff’s Department, a position that could ultimately save taxpayers’ money.

Bower and Bouke want to see more community policing with more police visibility, especially in the Lyndonville and Kendall communities.

The Sheriff’s Department Civil Division handles papers for evictions, orders of protection, summons and executions, and income and property executions. Those duties are currently handled by deputies while on patrol. But emergency calls often prevent deputies from delivering the paperwork in a timely manner.

Bower would like to have an officer assigned to that function to ensure the papers are delivered without delays. It would also free up deputies to focus on their other work. The civil work can generate revenue. Some attorneys have hired private contractors to do the work because the Sheriff’s Department often didn’t deliver the papers on time, Bower said.

The dispatchers also work with Kathy Smith, the county’s animal control officer. Bower said she handles about 2,000 calls a year, and also cleans the animal shelter and feeds the animals. It’s a big job. Bower would like to see a deputy on staff who would assist with the animal control calls and also be deployed for other police calls.

With dispatch, the county about six months ago started handling calls for the State Police. However, Bower said the state police cars aren’t tracked by the dispatch center, meaning dispatchers don’t know where the closest car is for a call. He would push to have the state troopers be full participants in the county dispatch system, and he also said the state should pay the county some money for the dispatching work.

Bower also wants dispatchers to have the capability of getting video links to the five school districts in case there was an incident in the schools needing a police or emergency response. If the schools allowed dispatch the video links, Bower said school officials would be notified if dispatch was in the school system’s video system.

“We want the public school video links,” Bower said. “We could see if there was an active shooter or other problems.”

Bourke said he supports Bower’s goals. He also has worked closely with Bower for 29 years, and witnessed his impact on others on a daily basis.

“It’s a leadership thing and Randy is the person,” Bourke said.

Press Release, State Sen. Robert Ortt

A bill sponsored by State Sen. Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) could now put certain car passengers under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the hot seat. The New York State Senate today passed “Abbagail’s Law,” which would close the legal loophole that lets impaired licensed drivers supervise, or ride in a vehicle operated by, someone with a learner’s permit.

“Abbagail’s Law will save lives and deter individuals from putting children and others in unnecessary danger,” Ortt said. “Those who are not sober and in charge of supervising someone learning to drive would no longer be able to escape punishment.”

The bill (S2976) would make it a misdemeanor to act as a “supervising driver” while drunk or high, and a felony for aggravated “supervising driver” cases. By definition, a “supervising driver” is a licensed driver supervising someone with a learner’s permit.

The bill is named for 8-year-old Abbagail Buzard of Orleans County. Abby was killed in early September of 2009 in a rollover crash with her underage cousin at the wheel. The cousin, who only had a learner’s permit, was under the supervision of Abby’s intoxicated father. The inexperienced driver lost control of the car and crashed, killing Abby almost instantly.

“After hearing the tragic story about Abbagail, it’s hard to imagine why this common-sense legislation has been held up in the Assembly for years,” said Sen. Ortt. “How many more individuals are we going to let off the hook for being under the influence while supervising an inexperienced driver because of a technicality? Too many lives have been cut short, because of the reckless decisions and actions of intoxicated drivers. An impaired supervisor who lets someone operate a vehicle with a learner’s permit is no different. Abbagail’s Law would close a dangerous loophole and hold a fully licensed individual accountable.”

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.

ALBION – Orleans County was assigned an A1 rating by Moody’s Investors Service, and that positive rating helped the county secure a 20-year bond for $8.03 million at a 2.81 percent rate.

The county is borrowing the money to replace bridges, culverts, roofs and other infrastructure work. Depository Trust submitted the lowest borrowing rate of five bidders. Depository has bought other county bonds before, said County Treasurer Susan Heard.

She said the county has held a high rating by Moody’s in recent decades, which has resulted in low-financing rates for county projects.

Moody’s said the county has a stable $1.7 billion tax base, showing modest growth of about 1.0 percent annually the past five years.

“The county’s financial position should remain satisfactory given conservative budgeting and the recent sale of the nursing home,” according to the Moody’s report.

Moody’s also said the recent sale of the county-owned nursing home for $7.8 million will allow the county to pay off $7.1 million owed for that facility’s debt. Selling the nursing home also eliminates the potential for county subsidies for the facility. The county had to take $900,000 from the general fund to cover budget shortfalls at the nursing home in 2013, Moody’s said.

The county has a “manageable debt level” and average reserve levels, Moody’s said. The county’s rate could go down if reserves are depleted. The rate could be improved with bigger reserves and significant tax base growth.

Moody’s said the county is challenged by “below average wealth indicators” in the community.

The $8.03 million bond will provide $4,963,000 to replace six bridges from 2015 to 2017. Those bridges include two in 2015: a bridge from 1934 over Beardsley Creek on Waterport-Carlton Road in Carlton, and a bridge from 1968 in Barre over Manning Muckland Creek on Oak Orchard Road.

Other bridges to follow include one from 1959 in Kendall on Carton Road over Sandy Creek, a bridge from 1936 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on East Scott Road, one from 1928 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on Culvert Road, and a bridge from 1956 in Kendall over Sandy Creek on Norway Road.

The county also plans to replace six culverts for $1,500,000. Those culverts are identified as two on Knowlesville Road in Ridgeway, two on Platten Road in Yates, and two on South Holley Road in Clarendon.

The infrastructure investment plan also includes $1,540,000 in work at county buildings, including two new pole barns for $460,000. Those 60-by-150 foot barns are estimated to cost $230,000 each. One would be used by the highway department and the other by emergency management.

The county also wants to replace the roofs on the County Administration Building and the Public Safety Building, with each at an estimated $510,000.

The remaining project includes a generator for the mental health building for $60,000. That generator will service a new hub for county information technology infrastructure.

Fred Miller

ALBION – The Orleans County Republican Party Committee didn’t endorse a candidate to run against Fred Miller, the lone Democrat on the seven-member County Legislature.

Miller won an upset election in November 2013, defeating incumbent Henry Smith for a district that includes the towns of Albion and Gaines.

No candidates were nominated this evening to run against Miller, owner of Family Hardware in downtown Albion since 1986.

“I hear nothing bad about him from the other legislators,” said Ed Morgan, the Republican Party chairman. “He asks the right questions.”

Morgan said it isn’t unprecedented for the Republican Party not to run a candidate against an incumbent Democrat. For many years, Richard Bennett of Barre was unopposed as a Democrat on the Legislature.

Prior to being elected to the County Legislature, Miller served five years on the Village Board. Miller is the first resident from the village of Albion to serve on the Legislature in 30 years, despite Albion being the county seat.

Miller was endorsed by the Conservative Party in the 2013 election, but that party isn’t endorsing any of the incumbents this time. It has backed Paul Lauricella to run for legislator against Lynne Johnson.

The other six Republican legislators were all backed by the Republican Party for new two-terms. That team includes Legislature Chairman David Callard of Medina, John DeFilipps of Clarendon and Don Allport of Gaines for county-wide legislator positions; Ken DeRoller of Kendall for a district that includes the towns of Carlton, Murray and Kendall; Bill Eick of Shelby for a district that includes Clarendon, Barre and most of Shelby; and Lynne Johnson of Lyndonville for a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a small portion of Shelby.

The Republican Committee also endorsed Rocky Sidari, a former Albion fire chief, to serve as county coroner. He was appointed to the position in January, filling a vacancy created by Joe Fuller when he was elected Albion town justice.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tom Drennan, left, and Randy Bower shake hands after the Orleans County Republican Party Committee made its endorsement tonight.

GAINES – Tom Drennan has the Orleans County Republican Party endorsement to be the county’s next sheriff.

Drennan, the chief deputy the past nine years, has worked for the Sheriff’s Department for 23 years, starting as a deputy. The Kendall resident secured just over 60 percent of the GOP Committee’s vote this evening, getting 6,151 votes to 3,951 for Randy Bower, a long-time dispatcher for the county.

There were weighted votes for the 75 committee members who cast ballots this evening. (Two committee members abstained.)

Ed Morgan, the GOP chairman, praised both Drennan and Bower for working hard the past three months, meeting with Republican committee members throughout the county.

“They’re both good people,” Morgan said after the committee meeting at Tillman’s Village Inn. “They’ve both been above-board.”

Bower already has the Conservative Party line for the November election. He said he wanted to take a few days before deciding whether or not he would force a Republican Primary.

He thanked the committee members for their support.

Bower has the endorsement from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Drennan had many letters submitted on his behalf, from the current sheriff, Scott Hess, to former sheriffs, undersheriffs and the current District Attorney Joe Cardone. (Hess is retiring after Dec. 31.)

Drennan said he stressed his experience as a law enforcement officer. He also has worked nearly a decade as a supervisor.

“Experience is a big factor,” he said. “I’m not a politician. I’m a cop.”

Bower won over many committee members with his long-term plan for the department. He also is an impassioned speaker.

“He is dynamic with a great personality,” Drennan said about Bower.

Morgan said it was one of the most contested races for a GOP endorsement in a long time. The committee met for more than two hours, picking candidates for county offices.

“Never in the 10 years that I’ve been doing this have we done a secret ballot like this,” Morgan said. “You didn’t know the outcome coming in.”

Orleans County is a tough place for children to break out of the cycle of poverty, according to a study that looks at upward mobility of kids in counties throughout the United States.

“Orleans County is pretty bad for income mobility for children in poor families,” states a May 4 article in the New York Times. (Click here to see “The Best and Worst Places to Grow Up: How Your Area Compares.”

Orleans County is in the 35th percentile, 871 out of 2,478, for best places to grow up for income mobility for poor children. About 65 percent of other counties have higher income mobility for the poor.

Orleans and several other Western New York counties are difficult places for poor children to change that economic outcome when they are adults.

The study says poor children in Orleans County can expect to earn $120 less at age 26, compared to working in the average county. Wyoming County offers the best economic prospects for poor kids in Western New York. In that county, poor children will make $3,320 more annually at age 26, compared to being in the average county.

(Monroe County fares the worst of 11 WNY counties. Poor children who grow up in Monroe earn $2,380 less annually at age 26 compared to the average county.)

The study reported in The New York Times was compiled by Harvard economists Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren.

The say location is a big factor in a child’s economic prospects. Chetty, Hendren and other researchers identify five factors with strong upward mobility: less segregation by income and race, lower levels of income inequality, better schools, lower rates of violent crime, and a larger share of two-parent households, according to The New York Times.

“The broader lesson of our analysis,” Chetty and Hendren say in their report, “is that social mobility should be tackled at a local level.”

ALBION – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce has added two new members to its board of directors and the organization is planning to raffle off a new 4-wheeler this year.

The Chamber had its annual meeting this morning. Brooke Pontillo, a senior account executive for Toshiba Business Solutions, remains president.

Linda Kludt from Kludt Farms in Kendall is the new vice president. Greg Piedmonte from Precision Packaging Products in Holley is the Chamber’s new treasurer.

Other new board members include Albion Town Councilman Jake Olles and Patrick Pollard from Hinspergers Poly Industries in Medina.

The Chamber will be selling tickets for the 4-wheeler at its office, 102 N. Main St., and also during the Orleans County 4-H Fair in July, the Metro 10 race in Albion on Aug. 22 and during the Chamber’s annual awards dinner on Sept. 18. The 4-wheeler is a 2015 Polaris Sportsman ETX ATV.

ALBION – The Orleans County Conservative Party has endorsed a long-time dispatcher to replace Scott Hess as sheriff. Hess is retiring after Dec. 31 and isn’t seeking re-election.

The Conservative Party endorsed Bower on Monday, choosing him over Tom Drennan, the chief deputy at the Sheriff’s Department.

Al Lofthouse, Conservative Party chairman, said Bower impressed party leaders during an interview. He wants to run a lean department with its budget and also step up efforts to pursue welfare fraud, Lofthouse said.

“He came across a little better in the interview,” Lofthouse said about Bower, a Holley resident. “People felt Randy was more attuned to Conservative values.”

The Orleans County Republican Party Committee meets on Thursday to make its endorsements, and the sheriff choice may be the most anticipated selection.

The nine-member Conservative Party Committee did not endorse any incumbent county legislators for re-election. Lofthouse said the county leaders haven’t done enough to bring down property taxes in the community.

The Conservatives did endorse Paul Lauricella Jr. of Lyndonville to run against incumbent Lynne Johnson. Lauricella is vice chairman of the Conservative Party. He recused himself from the legislator endorsement discussions, Lofthouse said.

“The county is not headed in the right direction,” Lofthouse said this morning. “We have the highest taxes for home assessments in the country. The legislators don’t seem to be willing to take the bull by the horns and cut expenses.”

In addition to Bower and Lauricella, the Conservative Party endorsed the following candidates:

Rocco L. Sidari for county coroner, Joseph R. Kujawa for Ridgeway town justice, Ronald Mannella for Gaines highway superintendent, Edward Houseknecht for Shelby highway superintendent, Tracy Bruce Chalker for Clarendon highway superintendent, Carol Culhane for Gaines town supervisor, Mary R. Neilans for Gaines town councilwoman, and Matthew Passarell for Albion town supervisor.

ALBION – Randy Bower has received another key endorsement in his campaign to be Orleans County’s next sheriff.

Bower today was endorsed by the Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. The 23-member group “overwhelmingly supported” Bower to succeed Scott Hess as sheriff, said Erin Fuller, the association president. Hess is retiring Dec. 31.

Bower, a dispatcher for the county for more than 20 years, is vying with Chief Deputy Tom Drennan to be sheriff. The Orleans County Conservative Party endorsed Bower on Monday to be sheriff.

“The membership feels Randy would do a superior job,” said Deputy Fuller. “He has a plan for how he wants the department to progress.”

Bower works closely with deputies and other emergency services personnel in his job as dispatcher, Fuller said.

“Certainly Tom Drennan as chief deputy is qualified enough,” Fuller said. “But the membership endorsed Randy for a multitude of reasons. Randy being who he is we know he will do a great job.”

Both Drennan and Bower have spent months courting Republican leaders. The Republican Party Committee meets 7 p.m. Thursday at Tillman’s Village Inn to make its endorsement.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans Hub posted many stories on the 200-plus Santas in Albion from April 16-19 for the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference. The group gathered for a photo on the courthouse steps on April 18.

April proved a photo-friendly month for Orleans Hub with 200-plus Santas in Albion for a Santa Claus conference, a Civil War Encampment in Medina and arrival of spring following a brutal winter.

It was also a controversial month with parents and students “opting out” of standardized tests, residents fighting against a wind energy project in Yates and Somerset, and local villages wrestling with budgets that raised taxes.

Orleans Hub continued a strong 2015 with our fourth straight month with over 600,000 pageviews. We had 636,842 in April, an average of 21,228 each day. We set a new record in April for pageviews for obituaries with 113,722.

We also averaged 6,552 unique daily visitors for the month, our fourth straight month topping 6,000.

Here are the top five most viewed stories for April:

1. Truck driver from Medina killed in Wyoming County accident

2. Albion grad gets football coaching position at the U. of Findlay

3. Albion again named top music school district in US

4. Superintendents urge students, parents not to refuse state tests

5. Cobblestone house badly damaged in fire

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Shane Freeman slides into home as Lyndonville catcher James Ianni tries to dig out the ball during the Mustangs 10-4 win over the visiting Tigers on April 3 at Vets Park in Medina.

Mike and Cheryl Wertman have also been busy covering spring sports, offering a complete daily report on high school baseball, softball, tennis, track and field, and lacrosse.