Orleans County’s unemployment dropped from 7.5 percent in September 2013 to 6.0 percent last month, according to the State Labor Department.

The 6.0 percent was down from 6.9 percent in August. The county’s rate is still slightly higher than the state average of 5.6 percent. (The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in September, the lowest level since October 2008, according to the Department of Labor.)

In Orleans County, there were 1,100 unemployed people looking for work in September, compared to 17,000 in the workforce. A year earlier, there were 400 more people working in Orleans County – 17,400. There were also 1,400 unemployed looking for jobs, according to the DOL.

Fifteen of the 62 counties in the state have unemployment rates at 6.0 or higher. Bronx has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 8.5 percent.

Orleans, even with its improvement from a year ago, still has the highest rate in Western New York. Genesee County, at 4.8 percent, has the lowest rate in WNY. Hamilton County, at 3.8 percent, has the lowest rate in the state.

Building Trades: Brett Jepson (Medina), Alex Gomez (Medina), Nick Burke(Lockport), Sean Ogden (Lockport), Josh Taylor (Newfane), Josh Bedford (Roy Hart), Jon Eggert (Roy Hart), Brandon Fuller (Lockport), Jason Criswell (Lockport), Collin Wissinger (Roy Hart). Mr. Matt Anastasi, teacher. Electricity: Anthony Annalora (Lockport), Matt Chutko (Roy Hart), Jordan Deuel (Roy Hart), Josh Ellsworth (Lockport), Daniel Gardner (Barker), Andy Gelyon (Newfane), Kyle Graham (Albion), Mike Hinkley (Medina), Jacob Nizialek (Newfane), Zach Pisarski (Barker), Charles Ricci (Medina), Josh Scroger (Medina) and Aaron Wysochanski (Lockport). Mr. Bill Leggett, teacher.

Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES

Students in Matt Anastasi’s Building Trades program and Bill Leggett’s Electricity and Electronics recently spent a day at the Western New York Construction Days. The event is hosted by the Buffalo Building and Construction Trades Council and its union affiliates.

“It is a great experience for our students,” says Mr. Anastasi. “It is a perfect opportunity for them to talk to union representatives in the various trades and get a look at the apprenticeship programs they offer.”

Although many of the students get hands-on experience in class, there is a wide variety of booths set up by the unions that allow the students to do everything from drive a small Bobcat bulldozer, try their hand at welding or repel down scaffold.

“There is a greater need than ever for workers in these fields,” says Mr. Leggett. “There are a lot of baby boomers retiring and the unions are looking for qualified workers to take their place. It gives our students a chance to make connections for possible careers when they graduate. They all received hard hats and safety glasses for attending which was great.”

Each of the teachers said their students had a great time and helped to reinforce to many that they have chosen the best career path for themselves.

ALBION – The four public libraries in Orleans County will ask the County Legislature to up the county contribution to libraries in 2015.

The four libraries currently share $10,000. They would like to see the county give $1 per resident or $42,883. That money would be shared by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina, Hoag Library in Albion, Community Free Library in Holley and Yates Community Library in Lyndonville.

Representatives from the libraries as well as the Nioga Library System will address county legislators on Wednesday.

“We’d love to see it increased,” said Catherine Cooper, Lee-Whedon director.

Two of the libraries – Lee-Whedon and Yates Community – both completed recent remodeling projects to make the sites more appealing for the public. Hoag is in a new building that opened in July 2012 while the Holley library expanded next door in the Public Square.

The libraries all run community events, from children’s programming to initiatives for adults. Lee-Whedon runs a winter concert series that brings people out into the community.

The libraries have shelves of new books, while offering e-readers and other gadgets.

“We all do our darnedest to keep up with new technology and to make it accessible to the public,” Cooper said.

Matthew Ballard, co-director of the Cobblestone Museum, also is scheduled to address the Legislature on Wednesday afternoon. The museum doesn’t receive any regular county support, although legislators gave the museum $1,000 in county aid last December when the county tapped its contingency account to assist five organizations.

Cuomo announces $10 million in 9-1-1 grants statewide

Orleans County will receive a $134,050 state grant, part of $10 million the state is giving to support emergency response operations at counties state-wide and New York City.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the grants for 57 counties as well as NYC, which all operate 9-1-1 response and emergency service dispatch operations.

“First responders provide a critical service to New Yorkers in every corner of this state, and this funding will help ensure they can respond quickly when an emergency strikes,” Cuomo said. “From extreme weather to roadway accidents and beyond, it is absolutely vital that our emergency personnel receive accurate and timely information when responding to any situation.”

The funding is being administered by the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services through the Public Safety Awareness Points Operations Grant. PSAPs are public facilities where incoming calls for help are received and the dispatching of emergency services is initiated.

Throughout New York State, counties provide the majority of 9-1-1 answering and dispatching operations, and coordinate the services among municipal, county and state responders.

Through the benefit of these sustaining resources, counties can also make greater investments in Next Generation 9-1-1 (or NG-911) technology, which will enable text messaging, data services and improved geo-location for emergency response.

Photos by Peggy Barringer
ALBION – Some of the trees by the Orleans County Courthouse have purple ribbons tied around them, symbolic of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The county also has the courthouse dome lighted up in purple at night to show its support for the cause. On Wednesday, many community members also wore purple to promote domestic violence awareness.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Thom Jennings started on Monday as the new director of the Orleans County YMCA. He is pictured in the refinished gymnasium with people playing basketball.

MEDINA – An organization that only a few years ago was on the verge of extinction is entering a new phase, one that Orleans County YMCA leaders believe will be the most dynamic and engaging since the Y opened more than three decades ago in Medina.

The Y is getting close to finishing a $500,000 capital improvement project that will make a historic building more handicapped accessible, energy efficient and much more appealing and accommodating to its members.

And, starting on Monday, the organization has a new executive director. Thom Jennings is now leading the group and its 50 employees. Jennings has recently worked as a history teacher and social worker.

“We were close to being out of business,” said Dean Bellack, the YMCA board president the past six years.

The Y had an $80,000 annual deficit, but now is the most profitable of the three branches in the GLOW Y, which includes sites in Batavia and Warsaw.

The merger with the GLOW YMCA has been a big boost to the Orleans County Y, Bellack said, bringing resources and expertise. The Orleans agency has maintained its independence, launching a $400,000 capital project 18 months ago.

The community stepped up, and surpassed the fund-raising goal by giving $500,000. That has allowed the Y to tackle several projects at the 90,000-square-foot site.

Dean Bellack, left, has led the YMCA board of directors the past six years. His term ends next month. He will be succeeded as board president by Don Colquhoun.

“We’re very excited about where we are and where we’re going,” Bellack said.

Members have a new side ramp and entrance to a historic building on Pearl Street. The gym floor has been resurfaced.

The racquetball courts were taken out, which freed up space for a new lobby area near the side entrance. A new exercise room also was created.

The Y has added heat and air-conditioning units. There is more work to do on the building project. The 86 windows in the building will all be scraped, primed and painted. A railing will be added to the new steps on the side of the building, which will become the main entrance.

In the spring there will be a unisex bathroom on the main floor. The Y is adding about $20,000 worth of signage throughout the building, as well as a historical timeline and display of the building, which was built for Company F, a local Army National Guard Unit.

Bellack’s term as president ends next month and he will be succeeded as leader of the board by Don Colquhoun, a retired executive director for The Arc of Orleans County. Colquhoun is a long-time member of the Y, and he said the transformation of the organization has been dramatic in the past few years.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said about the vibrant Y. “This is a facility people can be proud of. It’s up to date with programs people can be proud of.”

The Y leaders said Jeff Winters was instrumental in the Y’s recent success. Winters, a Medina native, recently got married and lives in Albany. He took a job with the American Cancer Society.

In Winters’s four years as director, the Y became profitable and quadrupled its members to 2,200. Winters took the reins at the Y when he was 27 with a law degree.

Jennings impressed the Y board and a selection committee with his energy and ideas for more growth and connections in the community for the Y.

“I like people who can create things on their own and don’t just look at the manual,” Bellack said.

Jennings, 48, lives in Albion and sees opportunities to expand the Y in Albion and the Lyndonville communities, as well as in Medina. He wants to build stronger partnerships with GCASA, the United Way and other local agencies, with the goal of improving the community’s health and fitness.

The YMCA operates out of the former Medina Armory, which was built in 1901 on Pearl Street. The building is nearing completion on a $500,000 capitol project.

The Y will be responsive to member feedback and fitness trends, Jennings said.

“I want this to go in the direction that people are driving it,” he said on Monday, his first day on the job.

Jennings may be best known in the community for running for Orleans County Legislature. He tried three times as a Democrat, but didn’t win.

Jennings looks different from his candidate days.

About three years ago he got serious about exercise and healthy living after a bet with his two brothers in law over which of them could lose the most weight. Jennings has lost 100 pounds since then and run two marathons. He won the bet.

He is one of the leaders of the Albion Running Club which is planning three races next year and working on fitness programs in the community.

Jennings is grateful the Y is in such a strong position, and poised to do so much good for the community. He credited Winters, the past executive director, and a dedicated board of directors for building community support and developing programs that proved popular with members.

“The Y has done a great job,” he said. “I want to continue the culture here, which is very positive.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The top of the Orleans County Courthouse dome is shining purple this month for Domestic Violence Awareness Appreciation Month.

The County Legislature is urging the community to wear purple on Oct. 15 to show support for the issue.

The county’s domestic violence unit last year responded to 376 referrals, including a murder and attempted murder, county legislators said in issuing a proclamation declaring October to be “Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Orleans County.”

Agency wants to send gifts to soldiers for holidays

Provided photo – Jared Ostrander, 7, (left) and his brother Jorden, 10, help sort and pack holiday boxes to be sent to American troops overseas.

ALBION – Kristen Ostrander said she loves the Christmas holiday season, the family memories that are made and the celebrations.

Many local families will miss those close interactions this season because a member of their family is serving with the military overseas.

“We take that for granted,” Ostrander said about the family time over the holidays. “But many soldiers won’t be able to be home.”

Ostrander wants to send soldiers packages with various goodies as a reminder that their community cares about them. She is heading a “Treats for Troops” effort. Ostrander would like to fill at least 50 boxes that are about shoebox size and send them to troops.

The community is welcome to donate items – personal care products, packaged food, magazines, games and other activity items. Ostrander also is raising money to mail the boxes at $15 each.

Community Action led the effort for filling the boxes about a year ago. A donor paid the postage last year. That funding isn’t available this year.

Donations for the packages can be dropped off at Community Action on East State Street in Albion and at its center in Holley, at GCASA in Albion and also at the Kendall Elementary School.

Kendall fifth- and sixth-graders are collecting supplies for the packages and also writing letters to the soldiers.

The deadline for donating is Nov. 1. Ostrander said volunteers will then fill all the packages and have them mailed by Nov. 19 so they can be delivered in time for Christmas.

For more information, contact Andrea Skowneski, case manager at Community Action, at 585-589-5605 ext. 105 or by email at askowneski@caoginc.org.

ALBION – The County Legislature unanimously voted on Wednesday to expand the income threshold for senior citizens to qualify for a discount on their county taxes.

Residents 65 and older currently are eligible for a discount if they earn less than $19,200 a year. Beginning with the March 1, 2015 tax rolls, the threshold has been raised to $21,200.

Right now the county offers 50 percent off for seniors with household incomes up to $13,500. The sliding scale exemption drops to 20 percent off for seniors with annual incomes between $18,300 and $19,199. It’s 0 percent for seniors with incomes at $19,200 or above.

The new schedule gives senior citizens 50 percent off if they earn less than $15,500 and then the discount drops 5 percent in a sliding scale to 20 percent before being capped at $21,200.

There are 313 seniors who currently receive the exemption. The county hasn’t changed the income levels in seven years. Seniors have been getting small increases in Social Security, putting some on the verge of losing the county tax discount, said Dawn Allen, director of the county’s Real Property Tax Services Department.

“We’re trying to maintain the current seniors in the program,” Allen told legislators.

Most of the towns in the county have a similar tax discount program for seniors, capping it at incomes above $21,200, Allen said.

The new proposed schedule includes the following percentage exemptions:

50 percent off for incomes up to $15,500;
45 percent off for incomes between $15,500 and $16,499;
40 percent between $16,500 and $17,499;
35 percent between $17,500 and $18,499;
30 percent between $18,500 and $19,399;
25 percent between $19,400 and $20,299;
20 percent between $20,300 and $21,199;
0 percent after $21,200.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Charlie Nesbitt, the honorary chairman for the United Way fund drive, announces a $325,000 goal with Marsha Rivers, executive director for the United Way. Penny Nice, president of Orleans County Adult Learning Services, is pictured at right. OCALS receives funding through United Way.

MEDINA – At a downtown center in Holley, Community Action runs an after-school program that wouldn’t happen without support from the United Way.

Community Action also uses United Way dollars to help run the Main Street Store in Albion, which provides job training and skills to many local residents.

The United Way funding is steady each year, bringing stability to an agency that also relies on grants and other government funding that often varies each year, said Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

“The grants are hit or miss,” Fancher said. “If we don’t have them we flex the size of the program to meet the resources we have.”

Community Action is one of about 20 agencies that receive funding through the United Way of Orleans County. The United Way kicked off its annual fund-raising campaign this evening and set a goal of $325,000.

The Boy Scouts (Iroquois Trail Council) is one of the funded agencies through United Way. Jim McMullen, the Scout executive, said the United Way dollars help keep down the costs of the Scouting program.

“Unlike other sources, it’s consistent,” he said about the United Way dollars. “We can rely on it every year. It provides programs for families in need. Without it, everything would be higher.”

File photo by Tom Rivers – Boy Scouts and their families are on a fishing expedition at a former quarry on Keitel Road, now owned by the Albion Sportsmen’s Association.

The Iroquois Trail Council serves Scouts in five counties. McMullen said each of those counties contribute funding through the United Way.

He would welcome more money so the Council could expand Scouting programs and push to attract more youths into the program.

“With even another $1,000 you’d have more opportunities to recruit kids in the community,” McMullen said.

Several agency leaders attended the kickoff celebration at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. Marsha Rivers started as United Way executive director last month. She said the campaign “is all about building stronger communities.”

Before joining the United Way, she worked for Hospice of Orleans, which provides palliative care for people with advanced illness. Prior to that she worked with younger families through the Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, which offers ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and other resources for families.

She thanked a dedicated United Way board of directors for giving its time to support the United Way mission, and the many residents and businesses for contributing money to the campaign. Those funds will help the agencies provides services to residents.

“Everybody here is a giver, whether you’re giving money or time,” said Charlie Nesbitt, the honorary campaign chairman and former state assemblyman. “It’s about individuals and their needs. That’s why we will make a meaningful commitment to those that need us.”

Jodi Gaines, president and CEO of Claims Recovery Financial Services in Albion, serves on the United Way board. She has been pushing the United Way campaign for more than 20 years.

“It’s about helping the community,” Gaines said. “I know these agencies are top notch and well run.”

Some of the funded United Way agencies include 4-H and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Camp Rainbow through the Arc of Orleans, Meals on Wheels, Boy Scouts, Community Action’s Main Street store and after-school program, Community Kitchen at Christ Episcopal Church in Albion, GCASA and Students United for Positive Action, Girl Scouts and Hospice of Orleans.

Other funded agencies include Just Friends, Medina Youth Commission, Ministry of Concern, Habitat for Humanity, Orleans County Adult Learning Service, PathStone Domestic Violence Shelter, Regional Action Phone, Senior Citizens of WNY, and the Orleans County YMCA.

For more information, click here.

Editor’s note: Tom Rivers is married to Marsha Rivers, the United Way executive director.

ALBION – Orleans County residents are encouraged to be wary of an out-of-town paving company that seems to target elderly residents, paving their driveways and making repairs at grossly inflated prices.

Roland Nenni, Albion police chief, said the company uses different names and approaches senior citizens, trying to confuse them into agreeing to pay costs in far excess of the value of work done. Nenni said Wednesday one elderly man was presented with a $6,000 bill for work that Nenni said should have been about $500.

He said the company is treading a fine line between civil and criminal action. Albion police approached the company on Wednesday and Nenni said he hopes they don’t come back. He said the company is trying to sign up clients in the region, and could target other nearby communities.

The company will make its bid proposals for the work, putting the dollar amounts at square footage rather than the overall cost, which is misleading to many residents, Nenni said.

“They are charging unbelievably high rates,” he said.

6 new bridges tops the infrastructure list

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County officials want to see fewer road closed signs in the county. This sign is out while the Village of Medina rebuilds a section of Horan Road.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved an $8 million bond today so the county can get to work on replacing bridges, culverts, roofs and other infrastructure work.

The bond will provide $4,963,000 to replace six bridges from 2015 to 2017. The county is moving forward with the projects after getting little state and federal dollars for bridges. Another state and federal funding cycle doesn’t come up until 2017.

If the county waits until they to again seek funding, some of the bridges may be closed. The bridge funds tend to go to projects with high-volume counts, making it unlikely the rural county could rely on state and federal money for its infrastructure needs.

“Failure to act on our part will result in further deterioration of our infrastructure assets and unnecessary closures of county-owned roads and bridges,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard.

The county has identified six bridges for replacement, starting with 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.

Callard said that plan could be altered if a different bridge is “red flagged” by the state and closed.

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. 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, Callard said.

The bond is expected to cost the county a little over $400,000 annually for the next 20 years. The borrowing terms will be worked out in the coming months. Interest rates have been at about 2 percent, noted Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

“That’s another factor: the money is so cheap right now,” he said.

The county doesn’t anticipate higher taxes because of the bond because it will be done paying off the debt for the Public Safety Building’s original construction next year, the final $160,000 payment. The county also is to receive $268,000 annually as part of a state gambling compact. The first partial payment arrived this year.

The gambling funds and the relief from the Public Safety Building debt should cover the new borrowing costs for the projects, making the work cost neutral on the county budget, Nesbitt said.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – This hitching post was installed this morning on the courthouse lawn by the county highway department. It’s the third hitching post added along Main Street in Albion in recent months.

Two others were put by a village parking lot next to the Presbyterian Church. A fourth hitching post is planned for near Main Street on East State Street, also by the Presbyterian Church.

The Albion Main Street Alliance raised the money to buy the four posts, which were originally property markers from a century ago. Rings were made for the posts and holes were drilled into the posts so the rings could be secured.

Photo by Tom Rivers

An interpretive panel about hitching posts and carriage steps was also added by the two on the north side of the Presbyterian Church. The panel notes that Albion and Gaines have many of these horse-and-buggy artifacts, which have endured partly because they were made with a superior building material – Medina sandstone. Many residents, especially on the village side streets, have kept their hitching posts and carriage steps, even though they are long obsolete.

The one on the courthouse lawn is near a historical marker erected last year for William McAllister and his wife, pioneer settlers in Albion who built a log cabin where the current County Clerks’ Building stands.

This hitching post was set so the unfinished stone work could be observed, trying to show the contrast with the finished stone, highlighting the skill of the quarrymen.

New highs for visitors and pageviews

Photo by Tom Rivers – A fire engulfs a truck outside Pawlak’s Save-A-Lot in Albion on Sept. 24. The truck’s owner, Timothy Martin, escaped without being injured. Albion firefighters were quickly on scene to put out the fire, one of several breaking news stories reported last month on Orleans Hub.

Orleans Hub saw a significant jump in traffic in September, a month with high-profile crimes, breaking news and tragedy.

While many Hub readers thank us for lots of positive news on the site, crime and tragedy seem to be the most viewed stories at the site.

We averaged 5,600 unique visitors daily in September, which broke the previous high of 4,757 in June by 17.7 percent. Our pageviews for the month totaled 519,161, which was up by 64,639 or 14.2 percent from the record in August. The September average was 17,305 pageviews each day.

Orleans Hub went live about 18 months ago April 2, 2013. We didn’t hit 5,000 unique visitors for a day until Oct. 17, 2013. That was the day of the huge fire in Albion at Orleans Pallet. The 5,898 visitors to the site that day was a record high for the Hub about a year ago. Now it’s close to the daily average.

The most viewed story last month was an article on Sept. 24 about a standoff in Ridgeway that closed a section of Route 104 for about six hours (Section of 104 closed in Ridgeway after suspect barricades self inside). A man wanted in the incident, Gerardo Quiros, turned himself in to state police two days later on Sept. 26.

The Hub’s local sports articles and photos also saw a big jump in traffic, up 33.4 percent from a May high of 19,530 to 26,062 in September.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Mike and Cheryl Wertman are drawing a following for their coverage of local sports. In this photo, Medina’s Brett Pecoraro picks up yardage in a 60-8 victory over Newfane on Sept. 6.