Photos by Sue Cook – This acrylic painting “A Vase of Flowers” by Rachel Gregoire, 14, of the Rabbit Raisers Club won both a blue ribbon and was selected for the state fair.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

KNOWLESVILLE – The Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds opened today to showcase the crafts that many 4-H’ers created.

Judging took place on Saturday and Sunday to allow the kids in animal groups to focus on their animals throughout the rest of the week. Ribbons have already been awarded.

This “Summer Celebration Brunch for Two” table setting won a blue ribbon and was selected for state fair. The display was made by Maggie Gabalski, 17, of the Rabbit Raisers club.

The brunch that is meant to be served on this setting includes several items such as blueberry muffins with blueberry ginger jam and almond poundcake with peach lavender glaze. The meal is meant to feature garden-fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables.

Instead of the more traditional crafts, the Gregoire family in Murray chose to set up a display of their own trapping-related crafts used for making pelts. The long wood pieces are stretcher boards used for stretching the hides of animals and were made by the kids in the club.

“Basically after you harvest the animal and you skin it out, you have to dry the thing before you can possibly tan it or sell it,” Rachel Gregoire said about the boards. “Depending on the animals, you have to put it on different ways.”

Her group doesn’t traditionally set up a display of this nature, but this year the Gregoire family set out the boards they made, along with examples of pelts, books and old tools used in the trade.

“My dad grew up trapping and my mom grew up on a dairy and fruit farm, so she did some hunting,” Rachel said. “Her brothers did a lot of hunting. I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

This stunning dress made by Lauren Becht, 14, of the Adventurers Club, was among the items chosen for the Court of Honor.

Claire Wachob, a 4-H Leader for the Lyndonville Mongrels, says a lot of the traditional handmade crafts associated with 4-H are not dying out or becoming unpopular. She even reuses old crafts for new groups of kids.

“We have quite a few artists in our club,” Wachob said. “They do a lot of wood crafts and ceramics, too. We choose mainly what they love doing. Not everyone likes to be a farmer and garden, but these kids like to paint.”

“We usually go back to the things that they really enjoy doing,” she continued. “I have accumulated all these records and I’ll pull one out and they’ll get excited. We can still do them; they don’t grow old. 4-H is based on the children and their needs, desires and interests.”

She added that 4-H is so popular and families find it so worthwhile that they make it a long-term family thing.

“It is a club where kids grow up to be parents, and the first thing they do is have their kids join a 4-H club,” Wachob said. “Like in mine, we have three generations.”

The Adventurers Club recycled beach towels and turned them in to fun aprons. This apron won a blue ribbon and was made by 6-year-old Matthew Mathes of the Adventurers Club.

Many of the items that won selection for state fair were grouped together on the back wall. The selection includes everything from skirts to snowman hats to plastic bag Muppet heads.

ALBION – Former State Assemblyman Charlie Nesbitt didn’t actively pursue George Maziarz’s seat in the State Senate after Maziarz sudden announcement last Sunday night that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Nesbitt served in the State Assembly for 13 years before stepping down in 2005 after being Republican leader of the minority conference. He was appointed president of the State Tax Appeals Tribunal and continues to work as one of its three commissioners.

Nesbitt’s name was tossed out to a Committee on Vacancies that met last week and backed North Tonawanda Mayor Robert Ortt for the Republican endorsement for the 62nd Senate District.

“As long as we had a good candidate I wasn’t seeking it,” Nesbitt said.

And Ortt, a mayor for 4 ½ years, is a strong candidate, Nesbitt said.

“He has a good background and I’ve heard good things about him,” Nesbitt said. “He is a veteran and a CEO.”

Ortt, 35, served as the city’s treasurer and then clerk-treasurer before being elected mayor. Ortt enlisted in the National Guard on October 2001 after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He served a tour in Afghanistan from March to December 2008. Prior to working in city hall, Ortt was a personal financial analyst with Primerica Financial Services.

Gia Arnold, 24, of Holley has forced a GOP primary for Sept. 9. She also is working to be on the November ballot under the Libertarian Party.

The Republicans have a narrow edge in the Senate, and Democrats, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, want to see the power shift to Democrats after the November election.

Maziarz’s seat represents most of Niagara, all of Orleans and the western portion of Monroe. The Democrats have endorsed Niagara Falls attorney Johnny Destino, who lost a Republican Primary to Maziarz in 2012 and has switched parties to run as a Democrat this time.

Destino could see his chances for election improved if both Arnold and Ortt are in the ballot in November, splitting some of the Republican and Conservative bases.

Maziarz in his announcement on Sunday said the job was taking a toll with all the back and forth to Albany and his Senate district. Federal investigators are also looking into his campaign fund and have identified tens of thousands of dollars in unitemized and unreported checks.

Nesbitt worked closely with Maziarz in the State Legislature and said Maziarz had a reputation as one of the hard-working legislators in Albany with his work in the state capitol and in his home district. Nesbitt said the constant commutes and demands of the positions make it hard on legislators and their families.

“He really did a fine job,” Nesbitt said. “He worked as hard as anyone in politics.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Former Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Marcia Tuohey was among the well-wishers today who congratulated Paul Wagner on his retirement as the county’s emergency management director. Wagner retires on Friday after 14 years in the job. He was appointed to the position by Tuohey.

HOLLEY – Paul Wagner was unflappable in a high-pressure job, a person who welcomed suggestions – and criticism – with a goal of keeping residents safe and getting firefighters the resources they need for their jobs.

“Paul has always been around and available,” said Doug Jones Sr., the past fire chief at Kendall. “He can handle stressful situations.”

Wagner, a former Clarendon fire chief, will retire on Friday after 14 years as Orleans County’s emergency management director. He stayed on the job until a new $7.1 million digital radio system was installed. The new system continues to work out some “bugs” but county officials say the system is a vast improvement over the previous one that was implemented in 1992.

Jones was one of many leaders from fire departments throughout the county that attended a retirement party for Wagner at Hickory Ridge Country Club in Holley.

“One of the things I appreciated about Paul is we could have a disagreement and he said it was OK to disagree,” Jones said. “He didn’t hold a grudge.”

Dale Banker, a past Albion fire chief, will succeed Wagner. Banker starts at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Banker has worked 36 years for the state Department of Transportation. He has been the DOT’s equipment coordinator and a supervisor out of the Albion office. He will go on leave from the DOT and officially retire from the state in November.

Banker said he will push to recruit more firefighters because fire departments need more active members.

“We’re at an all-time low for volunteers,” Banker said.

Banker would also like to see upgraded and expanded classroom facilities for firefighters at the Emergency Management Office on Countyhouse Road in Albion. He would also like to establish a shooting range for firearms training.

Wagner isn’t fully retiring. He will stay on as a part-time consultant until the end of the year.

Many other counties see a drop in dollars

ALBION – Orleans County’s sales tax revenues jumped 5.3 percent or by nearly $400,000 the first six months of 2014, compared to the same time a year ago.

That increase defies a downward trend for many other counties in the state. In fact, 16 of the 62 counties have a drop in sales tax revenue and state-wide the county sales tax revenue has only increased 0.14 percent, according to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.

Orleans County officials budgeted for a $25,000 increase in sales tax for the year. The county typically takes in about $15 million for the year.

It’s up by $386,597 for the first six months, $7,741,592 for the first half of 2014 compared to $7,354,995 during the same time frame in 2013.

Neighboring Genesee County saw a steep drop the first half of 2014, a decrease of 4.1 percent or $767,399 to $17,891,433. Wyoming County is down 0.8 percent and Livingston is behind the 2013 pace by 0.7 percent.

Orleans didn’t experience the growth in sales tax like the three other GLOW counties prior to this year. The county came in $363,831 below its budget for sales tax in 2013, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The county’s tracking shows a $183,099 increase for the first half of 2014, Nesbitt said.

“My hope at this time is that we will make the budgeted number,” he said.

With so many counties trailing last year’s numbers, the New York State Association of Counties is worried about “significant pockets of weakness across the state.” The sales tax revenue is a key indicator of economic health of a community, said Stephen J. Acquario, NYSAC executive director.

“Sales tax revenue is crucial to counties, as it is one of only a handful of revenue sources available,” he said. “The state must make an ongoing commitment to targeted Mandate Relief in health and human programs and relieve the burden on local taxpayers.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION –  After a big welcome reception in Medina on Sunday night, about 500 cyclists on the Erie Canal are being treated today to refreshments and greetings in Albion and Holley. The top photo shows a group of cyclists by two welcome tents in Albion.

The cyclists come from 34 states and four foreign countries. They are riding about 400 miles along the Erie Canal in the 16th annual “Cycling the Erie Canal” ride organized by the Parks and Trails Network.

Wendy Hinkley, the branch manager for Five Star Bank in Albion, gives directions to cyclists this morning in Albion. She volunteered in a welcome tent organized by the Albion Main Street Alliance. Carolyn Ricker, left, and the Albion Merchants Association also had local merchandise and brochures available.

Many of the cyclists stop for a snack and to stretch their legs in Albion.

The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church also opened for tours and the Cobblestone Society Museum offered a shuttle bus to the museum complex in Gaines.

Karie Deegan and Debbie Karas try to make the cyclists feel welcome this morning in Albion.

Some of the cyclists who approached the Main Street lift bridge in Albion pulled out their cameras to get a photo.

The cyclists are also being welcomed in Holley. Mayor John Kenney will be part of a welcoming committee at the village’s canal park. Kenney and members of the Murray-Holley Historical Society will be serving coffee, pastries and refreshments.

Photo by Tom Rivers – A powerful storm tore through the county on June 17, taking down trees, including this one on Route 279 in Gaines.

Orleans Hub set new records for traffic in June. Our 4,757 daily average for unique visitors topped the previous record of 4,300.

We also set a new record with 438,579 pageviews for the month, which was up 28 percent from May. In June we averaged 14,619 page views each day. We set a new daily record on June 18 with 22,440 page views. That was a day after a vicious thunderstorm took down trees and knocked out power in Orleans County.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The community lined Main Street in Medina on June 9 when a motorcade passed through with the body of Medina native, Sgt. Shaina Schmigel, a paratrooper who died in a training accident at Fort Bragg.

June was the first month in more than a century without The Journal-Register in Medina, which ceased publication on May 30.

The top five stories for the month, in terms of page views, include:

1. Paratrooper from Medina dies at Fort Bragg (June 1)

2. Body of Medina paratrooper comes home on Monday (June 6)

3. 2 face drug charges in Medina (June 23)

4. Albion boy, 9, accidently shot in arm (June 9)

5. Black bear wanders to Gaines (June 23)

Cody Weese took this picture of a black bear along Route 279 in the town of Gaines.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Bernie’s Laundromat and a neighboring building were sold for $14,000 last week to Ken Daluisio, who plans to expand his print business to the property.

MEDINA – Orleans County sold more than 50 properties last week that had been in limbo due to years of unpaid taxes.

Two of the properties – 128 East Center St. and 132-134 East Center St. – were sold to Ken Daluisio in a negotiated transaction. Daluisio will pay $14,000 for the two commercial properties. They are next door to his business, The Print Shop.

The properties, which includes the former Bernie’s Laundromat, accumulated $50,406 in back taxes and interest, according to the County Treasurer’s Office.

Daluisio wants to expand his print business next door, and renovate the sites for additional retail and business space. Daluisio is planning to add four awnings to the store fronts.

The County Legislature approved the sale on Wednesday, when the body also approved the sale of 51 lots at the annual tax foreclosure sale. The 51 properties sold for a combined $343,050. That was $43,151 short of the $386,201 owed in back taxes and interest.

Some of the properties sold well above the amount due in taxes, and others sold for far less.

The tax auctions usually are money losers for the county. Last year, the county took in about $140,000 for 43 properties with about $375,000 in unpaid taxes.

“It’s in the negative, but it’s not as bad as in the past,” County Treasurer Susan Heard told legislators last week.

Some of the property owners paid the taxes just before the auction to take them out of the sale.

The county is happy to see the properties return to the tax rolls. Heard said the owners may improve the sites, boosting the tax base.