Photos by Tom Rivers – The village of Albion has 10 to 15 “zombie houses” that have been left abandoned after residents were foreclosed on by a bank. The banks often fail to maintain the sites. The top photo shows 347 West State St., Albion.

Just down the street at 327 West State St. stands another abandoned house.

Another abandoned house in Albion stands at 324 West Park St.

They are called the biggest problem properties in residential neighborhoods locally. So-called “zombie houses” are abandoned homes and the owners of the buildings, typically banks that let the sites sit in limbo for years, are hard to pinpoint.

There are thousands of these abandoned properties state-wide, and at least a couple dozen in Orleans County. The issue has caught the attention of State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who wants state legislation that would require mortgage lenders to take responsibility for estimated 15,000 abandoned properties statewide.

The attorney general also plans to create a statewide registry that would allow municipalities to track abandoned homes and enforce local codes.

Local code enforcement officers welcome any help from the state in going after the owners of the properties and requiring them to maintain the sites.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Marty Busch, the code enforcement officer in Medina. “It’s very hard to track down the owner, whether it’s a bank or a mortgage company.”

The villages often will board up broken windows and have the DPW mow lawns. A fee is added to the property’s taxes, and billed to the owner.

The village of Albion billed $22,350 for mowing last year for the multiple trips at neglected properties. The village also billed $1,970 for boarding up fees.

Ron Vendetti, Albion’s code enforcement officer, said the houses are his biggest headache because there often isn’t a clear owner or contact person.

“I write the violations and some of the banks may assign a property manager, but some don’t have them,” he said. “You don’t have anyone you can deal with.”

He sees houses that could be sold sitting empty for several years, often falling into disrepair. Some people have expressed interest in buying the houses, but Vendetti said the owner – the banks or mortgage companies – don’t move on a sale.

Vendetti and Busch both think the banks lost track of what they actually own because there was so much mortgage selling among the entities in the mid to late 2000s.

“It’s a consistent problem, but the banks don’t give a rat’s a– about us,” Vendetti said. “People want some of these houses but they go nowhere.”

Schneiderman wants to change that, and is proposing stiff financial penalties for banks or mortgage companies that are unresponsive. If a bank fails to register an abandoned house, it could be fined as much as $1,000 a day.

The attorney general also wants to double the size of land banks to 20 in the state. These nonprofit organizations could acquire abandoned or foreclosed properties and then decide whether to rebuild, demolish or redesign them.

Vendetti and Busch both estimated there are 10 to 15 “zombie houses” in both Albion and Medina. Vendetti is also the code officer in the village of Holley and he said there are at least four there, plus eight houses left vacant from a chemical leak at Diaz Chemical more than a decade ago.

The zombie houses are easy to spot. Drive around on garbage day and they don’t have garbage out, Vendetti said. Many are missing curtains. In the winter there are no footprints in the snow. When the warm weather comes, the grass will grow wild.

For neighbors, the houses bring worry. Some of them have had squatters, Vendetti said.

Busch welcomed the attention from the attorney general. He wants to see the issue become a bigger priority.

“It’s extremely difficult just to establish the owner,” Busch said. “If it’s an out-of-state bank or mortgage company, it’s hard to find someone who even knows about the property. Half the time I don’t think they know what they have.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Monsanto gave $2,500 each to Community Action or Orleans & Genesee and Hospice of Orleans County. Jim and Jean Peglow, farmers in Barre, nominated the agencies for the grants from Monsanto. Monsanto Northeast business manager Jeff Cunningham, center, presented the checks to the agencies in Albion on March 22. He is joined in the photo by, from left: Jean and Jim Peglow; Mary Fischer, executive director of Hospice; Annette Finch, community services director for Community Action; and Ed Fancher, Community Action executive director.

ALBION – Jean Peglow and the other members of West Barre United Methodist Church have long been supporters of Hospice of Orleans County and Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

The church wanted to boost its contributions to the two agencies, and found a way to meet that goal through a grant program offered by Monsanto. Peglow applied to the “America’s Farmers Grow Communities.” She was successful in securing $2,500 each for both agencies.

On March 22, Jeff Cunningham, Monsanto’s Northeast business manager, arrived in Albion with large ceremonial checks for Hospice and Community Action. The company, which sells seeds and other agricultural products to many local farmers, has been offering the grants for three years.

“We wanted to put more money back in the local communities where are customers are,” he said.

Both agencies say they will put the money to good use.

Community Action is seeing increased demand at its food pantries in Albion, Holley and Batavia, said Annette Finch, the agency’s community services director.

The $2,500 will allow Community Action to supplement some of the food donated by Food Link. The agency may use the money to purchase vouchers at grocery stores for milk and eggs, which aren’t available at the pantries due to space constraints.

Hospice opened a new residence in December for terminally ill patients. The $2,500 will help pay for personal care items and support the care for residents in the home, said Mary Anne Fischer, Hospice executive director.

Peglow’s husband Jim and his brother Jon are co-owners of Angevine Farms in Barre. The brothers use Monsanto products.

Mrs. Peglow said she is pleased to see the Monsanto funds will help the local causes.

“This is basically seed money for the different agencies,” she said.

‘They’re here to make sure I never give up.’

Photos by Tom Rivers – Leah Farrington is congratulated on completing the Jobs for Life program by mentors and leaders on the program at a graduation program on Monday at the Hoag Library. Farrington is one of five graduates in the first class.

ALBION – Two months ago Leah Farrington started the Jobs for Life program, which is run by a group of churches. Today, Farrington is signing up for the culinary institute in Niagara Falls.

Farrington, 22, of Albion said Jobs for Life’s mentors and instructors helped bring out her strengths over 16 classes.

“They taught me to feel comfortable with myself and to have confidence,” Farrington said Monday during a graduation program for the first Jobs for Life class in Orleans County.

Four others graduated from the program, which is aimed to break the cycle of poverty for some local residents. The class taught soft skills such as the importance of showing up on time, preparing a resume, interviewing, and dressing appropriately.

Farrington said the 6 to 8 p.m. classes on Mondays and Thursdays worked well with her schedule. The group met at the Hoag Library.

The first class of Jobs for Life graduates in Orleans County include, front row, from left: John Snook, Leah Farrington, Josh King, Dave Tetrault Sr., and Dave Tetrault Jr. Back row: mentor Ocie Bennett, student relations leader Cindy Mordino, site leader and mentor Tim Lindsay, instructors Rick and Dee Huntington, instructors Becky and Todd Wolford, business relations leader Craig Platter, mentor Deb Scott, student relations leader and mentor Donna Ernenwein, prayer team member Debbie Thies, and advisory member Don Snyder.

Local business leaders shared tips for success with the class, and instructors and mentors offered support and encouragement.

“They’re here to make sure I never give up,” said John Snook, one of the graduates. “They’re someone I can talk to.”

Snook, 25, of Albion said he has never had a mentor until the class. His immediate goal: “find a good job that I like to do.”

The Rev. Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, pushed to start the Jobs for Life program, which he said has had success in many other communities. He praised the five graduates for finishing the course.

He said the mentors and program leaders want to stay supportive of the graduates as they pursue the job market.

“I’m so excited for all of you,” Lindsay told them during a graduation ceremony at the Hoag Library. “You will be in our prayers.”

Dave Tetrault Sr. and other graduates were treated to a cake and other refreshments following the graduation ceremony. They each received a certificate for completing the program.

Josh King, 28, of Holley also finished the program and plans to enroll at Monroe Community College for precision machining. King worked in construction for 10 years. He never prepared a resume until the Jobs for Life class.

“I met a great group of people,” he said. “Everybody rallied around me. Just having a network of great people is very reassuring to me.”

A father and son also completed Jobs for Life. David Tetrault Sr., 58, and his son, David Tetrault Jr., 36, are both hunting for jobs.

The elder Tetrault worked 25 years in Rochester for a machining company that went bankrupt. He would like to get into landscaping or building maintenance. He volunteers caring for the Harvest Christian Fellowship property on Route 31.

Tetrault learned to write a resume in the class. He praised the program for making class members stand up and speak before the group.

“This is a very needed program,” he said.

His son volunteers as the sound technician at church. The younger Tetrault said he has some job prospects in Watertown.

Todd and Becky Wolford volunteered as instructors on Monday nights. Mr. Wolford, a teacher at Lyndonville, stressed character for the class.

“The character traits are what people are looking for,” Wolford said.

Some of the employers who addressed the class said they were open to employees who may have made bad choices in the past, or struggled with circumstances beyond their control.

“It was encouraging for them to hear that,” Wolford said. “They need to press through the hurdles and road blocks. They know they can get back up and keep going.”

Press release, Orleans-Niagara BOCES

New York State has selected a new high school equivalency test called Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) to replace the General Education Development (GED) as the primary pathway to a New York State High School Equivalency Diploma, effective Jan. 2, 2014.

The TASC will be aligned to the Common Core Standards over the next three years, increasing in difficulty each year.

“The TASC is very different from the GED exam that we have given since 2002,” said Susan Diemert, adult literacy coordinator for Orleans-Niagara BOCES. “It measures examinees’ levels of achievement relative to that of graduating high school seniors, and readiness for college and the workforce.”

The test was developed by CTB/McGraw-Hill and is now available on paper or online.  The TASC is composed of five sections including math, reading, writing, science, and social studies.

“The GED exam was primarily a reading comprehension test – if the student had good reading and math skills, then he/she could probably pass the exam. The TASC now requires the individual to have knowledge of basic social studies and science content and advanced math skills,” Diemert said. “Adult students will now have to learn facts about government, historical documents, American history, and World history for social studies.  The science section will require the student to have prior knowledge in the areas of biology, chemistry, and earth science.”

All five sections are different and will become increasingly more difficult through 2016.

Orleans-Niagara BOCES Adult Literacy program is one of 13 districts throughout the state to give the TASC online. We are the only district that has multiple sites, four in total throughout Niagara and Orleans counties.

“Students can take the exam online in one of our computer labs or on paper at scheduled times,” said Jessica Bush, chief examiner for the TASC.  “Due to the more difficult nature of the test, we recommend that individuals take a Readiness Practice Test. The Readiness Practice Test is half the length of the actual test and determines the student’s ability to pass it.”

Orleans-Niagara BOCES  is offering preparation classes at 14 different locations including Niagara Falls, Lockport, North Tonawanda, Sanborn, Albion, and Medina. A student may start class at any time. Morning, afternoon, and evening classes are available. Classes are free to any Niagara or Orleans resident.

“We do not recommend that anyone take the TASC without proper preparation,” added Diemert.  “We have TASC preparation classes throughout Niagara and Orleans counties that specifically teach the skills needed to pass the test.”

Anyone who took the GED exam and failed any section of it prior to Jan. 1 can carry over the passing scores for two years and re-take failed areas. GED scores will expire on Dec. 31, 2015. The student can combine the passing GED scores with the new TASC scores to obtain a high school equivalency diploma.

To obtain further information on anything related to high school equivalency or for a schedule of Readiness Practice Test sessions, please call Susan Diemert at Orleans-Niagara BOCES, 1-800-836-7510 or 731-4176 ext. 3003.

‘Tale for Three Counties’ offers good read for community

Photos by Sue Cook – Karen Thompson Walker stands before the audience discussing her book “The Age of Miracles” at Hoag Library in Albion.

By Sue Cook

ALBION – For the 12th year, Orleans County has participated in “A Tale for Three Counties” program, which asks the community to read the same book and join in discussions and book talks with the author. This year, Hoag Library was the host of the Orleans County talk with the author.

“Hoag is very excited to host the program,” said library assistant Susie Gaylard. “It’s a chance for people to meet a nationally known author.”

The Hoag is hosting the author discussion this time and next year it will go to Lee-Whedon in Medina. The two libraries alternate years as the location for the discussion in the county. Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties all participate in the program.

This year the chosen book was “The Age of Miracles” by Karen Thompson Walker. The story is of a young girl named Julia and her family during a planetary catastrophe called “the slowing.” The planet begins to lose its spin and the days and nights begin to stretch out longer and longer.

Soon there are white nights and black days as life becomes unhinged from the sun. Many families attempt to follow the government decision to remain in sync with the 24-hour clock time, while others live on real time and attempt to remain asleep during all dark periods and stay awake during light periods.

Eventually, life on the planet begins to suffer and crops become unable to cope with the drastic change. Through all of this, Julia is still living her sixth-grade year, as her family attempts to be as ordinary as they can despite the crisis.

Thompson Walker also says she is aware that a current trend in books is often the apocalypse genre of which she is a fan. “I’ve always been drawn to disaster stories for some reason. Even though they seem really dark, there’s always a strangely uplifting element.”

Thompson Walker reads a portion of the first chapter for her novel for the audience so that they can hear it the way she imagined it.

When asked if she would be a clock-timer (someone following the 24-hour schedule) or a real-timer (living by the sun), as they are called in the book, she replied, “I’d admire the real-timers, but I think I’m too practical in the end. I’d be a reluctant clock-timer.”

“I got the idea in 2004,” she said. “There was the earthquake that caused the tsunami in Indonesia.” She explained that the newspaper article she read explained that the event was so massive it changed the rotation of the Earth so that our 24-hour days had ended up with a few seconds shaved off. She said that this idea had impacted her significantly and spurred her to write.

The setting of the story is in California, which is where she grew up and was able to draw experiences from. The story’s focus on Julia’s family in California instead of a larger scale.

“I wanted a global story to feel intimate and personal,” she said to the audience.

Once her book was finished and sold to Random House, she contacted an astrophysicist to check the facts she presented in the novel to verify that it was at least plausible. She said that a grad student checked over her work and made suggestions of changes that would be more realistic to what could happen in such a situation. She went on to say that he was a fan of fiction and understood the wiggle room needed for imagination in a fiction work.

Thompson Walker said that she is working on a new book about ordinary people facing an extreme situation, which in this case is an epidemic. She likes the idea of a story reminding people of what it would be like if ordinary life were in peril.

Thompson Walker signed books after the discussion, as well as posters for the local libraries.

Thompson Walker also offered encouraging words to the young writers of our community. “Read as much as you can. Keep writing. Practice. Do years of practice and revising.”

Leslie DeLooze, librarian from Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia and Tale for Three Counties committee member, said books that are available in paperback are often chosen by the program committee because they are more inexpensive. The committee also favors recently published works with a large-print and audiobook versions as well.

“People realize the value of seeing the author and having her talk,” DeLooze said of the program. “We’re really excited to have Karen with us.”

The books are chosen by a committee made of mostly library directors, retired directors, and librarians from Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. All year they read books to determine what to choose. The book must be fiction, appeal to teen and adult readers, have literary merit determined by reviews or awards, be about rural life or local history, and provide a discussion while introducing new authors to readers. To top it off, the author must come to the area and provide talks in the three counties at Genesee Community College and the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia, Hoag or Lee-Whedon Library, and also in Perry.

Thompson Walker was originally contacted for the Tale program through Facebook. This is her first visit to upstate New York.

Copies of the book are available for purchase. To buy a book, check the local libraries and bookstores. For more information about the novel, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers – U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, center, chaired a Congressional field hearing in Albion on Thursday about broadband Internet access. Collins is joined by Andy Karellas (left), a staff member for the House Committee on Small Business, and Ted Alexander, a senior legislative assistant for Collins.

ALBION – When Congressman Chris Collins needed a location for a field hearing, a backdrop for the challenges of bringing broadband Internet to a community, he picked Albion in Orleans County.

County officials and the town leaders have struggled to get industry and government leaders to expand the service in rural pockets of the county.

Industry officials report that 95 percent of the county is covered with broadband, but Legislature Chairman David Callard said the coverage may be as low as 50 percent. It hurts local businesses, residents and students who are at a competitive disadvantage in an increasingly wired world.

Callard updated Collins on the local efforts to document the gaps in coverage and a push to expand service. Callard and officials from five other counties attended a Congressional field hearing and then a roundtable discussion about rural broadband access.

Collins chose Albion as the location for the hearing, which Callard believes is a first in Orleans County’s history. Testimony offered at the House Subcommittee on Health and Technology will be shared with the House Small Business Committee, which includes Collins.

“It’s a national priority to get 100 percent coverage,” Collins said at the hearing.

The Small Business Committee is nonpartisan and committing to growing small businesses, Collins said. Broadband access for everyone is critical for boosting the rural economy, he said.

“We don’t have the political infighting going on,” he said about the Small Business Committee. “We want to do what’s best for America.”

Industry officials and Oakfield farmer Kendra Lamb, left, testified during the hearing.

Broadband Internet providers have invested billions of dollars in upgrading and expanding their infrastructure, but they said in some cases it doesn’t make financial sense to go everywhere.

Some rural areas have too few households or customers to justify a company’s investment in broadband infrastructure, industry officials said at the hearing.

To reach “the last mile” and blanket the region and country with broadband, industry leaders said some government resources will be needed in a partnership with providers.

“It remains extremely challenging to extend broadband to the most rural areas of New York State, where geographic isolation and topographic issues make it economically infeasible for companies to reach these areas – investment simply cannot be recouped before it is time to reinvest,” said Mark Meyerhofer, director of government relations for Time Warner of Northeast-Western New York.

Time Warner provides high-speed Internet to 2.3 million customers in NY, including 120,000 businesses. The company has invested $2 billion in infrastructure the past four years in NY.

In the rural eight-county 27^th Congressional District, which is represented by Collins, Time Warner has built 335 miles of new lines, Meyerhofer said.

The company now provides access to 96 percent of the homes and businesses in its NY footprint. To reach the unserved areas, Meyerhofer said government dollars may be needed in partnership with service providers. The government shouldn’t spend money to duplicate existing, privately funded networks, he said.

“Government programs need to focus on ‘last mile’ services, which is the most difficult and costly part of deployment,” he said during the hearing.

The government should seek a broad base to pay for expanded high-speed Internet so it doesn’t become cost prohibitive to the targeted consumers or taxpayers, Meyerhofer said.

He praised the state’s ConnectNY initiative which has expanded broadband in many rural counties. The program prevents overbuilding, shares costs broadly through state bonds, is provider and technology neutral, and there are no strings attached to network operations, Meyerhofer said.

Jill Canfield is director of legal and industry affairs for The General Broadband Association, which represents 17 rural telecommunications providers in NY and about 900 in the country. She said poorly drafted rules from the Federal Communications Commission have deterred investment in rural broadband networks.

“The rural industry remains hesitant to invest while it awaits a more predictable and investment friendly replacement for the much derided caps and continues to seek its own broadband-focused fund that supports standalone broadband,” she said.

Collins praised the participants at the hearing, and said he will push for a solution to extend the service throughout the rural communities – or else those residents and businesses will struggle to compete in the 21^st century.

“When businesses invest, grow, and hire, whole communities will benefit,” Collins said. “Lack of access to broadband is one more roadblock among the many economic challenges rural small businesses have to work hard to overcome.”

Collins holds Congressional field hearing in Albion

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mark Meyerhofer, director of government relations for Time Warner in Northeast-Western New York, speaks this morning during a Congressional field hearing through the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology. Congressman Chris Collins is at right, chairing the hearing.

ALBION – Extending broadband Internet access to 100 percent of the country, including sparse rural pockets currently without the service, needs to be a top priority for the country, said Congressman Chris Collins.

He chaired a Congressional field hearing in Albion today, when industry officials spoke about the challenges in providing coverage in some of the rural areas, and the need to reach “the last mile” so businesses and residents aren’t at a competitive disadvantage.

Collins, R-Clarence, said 97 percent of the 27^th Congressional District has broandband access, but that still leaves about 24,000 without high-speed Internet.

In the U.S., about 98.5 percent have access, but that leaves 4.5 million without the service in the country, Collins said.

“It’s a national priority to get 100 percent coverage,” he said.

Collins held the hearing in Albion, where Orleans County leaders are working with the rural townships to try to quantify who doesn’t have the service and to figure out how to get high-speed Internet along roads that only have a few residents.

A survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2013 found that 69 percent of NY farms have high-speed Internet. That leaves 31 percent or 11,000 farm operations without the service, said Kendra Lamb, who spoke at the hearing on behalf of New York Farm Bureau and Lamb Farms in Oakfield.

High-speed Internet is imperative for many farm operations, for record-keeping, access to databases, and use of precision technology in the field, Lamb said.

It’s also important for retaining residents, she said. Many don’t want to live in areas without the service.

“This makes our rural areas less attractive places for people to live, spurring the brain drain and economic decline some of our formerly thriving small towns in rural New York have experienced,” Lamb said. “A large part of ensuring that our rural areas remain viable and contribute to economic development is making sure every citizen has access to Broadband service.”

Orleans Hub will have more later on the hearing.

After months of miserable weather, spring arrives

Photos by Tom Rivers

An ice storm hit on Dec. 22, knocking power out in about half the county. National Grid crews worked hard to have power restored in time for Christmas.

A frequent sight this winter: a plow truck. This photo from Feb. 5 shows a Village of Albion plow truck on on East Park Street. It snowed about 9 inches that day. The county issued a travel advisory and the governor declared a state of emergency for New York due to the big storm.

An ice storm. A blizzard. And many days in the deep cold, with temperatures in the single digits or below. The winter of 2013-14 was the most miserable that I can recall, mainly because we had so many days in the single digits or below. The low temperatures combined with stiff winds made it feel like Antarctica.

The National Weather Service frequently put out warnings and advisories about dangerous wind chills, flood watches and hazardous weather. The Sheriff’s Department issued travel advisories. The governor declared a state of emergency. Local schools closed.

Today, let us celebrate as we bid good bye to winter. We took its best punches and we’re still standing.

Here are a few photos, looking back on the frozen season.

With some of our recent light winters, we’ haven’t had enough snow to go sledding. That wasn’t a problem this year if you could handle the cold temperatures. In this photo on Dec. 15, Melissa Fromm of Albion heads down the hill at Bullard Park in Albion with her niece Mariah Plain on her back and friend Leah Pawlak on the very top.

The snow and ice is dangerous. On Dec. 17, a Brockport man – Daniel L. Hollaert Jr., 23 – was killed after he collided with a full-size school bus owned and operated by the Kendall Central School District. The accident occurred at about 7 a.m. on Ridge Road.

When the temperatures did warm up, the area was often shrouded in fog. The heavy fog seemed to make prominent landmarks nearly disappear. In this photo on Dec. 20, the Glenwood Avenue canal bridge in Medina has almost vanished from the landscape.

The ice storm on Dec. 22 coated branches in ice, and those branches came crashing down, knocking out power. In some cases, entire trees gave out from the weight of the ice. This tree fell at about 2:35 a.m. on Dec. 22 and crashed into the home of Gary Moore and his family on South Main Street in Albion. The tree crashed on the family car and also torn off some siding and damaged the roof of the Moore home.

The winter landscape included a historic high sighting of Snowy Owls. They typically stay in Canada for the winter, but there were many in Orleans County. Vince Flow of Kendall captured this closeup of a Snowy Owl in Kendall on Christmas.

For three days a cat was stranded atop a telephone pole in Waterport. Jeremy Arnold, owner of JG Tree Service, rescued Nora on Dec. 28. “Everybody says it’s just a cat or an animal, but people get attached to their pets,” Arnold said after getting Nora down and handing her to her owner, Venita Nauden.

Brandon Bias and his friend Jacob Rausch, both 15, made a rink on the frozen Erie Canal just east of the Ingersoll Street bridge on Jan. 4. The two, who both play for the Brockport Eagles hockey team, played together for more than two hours on the canal in Albion.

Peggy Barringer of Albion stopped by Point Breeze in Carlton and Lomond Shores in Kendall in early January and captured images of the ice formations by the lake.

Sandy Andrews, a member of the First United Methodist Church in Albion, shovels the steps and sidewalk on Jan. 22, when the temperature peaked at 7 degrees. The church provides a ministry for people taking their driver’s license tests. The drivers and their families are served coffee and provided a warm spot from the cold.

You don’t see this every day: a sun dog. The phenomenon showed up on Jan. 22, appearing like a rainbow. The low-lying sun creates ice halos. Dawn Gardner took this photo in East Shelby on Fletcher Chapel Road at South Woods Road.

There were so many cold days that schools were forced to stay open despite the harsh weather. I took the above photo through the frosted front window of my house on Jan. 23. The Albion school bus stopped to pick up elementary school children.

On Feb. 5 a storm barreled through the county in late morning and all five school districts cancelled after-school activities. Some districts sent students home early. I was out driving that day and it ranks high as the most precarious trip I’ve had in years due to the whiteout conditions. The photo shows Gaines Basin Road looking south from near Ridge Road. Gov. Cuomo has declared a state-wide emergency due the storm.

Some days the winds howled. On Feb. 7, the wind chill was 15 below. This photo was taken on Countyhouse Road near the Ridgeway-Albion town line.

Carl Sargent woke up to another snow storm on Feb. 10. He was out shoveling that morning on Caroline Street in Albion.

The freeze-and-thaw cycle left long icicles hanging from buildings. This picture was taken on Feb. 16 and shows the Center for Workforce Development building on Route 31 in Albion, right next to the GCC campus.

It may have only been in the teens on March 2, but it was still a glorious sunset in Orleans County. This photo was taken on Gaines Basin Road in Albion, looking west along the railroad tracks. The temperatures were forecast to fall to 4 degrees that night.

On March 12 a blizzard hit, dropping about a foot of snow on the county. This photo shows traffic creeping along Main Street in Albion by the Presbyterian Church and the county courthouse.

It looked like a white planet when firefighters, including Dan Strong of Carlton, responded to a chimney fire on Ridge Road in Gaines during the blizzard.

Press release, Congressman Chris Collins

Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) will chair a House Small Business Subcommittee Field Hearing in Orleans County this Thursday. The hearing will examine how the lack of access to broadband Internet service in rural communities impacts the operations of local small businesses and farms.

The lack of access to broadband is a significant issue in several areas of Collins’ Congressional District, including northern Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties.

“There are many rural parts of our nation, including several communities in my Congressional District, that do not have access to broadband Internet,” Collins said. “This lack of access is a significant roadblock for small business owners and farmers working hard every day to serve their community and grow their businesses.”

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in the legislative chambers of the County Clerks’ Building at 3 South Main St.

The hearing will include testimony from Kendra Lamb, an owner of Lamb Farms in Oakfield, a representative from Time Warner, a representative from Frontier Communications, and a representative from NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association.

There will also be a stakeholders’ roundtable following the hearing with county officials from Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming and Niagara counties. David Callard and Lynne Johnson, county legislators from Orleans County, are scheduled to be at the roundtable.

“I look forward to talking with key stakeholders about the regulatory factors that lead to the expansion of broadband into rural areas and hear from those affected about how improved access could change their business for the better,” Collins said.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature today joined a growing number of county governments around the state that are formally opposing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to expand college programs for inmates.

The governor said the programs will reduce recidivism rates and at $5,000 per inmate are far cheaper than $60,000 taxpayer burden to keep an inmate in prison each year.

The governor announced the plan to boost college programs for inmates last month. Local state legislators – Sen. George Maziarz and Assemblyman Steve Hawley – have denounced the idea. Congressman Chris Collins is pushing legislation that would prohibit the use of federal taxpayer dollars to provide a college education to convicted criminals.

The Orleans Legislature said any state dollars that go to college programs for inmates should instead go to school districts.

“The purpose of prison is to punish those who have engaged in behavior that is morally and legally wrong, dangerous, threatening, or severely antisocial, including murder, rape, theft and distribution of narcotics, among other serious crimes,” according to the resolution approved the County Legislature today.

The Erie County Legislature on Thursday also formally rejected the governor’s proposal. Several other county government bodies have gone on the record against the proposal, which Collins has lampooned as “college for criminals.”

Courtesy of Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority – This is a rendering of the proposed new bus facility on West Academy Street, next to the Orleans County Highway Department. Construction is expected in 2015.

ALBION – Orleans Transit Service is planning big things in 2013, including a new bus shelter by Rite Aid in Albion, one by the County Administration Building on Route 31 and another in Medina.

The agency, part of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, also is working towards a new bus facility that would house the OTS operations, including space for 10 busses and a two-bay maintenance wing. That facility would cost about $2 million.

RGRTA has secured federal transportation money for the design phases of the project and is applying for the construction money, Bill Carpenter, RGRTA chief executive officer, told county legislators on March 13.

The new bus garage would be built next to the Orleans County Highway Department’s garage on West Academy Street, where OTS currently rents space. Moving OTS out of the highway facility will free up room for county personnel and equipment. The buildings and grounds department about three years ago merged with the highway crew.

OTS, meanwhile, is working to boost ridership 6 percent from the 35,500 during its 2012-13 fiscal year, said Mike Patterson, OTS manager.

The agency has nine employees and operates on a $570,684 budget. Fares and contracts cover $86,825 of the budget. A local mortgage tax generates $118,894 for OTS, while government aid makes up the difference.

County Legislator George Bower said he doesn’t think the mortgage tax should be used to support OTS. But Carpenter said the state has allowed that tax to help support public transportation. He said RGRTA has secured $371,997 in other funding – three times the mortgage tax – to provide the service.

OTS runs a fixed route schedule in Albion and Medina. It goes off those routes with a Dial-A-Ride service, as long as reservations are made 24 hours in advance. Patterson said OTS is looking at changing the fixed route in Albion to run by the new health care center on Butts Road. Several riders each day go to the center owned by Orleans Community Health.

Revenue falls 7% in first two months

ALBION – Orleans County’s sales tax revenues are down 6.9 percent for the first two months of the year, resulting in $141,356 in less tax revenue compared to January and February numbers in 2013.

The county uses the sales tax to help fund local services and to reduce pressure on property taxes.

While Orleans is down, state-wide the numbers are up slightly from $3.958 billion to $3.981 billion for the two months, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Orleans County took in $14.82 million in sales tax in 2013. The county was one of 14 in the state that saw a decrease in sales tax revenue in 2013. In Orleans, the sales tax dipped by 0.56 percent or $82,873, falling from $14,902,778 in 2012 to $14,819,904 last year.

County officials this year budgeted for a tiny increase, $25,000. But so far the county is off that pace, receiving $2,051,872 in January and February, compared to $2,193,228 during those months in 2013.

A travel advisory from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, saying there should be no unnecessary travel, remains in effect as of about 6:30 this morning.

The advisory is expected to be lifted soon.

The National Weather Service warns about bitter wind chills this morning with temperatures in the single digits. Today is forecast for a high temperature of 18 degrees. The Weather Service says it will reach 46 degrees on Friday.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Department has lifted the travel advisory as of 9 a.m. this morning.

Though the snowfall has ended, bitter cold temperatures and winds persist as Orleans county residents return to work and school. The National Weather Service is forecasting today’s high will be near 18, with wind chill values as low as -5 degrees.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Some of the Self Advocate All Stars at the Arc of Orleans County met on Tuesday at the Hoag Library for their monthly meeting. The front three include, from left: Amber Smith, Vice President Leslie Swanson, and President Robert Greer.

ALBION – Four years ago the Self Advocate All Stars were successful in swaying the Orleans County Legislature to officially oppose the “R-word.”

Legislators in May 2010 took a stand, telling local, state and federal governments to no longer use the word “retarded” in describing people with developmental disabilities. The R-word is a “vicious slang” that is insulting and hurtful to people with developmental disabilities and their families, legislators said in their resolution four years ago.

The issue was pushed then by the Self Advocate All Stars, who say they continue to be bullied by some in the community who use the R-word in name-calling.

“We don’t like being called the R-word,” said Gladys Hopper of Albion, one of the All Stars. “There is a community-wide problem with bullying,”

The All Stars are raising their profile this year with plans to be part of the parades at the Albion Strawberry Festival and Holley’s June Fest.

The group will have several fund-raisers, including car washes. They also want to reach out to others in the community with disabilities, welcoming them to become an All Star.

“We want more members,” said Jonathan Doherty, the group’s fund-raising chairman. He was one of the founding members in 2006.

The group has a pressing goal: restore funding for a recreation program in the Arc. That funding, for a few thousand dollars, was cut.

The program helped pay for outings for disabled residents to go to the bowling alley and the mall, and also to attend concerts and sporting events.

“It means a lot for me to get out and meet other people in the community,” Hopper said Tuesday during the All Stars’ monthly meeting at the Hoag Library.

All Stars include residents who live at home with their families, in apartments with supportive services or in Arc residential homes.

“We want to show the community we’re just like everybody else,” said Vickie Randall, the group’s advisor.