Photo by Tom Rivers – JPMorgan Chase closed its Albion call center in September after the company worked five years out of this East Avenue site, which was previously home to Washington Mutual. Claims Recovery Financial Services will be the new tenant in the building, which will house 750 workers for CRFS.

There was a lot of news in Orleans County in 2013. Orleans Hub has weighed the stories, and we have our list of the top 10. We gave preference to stories with impact on the community as a whole.

1. CRFS helps fill void from shut-down Chase site

It was devastating news in June when JP Morgan Chase announced it was shutting down its Albion operation and would lay off 413 workers by September.

Chase once had nearly 1,000 workers in Albion, but had gradually reduced its workforce over five years in Albion.

The company worked out of a massive former tomato processing facility on East Avenue. The site didn’t sit idle for long. Roger Hungerford, owner of the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina, bought the 60,000-square-foot site and started renovations in September for the new tenant: Claims Recovery Financial Services.

That home-grown company, led by Orleans County resident Jodi Gaines, announced it had outgrown sites in Albion and Medina and would consolidate its operations at the former Chase site, employing 750 people in Albion. As part of the move to the Chase site, CRFS announced it would add 150 workers, bringing much-needed jobs to a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

2. SAFE Act triggers sustained outrage

Conservative talk show host Bob Lonsberry addresses a crowd of nearly 200 people in front of the Orleans County Courthouse during a protest about the SAFE Act on April 13.

In January Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislators approved the SAFE Act, which they said was designed to tighten gun control laws.

The new law, which was passed without public comment, was loudly protested in Orleans County and throughout much of Upstate New York. The Orleans County Legislature called for the law’s repeal.

Every town and village elected board in the county also formally opposed the new law, which was called an attack on Americans’ Second Amendment Rights. Orleans is the only county to have every town, village and county elected board pass resolutions against the SAFE Act.

A new citizens group, New York Revolution, formed and was active at local parades and community events. The organization is trying to unseat Cuomo in the 2014 election for governor.

Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone told a crowd in October that he wouldn’t prosecute “John Q. Public” for violating some of the provisions of the SAFE Act, including cosmetic requirements that now make some guns illegal.

3. ‘Concerned Citizens’ fight against sale of nursing home

Ondrea Pate, an employee at The Viilages of Orleans, and about 20 other people rallied in a rainstorm on April 10 for the county to keep its nursing home publicly owned. Concerned Citizens of Orleans County picketed on Main Street during many County Legislature meetings, trying to sway the body not to sell the 120-bed site in Albion.

In February, the County Legislature announced it would sell The Villages of Orleans, a 120-bed nursing home in Albion. The Legislature said the site operated at too much of a loss, burdening local taxpayers by at least $2 million a year with prospects for $4 million in annual deficits.

The decision prompted protests from residents of all ages and political parties. Many protested outside Legislature meetings, standing in storms. Two lawsuits failed to stop the county’s push to sell the nursing home.

A slate of candidates also ran trying to save the nursing home, but they failed to unseat the Republican majority. The Legislature formed a local development corporation to temporarily own the nursing home and to find a buyer for the site. The LDC could select the buyer in January.

4. Massive warehouse fire threatened Albion neighborhood

The fire at Orleans Pallet quickly spread through the building and turned into an inferno, threatening the neighborhood.

A fire on Oct. 17 destroyed a big warehouse and threatened to damage other nearby structures. But the blaze was contained to Orleans Pallet’s main warehouse, a huge Medina sandstone structure built in 1901.

Smoke from the blaze could be seen from 20 miles in one of the community’s biggest fires ever.

The fire started after a spark from a grinder caught the wooden timbers on fire inside the warehouse. About 150 firefighters kept the blaze from spreading next door to Empire Coating.

Shawn Malark, owner of the warehouse and Orleans Pallet, used the site to store wooden pallets, which he then sold to farms and other businesses. Malark’s main production building survived the fire and he has stayed in business.

5. Burglars terrorized community with summer break-ins

Police agencies in three counties worked together to arrest Jonathan Banks, top left; Isaiah Bonk, top right; Jasper Lloyd, bottom, left; Thomas Shingleton, bottom right.

Burglars terrorized Albion and Medina neighborhoods with a series of break-ins over the summer. The burglars would remove window screens or enter through unlocked doors, typically committing their crimes while people were asleep late at night.

Police from multiple agencies in three counties arrested four people in December who are accused of 32 burglaries in August and September, a rash of break-ins in Albion, Medina, Oakfield and Lockport.

One of the suspected burglars, Jonathan Banks, 21, of Medina, was arrested by Lockport police in September. After his arrest, there weren’t additional burglaries, police officials said. Besides Banks, 21, police arrested Isaiah Bonk, 20, of Medina; Jasper Lloyd, 20, of Albion; and Thomas Shingleton, 36, of Medina.

There were other high-profile crimes in the county in 2013, including a bank robbery, murder and attempted murder.

6. Lakeside closes in Brockport and Medina Memorial Hospital makes changes at top

Strong West in September opened the former Lakeside Memorial Hospital as an urgent care center.

Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport, a site that served many Orleans County residents, closed in April due to mounting financial losses. The facility would reopen in September as an urgent care center.

It is now owned by the University of Rochester Medical Center, which renamed it “Strong West.” The site doesn’t currently have an emergency room, meaning fire departments and ambulance squads form Orleans County now have a longer transport for patients on the east side of the county. Lakeside handled 17,000 ER calls in its final year.

Small-town hospitals are struggling, and Medina isn’t immune. The hospital’s board of directors announced in June that long-time hospital CEO Jim Sinner had resigned after 15 years.

The board of directors hired HealthTech Management Services to manage the hospital and healthcare organization. In late October, the board hired Dolores Horvath from HealthTech to serve as CEO.

She said hospitals are challenged and there will be a shift to more outpatient care in the future.

7. Assessments spark uproar and worry

Carlton residents packed several town meetings this year, including this one in April, to sound off about assessments they say were set too high for many properties. The Town Board opted against reappointing the town assessor and is hiring a firm to establish values for the properties in Carlton. The board includes, from left: Dana Woolston, Joyce Harris, Town Supervisor Gayle Ashbery, Robin Lake and Jim Shoemaker.

Orleans County completed its once-every-three-year reassessment in 2012, and the new values were sent to property owners this past spring.

In Carlton, residents were in an uproar over assessments that showed big increases for many sites. Crowds packed Town Board meetings to complain about the assessments.

The backlash prompted the Town Board not to reappoint assessor Karen Adams. The town is hiring a private firm to help establish values for 2,400 sites in the town.

The reassessments painted a gloomy picture for the four villages in the county. While Carlton saw big increases for some properties, the villages collectively went down in value, which may be unprecedented during a reassessment for an entire municipality.

The village of Albion declined nearly $3 million, the biggest loss. The shrinking assessed values results in a smaller tax base to pay for services, likely driving up the tax rate.

8. Some changes at historic churches

The United Methodist Church in Medina meets for the first time in the former Apple Grove Inn on Oct. 27. The church transfromed the former restaurant int a modern church setting.

One congregation at a historic church in Medina left its building and moved to the former Apple Grove Inn, following an extensive three-year renovation.

Another congregation in Albion voted to abandon its historic building, although that congregation continues to meet there.

The Medina United Methodist Church celebrated its first service in the former Apple Grove Inn on Oct. 27. The church bought the landmark building for $100,000 at an auction. Most of the building was gutted, walls were taken out in some spots and new ones put in. The west end of the building was extended to accommodate the sanctuary. The project cost nearly $1 million.

It was a lot of work, and church members did the bulk of the construction, painting and carpeting themselves. The congregation of about 50 people had a final service at their old building at 222 West Center St. Then they walked or drove a mile down the road to the former Apple Grove.

In August, the First United Methodist Church in Albion voted to walk away from its 150-year-old building. The church faces about $1 million in repairs. The church is trying to find a buyer for the site and is looking for a new home. It will continue to meet in the building in the near future. The church is one of seven in Albion named to the National Register of Historic Places.

9. ‘Squirrel Slam’ cast media glare on Holley

The national media doesn’t often pay much attention to an Orleans County community, but for weeks leading up to the annual “Squirrel Slam” in February, news organizations from throughout the world were talking about a fund-raiser at Holley.

The Holley Fire Department for six years held a competition where contestants paid an entry fee and then went hunting for squirrels. Hunters as young as 12 could win prizes for biggest squirrels shot.

Animal rights activists protested and urged Holley to cancel the event. The Village Board and Fire Department let it continue and participation surged from the usual 250 to about 700. Outside police were brought in to help manage the protest.

10. Point Breeze wins ‘ultimate’ fishing title

Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard gives Narby’s Superette and Tackle owner Sharon Narburgh a hug on June 26. The Point Breeze community received a trophy and check for $25,000 after winning the “Ultimate Fishing Town” competition.

Orleans County has new bait to lure visitors for the county’s top tourism draw, its fishing industry. Point Breeze was named the “Ultimate Fishing Town” in 2013 by the World Fishing Network, topping 700 other fishing communities in the U.S. and Canada for the crown.

Thousands of votes were cast on-line in support of Point Breeze and the Oak Orchard River. It appeared during the competition that Cape Hatteras in North Carolina would win, but voting irregularities for that community led to WFN giving the top award to Point Breeze.

The title has been proclaimed on banners and will be used to market the area to more anglers.

“This can help us to stand out,” said Sharon Narburgh, owner of Narby’s Superette and Tackle.

There were other big stories in the county this year, including Holley Central School’s completion of extensive renovations to the junior-senior high school and elementary school. The district also built a new transportation facility, all-weather track and football stadium

Many of the downtown Albion building owners also painted and did other improvements to their buildings in the most extensive renovation spree in recent memory.

Orleans Hub readers submitted many photos to our web site this year, including some on-the-scene news photos and other more artistic features.

These photos helped us tell the story of Orleans County. We’re grateful for the submissions and welcome more at news@orleanshub.com.

Here are some of our favorites:

On July 2, Jeremy Rothmund robbed the Bank of America in Albion and hopped in a getaway car driven by his girlfriend, Elyse Hoffer, both of Rochester. The two were spotted leaving Albion in a blue Ford Focus and headed east on Route 31 towards Holley.

Police stopped them in Holley at Woodside Court, an apartment complex off Route 31 on the west side of the village. Jeff Schuner lives at Woodside Court and he took this photo of Rothmund being taken into custody.

Peggy Bropst took this photo from a hot-air balloon on June 30. The shadow of the balloon appears in a cornfield. The ride was a belated Father’s Day gift for her father, Chet Wheelock, an 82-year-old farmer from Kent.

Four generations of Wheelocks rode in the balloon, including Wheelock’s grandson Jeremy Mikels and great-grandson Mason Mikels. “You don’t feel any wind up there,” Wheelock said. “You’re traveling with the wind. It’s as still as can be.”

The sun cast an array of colors while setting Aug. 23 at Lake Ontario. Jerome Pawlak of Albion was at Point Breeze and took this photo of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse. I’ve seen a lot of photos of the lighthouse since it was erected in 2010, and I think this is the best one.

Thom Jennings, an event promoter from Albion, took this photo of his son Trevor Jennings, center, playing the drums with Rusted Root after the Pittsburgh band played an encore on Aug. 25 in North Tonawanda.

Before the band would return to stage, they made Trevor, 19, come out and perform with them before 10,000 people. Trevor was backstage with his father Thom. After the song Trevor was invited to take a final bow with the group.

After playing local gigs for nearly a decade, Above the Fog performed for a final time Aug. 22 outside the Hoag Library in Albion. Michael Whiting of Whiting’s Village Studio took this picture of Dylan DeSmit, left, and Taylor Whittier giving an enthusiastic performance during the final concert. The musicians still expect to make an impact on the local music scene.

Chris Busch was out enjoying a gorgeous sunny day on July 23, and talked his way to the rooftop at the R.H. Newell Shirt Factory building at 115 West Center St. He took this photo looking toward the First Baptist Church at 203 West Center. You can also see the Post Office in the front right and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the back right.

Michael Karcz, a frequent contributor to the Hub, took this picture of the fireworks on July 26 at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. This photo actually represents several different images.

“The firework shots were taken individually, and the shot of the fair was taken after the fireworks,” Karcz said. “I needed a higher vantage point, and the only place I could think of was on top of my van, so I climbed up and shot away. That’s the fun of photography.”

It was big news in the apple world on Aug. 1 when Cornell University and New York apple growers announced the names and logos for two new apple varieties.  Orleans Hub wanted to be there for the announcement in Geneva, but couldn’t get away for the several-hour commitment. Ingrid LaMont, wife of apple grower Roger LaMont, was there and sent us a photo from her smart phone. We were one of the first news sites to announce the new names and show their logos.

In recent years, Holley dentist Dan Schiavone has traveled to rural Peru in the Amazon, spending a week providing dental care. His daughter Kaci, a biochemistry student at the University of Rochester, joined him in March for the trip.

Schiavone took this photo of his daughter checking a girl’s teeth and dental health during an exam in Peru. “They are gracious and happy people,” Schiavone said. “They appreciate everything you do.”

Heather Beach Smith of Medina took this picture of the Erie Canal lift bridge on Route 63 in Medina after the ice storm on Dec. 22.

Editorial

For 30-plus years a local government association has excluded a village representative from its leadership and also in setting the group’s monthly agendas.

Even the group’s name, the Orleans County Supervisors and Legislators Association, doesn’t include the villages.

I don’t think the group intends to slight the villages. Frankly, it’s just the way things are done around here. The county and town leaders put themselves on a level above the villages. That seems to be the attitude.

In Genesee County, the legislators meet with town and village leaders in an inclusive Genesee Association of Municipalities. The GAM gives everyone, including village mayors, an equal seat at the table.

The Orleans group meets monthly at the Village Inn to discuss issues in the county. It is co-led by a county legislator and town supervisor. This year Legislator Bill Eick of Shelby and Carlton Town Supervisor Gayle Ashbery shared the leadership. The group has other officers from either the county or a town. The towns tend to take turns finding a speaker each month.

Village representatives are invited to the meetings, but they don’t have a leadership role. They don’t have a say in the agenda. They aren’t treated as equal partners in the governance of the county.

This group started after the former Board of Supervisors was eliminated through a lawsuit and the county government shifted from the 10 town supervisors to a seven-member Legislature.

The association formed so the towns wouldn’t feel too removed from the goings on in county government and other issues facing the community.

It was a good idea to get the towns and legislators talking. But clearly it is wrong to not have the leaders of the villages as part of the group’s leadership.

I strongly recommend the Orleans County Supervisors and Legislators Association change its name to be more inclusive, change its leadership structure to include a village representative, and change the way it does business so the villages can have their concerns on the agenda.

Survey going to county residents about high-speed Internet

Editor’s note: This article was updated from an earlier story.

Residents throughout Orleans County towns are asked to fill out a short survey about their high-speed Internet access, reliability and needs.

State Sen. George Maziarz sent out the surveys to residents in the 10 Orleans County towns as well as seven towns in Niagara County. He is working with Orleans and Niagara County leaders, as well as town officials, to bring high-speed Internet to underserved rural areas in the two counties.

The service is spotty in rural areas, and it is cost-prohibitive to run cables down some roads with only a few houses. One possibility could be high-speed WiFi Internet access, which doesn’t require cables.

The survey asks residents if they would subscribe to broadband Internet service if it was to be offered at a subscription rate similar in price paid by residents with the service.

“This will give us a good compass going forward,” County Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville, said during a Legislature meeting on Monday.

The questionnaire’s goal is to deliver a “market analysis” to potential Internet providers to help them to gauge the market’s potential. Residents are asked to take the survey seriously and please return it as requested.

“The more positive responses we receive, the more leverage we have in piquing a provider’s interest,” said Evhen Tupis, the project executive from BPGreene, who has been organizing this effort in behalf of the Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance.

The lack of high-speed Internet access in parts of the two counties put residents, businesses and students at a disadvantage, county officials said.

Based on a three-town mini-study in Orleans County, two telecommunication companies have already asked to be included in an upcoming Request For Proposal phase. Tupis says he expects to reach out to even more potential providers at that time.

The BPGreene approach includes clauses that both assure a reasonable profit for the potential provider and that there is no long-term taxpayer subsidy.

Before the project gets to the proposal stage, the questionnaire needs to be filled out and turned in, Orleans County Legislative Chairman David Callard said.

“This a critical step in the process,” he said. “Our response will have a direct effect on our ability to proceed with county-wide broadband availability.”

There is plenty of state money to help with the projects. On Thursday Gov. Andrew Cuomo $14.5 million in state funds for nine broadband projects that will expand access to broadband services for nearly 30,000 residents and more than 2,000 businesses in Upstate New York.

“Access to high speed internet is a critical resource for businesses and residents in today’s global economy,” Cuomo said in statement on Thursday. “These grants will connect underserved and rural communities to the many benefits of broadband access, including giving local businesses the opportunity to reach consumers from around the world.”

The Orleans Hub has published more than 3,000 photos since we went live on April 2.

These are some of my favorites of portraits and personalities that show local folks in our surroundings. The top picture shows Maria Ball, 6, of Medina having fun with sparklers before the fireworks show in Lyndonville on July 4.

Baillie Oberther, 16, of Medina is crowned queen of Dyngus Day on April 1 during a celebration at Sacred Heart Club in Medina. Bonnie Boyd, last year’s queen, passes on the crown. About 200 people celebrated Dyngus Day in Medina. This photo was published on April 2, Orleans Hub’s first official day. It remains one of our favorite photos.

A group of Civil War re-enactors, which marched down Main Street in Medina during a parade on April 27, pause for a ceremony in front of the Bent’s Opera House. That building opened during the Civil War. Medina hosted a Civil War encampment for the first time in April.

Ken Nice, co-owner of Nice Farms in Knowlesville, walks through a fruit orchard along Knowlesville Road on April 30. He is checking how the bees are pollinating the fruit crop. The pink blossoms will bear white nectarines while the white blossoms will be plums. Nice said the blossoming trees are a visual and olfactory feast. “It’s like a perfume factory,” he said.

Bradley Martin and a team of six draft horses harrow a field on Knowlesville Road on April 30. Martin works for a Mennonite-owned dairy farm, part of a growing cluster for Amish- and Mennonite-owned businesses in the Ridgeway and Yates communities. Martin also walked the field, removing big rocks by hand.

George Borrelli is pictured in June, working in his Carlton shop to make metal rings that will be put in hitching posts as part of a project in Albion. Borrelli, a blacksmith, heated the steel to 1,600 degrees so he could bend it into a circle to be used as a ring.

Nick Wright, 11, of Holley is all smiles after plunging face first into a raspberry pie during a pie-eating contest on July 26 at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. The contest is a glorious messy affair.

Alex Graff, a Medina native who now lives in Rochester, may be covered in grease, but he is having a great time during the grease pole championships on July 27 to cap off the Orleans County 4-H Fair.

Steven Papponetti is trying to climb of Graff’s shoulders. Graff and Papponetti are members of the Rough N Ready team. They weren’t able to reach the top of the pole on Saturday. They won on a different day to advance to the finals.

Riley Schillaci of Rochester swallows a flame during the Steampunk Festival on Aug. 31 at the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. The event featured several outrageous stunts.

Nelda Callard paints the trim above the side door of a house she and her husband David Callard are working to restore on Temperance Street in Albion. She is pictured in early September. Her husband is chairman of the Orleans County Legislature. The couple worked more than a year fixing up the house on Temperance. The house dates back to the 1840s. It was badly rundown.

Jonathan Judd, 9, of Albion gets his hook ready when Albion Scouts kicked off a new year on Sept. 27 by going fishing. Jonathan was popular among the Scouts because he brought along some extra worms. The group went fishing in an old quarry on Keitel Road. The Albion Sportsmen’s Association owns the old sandstone site.

Young Enterprises employee Shane Swann is on top of the Pratt building at 118 North Main St., coating the roof on Sept. 19. It’s not everyday you get to look down on the lift bridge in Albion.

Ashley Webb, a drum major for Le Roy, leads the band in its performance of “Ashes to Ashes” at Vets Park on Sept. 21 in Medina. Marching bands performed for three hours at Vets Park before judges stopped the Fall Festival of Bands due to the major downpour.

A lone onlooker, a former Orleans Pallet employee, walks the railroad tracks in Albion on the night of Oct. 17 when firefighters were packing up and heading home after six hours of intense firefighting. A huge blaze feasted on Orleans Pallet’s three-story stone warehouse. Most of the building was knocked down by a demolition crew in the following days.

An anguished Fantine (Kaylee Jakubowski) sings, ‘I Dreamed A Dream,’ after she is forced into prostitution. She was among the stars in the Lake Plains Community Players’ production of ‘Les Miserables.’ The famous show became available for the first time this year to adult community theater groups. Lake Plains performed the show in late October.

Nick Condoluci may have the scariest setup for Halloween in Orleans County, a backyard with hanging skeletons, a grave yard, a guillotine and a “Booger Booth,” just to name a few. He is pictured on Oct. 29 by his porch. Condoluci makes most of the props himself, spending much of the winter cutting out and designing tombstones, signs and other scary features, including an electric chair with a buzzer on the seat.

Ann Batt of Albion dressed up as Harry Potter for Halloween. She joined other senior citizens in costume during their exercise class at the Albion Academy. The senior citizens have made it an annual Halloween tradition to dress up during their exercise class led by Leslie Allen.

The village of Lyndonville celebrated a holiday event on Dec. 7 that included a visit by Santa Claus. The jolly ole’ elf met with youngsters at the Village Hall. Grayson Voltz of Lockport didn’t take a liking to Santa, who is looking for some relief from Grayson’s mother, Jessica Voltz, a Lyndonville native.

County uses formula to direct sales tax away from municipalities that need it most

Photos by Tom Rivers

Downtown Medina may be a center for commerce, collecting lots of sales tax, but little of that comes back to Medina or any of the villages that are population and business centers.

Orleans County’s four villages, which are desperately in need of revenue, won’t be getting any help from the county with added sales tax. In fact, the county’s sales tax formula will take money away from the villages next year.

That means the villages will likely have to hike property taxes or find more ways to cut costs or reduce services.

The county has budgeted to take in nearly $15 million in sales tax next year. It shares $1,366,671 with the 10 towns and four villages. The county keeps nearly $14 million for itself or about 92 percent of the total haul.

The county has frozen the village and town share since 2001. Since that time the sales tax has soared due to the rising gas prices and other cost of living increases, as well as an invasion of chain stores, including a Walmart Supercenter in Albion.

The county won’t give more to the towns and villages, saying the county needs the money for mandated programs from the state, such as Medicaid. The county will often gripe about the state not increasing reimbursements, but the county hasn’t increased the share to the villages and towns for 13 years now.

When the villages and town make some noise about the unfairness of the frozen rate, the county typically responds by threatening to keep all of the sales tax, cutting the villages and towns entirely. Rather than have an open dialogue about the issue, the county is a bully when it comes to sales tax.

Other counties share far more with their local municipalities. Genesee, for example, does a 50-50 split. That’s the main reason why their town and village tax rates are so much lower, and so much more attractive to businesses and families. Many of the towns don’t collect any property taxes because of all the sales tax they receive based on the generous formula.

Genesee and Orleans have almost the same county tax rates. Genesee will tax its residents $10.04 per $1,000 of assessed property while it’s a $10.11-rate in Orleans in 2014. The Orleans County tax rate isn’t out of line compared to most counties.

It’s our village tax rates, which range from about $14 in Holley to nearly $17 in Albion and Medina, that are far out of whack to most other villages in the state. Lyndonville’s rate at $10.43 is less because it doesn’t have a police department. (The village does contract for police protection.)

The County Legislature meets in the County Clerks Building, another tax exempt property in the village of Albion. The county unfairly uses taxable value to determine sales tax shares to villages and towns.

It would be easy to blame the local village officials for the high tax rates, but it’s really the fault of the county for sharing so little of the sales tax.

And it keeps getting worse for the villages. The county bases the villages’ revenue share based on taxable value. The villages with their shrinking assessments continue to see their amount go down while the towns get more.

In 2013, the four villages collectively received $404,666 in sales tax, which is a paltry amount for all of the services the villages provide with street, police, cemetery, water and sewer duties. The village amount is less than 3 percent of the entire sales tax that comes into the county. But the villages are doing far more than 3 percent of the work by local governments.

The new distribution for 2014, approved Monday by Legislature, cuts the villages down to $400,681. Albion assumes most of that loss with its share down from $180,457 to $176,423.

This formula makes no sense. The revenue share should be based solely on population because people spend money, generating sales tax. To tie it to assessed value isn’t fair, especially for the village of Albion which has so much exempt property with churches and county government buildings.

If the county is adamant it will use property values for the formula, the exempt properties should be assigned values that factor into the formula. The County Courthouse, for example, doesn’t give the village of Albion a boost in the formula. But if it’s value, let’s say $40 million, was factored in the equation, the village would do far better with the formula.

Add up all the churches and municipal buildings, and suddenly the villages are worth a lot more and should get more.

There is a bias against the villages by the County Legislature. The Legislature has historically been made up of legislators who previously served on Town Boards. Few village mayors or trustees have served on the Legislature.

The legislators bring an anti-village mentality that they pick up at the town level. For the first time in several years, there will be legislator who actually lives in a village on the Legislature.

Fred Miller, an Albion resident and former village trustee, said he wants to be a voice for the villages. He will be outnumbered 6 to 1 by other legislators with a “town” mentality. I’m not optimistic fairness will prevail.

If the county wanted to throw the villages and towns a tiny life-line, the Legislature wouldn’t cap their share. The county should establish a 90-10 revenue sharing split to start with, rather than the current 92 to 8 percent. That 2 percent difference would sprinkle another $300,000 to the towns and villages, with some of that going to the depleted village coffers.

If the county made that move it would raise the county tax rates by 18 cents. If the villages and towns used some of that small increase for public improvements, it could draw more dollars into the county, leading to more sales tax with the county getting 9 out of every 10 dollars. Ultimately, the county wouldn’t be losing sales tax money by giving the towns and villages a little more.

If the sales tax wasn’t capped, itwould provide incentive for the villages and towns to invest in themselves with downtown, parks and other community development improvement projects.

Right now, the villages and towns pay all the costs for these projects. If a canal project, for example, brings in tourists and spending in the community, that added sales tax all goes in the county coffers.

I propose the county “freeze” its share the next 13 years and give any of the increase to the towns and villages, with the share among them to be divvied based on population. After 13 years, the county could start to receive more, but only if the towns and villages are up to 25 percent of the total haul.

The villages are at a crisis point. Medina is seriously looking at dissolving and having the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway step in and assume the village functions.

If the villages don’t get more revenue, I think you’ll see some eliminate police and other services. The county, in that scenario, would be expected to add deputies to fill the gap.

All of this could be avoided if the county would amend its sales tax formula, and be a partner with the villages as they fight for survival.

Electricity fully restored in Orleans County

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County is now free from the grip of the ice storm that took out power to half of the county at one point. This photo on Sunday shows the First Presbyterian Church of Albion in the background.

National Grid has restored power to every customer – 18,000-plus – in Orleans County, about two days after an ice storm snapped branches, taking down electrical wires all over the county.

The company is reporting that there are no customers without power in Orleans. At 2 p.m. on Sunday about half of the county lacked power, or 8,590 of National Grid’s 18,174 customers in Orleans.

The power company had 96 crews at its peak in Orleans, working to reattach wires and make other power restorations.

The ice storm knocked power out for about 70,000 customers in western, central and northern New York. As of 7:16 p.m., there were 1,354 customers without power and they are nearly all in the North Country with 840 in Lewis County and 480 in St. Lawrence County. National Grid expects everyone to be back on line by 11:30 p.m.

National Grid has fewer than 100 customers without power, about two days after an ice storm snapped big branches and felled numerous trees around Orleans County.

On Sunday afternoon there were 8,590 National Grid customers without power in Orleans. That represented 47.3 percent of National Grid’s customer base in the county.

As of 11:41 p.m. today, there were 92 customers without electricity. The company is working to have them restored today. Of those 92, 76 are in Shelby, with five or six customers without power in Yates, Albion and Clarendon.

Two counties in northern New York still have a lot of people without power. In Jefferson County, 3,846 customers don’t have electricity. National Grid reports it expects them to be back on line by 11:30 p.m. today. St. Lawrence County has 1,185 customers without power.

National Grid made significant progress restoring power in Orleans County today. As of 10:42 p.m., all but 356 customers were back on line.

The power company started the day with 3,275 customers without power. On Sunday there were more than 8,000 with no electricity, or about half of the county.

National Grid had 96 crews in the county today. The company is working to have power fully restored in Orleans by noon tomorrow, the day before Christmas.

Company reports 1,453 still without power in Orleans

Photos by Tom Rivers – A tree crushed this 1995 Cadillac Seville, owned by Shaun Cobb of Albion. The tree damaged two other cars when it fell on Brown Street near the Caroline Street intersection. Cobb has been working to remove the tree by himself.

It shouldn’t be too much longer. That was the message from Paul Wagner, Orleans County emergency management director.

He knows residents want their electricity back on. National Grid has reduced the number of customers without power from 3,275 this morning to 1,453 as of 5:38 p.m. Wagner expects many more will be back on-line before 10 p.m. when National Grid crews will call it a day.

The crews will be back to work in the morning and expect to have power restored to residents by noon.

“We’re nearing the end of the power outage routine in Orleans County,” Wagner told the County Legislature this afternoon.

National Grid has 96 crews working to restore power and reattach lines to houses, Wagner said.

He also noted the six fire companies from Wyoming County that volunteered to help with basement pumping and be on standby for other fire calls. They arrived at about 4 p.m. on Sunday and stayed past noon today, easing some of the burden for local firefighters.

The Wyoming departments include North Java, Harris Corners, Perry, North Java, Warsaw and Arcade. A crew from Chili in Monroe County also was on scene in eastern Orleans.

Wagner said he was grateful the storm did not cause any injuries or fatalities.

Orleans County was alive with the sound of chain saws today while workers and residents cut up some of the fallen branches and trees. Bob Dexter works on a limb behind his stepdaughters’ house on East Park Street.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Here is another photo from the ice storm on Sunday, showing the Orleans County Courthouse in the background.

More than 3,000 National Grid customers remain without electricity this morning, and the power company advised the lights may not be back on until noon on Christmas Eve.

The ice storm that broke branches and felled trees, resulting in downed power lines. National Grid has made progress since yesterday when 8,590 of 18,174 customers in Orleans County were without electricity.

There are still 3,152 without power, as of 6:43 a.m. today. That represents 17.3 percent of the company’s customer base in Orleans.

It could be worse. In St. Lawrence County in northern New York, 28.0 percent of National Grid customers, 15,442 out of 55,065, are without electricity.

The company made big strides in Genesee County yesterday. As of this morning, only 82 customers were without electricity just south of Orleans.

Photos by Tom Rivers

National Grid has many crews working in Orleans County, trying to restore electricity to residents after Sunday’s ice storm.

This crew is at work on East State Street in Albion. They are one of 20 crews that drove in from Worcester, Mass., to work in Orleans County.

As of 8:45 a.m. this morning, 3,275 National Grid customers were without electricity in Orleans County.

National Grid expects most of those without power will have it back on by tonight, but some people may have to wait until noon tomorrow, when the county should be fully back on line, said Steve Brady, National Grid spokesman.

National Grid has 2,300 field workers deployed today in western and northern New York, the area’s hardest hit by the ice storm.

The power company is using its own local crews, National Grid crews from other parts of upstate, Long Island and New England, as well as contractors and crews from neighboring utilities, Brady said.

They are backed up by several hundred support personnel doing everything from work planning to customer contact to organizing meals and lodging for out of town crews, he said.

The Village of Albion Department of Public Works marked off a downed wire on Herrick Street.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The crew from Strykersville includes, from left: Brian George, Eric Kirsch and Carol Shaw.

ALBION – Six crews from Wyoming County are heading home this afternoon after spending about 20 hours in Orleans County, pumping basements and responding to other fire calls.

The firefighters responded to a mutual aid call to fire companies in Orleans County which have been busy since an ice storm hit at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Many fire companies also responded to a house fire in Holley Saturday night on Orleans-Monroe Countyline Road.

“They have helped tremendously,” said Jeremy Graham, assistant fire chief for the Albion Fire Department. “They gave us peace of mind by being here and gave us a chance to get refreshed.”

A crew from Strykersville pumped 14 basements between 9:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., and then since 7:30 a.m. today, working mostly around Albion.

Three firefighters from Strykersville responded to the mutual aid call for Orleans County.

“We were fortunate to have some time off from our jobs so we could come down,” said Eric Kirsch of Strykersville.

He got engaged on Saturday. His fiancee gave her blessing for him to help in Orleans for the day.

“She just wants me home for Christmas,” Kirsch said.

The team from the North Java Fire Company includes, from left: Kyle Meyer, Jeremy Boorman, Jim Tuttle and Evan Church.

Firefighters from five other Wyoming County fire departments – Harris Corners, Perry, North Java, Warsaw and Arcade – worked in Orleans, with different crews assigned to the eastern, central and western portions of the county.

The North Java crew stayed in the Albion fire hall and was on standby for any fire calls. The crew responded to an EMS call. Otherwise, they stayed up most of the night playing Uno and Rummy. Their presence allowed Albion firefighters to get a good night’s rest.

Jeremy Boorman, a North Java firefighter, said the Wyoming firefighters were eager to step forward and help while Orleans was plagued with power outages, flooded cellars and downed wires.

“We hope for the same if we ever need it,” he said about the out-of-county mutual aid. “We hope people will come and help us.”