Company reports nearly 4,000 still without electricity

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Albion Rescue Truck is parked in a driveway on West Academy Street while firefighters pumped a basement. Several streets in Albion remain without power.

National Grid has made progress restoring electricity to several areas of Orleans County. About 4,500 customers have had their power return since 2 p.m.

The company reported at 7 p.m. that 3,912 customers remained without electricity. At 1:55 p.m., there were 8,590 customers with no power, nearly half of the county.

Genesee County has 483 customers without power and Monroe County only has 178 off-line right now, according to National Grid. Niagara County also has been hit hard by the ice storm. There are 6,467 customers without power, as of 7 p.m.

Help arrives from 6 Wyoming County fire companies

Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion Fire Chief Rocky Sidari, left, and firefighter Gary Rowley are outside 311 West Academy St., Albion, while the basement is pumped this evening. The Albion Fire Department responded to 64 calls by about 5 p.m., including many calls to pump basements.

Orleans County firefighters have been responding to calls since 2 a.m., nonstop requests to have basements pumped and tree limbs removed.

With thousands of residents still without power, firefighters expect they will continue to be busy, especially with basements filling with water because sump pumps aren’t working without electricity.

“Until we get the power back on we’re chasing cellars,” said Jesse Babcock, fire chief for the Barre Fire Company.

About two thirds of Barre has been without power.

Fallen branches, toppled trees and downed wires have littered much of the county.

“It looks like a war zone out there,” said Dan Morrow, a member of the Albion fire police.

He was out for hours trying to direct people away from dangerous spots with wires and limbs in the road.

“The worst part is people don’t use common sense,” he said about some of the motorists.

Albion Fire Department Captain Jared Hapemen, right, and his brother Jason pump out a basement on West Academy Street in Albion this evening. The department has been responding to calls since 2 a.m.

Albion was up to 64 calls at about 5 p.m. for pumped basements, tree limb removal and downed wires.

Orleans County has been hit particularly hard by the power outages with about half of the county losing electricity.

The state Office of Emergency Management activated mutual aid for Orleans, requesting assistance from firefighters from other counties. At about 4:30 p.m., a caravan of six fire trucks or rescue vehicles from Wyoming County arrived at the Albion fire hall.

Wyoming firefighters will be here until noon tomorrow responding to calls around county. They will relieve firefighters who have been responding to calls since the middle of the night.

The Wyoming departments were sent to Ridgeway, Barre, Albion and Holley.

William Dake, a Castile firefighter, rode down in the Perry fire truck. He is ready to spend the night and tomorrow morning in Orleans, responding to calls.

“This is what firefighters do, we help each other, ” he said.

Dake was Castile fire chief when a massive blaze broke out in the Castile village hall on Oct. 2, 2012. Firefighters from five counties and 50 fire companies responded to that fire.

“We’ve had people help us and it’s time for us to repay,” Dake said.

Firefighters brought six fire vehicles from Wyoming County, including this truck from the Harris Corners Fire Department, to assist Orleans County firefighters.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Ice encases these berries on the bush in front of Mike and Cheryl Wertman’s home in Medina.

The ice storm has caused power outages in western, central and northern New York, but no county has been hit as hard as Orleans.

There are 8,590 National Grid customers without power in Orleans. That represents 47.3 percent of National Grid’s customer base in the county.

Two other counties – Niagara and Jefferson – have more customers without power, but their percentage of the county without electricity isn’t as high as in Orleans.

Jefferson County in the North Country has 22,379 customers without power, or 40.6 percent of the county, according to a National Grid report at 1:55 p.m.

Niagara has 14,104 customers without power, or 17.4 percent of the 81,097 total.

Other nearby counties haven’t been hit nearly as hard as Orleans with power outages. Genesee has 1,657 customers without electricity, or 6.2 percent of the 26,584 in the county. National Grid has power out for 5.4 percent or 1,094 of its 20,205 customers in Monroe County.

Erie County has 1.5 percent of its National Grid customers without power, or 4,226 of the 279,517 total.

Firefighters pumping basements, removing limbs

Photo by Mike Wertman – The North entrance to Lakewood Village in Medina was flooded this morning due to an overflowed drainage ditch.

Widespread power outages remain in Orleans County about 12 hours after the brunt of the ice storm hit during the night.

National Grid reports that 8,590 homes are without electricity as of 1:55 p.m. That is nearly half of the power company’s 18,174 customers in the county.

Firefighters have been busy pumping flooded basements and removing tree limbs from roads, a dispatcher said from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

All of the roads are open in the county.

“There aren’t any serious problems,” the dispatcher said.

Gary Moore awoke at 2:35 a.m. this morning to a loud pop and then the sound of a tree crashing on the family car. The tree also torn off some siding and damaged the roof of the Moore home on South Main Street in Albion.

Moore, an Albion town justice, said a 2011 Chevy Traverse (pictured above) is likely totaled from the fallen tree.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

In Medina, Connie Hamilton woke up at 3 a.m. when a tree landed one her house at 40 Lakewood Village. The tree pierced two roofs and part of it punctured the ceiling in her bedroom.

D.S. Tree Service workers were on the scene this morning, working on the cleanup at Hamilton’s.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

Several thousand people remain without power in Orleans County, National Grid is reporting.

The falling limbs have taken down power lines throughout Orleans County, leaving thousands of residents without power, National Grid reported.

The outages are spread throughout the county, with about 1,000 homes in both Albion and Medina without electricity, as well as pockets of power outages in most towns.

National Grid reports it is assessing the conditions. In some cases the power company has a crew assigned, but doesn’t for all of the outages.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Presbyterian Road in Albion is lined with trees near the Ridgeway town line. The National Weather Service warns that freezing rain tonight could make roads hazardous and stress trees. This photo was taken at about noon today.

An ice storm warning is in effect for Orleans County today until about noon on Sunday, the National Weather Service has advised.

Orleans, Genesee, Niagara, Monroe and northern Erie are all included in the warning. Those areas could get a half inch to an inch of ice, making driving dangerous. The buildup of ice may bring down tree limbs and knock out power.

“Roads will become very slick in some locations tonight, especially on bridges,” the NWS advised.

The Weather Service recommended postponing any travel.

“If you lose power and plan on running a generator, make sure that the generator is located outdoors and is properly ventilated,” NWS said.

Orleans also remains under a flood warning until 9 p.m. today.

The area was again blanketed by fog today. This photo shows a farm on Knowlesville Road in the town of Ridgeway.

The big grain facility at the corner of Knowlesville Road and Route 31, normally very hard to miss, was covered in fog earlier today.

ALBION – We’ve had a nice response to people wanting to buy the 2014 Orleans Hub calendar that features 26 images from Orleans County. The calendars are $10 each.

We’ve been selling the calendars at the Lake Country Pennysaver, 170 North Main St. in Albion and added two other locations: Bindings Bookstore at 28 West Bank St., Albion and Della’s Chocolates at 512 North Main St., Medina.

For more information on those stores’ hours, click here for Bindings and click here for Della’s. Editor’s note: The Bindings Bookstore link has been intentionally removed, as it is no longer in service.

It’s been a dreary day in Orleans County with the area blanketed by fog. In a few months the tulips will pop out. This photo shows the flowers in front of the First United Methodist Church in Albion. It’s the dominant photo for April in the Hub calendar.

ALBION – Orleans County is tapping its contingency account to distribute $11,500 to five organizations in the county.

The Legislature did not give the agencies an increase in funding in the 2014 budget. But with the year nearly over county officials said there is money in the contingency account to give some of the agencies a little boost.

The Legislature agreed to give $4,000 to the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, $2,500 to Cornell Cooperative Extension, $2,000 for Soil and Water Conservation District, $2,000 to the Sportmen’s Federation and $1,000 to the Cobblestone Society Museum.

This is the second straight year the county has used contingency funds to give agencies a year-end financial boost. Last year the Legislature approved $14,500 for three groups.

Legislature Chairman David Callard said the agencies submitted funding requests as part of the county’s annual budget process. The agencies sought increases in funding, but the Legislature did not raise the budgeted amounts.

The county was comfortable, with the year nearly over, that it could direct some of its contingency funds to the agencies. All are currently in the county budget except the Cobblestone Museum, which was taken out a few years ago.

Here are the funded agencies and how much they will receive from the county in the 2014 budget: Cornell Cooperative Extension, $219,150; Orleans Economic Development Agency, $150,000; Soil and Water, $57,750; Libraries, $10,000; Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, $1,000; and the Sportsman’s Federation, $500.

Flood watch issued for Orleans over the weekend

Photos by Tom Rivers – Sandy Creek in Albion already is starting to look swollen in this photo from Butts Road.

The foot or more of snow in most of Western New York and Orleans County has already started melting with today’s 40-degree weather.

More upcoming days in the 40s, as well as rain on Saturday, could overwhelm local creeks and streams. That has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood watch for western and central New York from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening.

Orleans is one of 17 counties under the flood watch. The NWS warned that snowmelt and potential ice jams could lead to localized flooding of creeks and streams as well as low-lying and poorly drained areas.

The ice is starting to melt in Sandy Creek in this photo taken from the Brown Street bridge.

ALBION – A three-person board of directors expects to make a decision next month on the sale of The Villages of Orleans, a 120-bed nursing home on Route 31 in Albion, the chairman of the group said today.

“We’re not dragging our feet but we’re not rushing it, either,” said Russ Martino, chairman of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation.

The County Legislature in February voted to transfer the county nursing home to the Health Facilities Corporation. The board for that local development corporation has been tasked with finding a buyer for the site.

The proposals have been submitted and the board is weighing two final offers. Martino said the board will try to iron out the framework of a purchase agreement during a 1 p.m. meeting on Friday. Most of that session at the Health Department, next to the nursing home, will be behind closed doors from the public due to the negotiations with the sale of real estate.

The board is considering more than price, Martino said. The board wants the new owner to work with Albion Central School to continue an alternative education program at the site. At-risk students at Albion take classes at the nursing home and do an internship or job shadowing with staff.

The nursing home also currently prepares meals for residents at the hospice residence down the road. Martino wants that partnership to continue.

“We’re still negotiating and we want to make sure the school and hospice are in the agreement,” Martino said.

The LDC board isn’t rushing to reach a deal, but Martino said the group doesn’t want to delay the process.

The LDC and county hired Marcus and Millichap’s National Senior Housing Group, a Chicago firm that specializes selling nursing homes. The firm helped find buyers and is working with the county on the sales agreement. Marcus and Millichap will get a 2.5 percent commission as its fee.

The county still owes about $8 million in debt for nursing home renovations and an expansion in 2007. The county is paying about $800,000 a year in debt for the nursing home.

If the sale was approved before the end of a calendar year that could save the county about $800,000 in an additonal debt payment. The county budgeted for about $800,000 in nursing home debt in 2014.

It will likely have to make that payment again in 2015 because the sale is subject to a review by the state Department of Health. That review is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

Martino has said bids for the nursing home would at least cover the outstanding debt for the nursing home.

The cover includes two dirt roads in Orleans County: Clark Mills Road (bigger photo) in Carlton and Culvert Road in Ridgeway.

ALBION – We have calendars ready that showcase the four seasons of splendor in Orleans County.

The 2014 Orleans Hub calendars include 26 photos of local scenes (two for each month plus the two on the cover). Some of the pictures have never been published before.

The calendars are $10. You can get them by coming to the Lake Country Pennysaver at 170 North Main St., Albion. The office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 to 3:30. The office will be open on Dec. 24 from 8 a.m. to noon and will be closed on Christmas.

We can mail these as well with an additional charge for shipping. For more information on that, call the office at 585-589-5641.

I like all of these pictures, but my favorite is the swing hanging from the massive willow tree at Nesbitt’s Pond in Barre. That is the dominant photo for the month of June.

I also like the July photo featuring the fireworks at Lyndonville. It’s hard to get photos of the fireworks in focus. This one looks like a giant red strobe light went off over a field at Lyndonville.

ALBION – In 1830, when Orleans County’s government was led by a Board of Supervisors, the county leaders passed a resolution making care of the local poor a county responsibility.

Al Capurso, a Gaines resident, believes that resolution commits the county to owning and maintaining the nursing home. Last month he met with county legislators and the county attorney, and asked them to research the issue.

County attorney David Schubel reviewed the resolution and social welfare responsibilities for the county.

Schubel said other resolutions about the nursing home have superceded the 1830 resolution, including one from last February when the Legislature voted to create a local development corporation. The LDC became owner of the nursing home and has been working to sell the site.

The Legislature’s creation and use of the LDC has twice been held up in court after state Supreme Court challenges by residents and the CSEA union.

“The judge says we were lawful,” Schubel said during Wednesday’s Legislature meeting. “The judge says we did proper legal actions.”

Capurso said the judge wasn’t presented with the 1830 resolution as part of the lawsuits. Capurso believes that resolution may have resulted in a different decision from the judge.

In 1830, the Board of Supervisors voted: “Resolved, That the distinction between the town and the county poor be and the same is hereby abolished, and that the expense of maintaining all the poor shall be a county charge.”

The county created an alms house that took in local poor and infirm. That site was a social services function and not a medical facility like the current nursing home, which is licensed by the state Department of Health, Schubel said.

“To tie (the nursing home) with the alms house is a stretch beyond any rational basis,” Schubel told Capurso.

The attorney said the 1830 resolution is now “irrelevant.”

Capurso is a member of the Concerned Citizens of Orleans County, a group that has fought the Legislature on its push to privatize The Villages of Orleans, 120-bed facility of Route 31 in Albion.

The tax on lodging generates about $35K for tourism

Photo by Tom Rivers – Dollinger’s Motel in Albion is among the lodging businesses in Orleans County that collect a 4 percent tax, in addition to the sales tax, from their customers.

ALBION – Orleans County legislators voted today to continue a 4 percent tax on lodging businesses, a tax that generates about $35,000 annually for the county’s tourism budget.

The county first imposed the tax in the year 2004. It has been extended every two years since then.

Motels, bed and breakfasts and other lodging providers collect the 4 percent tax from their customers, which is on top of the sales tax. The bed tax in 2012 raised $35,859, County Treasurer Susan Heard said.

The county doesn’t designate how the funds be used by tourism, but it helps pay for easements for fishing access, advertising and other outreach, said Legislator Ken Rush, R-Carlton.

He said most of the tourism funds are targeted towards getting more fishermen to the county. They, in turn as visitors, pay 90 to 95 percent of the bed tax, Rush said.

Legislators were asked to cease with the tax.

“There are better ways (to raise money for tourism) than by punishing businesses,” said Paul Lauricella, Conservative Party vice chairman.

None of the lodging operators in the county attended today’s public hearing, but in the past they have asked the county not to impose the tax. They have said not having a bed tax could give the lodging operators an advantage over other options outside the county.

Rush said he doesn’t know of a county that doesn’t have a bed tax.

“It doesn’t matter where you travel, you pay a bed tax,” Rush said in response to Lauricella. “If we don’t charge it we’d be the only one without a bed tax.”

The tax doesn’t generate much money for Orleans compared to counties with chain hotels. In neighboring Genesee County, which has more than 1,000 hotel rooms, the bed tax generates more than $400,000 a year. That money is used to promote Genesee businesses and attractions.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Bent’s Opera House is eyed as a performing arts center with a restaurant and retail/office space. The state denied the project any funding in the latest round of economic development grants.

New York State won’t be playing Santa Claus for Orleans County. A breakdown of the state economic development grants, announced today, shows very little for Orleans County despite the county’s high unemployment and clear need for these funds.

The state approved $58.9 million for 94 projects in the nine-county Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. This is the third year the state has awarded the funds through regional councils.

Bent’s Operas House in Medina was recommended by the council for state funding for a roof repair and renovations. Orleans Renaissance Group, owner of the building, sought $500,000 in state funding, but the organization was denied even a cent from the state.

The state approved $65,776 to the village of Holley for a canal park improvement project. Holley will use the funding to improve its existing gazebo, pavilions and stone paths.

New elements of the park will include tree planting, installation of grills and picnic tables, fire pits, and the purchase of new equipment to maintain the park.

The improved amenities should make the canal park a bigger attraction for Holley, drawing more bicyclists and boaters, state officials said.

Another grant allocates $46,680 for Community Action of Orleans & Genesee to provide employment support services for residents in the two counties. Community Action will offer job skills instruction and training, job placement assistance, computer skills and financial literacy.

These are the only grants that are targeted to a project in Orleans County. That’s barely $100,000 out of $715 million approved across the state. It’s woeful for a county burdened with poverty and high unemployment.

There is grumbling from rural county leaders that the new system hurts the small counties because the state tends to pick projects with an emphasis on job creation and capitol investment. The state also wants a local match for many of the projects.

Those criteria are steering more projects to the bigger communities that have deeper pockets and staffs to put together the applications.

I’ll have more on this in the coming days. But this is bad news for Orleans County.

Orleans is listed as recipient of some other multi-county initiatives including $62,050 through the Arts Council of Wyoming County to add culinary traditions to farmers markets and other agrarian, horticultural and rustic events. The initiative will expose market and festival goers to traditional foods and local chefs, according to state officials.

Orleans is listed as one of nine counties that would benefit form a $250,000 grant to High Tech Rochester Inc. The funding will help create a partnership between High Tech Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester to leverage each partner’s strengths to improve the breadth of services to all entrepreneurial activities in the Finger Lakes Region.

A grant that covers eight counties, including Orleans, will fund a regional watershed management plan through the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. The $507,830 focuses on a watershed management plan for the Niagara River and Lake Erie.