Orleans County

County passes resolution against turbines by lakeshore, saying they could endanger future of Niagara Falls base

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2016 at 9:37 am

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature made it official on Wednesday, passing a formal resolution against industrial-size wind turbines within 40 miles of a military installation.

Congressman Chris Collins has introduced the “Protection of Military Airfields from Wind Turbine Encroachment Act” in an effort to ensure that any new wind turbines located within a 40-mile radius of a military installation will be deemed ineligible for renewable energy tax credits.

The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday followed Niagara County Legislature in supporting the legislation introduced by Collins.

The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station employs over 2,600 people and contributes over $200 million a year to Western New York’s economy, Collins said. Many of the employees live in Orleans County, said Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville.

She said the “Wind Turbine Encroachment Act” would help protect the Niagara Falls installation “from any future closure attempt.”

Apex Clean Energy is proposing to construct about 70 wind turbines that could peak at over 600 feet. The turbines planned for Somerset in and Yates would be at least 25 miles from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Apex said the turbines wouldn’t have a negative impact on the base. The company has been consulting with the Department of Defense and Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Station regularly “to ensure that any concerns regarding the base’s operations are resolved before the project is built,” Cat Strumlauf, Public Affairs Associate for Apex, said on Nov. 29 when Collins announced Wind Turbine Encroachment Act.

Two Yates officials – Town Supervisor Jim Simon and Councilman John Riggi – thanked the Legislature for supporting the legislation pushed by Collins.

Simon said the Niagara Falls base has a long history with changing aircraft and missions.

“The debate on the Air Reserve Station is ongoing,” Simon said, calling the site a “critical asset” for the community and country.

Riggi said the Collins bill would help keep “encroachment” away from the base. Riggi said he worries the tall turbines could give the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) a reason to shut down the base in the future.

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Sportsmen ask county to allow rifles for big game hunting

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2016 at 7:45 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: Neil Newton, a member of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation and NYS Conservation Council, favors allowing rifles for hunting deer and bears.

ALBION – Orleans County legislators are being asked by sportsmen to allow rifles for big game hunting – deer and bears.

County legislators were told by Sportsmen Club leaders on Wednesday that 41 out of 62 counties, including counties with more residents than Orleans, allow rifles for hunting.

Mike Elam, treasurer of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation, presented the Legislature with a petition signed by about 500 people, supporting center-fire rifles for deer hunting.

“As the times change so does technology,” said Jeff Atwell, president of the Barre Sportsmen Club.

He believes rifles are safer than shotguns, because hunters with rifles tend to use only one bullet. With shotguns, Atwell said hunters will often take multiple shots and slugs can “bounce.”

Terry Williams of Carlton, a hunting instructor for 40 years, also favors rifles for hunting. “You’re not overshooting,” he told county legislators.

Sportsmen leaders said studies have shown that rifles are safe for hunting deer and bears.

“The facts clearly support the passage of this proposal and the history of safety across New York with counties with far greater populations than Orleans County fully support it,” according to written comments from Michael Van Durme, a retired chief conservation officer for Region 8 of the DEC.

Van Durme’s career as a conservation officer included seven years in Orleans. He now manages a consulting company that specializes in hunter and firearms safety. He testified in favor of rifles for deer hunting when Genesee, Livingston and Ontario counties discussed the issue – those counties ultimately voted in favor of it.

He said hunting is much safer now than in the 1960s, when there were 19 incidents per 100,000 hunters. Now it’s 4.3 incidents per 100,000, he said.

Rifles are currently used in Orleans County to hunt smaller animals, with no injuries to hunters or the public, Van Durme said.

“Center-fire rifles are used almost all year long in Orleans County to hunt woodchucks, foxes, crows and coyotes, and there has never been a case of a bullet traveling miles from their target and hurting anyone,” Van Durme said in his written comments.

Paul Kroth, conservation officer, says he will enforce whatever laws are on the books. Ultimately, he said hunters are responsible for their shots.

Paul Kroth, a conservation officer in Orleans County, said whether or not rifles are allowed for deer hunting in Orleans, hunters still need to practice basic safety standards, such as identifying their target and knowing what is beyond it.

Some spots in Orleans aren’t appropriate for rifles, Kroth said, because roads and houses are too close by.

“Hunters, they’re still responsible for where their round goes,” Kroth said at a packed Legislature meeting. “There are a lot of smaller blocks where a rifle would not be appropriate.”

Hunters who use poor judgement and injure or even kill someone can face charges from reckless endangerment to manslaughter, Kroth said.

“We are going to enforce the law no matter which way you decide,” Kroth told the seven-member County Legislature.

David Callard, the Legislature chairman, said the group will continue to discuss the issue. He said the county doesn’t have the final say.

If the Legislature supports rifles for deer and bear hunting, Callard said local state legislators would then take the issue to Albany for a vote from the State Legislature.

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IJC moving ahead with controversial plan for Lake Ontario water levels

Staff Reports Posted 8 December 2016 at 2:25 pm

File photo by Tom Rivers: The lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park in Barker is pictured in this photo when the sun was setting in early August.

A plan for regulating water levels at Lake Ontario is going forward despite outcries from many elected officials along the south shore of the lake, who fear water levels will have bigger swings, leading to erosion and threatening tourism industries.

Commissioners of the International Joint Commission today signed an updated order of approval regulating water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

The updated order makes it possible for the IJC to approve Plan 2014, a new regulation plan for determining the flows through the Moses-Saunders Dam located on the St. Lawrence River between Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, NY. The updated order and plan replace a system of regulating flows developed in the 1950s.

“Plan 2014 is a modern plan for managing water levels and flows that will restore the health and diversity of coastal wetlands, perform better under changing climate conditions and continue to protect against extreme high and low water levels,” US Section Chair Lana Pollack said in a news release.

‘As long as I am a Member of Congress, I will fight to block any and all funding paths this plan needs to be implemented.’ – Congressman Chris Collins

Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, is among the many elected officials who have been opposing the plan.

“As long as I am a Member of Congress, I will fight to block any and all funding paths this plan needs to be implemented,” Collins said in a statement today. “Additionally, the incoming Republican Administration will know from Day One how important it is to eliminate Plan 2014 once and for all.”

Collins vowed to “do everything in my power to protect the taxpayers, homeowners and small businesses along the Lake Ontario shoreline that are set to be devastated by this bureaucratic disaster.”

Plan 2014 will continue to protect shoreline property and will retain, essentially unchanged, the environmental conditions and coastal protections on the lower St. Lawrence River, below the Moses-Saunders Dam, the IJC stated today.

The plan will improve ecosystem health and diversity on Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River and provide net economic benefits, according to the IJC.

The plan will foster conditions needed to restore 64,000 acres of coastal wetlands and improve habitat for fish and wildlife. The plan will also frequently extend the recreational boating season, better maintain system-wide levels for navigation and increase hydropower production, the IJC said.

Plan 2014 is the result of more than 16 years of scientific study, public engagement and governmental review.

During the five-year Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study (2000-2006), technical experts and stakeholders together built evaluation models and tested hundreds of alternatives, with public participation throughout the process. The IJC continued to optimize alternatives developed during the study and held public meetings in 2012 and public hearings in 2013 before proposing Plan 2014 to the two federal governments.

“We are pleased that Plan 2014 will bring system-wide improvements, with consideration of ecosystem health and recreational boating along with shoreline communities, commercial navigation and hydropower production,” said Canadian Section Chair Gordon Walker.

The IJC plans to implement the plan starting in January 2017.

For more information on the IJC, click here.

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Extension honors ‘Friends’ with 100th anniversary celebration to soon kick off

Photos by Kristina Gabalski: Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension Board President Ed Neal and Extension Interim Director Deb Roberts present Don O’Keefe, center, with a certificate of appreciation for his seven years of service on the Extension board. O'Keefe, an active master gardener, also was presented with a “Friend of Extension Award.”

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 7 December 2016 at 12:37 pm

Jeannette Riley, right, received the Friend of the Master Gardeners Award. The award was presented by Master Gardener/Sr. Agriculture/Horticultural Administrative Assistant Kim Hazel, left. Deb Roberts, interim Executive Director OCCCE, stands in the middle.

GAINES – On the cusp of the celebration marking the upcoming centennial of Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension/Orleans County Farm Bureau, the Extension held its 2016 Annual Meeting on Tuesday evening at Tillman’s Village Inn and honored many supporters.

“We will have a lot of things this next year to celebrate,” Extension Interim Executive Director Deb Roberts said as she opened the annual meeting.

She referenced the 2016 Annual Report which shows, “renewed vigor in our program. It’s really important to see that.” Roberts added that the search committee continues to work to find a new executive director following the resignation of Jennifer Wagester last summer.

Roberts said she is happy to have programs such as the Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program and the Master Food Preserver Program returned to OCCCE and revitalized.

Laura Bentley, Cheryl Kast, Ed Neal, Charles Pettit and Patrick Woodworth were elected to the Extension Board of Directors. Kast and Woodworth are new members.

Retiring board members Don O’Keefe and Gary Blackburn were recognized and O’Keefe additionally was presented with a Friend of Extension Award for his work to “bring awareness to the public of Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension,” Board President Ed Neal said.

Gary Blackburn

O’Keefe worked for 40 years as art director at Channel 13 in Rochester, and has used his artistic talents in his volunteer service for the Extension. He served as a member of the Extension Board of Directors for seven years and is also a Master Gardener.

O’Keefe created the Master Gardener Makeover contest and designed the 2017 OCCCE Centennial logo. Neal called O’Keefe a “deep thinker” and thanked him for his years of service.

Mike Elam

Retiring Board of Directors member Gary Blackburn of Medina was also presented with a certificate of appreciation for his service. Board President Ed Neal noted Blackburn’s tireless work of “taking care of everything” at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville.

Mike Elam also received a Friend of Extension award. Elam is well known to fairgoers and 4-Hers for his work in the log cabin on the fairgrounds.

This year Elam worked to repair and replace cracked pipes in the Lartz Building and also worked to winterize pipes on the fairgrounds. His work to replace and install a new water heater for bathrooms on the fairgrounds ensured that there would be hot water during fair week.

Elam’s efforts, “saved a lot of money,” Roberts said.

Pauline Lanning

Long-time 4-H leader Pauline Lanning received special recognition for her 50 years of service. She has been an active 4-H leader who runs the Senior Council Stand. (The Pauline Lanning Building is named in her honor.)

“There are no words to sum up” what Lanning means to Extension and the 4-H Program, said 4-H Educator Robert Batt said.

Linda Roth

Linda Roth received the Friend of 4-H Award. Robert Batt said Roth owns her own consulting and design firm and has designed many kitchens.

She has been helping 4-H to re-design the food stands for fair, including the 4-H Senior Council Stand, the Pie Stand and the French Fry Stand.

Jeannette Riley was recognized for sharing her garden on Braley Street by the Erie Canal in Albion in the 2016 Down the Garden Path tour, presented by Orleans County Master Gardeners.

Riley has also offered her spectacular yard as the site for a modified garden tour in 2017, which will feature a formal garden party.

Zach Welker and Chrissy Bloom received the Outstanding 4-H Leader Award. The two are leaders of the Orleans County 4-H Dairy Club, which has seen a large growth in members. The club annually hosts a fund-raising roast beef dinner and is assembling baskets of dairy products for families in need this holiday season. Batt said the highlight of his day is getting a call from Zach informing him, “…so I have this crazy idea.”

Zach Welker offers his thanks for receiving the Outstanding 4-H Leader Award along with Chrissy Bloom.

Orleans County Historian Matt Ballard also spoke at the annual meeting and presented a talk on “A Day in the Life: 1917,” as a way to begin the centennial year. Ballard noted that 100 years ago, there eight newspapers in Orleans County, 73 grocery stores and 22 hotels. He said the establishment of the OCCCE/Orleans County Farm Bureau in 1917 helped to lead the way in local conservation and educational efforts which made “rural life more attractive.”

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Cable company merger will fill in many gaps for high-speed Internet in Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 December 2016 at 9:42 am

File photo by Tom Rivers: A road in rural Barre is pictured at sunset in this photo from May 21, 2015.

Orleans County has about 3,600 households without access to high-speed Internet, but that number would shrink to 77 as part of the Charter Communications and Time Warner merger.

Charter Communications has to make broadband Internet access available to an additional 145,000 homes and businesses in new York over four years as part of the merger.

Charter’s plan would nearly cover the remaining gaps in Orleans, leaving 77 households without access. Charter would also make significant improvements in Niagara County, reaching all but 943, with most of those gaps in rural eastern Niagara County.

Orleans and Niagara officials have been working together the past four years to bring more high-speed Internet to the two counties.

The state announced a $500 million broadband push last year, but Orleans and Niagara held off from applying because they wanted to see what Charter’s plans were for the two counties.

“It’s a great Christmas present,” said Lynne Johnson, an Orleans County legislator who has been working on the broadband initiative with David Godfrey from Niagara County. “It’s not 100 percent but it’s great news.”

Johnson and Godfrey say the remaining unserved areas after Charter’s work may be too small to get a vendor to step in and provide the service. The state funds, and possibly federal money being pushed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), may be able to reach the last mile so the entire counties are covered.

Johnson is pleased Charter has Orleans in its build-out plan. She believes about four years of work, of identifying unserved households and pressing the state and federal government about the lack of high-speed Internet, paid off with Charter putting Orleans among the 145,000 to be served.

The state and industry maps for service were wrong before, Johnson said. The state and broadband companies had said 97 percent of Orleans was covered. But local government officials and a consultant went house to house and identified a much bigger unserved population – about 3,600 of the approximately 20,000 households in Orleans didn’t have access to high-speed Internet.

The four villages – Albion, Holley Lyndonville and Medina – all have 100 percent access. But out in the country it’s a different story. There are entire segments of some rural roads with no high-speed Internet access.

Orleans officials will be meeting with Charter later this month to discuss the build-out. Johnson will urge the company to fill all of the missing gaps. She also wants Orleans to be early in the build-out that will be spread over four years in the state.

“This is truly a win for the two counties,” Johnson said.

Godfrey also is pleased with the plan for more service in Niagara.

“It’s quite amazing how much they will do,” he said.

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County passes $65.6 million budget in unanimous vote

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2016 at 11:41 am

ALBION – Orleans County legislators in a 7-0 vote this morning approved the county’s $65,614,624 budget for 2017.

The budget wasn’t controversial. It was unchanged from a tentative plan filed last month by Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer, and no one opposed the plan during a budget hearing last week.

The budget will reduce the tax rate by 3 cents to $9.86 per $1,000 of assessed property.

However, the county will take in 2.5 percent more in taxes, up $405,260 to $16,728,410. The 2.5 percent increase remains under the tax cap because the county was under it in recent years and can carry over that difference.

David Callard, chairman of the County Legislature, said the tax cap leaves little cushion for legislators.

“It was important to hold the line on taxes, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult,” Callard said. “There’s always more that you could do and would like to do but we’re bound by constraints.”

The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.844 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.

Overall spending is up 1.8 percent or by $1.18 million to $65,614,624.

Some highlights of the 2017 budget include:

• The 2017 budget includes four mental health positions to staff ten new satellite offices across the five districts that had been added throughout 2016.

“These positions are revenue generating, justifying themselves from a cost benefit standpoint,” Nesbitt said in his budget message.

• The Office for the Aging has a grant to add a full-time aging service specialist. In January 2017, a statewide advertising campaign will encourage New Yorkers to contact NY Connects throughout the state as a No Wrong Door entity providing access to long-term care services. This newly created position will screen all calls and walk‐ins for individuals from birth to death for long-term care services.

• The amount budgeted for pensions with the New York State Retirement System was down $27,387 from 2016 at $2,627,117 (a reduction of just over 1%). This is reflective of some employees on Tier 5 and 6, Nesbitt said.

• The county jail shows the largest single increase of any department at $277,127.

“Regulators at the state level have forced the county to eliminate most of the revenue for boarding inmates in our facility,” Nesbitt said in his message. “The state has also required that the county change the methodology for allocation of command staff at the facility. This has resulted in additional costs to the facility.”

• The nine major state mandates that used to make up 90 percent of statewide county property taxes are down slightly from $16,397,378 in 2016 to $16,319,197 in 2017. This reduction is primarily due to reductions in the local Medicaid share resulting from enhancements in the Affordable Care Act.

“If the ACA is repealed, it will have a significant impact on property taxes across the state of New York and likely forcing universal Tax Cap overrides by counties across the state,” Nesbitt said.

• The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.8 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.

Agency funding

The Cornell Cooperative Extension was boosted from $232,500 in 2016 to $240,000 in 2017.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency was increased from $166,500 in 2016 to $170,000 in 2017.
The Soil and Water Conservation District was boosted from $77,500 in 2016 to $80,000 next year.
The four public libraries in Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina collectively will receive $10,000, the funding level since at least 2012.
The county will keep funding at $3,000 for the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
The Sportsmen’s Federation will continue at $1,000 in 2017.

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Orleans interested in shared jail someday with Genesee

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 December 2016 at 12:20 pm

File Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Jail, built in 1970, may not be a long-term answer for housing inmates.

ALBION – Orleans County officials want to talk about a shared jail with Genesee County.

The project would be several years away, but David Callard, Orleans County Legislature chairman, wants to get started with looking at a regional jail.

Both counties may need upgraded jail facilities in the future. The state Commission on Corrections was pressing Orleans for a new jail, but has allowed the county to keep using the existing jail after Orleans spent about $1 million in 2013 for a new roof, boiler system, and a series of energy efficiency improvements, including new caulking around about 100 windows and also on the seams of the building.

The state however isn’t allowing the county to exceed the 82-inmate capacity. The county for many years was given a waiver to accommodate a bigger jail population on the weekends.

With no waiver, the county is boarding out some inmates, and also isn’t accepting inmates from other counties if the capacity tops 82 inmates.

That issue has cost the county about $350,000 in lost revenue this year, Callard said Monday during a county budget hearing.

Genesee is interested in an expanded and updated jail. Callard said the two counties should look at a joint project.

Orleans wants to work with Genesee on a study to see how a shared jail would be run and where it could be best located. The two counties would need State Legislature approval for a shared facility. The state law currently requires each county to have its own jail.

Callard said the two counties have already been trailblazers for shared services. They run a health department with a shared director and some shared staff, as well as a joint board of directors for the Board of Public Health. Orleans and Genesee are the only counties in New York, and one of just 16 in the country, with a shared health department, Callard said.

That example and experience of the two counties working together may help Orleans and Genesee overcome barriers to a shared jail.

Callard said Orleans is reaching out to Genesee officials to first pursue a study of the new jail.

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Hearing this evening on county’s $65.6 million budget

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2016 at 9:17 am

ALBION – Orleans County legislators will take comments from the public this evening on a proposed $65,614,624 budget. The financial plan increases overall spending by 1.8 percent.

The tentative budget would reduce the tax rate by 3 cents to $9.86 per $1,000 of assessed property. However, the county would take in 2.5 percent more in taxes, up $405,260 to $16,728,410. The 2.5 percent increase remains under the tax cap because the county was under it in recent years and can carry over that difference.

The tax rate will go down slightly because total assessed value in the county grew 2.8 percent from $1.650 billion to $1.696 billion.

The public hearing will be at 7 p.m. today at the Orleans County Courthouse.

The County Legislature has scheduled a meeting for Monday, Dec. 5, at 9:30 a.m. at the Orleans County Legislative Chambers, 3 South Main St., Suite 2, Albion.

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Picture of Mount Albion wins Orleans Tourism’s photo contest

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2016 at 8:19 am

ALBION – Peggy Barringer of Albion won the 2016 Orleans County Tourism Photo Contest with her entry, “Springtime at Mount Albion Cemetery.”

Barringer wins 2 tickets to Sunday’s Buffalo Bills game with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Orchard Park.

Photographers were invited to send in photos of Orleans County with a “tourism-draw” subject matter such as recreation, heritage, nature, annual event or tourist attraction.

“We thank the participants for submitting images from around Orleans County and encourage everyone to continue snapping away as we will likely be announcing more photo contests in the future!” Tourism Coordinator Lynne Menz announced Friday on the Tourism Facebook page.

To see the honorable mentions, visit https://orleanscountytourism.com/.

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Fewer DWIs in latest stepped-up patrol by local law enforcement

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 November 2016 at 10:01 am

There were fewer driving while intoxicated arrests in the latest DWI saturation patrol by law enforcement agencies in Orleans County.

The Albion Police Department hosted a multi-agency DWI saturation patrol from 9 p.m. on Nov. 23 to 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 24. Three people were arrested for DWI, a 40 percent drop from the five arrested a year before.

“This is positive news in our efforts to reduce accidents caused by intoxicated drivers,” said Roland Nenni, police chief for Albion and Holley. He supervised the multi-agency DWI patrol.

“The reduction of DWI arrests is a positive and motivating factor when these types of details are conducted,” he said. “Many believe that law enforcement wants to make more DWI arrests during these details, however we like to see the opposite. Law enforcement stopped many people and found the overwhelming majority to be responsible and not under the influence of alcohol.”

This detail combined the efforts from every law enforcement agency in Orleans County. The agencies involved consisted of the Albion Police Department, Medina PD, Holley PD, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Orleans County Probation, and New York State Parole.

The detail results are as follows:

DWI arrests: 3 – 1 in Holley (Holley PD), 1 in Medina (Medina PD) and 1 in the Town of Ridgeway (State Police).

Traffic stops: 118.

Tickets issued: 18.

Agency breakdown:

• Albion PD – 54 stops, 1 Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 2nd, 2 Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 3rd, 3 Suspended Registrations, 1 Unlicensed Operation 1- Operating Without Insurance, 1 License Plate Lamp Violation.

• Medina PD – 24 stops, 1 DWI arrest, 1 headlight violation.

• Holley PD – 18 stops, 1 DWI arrest, 1 Unlawful Possession of Marijuana Arrest, 1 Uninspected Motor Vehicle, 1 Fail to Keep Right Violation.

• NY State Police – 15 stops, 1 DWI arrest, 1 Unlawful Possession of Marijuana.

• Orleans County Sheriff’s Office – 7 stops.

This is the third year with a saturation patrol in Orleans County. Compared to last year, there was a 70 percent increase in vehicle stops.

“The data from this year’s detail indicates that less than 3 percent of the motorists stopped were intoxicated, whereas in previous years we have seen data as high as 20 percent of the motorists stopped were intoxicated,” Nenni said.

Each law enforcement agency had officers assigned to the detail in their respective jurisdictions, as well as officers doing their normal working patrol. There was a briefing at the Albion PD, and the officers then returned to their respective jurisdictions with the Albion PD assisting each agency with logistical and operational support.

“Intoxicated drivers do not follow jurisdictional lines, so we decided that we would not either,” Nenni said. “The Albion Police Department and its partners are planning similar details for the future. We will continue to use every resource and tool available to create a reduction in offenders and arrest those who continue to endanger others by driving while intoxicated.”

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