Press release, NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association

ALBION – State investigators are looking into the possible poisoning of a correction officer at Orleans Correctional Facility on Wednesday. The apparent assault left the officer hospitalized for two days. It is not yet clear when he will be able to return to work.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon. The correction officer took a sip from a store-bought drink that he had been consuming throughout the day, and immediately noticed burning in his throat and became violently ill.

The officer was initially taken to Medina Memorial Hospital and later transported to Buffalo General, where he stayed for two days with pain in his mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach. Testing on the drink found PH-levels three-to-five times higher when compared to an untainted sample.

The dorm at the Orleans Correctional Facility where the incident took place was locked-down and searched immediately after the officer became ill. The New York State Police and Inspector General’s Office are now assisting with the investigation as well.

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state will close four more correctional facilities across the state, bringing the total of closures since the governor took office to 15.

“This incident at Orleans is just the latest proof that Gov. Cuomo and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision have an irresponsible approach to managing the budget of this public safety agency,” said Donn Rowe, President of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

“The state wants to create the illusion that the system is rife with empty beds, but this is only made possible by double-bunking inmates. Instead of taking the opportunity to right-size the system – and make it safer for correction officers and inmates – the state continues to warehouse inmates by double-bunking and maintaining crowded and understaffed facilities,” Rowe said.

The incident follows a number of violent assaults at Orleans, reflecting a general rise in violence perpetrated against NYSCOPBA members statewide in recent years. Since 2011, while the overall number of inmate-on-officer assaults has gone down, the rate of assaults has actually increased.

The same statistical trend can also be seen in the number of inmate-on-inmate assaults and incidents of contraband being found in the possession of inmates. The trend points to the fact that while the inmate population has decreased, the state is housing a more violent inmate in medium security settings, like Orleans, the corrections officer union said.

Legislator doesn’t want county to pay for failing students

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County’s costs towards community colleges have skyrocketed in recent years with most of the money going to Genesee Community College, pictured here at the main campus in Batavia.

ALBION – Orleans County has watched its budget for community colleges nearly triple in the past decade, jumping from $680,419 in 2004 to a budgeted $1.74 million in 2013.

“It’s growing at an alarming rate,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard. “It’s a serious situation. The costs are getting out of control.”

The county pays about a third of the tuition costs for county residents who attend community college. The state pays about a third and the students cover the other third.

More students have been enrolling at community colleges in the past decade. Genesee Community College is the most popular destination for Orleans residents who can choose between nearby GCC sites in Albion, Medina and Batavia.

GCC has worked to make classes and campuses more accessible to students, and the college has pushed “free” classes to high-achieving high school students in the summer. That marketing campaign bothers county leaders, who say the classes really aren’t free. Students don’t have to pay their share of tuition, but the county and state are still paying towards those classes.

Legislator George Bower, R-Holley, doesn’t want to see county dollars pay for courses that students fail or drop. He said he has asked GCC to provide a list of how many courses fall into that category, but hasn’t received the information. If students drop a class or fail it, Bower said the student should then foot the full cost of that course.

“I really don’t think our hard-working taxpayers should pay for students who fail,” Bower said during Wednesday’s Legislature meeting. “We still are paying and it has to stop.”

Legislators would like to see the community college funding formula changed so counties bear less of the costs. The state Legislature and governor would need to be involved to restructure the funding for community colleges.

“They should work to straighten out this damn mess,” Bower said.

June rate of 8.4 percent was down from 10.4 percent in 2012

ALBION – Orleans County’s unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent in June, down from 10.4 percent in June 2012. The state Department of Labor reported the county had 200 more people in the workforce in June, compared to the same month a year ago.

The county’s workforce grew by 300 people from May, when the unemployment rate was also 8.4 percent. That is higher than the state average of 7.5 percent.

New York’s economy is improving, based on the report that showed the state’s private sector job count increased by 110,500 from June 2012 to June 2013.

Other nearby rural counties also added jobs and cut their unemployment rates. Genesee is down to 6.2 percent unemployed, compared to 7.4 percent the previous year.

Wyoming County had an 8.2 percent unemployment rate in June 2012, and that fell to 7.2 percent last month. Livingston’s unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in June 2012, and dropped to 7.2 percent a month ago.

The Buffalo-Niagara region rate fell from 8.5 percent to 7.4 percent during the year, while the Rochester region rate was 7.0 percent, compared to 8.4 percent in June 2012.

The counties with the lowest rates include Saratoga and Tompkins at 5.7 percent, while Bronx County in NYC has the highest at 11.8 percent. In upstate, St. Lawrence County has the highest rate of unemployed at 9.6 percent.

To see the report from the state DOL, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The CSEA union is backing a lawsuit that seeks to keep the 120-bed nursing home in Albion as a publicly owned facility.

ALBION – The union representing 135 county employees at The Villages has sued the county, the County Legislature, its Chairman David Callard, and a newly formed local development corporation that is charged with selling the 120-bed nursing home.

The lawsuit alleges the county improperly formed the LDC – the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation – and the county’s fee title is invalid. The suit alleges other “arbitrary and capricious actions” and wrongdoing by the county, including efforts “to circumvent the stringent requirements of public health law.”

The lawsuit is the second that seeks to stop the county and its LDC from selling The Villages of Orleans. The first lawsuit, filed by local resident Mary Bannister and nursing home employee Dawn Hazel, contested the LDC was improperly created by the Legislature. Acting State Supreme Court Judge James Punch ruled in favor of the county last month.

The new lawsuit was filed July 10 and is not the same as the first one, said Cindy Troy, president of the CSEA union in Orleans County.

“This is in a different direction,” she said.

Legislature Chairman David Callard declined to comment on the lawsuit, except to say he favors due process through the court system.

CSEA and county attorneys are to appear in court on Aug. 6.

The suit was brought in the names of nursing home employees Jan Standish, a dietary at the nursing home since 1990, and Mary A. Lewis, a custodial worker since 1990 and member of the CSEA bargaining unit. Both have family living at The Villages.

The lawsuit notes that the union has a two-year contract running until Dec. 31, 2014. The Legislature in September 2011 also passed a resolution saying the nursing home would remain a public facility, subject to public governance, until at least the end of 2014.

The LDC was incorporated on March 7, 2013. The three-member board is led by its chairman, former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino. Other members include Clarendon Town Supervisor Richard Moy and Richard DeCarlo, a former Gaines town supervisor.

CSEA outlines six points in the Article 78 lawsuit. They include:

The state only allows LDCs to be used for economic development, the CSEA attorneys say in the lawsuit. The county created the Health Facilities Corporation to sell the nursing home to a third party, which the CSEA attorneys say is outside the purposes of the not-for-profit corporations law.

The county also violated the not-for-profit corporations law by transferring an interest to the LDC while the county retained the operating assets and operating responsibility for the responsibility, according to the lawsuit.

The county needs to determine property sold or transferred to an LDC first is no longer required for use by the county, according to the lawsuit. The county made the move without “fact-based determination,” the plaintiffs allege. The state Department of Health projects a 360-bed nursing home need for the county by 2016. Currently there are 310 beds, suggesting the nursing home will be in demand.

The lawsuit also contends the Legislature was wrong to create the LDC to sell a county asset. The Legislature can’t delegate that authority, and it should determine whether a sale is in the best interests of the county.

The lawsuit also says the county’s creation of an LDC to sell the nursing home is an attempt to circumvent public health law. The state DOH highly regulates nursing homes. The county formed the LDC without approval of the public health council. The LDC also can’t acquire, sell or lease property without permission of the commissioner of health. The county “failed to comply any of these provisions,” according to the lawsuit.

The CSEA attorneys also allege the county used “legal fiction” to create the LDC with a lease hold on the nursing home. However, the county retains all interests, rights and obligations to occupy, operate and maintain the site.

The LDC would take ownership of the site when it is ready to approve a sale. The sale would be made on behalf of the county, but in the name of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation.

“This results in a questionable transaction that takes the county’s name off of the sale of the Villages to a new owner-operator,” the lawsuit states, calling the plan an “excess of the authority” to act under a county law.

The suit seeks to annul the Legislature’s resolution that created the LDC, annul the “illegal lease and leaseback” between of the Villages between the county and the LDC,  and declare the county’s delegation of authority a violation of the statue and the state Constitution.

Photo by Tom Rivers – State Sen. George Maziarz speaks at the opening ceremonies for the Orleans County 4-H Fair on Monday. He encouraged residents to sign a petition urging the governor and State Legislature to repeal the SAFE Act.

KNOWLESVILLE – Visitors to the Orleans County 4-H Fair can sign a petition this week to repeal the NY-SAFE Act, legislation that has been roundly criticized by many legislative bodies in upstate New York.

The petition at the fair is sponsored by Sen. George D. Maziarz. Residents can sign it at the Orleans County Republican Party booth located in the Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building.

“The NY-SAFE Act, which I opposed, trampled on many of the rights that responsible gun owners hold dear,” Maziarz said in a statement. “I continue to try to build public support for overturning the law.”

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, has already turned in a petition to the state signed by more than 1,000 local residents.

Hawley has asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to re-examine the process for enacting the law and allow his constituents to make their voices heard. Hawley and many of the county governments say Cuomo and the majority of the Legislature rushed the law into passage in January without feedback from the public.

Many of the provisions of the law are confusing and open to interpretation, Orleans County legislators said in a resolution asking for the law to be repealed. The county Legislature also has criticized the law for prohibiting firearm magazines with more than seven rounds, when most magazines have 10 rounds.

Hawley is critical of the way the law was approved without input from New York residents.

“Their voices were not heard during the hurried passage of this law,” he has said.

Hawley has sent a letter to the governor, telling him the SAFE Act did not protect the safety of New York families, but instead “trampled” the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.

Press release, Orleans County Chamber of Commerce

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce is proud to present its Annual Awards Dinner each year to recognize the contributions made by distinguished businesses, individuals, agencies and organizations that have positively impacted the quality of life in Orleans County.

Winners are selected from nominations submitted by Chamber members, which are reviewed by a committee comprised of community and business leaders. The deadline for submission for nominations is July 25.

Business of the Year: This category is for a business that is deemed to have the most significant overall achievements during the year.

Lifetime Achievement: This award is presented to an individual(s) with a long-term record of outstanding business achievements.

Entrepreneurial Excellence: A company demonstrating a unique approach to business that has resulted in a strategic advantage in the marketplace; perhaps through the use of cutting edge technology or other innovative methods.

Phoenix Award: An organization or business that has successfully adapted or re-used an existing facility.

New Business of the Year: A business or organization that has opened its door for the first time in the past year.

Community Service: A business, organization or individual with a history of meaningful contributions to the community, including both professional and non-professional, and specifically one which generates the majority of revenue from sources other than sales of physical products.

For more information, call the Chamber at 585-589-7727 or check the Chamber website by clicking here.

Tom Zangerle created this painting of a canal bridge in Medina.

MEDINA – Orleans County artists and businesses have responded in a big way for a debut project, the Palettes of Orleans.

There are 73 painted palettes of local scenes. The palettes are on display in businesses throughout the county.

I was in Della’s Chocolates in Medina this morning and saw the palette painted of a canal bridge in Medina by Tom Zangerle.

The project is organized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has put a poster in each business window to indicate a palette on display. Shoppers can submit bids to buy the artwork and they can vote on their favorite one.

The project will run until Oct. 6. There will be a celebration Oct. 13 at Hickory Ridge, where final bids will be accepted for the artwork. Some of the proceeds will be used to fund art scholarships at each school district in the county.

Thom Jennings ran three times for Orleans County Legislature, saying he wanted a role to be an advocate for county residents.

Jennings, a Democrat, never managed a victory against Henry Smith for legislator.

But Jennings believes he has found an outlet to represent the county. He has been appointed by Gov. Cuomo to serve as a regional commissioner of the Genesee State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission. The Commission oversees state parks sites in a five-county area that includes Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Wyoming counties.

The appointment, which was approved by the State Senate, is for seven years.

“I’ve always been a strong supporter of recreation and historic preservation so I think this appointment is right up my alley,” said Jennings, a former chairman of the Albion Historic Preservation Commission. “I ran for office hoping that I would be able to serve the people of Orleans County and I think that this appointment gives me the opportunity to do that. I’m really excited.

The state park sites in Orleans include Lakeside Beach State Park and the Oak Orchard Marine State Park.

I would like to see the commission look at claiming one of the old sandstone quarries and opening it to the public. I think the state should reclaim the very first sandstone quarry that opened in 1837, just north of the canal on Route 63.

The quarry is now privately owned and has been filled in. It could be excavated, and a nice walking trail could be established around the perimeter of the quarry. It could include interpretive panels explaining the significance of Medina sandstone, which was used in so many homes, streets and prominent buildings throughout the region.

The sandstone industry provided thousands of jobs locally, and drew immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Poland and Britain. I think the state is the only entity that has the resources to pull this off.

Courtesy Gov. Cuomo’s office – The Mohawk Valley was flooded on June 28 after a severe downpour.

ALBION – In was mid-October 2006, when a heat wave followed a snowstorm in Orleans County.

Hundreds of trees, maybe more, snapped from the weight of heavy snow on their leaves and branches. The fallen limbs and trees knocked out power for days.

The melting 2 feet of snow unleashed flood waters. Homeowners, who were powerless, saw their basements fill with water because they couldn’t turn on their sump pumps. (I needed to have my basement in Albion pumped twice.)

That storm is the biggest “weather event” I can recall in my nearly two decades of living around here. We were in a state of emergency with utility trucks and firefighters descending on our county from all over the state. We even had electric workers from Quebec here, working to restore our electricity.

It was a fluke storm. Mostly, things aren’t too bad around here. We don’t have the big extremes that flood roads, creeks and homes.

It seems every year there is at least one community in New York that is devastated from a storm. The Mohawk Valley is the latest casualty of Mother Nature and aged infrastructure. A late June downpour with flash flooding left the region in soggy ruin.

The federal government on Friday declared 12 counties eligible for disaster aid due to the damage from the storm.

Eastern New York felt the wrath of Sandy last year. Binghamton was hit with massive flooding a few years ago. I grew up in Chautauqua County and about five years ago Silver Creek and Gowanda were inundated with water, destroying numerous homes.

“It is a tragedy that so many communities of hard-working, decent New Yorkers have seen their lives turned upside down by the unpredictable and damaging impact of these severe storms and floods,” Gov. Cuomo said Friday when President Obama approved the disaster declaration for the Mohawk Valley.

We don’t have the big extremes around here. The communities have done a nice job upgrading storm sewers and infrastructure, helping to funnel water off the streets when there is big storm.

Occasionally, we get hit with a fluke, but I think we’re safe from utter devastation. It’s definitely a plus during these days of turbulent weather.

Four Dem candidates, plus an independent, are running for Orleans County Legislature

This article was updated after the original article listed Rak as a Dem candidate. She is a Conservative, seeking an independent line. The towns also haven’t had their caucuses yet, when they officially name their candidates.

ALBION – The Orleans County Democratic Party is backing four candidates, plus an independent, in their campaigns for county Legislature. The Dem-backed candidates have agreed to a don’t-sell-the-nursing-home platform.

Democrats also say they will be fiscally conservative, while bringing in another viewpoint to a seven-member body that is all Republican.

The county Legislature is working to sell The Villages of Orleans, a 120-bed nursing home in Albion, because of the potential for steep deficits that legislators say could require $2 to $4 million in annual county subsidies.

Linda Rak

Linda Rak of Lyndonville believes there must be ways to reduce costs and increase revenue at the facility, without turning it over to a private company. Rak is a retired reading teacher at Kendall. She is running as a Conservative against incumbent Lynne Johnson for a district that includes the towns of Yates, Ridgeway and a portion of Shelby. Rak also is working to secure an Indepedent line.

“I’m passionate about the nursing home,” Rak said during a Democratic Party picnic this afternoon at Bullard Park. “We need people to roll up their sleeves and find a solution. We owe it to the seniors to keep it.”

Rak works at Brockport State College with graduate students who want to be reading specialists. She also has been endorsed by the Conservative Party.

Fred Miller, the owner of Family Hardware in Albion since 1986, is making his first run for county office. He has served five years on the Village Board. Miller said the village has gone at least 30 years without a resident on the Legislature.

Fred Miller

“It’s time we had a village voice there,” he said. “I don’t believe the county is doing enough for the village.”

He also criticized the county for too many “hidden taxes” that drive away customers for small businesses. He noted heating oil taxes and an occupancy tax for motels and bed and breakfasts.

“I’m willing to dig into the facts and to stand alone,” Miller said. “They need diversity on that board.”

Miller has also been endorsed by the Conservative Party. He will run against Henry Smith Jr. for a district that includes the towns of Albion and Gaines.

Former Kendall Town Supervisor Jack Gillman has the Democratic endorsement to run against John DeFilipps of Clarendon for an at-large seat. George Bower of Holley isn’t seeking re-election to the county-wide position.

Gillman was town supervisor in 2008 and ’09, the first Democrat to hold the position in Kendall in 40 years. He worked 37 years as a telecommunications specialist for Rochester Telephone and Frontier before retiring in 2003.

Jack Gillman

If the majority of the public doesn’t want the nursing home to be sold, the Legislature should listen to the people, Gillman said. The Concerned Citizens of Orleans County, a citizens group opposed to the nursing home sale, has asked the Legislature to put the issue up for a vote.

Dave Schult of Waterport moved back to the community 2 ½ years ago after being away for 30 years. Schult, 50, joined the Coast Guard after graduating from Albion. He has worked in sales for an ambulance company based in Chicago, currently the vice president of the sales department.

Schult vowed to treat the county budget as if it was his own money, carefully spending every dollar. He has experience in negotiations, which he said would be an asset on the Legislature.

He also knows all about customer service. Before his career in sales, he grew up spending numerous hours at the Lakeland, a restaurant at Pont Breeze operated by his parents for 25 years.

Dave Schult

Schult also has been endorsed by the Conservative Party. He is running against Ken DeRoller of Kendall. The seat is currently filled by Ken Rush, who isn’t seeking re-election.

Gary Kent of Albion is again challenging Don Allport for a county-wide legislator position. Kent wasn’t at the Democratic picnic today. He was in North Carolina visiting his son. Kent, a retired Kendall social studies teacher, has been one of the leaders against selling the county nursing home. Allport, a Republican, has the Conservative endorsement.

Democrats introduced Cyndy Van Lieshout, a candidate for Barre town supervisor. The Democratic Party caucus is next month. She will be running against Mark Chamberlain. Van Lieshout and her husband Mike own a dairy farm in Barre. Cyndy manages the books for the farm and also serves on the board of directors for the Upstate Niagara and O-At-Ka cooperatives.

Democrats also introduced Paul Snook, a Republican running for Carlton highway superintendent. He has the Conservative endorsement against incumbent David Krull.

Four candidates for State Supreme Court in the eighth district also addressed Orleans Democrats. Those candidates include Mark Montour, a Lancaster town justice and acting judge for the city of Buffalo; Jeannette Ogden, a Buffalo city court justice; Jeff Marion, an attorney; and Dennis Glascott, an Angola town justice.

Orleans County officials say many residents and businesses in the rural outlying areas are at a competitive disadvantage because many areas lack access to high-speed Internet.

That makes it harder for students to complete homework, residents to fill out job applications and businesses to reach customers – tasks that increasingly require high-speed Internet.

The county has tried to coax Time Warner the past three years to extend services in the rural areas, but the cable provider has balked unless it was paid $10,000 a mile to run the infrastructure. The county believes wireless Internet may be the best solution to increasing access at an affordable cost.

The county and three local towns are starting a “mini-study” that could expand to the rest of Orleans and even Niagara counties.

The study will first focus on the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates, where highway superintendents have been trained to survey their towns to catalog assets that could be used to expand broadband Internet access.

The Niagara Orleans Regional Alliance – led by Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson and Niagara County Legislator Dave Godfrey – has been spearheading an initiative with the goal of attracting last-mile broadband Internet to rural businesses and residents without access.

“The approach is to market the region to a number of Internet service providers and work with them to find a solution that is both profitable to them and have zero long-term costs to local taxpayers while providing affordable broadband services to residents,” said Evhen Tupis, principal at BPGreene and Associates, a rural broadband consulting firm.

To do so, un-served addresses are being cataloged, potential “build on” structures – such as existing communication towers, water towers and other tall structures – are being identified and positioned as assets with potential ISP’s.

There is a focus on Wireless ISP’s because of the inherently lower build-out costs, though cable-line providers are certainly not excluded.

BPGreene and Associates trained the highway superintendents to document the needed information. Tupis of Clarendon is now in the process of repackaging their results into a Request for Comment (RFC). Through it, potential providers will be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the completeness of the information and voice their desire to participate in a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) to actually Internet services.

Legislature Chairman Dave Callard, R-Medina, plans to use the result of the RFC to decide if this approach would warrant more towns in Orleans County.

“As an added benefit, it is quite possible that this initiative may introduce competition in presently-served areas as well,” Tupis said.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County officials have a new historic marker under wraps today. The marker will be dedicated at 1 p.m. Saturday.

ALBION – A historic marker, with a log cabin logo, will be dedicated on the courthouse lawn during a 1 p.m. ceremony on Saturday.

The marker will honor the pioneering spirit of Albion’s first residents. In December 1810, William McAllister bought 368 acres in Albion, the east side of the village, from the Holland Land Company. The following year he built a log cabin where the current County Clerks’ Building stands next the county courthouse.

McAllister and his wife, known only in historical information as “Mrs. McAllister,” were Albion’s first settlers.

The Capurso family in Albion is paying for the marker.

Marsha Rivers

Press release, Hospice of Orleans

ALBION Marsha Rivers is the newest member of the Hospice of Orleans team. She joined the staff as Director of Development and Community Relations on June 17.

Rivers has been working in Albion since 2008 at Care Net of Greater Orleans, a pregnancy resource center. She served as Care Net’s part-time executive director from 2009 until this summer, when she joined Hospice full time.

As successor to Cora Goyette, who retired in March following the successful campaign to build the Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, Rivers will be reinforcing support for the residence as well as all the vital services Hospice of Orleans provides, including home care, transitions, and bereavement assistance for our community.

“I consider it a high honor to be part of Hospice,” Rivers said. “I agree wholeheartedly with the hospice philosophy of considering all aspects of a person’s needs as they navigate life-limiting illness. Also, it’s a real blessing for me to have meaningful work so close to home.”

Rivers’ first public appearance for Hospice will be the Ducks Ahoy Race at 3 p.m. on July 4 in Johnson’s Creek, as part of the Lyndonville Lions’ Annual Independence Day Celebration. Duck tickets, each one representing a chance to win cash prizes donated by Baxter of Medina, are for sale at the Hospice office, 14080 Route 31 West, or at the Hospice booth near the creek in downtown Lyndonville on July 4.

An Orleans County native, Rivers graduated from Albion High School and then earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester. She worked as a reporter for the Batavia Daily News before returning to her alma mater, where she filled several roles, including admissions, alumni relations, public relations and marketing, ultimately serving as editor of the college magazine, Roberts Today, for nine years. During that time, Rivers also earned her master’s degree in theological studies, with a concentration in nonprofit leadership and management, from Northeastern Seminary.

Editor’s note: Marsha Rivers is married to Tom Rivers, editor of OrleansHub.com.

Orleans Hub launched on April 2 and we’ve been building a growing and faithful audience since that first day. Thank you.

We thought you’d be curious about the stories that have generated the most page views in our first three months. Here they are, from number one to 10:

Day-old baby left with Medina FD, on May 28

Lyndonville woman dies in Carlton crash, on June 10

Suspect in lockdown surrendered to police, on May 23

Long-time Lyndonville store shuts down, on April 30

Kendall makes US News list of top schools, on April 26

Missing Albion girl is found safe, on May 2

Lockdown lifted at Albion schools, on May 23

8 face drug charges in multi-agency investigation of cocaine in Albion, on June 21

Kendall tops Orleans County school district rankings, on June 19

20-year-old charged after Albion girl is located unharmed, on May 2

We’ve published hundreds of photos on The Hub in the past three months, and many of the site visitors say they enjoy the photography the most. My favorite picture was published on our first day – April 2.

It shows Baillie Oberther, 16, of Medina being crowned queen of Dyngus Day during a celebration at Sacred Heart Club. Bonnie Boyd, last year’s queen, passes on the crown.

I like their happy faces and the intergenerational bonding. I like that Medina keeps up the Dyngus Day tradition, and that it is embraced by people of all ages.

Five Orleans districts to receive $3.2 million more

Photo by Tom Rivers – Albion Central School officials say they will be able to preserve their programs at the middle school (pictured) and other schools in the 2013-14 budget.

Source: NYS Division of the Budget

State aid increases are making life a little easier for school leaders this budget go-round.

The five districts in Orleans County will receive between 4 and nearly 7 percent more in state funds next school year, according to the state budget approved last week. That follows two years of meager increases. The districts were all cut significantly when David Paterson was governor. The state sliced education spending by nearly $3 billion state-wide during Paterson’s tenure.

“With the latest aid increases we are now back to the funding levels of 2009,” said Clark Godshall, superintendent of the Orleans-Niagara BOCES.

The 13 districts in the Orleans-Niagara BOCES cut 700 positions during the school funding crisis over the past five years, Godshall said. Some of those reductions were made due to shrinking enrollments. But many teachers, administrators and staff lost their jobs because districts were contending with rising costs and tepid revenue growth. The state also imposed a tax cap of about 2 percent on local governments.

“With the tax cap you were forced to reduce,” Godshall said.

State-wide education funding is up nearly $1 billion for about 700 school districts. The five districts in Orleans County collectively will receive $3.2 million more in operating aid, or a 5.0 percent increase to $66.8 million.

“We will be able to preserve all of our programs,” said Shawn Liddle, Albion Central School assistant superintendent for business. “We’re always grateful for the aid we receive from New York State.”

State and federal governments pay for about 80 percent of the district’s $33 million annual budget. The state budget gives Albion about $800,000 more in operating aid for 2013-14.

Although programs will be maintained, Liddle said the Finance Committee is eyeing some staff cuts to mirror a drop in student enrollment. The committee will make its budget recommendation to the Board of Education during Monday’s 7 p.m. meeting.

The district went the past six years without raising taxes. Albion cut staff and tapped reserve funds to stave off a tax increase during that time. But Liddle said the committee is looking at a 1.5 percent tax increase for 2013-14, which will be under the 2 percent cap.

Lyndonville also expects to preserve all of its programming and stay under the tax cap, said Board of Education President Ed Urbanik.

Rather than dig deeper into its reserve funds, the district can preserve those funds due to the increase in state aid. That gives Lyndonville a cushion with the uncertainties with health care costs, Urbanik said.

Rural schools have been lobbying the state to boost funding the past several years. Rural districts say they were disproportionately hit hard with the state funding cuts under Paterson.

Educate NY Now, an advocacy group of school stakeholders throughout NY, praised the new state budget, particularly the sizable increases for some districts. But Billy Easton, executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, said the state needs to do more to help school districts, especially those in rural areas.

“There remain urgent educational needs that must be addressed, such as closing the now widening gulf in educational opportunities between wealthy and poor schools,” he said in a statement. “Legislators are getting the message loud and clear that our schools are in crisis. This budget will slow the rate of classroom cuts, not stop it.”