Orleans has also reduced inmate population at site

Photos by Tom Rivers – New York State officials about five years ago were talking with the county about building a new jail. But the State Commission of Corrections shifted, supporting a series of improvements to the existing building.

Workers caulk around windows at the Orleans County Jail. The county has had new caulk put around all of the windows, about 100 in all, at the jail, as well as caulk around concrete panels and seams.

ALBION – Five years ago Orleans County officials worried the state was going to force construction of a new $30 million jail in Albion, a cost that would fall squarely on county taxpayers.

The jail on Platt Street, built in two stages around 1970, was crowded and falling into disrepair mainly due to water infiltration.

The county, hoping to stave off a costly new project, created a lengthy list of initiatives to keep the old jail open. The state Commission of Corrections gave the county the option of upgrading the Platt Street site.

About $1 million later county officials see a vastly improved jail that they expect will meet the county’s needs and state standards for at least two more decades.

Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson, left, and Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt stand on a new roof on top of the county jail. The new tiled roof is on top of a rubber membrane with a drainage system.

The site has 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. Crews sprayed insulation inside the concrete panels on the building.

Showers aren’t leaking anymore. Walls aren’t crumbling.

“It’s a great accomplishment, not having to deal with that,” Legislature Chairman David Callard said about the jail improvements that have stopped talk of a new jail. “In a systematic basis we took care of things that needed to be done.”

The county assigned one employee from Buildings and Grounds to be dedicated to the facility’s ongoing maintenance. Callard said that has ensured many problems are resolved quickly.

A crane has been next to the jail most of this summer, lifting heavy boxes of supplies and equipment. Most of those materials were used for a new roof on the jail, including a rubber membrane.

The roof now has tiles and a drainage system that keeps water from flowing into the building. When the jail was built more than four decades ago, it was done in two stages. A seal that connected the jail has been a long-term problem, until now.

Crews fixed that seal and put a rubber membrane over it. The previous seal never quite worked, allowing water to run into the building. That then caused chunks of the walls to break loose. Some of those pieces were used as weapons by inmates.

The deteriorating facility created a stressful environment for the 40 jail employees, said Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson.

But the jail is much improved these days, he said. There aren’t chunks of concrete to be grabbed. The walls and floors have all been painted, and new roof has blocked water from running down walls.

The project has upgraded showers and gate motors in the cell blocks. The showers now have water timers and a raised concrete pad on the floor, which will reduce water migration.

The biggest safety improvement may be a less crowded jail, Wilson said. The facility has an 82-bed capacity, but the county was granted a waiver to exceed that by 25 beds on weekends.

The jail population now tends to average in the 60s. The jail used to house many “state-ready” inmates who were to be transferred from the county jail to the state prison system.

It used to take the state months to move out those inmates. The process now takes about a week or two, Wilson said.

County officials were angry with the state five years ago when there was pressure to look at a new jail because the overcrowding on Platt Street was partly the state’s fault for not transferring out the state-ready inmates. The state used to pay counties $75 a day for housing state-ready inmates, but the state stopped paying counties, which further aggravated county officials.

But Wilson said there are now good relationships between Orleans and the state Commission of Corrections and the state Department of Corrections.

Nesbitt praised Wilson, the Sheriff’s Department, Buildings and Grounds and the County Legislature for allocating resources and expertise to improve the jail.

“It’s been a total team effort,” Nesbitt said. “By doing this project, the evidence will show we don’t need a new jail. Our intent was to extend the life of this building for at least another 15 to 20 years.”

The upgrades, which included a new boiler, will reduce some of the utility expenses for the jail. The county is also seeking rebates from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which should help pay towards some of the project.

The project added screens to the fence on the roof. The screens provide a visual and voice barrier from inmates and the public outside the facility. The jail is next to the County Courthouse.

Photo courtesy of Eric Brown – Some of the Scouts from the Iroquois Trail Council are pictured in front of the Pittsburgh Zoo.

A group of 80 Boy Scouts from the Iroquois Trail Council attended the National Scout Jamboree last month in West Virginia. The Iroquois Trail Council includes Scouts from Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming and part of Livingston and Niagara counties.

There were 11 Scouts from Troop 164 in Albion on the trip, including four Scoutmasters. Eric Brown attended the event as a Scoutmaster with his son, Harrison.

Brown sent along these photos of the Jamboree after seeing the Vintage Orleans feature on Sunday that showed local Scouts on the Jamboree in 1953. (Click here to see the vintage photo.)

The Scoutmasters from 164 included Brown, Tom Madejski, Bryan Catlin and Giovanni Madejski. The Scouts included Freeman Lattin, Ben Hayes, Zach Champeney, Matt DeCarlo, Charles Moore, Cody Catlin, Caleb Pettit, Noah Shiffer, Matt Flanagan, Harrison Brown and Joe Madejski.

The 80 Scouts from the Iroquois Trail on the trip spent two days in Pittsburgh, going to the zoo, a Pirates game, Carnegie Science Center, and the 9/11 National Memorial Park in Shanksville. The trip started July 13 and ended July 24.

Photo courtesy of Eric Brown – Scouts visit the 9/11 National Memorial Park in Shanksville, where one of the hijacked planes crashed in rural Pennsylvania.

Photo courtesy of Eric Brown

NY Revolution wants Orleans to be first county where every town and village weighs in against gun law

MEDINA – A group that formed this year after the state passed an anti-gun law, the SAFE Act, is close to convincing the county, all 10 towns and four villages to officially oppose the law.

Only the villages of Lyndonville and Medina are yet to pass official resolutions in opposition to the SAFE Act. The Village Boards for both municipalities are considering resolutions against the SAFE Act.

“We’d be the first county in the state to have all of them pass resolutions,” said Gia Arnold of Holley, the state-wide coordinator for NY Revolution.

She attended tonight’s Medina Village Board meeting. Resident David Krug addressed the Village Board, and asked for a resolution against the SAFE Act. That vote may come at a Medina meeting in September.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature approved the SAFE Act in January, which the governor said was designed to tighten gun control laws. But the law has been widely criticized for its approval without a public hearing and “for turning law-abiding citizens into law-breaking citizens.”

One controversial piece of the legislation requires magazines that can hold no more than seven bullets, when most magazines hold 10.

The legislation was hastily crafted without any vetting from the public, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley has said, leading to bad policy.

Krug, the Medina resident, said he hopes the widespread opposition to the law at the local level will convince the governor and Legislature to either revise or repeal the SAFE Act.

Photo by Tom Rivers – About 20 volunteers are regulars at the Orleans County Animal Shelter, feeding animals, taking dogs for walks, socializing cats and performing other duties. Three of the volunteers include, from left: Gina Smith of Hilton, and Joette and Bill McHugh of Albion. They are pictured with Zurie, a Shar-Pei/Lab mix.

ALBION – Joette McHugh stops by each pen in the Orleans County Animal Shelter, and she leans over and calls each and every dog by name.

Many of them lick her fingers. They wag their tails in delight. When she visits the cats in a separate room, they also are greeted by their names, such as “Jennipurr.”

McHugh is lead volunteer at the animal shelter. She and her husband Bill are among a dedicated corps of 20 volunteers who help to feed the animals, walk dogs, play with cats and clean cages.

“These animals need us,” she said while giving a tour of the shelter on Thursday evening. “They’re safe here. They’re given food and love. That’s all any animal ever asks for is love and we give it to them.”

In the past five years, the volunteers and county have adopted out 1,200 animals from the shelter, including dogs, cats and rabbits. On Saturday, the shelter will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the adoption program.

There will be an open house and yard sale as part of the celebration from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the corner of routes 98 and 31A in Barre. The site used to be Starrview Kennels until the county bought it and made it the county animal shelter in May 2006.

Right now there are six dogs and 14 cats at the shelter, “but tomorrow it could totally change” with an influx of strays, Mrs. McHugh said.

Volunteers staff the shelter for the public to see the animals from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

The animals up for adoption are also posted on two web sites: www.petango.com/OCAdoptions and www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY650.html.

McHugh praised the county government and community for establishing the improved shelter and for monetary support and pet supplies.

Press release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley

BERGEN – Officials from four Orleans County school districts met with a high-ranking leader in the state Education Department on Tuesday. The meeting at Byron-Bergen Central School was arranged by State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia).

State Deputy Secretary for Education De’Shawn Wright met with more than 20 local school superintendents and Board of Education members, including leaders from Albion, Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville school districts.

The gathering provided local education leaders with an opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions on the challenges facing schools and teachers in Western New York, as well as what the state must do to improve local education.

“The fact that the governor sent such a high-ranking education official to our community shows that our calls for fair aid allocation and greater control of our schools are being heard,” Hawley said. “Issues such as Common Core, mandate relief, special education programs, and eliminating the Triborough Amendment, Gap Elimination Adjustment and frivolous lawsuits were examined.”

“The local education leaders in attendance did a terrific job of illustrating to Deputy Secretary Wright the need for equitable school aid regardless of geographic location or socio-economic status,” Hawley said. “The meeting helped make the point to the highest levels of the State Education Department that children in low-wealth school districts deserve the same opportunities as kids in wealthier areas. I thank Deputy Secretary Wright for taking the time to travel to our community as well as all of the local education leaders who did such a tremendous job showing how much Western New York cares for its students.”

Republicans in three towns will go to the polls on Sept. 10 to choose candidates for town offices. The winners of the primaries will be on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election. Voting on Sept. 10 will be from noon to 9 p.m.

Carlton has the most Republican contests. Incumbent Town Clerk Pam Rush is being challenged by Lea Olles. Incumbent Dave Krull, the town highway superintendent, faces a challenge from Paul Snook, Sr. And for the Town Board, Bilal Huzair forced a primary against incumbents Joyce Harris and Jim Shoemaker. Republicans can back two of the three candidates.

In Clarendon, three people are running for two seats on the Town Board. The candidates include incumbent Paul Nicosia, Marc Major and Donna DeFilipps.

Ridgeway also has a primary for highway superintendent with incumbent Mark Goheen facing a challenge from Raymond Wendling.

There is one other primary for members of the Independence Party in the 144^th Assembly District, which is mostly in Niagara and Erie counties. The district also includes the town of Shelby.

Independence Party members in the 144^th district will elect three delegates to the 8^th Judicial District Convention. The delegate candidates include Paul G. Colangelo, David J. Haylett, Scott R. Scheffler, Albert A. Festaiuti, William W. Rooney and Ryan B. Rooney.

Independence Party members in the 144^th will also choose three alternate delegates for the convention. Those candidates include Richard L. Woll, John L. Ryan, Sean M. Nowicki, William A. Nemi, Michael E. Tucker and Frederick J. White.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – On the way home tonight I couldn’t help but feel a little spellbound by the moon aglow. I didn’t have a big zoom lens on me so I couldn’t get a super-duper photo.

I think the one of the moon between the front columns of the Orleans County Courthouse was the best I could muster.

The picture of the courthouse, built in 1858, next to the early 1970s jail shows perhaps our finest building next to one of the least attractive municipal structures in these parts. The county has made several energy efficient improvements to the jail this summer. I’ll try to a have a story on that project sometime soon.

Provided photo – The winning team at the Hospice golf tournament shot a 59 during a scramble tournament on July 31 at Hickory Ridge Golf and Country Club in Holley. Pictured, from left, include Steve Hicks, Dan Monacelli, Scott Marsh and Mark Keeler.

Press release, Hospice of Orleans

HOLLEY – Nearly 200 area businesses, more than 100 golfers, and about three dozen volunteers all pitched in to create a successful 17^th Annual Golf Scramble to benefit Hospice of Orleans. The agency netted $15,700, besting last year’s proceeds by more than $2,000.

Hickory Ridge Golf and Country Club hosted the event. Local journalist Tom Rivers (editor of the new OrleansHub.com website and husband of the new Hospice development director Marsha Rivers) served as emcee of the dinner, where the following participants collected prizes for their play: Closest to the Pin: Dale Smith (men), Katie Joslyn (women); Longest Drive: Matt Milliman, Katie Joslyn; Putting Contest: Steve Sommers; Best Mixed Team (score 66): Mark Murphy, Marcia Smith, Dale and Mark Kryzeinski; Best Women’s Team (75): Linda Chrzan, Mindy Warne, Barbara Passarell and Laurie Freeman; Best Men’s Team (59): Scott Marsh, Steve Hicks, Mark Keeler and Dan Monacelli.

“This being my first tournament with Hospice, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Marsha Rivers said. “I was blown away by the sheer volume of contributions from the community cash, goods, services… Our Golf Committee is so dedicated to Hospice and determined to raise the support our patients and families need. It paid off, big-time.”

The president will be in Western New York next week as part of a two-day trip across upstate and Pennsylvania.

He will use venues to tout his agenda for the middle class. I think Orleans County provides an ideal backdrop for the president to make his case for many issues that are part of his agenda, including the immigration reform, a new Farm Bill, a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem and a strong Main Street.

While the president’s staff works to finalize the details of his trip, I would encourage the local officials in Orleans to invite the president to our county. Chris Collins, our Congressional representative, also should advocate the president come to our county.

Obama could begin the day on a charter boat, and try to reel in a 30-pound Chinook salmon. The president could experience one of the Great Lakes in person, learning about the Lake Ontario as an economic driver for the lakeshore counties and also as a vital source of fresh drinking water.

After the fishing trip, he could stop by one of our apple orchards. I would encourage him to try picking apples to get a feel for the hard work needed to harvest the crop. He could meet some of the workers from Mexico and Jamaica who are vital to labor intensive agriculture.

I would encourage the president to then hop on a canal boat in Albion and ride to Medina. He could see small upstate communities along the historic waterway, villages that are trying to reinvent themselves while preserving their past glory. When he gets off the boat in Medina, the president may feel like he is in Disneyland. There aren’t a lot of historic downtowns like Medina, with well-kept buildings that are mostly full of merchants or professionals.

Obama could hear from the small town business owners about the impacts of his health care initiatives. I think he’ll get honest, from the heart answers.

I think a stop in Orleans would be a real eye-opener. Let’s roll out the welcome mat.

ALBION – Sales tax revenue for the first half of 2013 grew 5.7 percent state-wide, but the number is down in Orleans County, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

Sales tax gives a sense of the strength of the economy within a community, and the tax also is used to help pay for government services.

In Orleans, sales tax collections totaled $7,354,995 for the first six months of 2013, compared to $7,446,284 for the first half of 2012, a decrease of 1.2 percent, the comptroller reported.

New York is seeing strong growth in New York City, which grew by 7.5 percent. Long Island’s revenue is up 8.5 percent. The comptroller attributed some of the increases to cleanup and rebuilding efforts following Superstorm Sandy.

Upstate sales tax growth, meanwhile, was considerably slower. The Mid-Hudson Valley (4.4 percent) and Western New York (3 percent) outpaced the growth in Central New York (2.3 percent), the Capital District (1.2 percent) and the North Country (1.1 percent).

New York’s Southern Tier saw its sales tax revenue drop 3.3 percent. The counties of Chemung (-6.4 percent), Tioga (-5.4 percent) and Broome (-5.1 percent) saw the most significant declines.

“The growth in sales tax revenue is a promising sign for many communities,” DiNapoli said in a news release. “Unfortunately, the economic improvement has been uneven and the trends are headed in the wrong direction for some of our most vulnerable municipalities. Sales tax collections are a vital source of revenue for local governments. Without positive growth during the second half of the year, many local budgets will be under increased pressure.”

Orleans is coming off a year when sales tax grew 1.3 percent in 2012, increasing about $200,000 to $14.9 million for the full year.

Orleans part of multi-county tourism promotion effort

Press release, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce

BATAVIA – In the world of destination marketing, collaboration is key to growing visitation, stretching marketing budgets and showcasing nearby attractions.

The tourism partnership of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming is pleased to announce the long-standing “Country Byways of the Greater Niagara Region” now also includes Livingston County.

For more than 15 years the tourism promotion agencies in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties have partnered to promote the three-county area to leisure and group tour travelers.

The three counties are part of the Greater Niagara vacation region, as designated by New York State Tourism. Being more rural than the Buffalo and Niagara partners, the three counties banded together to form a sub-region to better promote unique and complementary tourism assets.

With the addition of Livingston County, not only does that county’s rich rural asset complement this already successful program, but its “Finger Lakes Vacationland” designation by the state offers Country Byways the advantage of pairing two state tourism areas for a product that the traveling public will find as a great resource.

The new four-county program has just produced a comprehensive Country Byways Attractions Map.Visitors now have an easy-to-use reference tool for all of the things to see and do in the GLOW region. Attractions and activities are organized by theme and each section is mapped out for ease of understanding locations and proximity. (Orleans has a section on the site called “Take me to Lake Country.”

The initial 25,000 copies have been printed and distribution has begun. A reprint of 50,000 will be scheduled for February 2014.

In addition to the attractions map, the four-county area has partnered to produce a summer-long commercial on Time Warner Cable; enhanced the www.CountryByways.comwebsite; will attend consumer and trade shows; are partnering on print and online advertising; and has contracted with a group sales representative that is actively developing our rich assets in a design that is attractive to the motor-coach travel market.

Visit www.CountryByways.comto view the online brochure, or send an email to Visit@CountryByways.comto have the printed brochure mailed to you.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Employees at Modern Disposal Service pick up trash last week in Albion.

ALBION – I didn’t realize how good we had it in Orleans County until I moved away about 15 years ago.

In Orleans, I never had to worry about garbage collection. As a village of Albion resident, on the east side of Main Street, the garbage trucks came every Tuesday. Back then, I think we were paying about $140 a year for garbage pick-up. The county negotiated with a trash company and the fee was added to the county tax bill on an annual basis.

About 15 years ago I moved to the village of Bergen where residents had to pay for garbage per bag. I forget what it was: 50 cents to $1 per bag. Village and town residents had different-colored bags. It was a little cheaper if you used regular trash bags and drove the garbage to a transfer station every Saturday. It was far money and a much bigger hassle than the deal in Orleans County.

After about a year in Bergen, I moved to North Chili for three years, beginning about 14 years ago. There, residents had to fend for themselves for their garbage collection. I remember contacting different trash haulers and the prices ranged from $23 to $30 a month (if memory serves me correct). That’s about two to 2.5 times the cost in Orleans County.

North Chili residents used several different haulers, and it seemed everyday was someone’s garbage day. We had garbage trucks rumbling through the neighborhood on a daily basis, making stops for trash.

I moved back to Albion about 11 years ago, this time with deep gratitude for the low-cost garbage collection.

The cost has risen to $185 a year per family, which is still a great bargain. When it was $140 a year, gas prices were under $2 a gallon.

The county started negotiating the garbage service for residents about 25 years ago. That move has likely saved each resident at least $100 a year. Long-time residents have saved thousands of dollars over the years because the county bids out the service on behalf of residents.

“We have the buying power of 42,000 residents,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer. “The sole purpose of us doing this is to save people money.”

The county tends to bid this out in five-year contracts with an option for Orleans to rebid the contract annually. Orleans generally renews it each year.

Modern Disposal Service in Niagara County is the current provider and I think they do an excellent job. Nesbitt said the company has made “a significant investment in staff and vehicles” to serve county residents.

Modern Disposal has invested in trucks and employees to serve Orleans County residents.

If Orleans decided to stop working out the garbage deals and left each resident or municipality to line up trash services, Nesbitt said the costs would go up significantly, especially for the rural residents.

“The people in the country would suffer,” Nesbitt said. “They would pay at least twice the current cost. Grouping everyone together has helped drive down the costs. It benefits the entire county.”

For $185 a year, each household can dispose of an average of six garbage bags a week, plus recycling. Modern will also take a refrigerator, couch or another “white good” once a month.

Residents with complaints about a missed pick up usually call the county offices, which then relay the concern to the garbage company. Nesbitt said his office has some added work because the county is involved in the garbage contract.

He and his predecessor, Stan Dudek, have been asked by other counties and municipalities about the Orleans approach to trash collection. Nesbitt and Dudek have shared with other counties how a county-wide system can save residents a lot of money. But few counties have ever followed the example.

“They don’t want the phone calls,” Nesbitt said. “They don’t think they should be involved in the garbage business.”

This grateful resident wants to thank the county officials for the extra effort in managing this program.

ALBION – The Orleans Transit Service, which provided 35,500 rides to county residents in the agency’s 2012-13 fiscal year, will celebrate the first bus shelter in the county on Wednesday.

Orleans Transit Service started about a decade ago in the county. The agency is part of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority.

The bus agency will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday outside the County Administration Building at 14016 State Highway 31.

RGRTA CEO Bill Carpenter will join local officials, including County Legislator Henry Smith Jr., who serves as the county’s commissioner on the RGRTA board of directors.