Press release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley

ALBION – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) is holding a series of four town hall meetings for Orleans County constituents this Saturday.

Hawley invites his constituents to ask questions about any state or local issue that concerns them. Hawley frequently holds town halls across his district to make sure that the people his represents have as much access to him as possible and to give them the opportunity to provide their input of the direction of the area.

“One of my responsibilities as an elected official is to keep my constituents informed on state and local issues that affect them,” Hawley said. “These town halls are one way to do that. I invite every one of my constituents to come out and discuss whatever is on their minds. I am here to listen and work with them to make Western New York a great place to live and work.”

The schedule for the town hall events includes:

9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. at Ridgeway Town Hall, 410 W. Ave., Medina;

10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at Carlton Town Hall, 14341 Waterport-Carlton Rd.;

11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Albion Town Hall,3665 Clarendon Rd.;

1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at Murray Town Hall, 3840 Fancher Rd., Holley.

ALBION – A federal grant will provide funding over the next five years to help prevent youth substance abuse in Orleans County.

The Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse was awarded funding from The Drug Free Communities Support Program. GCASA previously received a grant to target substance abuse for children in grades 6 through 12. But that five-year grant expired last year and the GCASA’s grant wasn’t renewed.

The agency applied again and was notified on Sept. 19 that its funding is back for another five-year cycle, said Patricia Crowley, project director for the Orleans County United Against Substance Abuse Coalition.

“With increased funding for five years through the Drug Free Communities grant, continuing communication with the community and key organizations and leaders, the Coalition is well-placed to generate meaningful and lasting change in the community in order to solve its youth substance use problem,” Crowley said.

The grant will pay for staff, prevention programs, surveys of students on their drug activities and attitudes, and support other Coalition activities. Crowley said the Coalition, which formed in 2003, has stayed together the past year and intends to be sustainable after the grant expires in five years.

The Coalition has about 100 community members. The group has targeted alcohol, drug and tobacco use by youths, but Crowley said other substances are out in community, including prescription narcotics, that could entice teens.

“It’s constantly changing,” she said. “Who knows what will be out there in 2 to 3 years.”

To learn more about Orleans County United Against Substance Abuse Coalition, contact Crowley at 585-331-8732 or email pcrowley@gcasa.org.

Legislature also weighs expanding senior tax exemptions

ALBION – The new Orleans County tax bills that come out in January will no longer list taxpayer costs for the nursing home, state-mandated programs and other general services.

The Legislature voted last week to go back to one line item for the tax bills. The break-out was confusing to residents, said Legislator Lynne Johnson.

The county also expects to close on the sale of the nursing home by the end of the year, meaning there shouldn’t be county taxpayer subsidies for The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in the future.

The Legislature in 2011 voted to have “Truth in Taxation” on the tax bills, trying to highlight key cost drivers in the county tax bill. Legislators say they will continue to raise awareness on the impact of state mandated programs on the county budget. State programs such as Medicaid, indigent defense and several others account for more than the county’s total tax levy of about $15 million.

The Legislature also is considering expanding the tax discounts for lower-income senior citizens. Seniors who earn less than $19,200 are eligible for discounts on their county taxes. That level hasn’t been changed since 2007. The new level would be increased by $2,000.

The Legislature held a public hearing on the issue last Wednesday and set a second hearing for 4:25 p.m. on Oct. 8.

Paul Lauricella, vice chairman of the Orleans County Conservative Party, said the county should work to giving every resident a tax break, not just a select group.

“I feel for the seniors,” Lauricella said during the public hearing. “But when you do these target groups everybody else pays the difference.”

Right now the county offers 50 percent off for seniors with household incomes up to $13,500. The sliding scale exemption drops to 20 percent off for seniors with annual incomes between $18,300 and $19,199. It’s 0 percent for seniors with incomes at $19,200 or above.

The new proposed schedule includes the following percentage exemptions:

50 percent off for incomes up to $15,500
45 percent off for incomes between $15,500 and $16,499
40 percent between $16,500 and $17,499
35 percent between $17,500 and $18,499
30 percent between $18,500 and $19,399
25 percent between $19,400 and $20,299
20 percent between $20,300 and $21,199
0 percent after $21,200

ALBION – A 40-year-old inmate in the Orleans County Jail was found dead today, Sheriff Scott Hess said.

Juan Muriel-Gonzalez from the Bronx was found dead in his cell by corrections officers after he failed to respond to the lunchtime chow call, Hess said.

There were no immediate signs of foul play. Muriel-Gonzalez was taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester for autopsy. The Sheriff’s Department, Medical Examiner and the New York State Commission of Correction will be investigating the death, Hess said.

Muriel-Gonzalez had been incarcerated since June following his arrest for promoting prison contraband in the first degree. He pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree during an Aug. 24 court appearance, when he admitted to mailing prescription narcotics to his ex-wife, an inmate at the Albion Correctional Facility.

Gonzalez faced a maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years in state prison. He was to be sentenced on Nov. 17.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature was presented an official 9-11 flag on Wednesday from Larry Montello, commander of Medina’s Butts-Clark American Legion and also the coordinator of 9-11 memorial events in Orleans County.

The flag given to the Legislature was the first one to fly in front of the courthouse about four years ago. Montello, left, presented the flag to David Callard, Orleans County Legislature chairman.

Montello thanked the county for supporting a 9-11 memorial near the flagpole in front of the courthouse. Callard commended Montello for heading the memorial events every 9-11.

ALBION – People wondering what it’s like to live in poverty, and face the fears and frustrations for parents struggling to make ends meet, are invited to a poverty simulation next Friday.

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee will host the event on Oct. 3 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Batavia First United Methodist Church. The agency is hosting the event for the first time to try to raise awareness for poverty issues, said Ed Fancher, Community Action director.

At the simulation participants will assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget. The experience is divided into four 15-minute sessions, each of which represents one week in which participants must provide for their family and maintain their home.

In the two rural counties alone, there are about 12,700 people (including over 4,000 children) who live below the poverty line, Fancher said.

“We think this will be a good way to have a conversation about poverty,” Fancher said about the simulation.

Local poverty is most concentrated in the villages of Albion and Medina, and the city of Batavia, Fancher said.

About 50 people have already signed up for the poverty simulation. Fancher welcomes more participation, including from elected officials. People interested in the simulation, should call 589-5605 and ask for Fancher or Nathan Varland, director of Housing and Support Services for the agency.

Community Agency will follow the simulation with a poverty awareness dinner at Batavia Downs on Oct. 3.

Nationally, Orleans ranks more in middle of pack

File photo by Tom Rivers – A study that measures household income, unemployment, obesity rates and other factors says Orleans County ranks in the bottom half of the country.

A study that looks at 3,135 counties across the United States puts Orleans County below average at 1,894 based on a ranking of quality of life issues.

However, when comparing counties in New York State, Orleans would be the sixth hardest to live out of 62 counties.

The New York Times used six criteria for determining the rankings for an article called, “Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.?”

The report is based on ranking the median household income ($50,113 in Orleans), education or percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree (15.8 percent in Orleans), unemployment rate (10.4 percent), disability rate (1.3 percent), life expectancy (78.3 years) and obesity (41 percent).

In New York state, five counties ranked worse than Orleans, including Fulton County (ranked 1,992), St. Lawrence (2,048), Oswego (2,052), Cattaraugus (2,064) and Montgomery (2,149).

In Montgomery, the median household income is $42,830, more than $7,000 less than in Orleans. Montgomery tops Orleans with a 16.1 percent college educate rate, ties with a 10.4 percent unemployment rate, has a higher disability rate (2.1 percent), a similar life expectancy at 78 years and a slightly lower obesity rate at 39 percent.

The upstate counties that are in the worse shape or considered the hardest places to live are a long ways from the bottom of the heap nationally. Consider Breathitt County in Kentucky, ranked 3,129 of 3,135 overall. That county has a median household income of 23,049, a college education rate of 10.2 percent, an 11.9 percent unemployment rate, 11.5 percent of adults on disability, a life expectancy of 71.4 and an obesity rate of 47 percent.

Six counties in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky are among the 10 hardest places to live in the country, according to the report.

Six of the top 10 counties are in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. New York state has six counties in the top 200, including Tompkins at 170, Saratoga at 129, Westchester at 98, Rockland at 96, Putnam at 66 and Nassau at 63.

ALBION – The three-person local development corporation that was formed to sell the county-owned nursing home will meet Thursday for the first time since Feb. 6, the day the nursing home was sold to Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC for $7.8 million.

The sale isn’t final until the state Department of Health gives the final OK. That is expected before Dec. 31, said Russell Martino, chairman of the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation.

The County Legislature voted in 2012 to transfer the nursing home, The Villages of Orleans, to the Health Facilities Corporation. That group then worked with a firm, Marcus and Millichap’s National Senior Housing Group in Chicago, that specializes in nursing home sales.

The LDC board of Russell Martino, Richard DeCarlo Sr. and Richard Moy on Feb. 6 accepted the $7.8 million bid from of Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC. That company also recently purchased three Catholic Health facilities in Buffalo.

The $7.8 million will more than offset the remaining debt following a renovation of the nursing home about five years ago. County officials also say the sale will relieve the county from taxpayer subsidies for the operating deficits at the site, deficits officials feared would grow to $2 million or more annually.

The public meeting Thursday will be at the at Health Department’s building, 14012 Route 31 West. The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m.

“This is just to catch up on where we are,” Martino said about the meeting.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Before the United States launched air strikes tonight against ISIS in Syria, a few people held a peaceful protest at the edge of the Courthouse Lawn near Main Street this afternoon.

Diana Dudley, top photo, holds up a sign stating her feelings about the military intervention.

Dennis Seekins also held a sign against the military involvement. Lee Richards (right), pastor of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church and his wife Louise Wu also joined the demonstrators.

The U.S. military launched air strikes against the Islamic State in the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-declared capital. The U.S. was planning to attack as many as 20 Islamic State targets in the operation, according to the Associated Press.

The Orleans County Democratic Committee is keeping its leadership team. The Democrats met on Wednesday and re-elected Jeanne Crane to serve as the party chairwoman.

Other leaders, all re-elected unanimously, include: Tracy Jennings, vice chairwoman; David Green, vice chairman; Agnes Recco, secretary; Sandra Walter, treasurer; and Janice Grabowski, elections commissioner.

The Democratic Committee is looking for members for town committees in Ridgeway, Yates and Murray.

The group also will be seeking candidates for next year’s town and county elections.