Contributed Story Posted 21 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided Photo
Several sports celebrities joined the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern in raising money for the agency during its golf tournament last month at the Batavia Country Club.
In this photo, Roosevelt Bouie, left, is pictured with two former wide receivers for the Buffalo Bills, Lou Piccone and Ed Rutkowski. Bouie starred on the basketball court for Kendall High School, Syracuse University and then in pro leagues overseas.
About 50 people played in the tournament and raised about $1,000 for the agency. The Ministry of Concern is selling raffle tickets for the Nov. 9 Bills game against the Chiefs as well as for a chance to win a football signed by members of the 1995 Bills team. Call 589-9210 for more information.
‘Teaching Is The Core’ to strengthen assessment practices
Press release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
MEDINA – The Orleans/Niagara BOCES has been approved for a $400,000 grant from the State Education Department for the “Teaching is the Core” initiative, said Dr. Clark Godshall, BOCES Superintendent.
The grant, funded through New York’s Federal Race to the Top grant, will support the 13 component school districts and the BOCES in their efforts to eliminate locally adopted tests that do not contribute to teaching and learning. In addition, the funds will help the districts identify and improve high-quality assessments already in use that can be included as a component of multiple measures of student learning and school and educator effectiveness.
“The recent outcry over too many school assessments belies the need for quality assessments that are an integral part of teaching and learning,” Godshall said. “While tests provide useful feedback to teachers, parents and students, they must be of high quality and informative.”
Some of the tests do not always support good instruction and sometimes even crowd out time for student learning, Godshall said.
“Testing should be the minimum necessary to inform effective decision-making in classrooms, schools and districts,” he said. “This grant will help reduce non-essential local testing in our region. And, more important, they’ll help teachers teach more and test less, which is exactly what our students need.”
The grant will also support professional development throughout the districts to maintain educational excellence. Albion, Medina and Lyndonville are part of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES.
The “Teaching is the Core” funding will allow the 13 districts and BOCES to:
Determine which assessments support the instructional goals of the district;
Determine an appropriate action plan that will eliminate unnecessary assessments and increase the use of diverse and quality assessment;
Support the use of diversified assessment strategies by encouraging a review of local assessments currently in use for teacher evaluations (APPR); and
Establish a professional development program that will aid teachers in identifying high-quality assessments and improving assessment practices.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
The second round of state standardized tests, which are aligned with Common Core Learning Standards, show that most local students are not meeting proficiency levels in the tests for grades 3 through 8.
State-wide only about a third of students are at proficiency levels for the math and English tests. The percentage of students who are proficient in math rose from 31.2 percent to 35.8 percent, according to test results released last week by the State Education Department.
The percentage for English Language Arts barely changed, with proficiency rates increasing from 31.3 percent to 31.4 percent, according to the state Education Department. Students who are proficient or higher score a 3 or 4 on the exams.
Here are the proficiency levels for each test in the five local districts in Orleans County:
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin last February gave a lecture at GCC in Albion about Mount Albion Cemetery and the Civil War era’s obsession with death. Here he holds a memorial created for Major Gen. George Gordon Meade.
ALBION – The man who has been a caretaker of Orleans County’s history for more than 36 years will retire on Dec. 31. Bill Lattin said it’s time for someone else to step into the position.
Lattin has been highly visible in the role. He wrote a weekly column about local history for 35-plus years for The Journal-Register in Medina until the newspaper closed in May. He has been prolific for the Orleans Hub, writing Vintage Orleans features since we started in April 2013. He also has written several local history books.
He has given numerous lectures to service organizations, historical societies and school children. He has led numerous tours about local history, visiting cemeteries, churches and historic sites.
“It’s a smart person that knows when it’s time to step aside to let someone younger take over,” Lattin said today.
Lattin talks about Donna Rodden and the former Albion mayor’s efforts to preserve local history during a dedication for a historical marker on the courthouse lawn last summer. Rodden’s daughter, Chris Capurso, is second from back right.
He is willing to continue as a volunteer with tours and historical talks, but he said he doesn’t want to “tread on the new person’s toes.”
The part-time position pays $8,000. Lattin said his successor should be paid more, and should be outfitted with a computer and new technology to do the job. But he’ll leave that to the County Legislature.
Legislature Chairman David Callard said the position will be filled. The county will soon start the process of seeking a new historian. Callard said Lattin has been exemplary in the role for the county.
“He has been extraordinary,” Callard said. “He has gone above and beyond.”
Lattin stands in the First Presbyterian Church in Albion last December during a stained-glass window tour. This window was created by Henry Keck, an apprentice at the Tiffany studio until 1933, when he started his own company in Syracuse. This is an early work by Keck, created in 1934 as memorial to Ella Beckwith Kenney, a Sunday School teacher at the Presbyterian Church. Lattin said it’s one of his favorite windows in Orleans because of theme and striking colors. It shows a teacher and her two students.
Lattin had multiple roles when he was historian. He was curator and director at the Cobblestone Society Museum until retiring from that position three years ago. He also was a long-time Gaines Town Board member.
He is encouraged by the new co-directors at the museum. Both Sarah Karas and Matt Ballard have given the museum a new energy and direction.
“They’re doing great things,” Lattin said. “What they’re doing I didn’t know how to do or want to do.”
Lattin was recently honored by Friends of Hoag Library for his many lectures at the library. He also was named a “Heritage Hero” in April by Genesee Community College and Orleans Hub for a lifetime of working to preserve and promote the county’s history.
Orleans County will have its flags at half mast today in honor of Marcia Tuohey, a former county legislator who served 10 years as chairwoman of the Legislature. Tuohey died on Thursday.
She was committed to public service following her retirement from the Legislature on Dec. 31, 2005. She was a member of Medina’s Planning Board and was the county’s representative on the board of directors for Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.
She was the first woman elected as Medina mayor and also the first woman to serve on the County Legislature.
ALBION – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce invites its members to nominate businesses, organizations and individuals who have helped the local business community.
The Chamber has set a Friday deadline for nominations for awards in the following categories:
Business of the Year: This award is presented to a business that has experienced significant overall achievements/success throughout the year. (Must be a Chamber member)
Lifetime Achievement: This award is presented to an individual with a long-term record of outstanding business achievements. (Must be a Chamber member)
Entrepreneurial Excellence: This award is presented to a company demonstrating a unique approach to business that has resulted in a strategic advantage in the marketplace through the use of cutting edge technology or other innovative methods. (Must be a Chamber member)
Phoenix Award: This award is presented to an organization or business that has successfully adapted or re-used an existing facility. (Must be a Chamber member)
New Business of the Year: This award is presented to a business or organization that has opened in the past year. (Does not need to be a Chamber member)
Community Service: This award is presented to a business, organization or individual that has provided meaningful contributions to the community in either professional or non-professional spheres. (Does not need to be a Chamber member)
The honorees will be recognized during an awards program in September. For more on the Chamber, click here.
Last year’s winners include:
Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Medina as Business of the Year, Hojack’s Bar & Grille in Carlton as New Business of the Year, OrleansHub.com for Entrepreneurial Excellence, Roger Andrews of Evans Ace Hardware with the Phoenix Award, GLOW YMCA in Medina for Community Service, Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse for Community Service, Jodi Gaines of Claims Recovery Financial Services for Lifetime Achievement, the late Judy Christopher of Albion for Lifetime Achievement, and Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension for Agricultural Business of the Year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Albion firefighter Carmen Quatro is pictured on top of a fire truck while watching the fireworks on July 5 at Bullard Park.
Orleans Hub set a new record for overall pageviews in July with 444,389. That topped the previous record of set in June when there was 438,579.
The on-line news site started on April 2, 2013 and keeps growing. When we launched, my personal goal was to reach an average of 3,000 unique visitors each day. That was about the combined Orleans County circulation of the Medina Journal-Register and The Daily News.
But we’re well past 3,000. In July we averaged 4,641 unique visitors each day. That was down slightly from the June record 4,757, but a little drop-off was expected with less school news and high school sports. (Mike Wertman still finds a lot of local sports to write about even in the summer.)
Here are our Top 5 stories for July in terms of “clicks,” people who clicked on the headline or followed the story through Facebook or Twitter.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Emmeritt Massey sits in a chair in front of her garden on South Main Street on July 18 after a bullet just missed her earlier that day while she was tending to her flowers and vegetables.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 August 2014 at 12:00 am
She was first woman to serve as Medina mayor, County Legislature chairwoman
File photo – In this photo from May 2013, Marcia Tuohey is pictured in Albany with State Sen. George Maziarz when she was recognized as a “Woman of Distinction” by the State Senate.
MEDINA – Marcia Tuohey, the first woman to serve as Medina’s mayor and also as chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, died earlier today when she was found home by family.
Tuohey has been a prominent local leader for about four decades. She retired from the Legislature on Dec. 31, 2005, but didn’t stay idle. She represented the county on the board of directors for Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. and was picked by her fellow board members to serve as their vice chairman.
She also has served on Medina’s Planning Board, and was vocal during the board’s meeting on Tuesday, which lasted nearly three hours.
“She was genuinely concerned about Orleans County,” said David Callard, the current Legislature chairman. “She was a true leader.”
Mrs. Tuohey served with style. She was known for her fashionable hats and outfits, and also for taking charge of a meeting.
“Even when she retired, she worked hard, often behind the scenes,” Callard said. “She had a very active life.”
While Legislature chairwoman, she pushed through a new fire training tower, a public safety building, renovations to the courthouse and Clerk’s Building, and upgrades to the Orleans County Marine Park. Mrs. Tuohey also was a cancer survivor, beating colorectal cancer about a decade ago.
In May 2013, she was invited to the state capitol to be recognized as a “Women of Distinction.”
“Marcia has been a mainstay in business and government in Orleans County for many years,” State Sen. George Maziarz said when Tuohey was recognized. “More that than though, she’s been a trailblazer for women who want to take an active role in improving their communities. She has worn many hats – literally and figuratively – but today our hats are off to her.”
Tuohey was first elected to the Medina Village Board in 1979. Prior to that she enjoyed an active business career in Medina for 30 years as the co-owner and operator of a nursing home, motel and restaurant, mobile home park, and rental properties. Her success can be attributed to a great aptitude for recognizing and meeting the needs of the community, and possessing a strong work ethic, Maziarz said.
In 1982, she was elected Medina mayor. She served in the high-profile post for eight years until being elected to the County Legislature in 1990, the first woman elected to the county board. After six years, she was picked by her peers on the seven-member body to serve as chairman of the Legislature from 1996. She stayed in the position for 10 years, the longest tenure of any Legislature chairman in county history.
Tuohey attended several of the recent Village Board meetings, giving her opinion about the possible dissolution of the village government. Tuohey suggested the Village Board make more cuts in the village budget to cut taxes.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Former Medina Mayor Marcia Tuohey attended a Village Board meeting in June and said village taxes could be reduced with more cuts in the village budget.
When Tuohey retired in December 2005 from the County Legislature, she was interviewed by The Daily News of Batavia.
She said she became involved in village government in 1979 when she was concerned about a proposed $10 million new sewer plant in Medina. She believed that was too much money. She helped the Village Board instead pursue a rehabilitation plan that upgraded the existing plant for $3 million.
She said she has tried to keep the taxpayers her focus in her 26 years of elected office, including as chairwoman of the Legislature.
She was asked in the interview what has been most rewarding about being an elected official.
“From my perspective, seeing things get done and accomplished, whether its programs or a new building or being involved with the development of an industrial park,” she told the newspaper. “My first loyalty has always been to the taxpayers. I believed in keeping taxes down. Take for instance last year (in 2005) they were lowered, even though the easiest thing would be to raise them. When no one shows up (at a hearing) you shouldn’t assume they are happy. We have a budget and programs should be funded, but not overfunded.”
Orleans Hub will have more on Marcia Tuohey in the coming days.
ALBION – The Orleans County Courthouse is closed until Wednesday so the historic site can be rid of fleas.
The State Supreme, County and Surrogate Courts will remain closed Tuesday, with Family Court shifting to the Albion Village Hall, 35-37 East Bank St., The Daily News is reporting.
Remediation work started today after an infestation was discovered throughout the courthouse, The Daily News reported.
