Only 3 districts in country recognized with Magna

MEDINA – A program through the Orleans/Niagara BOCES that connected the community with veterans has been recognized with one of three national awards “for taking bold and innovative steps to advance public education,” according to the National School Boards Association.

The local BOCES will receive a Magna Award for its Literacy Zone/Men’s Cooking Class. The Literacy Zone provides adult education and is run by the Orleans/Niagara BOCES.

“This project encompasses lifelong learning at its best,” said Susan Diemert, literacy specialist for Orleans/Niagara BOCES. “From children to adults, the value of education and support for each other was a result of a project that developed from a simple idea. A community worked together to provide the awareness needed to help those less fortunate.”

Provided photo – Members of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Board of Education and the Literacy Zone coordinator include bottom row, from left: Wendy Swearingen (Lew Port), Dr. Thurston Dale (Medina), Susan Diemert (Literacy Zone Coordinator), Rebecca Albright (Wilson), Maureen Kaus (Niagara Wheatfield) and Joanne Woodside (Lockport).  Back row, from left: Johnny Destino (Niagara Falls), Ruth Smith (Barker), Thomas Klotzbach (Lyndonville), Janice Covell (Starpoint) and Donald Joslyn (Albion). Missing: Keith Bond (Royalton Hartland), Michael Carney (North Tonawanda), James Reinke (Newfane).

An independent panel of school board members, administrators, and other educators selected the Magna winners from nearly 250 submissions. The NSBA recognized the program for advancing student learning and encouraging community involvement in schools.

Orleans/Niagara BOCES Adult Literacy program began a new initiative in July 2013 called a Literacy Zone Welcome Center located at the Christ Community Church in Lockport. It was patterned after the Niagara Falls program that was started in 2009.

A Literacy Zone Welcome Center is located in an impoverished neighborhood in a city with high levels of unemployment, illiteracy, and underemployment. It invites individuals and families to come to a facility for high school equivalency, remediation, computers skills, and job readiness and career preparation.

The Literacy Zone staff can assist the individual to find solutions to help break barriers and move in a positive direction toward employment, training, post secondary, and a more productive life.

“This project made a difference in the lives of all that were involved,” Diemert said. “Orleans/Niagara BOCES Adult literacy program is more than just an academic program. Our goal is to help people to recognize what challenges they have and how to develop a plan to overcome the barriers to create a brighter life for themselves and their families.”

The Orleans/Niagara BOCES won the grand prize for districts with 5,000 or fewer students. Other Magana winners include the St. Charles Parish Public Schools in Luling, La., and the Kent School District in Kent, Wash. Each of the grand prize-winning school districts will receive a $5,000 contribution from Sodexo during a special presentation at NSBA Annual Conference on April 5-7 in New Orleans.

Diemert said the Lockport program has been successful due to partnerships in the community. The BOCES worked with more than 60 agencies and community organizations to run the program and strive for successful solutions for the students.

The group partnered with the Kids Breaking Free Foundation, a community enrichment organization supportive of educating at-risk youth and their families. The Men’s Cooking Class was a result of this partnership. The men learned how to slice and dice, learn recipes, and budget for healthy meals for their families. The idea to cook for the veterans sparked other community involvement and partnerships to raise awareness for the local veterans in Niagara County.

KBFF was also running a book club for fourth- to sixth-graders who were reading a book about veterans. This resulted in a canned food drive to benefit veterans and their families.

The class on July 5 last year prepared salads and manned the grills on one of the warmest days of the summer at the Elks Lodge in Lockport. Kids Breaking Free Foundation, volunteers from veterans’ organizations, and Orleans/Niagara BOCES staff helped plan and run the event on July 5.

“It was a wonderful day and uplifting to see so many people supporting our local veterans,” said Chuck Diemert, Literacy Zone Coordinator.  “What started as a simple lunch developed into a partnership with many groups and individuals resulting in a community project that would raise money and awareness to address the needs of thousands of veterans in our community.”

The Orleans/Niagara BOCES serves 13 school districts in the two counties.

Dr. Clark Godshall, District Superintendent of Orleans/Niagara BOCES, said he is proud of the Board of Education and the Literacy Zone staff members.

“To receive national recognition for their outstanding achievement just highlights the thoughtful and deliberate work they do to improve the lives of our students and the community,” Godshall said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Orleans County Music Educators Association put on an All County Music Festival this afternoon at Medina High School Auditorium.

Three retired music teachers from the county led the students. David Stacey, pictured in the top photo, retired from Lyndonville in 2012 after 35 years of teaching.

He directs the All County Senior High Band, which is performing “Amazing Grace.” Stacey said he was thankful to have a chance to work with music students again. The band played four numbers.

Kyler McQuillan, left, of Albion plays a trumpet solo while Thomas Follman of Lyndonville plays a solo with his tuba during the Senior High Band’s performance of several Beatles songs. There were about 80 students in the All County Senior High band from the five school districts in Orleans County.

Mary Campbell, a retired music teacher who worked in Kendall and Medina, leads the All County Junior High Chorus. The group performed five songs, including “Come In From The Firefly Darkness.” There were about 110 students in the chorus.

Mike Grammatico, a retired music teacher who worked 10 years in Lyndonville and 23 years in Albion, directs the All County Elementary Band. The band of 80 students is performing “March Of The Phantom Brigade.”

Another music teacher, Matt Schroeder, also worked with the elementary students. Schroeder teaches music at Cleveland Hill Schools in Cheektowaga.

The Orleans County Music Educators Association is celebrating its 60^th anniversary this year.

Melayla Wenner is healthy with strong lungs

Photo by Tom Rivers – COVA paramedic Steve Cooley holds Melayla Wenner, a baby he delivered in an ambulance on Feb. 27. Melayla visited the COVA crew today at the organization’s headquarters, 239 South Main St. Terry Bentley, back right, helped deliver the baby. Jake Crooks, also in back, drove the ambulance.

ALBION – Ayla Staats has watched television shows before when babies were born in an ambulance. She didn’t think that would ever happen in real life. She thought a woman would feel the baby coming, and give herself plenty of time to get to the hospital.

Staats gave birth to two children before her third child was born on Feb. 27. She was in labor for 17 hours with the first baby, followed by 15 hours with the second child.

Her daughter was due Feb. 24. Last Thursday, after the baby missed her due date by three days, she suddenly decided she wouldn’t wait any longer.

Melayla Wenner was born only 30 minutes after Staats’s water broke. Melayla was born in an ambulance on Feb. 27 at 11:51 a.m. The ambulance was staffed by Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance and was traveling on Route 31 near Manitou Road when the baby took her first breath.

Today, eight days after her birth, Melayla and her mother visited the COVA headquarters at 239 South Main St.

“I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you,’” said Ayla Staats. “They did an awesome job.”

Terry Bentley, an intermediate EMT with COVA, holds a baby she helped deliver last week. The baby’s mother, Ayla Staats, is pictured in back with Jason Spencer, COVA administrator.

Eights days after she was born in an ambulance, Melayla Wenner visited the crew at COVA this afternoon. The baby is pictured with Steve Cooley, right, the baby’s mother Ayla Staats, intermediate EMT Terry Bentley, and COVA driver Jake Crooks, left.

Staats lives in Medina. She was visiting her mother in Albion last Thursday when they decided to call the ambulance. That was 11:15 a.m. COVA was on the scene at 11:20.

The birth was a first for Steve Cooley during his 22-year career as a firefighter and paramedic for 22 years. He took the lead in the delivery and was assisted by Terry Bentley, an intermediate EMT.

Both Cooley and Bentley tried to keep Staats calm. Initially they didn’t want her to push too hard. But when the baby’s head showed, they encouraged Staats to keep going and push out the baby.

When the baby was born, they wiped her off and kept her warm. It was another seven minutes before they reached Unity Hospital in Rochester. Hospital staff and another ambulance crew were waiting for them.

Staats said she was scared and nervous as the birth moved quickly. She praised Cooley and Bentley for taking control of the situation and delivering a healthy baby, weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches long.

COVA has delivered other babies during its 35-year history, but it’s not very common, said Jason Spencer, paramedic and administrator for COVA. The crew trains for it, and was ready on Feb. 27.

If Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport was still open, Melayla probably would have been born there. Medina Memorial Hospital also would have been a close option, but that hospital closed its maternity wing in July 2011.

Spencer said Melayla is the first baby COVA has delivered since the two hospitals stopped delivering babies. Now, COVA has a longer ride to get a patient to a hospital.

Jake Crooks drove the ambulance last Thursday during a cold, snowy day. Staats was on a stretcher in the ambulance, which she said was kept warm.

Staats said she is grateful she called for an ambulance. She thought she had a lot of time. She almost had her mother drive her to the hospital.

“I’m happy they delivered my baby,” Staats said. “She’s healthy and her siblings love her.”

Lawhorn

A Rochester man faces numerous drug charges after being arrested today following a year-long investigation in the sale and distribution of crack cocaine from Rochester to Orleans County, the OC Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.

Luke L. Lawhorn, 27, of 136 Copeland St., Rochester, was charged with four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

The Task Force arrested Lawhorn today on Lyell Avenue in the city with assistance from the Rochester Police Department. He was arraigned by Judge James Punch in Orleans County Court on a sealed indictment. Lawhorn was remanded to Orleans County jail on $25,000 bail or bond.

Lawhorn was to graduate from the Monroe County Drug Court on Friday. He was in that program following a 2011 drug arrest in Rochester, the Task Force reported.

The Monroe County Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team assisted with the investigation. The Task Force said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges and arrests are pending.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Pastors from four churches in the Albion area led an Ash Wednesday service tonight at the First United Methodist Church.

About 40 people attended the service, which included music by the Joyful Good Shepherd Ringers, a group that includes Diane Scharping, pictured in front.

Ash Wednesday was celebrated by millions of Christians around the world today. They received an ash marking on their foreheads in the shape of a cross, an outward symbol that Christians have been marked by God, said David Beach, pastor of the Gaines Carlton Community Church.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a time of reflection, repentance and sacrifice leading up to Easter.

Jack Laskowski, pastor of the United Methodist Church in Albion, delivered the message during the service. Marie Follett, the organist, is pictured in back.

Other pastors that participated in the service include Jon Rieley-Goddard of the Gaines Congregational United Church of Christ and Edward John Devine of the First Baptist Church in Albion.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Monroe Ambulance is seeking state permission to have an ambulance stationed in eastern Orleans County. The proposal would decrease ambulance response times, company officials said.

ALBION – Leaders of the eastern battalion, the fire companies and departments in eastern Orleans County, gave strong support to a proposal by Monroe Ambulance to have an ambulance stationed in Orleans County.

“We 100 percent support Monroe Ambulance,” Bob Freida, chief of the Clarendon Fire Company, said during a public hearing Monday about the Monroe Ambulance plan.

Monroe Ambulance said it would keep at least one ambulance in eastern Orleans at the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray fire hall. Right now the company tends to keeps two ambulances about 3 miles from the county line in the Brockport area.

Monroe Ambulance, because it wants to be stationed in Orleans and it isn’t based in the county, needs the state Department of Health to sign off on the request. Monroe Ambulance submitted more than 1,500 pages as part of a certificate of need. That application was the focus of a public hearing Monday with the Big Lakes Regional EMS Council.

“It’s our belief that service at this time has been exceptional,” Pete Hendrickson, chief of the Holley Fire Department, said about Monroe Ambulance.

The Holley Emergency Squad split off from the Holley Fire Department in 2003. The Emergency Squad has about 300 calls a year, but can only handle 20 percent of them with their own EMTs and drivers, said Ron Meiers, president of the Holley Emergency Squad.

He expects the Emergency Squad will discontinue in the next year due to a shortage of a volunteers and the need to upgrade an 11-year-old ambulance. The group doesn’t have the money for a new ambulance, he said. Right now the squad has three active drivers and five active EMTs, but many of them work outside the community.

Meiers praised Monroe Ambulance for being on scene quickly for emergency medical calls in Holley. Meiers said Monroe Ambulance could be faster to calls in eastern Orleans if it was permitted to keep an ambulance in Orleans County.

Monroe Ambulance responds to 600 calls in eastern Orleans on a mutual aid system, and those calls have been increasing in recent years as the local departments struggle with volunteer manpower, said Michael Bove, Monroe Ambulance assistant chief and project manager for the eastern Orleans proposal.

Bob Freida, chief of the Clarendon Fire Company, speaks in support of Monroe Ambulance’s application to park an ambulance in eastern Orleans County.

Monroe Ambulance currently keeps ambulances in western Monroe that respond to calls in Clarendon, Holley, Murray and Kendall, Bove said during a public hearing at the Orleans County Emergency Management Center on Countyhouse Road.

Another ambulance provider wants to be the primary provider for eastern Orleans. Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance based in Albion said it would commit to putting an ambulance in Holley. COVA leaders said the organization should be given preference for the ambulance services because it is based within the county.

“If we have to put a rig or a substation in Holley that is what we’ll do,” said Kevin Sheehan, vice president of the COVA board of directors. “There is no call we can’t handle.”

COVA has three fully equipped ambulances and a trained crew that responds to calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Wade Schwab, president of the COVA board of directors. COVA will add a fourth ambulance if it is approved to provide primary ambulance service for eastern Orleans.

Monroe Ambulance has already submitted its certificate of need to serve that section of the county. COVA is preparing its application.

The eastern Orleans fire department leaders said 90 percent of their patients go to hospitals in Monroe County. With Monroe Ambulance the local departments also can meet Monroe partway going east towards Rochester. With COVA, the fire officials said that group is coming from the opposite direction, and the local fire departments might have to wait for a COVA crew to show up and transport the patients.

Schwab said COVA is willing to have an ambulance on the eastern end of the county, which will speed up the responses. He said some of the eastern Orleans fire officials work for Monroe Ambulance and may feel an obligation to back that company, not only for the certificate of need but in requesting ambulance services. He worries Monroe Ambulance crews could be dispatched from Rochester rather than from COVA.

“I don’t think we’re getting the full consideration for providing service in our own county,” Schwab said.

Albion is about 10 miles from Holley. Monroe Ambulance’s crews in Brockport are closer than that. Gary Sicurella, a Fancher-Hulberton-Murray firefighter, said state officials shouldn’t look at which county the ambulance provider is based when determining which company is picked to provide primary services in eastern Orleans.

The focus should be on which ambulance company can provide the best service with the quickest response time. He said Monroe Ambulance has proven itself, working well with the eastern Orleans firefighters.

“If I have a patient I want the best and fastest care,” Sicurella said during the hearing. “I don’t care where it’s coming from.”

The Big Lakes Regional EMS Council will make a recommendation about the Monroe Ambulance CON to state officials, which will then make a final decision.

Hearing today at 1 p.m. at Emergency Management Office

ALBION – A Rochester-based ambulance company will pitch its plan this afternoon to provide ambulance services for eastern Orleans County.

Monroe Ambulance will share its plan at 1 p.m. today at the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, 14064 West Countyhouse Rd. The meeting is a public hearing and is required as part of the company’s certificate of need application with the state.

Monroe Ambulance currently provides advanced life support services in eastern Orleans. It wants to transport patients by ambulance in addition to ALS.

The Kendall, Holley and Clarendon fire departments all have ambulance squads in eastern Orleans. Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance, based in Albion, also is pursuing a certificate of need to transport patients in eastern Orleans.

ALBION – Orleans County officials are pushing to expand high-speed Internet to areas in the county without the service.

First, the county and local municipal officials need to know precisely which houses have access to the service and which don’t.

The county is working with town governments in the 10 towns to create a database of vertical assets that could be used to mount equipment for wireless Internet. The towns will also try to document which sections of roads have access to cable and high-speed Internet.

BP Greene, a Holley company, will work with the towns and county to help determine where the service currently is provided. BP Greene also has been hired to prepare a Request For Proposals for Internet service providers to expand service in Orleans. The County Legislature last week approved paying BP Greene $27,980 for its work on the project.

Town supervisors and county officials have been working on the issue for about three years. Pockets of the county have very limited service and that hurts residents’ ability to use the Internet for school homework, to apply for jobs on-line and run businesses, Legislature Chairman David Callard has said.

The county has heard anecdotally that service is spotty in Orleans. But Callard said the service providers claim 95 percent of the county is covered with high-speed Internet, a figure that the towns and county say is an overexaggeration.

The work from the towns and BP Greene should provide accurate data on access to the service. Callard expects the study will show gaps in coverage in the county.

“If we can demonstrate the need, we may be able to get a grant to expand the service,” he said.

The state has been providing resources to expand the service in rural, underserved areas. In December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $14.5 million in state funds for nine broadband projects that will expand access to broadband services for nearly 30,000 residents and more than 2,000 businesses in Upstate New York.

Callard said he expects the study will produce needed data for the towns and county to determine the next step in expanding high-speed Internet.

“We want to make a determination this year,” he said.

ALBION – When a resident can’t afford an attorney for criminal or family court, a judge in the case will often pick an attorney from the 50 on the county’s assigned counsel roster.

Judges need to make sure the attorneys don’t have any conflicts or past dealings with others involved in the case. Judges sometimes scramble, making several phone calls to find an attorney for a resident. Sometimes a judge will pick an attorney who happens to be in the courtroom.

The Orleans County Bar Association would like to see the county approve a part-time assigned counsel coordinator who would work with judges to find attorneys for cases. The coordinator could also ensure the residents meet income qualifications for indigent defense, and the coordinator could assess the quality of legal services in each case.

The coordinator of the program would make sure the cases are also rotated among the attorneys and that they follow consistent billing and reimbursement practices, said Shirley Gorman, chairwoman of the Bar Association’s assigned counsel committee.

The county spends about $600,000 a year through the public defender’s office and for assigned counsel, said Public Defender Sanford Church.

The state pays about $110,000 to $120,000 towards the cost. The state designates how its money should be used. A coordinator for assigned counsel is one of the functions that would be funded through the state Office of Indigent Legal Services. It has offered to pay for the coordinator for at least three years, Church said, as long as the County Legislature approves the position.

Church and Gorman presented the plan for a coordinator on Wednesday to the County Legislature, which said it would likely support the plan for more oversight with assigned counsel. Church and Gorman said the plan would match attorneys with clients sooner, and speed up the time their cases are in the court system.

The coordinator could also try to match the expertise of attorneys with the difficulty of each case, Gorman said.

“This is the best way to provide representation right away,” she told county legislators. “You have attorneys who show up right away who are prepared.”

Wind chill advisory issued as temps drop

March is two days away but Orleans County and Western New York are still in the hard grip of Old Man Winter.

Today will only reach a high of 15 degrees and temperature could fall to 1 below tonight, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a wind chill advisory, effective at noon today for Orleans and several WNY counties. The advisory lasts until 10 a.m. on Friday. Wind chills could reach 15 to 24 degrees below zero.

It’s also expected to snow 2 inches today across the Niagara frontier.

Tomorrow temperatures are forecast to peak at 13 degrees. Saturday it will warm up to a high of 35 degrees, according to the Weather Service.