Social welfare examiners need extra time to get caught up

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has authorized the Department of Social Services to allow some workers to come in on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The office won’t be open to the public on Saturday, but the four hours will allow the short-staffed DSS more time to process often time-consuming applications, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The county currently has several vacancies among the social welfare examiners who process cash assistance and temporary housing cases. That has made it difficult to keep up with work during regular office hours.

These workers determine eligibility for cash assistance, temporary housing and other benefits. The temporary housing applications have seen a big increase with the rise in the homeless population, said Holli Nenni, the DSS commissioner.

The social welfare examiners are highly-skilled and knowledge-based, and determining the eligibility often is time-consuming with many referrals, she said.

The examiners check very stringent eligibility standards, Nenni said. The potential recipients are screened for drug use and a domestic violence history. The staff check employment. If the applicants aren’t working, the staff need medical information on why the applicants may be unable to work. There could be other factors why an applicant can’t work, too, requiring further assessment.

DSS has to meet deadlines from the state on how quickly cases can be determined, Nenni said.

“This is only temporary until we get caught up,” she said about the Saturday hours.

The current social welfare examiners won’t be mandated to work on Saturdays. The regular work weeks are 37.5 hours. They will get their regular hourly rate for 2.5 hours and then overtime for hours beyond 40 in a week.

Nenni said she appreciates the staff willing to come in for the four hours on Saturdays.

“It says a lot to their dedication to their clients and their job,” she said.

ALBION – Orleans County is working to develop a 4-acre solar array on the south end of the Emergency Management Office property at 14074 West County House Rd.

The project would have a capacity for 500 kilowatts of power. It would be sold to National Grid.

The county is pushing for the project partly to maintain its good credit rating. That overall rating not only factors in financial data, but municipalities lose some standing if they don’t have a renewable energy project in their portfolio, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The county has been discussing the solar project for about two years, Welch said. The County Legislature has hired Wendel, LLC to apply for a utility interconnection with National Grid. The county also is working with GreenSpark, which is designing the solar farm and will do the construction.

The Legislature during last month’s meeting approved executing the documents for the interconnection and other permit application forms.

Legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines, opposed moving forward with the project, calling solar “dirty and inefficient power.” He said the nation is better served with a steady-producing power, not the “modulating and demodulating” power sources with solar and wind energy.

The project is part of a $1.3 million energy performance contract. Allport said the projected return on the solar investment was initially 15 years, but now could be 20 years.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: John Follman, left, treasurer of Lyndonville’s Houseman-Tanner American Legion Post, presents a check to David Kusmierczak, president of the Orleans County Joint Veterans’ Council, toward the purchase of their next van, while van service coordinator Phyllis Schrader looks on.

ALBION – As the Orleans County Joint Veterans’ Council gets ready to put a new van into service, donations are already being accepted for the next new one.

On Tuesday, the Houseman-Tanner American Legion Post in Lyndonville presented a check to David Kusmierczak, president of the Joint Veterans’ Council, toward the purchase of the much-needed van.

The check was presented by John Follman, treasurer of the Lyndonville Post, on behalf of post commander Steve Goodrich.

The van service, which provides free transportation for veterans to medical appointments, is coordinated by Phyllis Schrader, who said they are approved for five vans by the Buffalo Veterans’ Administration. The VA pays for all gas and repairs, but the local veterans’ agency must buy the vans.

Two of the five were ready to be replaced, with the last one, a 2010 with 109,000 miles, being out of service since last July.

All of the vans purchased are late-model and low-mileage, Schrader said.

The vans, driven by volunteers, will take veterans to medical appointments at any medical facility approved by the VA, mostly to Batavia, Buffalo, Rochester and Canandaigua.

Volunteer drivers are always needed, Schrader said.

‘These grants are particularly focused on post-prom and graduation activities that provide students with a place to go where they can have fun without the presence of any alcohol or drugs.’

Press Release, Orleans County Youth Bureau

ALBION – The Orleans County Youth Bureau, on behalf of Orleans County STOP-DWI, today announced it is accepting applications for funding in support of safe and structured school activities in alcohol-and drug-free environments.

Any student or school personnel from an Orleans County school district can submit an application.

“These grants are particularly focused on post-prom and graduation activities that provide students with a place to go where they can have fun without the presence of any alcohol or drugs,” said Jack Welch, chief administrative office of Orleans County.  “Grants can be used in support of things like hiring a DJ, renting a speaker system or purchasing supplies to create an entertaining event. Our goal is to promote a safe and healthy prom and graduation season.”

Grant awards will be based on availability of funds and school districts can only receive one grant per year. All grant applications are due by March 29.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of community members. Awardees will be notified by the middle of April. A copy of the application can be found by clicking here. Those with questions can email the Youth Bureau at OrleansCountyYouthBureau@OrleanscountyNY.gov.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The county will replace its fuel farm on West Academy Street in Albion, a facility constructed in 1993 and operating at 50 percent capacity due to deterioration.

ALBION – Orleans County legislators agreed on Tuesday to a $900,000 construction bid to replace the fuel farm on West Academy Street.

The site is used by the county fleet of vehicles, and other municipalities and not-for-profit agencies.

The fuel farm was built in 1993 but is currently at 50 percent capacity due to deterioration of various components of the system, legislators said.

The Legislature approved a bid from The Pump Doctor in Eden to demolish the current fueling system and install a new station at a cost not to exceed $900,000.

The fuel farm in 2022 was used for 161,700 gallons of unleaded gas and 95,720 gallons of diesel. County vehicles used 64,500 gallons of unleaded and 22,570 of diesel while other agencies used 97,200 gallons of unleaded and 73,150 gallons of diesel, according to a 2022 report on user data.

The county users include the DPW, Sheriff’s Office, Major Felony Crime Task Force, Animal Control, Emergency management Office, Public Health, Office for the Aging and Probation Department.

The outside agencies and other municipalities include Albion Central School, Town of Albion, Village of Albion, Community Action, Ministry of Concern, ARC, Mental Health Association, Mercy EMS, Soil & Water, RTS, Town of Carlton, Murray Joint Fire District, as well as being an emergency stop for various towns.

The users all pay the same price for the fuel. There is a fee that goes towards maintenance of the system, said Jack Welch, the county chief administrative officer.

It will take 12-16 weeks for the equipment to be fabricated and available for the delivery, he said.

“We hope the new system will be operational in August, prior to the start of the new school year,” Welch said.

Welch said the county did an analysis of the pros and cons of an in-house fuel farm vs. a WEX program where municipalities and not-for-profits can buy fuel at a retail store without taxes.

“When the analysis went beyond the dollars and cents and looked at the size of the vehicles, school buses, fire trucks and ten wheelers,” Welch said. “We discussed the idea of the WEX program with the owners of Crosby’s, our largest chain of gas stations. We also considered how the change could impact the retail customers of fuel stations in a positive or negative manner.”

County Legislator Fred Miller said the larger vehicles such as school buses don’t fit at some of the local gas stations, and he was concerned without the fuel farm there would be longer waits at the local gas stations with municipal vehicles filling up.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated from the original version to include more data and comments from county officials.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has declared March as “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.” County Legislator Don Allport presents a proclamation to Arc GLOW CEO Martin Miskell.

Others pictured include, from left: Arc board members Marlene Hill, Ken Barchet (board assistant treasurer) and Joe Barchet, and Lisa Bors, public relations director.

The former Arc of Genesee Orleans and Arc of Livingston-Wyoming merged in 2021 following 18 months of planning to form the new Arc GLOW. This is the first four-county chapter of The Arc New York. This follows the merger in 2016 of the former Arc of Orleans and Genesee Arc.

In Orleans County, Arc GLOW has three homes for individuals with disabilities, operates Orleans Enterprises Work Center in Albion, day habilitation programs, Meals on Wheels/Nutrifare in Albion and Camp Rainbow in Ridgeway. Several programs and departments also share space with the finance department on Caroline Street in Albion, Arc GLOW officials said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Michael Christopher, center, accepts a special recognition award this afternoon from County Legislator Skip Draper, right, and Sheriff Chris Bourke.

Christopher is retiring after a career as a corrections officer at the county jail. Christopher started in 1992 as a part-time correction officer and became full-time in 1994. He worked his way up through the ranks and was promoted in 2011 to correction sergeant, in 2016 to sergeant first class, and in 2020 he achieved the rank of lieutenant.

Christopher has taken on multiple job assignments within the jail including Incarcerated Individual Disciplinary Coordinator, Classification Coordinator, Livescan Coordinator, Fire Safety Coordinator, and Municipal Police Training Council Certified Instructor. He also served on the Orleans County Safety Board for several years.

“I appreciate Orleans County for hiring me and having faith in me and moving me up in the ranks,” Christopher told county legislators. He is known among his co-workers as “Cadillac.”

Mike Christopher accepts the special recognition award from Legislator Skip Draper. Joining Christopher are his colleagues from left: Sgt. Dawn Basinait, Sheriff Chris Bourke, Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson and Sgt. Chris Shabazz.