By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 May 2021 at 6:52 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: Mike Donahue, president of the Orleans County Sportsmen’s Federation, urges the County Legislature to pass the local law, lowering the deer hunting age from 14 to 12.
ALBION – Orleans County legislators approved a pilot program lowering the age from 14 to 12 for people to hunt deer with a crossbow, rifle, shotgun or muzzle-loading firearm.
The state is allowing counties to opt in in the pilot program until 2023 with the lower age.
The youth hunters will need to be under the supervision of an experienced adult hunter. The state budget passed in early April gave upstate counties the right to opt-in and allow the 12- and 13-year-old hunters.
Youths those ages already are allowed to hunt deer and bear with archery equipment and small game with firearms. Until now, New York was the only state that didn’t allow 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt big game with a firearm.
Mike Donahue, president of the Orleans County Sportsmen’s Federation, spoke at a public hearing today and said youths have shown they are responsible hunters. He urges them all to take hunter safety courses. He noted the law requires a responsible adult to be with the young hunters, who also must wear either bright orange or pink above the waist when they are out hunting.
County Legislator John DeFillipps, right, introduced the resolution to lower the deer hunting age. Fred Miller, back left, cast the lone vote in opposition.
Orleans County Legislator Fred Miller cast the lone opposing vote among the seven-member Legislature. Miller’s district includes the towns of Albion and Gaines, which he said are populated areas on flat land. He is concerned about people hunting with rifles so close to the village and residences.
“I’m not opposed to the pilot program,” Miller said. “I would have liked it when I hunted as a kid.”
But Miller said many residents in his district of Albion and Gaines have shared their concerns about rifle hunting in populated areas.
Costs of bus service exceeds revenues; ridership plummeted during pandemic
Photo by Tom Rivers: A fleet of about a dozen CATS buses are shown in the parking lot on South Main Street, where CATS and the Main Street Thrift Store are operated by Community Action.
Press Release, Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee
ALBION – For many years, Community Action of Orleans and Genesee has been a resource supporting reliable and affordable transportation services to community members in our two counties via the Community Action Transportation System, better known CATS.
The CATS program has been providing bus transportation service for established routes and for “on-demand” rides year-round, five days per week. Destinations included community health centers, doctor and hospital visits, treatment centers, clinics, dialysis, and retail store shopping. Community Action services have been able to support clients who are elderly or disabled and who remain independent in their homes but do not own/drive a vehicle.
CATS bus transportation services have evolved where experienced and professional staff have dedicated themselves not only to ensuring maintained vehicles but have also provided very caring door-to-door and door-through-door service for some of our clients. The caring and courageous staff continued services throughout the Covid pandemic despite a drastic reduction in riders along with the added effort of sanitizing buses between trips.
While continuing to deliver excellent service to our clients, the current system of providing bus transportation has become exceedingly expensive for Community Action. Over recent years, many of our bus trips contain only one or two riders. Using buses to transport a single rider is extremely expensive and the costs have continued to rise with increases in insurance, bus maintenance, fuel and wages. CATS was established to fill a need in our community for safe transportation. However today, our friends at Rochester Transportation Services (RTS) and others are helping to fulfill this need.
It is with a heavy heart that Community Action has made the decision to downsize the CATS bus transportation system after these many years of service. With costs exceeding revenue, it was decided that this is necessary to protect our ability to provide the many unique and essential services we bring to our customers. This will be difficult and this process will take time.
Community Action will work with partners to do everything possible to ensure transportation needs are met by offering other transportation options to our Community Action clients. We will continue to provide busing for our Head Start program. As we go through this process we will research the possibility to evolve our community transportation support to vans and energy efficient vehicles that meet the special needs of valued customers.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 21 May 2021 at 10:13 am
Funding includes a grantwriter who will assist non-profit agencies
MEDINA – A $450,000 grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation is a game changer for Orleans County, said Dean Bellack, director of United Way of Orleans County, who realized several years ago how beneficial a grant writer would be for the county.
The Health Foundation announced last week that Orleans County’s grant request for nearly half a million dollars had been approved, and the United Way would be receiving $449,291 over a period of five years. The money will pay for a full time grant writer, who will be available to non-profit agencies, and for a second employee, who will work on fundraising out of United Way’s office at 3217 South Gravel Rd.
United Way recently moved from its Albion location, after sale of the CRFS building on East Avenue, to the South Gravel Road location, where space has been donated by United Way Board President George Bidleman.
Bellack first came up with the idea of a grant writer about eight years ago when he led a successful campaign to raise nearly $750,000 for the YMCA renovations. He began talking about a grant writer position right after he joined the United Way board on April 1, 2019.
The new grant writer will focus solely on Orleans County for the first year and then during the second year will be available in Genesee County. Bellack noted there are several non-profit agencies which are affiliated with both counties, such as Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, the Arc of Genesee Orleans and the Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO Art!).
“The Health Foundation gave us a tremendous amount of trust,” Bellack said. “They told us to create this position and then integrate it into the community, which we will eventually do – in Orleans and Genesee counties. This is a long-term commitment from them. They believed in our vision.”
Bellack said the grant writer position greatly amplifies the United Way’s ability to bring in more money for local agencies for a long time to come. These agencies have had not had the consistent ability to monitor the grant world. Most, if not all, agencies in rural communities are running lean, he said. This position adds capacity to the agencies and the county.
Nyla Gaylord, director of the Ministry of Concern, is experienced in grant writing and made Bellack aware of the Health Foundation last fall. She wrote the grant requesting funds to hire a grant writer. Her request included letters of support from 17 areas in the county, from County Legislature Chair Lynne Johnson to the majority of agencies funded by United Way. Bellack said the Foundation requested ideas and 52 responses were received. That number was reduced to 17 during the second round, which included the United Way.
“Every non-profit in the county is excited to learn our grant request has been approved,” Bellack said.
“We are glad to see this response to our grant request,” said Renee Hungerford, director of Community Action. “We have an important project for which we desperately need a grant writer, so this person can’t start soon enough from our perspective.”
Bellack said he has no doubt all non-profits share her words.
Health Foundation president and CEO Dr. Matt Kuhlenbeck thanked United Way for their patience during the process and congratulated the organization on the grant.
“We strive to bring equity and community voice into our grantmaking and understand that community-wide challenges require community-wide solutions,” Kuhlenbeck said. “This practical and critical effort addresses the imbalance of funding that the pandemic has exacerbated, while building off the collaboration and dedication of rural providers essential to responding to the health needs within their community. Demonstrating the type of capacity building we strive to accomplish while serving our rural communities, we are proud to be a supportive partner in these efforts.”
Bellack has put together a team of professionals committed to be involved in hiring this grant writer and managing the community integration which will be so important to non-profits in Orleans County, and eventually Genesee County. With Bellack, the team includes Renee Hungerford from Community Action, Don Colquhoun from OCALS, Nyla Gaylord from Ministry of Concern, Robert Batt from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ken DeRoller representing local government and United Way board members Jackie Gardner and Jodi Gaines.
“This group of committed individuals represent how we have come together for the betterment of our county,” Bellack said.
Bellack said since posting ads for the two positions, United Way has received 20 resumes for the grant writer – from Orleans County to New York City and Minnesota. He plans to announce hiring of the part-time fundraiser by the end of the month.
No masks needed for vaccinated people; social distancing should be followed for those without shot
Photos by Tom Rivers: Lyric Wallenda, a seventh-generation circus performer with the Wallenda family, twirls upside down as part of a show from Circus Incredible, which performed at the Orleans County 4-H Fair for the first time in July 2019.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced additional guidance for county fairs and local festivals throughout New York, but the local fair officials are waiting to review the details to see how it will affect the Orleans County 4-H Fair.
Last year’s fair was cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions. This year’s fair will go on – but how it will look is up in the air.
“The governor’s announcement today means we can begin to dig into properly preparing for the fair from July 26-31,” said Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, which runs the annual fair. “We’ll be working in the next few days to better understand the full guidance and what it will look like in practice when made available.”
Local governments will permit county fairs and local festivals and consider Covid-19 health guidelines this year, Cuomo said in a news release.
State Department of Health approval will be required for events with over 5,000 expected attendees, consistent with existing review process. The Orleans County 4-H Fair typically draws 25,000 to 30,000 people over six days.
County fairs and local festivals must ensure that the total number of attendees is limited so that 6 feet of distance can be maintained between individuals who are not members of the same party, unless all attendees present proof of full vaccination status, Cuomo said.
Fairs and festivals may require masks for all attendees, and per CDC guidance masks are required for unvaccinated attendees in certain settings, and indoors where vaccination status is unknown.
“Fairs and festivals are huge economic generators for communities across the state, and last year they were all put on hold due to the Covid pandemic,” Cuomo said. “This new guidance will allow our county fairs and local festivals to open at the greatest capacity possible so they can remain economically viable, while still ensuring public health and safety.”
These 4-H’ers in the grand master showmen competition lead llamas in the show ring on July 26, 2019.
The state’s industry-specific guidance must be followed for the applicable activities and attractions present at any fair or festival, such as amusement and family entertainment, food and beverage service, performing arts and entertainment, Cuomo said.
In addition to capacity limits, social distancing and any mask requirements, the Governor’s Office said county fairs and local festivals should consider the following as they plan for this year’s festivities:
Attendee Contact Information: Fairs and festivals should encourage at least one attendee from each party to sign in during ticketing, or before or immediately upon entering the event space, providing their name, address and phone number for use in potential contact tracing efforts.
Health Screening: Fairs and festivals must implement health screening for all individuals including questions on any Covid-19 symptoms, close contacts, recent positive Covid-19 test result, and compliance with state’s travel advisory. Screening may be performed via signage, at ticket purchase, by e-mail/website, by telephone, or by electronic survey before individuals enter the event space.
Hand Hygiene: Fairs and festivals must provide hand washing stations or hand sanitizing supplies for common areas and areas where hand washing facilities may not be available or practical.
Cleaning and Disinfection: Fairs and festivals must regularly clean and disinfect, focusing on high-traffic areas, such as restrooms, and frequently touched surfaces, such as service counters and seats.
Communication: Fairs and festivals must post signage informing attendees of health precautions (e.g., social distancing, masks, hand hygiene) and distance markers indicating six-foot spaces in areas where lines form or people congregate, unless all attendees are fully vaccinated.
Applicable Guidance: Fairs and festivals should consult the state’s guidance for their specific activities and attractions, such as performing arts and entertainment, amusement and family entertainment, food and beverage service, retail and market service, agricultural activities and sports and recreation.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 8 May 2021 at 7:46 pm
Organization giving out scholarships for first time for seniors with track record of community service
United Way of Orleans County has announced for the first time it is offering scholarships to students in Orleans County’s schools who meet certain criteria.
Dean Bellack, director of United Way of Orleans County, and its board acknowledge the past year has been one of the most successful in the agency’s history, and they are anxious to share the wealth in any way they can.
To this end, United Way has announced an annual scholarship award to each of the five schools in the county: Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina.
The scholarships will be made available to two students at each school – a male and female – who meet the criteria of participation in community service, being in good academic standing and having general good citizenship. Each scholarship will be for $500 and will be awarded when the student begins his or her college year.
Bellack went on to explain the importance of local donations, especially those given through payroll deductions.
While United Way may have been very fortunate during the past year to receive considerable funding from outside the county, payroll deductions and donations from the local community are vital to their mission of helping the area’s needy.
Workplace campaigns to promote employee giving took a big hit in 2020 due to Covid-19 either partially or totally shutting down company operations.
Bellack noted that Albion Central School employees, in particular, have been consistently successful with their workplace campaigns for the United Way.
Eric Christiansen, Albion High School psychologist and chair of the Counseling Department, has been a longtime proponent of United Way.
“This is the 30th year I’ve been here, and giving to United Way has always seemed to be a big part of the culture of Albion Central School,” Christiansen said. “Our leaders always felt it was important to support United Way.”
He said there seems to be someone each year willing to reach out to school employees, asking them to consider their donations to United Way.
“It’s one of the things I love about Albion Central School,” he said.
Christiansen said he was very pleased United Way is able to offer scholarships to students.
“We have a lot of our students who do community service and they don’t get recognized for it,” he said. “Some of them donate hundreds of hours in the community and they do it quietly. College is getting increasingly expensive and it’s nice to have an organization that wants to give to our students. Even a small scholarship adds up. I already have some great candidates in mind.”
Bellack added his thanks to Albion school teachers and all their staff for their consistent generosity.
“We are all better when we come together and contribute to our community,” he said.
The first scholarships will be announced at the end of the 2021 school year.
United Way funds nearly two dozen agencies and programs in Orleans County, which provide assistance to the homeless, seniors, the needy, handicapped, and more, and these scholarships are just a way to give to another segment of the population.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2021 at 8:02 am
The schedule is set for the food distribution program on Fridays through the end of June.
The Office for the Aging in Orleans County works with Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, and the Calvary Tabernacle Church in Medina on the distributions.
People often line up in vehicles by 5:30 to 6 a.m. for the distributions that are scheduled to start at 8 to 8:30 a.m. There are usually 300 boxes of food each week, but sometimes there are more. People are encouraged not to block driveways while they are waiting.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call the Office for the Aging at (585) 589-3191. Volunteers in particular are needed for the distributions in June.
The schedule the next two months includes:
May 7 – Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville
May 14 – Community Action Main Street Store, 113 South Main St., Albion
May 21 – Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-HFairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville
May 28 – Community Action Main Street Store, 113 South Main St., Albion
June 4 – Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville
June 11 – Community Action Main Street Store, 113 South Main St., Albion
June 18 – No distribution
June 25 – Ridgeway Fire Department, 11392 Ridge Rd., Medina
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2021 at 9:42 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Elderberry Jam performed for a packed Cobblestone church on April 15, 2019. The church was built in 1834 and had 167 concert attendees for the event, the most in recent memory at the church on Route 104. The museum hasn’t been able to welcome larger groups during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has agreed to give $3,000 from its contingency account to the Cobblestone Museum.
The Legislature has been approving that amount from contingency in recent years, normally in December at the year-end county meeting but didn’t do it at the end of 2020. The Legislature last week approved the $3,000.
The Cobblestone Museum has seen attendance significantly dwindle during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the museum has continued to work on programs and be a resource to the community.
The museum last year also acquired a property, the Vagg House, at the southwest corner of routes 104 and 98 and that house is decorated to showcase life in the 1920s, in a manner that includes early household appliances from the early days of homes having electricity.
The Cobblestone Museum isn’t a regular line item in the county budget and has been given $3,000 in recent years from the contingency. Legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines, opposed the $3,000 from contingency because he said legislators discussed the funding last year, and decided against the continued allotments from the contingency account. Allport said the group last year didn’t want to keep this as standard practice for the museum.
The museum, however, hasn’t been included in the budget as a line item. The agencies and organizations included in the county budget as line items for 2021 include: $240,000 to Cornell Cooperative Extension, $190,000 to Orleans Economic Development Agency, $92,500 to Soil & Water Conservation District, $10,000 to be shared among four public libraries, $5,000 to Mercy Flight, $4,000 to Sportsmen Federation, and $3,000 to GO Art!
In Genesee County, the County Legislature funds the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia at $33,554 a year. That site is only one building and is a National Historic Landmark.
Three of the cobblestone buildings – the church from 1834, the Ward House and a former one-room schoolhouse from the 1840s – were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 by the federal Department of the Interior. That designation, however, doesn’t come with federal funding. The museum also includes several other buildings on 104 and Route 98.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2021 at 9:01 am
ALBION – The Emergency Management Office in Orleans County will soon have a mobile command center, courtesy of Erie County.
That county is getting a new command center thanks to federal funding. Erie offered its 2006 command center to Orleans. The unit, which cost $250,000 in 2006, only has 11,000 miles, said Dale Banker, EMO director in Orleans County.
The 2006 Chevrolet Mobile Command Vehicle resembles an RV with a bathroom. The county currently has a trailer it can take to major incidents as a command center. The county will change the decals so the vehicle says Orleans County instead of Erie.
Erie County was able to purchase the mobile command center in 2006 through a Homeland Security Grant as part of regional objectives. The Orleans County EMO will continue with that mission as part of the original purpose of the grant, the Orleans County Legislature state din a resolution last week when it accepted the mobile command vehicle from Erie County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2021 at 8:57 am
Bid also accepted to replace bridge in Murray on Transit Road
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Point Breeze boat launch will be rebuilt after Labor Day and will function better during times of high waters on Lake Ontario.
POINT BREEZE – The boat launch at Point Breeze will be rebuilt this fall with a new ramp, two boat launches and floating docks.
The Orleans County Legislature last week accepted the construction bid of $439,850 from CP Ward Inc. of Scottsville, the low bidder on the project. Mark Cerrone Inc. of Niagara Falls also bid on the project at a price of $553,125.
The project is part of $300 million funded through the state through the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI). Those projects are 95 percent funded through REDI with the local municipality paying 5 percent.
They are designed to be more resilient in times of high Lake Ontario water levels and other extreme weather. Currently, when the lake levels are high, the boat launch is useless for boaters because their vehicles flood out trying to launch a boat.
The boat launch will remain open until the day after Labor Day to lessen the impact on boaters during the busier summer season, said John Papponetti, the county’s Department of Public Works superintendent. The construction should be done in November.
Rendering courtesy of Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative: The rebuilt boat launch will have floating walkways that tie into the concrete ramp.
CP Ward will likely need to set up a coffer dam and pump out water during construction to work on the project. The launch will be regraded and concrete poured for the new ramps and docks.
The project includes floatable walkways which will tie into a concrete ramp. The current concrete ramp will be removed and a new one put in that will be pulled farther back on land. The project also includes milling and paving the driveway and parking lot.
The Legislature last week also accepted a bid for $839,739 to replace the bridge on Transit Road in Murray over the west branch of Sandy Creek.
Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of West Seneca is the low bidder on the project, which is 95 percent funded by the state through the Bridge NY program. The county cost will be $41,986.
The county also expects to soon seek bids on another REDI project – installing about 1,500 feet of rocks along Lakeshore Road in Carlton to protect the road from further erosion. The Lakeshore Road project will cost an estimated $2 million. The county will hire a contractor to re-establish the shoreline, which was eroded from the high water levels in 2017 and 2019.
Big rocks will be brought in for about 1,500 feet of the shoreline by the road, east of Route 98. The project also includes drainage improvements along the road.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Bill Carpenter, CEO of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, goes over data for RTS Orleans last week with the Orleans County Legislature. Carpenter said RTS is looking to expand services in the county.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 May 2021 at 11:07 am
ALBION – The ridership was down about half for RTS Orleans and its parent organization, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
In Orleans, there were 22,670 riders during those 12 months, down from 43,000 the previous 12 months, Bill Carpenter, RGRTA chief executive officer told the Orleans County Legislature last week.
The last fiscal year for RGRTA, ridership was ridership was 7,689,525. It is usually close to 16 million for an 8-county region.
The Covid-19 pandemic kept many people off the buses, especially when the state was on “PAUSE” with non-essential businesses closed from March 22 to May 28. During those 10 weeks ridership was down 70 percent, Carpenter said.
RTS Orleans has been part of the RGRTA system since 2003. RTS Orleans has 12 employees and 6 buses that drove 159,083 miles from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
RTS took Covid precautions with increased vehicle washing and disinfecting, increased use of PPE with masks required for all drivers and customers, daily employee health screening, and installation of operator barriers and fareboxes.
RTS Orleans operated on a $838,698 budget from April 2020 to March 2021. Fares and contract revenues totaled $16,312 for a net income loss of $822,386.
Government revenue included $85,000 in federal aid, which doesn’t count the $654,556 in federal stimulus funding which is intended to support the operation through September 2024. State funds in the past budget year were $30,173 with $29,166 from Orleans County. The locally collected mortgage tax added up to $241,416 towards the bus service.
RTS Orleans currently has a daily ridership of about 100 with two regular routes in Albion and Medina. Service is for those people traveling within 3/4 mile radius of the route. There is also dial-a-ride available within Orleans County with reservations made at least 24 hours in advance
RGRTA is looking to do a study of 10-12 smaller villages in the eight counties where there currently isn’t much public transportation service. Carpenter told county legislators last week that Holley in Orleans County will likely be part of that study.
RTS Orleans also wants to put a bus shelter in Medina, and the organization is waiting to see if federal funds will be approved for that project, Carpenter said.
RTS Orleans also would like to expand partnerships in the community, providing rides for free for vaccinations, partner with Workforce Development to help more people have transportation to jobs. That could include the agricultural sector, where farmers tend to work out those details themselves. In other counties, Carpenter said RGRTA assists farmers with getting migrant farmworkers to the fields, packing houses and other locations, including the grocery store.
RGRTA also is looking to start a bike share program in Brockport, and that program could be expanded to Orleans County. With that program, people rent a bike, and can go several miles one way and then get a return trip back on the bus. A vendor rents out the bikes.
Carpenter said RTS and the parent organization continue to look for ways to improve the service locally and throughout the region.
“Our biggest challenge us being in a state where people are leaving and not staying,” he said.
Photo by Tom Rivers: A flock of geese are in flight in Lyndonville during a sunset over Johnson Creek. The wildlife and rural landscapes are a big part of the appeal in Orleans County.
ALBION – National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), the annual celebration of the contributions of the U.S. travel industry, will spotlight the critical role that travel will play in driving economic recovery efforts and building the path forward through the theme Power of Travel.
Celebrated annually the first full week in May, NTTW was created by Congress in 1983 to elevate the economic power of travel in the U.S. The 38th annual NTTW (May 2-8) arrives at an opportune moment to recognize the importance to the U.S. economy of initiating a post-pandemic travel recovery.
“NTTW takes on a special significance this year as the travel industry looks to rebound quickly from the pandemic and accelerate recovery efforts,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “The past year was incredibly challenging, but we saw the full power of the travel industry on display in the way we united and supported one another through this crisis.”
“Before the pandemic, travel generated $2.6 trillion in economic output, supported 17 million American jobs and delivered a $51 billion trade surplus to the U.S.—evidence of the outsized role the industry will play in America’s broader economic recovery,” Dow said.
Orleans County Tourism is saluting the power of travel by participating in a number of regional and statewide campaigns. The “AGLOW” region is launching their new website “Fresh Air Adventures – New York’s Falls to the Finger Lakes” at www.freshairadventuresny.com this month featuring tourism assets throughout Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties as well as an online trip planner.
This logo used to promote tourism in Orleans County includes the courthouse dome and a boat on the Erie Canal.
Through our association with the New York State Tourism Industry (NYSTIA), Orleans County is participating in a statewide collaboration, “Roam the Empire.” NY’s destination marketing organizations, museums, attractions, and other tourism related businesses are rallying New Yorkers to “ROAM THE EMPIRE” and choose their home state when making their 2021 travel and vacation plans. Organizers of the “ROAM THE EMPIRE” initiative point to the obvious benefits that will result if New Yorkers choose to explore the Empire State and vacation in-state in 2021.
Tourism is the third largest industry in New York State. During the pandemic year of 2020, tourism was inarguably New York’s most impacted industry. By year-end 2020, the tourism industry was devastated:
Average annual employment declined 34%, a loss of over 330,000 jobs vs 2019 – nearly three times the employment impact in any other major category!
An estimated 56% loss in travel spending and a corresponding 45% drop in tax revenues, the third most severely impacted state in the country!
Orleans County actually fared better than the metropolitan regions due to our wide open spaces, including world class fishing, the Erie Canal, the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and our camping facilities. Campgrounds were filled to capacity throughout the summer.
The total bed tax collected during 2020 had remained on par from 2019 collections, partially due to the popularity of airbnb vacation rentals during the pandemic. Despite losing valuable state funding used to promote tourism in our area, we’ve had to adjust our sails to continue the momentum created when our department was expanded in 2018. The staff at the Tourism Promotional Agency of Orleans County had to think outside the box to market Orleans County on a limited budget in 2020 and looks forward to 2021 when new funding resources become available.
“Despite the hardships of the last year, Orleans County is ready and eager to welcome back visitors and help drive New York State’s recovery efforts, especially for our local restaurants, specialty shops and attractions,” said Dawn Borchert, Orleans County Tourism director. “National Travel and Tourism Week, the ‘Roam the Empire’ and ‘Fresh Air Adventures NY’ campaigns will remind visitors and residents of the incredible contributions of the travel industry not just to our local economy and workforce, but to our community’s identity and culture.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 May 2021 at 8:37 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans County Legislator Fred Miller, right, presents a special recognition award to Tom Kuryla during Wednesday’s County Legislature meeting.
Kuryla was praised for more than 11 years as commissioner of the county’s Department of Social Services. He was commended for restructuring the department during his tenure, which lowered the county’s operating costs while maintaining services to the public.
“Tom was able to rebalance our workforce with the changes directed by Albany so that Orleans County was able to reduce the workforce and maintain the required services to our residents,” said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer. “This unique skill was much appreciated by the County Legislators.”
Tom Kuryla thanks the county legislators and the DSS employees during his brief remarks on Wednesday when he was recognized for his service to the county. He led the DSS since Jan. 1, 2010. He came to Orleans after being deputy commissioner in Seneca County.
The DSS and the county’s Job Development Agency in 2019 were recognized by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance for the county’s success in transitioning people from public assistance to securing employment. The county was honored for its success from 2015 to 2018.
Under Kuryla, the DSS also stepped up efforts with welfare fraud recoveries and cost avoidance. The DSS would often recover about $75,000 in welfare fraud each year and avoid paying out about $1.5 million in unentitled benefits.
“We appreciate all of Tom’s work in Social Services and for working within the system creating positive change in our County,” Welch said. “Tom Kuryla as Commissioner of Social Services brought a balance to the Social Services Department of serving our residents who are in need with an eye and respect for our taxpayers who provide the funds for these services.”
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Volunteers spreading mulch in the playground at P’raising Kids in Medina included Michelle Kingdollar and Elysa Rodriguez from Western New York Energy; Jim Punch from United Way’s board (center); Kathie Valley with P’raising Kids and P’raising Kids’ director Kimberly Southcott and her husband John.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 2 May 2021 at 8:41 am
The weather may have been cold and blustery, but it didn’t stop United Way of Orleans County volunteers from completing their mission.
Friday was Day of Caring, an annual event sponsored by United Way in which local companies allow employees to take the day off to do projects for non-profits in the county. An amazing 88 volunteers showed up at 8 a.m. at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds, where they were welcomed by United Way director Dean Bellack and enjoyed breakfast pizza and bagels from Papa Thom’s Rockin’ Bagels, along with coffee from HeBrews 5:9 in Albion.
Danielle Figura, Orleans County mental Health director, works in a flower garden at Cooperative Extension on the 4-H Fairgrounds during United Way of Orleans County’s Day of Caring on Friday.
Volunteers came from Baxter Healthcare, ARC Angels, Arc of Orleans/Genesee, Catholic Charities/Tri-County, Medina Sandstone Society, Takeform, Velociti, Albion village office, M&T Bank and Western New York Energy.
Also, as part of Day of Caring, local Boy Scouts on Saturday cleaned up around the canal Culvert on Culvert Road and Lions Park in Medina.
United Way director Dean Bellack welcomed the volunteers Friday morning and thanked them for their efforts. He also announced United Way in 2020 raised more money than in any other year.
“We’ve had some amazing things happen this year,” Bellack said.
He went on to announce the approval for a $450,000 grant written by Nyla Gaylord with Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern to hire a grant writer and second United Way employee for the next five years. Early Friday morning he also shared the news the county’s grant request, written by Robert Batt from Cooperative Extension, was approved for $364,000 to fund the county’s Digital Divide initiative.
Work sites where volunteers spent the day included the fairgrounds, Headstart in Albion and Medina, Arc of Genesee Orleans, Camp Rainbow, YMCA, canal culvert, Ministry of Concern and P’raising Kids Daycare in Medina.
Volunteers performed such duties as weeding flower beds, planting flowers, raking, painting picnic tables and spreading mulch.
Day of Caring is an annual event sponsored by United Way, except for last year when it was canceled due to Covid.
John and Tim Winters, standing, and Rachel Frasier rake and clean up around P’raising Kids Day Care Center in Medina on Friday’s Day of Caring.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2021 at 7:19 am
$4.1 million would cover gaps in county, give residents option besides Spectrum
Photos by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson speaks to about 25 officials from the county, local towns and the five school districts during a meeting at Tillman’s Village Inn to discuss how to fund broadband internet in Orleans County.
GAINES – A top priority for Orleans County officials the past decade has been bringing high-speed internet to all properties in the county.
Cost has been a barrier to getting the project done.
But now is the time to bring the service to all county residents, County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said on Thursday evening in a meeting with county, town and school district leaders.
“We all need to buy into this,” Johnson told about 25 of the officials during a meeting at Tillman’s Village Inn. “You’re all getting American Rescue funds. So let’s do this together.”
With millions of dollars coming to the county, towns and school districts from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan, the $4.1 million price tag is now manageable, she said.
Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer, said a cooperative effort will make the project affordable to all the municipalities, while meeting a critical need in the county.
The American Rescue Plan will bring $7.8 million to the county, with half expected soon and the other half in a year. The 10 towns in the county will share $4,430,000 with some of that to go the four villages. The federal government hasn’t released how much the villages we get.
The villages are all 100 percent fully covered with high-speed internet. Outside the villages, there are 1,351 addresses that don’t have a chance to hook into the service. There are about 22,000 properties in the entire county.
The five school district collectively will receive $12.5 million in federal funds. However, the districts will be expected to use most of those funds to help students catch up in lost learning during the pandemic, said Mark Kruzynski, Medina’s district superintendent.
The districts today are to receive guidance on how the funds are to be spent, and then have 30 days to submit a plan for how to use the funds. Kruzynski said Medina doesn’t want to make a mistake, using the funds outside the rules and then have to pay the federal government back.
Johnson said the purpose on Thursday’s meeting was to start the conversation among the county, towns and schools in how to fill the gaps in high-speed internet. She said everyone needs to follow the spending guidelines, but she expects there will be flexibility from the federal government.
“This meeting is to get the ball rolling,” she said.
Some of the town supervisors said they still don’t know for sure what their towns are getting in the American Rescue Plan because some of the allotments approved for the towns need to go to villages within those town borders.
John Belson, Yates town supervisor, said the private developer should take on the costs of building out the system.
If that happened, the costs to residents would be exorbitant, Johnson said. Plus, she said, one of the purposes in the funding from the federal government was to address the high-speed internet gaps, which put many students at an extreme disadvantage with remote learning. Many jobs also shifted to home and people couldn’t do them without high-speed internet.
Legislator John DeFillipps said the service is needed to keep the county competitive in keeping and attracting residents. He noted one family from out-of-state was going to build a house in Clarendon but backed out when the site didn’t have internet access.
“The pandemic has shown there is really a deficiency in the entire county,” Johnson said.
The address points currently without access to the internet include: Albion, 74 units; Barre, 302 units; Carlton, 35 units; Clarendon, 57 units; Gaines, 39 units; Kendall, 16 units; Murray, 41 units; Ridgeway, 287 units; Shelby, 206 units; and Yates, 294 units.
Breaking that out in the five school districts the gaps include: Albion, 407 units; Holley, 70 units; Kendall, 30 units; Lyndonville, 385 units; and Medina, 409 units.
David Godfrey, a Niagara County legislator, has worked with Lynne Johnson in the Niagara Orleans Regional Alliance the past decade to try to bring the service to the two counties. Godfrey said the two-county partnership has paid off in getting the attention of RTO Wireless, a company that provided high-speed internet throughout Maine and Vermont.
The local officials have been working for 12 years now to bring high-speed internet to swaths of the county and other isolated spots that don’t have access to the service. The officials also want better overall service throughout the county and some competition for Spectrum.
The efforts have hit stumbling blocks with funding. But all of the leg work, documenting 1,351 addresses without access to high-speed internet, puts the county in a good position now that millions of dollars are available from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan.
A vendor also has stepped forward for the first time to work on the project, not only in Orleans but in neighboring Niagara County. The two counties formed the Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance and bringing high-speed internet throughout the two counties has been a priority of the alliance the past decade.
RTO Wireless, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, has already brought broadband to the entire states of Maine and Vermont. It could bring the service to Orleans County for $4.1 million. That includes the 1,351 properties without access and opportunities for the other 20,000 property owners to have high-speed internet from a company besides Spectrum.
RTO builds and operates networks with traditional infrastructure such as towers, rooftops, grain silos and utility poles. The company also deploys AeroSite, which resemble blimps filled with helium.
David Godfrey, a Niagara County legislator, has teamed with Johnson in the Niagara-Orleans alliance to address the service shortfalls in the two counties. He said the two-county partnership is an advantage for Orleans and Niagara in finding a vendor and could pay off with additional government funding.
‘Twelve years ago it was the number one priority and it remains the number one priority. And now we have the funds. This is a necessary utility as much as water, sewer and electric in this day and age.’ – Lynne Johnson
Orleans is pursuing an additional federal grant and also a member-item award through Congressman Chris Jacobs. If that money comes through, the towns and schools would be asked to contribute less to the project.
She said the county is willing to put $2 million towards the effort. That covers 61 percent of the $3.2 million to put in the infrastructure and the net start-up costs to serve all the properties throughout the county.
However, there is additional $878,150 to be borne by the 1,351 properties, at $650 a unit, to hook into the service.
As the rules are known in spending the federal funds, Godfrey said he expects the two counties can use several different pots of money from the government to fund the project, including the hook-in costs to the 1,351 properties in Orleans without any service right now.
After many dead ends in trying to address the internet gaps in Orleans County, Johnson said she is optimistic the issue will soon be resolved.
The local officials will continue to discuss the project, and study the guidelines on spending the federal money.
“Twelve years ago it was the number one priority and it remains the number one priority,” she said. “And now we have the funds. This is a necessary utility as much as water, sewer and electric in this day and age.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2021 at 1:44 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: These deer are pictured on Nov. 20, 2014 when they were close to the road on the west side of Route 279 in Gaines, just south of Route 104.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature voted on Wednesday to set a public hearing for 4:25 p.m. on May 26 to pass a local law allowing youths ages 12 and 13 to hunt deer with a firearm or crossbow. Those youth would need to be under the supervision of an experienced adult hunter.
The state budget passed earlier this month gave upstate counties the right to opt-in and allow the 12- and 13-year-old hunters.
Youths those ages already are allowed to hunt deer and bear with archery equipment and small game with firearms. Until now, New York was the only state that didn’t allow 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt big game with a firearm. The state is doing a pilot program until 2023 with the lower age.
Mike Donahue, president of the Orleans County Sportsmen’s Federation, urged the County Legislature to allow the 12- and 13-year-old hunters with firearms or a crossbow – under supervision. Donahue, a hunting safety instructor the past 40 years, spoke during Wednesday’s Legislature meeting.
Legislator Fred Miller, D-Albion, opposed setting the hearing. Miller’s district includes the towns of Albion and Gaines, which he said are populated areas on flat land. He is concerned about people hunting with rifles so close to the village and residences.
MEDINA – A $450,000 grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation is a game changer for Orleans County, said Dean Bellack, director of United Way of Orleans County, who realized several years ago how beneficial a grant writer would be for the county.
