Joint Veterans Council has run the all-volunteer program for 25 years

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday presented certificates of appreciation to volunteers for the veterans’ van service, a program that has been providing rides to veterans to their medical appointments the past 25 years.

The top photo shows County Legislator Fred Miller, second from left, praising volunteers in the program, including Ralph Clute (second from right) and Frank Panczyszyn. Nancy Traxler, director of the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans County, is at left. Klute is a driver for the program and also helps in the office. Panczyszyn is a driver.

Helen Bilicki, left, also was recognized for her years of service in the office, helping to schedule drivers for veterans’ medical appointments. The program is run by the Joint Veterans Council.

There are currently about 25 volunteers with the program, which operates five vans. The program typically takes veterans to about 1,500 appointments a year. The service was shut down by the VA from April through June 2020, and then it gradually ramped back up.

The volunteers took veterans to 542 appointments from Jan. 1 through July 31 this year.

There will be a reception for the volunteers today at the Shelby fire hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday approved a five-year contract with 170 employees in the CSEA union.

The agreement doesn’t give any raises for 2020 through June of 2021. However, the employees will all get 50-cent hourly raises effective June 1, 2021, and then a 4 percent increase on top of that for the rest of 2021.

The agreement then gives the workers 2 percent annual increases in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The 50-cent hourly wage increase was implemented due to minimum wage being hiked up to $12.50 an hour. The county needed to increase starting hourly pay for custodians and housekeepers from $11.94 to $12.73 due to the state increase in the minimum. That also prompted the county to increase the other wages to stay more competitive in the local labor market.

The new contract was delayed with uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic. The county last year had 20 percent of state reimbursements withheld, and there were concerns over a loss of sales tax revenue.

The state cuts eventually were at 5 percent, the county ended the year with a big increase in sales tax last year –up by 9.2 percent, from $17.7 million in 2019 to $19.4 million in 2020. For part of the year, however, sales tax revenues were lagging when many businesses were forced to close for in-person customers.

The county also implemented a temporary voluntarily workforce reduction of 40 employees last year due to concerns about plummeting revenue.

All of those issues made it challenging to craft a long-term labor agreement, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer. He remains concerned about revenue in the future from the state and federal governments, especially if the pandemic is drawn out.

The new contract increases the deductibles for employees from $1,500 for a single heath insurance plan to $2,500, and $3,000 for a family plan to $5,000.

However, there are health reimbursement accounts at $1,400 for employees with single plans (with the county also eligible to be reimbursed $1,100 for those plans) and $2,800 for employees with family plans (county eligible for up to $2,200). Those accounts have the potential to reduce out-of-pocket costs for employees and also drive down some of the county’s health insurance costs, Welch said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – The band Maufrey performs Thursday night during TedFest V, a three-day music festival at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The band from Buffalo was performing at the stage at the Curtis Pavilion. They play “funk jam,” including some music by The Allman Brothers, David Bowie, ZZ Top and Bruce Hornsby.

Bill Braytek performs with the band Maufrey on Thursday. The live music festival continues today and Saturday with 32 bands in Western New York.

TedFest in previous year’s was a one-day event at Bond Lake in Sanborn, Niagara County. This year it was expended to three days on three stages at the fairgrounds to accommodate more bands and give them more time to perform, said Bashar Srouji, TedFest founder and organizer.

He puts on the event as a tribute to the late Theodore “Teddy” Wishowski, who died in a car crash in Lewiston at age 23 on July 17, 2016. “this festival is a way to reconnect with him,” Srouji said about TedFest.

The fairgrounds provides a venue to better showcase the musicians, and make it a multi-day event with RV hook-ups, vendors and concessions.

The poster for TedFest includes a Buddha with five arms. It is similar to one of Teddy Wishowski’s tattoos which had a Buddha with 12 arms.

This photo shows Bobby and the Pedestrians getting set up in the Lartz Building which also included space for several vendors.

Steven Plennert, owner of PHD Hemp in Niagara Falls, is selling hemp products as part of the festival. Plennert said the CBD oil is popular for helping people with inflammation and anxiety.

Bobby and the Pedestrians, an Albion-based band, was among the performers on Thursday. Bobby Skrzypek is the lead singer and front man for the band which plays “high-energy reggae rock.” He is shown playing a ukulele.

Thom Jennings of Albion, center, joined Bobby and the Pedestrians for a few songs on Thursday night. They led off by performing “Fire on the Mountain” by the Grateful Dead. Thom’s son Trevor is the drummer for the group.

Alex Kielbasa, a performer with Bobby and the Pedestrians, lets out some vape smoke. He also plays the didgeridoo, a wind instrument.

TedFest V tickets are $25 for a single day pass and are available online by clicking here. That link also includes a schedule for the bands.

ALBION – Orleans County is calling on the state to pay $1.6 million that Orleans says it is owed in Medicaid reimbursements from April 2016 to April 2020.

The county contends it is due the money, which are federal funds passed down to the state, as part of a provision in the Affordable Care Act with the federal government upping the Medicaid matching share. That has saved the state billions of dollars, the Orleans County Legislature stated in a resolution.

Those savings should then be shared with counties, which pay a local share towards Medicaid, county legislators said.

The state has a methodology where 80 percent of the increased federal funds should go to counties. However, the state has last reconciled with the counties in the state’s 2015-16 fiscal year.

The New York State Association of Counties estimates the state owes $800 million to all of the counties and New York City through withheld Medicaid reimbursements.

“By not providing these federal funds it requires counties and New York City to reserve funds locally to make up for the loss, meaning local taxes have been kept higher than they need to be over multiple years, or local services had to be scaled back or eliminated,” county legislators stated in a resolution.

Legislators called on the state to take immediate steps to release the funds, and to provide timely notice to counties of the coming year’s Medicaid costs. The resolution from the County Legislature was sent to the Governor’s Office and the State Legislature.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – There was big turnout today with the return of the household hazardous waste collection. Last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. This year the county quickly had all 320 slots filled with at least another 100 calling for an appointment.

The top photo shows employees with Environmental Enterprises in Cincinnati collecting the household hazardous waste, where many of the fluids will be emptied into large drums to be hauled away. The is free to Orleans County residents.

This photo shows Matt Herman of the Orleans County DPW dumping tires into the pile by the DPW garage on West Academy Street in Albion. The big pile is expected to be removed next week by Modern Disposal.

The county accepted at least 1,200 tires. Residents were limited to 10 tires for the drop-off today. The county added tires to the annual household hazardous collection event in 2019 and received about 1,000 two years ago.

Tyler Jurs and other DPW workers unload a truck full of tires. The tires needed to be rimless. Only non-commercial and non-farm tires were accepted today. Jurs was joined by Paul Gray, Greg Lane and Matt Herman in unloading the tires today.

Paul Gray, a long-time DPW employee, said he is seeing far fewer tires along roadsides and other household hazardous waste since the county started the collections.

Gray said that also includes fewer computer monitors and TVs since collection points were set up by the county. Local DPW and highway crews frequently were hauling those items out of ditches and fields.

“There is much less discarded by the roads now,” Gray said.

Jim Bensley, the county’s director of planning and development, carries one of the tanks dropped off today. He said the big turnout today has county officials looking at a bigger event next year, with either more slots for residents in one or two different days.

Environmental Enterprises, the company doing the collection, is booked up for the rest of the year and isn’t available for another event in Orleans County in 2021.

Bensley said there was pent-up demand for today’s collection with many people cleaning out garages and houses during the pandemic. He also thinks the home sale transactions prompted many people to clear out basements and buildings.

Corey Winters, a planner with the county, carries propane tanks. There were 349 empty propane tanks collected in August 2019 at the last household hazard waste collection event in Orleans County.

Anitrice Bennett from the County Planning and Development Department checks in a resident for today’s household hazardous waste collection on West Academy Street.

The event allows residents to dispose of tires, propane tanks, auto/marine batteries and other hazardous household waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Some of the items include oil-based paints, solvents, adhesives & resins, aerosols, motor oil & filters, pesticides, acids, fluorescent bulbs, corrosives, household batteries and antifreeze.

The county typically pays Environmental Enterprises about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste, with the state then reimbursing the county about half of the costs.

Town of Albion has biggest drop at 9.8% among 10 towns

The new data from the U.S. Census Bureau on the 2020 count shows that every town and village in Orleans County experienced population loss from 2010, except for the Town of Yates.

Countywide the population is down 5.9 percent, or by 2,540 people from 42,883 in 2010 to 40,343 in 2020. That percent decline is the steepest of all counties in Western New York.

The data from the Census Bureau shows a population drop in nearly every Orleans County municipality with Albion experiencing the biggest loss at 9.8 percent. Yates avoided a loss in residents, but just barely. The town grew by 8 people or by 0.3 percent.

TOWNS – The population changes for 10 towns includes:

• Albion – 7,639 in 2020, down 829 or 9.8% from the 8,468 in 2010
• Barre – 1,843 in 2020, down 182 or 9.0% from 2,025 in 2010
• Carlton – 2,835 in 2020, down 159 or 5.3% from 2,994 in 2010
• Clarendon – 3,315 in 2020, down 333 or 9.1% from 3,648 in 2010
• Gaines – 3,226 in 2020, down from 152 or 4.5% 3,378 in 2010
• Kendall – 2,617 in 2020, down 107 or 3.9% from 2,724 in 2010
• Murray – 4,796 in 2020, down 192 or 3.8% from 4,988 in 2010
• Ridgeway – 6,598 in 2020, down 182 or 2.7% from 6,780 in 2010
• Shelby – 4,907 in 2020, down 412 or 7.7% from 5,319 in 2010
• Yates – 2,567 in 2020, up by 8 or 0.3% from 2,559 in 2010
• Orleans County – 40,343, down 2,540 or 5.9% from the 42,883 in 2010

VILLAGES – The four villages all are down in population but the percent decline was the lowest in Medina. In 2010, Albion with 6,056 people and Medina with 6,065 were nearly identical in population. Now Medina has nearly 400 more residents – 6,047 compared to 5,637.

Here are the changes in population from in the four Orleans County villages:

• Albion – 5,637 in 2020, down 419 or 6.9% from 6,056 in 2010
• Holley – 1,754 in 2020, down 57 or 3.2% from 1,811 in 2010
• Lyndonville – 771 in 2020, down 67 or 8.0% from 838 in 2010
• Medina – 6,047 in 2020, down 18 or 0.3% from 6,065 in 2010

The percentage of population loss was nearly double in central Orleans County (7.8 percent) compared to the western end with 4.0 percent decline, with eastern Orleans down by 5.6 percent.

• Central Orleans (Albion, Barre, Carlton and Gaines) – down 7.8 percent from 16,865 to 15,543 or by 1,322
• Eastern Orleans (Clarendon, Kendall and Murray) – down 5.6 percent from 11,360 to 10,728 or by 632
• Western Orleans (Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates) – down 4.0 percent from 14,658 to 14,072 or by 586

County stays over 40,000 — barely

The U.S. Census Bureau today released population counts for each county in the United States. The data shows a 5.9 percent decline in Orleans County, which was biggest drop among Western New York counties and most in the GLOW region.

Orleans shrunk by 2,540 people in the 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, dropping from 42,883 in 2010 to 40,343 in 2020.

The county managed to stay above 40,000 people in the census count.

The Orleans County population in recent counts include 42,883 in 2010, 44,171 in 2000, 41,846 in 1990, 38,496 in 1980 and 37,305 in 1970.

The percentage drop from 2010 to 2020 in Orleans County is the most among Western New York counties and the GLOW region. All of those counties declined except Erie and Monroe.

Here is a breakdown of the population changes in WNY and GLOW:

• Genesee, down 2.8 percent from 60,079 in 2010 to 58,388 in 2020
• Livingston, down 5.4 percent from 65,393 in 2010 to 61,834 in 2020
• Orleans, down 5.9 percent from 42,883 in 2010 to 40,343 in 2020
• Wyoming, down 3.9 percent from 42,155 in 2010 to 40,531 in 2020
• Monroe, up 2.0 percent from 744,344 in 2010 to 759,443 in 2020
• Erie, up 3.8 percent, from 919,040 in 2010 to 954,236 to 2020
• Cattaraugus, down 4.1 percent from 80,317 in 2010 to 77,042 in 2020
• Chautauqua, down 5.4 percent from 134,905 in 2010 to 127,657 in 2020

Some counties experienced a bigger population loss, by percentage, than Orleans. They include:

• Schoharie, down 9.3 percent from 32,749 in 2010 to 29,714 in 2020
• Franklin, down 7.8 percent from 51,599 in 2010 to 47,555 in 2020
• Delaware, down 7.7 percent, from 47,980 in 2010 to 44,308 in 2020
• Madison, down 7.4 percent from 73,442 in 2010 to 68,016 in 2020
• Herkimer, down 6.8 percent from 64,519 in 2010 to 60,139 in 2020
• Otsego, down 6.0 percent from 62,259 in 2010 to 58,524 in 2020

Governor-to-be makes frequent local stops

Photos by Tom Rivers: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul paddles in a kayak in Medina’s Canal Basin on June 15 to promote a free kayaking program this summer in Medina.

The next governor for New York State is very familiar with Orleans County, and knows many of the local elected officials.

Kathy Hochul will become the state’s 57th governor on Aug. 24 and the first woman to serve as the top’s highest elected official. She will become governor when Andrew Cuomo resigns in 14 days.

Hochul has been a frequent presence in Orleans County, often on official duties for ground-breaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies or to highlight a state initiative.

She also stops by incognito, wearing with a baseball cap, on a getaway with her husband Bill. They have rented a canal boat and stayed in Medina, visiting local restaurants and small businesses.

“She is definitely a friend of Medina and a friend of Orleans County,” said Medina Mayor Mike Sidari. “She will be an advocate for Western New York.”

Kathy Hochul joins in a ground-breaking celebration on July 26 for a new $2 million breakwall along Lakeshore Road in Carlton that is 95 percent funded by the state.

Hochul was in the Town of Carlton on July 26 for the ground-breaking of a $2 million shoreline protection project along Lakeshore Road. The state is paying 95 percent of the cost of building 1,500 feet of breakwall.

It is one of many projects along the south shore funded with $300 million through the state’s Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI).

“As New York’s lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul has always been in tune with the needs and challenges facing both rural and urban communities,” said Lynne Johnson, Chairperson of the Orleans County Legislature. “Her office is responsive and supports municipalities, large and small, across the region. Lt. Gov Hochul has become valued friend and colleague who has worked tirelessly for Orleans County, supporting REDI projects and other infrastructure, economic development, and tourism initiatives to improve the business environment and residential quality of life in rural communities. I am thrilled she will now be leading this state.”

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul rows in a kayak in Medina on June 15 to promote a free kayaking program in the Erie Canal. She was joined in kayaks by Brian Stratton, state canal director; Greg Reed, director of the Orleans County YMCA; and Mike Sidari, Medina mayor.

Hochul on June 15 was in Medina to promote a free kayaking program in the Erie Canal. Hochul even paddled in a kayak in the Canal Basin. Medina is one of five canal communities offering free “On the Canals” outdoor excursions this summer as part of the state’s Reimagine the Canals initiative.

Sidari said Hochul is widely respected by elected officials at the local levels throughout the state. They respect that she rose through the ranks, first as a member of the Hamburg Town Board, then as Erie County Clerk, and then as a Democrat in Congress representing a heavily Republican district that included Orleans County. She defeated Jane Corwin to be elected on Congress in a special election in May 2011, but then lost to Chris Collins in a redrawn district that was even more Republican-leaning.

She returned to public office after being elected as lieutenant governor in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018.

While Hochul was often in Orleans County, Cuomo seldom stopped in the county. Cuomo, during nearly 11 years as governor, only made one official stop in Orleans County. That was on Aug. 2, 20212, when there was a blow-out on the Erie Canal in Albion and a sinkhole emerged on Albion-Eagle Harbor Road between Gaines Basin Road and West State Street. Cuomo was in Batavia that day and Assemblyman Steve Hawley convinced him to come to Albion and see the damage first hand.

Here are some other photos of Kathy Hochul in Orleans County:

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Medina Mayor Mike Sidari, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Parade of Lights grand marshal Jackie DeHollander and parade chairman Jim Hancock pose for a quick picture before Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the command to light the giant Christmas tree in Rotary Park on Nov. 30, 2019.

Photos by Tom Rivers: During a celebration of the transformation of former Holley High School, Hochul was among a contingent to mark the conclusion of a $17 million project on Nov. 10, 2020. The building was last used as a school in 1975. After two years of construction, Home Leasing has the building fully occupied with 41 apartments and the Holley village offices. Hochul, front center, cut the ribbon for the project.

Kathy Hochul was in Kendall on May 12, 2017 to thank National Guard members stacking sandbags in Kendall. The Lt. Governor said then the eroding shoreline, which was threatening homes along Lake Ontario, was “cataclysmic.”

One couple from Hamlin told her the lake has been devouring their land, forcing them to cut off their deck after two of their trees toppled into the lake. Hochul said so many other residents are vulnerable from the high waters.

“Our hearts are breaking for them,” she said. “This is their life savings. We cannot solve this problem overnight.”

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley on May 12, 2017 meet with members of the National Guard filling sandbags at the Kendall Highway Department garage. These Guardsmen are from the 107th Air Force in Niagara Falls. The Guardsmen were filling sandbags in the Kendall Highway Department, while another group stacked them near the shoreline to help fight flooding.

Hochul thanked them for their service to the lakeshore residents. The flooding is devastating to homeowners and businesses along the lake.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul meets with Orleans County Democrats on Oct. 13, 2018 during their fall rally at the Elks Club. About 60 people attended the event. She is shown visiting Jim Renfrew and his wife, Robin Dunnington, who hosted one of the first candidate parties in their Clarendon home for Hochul in 2011. Those grass roots events helped her to get elected, despite a strong Republican advantage in the district.

Kathy Hochul is pictured on the reviewing stand for the Parade of Lights in Medina on Nov. 26, 2016 with Assemblyman Steve Hawley, left, who served as announcer and Medina Mayor Mike Sidari.

Lt. Gov. Hochul on Nov. 26, 2016 also stopped in Medina to promote small businesses. Hochul visited several business owners in Medina, including Bread Basket owner Lissa Stewart-James, during Small Business Saturday. “We want to showcase the small businesses that are the backbone of these communities,” Hochul said in Medina.

She praised Medina for a “vibrant downtown” that creates jobs, a sense of community identity and revenue to maintain historic commercial buildings. The Medina downtown has a “tremendous variety” of retail shops, she said.

“This is out of It’s A Wonderful Life,” Hochul said about downtown Medina.

Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul stopped by the Legislative Luncheon for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 22, 2016 at Tillman’s Village Inn. She said New York State was making billions of dollars available for upstate infrastructure and economic development, bringing attention to a part of the state that had been largely neglected by state officials for many years.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is pictured with Jeanne Crane on April 30, 2015 at dinner in Hochul’s honor at Tillman’s Village Inn. Crane was the county’s Democratic Party chairwoman. This was Hochul’s second time back in Orleans after being elected lieutenant governor. Hochul was a long-shot candidate in 2011 when she ran for Congress in a overwhelmingly Republican district. She pulled off the upset win and said Democrats in rural areas such as Orleans County were essential in that victory.

Hochul is a “personable person” with a work ethic, Crane said.

Hochul said she enjoys being away from the state capital and connecting with people outside of Albany. She said she enjoys meeting with people. When she was campaigning, it was often at diners and community events.

“I know what is in their hearts and minds because they told me,” she said then.

Hochul said then she intends to be an advocate for Orleans and she won’t be a stranger.

“I will always treasure our friendships,” Hochul told the group of Democrats.

Hochul sees a home-grown success story at CRFS on Feb. 18, 2015, her first time back in Orleans after being elected lieutenant governor. She is shown speaking with Sean Snook, CRFS’s chief operating officer. CRFS works to recover past-due interest, unpaid principal, unpaid taxes and unpaid insurance on houses.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 18, 2015 met with the County Legislature and other local officials to discuss the governor’s “Opportunity Agenda,” which included state resources to rural communities. She touted the $500 million plan to expand broadband Internet access throughout the state during a stop in Albion at Hoag Library. Hochul also shared details for boosting the economy, fighting poverty, enacting educational reforms, mitigating property tax increases and adopting new ethics reforms in Albany.

So far, sales tax collections up $2 million in county in first half of the year

Photos by Tom Rivers: An apple-themed bike rack is shown on Main Street in Medina last week. A report from the State Comptroller’s Office shows a big increase in sales tax revenue locally and state-wide.

Orleans County’s sales tax revenue is up 33.5 percent or by $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020 when many businesses were on “pause” with in-person customers either not allowed or limited due to restrictions from the state in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many of those restrictions were eased or lifted in the second quarter of 2021 and the sales tax revenue was up significantly.

Statewide the sales tax was up by 49.2% in the second quarter, surpassing the amount during the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in a report.

Second quarter sales tax revenue in GLOW counties

• Genesee: $13.2 million ($9.1 million in 2020), up 44.8 percent
• Livingston: $11.3 million (7.8 million in 2020), up 44.9 percent
• Orleans: $5.8 million ($4.4 million in 2020), up 33.5 percent
• Wyoming: $6.2 million ($4.3 million in 2020), up 44.5 percent

Among the nine counties in the Finger Lakes region, the 33.5 percent increase in Orleans is the second lowest. Only Wayne at 32.1 percent is lower. Seneca has the biggest increase at 58.7 percent, followed by Ontario County at 55.2 percent.

For the first half of the year, the sales tax revenue in Orleans County is up by $2 million or 22.1 percent, from $8.8 million the first six months of 2020 to $10.8 million the first half of 2021.

Among the other GLOW counties, Genesee is up 25.0 percent from $18.9 million to $23.7 million. Livingston increased 25.4 percent, from $16.2 million to $20.2 million, and Wyoming is up 25.4 percent, from $8.8 million to $11.0 million.

“The strength of these collections, along with federal aid, will give local governments statewide the chance to improve their fiscal stability, but it will take time to recover from the strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” DiNapoli said in a statement about the sales tax report. “While this is good news, local leaders are advised to budget carefully. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to always plan for unpredictable circumstances.”

The size of the increase largely reflects extremely weak collections in the April to June period of 2020, DiNapoli said.

However, even compared to pre-pandemic collections for the same period in 2019, statewide collections in 2021 were up 8.7% or $396 million. Every region outside of New York City experienced two-year growth over 18 percent. New York City’s collections grew by 44.6 percent in the second quarter of 2021for its first increase after four quarters of year-over-year declines. NYC has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, DiNapoli said.

He said an easing of Covid restrictions, pent-up demand and more internet sales tax collections are all factors in the state-wide sales tax growth.

Downtown Medina is a shopping hotspot in Orleans County.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has issued a statement today, praising efforts in Orleans and Niagara to move forward with broadband internet projects.

“After thousands of rural families in Niagara and Orleans struggled for years to secure broadband service, I was proud to secure the breakthrough funding in the American Rescue Plan needed by the counties to connect them to 21st century broadband,” Schumer said. “I’ll continue to fight for broadband funding until every home and business in New York has access.”

The Orleans County Legislature last week voted unanimously to accept a $3,608,435 bid to make high-speed internet available for the current 1,351 address points that can’t connect to the service.

The Niagara County Legislature on Tuesday accepted a $4,286,325 bid to make high-speed internet in unserved areas of the county.

Both counties selected the proposal from RTO Wireless of Wellesley, Mass.

In Orleans, RTO will co-locate their technology on existing county-owned communication towers. Those sites include at the Emergency Management Office on West County House Road in Albion, Route 31A in Clarendon, Maple Ridge Road in Medina, Route 31 in Albion next to Public Safety Building, West Avenue in Lyndonville, Route 237 in Kendall, Route 237 in Holley by the water tank.

Orleans will use some of its American Rescue Plan funds for the project. The Orleans County Legislature in June accepted $3,918,951 from U.S. Department of Treasury, the first half of the American Rescue Plan Act funds for Orleans.

The county will use some of those funds for the broadband project, but also will be seeking other federal grants, including to help some of the homeowners with the hook-up costs for connecting to the technology.

Niagara also is seeking other state and federal funds to help fund the project.

Ten high school seniors in Orleans County were recently selected to receive the first of what will most likely become an annual award from United Way of Orleans County.

Earlier this spring, following a successful year in obtaining grants, the United Way board voted to award $500 scholarships each to two students in each of Orleans County’s five schools.

In July,  the scholarships were awarded to Colburn Spierdowis and Aisha Drisdom at Albion Central School; Andrew Drechsel and Julia Buck at Holley Central School; Ethan Kuhn and Madison Nardi at Kendall Central School; Isaac Becker and Lyndsey Snell at Lyndonville Central School; and Amanda Woodruff and Jacob Velesko at Medina Central School.

“The mission of United Way of Orleans County is be a connector of people, resources, ideas and funding to make our community stronger, and those students reflect and embrace that mission,” said Dean Bellack, executive director of United Way.

Criteria for receiving a scholarship was that each student must be heavily involved in community service and giving back, have good grades (not necessarily straight A’s), and be a good citizen.

“Rather than have students apply to us and we choose recipients, when we don’t know the students, we decided to have the schools pick the candidates,” Bellack said. “United Way is thrilled to be able to reward those who are giving back to their community.”

Provided photo

BATAVIA – A new billboard has been installed along the Thruway near the Batavia exit, promoting fishing in Orleans County, in particular, the Oak Orchard River.

The billboard is just east of the Batavia exit on the northside of the Thruway.

The County’s Tourism Department has a two-year agreement with Outfront Media in Boston, Mass. for the billboard. The design will change every six months.

Outfront will be paid $28,600 over the two years with the money coming from the American Rescue Plan Act. Guidelines for  using the funds allow the federal dollars to be used to promote tourism.

The county has transferred $67,978 in American Rescue Plan funds to the Tourism Department.

County officials want to better promote the fishery, which is the county’s top tourism attraction.

A survey in 2017 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation put the total economic impact from fishing in Orleans at $27,989,393 in 2017, according to survey results. Out-of-state anglers account for 70 percent of the fishing economic output in Orleans County, $19,620,488 of the $27,989,393. County residents who fish accounted for $1,767,334 in economic activity while other New York state residents outside Orleans represented another $6,601,571.

The DEC report also ranks which species of fish the anglers were primarily trying to catch. The survey reports that 23 percent said they were primarily fishing in Orleans County for Chinook salmon, with 20 percent saying were after brown trout. Another 18 percent said largemouth bass were their primary target and 14 percent said steelhead/rainbow trout.