Legislator says county ‘35 years behind the times’ with some land use policies

This chart prepared by the Orleans County Department of Planning shows the number of building permits issued for new single-family houses in Orleans County since 2003.

ALBION — The Orleans County Legislature approved spending $5,000 on Wednesday for a housing market analysis that could show emerging trends to help guide development and also bring more people to live in the community.

The number of new housing permits for single family residences has dropped from 76 in 2004 and 83 in 2004 to below 30 every year since 2007. The county had 16 permits for new houses in 2017, 17 in 2018 and 19 in 2019, according to data from the Orleans County Department of Planning.

Legislator Ken DeRoller, R-Kendall, pushed for the study. He worries about a shrinking population in the county, particularly with student enrollment dropping by about 50 percent in the past 20 years, from 8,400 in all five public school districts to about 4,300 right now.

DeRoller believes the small towns and rural communities have more appeal to young families and senior citizens since the Covid-19 pandemic, but DeRoller said the county may not have the right type of housing to attract more people.

The market analysis from LaBella Associates will look at supply, demand, relevant demographics and community development.

DeRoller has been a part of local waterfront development committees along Lake Ontario and the Erie Canal. He said he sees big potential in particular for housing along the canal. The market analysis could lead to more development with the desired type of housing in the county, boosting the tax base and bringing more vitality to Orleans.

One of the seven county legislators, Don Allport, opposed spending the money for a market analysis. Allport, R-Gaines, said private developers should do their own analysis. Allport said the real estate has been selling briskly, often over the asking price in the past year.

“It is definitely a sellers’ market,” Allport said during Wednesday’s Legislature meeting.

In Orleans County, the average sale for single-family residences was up from $109,820 in 2019 to $122,313 in 2020, with an increase in buyers from Buffalo, Rochester and other metro areas. That includes 886 listings.

DeRoller said there isn’t enough inventory right now for housing in the county. The market analysis may show local governments need to modify some zoning regulations to facilitate new developments.

The county is “35 years behind the times” with some of its land use policies, DeRoller said.

“This $5,000 (market analysis) gives us a view into the future,” he said.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Ferris Wheel, pictured at sunset during the Orleans County 4-H Fair in July 2013, is among the many attractions at the fair.

The New York State Fair will be back in August, with capacity limited to 50 percent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.

The governor, in touting the upcoming State Fair, did not mention county fairs, and the state hasn’t released guidance if those events can also continue this summer, and how they can operate.

“We’re all hopeful that it comes by week’s end,” said Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, which runs the annual fair in Knowlesville. This year’s event is scheduled for July 26-31.

The state would need to provide how to measure capacity for county fairs, which are generally held on a sprawling campus.

The Orleans County 4-H fair usually draws 25,000 to 30,000 people during its week-long run in late July. Last year the county fairs and State Fair were all cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“Every fair is working through the difficult decisions and new challenges that our volunteers and partners are concerned about,” Batt posted on the Orleans County 4-H Fair’s Facebook page. “We really do hope to make it happen and are waiting to see just what we can do to bring the fun.”

The State Fair will be back Aug. 20 to Sept. 6 with live music and entertainment, Midway rides, and agriculture education and awareness in four different, concurrent festivals. They will take place exclusively in the outdoor areas of the fairgrounds in Syracuse.

“This celebration is a unique reward for New Yorkers who have made so many sacrifices during this pandemic and will allow visitors from across the state and the country to enjoy some of the best attractions the Fair has to offer with all necessary safety guidelines in place,” Cuomo said on Monday during an announcement at the fairgrounds. “This is an important step towards the full return of New York’s largest events as we continue to reopen and reimagine our state’s economy.”

Nicole Mrzywka, left, and Will Trembley hand out trophies last July 27, 2019 during the Orleans County 4-H Fair.

At the State Fair this year the fairground’s buildings will not be open to the public, except for bathrooms. Attendees will be required to observe social distancing and wear masks, except when eating or drinking.

People buying food and drinks will be asked to sit while they eat and drink, and ample tables and dining spaces will be made available. Midway rides, games and attractions, as well as all surfaces of frequent customer contact will be rigorously and frequently cleaned and sanitized, according to the Governor’s Office.

Tickets will be sold for each of the outdoor areas, so families can decide which areas they want to visit and plan their day accordingly. To ensure capacity limits and social distancing, attendance at concerts and other live performances will be limited.

The Genesee County Ag Society, which is planning a July 24-31 fair in Batavia, said it is encouraged that the State Fair is going forward. The Genesee fair last year held livestock shows and looks forward to expanding what is offered this year.

“We are hoping that, in the near future, the Governor and his office will be addressing how the County Fairs should proceed, so that we can move forward with some great entertainment and Livestock shows for our community,” the Genesee County Ag Society said in a news release.

Insurance company nixes popular event at Orleans County 4-H Fair

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jacob Golding of the Doughboys nears the top of the grease on July 26, 2019 at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. For about 40 years, the grease pole climbing challenge was a very popular event to conclude busy days at the fair. The Doughboys started to slip on this day and weren’t able to get another team member to the top. They battled for several minutes before toppling in front of a big crowd of several hundred people.

KNOWLESVILLE – One of most popular events at the Orleans County 4-H Fair has been banned by the fair’s insurance company.

The grease pole draws big crowds each night to watch teams try to reach the top of a 20-foot-pole slathered in grease. The teams often slip and struggle, and many don’t complete the challenge. It is a fun spectacle for the crowd, which tends to offer encouragement to the teams.

The Grease Monkeys competed in the grease pole climbing competition three days at the fair in July 2019, getting better each time. The first night on Wednesday they didn’t get to the top. Friday they qualified for the finals. Brian Smith is the base for the team, followed by Colton Chappius, Jacob Golding and Jakob Hering.

There have been sore necks and backs, but no one has ever needed First Aid in the 40 or so years of the competition, said Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, which runs the fair.

He was notified about a month ago the insurance company would no longer allow the grease pole. Niagara County was trying to start the grease pole at its fair and told the insurance provider Orleans has long had the popular competition.

The insurance company rejected Niagara’s request, and also told Orleans it would have to end the event.

“It’s a total bummer,” Batt said.

An insurance company stopped the grease pole in the early ’80s, back when the event was held closer to Route 31 near the Trolley Building. After a few years, the insurance provider gave it another chance. The pole was relocated to the volleyball court with a softer surface on the west side of the fairgrounds.

The event has been a rite of passage for many 4-H’ers who join a team when they turn 18. Batt was among the 4-H’ers who gave it a try.

Batt didn’t know of another fair that had the grease pole. It was a daring event in a fair that doesn’t have a demolition derby and doesn’t allow alcohol.

“I had never seen it at any other places,” Batt said. “It’s something maybe we could try to get back into in a few years.”

The fair is coming up with a new challenge that Batt thinks will be a crowd-pleaser. Teams of two will need to push a giant round hay bale in a circle.

Jeremy Neal, the grease pole chairman, is heading the effort of the new challenge. He is experimenting on the course and size of the hay bales.

“We are testing it to make sure a person can do it,” Batt said. “We want it to be challenging. It won’t be easy.”

The hay bale rolling event will be open to competitors 16 and older. That is 2 years younger than the cutoff for the grease pole.

It will be easier for people to form teams because they won’t need as many members, and they won’t destroy shirts and jeans from the event like with the grease pole. They also won’t have to worry about gobs of grease getting in their hair.

Andrew Jones of Kent enjoys conquering the grease pole with the Troll Diggers on July 27, 2019. The Troll Diggers won the last four grease pole titles. Last year’s event wasn’t held due to the fair being cancelled due to Covid-19. The Troll Diggers in 2019 included team captain Jeff Ebel, Lyssa Jones, Nathaniel Jenks, Alyssa Ebel, Isaiah Jenks, Zach Kimmel and Andrew Jones.

This year’s fair – ‘a lot of unknowns and questions’

Regarding this year’s fair, scheduled for July 26-31, Batt said the fair officials are waiting for guidelines from the state Department of Health.

The fair committee is planning for a range of versions of the fair – from a small scaled down version with livestock shows, 4-H exhibits and drive-through dinners to a nearly full fair with rides and lots of entertainment.

“I’m as hopeful as hopeful can be,” Batt said. “But right now there are a lot of unknowns and questions.”

Joe Clark holds on tight as the second guy up for “The Barn Animals,” one of the teams that competed in the grease pole on July 29, 2017. Most of the team members are parents of kids who show animals at the fair, or are long-time 4-H members. The Barn Animals couldn’t quite get to the top of the pole.

Alex Graff, a Medina native, was covered in grease, but had a great time during the grease pole championships on July 27, 2013 to cap off the Orleans County 4-H Fair. Steven Papponetti is trying to climb on Graff’s shoulders. Graff and Papponetti are members of the Rough N Ready team. They weren’t able to reach the top of the pole on Saturday.

KNOWLESVILLE – The Orleans County Republican Party wants to engage a new generation in local government and community affairs.

The Young Republicans will be meeting today at 7 p.m. for the first time in many years. The gathering will start at 7 p.m. at the “Buzz” Hill Education Center at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County on Route 31.

The Young Republicans are targeted to people 40 and younger. They don’t need to RSVP. They can just show up for the meeting.

“We need younger people involved in politics in Orleans County,” said Laura Olinger, who is helping to coordinate the push to restart the Young Republicans in the county.

Orleans Robotics Photo – Orleans County 4-H Robotics team members Jacob Draper, 17; Zach Neal, 16; Jayden Neal, 18; and Jacob Foote, 17, work on adjustments to their robot in advance of participating remotely in the 2021 FIRST Robotics competition.

Press Release, Orleans County 4-H Robotics Team

KNOWLESVILLE –  “It was frustrating at first, but the kids thrived when they got together, adapted, and made the best out of one of the better robots we have ever built,” said Jody Neal, a mentor and coach of the Orleans County 4-H Robotics Team “Hardwired,” regarding the 2021 FIRST Robotics Competition, held remotely.

Neal explained that the Orleans team of 10-12 youths is much smaller than many teams they compete against, which can have 100 members.

“It gave the kids a boost to see the robot they built compete,” he said, adding the Orleans Hardwired team feels they did well and likely would have been in the top section at in-person finals based on their performance.

Club members typically work for weeks developing a robot they take in-person to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Finger Lakes Regional Competition at RIT. Neal said the team was at RIT in mid-March of 2020 when the competition shut down as the first Covid lockdowns and restrictions were put in place.

The RIT competition typically draws 50 teams with complicated and varied Covid regulations around the country this year, the FIRST organization made the decision to offer remote opportunities for competing in 2021. “2021 Infinite Recharge II” included a Games Design Challenge, an Innovations Challenge and a Skills Challenge, which utilized the robot made during the 2020 season.

Neal says the Innovations Challenge, “had nothing to do with the robot. The teams had to market an idea to judges.” The Orleans County Hardwired team came up with a tool to help people utilize Zoom who live in places like assisted living facilities and often face challenges using the video and audio conferencing platform.

Orleans team members Jacob Foote and Zach Neal worked on the Game Design challenge. Foote, who is currently enrolled at GCC and a junior at Albion, explained, “Each team could design the outlines of a competition for the robots. The theme of the competition we made was centered around medieval fantasy. During the design process of our game, we bounced ideas for obstacles and challenges in the game. We also had to consider the different experience levels for different teams so the game wasn’t too easy or challenging.”

Team member Jayden Neal of Albion, a homeschooled high school senior who also takes courses at GCC through their STEM program, worked on the Skills Challenge portion of the event. The challenge consisted of five separate challenges.

“The top three scores in these challenges were counted. We entered four of the challenges – the HyperDrive Challenge, AutoNav Challenge, Power Port Challenge, and the Interstellar Accuracy Challenge,” he said. “For the HyperDrive Challenge, our driver had to manually navigate four courses. For the AutoNav Challenge, our robot had to autonomously navigate three of those courses. In the Power Port Challenge, our robot had to shoot as many balls at a target as we could in one minute. For the Interstellar Accuracy Challenge, we had five minutes to shoot from several specific locations on the field with a limited amount of balls.”

Orleans Robot Photo – Team members only needed to make a few adjustments and programming changes to get their robot ready for the remote 2021 competition. The robot was built in 2020, but the FIRST competition at RIT was shut down when Covid hit in March of last year.

Jayden said the challenges were recorded on video and submitted online. Orleans team members ended up with good scores on some of the challenges.

The experience provided an opportunity for Jayden and the team to be mentored and guided on programming skills. “We used our robot from last year, and we did not make too many changes,” he explained. “We did switch out the front and back wheels to a different style to allow smoother turning. One the programming side – my job – I wrote some code that would allow us to list a bunch of points on a grid that the robot would then follow, then created those paths for the AutoNav Challenge, it wasn’t the fastest, but it did work.”

Team members did not have to spend much time on adjustments for the shooting challenges, Jayden noted. Last year, a vision system was added to the Orleans robot that allowed it to line up with the target as well as estimate the distance and set the speed accordingly.  “Just doing a minor tweak to the shooter to optimize it for the further distances we would be shooting at in the accuracy challenge, and a recalibration of distance to rpm portion of the code, allowed us to do alright in those challenges,” he said.

Overall, the team did well. “We ended up placing 8th in our group for the skills challenges,” Jayden said. “Our team is typically right in the middle of the pack at competitions, so we were pretty happy with that.”

Jayden has also been working to analyze unofficial statistics for this year’s competition. “Out of a little over 1,400 teams, we would be in 338th place on team 3015’s global leaderboard,” he said. “Our scores would also put us in 14th place out of the 45 teams from New York State that chose to compete. Although I wish I could have seen how this robot would have performed at a normal competition, these challenges were fun and did give us away to compete against other teams.”

Program now in 4^th year gives group a chance to explore many facets of the county

Photos by Tom Rivers: Pictured from left, front row: Nicole Goyette, Elissa Smith, Joanna Follman, Sam Covis, Kathy Jurs, Sherry Haylett, Donna Ciccarelli, Stacy Newell, Denise Klos and Ben McPherson. Back row: Mike Magnuson, Sean Snook, Rebecca Alexander, Gabe Myers, Roberta Conn, Melinda Pitcher, Chris Ranallo, Cat Holland, Renee Hungerford, Ayesha Kreutz, Mourad Attar, Rich Allis, Scott Wilson, Rob Riemer and Justin Niederhofer.

LYNDONVILLE – The fourth class for Leadership Orleans started this past week with a two-day retreat at the White Birch Golf Course.

The program started in 2018. Each year about 25 community members participate in the program. They used to meet monthly and spend a full day examining an aspect of the county, and hearing from leaders in different industries, businesses, human services, education and other sectors of the community.

This year’s class was pushed back due to Covid-19 concerns. Instead of meeting monthly, the class will get together twice a month some of months to ensure a full year of programming.

The opening retreat included several ice breakers to help the class get better acquainted, a personality profile awareness, and discussion about servant leadership.

Laura Olinger, owner and president of Bentley Brothers, speaks during the opening retreat last Thursday for Leadership Orleans at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville.

Olinger is a member of the steering committee for Leadership Orleans. She said the program shows the county’s strengths and looks for ways to overcome the challenges.

“It can be really easy to say we’ve always done it this way,” Olinger said. “But this brings together a group of people who want to be involved and see the community do better.”

Skip Helfrich, director of the program, said there continues to be strong interest from the community in leadership Orleans. This year’s class includes 11 organizations that haven’t been part of the program before. He already has three applicants for the 2022 program.

“This class is a great way to learn about Orleans County,” he said. “Everyone builds a network and you’re learning about your community.”

In coming months the class will have days focused on legislative affairs, an adventure leadership day, community health, education, business and culture, tourism and recreation, agribusiness, economic and workforce development, simulated society, volunteerism, and a closing retreat and graduation.

Participants pay a tuition for the program, which also receives $16,000 in funding from the county, as well as many sponsors.

The 2021 class includes:

• Rebecca Alexander, co-owner of Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza
• Rich Allis, pastor of Light of Victory Church in Albion
• Mourad Attar, quality engineer for Baxter Healthcare
• Donna Ciccarelli, global purchasing planner at Baxter Healthcare
• Roberta Conn, office manager for Oak Orchard Community Health Center
• Sam Covis, assistant director Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina
• Joanna Follman, payroll administrator for Millennium Roads in Lyndonville
• Nicole Goyette, assistant principal for Orleans/Niagara BOCES
• Sherry Haylett, director of finance for the Arc of Genesee Orleans
• Cat Holland, retail manager for Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina
• Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee
• Kathy Jurs, herd care manager for Orleans Poverty Hill Farms in Albion
• Denise Klos, manager of operations for RTS Orleans
• Ayesha Kreutz, program coordinator for the Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern
• Mike Magnuson, reference librarian for Hoag Library in Albion
• Ben McPherson, financial advisor for Edward Jones Investments in Lockport
• Gabe Myers, customer service manager for Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina
• Stacy Newell, chief operating officer for Claims Recovery Financial Services in Albion
• Justin Niederhofer, deputy director of Orleans County Emergency Management Office
• Melinda Pitcher, manufacturing supervisor for Baxter Healthcare
• Chris Ranallo, manager of Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union in Albion
• Rob Riemer, deputy for Orleans County Sheriff’s Office
• Elissa Smith, elementary principal at Lyndonville
• Sean Snook, operations manager at Claims Recovery Financial Services in Albion
• Scott Wilson, superintendent at Orleans County Jail

The 2021 class met on Thursday and Friday at the White Birch.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Samantha Koons of the Office for the Aging assists with a food distribution on Friday in Albion. Greg Gilman of Community Action also helped move boxes of food to trunks of vehicles.

The schedule is set for the food distribution program on Fridays through the end of May.

The federal Department of Agriculture last week said the “Families Food Box Program” program won’t be continuing after May. The program has had five rounds and delivered 157.1 million boxes of fresh produce, milk, dairy and cooked meats to Americans across the country since last April.

Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary, announced the fresh produce boxes will be delivered as part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program where they can be delivered more efficiently with less waste and at a lower cost. It is unclear how that will affect the program locally. The food is delivered by Foodlink.

People line up in vehicles often 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.

The schedule through the end of May includes:

• April 23, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville
• April 30, Community Action Main Street Store, 113 South Main St., Albion
• May 7, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-HFairgrounds 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

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Greg Gilman, an employee with Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, helps with a food distribution this morning in Albion. The federal government has funded the program since last April but announced it won’t continue after May.

“This helps hundreds of families every week,” said Annette Finch, emergency services coordinator for Community Action.

The program has been going most Fridays in Orleans County since April 2020. People line up in vehicles often 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, including today when the usual 20-pound box was supplemented with oranges, pears, Brussels sprouts, hummus and eggs.

“We never know what we’re going to get until they pull up here,” Finch said about the delivery trucks.

The schedule the next two weeks includes:

• April 23, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville
• April 30, Community Action Main Street Store, 113 South Main St., Albion

Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary, announced this week the fresh produce boxes will be delivered as part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program where they can be delivered more efficiently with less waste and at a lower cost.

The “Families Food Box Program” had five rounds and delivered 157.1 million boxes of fresh produce, milk, dairy and cooked meats to Americans across the country.

Anthony Washington, an Iroquois Job Corps employee, takes a box to one of the vehicles.

Samantha Koons of the Office for the Aging has been a steady presence at the distributions for many months.

Kevin Ross was among a team from the Job Corps that assisted this morning in the rain with temperatures in the low 40s.

Slate shows several Republican primaries, including races for town supervisor in Barre, Murray

Candidates for local town and county elected positions have filed petitions to run for those offices in November. However, some will face Republican primaries on June 22.

The primaries include two races for town supervisor, including retired Sheriff Randy Bower trying to oust Joe Sidonio in Murray. In Barre, Sean Pogue faces a challenge for town supervisor from Scott Burnside. Barre also has four candidates running for two other positions on the Town Board.

The slate of candidates include two changes on the seven-member County Legislature. Ken DeRoller and John DeFillipps  aren’t seeking re-election.

Republicans backed Ed Morgan, who is retired as Murray highway superintendent, for the at-large position currently held by DeFillipps. John Fitzak, a member of Carlton Town Board, was endorsed by Republicans for DeRoller’s position representing the towns of Carlton, Kendall and Murray.

Candidates usually need to submit petitions signed by at least 5 percent of the registered voters in their party. This year, due to Covid-19, the number of signatures was reduced to 1.5 percent.

Those petitions needed to be turned into the Orleans County Board of Election by the March 25 deadline.

There is still a chance for candidates to run for an elected position. They can do it under an independent line. They would need petitions signed by at least 2.5 percent of the total registered voters in that town, district or county. That is down from the 5 percent requirement before Covid. Those petitions are due to the Board of Elections from May 18 to May 25.

Here are the candidates who have submitted petitions so far:

Town of Albion

• Town Supervisor – Richard Remley, Republicans
• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – Arnold Allen Jr. and Sandra Bensley, both Republicans

Town of Barre

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Scott Burnside and Sean Pogue, both Republicans
• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – George McKenna, David Waters, Lynn Hill and Tom McCabe, all Republicans

Town of Carlton

• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – Jeffrey Gifaldi and Deborah Yockel, both Republicans
• Town Clerk (1 position) – Karen Narburgh, Conservative and Republican; and Dori Goetze, Republican
• Highway Superintendent (1 position) – Kurt Van Wyke, Republican
• Town Justice (1 position) – Kevin Hurley, Republican

Town of Clarendon

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Richard Moy, Republican
• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – William Fox, Democrat; Marc Major, Republican; and Christopher Caufield, Republican

Town of Gaines

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Tyler Allport, Republican
• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – James Kirby and Kenneth Rush, both Republicans
• Town Justice (1 position) – Henry Smith Jr. and Charles Prentice Jr., both Republicans
• Town Clerk (1 position) – Susan Heard, Republican

Town of Kendall

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Anthony Cammarata, Republican
• Town Councilpersons (2 positions) – Paul Jennings and Wayne Martin Jr., both Republicans
• Town Clerk (1 position) – Amy Richardson, Republican
• Highway Superintendent (1 position) – Warren Kruger, Republican
• Town Justice (1 position) – Debra Kluth, Republican

Town of Murray

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Joseph Sidonio, Conservative and Republican; and Randy Bower, Republican
• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – Michael Mele and Paul Hendel, both Republicans. (A petition also was submitted for Robert MacClaren, a Republican, but he declined the nomination and won’t be on the ballot.)
• Highway Superintendent (1 position) – Dirk Lammes, Conservative and Republican
• Town Justice (1 position) – Gary Passarell, Republican
• Town Clerk (1 position) – Cynthia Oliver, Republican

Town of Ridgeway

• Town Councilperson (2 positions) – David Stalker, Conservative and Republican; Jeffrey Toussaint, Republican; and Cliff Barber, Republican
• Town Clerk (1 position) – Laurie Kilburn, Conservative and Republican; Elisa J. “E.J.” Cox, Republican; and Hannah Hill, Republican
• Highway Superintendent (1 position) – John Olinger, Republican

Town of Shelby

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – Jeffrey Smith, Republican
• Town Councilpersons (2 positions) – Edward Mathew Zelazny, William Bacon and Stephen Seitz Sr., all Republicans

Town of Yates

• Town Supervisor (1 position) – James Simon, Republican
• Town Councilpersons (2 positions) – Paul Lauricella Jr., Conservative; and Terry Chaffee Jr. and Harold Suhr, both Republicans
• Town Justice (1 position) – Donald Grabowski, Republican

Orleans County

• Legislator District 1 (Barre, Calrendon, most of Shelby) – William Eick, Republican
• Legislator District 2 (Ridgeway, Yates, part of Shelby) – Lynne Johnson, Republican
• Legislator District 3 (Albion and Gaines) – Fred Miller, Democrat
• Legislator District 4 (Carlton, Kendall, Murray) – John Fitzak, Republican
• Legislator At-Large from West (countywide) – Merle “Skip” Draper, Republican
• Legislator At-Large from Central (countywide) – Donald Allport, Republican
• Legislator At-Large from East (countywide) – Edward Morgan, Republican
• County Treasurer – Kimberly DeFrank, Republican

Press Release, Orleans County Clerk Nadine Hanlon

ALBION – A weeklong outage of the NYS DMV computer system has prevented customers from scheduling all commercial, regular and motorcycle road tests.

In addition, customers are unable to use the computer to take commercial, regular and motorcycle permit tests.

Orleans County Clerk Nadine Hanlon, along with County Clerks across the state, are calling on DMV Commissioner Schroeder to disclose the true reasons why the system is malfunctioning and apologize to affected New York State residents.

“This is an unacceptable situation,” Hanlon said. “I can understand the system going down for a few hours, maybe a day, but to be down for a full week leads me to believe that there are major issues with the system that DMV is not revealing.

“April is a very busy time for most DMVS with young people coming in for permit and road tests, and this snafu adversely affects the customers as well as DMV staffs,” Hanlon said. “Commissioner Schroeder needs to immediately address this issue and inform New York State residents the reasons why this system has been down for a full week, severely crippling DMV services.”

Hanlon stated that there has been no explanation from the State on the current computer issue, only a notice on the state website. In addition, County Clerks have not been notified by State DMV officials as to when they can expect the computers to come back online, leaving our local DMV staff to face the brunt of motorist complaints.

“Commissioner Schroeder owes it to the people of the state to explain why the computers are down and to pledge that all measures will be taken to ensure this does not happen again,” Hanlon said. “Motorists deserve nothing less.”

Press Release, Community Action of Orleans & Genesee

Provided photo: “Grandma” Esther Leadley, a member of the Community Action Board of Directors and early childhood learning advocate, reads to a Head Start student in Genesee County. Leadley, a former Genesee County legislator, recognizes the importance of books for preschool children that help create readers for success in school and life.

ALBION – Community Action of Orleans & Genesee’s Head Start program is joining forces to celebrate the Week of the Young Child from April 10 to April 16 with the National Association for Education of Young Children.

The local Head Start program serves over 250 young children, ages birth to 5 years, and their parents in Orleans and Genesee counties. Like NAEYC, Head Start programs are committed to delivering best practice early childhood education that help young children thrive and learn in an environment dedicated to ensuring children reach their full potential.

The 2021 Head Start Book Fund Campaign – “Build a Library … Create a Reader” – will put books in the homes of local Head Start children on a monthly basis.

Esther Leadley, long time active member of the Community Action Board of Directors, has worked tirelessly in advocating for the “Young Child” throughout her career. Her enthusiasm and passion for young children has initiated the Head Start Book Fund Campaign where children exposed to more books can increase their vocabulary and nurture beginner reading skills.

“It’s about our local children and their future,” Leadley said. “I hope others will join me in this annual project that builds home libraries and helps create readers for our Head Start children.”

Head Start donors can help “create readers” with a $60 donation that will ensure one take-home book for one local Head Start child for each of 12 months. A $120 donation will ensure a take-home book for two Head Start children with a book for each of 12 months.

Online donations can be made by clicking here or checks can be made payable to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee and mailed to 409 State Street, Albion, NY  14411

Photo by Tom Rivers: An Albion business has an open sign projecting out on Main Street.

Orleans County unemployment rate has been steadily rising in recent months, going from 5.4 percent in October to 7.5 percent in February, according to data from NYS Department of Labor.

The 7.5 percent is less than half of the unemployment rate during the pandemic high of 16.8 percent in April.

Here are the county’s unemployment rate for 12 months:

• February 2021: 7.5%
• January 2021: 7.3%
• December 2020: 6.6%
• November 2020: 5.7%
• October 2020: 5.4%
• September 2020: 5.6%
• August 2020: 8.9%
• July 2020: 11.5%
• June 2020: 10.8%
• May 2020: 12.3%
• April 2020: 16.8%
• March 2020: 5.6%

Source: NYS Department of Labor

The county’s 7.5 percent unemployment rate in February compares to 5.6 percent a year before. In Orleans County, the number of people working is down by 400, from 16,400 in February 2020 to 16,000 in February 2021. The number on unemployment is up 300 from 1,000 to 1,300 during that time.

In NYS, the number of people working is down 805,600 from 9,130,000 in February 2020 to 8,324,400, with the unemployment rate up from 4.1 percent in February 2020 to 9.6 percent in February 2021.

Nationally the number of people working is down nearly 8.5 million with the unemployment rate up from 3.8 percent in February last year to 6.6 percent in February 2021.

The number of people working declined 21,100 in Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro from 510,400 to 489,400 during the 12 months. In the Rochester metro, the number is down 10,500, from 493,300 to 482,800 during that time period.

New York City is suffering the most with unemployment. The rate was 13.2 percent in February, with the number of people working dropping by 584,300 — from 3,963,800 in February 2020 to 3,379,500 in February 2021.

Locally, Orleans is slightly higher than most other nearby counties’ unemployment rates. Here are some of the unemployment rates of nearby counties for February: Livingston, 6.4 percent; Genesee, 6.6 percent; Monroe, 7.3 percent; Wyoming, 7.4 percent; Orleans, 7.5 percent; Erie, 7.9 percent; and Niagara, 8.3 percent.