By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2019 at 11:12 am
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with solid numbers for the three municipalities. The original dollar amounts were higher, but they were amounts that were described as “not to exceed.”
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has approved divvying up $223,000 in funding for handicapped accessible projects at Bullard Park in Albion, a pedestrian bridge in Medina and a portion of a waterline in Holley.
The money comes from a revolving-loan fund that was administered by the Orleans Economic Development Agency. The state is requiring those funds be ended with the money staying in the community for projects if they are for handicapped accessible initiatives or if they assist a neighborhood that is predominantly low-income.
The County Legislature had a public hearing on Thursday for the projects in Albion and Holley. The Legislature agreed to have $97,500 go towards Bullard Park in Albion.
That money comes at a perfect time for the village, said Deputy Mayor Gary Katsanis. The village will do a lot of work this year at the park, with a new amphitheater, utility building, splash pad and other improvements.
The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for Bullard upgrades with the village providing $166,370 with in kind-services or funding.
“We’ve been trying for years to upgrade the park,” Katsanis said during Thursday’s public hearing. “This funding and this kind of support couldn’t have hit us at a better time.”
The $111,500 won’t count towards the village’s local share in the project. It will go towards handicapped accessibility projects.
“We can now carry this through in a way that we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to do,” he told county legislators.
In Holley, the Legislature approved $28,000 towards a new waterline on Thomas Street.
Jim Whipple, the Orleans EDA executive director, praised village officials, including code enforcement officer Ron Vendetti, for getting the paperwork together so Holley was eligible for the funding.
The Legislature last week approved $97,500 to Medina for a new pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek on Route 31A. The revolving-loan fund also included $55,000 from the Village of Medina for the bridge and $130,000 from the Town of Shelby for the project.
The communities all had economic development projects with the revolving-loan fund. The money can only go to municipalities where businesses used the fund.
The section of Maple Ridge by the creek has become busier with a housing development, several new businesses and also the GCC campus center.
The pedestrian bridge and sidewalks on Maple Ridge have been sought by the village for several years but Medina didn’t receive grants for the project.
Mayor Mike Sidari has said area by the creek is narrow and seems to funnel pedestrians close to the road. It has been identified as a safety concern for several years.
The county decided to equally split $97,500 to the villages of Albion and Medina, which are nearly the same population with about 6,000 residents each. Holley got less than a third of what those two villages are getting. Holley has about 1,800 residents, less a third of the population in Albion and Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 March 2019 at 11:53 am
‘The opioid nightmare has touched everybody.’ – Undersheriff Chris Bourke
Photos by Tom Rivers: Undersheriff Chris Bourke said drug addiction fuels other crime in the county.
ALBION – The number of overdoses and drug fatalities increased in Orleans County last year, compared to 2017, Undersheriff Chris Bourke told the Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition on Wednesday.
“The opioid nightmare has touched everybody,” he said.
In 2017, there were 52 overdoses and 7 deaths in the county from overdoses. That increased to 69 overdoses and 12 fatalities in 2018, with an additional death pending, Bourke said.
He supports the added programs in the county jail and community to help people fighting addictions. Many of the crimes in the county, including burglaries, are often fueled by people in the grip of addiction.
The opioid epidemic isn’t a problem the county can solve only through arrests, Bourke said.
Bourke was joined by Scott Wilson, the county jail superintendent, in addressing the Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition.
The said the drug take-back program has been a success, removing 6,880 pounds of prescription medication and sharps since 2012. There is a drop-off box at the Orleans County Public Safety Building during regular business hours. The Albion, Holley and Medina police departments also have drug drop-off boxes.
The box at the Public Safety Building gets about 30-40 pounds a week of medicine that people want out of their homes, said Michael Mele, chief deputy for the Sheriff’s Office.
The Public Safety Building and the Medina and Holley fire departments also will be part of the drug take-back day on April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those sites will be staffed on April 27 during the event.
Unused prescriptions can be dropped off. The pills and their containers are then packaged and incinerated.
In addition to those sites, there are drug drop-off collection boxes at Medina Memorial Hospital and Rosenkrans Pharmacy in Medina.
About 30 people attended the meeting Wednesday for the Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition at Hoag Library in Albion.
In other news at the Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition on Wednesday:
• The group reported it is working on the 5th annual National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at Bullard Park in Albion from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Human service agencies and community organizations are welcome to participate in the event, which includes demonstrations by first responders, and family-friendly activities, including a Battle of Belts, to see which team of four can get in and out of a car the fastest while using seat belts.
• Lyndonville Central School will host Stephen Hill on April 5 from 8 to 9 a.m. in the school auditorium. He will share a prevention program about vaping and substance abuse.
• Patricia Crowley, the Coalition director, also said the organization is planning to survey students in grades 7 through 12 this fall about their use and perceptions of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, non-prescribed medications and e-cigarettes.
The Coalition has done the survey every two years, beginning in 2005. Orleans United’s survey includes students in Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina school districts. Albion does its own survey.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 March 2019 at 10:29 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Scott Wilson, superintendent of the Orleans County Jail, praised the partnership with GCASA for expanded services for inmates.
ALBION – Orleans County has received a three-year grant from the state to expand services in the jail for inmates fighting addiction.
Scott Wilson, the jail superintendent, shared the news on Wednesday with the Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition. The “Access Matters” grant will pay for a part-time clinical social worker and a part-time peer recovery advocate.
The jail currently provides Vivitrol to some inmates who are to be released within a month. Vivitrol blocks drug cravings.
The jail will expand its Medication Assisted Treatment to include methadone, a daily dose of opioid maintenance therapy; and also Sublocade, a form of Suboxone in opioid maintenance therapy.
The Access Matters grant will fund a nurse to administer the treatments and medications on the weekends.
Wilson said the goal is to improve the chances for inmates to succeed and stay drug-free as they transition from the jail to the community. Inmates in the program will all be released within 120 days of starting the treatments.
“It’s a voluntary program,” Wilson said. “It’s not court-ordered. We want to make sure the people who want to get clean get the help that they need. We’re hoping to get them on the road to recovery.”
Genesee and Wyoming counties also received Access Matters grants. The three rural counties will meet frequently to share the program’s successes and challenges.
“We want to reduce recidivism,” Wilson said. “Because you’re seeing the same people come in time after time.”
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office also will strive for a good handoff for the inmates being released to treatment programs through the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Wilson said.
The Access Matters grant also will fund transportation and childcare services for people in treatment, said Alyse Shamp, grant coordinator for GCASA.
Transportation and childcare can be barriers to treatment. If the treatment is disrupted, people are more likely to relapse, she said at Wednesday’s coalition meeting at Hoag Library.
GCASA has purchased two vans to transport people to GCASA sites in Genesee and Orleans counties, including the methadone clinic in Batavia. The grant also pays for drivers for the program.
“We want to keep their recovery on track,” Shamp said.
GCASA also has a contract with the Eagle Pride childcare program at the Albion Middle School, which is run by the YMCA. GCASA is looking to staff its own childcare site in Batavia.
If people released from the jail can stay off drugs, Wilson said that should result in less crime in the community and a smaller jail population, saving taxpayer money.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Chris Collins (NY-27) has led a letter calling on the U.S. Senate to finally approve President Trump’s nominees to the International Joint Commission (IJC) which oversee all waters between the United States and Canada.
Currently, the IJC is in limbo because it only has two of its six commissioners in office when a quorum of four is necessary to conduct business.
With the harsh winter and current high lake levels in the Great Lakes, concern is growing about the potential damage to the Lake Ontario shore this spring when levels are likely to be even higher if action is not taken.
“We are again seeing an increase in water levels within Lake Ontario, which is a concern for myself, local governments, homeowners, and businesses,” said Congressman Collins. “We cannot wait until our community is impacted by another flooding disaster to take action, and the IJC cannot act without these nominations moving forward in the Senate.”
Joining Collins on the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman James E. Risch and Ranking Member Bob Menendez, were United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rep. John Katko (NY-24), Rep. Fred Upton (MI-6), Rep. Mike Kelly (PA-16), Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8), and Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI-2). The letter requests an expeditious review and approval for the three of IJC Commissioner U.S. nominees as the Lake Ontario water levels are raising at a dangerously high rate.
Last year President Trump nominated Jane Corwin, a former state assemblywoman from Clarence, to serve as U.S. Chair alongside Robert C. Sisson and Lance V. Yohe as U.S. Commissioners at the IJC. These appointments expired at the end of the last Congress, but were re-nominated by the President and are awaiting passage through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and confirmation by the Senate.
Additionally, the Canadian government is withholding their IJC appointments until the United States has filled its appointments.
“Great Lake communities, especially Lake Ontario, are now facing detrimental impacts if commissioners are not in place at the IJC to take action,” added Collins. “We cannot afford to have a repeat of 2017 when Lake Ontario reached water levels that had not been seen in decades.”
The 2017 flooding damaged homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Due to the more than a hundred miles of coastline damage, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for eight counties on the Lake Ontario shore.
File photo by Tom Rivers – The entrance to Genesee Community College’s main campus is shown in in Batavia.
It’s not commonly known, but community colleges in New York State are funded through a three-way partnership: the state, the student, and county governments.
“This was intended to be an equal partnership. However, the funding formula has shifted considerably since the 1970s. Today’s students fund 43 percent of community college operations while the state picks up less than 25 percent of those costs. We are asking the state to uphold their commitment to these educational systems,” said NYS Association of Counties President Chuck Nesbitt, the Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer.
Counties have raised concerns in recent years regarding the state’s funding commitment to community colleges. The state financing mechanism, linked to the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students on each campus, creates a roller-coaster state funding impact for students and counties. In addition, over the last decade state support has fallen far short of the rate of inflation.
This is especially concerning at a time when community colleges play a crucial role in workforce development for counties in all parts of New York State.
New funding formula proposed
To alleviate this problem and stabilize the community college system, the SUNY Chancellor is proposing a new methodology that would create a state maintenance of effort for the funding of community college campuses.
The new formula would prevent cuts in base aid and create a state funding floor for each campus. In addition, the Chancellor is calling for an increase in state funding for full time equivalent (FTE) students by $125, from $2,847 to $2,972 per student. New York’s counties support the Chancellor’s proposal, as well as the community college presidents and faculty.
“Community colleges are the key to a trained workforce throughout New York and are the greatest hope to foster social mobility for its citizens,” said Dr. Randall VanWagoner, President of Mohawk Valley Community College. “Establishing a floor in the state aid formula would provide stable and predictable funding to allow for better planning and operations as we anticipate and respond to the ever-changing needs of our community.”
“Community colleges and their students deserve a steady, reliable funding stream. County budgets don’t have capacity to take on the state’s funding responsibility,” said Stephen Acquario, NYSAC Executive Director. “We support the Chancellor’s proposal to stabilize community college financing, and we urge the state to fulfill their obligation to New York’s students.”
Editor’s note: In Orleans, the county is budgeting $1.9 million this year for the local chargeback for community colleges. That cost is up from $680,419 in 2004.
Provided photo: The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office purchased two automatic external defibrillators with a $3,000 grant from Walmart. Pictured from left include Undersheriff Chris Bourke, Sheriff Randy Bower and Kevin Ciccoline, Albion Walmart asset protection manager.
Press Release, Sheriff Randy Bower
ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office recently received $3,000 from Albion’s Walmart Supercenter with funding awarded through Walmart Foundation Community Grant.
The grant provided funding for the purchase of two automatic external defibrillators and necessary AED supplies for public access within the community. AED’s are portable electronic devices that automatically diagnose life-threatening cardiac-related problems and treat the ailing person through defibrillation to restore effective rhythm.
The wall mounted AED’s are located in the main hallway at the Orleans County Public Safety Building and the lobby at Orleans County Animal Shelter.
We thank the Walmart Foundation and Albion’s Walmart Supercenter for their generous donation to assist in the safety of our community. In recent years, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office received funding from the Walmart Foundation Community Grant to defray the cost for K-9 Otto’s food, supplies and vet bills.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 March 2019 at 1:39 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: Voters cast their ballots inside the Hoag Library in Albion on Nov. 4, 2014.
ALBION – The state has approved a number of proposals to expand voting access to boost one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country.
The state has approved early voting, consolidated federal and state primary dates, and Ok’d voter registration transfers and same-day voter registrations.
The challenge of managing these changes will fall on the Board of Election offices at the counties, and those BOE functions are nearly entirely paid for by county taxpayers.
The Orleans County Legislature last week approved a formal resolution, asking the state to direct funds to the counties to help pay for the added expenses, which includes opening polling sites 10 days prior to any primary or general election, starting with the 2019 general election.
The same-day registration proposal would allow eligible voters to register the day of the election. However, counties would like have to purchase and use electronic polling books and make other investments in their electronic systems, county legislators said.
The County Legislature wants the governor and the State Legislature to create a task force to determine the costs associated with the voting reforms – and those expenses should be paid for by the state, according to the county resolution.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 March 2019 at 12:17 pm
Cuomo wants to take county sales tax to cover village, town aid
ALBION – Orleans County legislators are objecting to a proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to have the state share for local AIM funding to come from the sales tax on internet transactions.
The governor in his budget proposal proposed cutting $290,276 in Aid and Incentives to Municipalities in Orleans County. That includes eight towns and four villages. State-wide, the governor wanted to reduce AIM funding by $59 million.
But villages and towns strongly objected to cuts, which would happen while the villages and towns are already in their fiscal years, and weren’t given notice during their budget discussions.
The state doesn’t given much in AIM to villages and towns, and Cuomo picked towns and villages for cuts where AIM is less than 2 percent of their budgets. The towns of Murray and Albion weren’t affected in the governor’s proposal because those 2 coutn on Aim for more than 2 percent of their budgets.
After an outcry from towns and villages, Cuomo last month put the AIM funding back in the budget. However, it wouldn’t be paid for by the state. The governor wants to use sales tax from internet sales, which currently often skirt the sales tax. The tax would be taken from the counties’ local share and be directed to the AIM program.
That has prompted strong opposition from county leaders across the state. Orleans County leaders said the proposal is contrary to the state acting as a good partner with local governments, and amounts to another unfunded mandate on counties.
Counties already use a lot of their sales tax to pay for state-mandated programs, such as Medicaid, Orleans County legislators said in an official resolution.
“Requiring counties to make up for the state’s cut in AIM funding to villages and towns sets an unsustainable precedent and unnecessarily shifts the state’s burden to local taxpayers who already pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation,” the resolution states.
The Legislature said the state should fully restore the AIM cuts from state funding, not from the county sales tax.
These municipalities are slated to lose the following in AIM funding:
Villages: Albion, $38,811; Holley, $17,786; Lyndonville, $6,251; and Medina, $45,523.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 February 2019 at 4:49 pm
ALBION – Orleans County legislators on Wednesday approved a contract for up to $393,000 to design and provide technical support for a $6 million improvement project with the county’s emergency communications system.
The Legislature hired Tim Warth from Radio Technologies in Rochester to provide project management and technical services for the design and installation of the system.
Orleans County on Nov. 28 was awarded a state grant for $5,897,141 for new 180-foot-tall radio towers in Albion, Lyndonville and Kendall, as well as technology to connect separate radio systems and new radio channels to strengthen communications between multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
The project will also add radio equipment to the Holley water tower to improve coverage in the Holley area.
The project will fund software and other upgrades for the system, which serves firefighters, law enforcement, highway employees, probation and some other municipal workers in the county.
The system currently has poor coverage in the Holley area, along Lake Ontario and some other isolated locations in the county, especially in buildings with thick walls.
The county in August submitted a grant application through the 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant through the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Office. The state is allowing a maximum of $6 million per county for the grants.
Warth, a consultant for the county with Radio Technologies, said in August that Orleans is one of 10 counties in the state identified as “in need.”
The project will also improve interoperability with neighboring Monroe and Niagara counties, allowing personnel to cross county boundaries and still have a radio signal.
The new tower in Albion will be at the Public Safety Building on Route 31. The site in Kendall hasn’t been determined for the new tower, county officials said. The Lyndonville tower will likely be on West Avenue.
The two new 180-foot-high towers in Lyndonville and Kendall would enhance coverage by the lake, and allow a lower strength signal so Orleans isn’t interfering with Canada’s system.
The county currently has towers in Shelby on Maple Ridge Road by the Medina water tank, on Countyhouse Road in Albion by the Emergency Management Office and on Route 31A by the Clarendon Highway garage.
When the upgrades are complete with the grant, the county may pursue another grant to add a tower in Carlton by the town highway building on Route 98.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 February 2019 at 9:14 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Social Services will soon have a registered nurse available to help families with addiction issues, including babies born as addicts.
The county has a received a $50,000 state grant to fund a part-time RN. The nurse will be based out of the Public Health Department but will accompany DSS caseworkers on home visits.
Caseworkers are seeing more families affected by substance abuse, withdrawals issues and babies with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Those babies have mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy.
“Our caseworkers are finding serious drug issues right before their eyes,” Tom Kuryla, commissioner of the DSS in Orleans County, told county legislators on Wednesday. “Every other day now there’s a baby born in the hospital that is an addict.”
The caseworkers aren’t qualified to assist families with addiction issues, he said. Kuryla estimated about 25 percent of the caseloads involve families with drug issues.
Orleans and other counties have been pressing the state for help with the problem the past five years. Kuryla would like to see a longer funding commitment from the state on the issue. The $50,000 grant is for one year.
The RN will work with families to develop plans to treat the addictions, including for the babies.
The RN also can educate families on other important issues, including immunizations, lead safety and how to fight chronic health issues, said Brendan Bedard, director of community health services for the Public Health Department.
Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, praised DSS and Public Health for working together on the issue.
“What a great tool for Orleans County in our tool belt against the opiate crisis,” she said.
Provided photo courtesy of Modern Disposal: Modern Disposal will be transitioning to 96-gallon garbage totes for Orleans County this year, with a goal to have them in place by July 1.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 February 2019 at 7:52 am
ALBION – Bigger recycling carts are headed to Orleans County. The County Legislature on Wednesday approved spending $776,500 for 15,444 recycling carts.
The new carts, at $50.28 each, will hold 96 gallons. The county is leasing them from Rehrig Pacific Company of Erie, Pa.
The county will make a $400,000 down payment on the recycling carts, and will then make three annual payments of $134,720. The state is expected to pay half of the costs for the new recycling totes. Residents won’t be directly billed for the new recycling containers.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The smaller recycling bins will be replaced by much larger totes this year.
The switch to the larger carts will make it easier for Modern Disposal to pick up recycling, and should hold off increases in the costs for picking up garbage and recycling for the next few years, county officials said.
The new totes are expected to be in place by July 1. The county and Modern will have public information meetings before July to prepare residents for the change.
County Legislator Ken DeRoller, R-Kendall, said the county’s recycling rate is currently only 20 percent. That is a low number and he wants to see it go up. Part of the education effort will be encouraging residents to recycle more plastic, paper and metal materials.
Residents currently use recycling bins that are emptied weekly by Modern. The company has two employees per truck, with a driver and another employee grabbing and emptying the bins. It takes about a minute for each stop in the county.
The 96-gallon totes will have covers. Those totes can be grabbed by a mechanical arm, lifted up and emptied into the recycling truck.
Fred Miller, D-Albion, was the only legislator to oppose the agreement for the new recycling carts on Wednesday. Miller thinks the bigger size will be “cumbersome” for many residents. He wanted to look at some other options.
The change to the bigger carts will allow Modern to staff each recycling truck with one employee. The company can also speed up the collection effort, spending an every of 12 seconds per stop. The company will pick up the recycling every two weeks, instead of weekly, once the totes are in place.
“We’re saving the county substantial money,” DeRoller said about the bigger recycling totes.
Residents in 2018 paid $212 for annual garbage and recycling collection. The cost will stay about that price for the next few years with the recycling change, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
Without the change, the county would have faced a 10 to 15 percent increase, he said. The County Legislature in October approved a new five-year contract with Modern for garbage and recycling collection. The annual cost is $3,001,495 with the current system of weekly recycling, but drops to $2,707,160 when the new system is fully phased in with the larger recycling totes.
Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from May 7, 2017 shows members of the National Guard stacking sandbags in Kendall, when a high Lake Ontario was chewing up the shoreline. Orleans County officials don't want to see a repeat of that scene.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 February 2019 at 9:12 pm
Orleans County officials hope Lake Ontario doesn’t turn destructive to property along the southshore this year.
Two years ago the lake was much higher than normal, especially in the spring, and the high waters eroded big chunks of backyards and shoreline.
Many property owners are still waiting to put in stronger breakwalls and other protections to safeguard their land, said Dale Banker, the county’s director of emergency management.
He said the lake levels are up about 15 to 16 inches above the average for this time of year. In 2017 there was record rainfall in the spring which caused the lake to rise well above average.
County officials also fault Plan 2014, which was approved by the U.S. and Canadian governments, for the rising waters two years ago.
There is a supply of sandbags and aquadams – tubes filled with water – that can be deployed to help protect property if the lake turns destructive, Banker said.
The current lake level is a concern for the southshore emergency management officials, he told county legislators this afternoon.
“We’re watching it,” he said. “If it stays a foot and a half higher than usual, we’ll get our rear ends handed to us again.”
Orleans County Legislator Don Allport reads a resolution from the County Legislature opposing a proposal in State Assembly to ban gun raffles for fire departments and non-profit organizations. Allport is joined by firefighters from Shelby, Holley and Kendall.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 February 2019 at 7:36 pm
‘This could be devastating if they are not allowed,’ Dale Banker, Orleans County emergency management coordinator
ALBION – Orleans County legislators passed a formal resolution this afternoon opposing a proposal in the State Assembly to ban gun raffles as fundraisers.
Those gun raffles typically raise $10,000 or more for fire departments. Eight of the 11 departments in Orleans County do gun raffles each year. Shelby and Ridgeway do two of them a year.
Those raffles help pay for turn-out gear and other equipment for the fire departments, and also mean less money is needed in property taxes to support the fire departments.
“This could be very devastating if they are not allowed,” said Dale Banker, Orleans County emergency management coordinator and an Albion firefighter. “Without them it would raise taxes.”
Howard Watts, a member of the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company, said the gun raffles are an important fundraiser for the fire company.
“Tens of thousands of dollars would be lost if this goes through,” Watts said at the Legislature meeting.
Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, D-Brooklyn, has proposed a ban on using guns as a prize for games of chance. About 25 Assembly members, mostly from the New York City area, have signed on as co-sponsors of Bill A1413. The bill doesn’t have a sponsor yet in the Senate.
The bill’s memorandum says the legislation is appropriate because “firearm related violence is a significant public health and safety problem and weapons should not be given away in games of chance.”
Orleans County legislators said Bill A1413 is “tyranny” and “amounts to anecdotal grandstanding at the expense of real people carrying out real service to the community.”
Legislators said the State Legislature, with both the Assembly and Senate now under Democrat control, have joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo on an “assault on the rights and culture of upstate New York” at a “breakneck pace.”
Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville, said she believes Orleans County is the first county to formally oppose Bill A1413.
“We want our firemen to know we support them 100 percent,” she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2019 at 6:21 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – One of the big topics at the Orleans County Courthouse this past week had nothing to do with a court case. A large bird’s nest was under construction in a corner up high on the building, above the columns and below the dome.
Some branches from the nest littered the steps during the week as a large bird was at work on the nest. I don’t have a solid identification on what type of bird is making this nest, but a deputy said it has a very large wing span.
In checking some of the damage around Albion late this afternoon, I made sure to see how the nest was holding up. I didn’t expect it would still be there at about 5:30, after several hours of lashing from the strong winds.
This side of the courthouse faces north, so the bird’s nest was spared a direct hit from the wind. I’m still impressed it has stayed intact.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 February 2019 at 10:11 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans Hub’s “Outstanding Citizens” for 2018 were recognized during an awards program on Wednesday evening at Hoag Library. Pictured, front row, Pete Sidari (accepting for Tony and Laura Sidari), Penny Cole, Melissa Ostrom and Tami Ashton. Back row: Leonel Rosario, Deborah and Samuel Wilson (accepting for the late Chris Wilson), Michael Hungerford, Jak Kohmann and Brett Sobieraski.
ALBION – Orleans Hub held its annual awards program on Wednesday evening at Hoag Library and recognized our choices for “Outstanding Citizens” for 2018.
Each year since the Hub started, we’ve highlighted people who made a big impact in the community.
The following were recognized:
Leonel Rosario has worked with his family to create a popular Mexican restaurant on Maple Ridge Road in Medina. Mariachi de Oro Restaurant of Medina draws people from all over Western New York, and has received many glowing reviews in The Buffalo News and other publications.
Rosario is busy as the chef and co-owner of the business. He finds time for many community events, welcoming the chance to share food and dances about the Mexican culture.
This year on Nov. 1 he helped organize a Day of the Dead celebration, which for the first time was in downtown Medina. Rosario previously hosted a scaled-down version of the Day of the Dead at Mariachi. Moving it to the downtown was a way to include Main Street businesses and have more room to share food and the festive dances.
Rosario also is active in the very popular Farm-To-Table dinner in downtown Medina. Rosario has worked with Michael Zambito of Zambistros the past two years with the fine dining experience. This year it was expanded to include Mile 303, Sourced Market & Eatery and The Shirt Factory Cafe. Rosario is generous with his time and can be counted on to enthusiastically join with others for community events.
Brett Sobieraski, a Kent resident and sergeant with the Rochester Police Department, ran over 175 miles for 50 hours nonstop to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics.
Sobieraski started his journey in Buffalo on July 13 and ran along the Erie Canal to just outside Syracuse. He ran through Orleans County the first night of the challenge. He called it the 50 for 50 running campaign to signify 50 hours of running for the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics.
Sobieraski set a $10,000 fundraising goal and topped that with $13,000. He was joined by many first responders for parts of the run, and finished the last leg carrying a torch alongside people with disabilities.
Tony and Laura Sidari, Albion natives, suffered the tragic loss of their son Leon, 4 1/2, on Christmas Day in 2017. Leon died two days after getting the flu. He was a very healthy and happy boy.
The Sidaris are both medical doctors. They have become very outspoken in urging people to get flu vaccinations. Leon hadn’t been vaccinated from the flu last year. At an Oct. 8 flu shot clinic in Albion, 59 children were vaccinated at Orleans Community Health. That clinic was made possible through Leon’s Fund, a non-profit organization the Sidaris helped form that promotes flu shots. Leon’s Fund also has money to be given to help children with medical problems at Christmas time.
Orleans Community Health also has educated about 2,500 parents in Orleans County, encouraging them to have their children vaccinated from the flu.
The Sidaris were living in San Antonio for six years before moving recently to Dayton, Ohio. Tony’s uncle Pete Sidari accepted the award on their behalf on Wednesday.
Mark Bennett Sr., 60, of Waterport was driving by the Gaines Valley Aviation Airport on Route 279 when he saw a small experimental helicopter in the sky. It was about 2 p.m. on April 24.
Bennett pulled over to watch the aircraft. Something went horribly wrong with the Mosquito XE and it crashed. Bennett reacted quickly. He climbed through an electric fence and ran to the crash site. The aircraft had burst into flames. The pilot was on fire. Bennett cut Heard’s shirt off, rolled him over to put out the flames and pulled him from the wreck, saving his life.
Bennett declined the award, saying anyone would have sprung into action.
Michael Hungerford led a major art installation project last year at the former Medina High School. The former school on Catherine Street was sitting empty most of the year. The school will be renovated into apartments.
While the building was idle, Hungerford pushed for it to be used for a major immersive art project. For one weekend in October about 1,000 people went through the building to see 29 different art projects in what was called “PLAY/GROUND.”
Artists were given free rein to create in old classrooms, stairwells, hallways and other space in the school. The project received gushing reviews in Rochester and Buffalo.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Ierlan: Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers presents an “Outstanding Citizen” award to Jak Kohmann, a Boy Scout leader in Clarendon.
Jak Kohmann has set a standard of excellence for Troop 59 in Clarendon. In the past 16 years, 32 of the Boy Scouts in the troop have earned their Eagle rank, the highest level in Scouting. On Aug. 1 last year, six Scouts were presented with the rank during a Court of Honor celebration. They include Xander Apicella, Matt DeSimone, Dalton Thurley, William Harrington, Jake DeSimone and Ben Downey.
Kohmann was praised by the Scouts and parents for his commitment and guidance to the Scouts, especially since his son aged out of the program about a decade ago. His son Derek Kohmann, 27, was the third of the 32 scouts to earn his Eagle.
Penny Cole is a dynamic presence at Holley’s Junior-Senior High School. She works as a secretary in the guidance department. She also is a dedicated cheerleading coach in Holley. She inspires her cheerleaders to perform their intricate and athletic routines. They have won several Genesee-Region League titles. The cheerleaders also do many community service projects, including visits to local nursing homes.
Cole has become a passionate fund-raiser for the Ronald McDonald House. She engages the entire school community in her fund-raising efforts, whether it be a charity basketball game with numerous gift baskets, or a the chance to buy a shingle on a doll house.
The basketball game last year raised $4,444, by far the most in the 12 years Holley has been raising money for the Ronald McDonald House.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to stay while their children are hospitalized. Cole said several Holley students have battled cancer in recent years, including a student this year who is fighting leukemia.
Melissa Ostrom of Holley wrote a book published by Macmillan in 2018 that honors the courage and resourcefulness of pioneer settlers in Orleans County and Western New York. In The Beloved Wild, Ostrom brings life to pioneer characters. The pioneers were typically just teen-agers when they set out from New England to brave a hard journey by wagon, through dense forests, to get to Orleans County and Western New York.
There wasn’t a map. The pioneers followed markings on trees as they made their way west. The pioneer settlers were incredibly resourceful in taming the land, building homes and farms in the frontier. The obstacles were many – sickness, uninvited strangers, alcoholism, abuse.
Ostrom, a former Kendall high school English teacher, writes about those challenges and the indomitable spirit of pioneer settlers.
Tami Ashton of Medina knows the pain of losing a loved one to addiction. Her daughter, Christina Ashton, died from a drug overdose on June 27, 2016, at age 34.
Ashton has shared her story publicly, trying to break the stigma of addiction. She also has been an important leader of Orleans – Recovery Hope Begins Here, a new organization that connects people struggling with drug addiction to local resources and mentors. Ashton is vice president of the organization.
The group has also led community forums about addiction and helped families in crisis connect to professionals.Orleans – Recovery Hope Begins Here also has 12 trained mentors and counting to serve as recovery coaches for people with addictions.
Ashton is a trained to be an addiction recovery coach for the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. She encourages people to be honest about the drug crisis in their own lives, their families and communities – and to then seek help in fighting the addictions.
Chris Wilson was dedicated to peace and serving children from war-torn countries. He passed away on May 28 after a brief battle with a rare form of cancer.
Wilson traveled to Afghanistan many times, and worked with the U.S. and Afghanistan embassies so children who were made orphans by war could come to Orleans County for a summer of respite and fun.
Wilson served as international director of Project Life, which over 20 years brought about 130 children to Orleans County for a summer of recuperation. The children stayed with local host families, including with Wilson and his wife Deborah and their son Samuel. The kids learned English, visited many tourism sites, and mostly had care-free summer days. Three of the children had medical issues and needed to stay longer. Wilson worked out medical plans for each of them, arranging for their care and donations.
Wilson was a high-energy and compassionate person, who wouldn’t be discouraged even when the task seemed insurmountable. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer in April. From his hospital bed he sent emails from his laptop, advocating for children.
His wife and son accepted the award on his behalf on Wednesday.
