Kent resident says he would attack opioid epidemic with law enforcement, treatment

HOLLEY – A candidate for Orleans County Sheriff, with a 30-year law enforcement career,  says he has the diverse and bold leadership “to make this county safer than ever.”

Brett Sobieraski, 52, of Kent was joined by about 50 people in 20-degree weather this morning in announcing his campaign for sheriff at Holley’s Public Square.

Sobieraski, a sergeant with the Rochester Police Department, said he would lead a Sheriff’s Office that would be better connected with village police departments in the county, as well as the Border Patrol and State Police.

Sobieraski is challenging Randy Bower, who is seeking a second term as sheriff. Sobieraski said Orleans County residents have a choice in the election.

Brett Sobieraski said he wants to use his experience and skills in law enforcement to lead the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

“They can have a politician run that office or they can have a skilled, competent, experienced diverse leader at the top roll that can provide leadership that this county hasn’t seen for years,” Sobieraski said during his campaign announcement. “That is my pledge. Every decision I make will be rooted in one thing: what is the best thing for Orleans County residents to make this county safer.”

He started his career in Lockport and worked there for four years. He grew up in Lockport, where his late father John was a detective. His uncle also worked for the Lockport PD and Sobieraski’s cousin is a police officer for Lockport.

Sobieraski went to the Rochester Police Department about 26 years ago. He has lived in Orleans County for more than two decades. His sons graduated from Kendall Central School.

Sobieraski said the opioid epidemic is a powerful scourge in Orleans County, more so per capita than many other counties. Last year 10 people died of overdoses and another 45 had overdoses in Orleans. There were also 16 from Orleans who overdosed in Monroe.

In 2017, there were eight fatal overdoses in Orleans.

“We will push back the opioid epidemic,” he said. “This is the largest public crisis we’ll see.”

Sobieraski is a supervisor with the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, which includes officers from several law enforcement agencies in Monroe County. Sobieraski in that role also works with the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force and other local agencies, sharing information and assisting with searches and arrests.

He picked Holley for his campaign announcement because Sobieraski said Holley has been a destination for Rochester drug dealers to bring heroin and other narcotics. Sobieraski said stepped up law enforcement, including more vehicle and traffic stops on the gateways to the county – routes 31, 31A, 104 and 98 – would put drug dealers on notice and reduce some of the drug flow into the county.

He wants a better working relationship among all of the law enforcement agencies in the county, so they are sharing training and information. He also wants more resources for the Orleans County Major Felony Crime task Force, which has three full-time officers and works out of the District Attorney’s Office.

“I understand we’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” he said.

He has been a board member the past 17 years for Huther Doyle, which provides alcohol and drug addiction services in Rochester. The organization has a $6 million budget and 70 employees.

He said many people who overdose in Orleans County will often overdose again not long after. He wants to make mental hygiene arrests when people overdose and survive, so they can immediately receive drug treatment services, even at a hospital. He would also have peer counselors help people with addictions.

Sobieraski said the current law enforcement agencies are fragmented and need to work together more. He wants monthly meetings with the sheriff, police chiefs, and leaders of the State Police and Border Patrol in the area.

Sobieraski has worked as a police officer for 30 years. Many of the supporters with him this morning have been colleagues on task forces and a SWAT Team.

“I will re-establish the bridges that have been burnt with the regional law enforcement agencies,” he said. “We all benefit from a comprehensive, collaborative approach to law enforcement in Orleans County. “I will be a unifying figure. I won’t be a polarizing one.”

Sobieraski has extensive experience training officers in drug identification and awareness, active shooter, narcotics, stress awareness and other issues.

“I guarantee that Orleans County will be the most professional, best-trained deputies in the state,” he said.

Several local law enforcement officers attended Sobieraski’s announcement. Joe Sacco, supervising investigator with the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, said Sobieraski has been a great resource for the local Task Force through the years.

“He’s exactly what we need,” Sacco said. “We need to work together in law enforcement and that;s not happening right now.”

Sacco said Sobieraski has assisted the Task Force with hundreds of searches and arrests in the Rochester area.

“He’s always been there for Orleans County,” Sacco said.

Corey Black, an investigator with the Task Force, has worked with Sobieraski for about 20 years.

“He’s always been very helpful to us and accommodating,” Black said. “He’s been a huge asset for us, helping us to identify drug suppliers from Rochester coming into Orleans County.”

Black said Sobieraski also has proven he cares about people, serving as a youth wrestling coach in Kendall and raising about $50,000 for charities through endurance feats, including swimming across Lake Ontario and running 50 hours straight.

“He’s very passionate,” Black said. “He’s a genuine good person.”

Roland Nenni, police chief for Albion and Holley, said he has worked with Sobieraski for many years and would welcome a county-wide training program for law enforcement and regular discussions among the agency leaders.

“I’ve known Brett for many years and he is a great man,” Nenni said. “He is probably one of the most experienced law enforcement officers I know.”

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ALBION – Local state legislators said the state capitol is different now that Democrats have full control of the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s Office.

The Republicans were knocked out of power in the Senate after the November election. State Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, now finds himself in the minority conference. He said legislation is getting passed that used to be blocked by the Senate.

He opposed the legislation to expand abortion rights and offer state aid for undocumented students to attend college.

“We’re not going to be able to stop nearly what we were able to stop in the past,” Ortt said Friday during a legislative luncheon at Tillman’s Village Inn.

He expects legislation, including expanded paid family leave and other progressive proposals that would raise businesses’ cost, to have a strong chance of becoming law.

“Right now it’s a challenging time,” he said. “They are moving fast and furious.”

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley decried new state legislation that expands abortion rights and offers college aid for undocumented immigrants.

Ortt said he worries about the budget priorities shifting money from distressed areas of upstate now, especially rural areas that don’t have a strong advocate in the majority conferences. The governor’s budget, for example, nears wipes out AIM (Aid and Incentives to Municipalities) for the Orleans municipalities, reducing that funding by $290,000 in Orleans County.

The State Senate, when it was in Republican control, would have blocked the AIM cuts to villages and towns, he said.

State Assemblyman Michael Norris, R-Lockport, said the new power structure in Albany puts more focus on New York City and urban areas.

“There has been a dramatic shift that has occurred in Albany,” Norris told about 100 people at the luncheon. “The state government is solely controlled by one party. The rural counties are not getting the attention that they deserve.”

The change comes after recent success in getting long-sought state funds to repave the Lake Ontario State Parkway from Hamlin to past the Kendall townline, and a plan for the state to fix seven canal bridges that have been either closed or had the weight limits significantly reduced.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, said the state has passed “lots of unheard of things” – the expanded abortion rights and college aid for students in the country illegally. Hawley said he is concerned about the impact of the rising minimum wage and other costs, such as workmen’s compensation rates, that make the state less competitive for businesses.

The higher costs and regulations discourage businesses from growing, and are part of the reason the state’s population is declining.

“The governor says it is because of the weather,” Norris said about the shrinking population. “It’s because of our property taxes and mandates.”

Norris said there are job opportunities across the state, but businesses struggle to find employees with the right skill set. He wants the state to push more vocational training programs to help businesses meet their needs and also have residents better equipped to excel in the economy.

Hawley said there is a chance he might have to give up his position because of a ban on outside income over $18,000 annually for state legislators.

The NYS Compensation Committee on Dec. 10 recommended the ban on outside income as part of a proposal to increase legislators’ pay from a base salary of $79,500 to $130,000. The committee gave legislators a one-year grace period with the outside income limits to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The ban would effect Hawley, who owns an insurance business, and many other state legislators who works as attorneys.

“I want to continue,” said Hawley, who has been in the Assembly for 13 years. “I’m still energized. I still enjoy it.”

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ALBION – A push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to legalize recreational marijuana could add to businesses’ difficulties in finding enough workers who can pass a drug test.

That was a concern shared by officials during today’s Orleans County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon, which was attended by about 100 people at Tillman’s Village Inn.

Nathan Pace, moderator of the luncheon, said he spoke with a leader of manufacturing company in Erie County with hundreds of employees. That company does very sophisticated manufacturing and needs employees at their best.

However, Pace said the company and many others lose some employees due to failed drug tests.

“Businesses are hindered because they can’t find enough clean workers to pass drug tests,” Pace said.

The issue may be compounded if the state legalizes recreational marijuana, which Gov. Cuomo announced last month as a priority for him in 2019.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley said many residents and families already are suffering from drug addiction. He doesn’t favor legalizing recreational marijuana use, believing it will only make the drug problem worse.

He asked the crowd how many support legalizing recreational marijuana. Four out of about 100 raised a hand in favor of the proposal.

Ken Pokalsky is vice president of the NYS Business Council, a group represents businesses throughout the state. He said there are concerns about legalizing recreational marijuana use, including the lack of an established standard for determining impairment. He expects the State Legislature will go along with the governor’s push.

“Recreational marijuana is coming,” Pokalsky said.

Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower said the community has stepped up efforts to assist people battling addictions. He praised GCASA for its expanded drug treatment programs, including at the County Jail.

The Orleans County Mental Health Department also is offering more assistance to residents fighting addictions.

The sheriff said the federal government has approved a grant for the jail to have a part-time rehab unit beginning on Jan. 30. That will help people fighting addiction to have a better transition out of the jail.

There also is a team of volunteers through Orleans – Recovery Hope Begins Here, a new organization that connects people struggling with drug addiction to local resources and mentors.

Bower said the mentors will be key in helping people to stave off their addiction.

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Jace Conn, a senior at Albion, is making an attachment for the robot to pick up panel hatches. Conn, who wants to study electrical engineering in college, said it’s a lot of trial and error to get the attachment designed to work properly.

ALBION – A group of nine 4-H’ers are designing parts, measuring and cutting metal, running wires and putting in electronics for a robot that will perform a series of tasks.

This is the eighth year the 4-H’ers from Orleans County are competing in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). There aren’t many robotics teams from rural areas. They will be up against about 50 teams on March 14-16 during a competition at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

They started building their robot about three weeks ago when they opened a box with a pile of parts. They need to build the robot and program it to go to specific spots on a space about the size of a basketball court. They will program the robot to move forward and backward, sideways and diagonally.

Each team gets about six weeks to build the robot. On Feb. 19, all of the teams have to stop work. The robot needs to be sidelined until the competition.

The robot will have attachments to pick up balls and hatches with a circular opening. The balls will be dropped through the hatches.

This year the theme is “Destination Deep Space,” in honor of the 50^th anniversary of the Moon landing on July 20, 1969. The course for the FIRST challenge will include replicas of cargo ships and rockets, and the robots need to complete challenges with those elements.

The team has three main mentors – Erik Seielstad, Jody Neal and Jason Foote – as well as other assistants.

Seielstad has been with the program since it started. He works as a systems engineer with computers for Kodak Alaris, a spinoff of Kodak. His son Morgan, now 22, was part of the team in the beginning. Morgan recently graduated from college with a degree in computer programming. Some of the past members of the team are pursuing engineering degrees in college. One is also studying to be a pharmacist.

Jacob Foote, an Albion ninth-grader, is at work on Tuesday.

Seielstad said the kids do the work, with the mentors providing some guidance.

Zachary Neal, an eighth-grader on the team, stands next to last year’s robot. It has a lift to perform some of the tall tasks.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said, explaining why he has stayed involved in the program.

It is also a relatively short-term commitment, with the teams building the robots over six weeks, and then having the three-day competition at RIT.

The team gets together three to four times a week. The Orleans team is unusual because it isn’t connected to a school district. Most of the programs are through school districts, with paid staff leading the teams.

The Orleans team has team members from at least three different school districts, and is led by volunteers.

It costs about $15,000 to run the program – to buy the robot and pay the competition entry fees. Xerox in Rochester and Baxter Healthcare in Medina have been the main sponsors for the program. BCA Ag Technologies allows the team to use its facility on Route 31A to build the robot.

The FIRST program is in its 15^th year, and has a goal of helping to develop leaders in science and technology.

All of the teams have names, and the Orleans team initially was known as “Joe’s Average Slackers.” But team members decided to rebrand the program to “Hardwired” last year.

Seielstad said some of the team members didn’t like calling themselves “slackers” because of all the work, commitment and skills needed to build the robot and get it to complete the challenges.

Jack Finley, 17, of Albion has been with the program for several years, starting with the First Lego League in elementary school. Students in the FLL build a robot through Legos and program it to do many tasks.

Finley likes the current program better because he said the equipment is higher quality and the robot can be programmed to do very specific tasks. He is looking to pursue a career in a technology field.

These team members are at work on their robot. From left include Dan Squires, Jacob Draper, Jace Conn, Zachary Neal and Jayden Neal.

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HOLLEY – Orleans County sheriff’s deputies have a new weapon in their arsenal – prayer shawls.

Recently Sheriff Randy Bower was put in touch with a parishioner of St. Mary’s Church who told him of a prayer shawl ministry there.

Although they have no official name, the group of eight to 10 ladies who meet monthly to crochet make more than 1,000 items a year, said Buffie Edick, who founded the group about 10 years ago.

“We are always looking for a new project,” Edick said.

The ladies have provided a dozen crocheted prayer shawls so each deputy, as well as investigators, can have one in their car. The ladies have also committed to keeping the Sheriff’s Office supplied with shawls in the future.

“In case of inclement weather when we respond to an accident or incident, or someone needs comforting, we can provide a warm prayer shawl,” Bower said.

They also have stuffed animals to comfort a child.

These women from the Holley area have crocheted prayer shawls for Orleans County sheriff’s deputies to carry in their patrol cars to comfort anyone in distress when they answer a call. Seated are Marge Kruger, left, and Cathy Renko. At rear, from left, are Kat Tsoukatos, Marcia Crosier, Dianne Colucci and Buffie Edick. Members not pictured are Linda Rossi, Lynn Szozda and Jeanne Sheffer.

Before the shawls were delivered to the Sheriff’s Ofice, they were blessed at St. Mary’s Church.

Edick was taught to crochet when she was 7 by her grandmother. After back surgery about 10 years ago, Edick said she had time on her hands and wanted something to do.

The group now meets once a month at St. Mark’s in Kendall. They have donated items to more than 50 local organizations.

New members are always welcome, even if they can’t crochet. They are looking for someone to make prayer cards and deliver them.

One member now takes donated yarn and washes and re-spins it so that all finished items are clean and sanitary. Most of the women in the group buy their own yarn.

They donate a lot of items to migrant workers.

“Every month we have a new project,” Edick said. “We like to keep our donations local.”

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Press Release, Sheriff Randy Bower

ALBION – In the month of December, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center processed 1,982 police incidents, including 765 events for Sheriff’s Road Patrol, 179 for the New York State Police and 1,038 calls for the Village police agencies of Lyndonville, Medina, Albion and Holley.

There were 526 Fire/EMS related calls dispatched countywide with 385 of those emergency medical in nature and a total of two drug overdoses.

Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol Deputies handled 76 automobile accidents, including 13 with injury and 41 car-deer collisions.  Road patrol also made 56 service attempts and successfully served 24 subpoenas, civil or court papers. The Orleans County Jail processed in 98 inmates and handled 23 prisoner transports to court appearances.

The Sheriff’s Animal Control Division handled 59 incidents including nine stray dogs, two dog bite complaints, nine neighbor dog problems, and several other miscellaneous animal calls. In addition, 10 animals were taken in to shelter on voluntary surrenders.

In December the Sheriff’s Office assisted the Lord’s House Church, Waterport in spreading holiday cheer to those less fortunate. Members of the Sheriff’s Office helped collect and distribute goodies to over 100 area children in 40 families through the “Toys for Tots” program.

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Skip Helfrich, Leadership Orleans director, leads a retreat on Wednesday. He went over personality profiles, and how different types of personalities tend to thrive or struggle in different situations. Some people thrive on getting things done in an efficient manner. Some are very focused on details. Others are very social and like to involve many people in the process.

LYNDONVILLE – Leadership Orleans welcomed the second class of the program with a kickoff retreat over two days that will help members learn about themselves, their classmates and the community.

The class has 26 members and started with a two-day retreat on Wednesday at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville. That retreat will conclude this evening.

Leadership Orleans started in 2018. The year-long program meets monthly and the comes from a cross section of the community, including government department heads, farm leaders, agency directors and other business officials. The program picked residents who have demonstrated leadership abilities, interest in community affairs, and a commitment to Orleans County’s future.

Each month the group learned about a different sector of the community, including government, arts and culture, volunteerism and non-profit organizations, community health, tourism and recreation, agribusiness, economic & workforce development, and education.

This year’s class includes:

• Delano Alvarez, Quality Associate III, Baxter Healthcare

• James Bensley, Dir. Dept. Planning and Development, County of Orleans

• Melissa Blanar, Dir. Orleans County Office for the Aging, Orleans County

• Michele Bokman, Director of Operations, SUNY GCC

• Beth Brown, Business Administration Manager, Orchard Dale Fruit Company, LLC

• Sean Casher, Human Resources Business Partner, CRFS, LLC

• Nicole Davis, Director of Residential Services, GCASA

• Angela DiRosa, Executive Director, Orleans Community Health Foundation

• Daniel Doctor, Community Outreach Liaison, Medina Central School District

• Jessica Downey, Health Educator/Community Outreach, Orleans Community Health

• Ellen Eaton, Dir. of Recruiting and Employee Experience, Quorum Group dba Takeform

• Elizabeth Haibach, Librarian, Hoag Library

• Tessa Hartway, Dir. Of Marketing and Branding/Business Development, Talis Equity

• Rachel Hicks, Agent/Customer Services, Albion Agencies

• Susan Howard, 1st Assistant District Attorney, Orleans County

• Pattie Kepner, Assoc. Exec. Dir. Quality/Corp. Compliance, Arc of Genesee Orleans

• Steve Mowers, President, CRFS, LLC

• Jonathan Oakes, Winemaker/Cidermaker Vice President, Leonard Oakes Estate Winery

• James Olinger, Farm Operations Assistant Manager, Sandy Knoll Farms, Inc.

• Sarah Olinger, Credit Analyst, Farm Credit East, ACA

• Amanda Pollard, Assistant Branch Manager, Tompkins Bank of Castile

• Greg Reed, Executive Director,  GLOW YMCA – Orleans County YMCA

• Brittany Scott, Sr. HR Representative, Baxter Healthcare

• Jerod Thurber, Sales Mgr./Cider Mgr., Leonard Oakes Estate Winery/Lynoaken Farms

• Carly Ward, Dir. of Planning and Oper., Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, Inc.

• Vanja Zinaja, QA Manager, Baxter Healthcare ​

Skip Helfrich leads a discussion at the opening retreat.

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