Staff Reports Posted 23 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – Camp Rainbow has a new fence around its swimming pool.
RIDGEWAY – The Arc of Orleans County used generous donations to replace the fence around the pool at Camp Rainbow.
The Orleans County Foundation provided $4,000, while the J.M. McDonald Foundation and George W. Hagerman Estate both provided $5,000 towards the project, which will also include some tree removal, said Darlene Golson, Arc community relations manager.
Camp is a five-week summer day camp at 2272 Townline Rd., open to children with or without disabilities.
“We had been looking for funding for this project for several years and it all came together in 2014,” Golson said. “The American Fence Company from Tonawanda did a great job ensuring that we met all code requirements as well as making it look beautiful.”
“We are truly grateful to the community residents, businesses, and foundations that support Camp Rainbow,” she said. “We couldn’t run this program without your support and generosity.”
RIDGEWAY – A Cortland County man is dead following a one-car crash this morning in the Town of Ridgeway.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., Paul R. Brundage, 61, of Marathon drove his 2004 Honda Suburban into the driveway of a private residence off the 3600 block of Horan Road, near Portage Road.
He then exited the vehicle and collapsed. When approached by the homeowner, Brundage said he “needed help and needed to go to the hospital.” The homeowner called 9-1-1 but before EMS arrived, Brundage got back in his car and drove off, despite efforts by the homeowner to prevent him from doing so. A short distance away, his vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a tree.
Brundage was transported by Medina Fire Department ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:13 a.m.
The incident was investigated by Deputy M.C. Mele, assisted by Investigators K.M. Strickland Jr., and D.E. Foeller Jr. That investigation is now joined by the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester.
Photos by Sue Cook – The shop is currently stocked with many autumn items.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
KNOWLESVILLE – The Knowlesville United Methodist Church opened a new shop today to support their efforts to pay for a new church roof. Co-chairs Linda Baker and Ruth Higgins started the shop together with the blessing of Pastor Chris Wylie and the church’s administrative board.
“We started it to go toward our roof fund for our church,” Baker said. “Once our roof is finished, it will be up to the administrative board of the church to determine where the funds will be needed most or what sort of projects need to be done.”
They are hoping to attract customers from outside their own congregation. The new business is called The Abundant Harvest Cafe, Pie & Gift Shop. The Knowlesville Church will be changing their name soon as they join forces with the Millville Church to become the United Methodist Church of the Abundant Harvest.
“We urge people just to come in, sit down, rest awhile, have a conversation and goodies and then just look around at our little shop here,” Higgins said.
“It’s just a place for people to come and have fellowship,” added Baker.
During this year’s Lenten season they made the gift store an official part of the fellowship hall. Baker and Higgins had cleaned out and painted a former front office. A volunteer helped them set up shelving and displays. The items sold vary depending on the season and holiday and are handmade, store-bought or gently used.
There are five freezers stacked with frozen pies.
The church has sold pies before at their different events, but they decided to sell those throughout the year starting this week. Customers can come in and enjoy coffee and sweets, then provide a donation back to the church and are able to buy frozen pies. The pies are handmade by members of the congregation and then frozen. Customers receive the frozen treat with baking instructions. The pies come in 13 flavors.
“We sell a lot of pies at holiday time,” Baker said. “When we sold pies during our Lenten fish fry people were saying that it was great they didn’t have to wait until Thanksgiving.”
The church also sells their apple butter, which is normally made for their Apple Festival in October.
“We do have other people that work with us that help us set things up,” Baker said. “It’s all volunteer. We have someone that helps us with our advertising, another person set up the display for us. As far as the handmade stuff, there’s several people that have donated things. People also donate their time working in shifts. It’s almost like our whole congregation is involved.”
The congregation consists of about 50 members who have used their various talents to help the shop with set-up and operation.
“We have the support of everybody in our church. We couldn’t do it without that,” Baker said. “We may be in charge here, but we’ve had so much help just making pies in the last couple weeks with people just peeling apples or bagging the pies. It takes a lot of hands to make light work.”
The church’s fellowship hall is located at 3622 Knowlesville Rd., behind the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company. They are open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and extra hours during church events.
Contributed Story Posted 14 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Contributed Photo
A large field of 72 participated in the Shelridge Women’s Golf Association’s Rally for the Cure Tournament on Wednesday. The event raised over $1,400 for cancer research. The participants are shown here. The overall winners were the foursome of April Serianni, Crystal Buchan, Kathy Allesandro and Lynn Evans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Says taxes for villagers too much to bear
Editor’s note: This article was updated after an earlier version incorrectly said residents outside the village in the town of Shelby would see an $18 tax increase with a village dissolution and town merger. Those residents would see taxes go down by $18 for an $80,000 property, according to One Medina.
MEDINA – The four-page newspaper arrived in the mail on Monday or Tuesday with the lead story proclaiming, “Medina suffers from too much government.” The story is accompanied by pictures of three grand mansions that are falling into disrepair after several years of vacancy.
Leaders of One Medina, a grass roots group pushing dissolution of the village and consolidation of the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, want to see less government costs in the community.
“We need a much more efficient government if we’re ever going to thrive again,” according to the lead article without a byline. “We need One Medina – and we need it now, before it’s too late.”
Nathan Pace, an attorney in Medina, welcomes readers to the first edition. He is chairman of One Medina with David Barhite, a former village trustee. The newsletter states “triple taxation” is proving too much for villagers, resulting in falling property values, a dwindling population and “sky-high” taxes.
The “One Medina Register” was mailed to every address in Medina’s zip code, including residents outside the village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. One Medina is privately funded without taxpayer dollars.
“We want to show people what One Medina is and what we’re about,” Barhite said in an interview. “We want to see it go to one government. It really makes sense.”
Pace was chairman of a Medina/Ridgeway/Shelby consolidation committee in 2011 that included town representatives. That group concluded a village dissolution and merger of the two towns was the best way to provide lower cost government services.
One Medina notes the town leaders previously embraced a merger, but have been working against the village dissolution, spending at least $6,000 for a public relations firm, attorney and accountant to discredit the plan.
Barhite writes an article about how villagers pay town taxes, but yet get little in return for that money. He urges village residents to vote for dissolution to reduce their taxes by about 30 percent.
The One Medina Register includes a reprinted article highlighting Seneca Falls experience with dissolution. The former Journal-Register in Medina interviewed Don Earle, town supervisor of Seneca Falls, and he said the community has had a good experience with dissolution, bringing down village taxes with a slight increase outside the village.
One Medina has quotes from mayors in Le Roy and Wilson, expressing their support for dissolution in their communities.
“My goal is to be the last mayor of Le Roy,” Gary Rogers of Le Roy tells The Daily News on June 5. “I think we should be proactive. I think this is the future – it’s how we save New York.”
One Medina has a tax calculator at its web site (click here) that determines the tax savings in the village or the increase outside the village. A village resident in Ridgeway with an $80,000 house would see taxes drop by $415 while a villager in Shelby would see a $536 savings.
Residents outside the village in Ridgeway with an $80,000 would have their taxes go up $249 with dissolution, while Shelby outside-village residents would see a $65 increase, according to One Medina.
If the two towns merged, villagers would see bigger savings while Ridgeway residents outside the village would have taxes go up $71 with an $80,000 assessment and Shelby outside-village resident would see an $18 decrease.
The last page of the newspaper from One Medina includes letters to the editor about dissolution that were published on the Orleans Hub, Journal-Register and The Daily News.
“We’re trying to get the facts out there,” Barhite said.
The two towns have been working against the village dissolution. However, last month the two Town Boards met with the Village Board to talk about shared services. The towns said they would look at non-emergency services in the village and see what could be picked up by the towns.
Barhite said shared service talk previously didn’t move forward, and he doubts it would bring significant savings to villagers. It might also result in a bigger tax increase to the outside-village residents than dissolution, Barhite said.
The One Medina supporters are committed to streamlining local government, he said.
“We are people who believe in less government,” he said.
Photos by Sue Cook – Greg Shaw plays drums for Harrison and the Radiators.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
KNOWLESVILLE – The OC Summer Jam debuted today by the Chamber of Commerce, featuring local bands in a festival-like atmosphere.
The bands alternated between the OrleansHub.com stage and the Curtis Pavilion at the 4-H fairgrounds to prevent a break in the music while each group set up.
Jerrod Thurber, right, of Leonard Oakes Estates Winery was at the event selling wine samples and beer.
People in the Curtis Pavilion watch The Moon Hunters.
Bands on the OrleansHub.com stage were Experimental Sandwich, Harrison and the Radiators, Triple Play and Terrible Ideas. At the Curtis Pavilion, the audience was treated to The Moon Hunters, The Capitals, The Lisa Zelazny Band and Happy Ending. The Capitals were performing one of the last times before member Pete moves away.
George Lama took pictures at the event to promote his business, RG Lama Studios. Cassidy and Matthew Oliver took advantage of the photo booth to get a little silly.
Harrison and the Radiators played many original songs. Greg Shaw is on drums, Brandon Smith is playing bass and Adam Foster sings to the crowd while playing guitar.
The Moon Hunters jam with a funk rock sound. Band members include Cortland McKernan, Evan Anstey, Zach Busch, Dave Blumrick and Zach Bickle.
Alex Feig of OrleansRadio.com called The Moon Hunters up and invited them to participate in the OC Summer Jam. They enjoyed the event so much they would love to be invited back for next year. Busch commented that there were faces in the crowd that were new for the band.
“Our families are always supportive which is nice,” Busch said. “It’s always nice to have a new crowd, too, and I think this summer jam was a great idea. I think it’s a really cool idea.”
Zach Bickle (left) plays saxophone while Zach Busch plays guitar.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2014 at 12:00 am
The Village of Medina, for the first time, has sent bills – totaling more than $30,000 – to the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby to help pay costs from the Niagara County Water District, the water provider for the community.
Medina has paid the full shot of the “ad valorum” costs since the two towns started hooking into the village water system more than two decades ago. That bill is currently $134,437 and is due Aug. 31.
An auditor, Bonadio & Co., went through Medina’s books and told village officials it shouldn’t bear that full NCWD charge. The firm tried to determine a fair share of the charge and calculated $24,171 for Shelby water users and $6,748 for Ridgeway water users.
The village would still pay about $100,000 of the charge. The village sent letters to the two towns in April, notifying them they would now be expected to pay towards the NCWD charge.
Shelby has refused to pay, and Ridgeway hasn’t responded.
The issue comes when Shelby is trying to renew contracts with the village to provide the water for town water districts. The village buys the water from the Niagara County Water District and then sells it to the towns. Before Medina signs off on a new contract, it wants Shelby to agree to help pay the charge to the NCWD.
Two village trustees, Marguerite Sherman and Mike Sidari, questioned the hardball stance, especially as Shelby pursues a new water district and needs Medina to formally approve an agreement, supplying the water.
“Are we going to hold people’s lives and health in the balance over this?” Sidari asked at Monday’s Village Board meeting.
He urged the board to sign off on the water supply agreement so the water districts could move forward. Trustee Marguerite Sherman also wants the village to sign off on the agreements so Shelby doesn’t miss out on a grant or have its water project delayed.
Mayor Andrew Meier said the village is obligated to pursue the funds from the two towns, especially after being put on notice from the auditors. The village shouldn’t have to subsidize the town water users, Meier said.
The water districts can move ahead if Shelby signs the agreement and agrees to help pay the NCWD charge, Meier said.
Town of Shelby Attorney David Schubel, in a June 20 letter to village attorney Matthew Brooks, said town officials don’t believe the NCWD fee applies to the town because the village is NCWD’s water customer. The “ad valorum charge” is applied to the village to ensure Medina receives the same water rates enjoyed by communities in Niagara County, Schubel said, citing a meeting with NCWD officials.
The village adds 1.6 times the village water rate or about another $1.50 per 1,000 gallons to the town rate. Schubel said that added cost should be enough to pay the NCWD charge and other village costs.
“It would seem that a premium rate of 1.6 should be adequate to cover the actual cost of water and the related costs incurred by the Village in supplying water to the Town and the ad valorum charge,” Schubel said in his letter.
He noted the town is working on two water districts that will need water supply agreements with the village. Schubel sent another letter on July 23 requesting the village approve the water supply agreements.
Shelby officials don’t see the “ad valorum charge” as a mandated or imposed charge from the NCWD, but a membership fee, Schubel said in his letter.
But Medina Attorney Matthew Brooks sees it differently. An August 1993 water supply agreement with the Town of Shelby obligates the village to seek a share of the ad valorum charge, Brooks said.
That agreement says, “Shelby further agrees to pay Medina the actual costs and charges which shall be, from time-to-time, mandated or imposed by the Niagara County Water District, concerning sales of water outside of Niagara County, in lieu of charges assessed from Niagara County Water District in Niagara County taxes, deficits and charges.”
Brooks said the issue could very well go to litigation.
“Right now the town only pays for the water it uses,” Brooks told the Village Board. “To say, ‘We don’t have to pay any additional water,’ doesn’t hold water, so to speak.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 August 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Moon Hunters will be one of eight bands performing Saturday in the OC Summer Jam at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville. In this photo from February during Medina’s Wine About Winter event, Evan Anstey of Middleport, left, leads the Moon Hunters. He is joined by Dave Blumrick of Medina, center, and Zach Busch of Medina, right. Cort McKernan plays the drums.
KNOWLESVILLE – A week after Orleans County 4-H’ers celebrated their annual fair in Knowlesville, the fairgrounds will be busy again on Saturday, this time as a musical showcase.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce will have its first OC Summer Jam from 4 to 10 p.m. tomorrow. Eights bands will play, with the groups taking turns playing from two alternating stages.
“There’s nothing quite like it in this area,” said Sam Roskowski, the administrative assistant at the Chamber and event coordinator for the Summer Jam. “It’s a great way to get the bands together and give the people something to do.”
A $20 ticket gives access to each concert, plus a $5 voucher to one of the food trucks. Tickets drop to $12 after 7 p.m. but that doesn’t include a food voucher. Kids 12 and under are free to attend the concerts.
“The bands are super excited,” Roskowski said.
Each band will play for about 45 minutes. The following are scheduled to perform: Experimental Sandwich, The Moon Hunters, The Scarlet Carsons, The Capitals, Triple Play, The Lisa Zelazny Band, Terrible Ideas and Happy Ending.
Zach Busch, right, plays the guitar for The Moon Hunters.
The bands each have a strong following, Roskowski said. She is hopeful there will be a big crowd for the event. Concert-goers are asked to park on the west side of the fairgrounds.
In addition to the music and food, there will be the game, Can Jam, and a photo booth. The event will go on regardless if it rains.
The Chamber is doing is first music fest, and is in the second year of its Palettes of Orleans art project. Both projects differ from the traditional image of the Chamber, although Roskowski said the Chamber is committed to its “Main Street programs” as well.
“It doesn’t hurt to shake up the image,” she said about the Chamber. “We’re trying to keep things fresh.”
Tickets are available at the event or online at the Chamber’s website.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 July 2014 at 12:00 am
Shelby, Ridgeway decline dissolution, will look at savings through highway
Photos by Tom Rivers – Shelby Town Supervisor Merle “Skip” Draper, center, said the town will look at assuming some of Medina’s non-emergency services to see how that would affect the tax rate for village residents and town residents outside the village. Town Board members William Bacon, left, and Steve Seitz were also at a joint session among Shelby, Ridgeway and Medina officials.
MEDINA – Before the Village of Medina makes a radical change and dissolves – a move that could shave $6 off the village’s tax rate – the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway believe they can find significant savings for the village with shared services.
Shelby Town Supervisor Skip Draper wants to see how much villagers could save if the two towns took over the village’s highway services. The village already pays twice for the service: to the village and then to either Ridgeway or Shelby.
Draper noted that the town of Yates plows the village of Lyndonville’s roads. He thinks a similar arrangement could work for the village of Medina, which sits about halfway in Shelby and halfway in Ridgeway.
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier reluctantly supported the shared service pursuit. Meier said the issue was brought up before during doomed shared services discussions about two years ago. Meier said a dissolution plan already gives village taxpayers the $6 savings and spells out how current village services would be provided by either the towns, or local development corporations.
About 50 residents attended the meeting at Shelby Town Hall to watch 15 elected officials talk about possibly sharing more services among two towns and the village of Medina.
But Ridgeway and Shelby officials say they won’t talk about dissolution. That angered Meier, who said a committee and consultants worked for nearly a year on the plan.
“There has been a concerted effort to ignore the plan,” Meier said at a joint meeting Monday evening among the three boards.
He asked the two towns to correct “false statements” they have made publicly about the plan.
“That’s your opinion,” Draper responded.
Napoli said the two towns weren’t asked to helped shape the plan.
“That is your plan,” Napoli told Meier. “We were not asked to be involved.”
Meier shared an email from July 2013 that Napoli sent to Scott Sittig, the lead consultant for the plan from the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester. Napoli told Sittig that Ridgeway would not cooperate with the study because “it was a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of Town of Ridgeway employees’ time.”
Meier told Napoli he “removed himself from this process.”
Meier was chided by a mediator, Richard Moffit, for pressing dissolution and Meier’s perceived slights from the towns.
“You can’t keep bringing up the past,” Moffit said.
The highway discussions represented a good start in potential tax savings, he said.
Medina Village Trustee Mike Sidari urged the three local boards to find some common ground. He is joined by Trustee Marguerite Sherman of Medina, Mayor Andrew Meier, left, and Richard Moffit, right, who served as mediator at Monday’s meeting.
Ridgeway and Shelby officials said they wanted to focus on shared services, which can provide immediate relief to taxpayers, rather than a drawn-out process with dissolution. That plan called for creating an LDC to manage some services, create an ambulance district, a debt district and pass other services, including police, to the towns. Draper said it could take years to establish the new taxing entities.
“We should look at everything rather than create LDCs and new layers of government,” he said.
Draper took command of the meeting at times, offering to crunch the numbers and work with Shelby Town Highway Superintendent Mike Fuller about how the town could take over some of the village highway costs.
Draper asked Meier to provide the village’s non-emergency budget for costs outside of police, fire and ambulance. Draper said emergency services account for about $10 of the village $16.45 tax rate. He expects the towns could bring down the other $6-plus of the village tax rate by assuming some of the non-emergency services.
Meier said he would have those budget figures, as well as the revenues for each service, to the two towns by the end of the week.
Draper said he would determine potential cost savings to the village and cost increase to Shelby by the next joint session, which was scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 2.
Meier said the cost impacts have already been spelled out in the dissolution plan. He returned to that document several times during Monday’s hour-long meeting, but town officials wouldn’t discuss the plan in detail.
Mary Woodruff, a Ridgeway councilwoman, said the community isn’t ready for dissolution. The shared services discussions could better prepare the community and the boards for a dissolution and perhaps a merger of the two towns, she said.
One Medina, a group headed by local attorney Nathan Pace with support from Meier, favors dissolving the village and merging the two towns. But Woodruff said that is premature right now.
Town leaders also want to look at how water and sewer services are provided among the three governments and try to find ways to reduce administration and costs for that service.
A long-awaited joint session among the Medina, Ridgeway and Shelby boards occurred on Monday at the Shelby Town Hall.
Draper said the local government leaders will have their work cut out if they are to make a significant change in the tax burden for the village.
“That $6 won’t just disappear with a magic wand,” he said. “There’s work you have to do.”
Meier has pressed for dissolution because he said the current village government isn’t sustainable. The tax base tends to shrink every year as housing values fall. That puts pressure on the village to raise the tax rate. The $16.45 per $1,000 of assessed property is one of the highest in the region. Villagers then have the added burden of paying a $3.04 rate to Ridgeway and $3.35 to Shelby for a combined town-village rate of nearly $20.
“The elephant in the room is the $16.45,” Draper acknowledged.
Dissolution would shift some costs to the two towns. But even with dissolution residents outside the village would pay far less in taxes than the village property owners.
The Ridgeway residents outside the village currently pay a $6.71 rate for town, lighting and fire protection. That would rise 46 percent to $9.83 if the village dissolves and services are picked up according to the plan.
Shelby residents would see a 10 percent increase with dissolution with the current rate for outside-village residents going from $8.36 per $1,000 of assessed property to $9.17. That would raise taxes for a $70,000 home from $585 to $642.
Meier said he wants to compare the impact to outside-village residents with the shared service possibilities and the dissolution plan. The dissolution plan should receive support from the towns, Meier said, if it proves the best way to reduce village taxes while minimizing an increase to the towns, and still maintaining services in the community.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 July 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – A joint session among the Medina Village Board and Town Boards for Shelby and Ridgeway will finally happen at 7 tonight at the Shelby Town Hall.
The meeting nearly didn’t happen after officials from the towns contested an agenda by Medina Mayor Andrew Meier. He wanted the village’s dissolution to be a topic but was rebuffed by Ridgeway Town Supervisor Brian Napoli and Shelby Town Supervisor Skip Draper.
The two town supervisors also insisted on an outside mediator and stenographer. The three governments will share the costs.
The bulk of the agenda will be geared to shared services among the three entities and perhaps some consolidation of functions. The meeting at 4062 Salt Works Rd. is open to public.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 July 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Jed Platt of Appleton, dressed in a turtle outfit, slips down on the grease pole with teammates Royal Snyder of Lyndonville, right, and Elliott Perkins of Barker. The team, Udder Suckers Reloaded, wasn’t able to get to the top of the grease pole during Saturday’s competition.
The Grease Grapplers, a team made up of guys from Albion and Lyndonville, extended their grease pole titles to 4 after climbing the pole in 16.06 seconds, their fastest time in any championship road. In this photo Tyler Palmer is headed to the top of the pole, with Jesse Follman the next man up with Andy Follman below.
The Grease Grapplers sprint to the pole after the starting horn is sounded. The team includes Jordan Mufford, Phil Panek, Joe Smith, Josh Smith, Dutch Smith, Andy Follman, Jesse Follman and Tyler Palmer.
Mufford helped form the team in 2011 when it took its first title. The secret to the Grapplers’ success: “Communication and good teamwork,” Mufford said.
Most of the team put crosses made out of duct tape on their shirts. Most of the Grapplers attend a Bible study at the Oak Orchard Assembly of God on Ridge Road in Medina.
The Grapplers have an enthusiastic cheering section.
The Troll Diggers, a new team from Hamlin, finished a close second to the Grapplers with a time of 19.18 seconds. In this photo, Andrew Jones is on top, followed by Jeff Ebel and then Isaiah Jenks.
Sam Remley, the only man on the BB Queens, slides down the pole after reaching the top. The BB Queens finished third with a time of 29 seconds.
Jeremy Neal, one of the grease pole chairmen, tells the rules of the contest to the BB Queens.
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, right, attended the championships and congratulated all of the teams, while praising the Cornell Cooperative Extension and the fans for supporting the contest. Barry Flansburg, left, serves as emcee for the event.
Puddles of grease landed all over the grounds near the grease pole.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 July 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Sierra VerHagen, 14, of Holley pauses to take a breath during Friday’s pie-eating contest at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. Sierra gobbled up most of a cherry pie.
Brown’s Berry Patch in Waterport donates the pies for the annual exploit of eating.
Elijah Van Epps, 15, of Albion has been competing in the contest for the past 10 years. He said he always gets a peach pie and would welcome a change next year. He is part of the Moyer family that has been a mainstay in the pie-eating contest for about four decades.
Andrew Moore, 14, of Albion comes up for air before plunging into the pie.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 July 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – The rain starting coming down around 5:30 p.m. at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. It put a damper on the atmosphere, but some hearty folks still ventured out to the Midway and other fair activities.
I was there with three of my kids and they said they didn’t mind the rain. At about 7, the rain stopped, the sun came out and then a big rainbow stretched across the sky.
I always seem to miss a good rainbow. Sometimes I’ll chase after them and they seem to vanish before my eyes. But today I was in the perfect spot.
Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith
MEDINA – A follow-up investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office has determined that money stolen from the Shelridge Country Club earlier this month was not part of a scholarship fund established in memory of a local Marine killed two years ago.
Jacqueline King, 63, of Medina worked at Shelridge. She was arrested on July 9 and charged with the theft of $800. Initially it was reported that the money was part of a scholarship fund in honor of U.S. Marine Sergeant Trevor Cook, who was a native of Lyndonville. The fund benefits a Memorial Golf Tournament in Cook’s name that was held at Shelridge CC on July 5.
Follow-up investigation has since determined that the stolen money was the property of Shelridge Country Club and was not part of the fund.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The public has pleaded with leaders of the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, and the village of Medina to meet and have civil discussions and look for ways to reduce taxes.
The much-anticipated meeting is set for 7 p.m. on July 28 at the Shelby Town Hall. However, the town supervisors in Shelby and Ridgeway don’t like the agenda presented by Medina Mayor Andrew Meier.
He was told by the town leaders to prepare the agenda and listed village dissolution with discussion and feedback from the towns on the plan. Meier also put consolidation of Shelby and Ridgeway towns into one entity on the agenda, and a discussion of shared services among the three entities for water/sewer and street maintenance. Meier created the agenda following discussion with village trustees on Monday.
In emails today (Orleans Hub is included in the chain emails), Ridgeway Town Supervisor Brian Napoli said the joint meeting should only include shared services.
“Town consolidation is an issue for the two Towns, not the village,” Napoli wrote in response to Meier. “We were not included in your dissolution plan. Therefore, you are not included in a discussion of Town consolidation. The Towns will decide if, and when, that happens.”
Napoli chided Meier for setting the agenda.
“This is supposed to be a mutually cooperative effort, not dictated by you,” Napoli said.
Dissolution was supposed to be put on the “back burner,” Napoli said, referencing a transcript for last month’s Village Board meeting that included comments from officials from Shelby and Ridgeway.
If Meier insists on dissolution as a topic at the July 28 meeting, Napoli said Ridgeway town officials won’t attend the session.
Meier responded by email that the village wants “open dialogue on a range of matters.” He said he has sought clarification on the agenda the past two weeks from Ridgeway or Shelby.
Shelby Town Supervisor Skip Draper, in his response, said town consolidation should be struck from the agenda.
“If this discussion were to take place it would be appropriate for it to be held between the two towns,” he said.
As for dissolution, Draper said, “it may be appropriate for the towns to make some type of statement regarding the plan.” But Meier’s request for discussion about the plan was rebuffed.
“(Discussion) should have happened as the plan was prepared (not after the fact),” Draper said.
The Shelby town supervisor said shared services is a good starting point to work to bring down taxes in the community.
“If we focus on Shared Services with open minds and not allow the discussion to get bogged down, we may be able to do some good and produce favorable outcomes for all,” he said. “I believe this is what people in general want and we owe it to them to have that discussion. Further, I feel we should be willing to have a discussion regarding Shared Services in general and not limit it to street maintenance and water/sewer.”
He asked if Meier and the Village Board would be open to a shared services discussion.
