By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2025 at 10:15 am
Photos courtesy of Susan Starkweather Miller
SHELBY – About 50 people attended Sunday’s evening tour of the Millville Cemetery in the Town of Shelby. Orleans County Historian Catherine Cooper is shown leading the tour of the cemetery.
Millville is one of four cemeteries in Orleans County named to the National Register of Historic Places.
The most prominent monument marks the grave for Asa Hill, a Civil War soldier and prominent local farmer. His family put up the large monument, where local lore suggests he is looking towards Sanderson Road, keeping watch on the family farm.
Catherine Cooper and Alice Zacher, retired Shelby historian, are shown inside the chapel at the cemetery. Zacher helped get the cemetery listed on the National Register in 2007.
The Millville Cemetery was established in 1871 on East Shelby Road. The monuments and Victorian funerary art reflect the prosperity of the community back when it was home to three sawmills, gristmill and turning mill, according to the description of the site on the National Register.
The wood frame chapel has a Medina Sandstone foundation. It was built in 1894 into a hill and also served as a receiving vault and office.
Many prominent local residents are buried at Millville, including this large grave marker for Arnold Gregory, who left money to start a hospital in Albion. Some of the names of the family plots, such as Dresser and Pask, are names of roads in the community.
The Orleans County Historical Association has two more cemetery tours at 6 p.m. on Sundays in August:
The tour on Aug. 24 Greenwood Cemetery, 16670 Roosevelt Highway/Route 18, Kendall, will focus on the first Norwegian settlement in the United States in 1825 in Kendall. Orleans County historian Catherine Cooper will lead this tour.
Aug. 31 at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, 581 East Ave., Albion, will conclude the series of tours. Catherine Cooper and Sue Starkweather Miller will lead the tour, which will include a visit to the chapel to view the beautiful interior stained glass windows, and stops at several prominent gravesites.
SHELBY – Makenzie McGrath, 17, of Medina was awarded a $1,000 college scholarship from the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company. Presenting the award is Treasurer Kirk Myhill, left, and Makenzie’s grandfather, Gary Watts. Mr. Watts has been an active member of the company for 52 years and is a past chief.
Shelby Volunteer Fire Company awards an annual scholarship to a student who has shown enthusiasm and volunteered serving the fire company.
Makenzie McGrath is a member of the Shelby Auxiliary and has been an active participate in fire company activities from a very young age. With her great-grandfather, Sidney Watts, a founding member of the company, and many family members active, volunteering with the fire company seems to run in your blood, McGrath said.
She has volunteered at fundraisers, Mothers’ Day Chicken Barbecue, catered weddings and parties for many years. When old enough she became a member of the Auxiliary to support the fire company.
Makenzie graduated from Medina High School in the top 10 of her class and is involved in many other community-service activities. She is the daughter of Patrick and Julianne McGrath and plans to attend Nazareth University and major in Elementary and Music Education.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 July 2025 at 10:44 am
SHELBY – Two people will be on the November ballot to fill one of three sudden vacancies on the Shelby Town Board.
The Republican Committee has backed John Pratt III, a former Town Board member, while the Conservative Party has nominated Mark Wambach.
They are seeking to fill two years of an unexpired term from Jeff Schiffer. He and Town Supervisor Scott Wengewicz and councilman Stephen Seitz Sr. have all resigned from the Town Board, leaving the board with only two members – Linda Limina and Ed Zelazny.
The board needs at least three members to carry out town business and pay bills.
The terms for Wengewicz and Seitz both end Dec. 31. Those can’t be filled with a special election. The town has reached out to the governor’s office for Gov. Hochul to appoint at least one person to fill out the final months of either board members’ term.
Because Schiffer has more time on his term after this year that spot can be filled at the Nov. 4 election.
That councilman’s position will be on the ballot as a two-year term, along with the full terms for town supervisor and two other councilman positions.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2025 at 5:42 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: Dave Strong, senior project developer for New Leak Energy, met with Shelby community member on Tuesday evening to discuss the company’s plan for two solar projects along Route 63 in Shelby on land that was eyed for two wind turbines.
SHELBY – New Leaf Energy presented its plans for two solar projects to the community on Tuesday, touting the project as a boost in tax revenue for local governments while adding 9 megawatts of power to the grid with minimal impacts.
The projects together would generate about 9 megawatts of power. The solar installations are planned on South Gravel Road (Route 63) where two wind turbines were eyed by Borrego Solar System Inc. Borrego spun off the development side of its business to ECP, which named the new company, New Leaf Energy.
Dave Strong said the project will have minimal negative impacts while generating about $1 million in revenue for local governments in the next 15 years.
New Leaf withdrew its plans for the 633-foot-high turbines in March. Shelby town officials declined to create a wind overlay district needed for the project to move forward.
New Leaf has switched to solar proposals with one project at 18 acres at the Ledge Rock Farm at 4364 South Gravel where there is an apple orchard. The other would cover 20 acres at 4326 South Gravel where corn is currently being grown.
Dave Strong, senior project developer for New Leaf Energy, said the apple farm will continue with the solar taking out 18 acres of a farm with 100 to 125 acres of apples. The apples coming out of production are older, less popular varieties, he said.
The solar is planned to be set back 800 feet from Route 63, which is four times the town’s requirement of at least a 200-foot setback.
Strong said the project fits the town ordinance. The Shelby Town Board needs to do a SEQR environmental study and also vote whether the project is approved. The board currently only has two out of five members and can’t vote on anything until there is at least a third member on the board.
New Leaf will pay an estimated $1,089,485 in municipal revenue over 15 years, with it split in thirds with the Town of Shelby, Orleans County and Medina School District. The payments include $63,000 in the first year with 2 percent annual increases, peaking at $83,127 in year 15. Fire and library taxes also are included, Strong said.
New Leaf will have a bond in place to cover decommissioning costs, which is currently at $131,646. After 25 years, at a 2.5 percent annual rate increase, the cost would be $244,065.
Decommissioning includes removing everything in the project – modules, racks, rack wiring, electrical equipment, concrete pads, load racks, foundation piles, fences, power poles, gravel road reclamation and trucking to transfer station.
The projects don’t include any battery storage. Strong said there would by 4-by-8-foot solar panels mounted on aluminum racks. The electricity could tie into three-phase electric lines on 63, he said.
New Leaf also will do a glare study to ensure the panels are set up in a way that won’t adversely affect drivers, Strong said.
The two projects are planned along Route 63, south of the Village of Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2025 at 9:23 am
‘Shelby is in a serious situation having lost their supervisor and deputy town supervisor’
Photos by Tom Rivers: Kathleen Bennett, the attorney for the Town of Shelby, speaks with about 100 residents during a meeting on Tuesday at the Shelby fire hall. She said the Town Board currently can not function because there are only two members and at least three are needed to conduct town business.
SHELBY – The Shelby town government faces a difficult predicament after three of its members, including the town supervisor and deputy town supervisor, resigned last week.
Town attorney Kathleen Bennett said the board can’t meet and can’t vote on anything without a third member.
Bennett said the board is paralyzed and can’t have a Town Board meeting, pay bills or approve a budget until a third member is appointed or elected.
John Parada said the three resignations from the board members “crippled” the town government.
Bennett met with about 100 residents on Tuesday at the Shelby fire hall to discuss what she called “a serious situation.” She said town employees will be paid in the near future and health insurance will be paid for employees and past employees. That’s because those were set up on a pre-pay schedule.
The town has the money in its account in the short-term to make those payments. However, Bennett said money will need to be transferred from an investment account into the town fund where it can be spent for payroll, insurance and other bills. She doesn’t have a time frame for how soon that needs to happen before the current funds are exhausted.
“We’re working to make sure the payroll and health insurance will continue,” she said. “That is of primary importance.”
The town also has bills to vendors and others not on a pre-pay schedule. They will get their money but it may not happen in the usual time frame.
“Ultimately all bills will be paid they just might not be paid on time,” Bennett told the residents at the meeting.
Bennett said there are two ways to quickly resolve the crisis caused by the resignations of Town Supervisor Scott Wengewicz and board members Jeff Schiffer and Stephen Seitz Sr., who is also the deputy town supervisor.
Either Wengewicz or Seitz could rescind their resignation and rejoin the board to allow for an appointment to the board. Wengewicz or Seitz could then resign again. But the board would have the needed three members after the appointment.
Schiffer can’t rescind his motion because the Board of Elections has already started the process to fill his vacant position as part of this November’s election. Candidates on the ballot for this position need a nomination from one of four constituted parties – Republican, Democratic, Conservative and Working Families. The deadline is July 28 for a certification of nomination.
Wengewicz or Seitz both have terms ending Dec. 31. If someone is appointed to fill one or both of their spots, they would only be in the job until Dec. 31. (Jim Heminway last month won a Republican primary against Wengewicz for town supervisor, and Lawrence Waters Sr. and Ed Żelazny both won primaries for town councilman over Michael Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas. Seitz didn’t seek re-election. But those terms don’t start until Jan. 1 and there is still a general election in November.)
Kathleen Bennett said she is pushing to get a third member on the Town Board as soon as possible, and also is trying to ensure the town has money in its accounts to make payroll and cover health benefits for employees and former employees. Some of the town’s funds are in an investment account and will need to be transferred over to pay some bills in the near future.
Bennett said she reached out to Wengewicz or Seitz about rescinding their resignations and briefly rejoining the board so a member could be appointed. Seitz declined and Wengewicz hasn’t responded to Bennett, she said.
“I’ve advised them it would be in everyone’s best interests for one of them to rescind their resignation just for the point of appointing one member,” she said.
Shelby also has the option of a governor’s appointment to the board. Last year two towns faced a similar situation as Shelby following mass resignations of board members.
In the Town of Berne in Albany County, Hochul made an appointment six months after the resignations. In St. Lawrence County, four of the five members of the Hermon Town Board and Hochul appointed two members about a month later.
Bennett said the governor’s office has been notified of the Shelby situation and asked to start the process of filling a vacancy. She hopes the turnaround will be about a month and not the six months it took in Berne.
In both Berne and Hermon, the resignations were on Republican boards. Hochul filled the vacancies with Democrats, Bennett said, and they served for only a few months so the Town Board could function until the new year started.
If a timely appointment isn’t made by Hochul or locally (with one of the board members who resigned rescinding that action and rejoining the board briefly), Bennett said the board could have enough members after the November election to fill Shiffer’s term. The winner of that election could join the board once the result is certified by the Board of Election and wouldn’t have to wait until Jan. 1.
Bennett works for the Bond, Schoeneck & King law firm. One of her colleagues has reached out to the governor’s office, asking the governor’s office to start the process of trying to fill the vacancy.
“The governor appreciates the seriousness of the situation,” Bennett said. “Shelby is in a serious situation having lost their supervisor and deputy town supervisor.”
The town departments – clerk’s office, court and highway – should all functionally normally even though the Town Board is currently unable to meet and vote on anything.
Schiffer resigned last Thursday, with Wengewicz and Seitz stepping down from their positions on Friday. Bennett said their notices didn’t include a reason for why they were quitting.
Cassandra Boring, a confidential secretary to the town supervisor, also resigned.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 July 2025 at 12:12 pm
SHELBY – Three of the five Shelby Town Boards resigned last week leaving the board without a quorum to carry on town business.
Town Supervisor Scott Wengewicz and board members Jeff Schiffer and Stephen Seitz Sr. all resigned. Seitz also is the town’s deputy town supervisor. With the resignations of the three board members, the Town Board only has Linda Limina and Eddie Zelazny left.
There will be a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Shelby fire hall where town attorney, Kathleen Bennett, will discuss the situation and possible next steps for the Town Board and government.
The board doesn’t have enough members to appoint anyone to fill the vacancies.
Wengewicz on June 24 was defeated by Jim Heminway in a Republican primary for town supervisor, 283 to 118.
Lawrence Waters Sr. and Ed Żelazny campaigned with Heminway and they defeated Michael Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas in the Republican primary. The Republican Committee endorsed Wengewicz, Moriarty and Bitsas. Although they won the primary, the terms for office don’t start until Jan. 1, 2026.
Last year in the Town of Berne in Albany County three of the five board members resigned. The town wasn’t able to have another Town Board meeting for eight months until March 2025. Kathy Hochul needed to make an appointment to fill one of the vacancies so the Town Board could have a quorum.
In St. Lawrence County, four of the five members of the Hermon Town Board resigned in March 2024. The town was unable to carry out routine business, even paying its bills. Gov. Hochul would appoint two members on April 4, 2024 so the board could function but it needed unanimous votes among the three members for a resolution to pass.
Tuesday’s meeting in Shelby is expected to last until 6:30 p.m.
After that there will be a presentation from representatives of New Leaf Energy on their plans for two solar energy projects on Route 63. One solar project is called South Gravel Rd. Solar 1 LLC and the other is South Gravel Rd. Solar 3LLC. Both are for 5 megawatts of power.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 July 2025 at 9:18 am
Penny for hot dogs, pie, lemonade and many other activities
Photos by Tom Rivers
EAST SHELBY – Horses pull a wagon on Sunday during the very popular Old-Fashioned Day celebration at the East Shelby Community Bible Church.
The event typically draws about 2,000 people for an event that goes back about 35 years.
Aaleyah Hoste of Medina pets a horse named Blaize. She is next to her parents, Amber and Brandon. Jacob Sherlock, right, of Springville brought a team of horses to give rides. There were six different groups of horses and wagons offering rides.
The church served pie, hot dogs and lemonade for a penny. From left cooking the hot dogs include Ken Baker, Jack Redick and Mike Conlon. The church had 2,500 hot dogs ready for the public.
Robert Eaton and Denise Jaczynski get pies ready for the people. Church members baked 325 pies. At 8 slices each that was 2,520 slices altogether.
JoJo Dudley, 7, did laundry in a wash basin – the old-fashioned way. Doing the laundry was much harder work back in the 1800s. It was typically done on Mondays with the dirtiest clothes done last. Water needed to be gathered and warmed up. When the task was done, the water was poured in flower beds. People used onions and lemons to help clean the clothes.
The church choir sang several hymns while pastor Erik Olsen played the piano. Olsen said about 200 people put on the event.
This horse pulls a wagon down Barber Road with freshly cut wheat fields nearby.
These signs lined Barber Road near the West Jackson Corners village.
Emma Kehlenbeck, 8, of Alexander hammers in a wooden peg in a coat rack under some guidance from Leo Dispenza at left. Church volunteers had 275 coat racks ready to be assembled.
A long line of cars parked along East Shelby Road to see the events at the village, West Jackson Corners, created by the church across the road.
Photo and information courtesy of Debbie Taylor, East Shelby fire chief
EAST SHELBY – The East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company recently five members complete roughly 50-hour Interior Firefighting Operations class this year.
Pictured from left include Josh Fuller, Logan Gardner (in truck), Nathan Fuller and Dylan Taylor. Victor Jefferd is missing from the photo. Jared Zinkievich also completed his training last year.
These gentlemen participated in a class that included firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus donning, doffing and use, SCBA air management and SCBA emergencies, basic firefighter survival techniques, modern fire control methods, building fire search and victim removal techniques, firefighter survival skills, tactical ventilation techniques and basic power saw operation, forcible entry techniques, hose line advancement, vehicle and wildland firefighting theory, vehicle firefighting techniques, coordinated structure fire interior attack and transitional fire attack, and coordinated initial company operations.
“As the chief of this fire department, I’m very proud of these guys for their time and effort and dedication they have put in to complete these classes,” said Debbie Taylor, chief of East Shelby. “It’s not easy balancing personal life around these classes. And it’s great for East Shelby for the kick up of more interior firefighters.”
East Shelby welcomes the public and prospective members in stopping by the fire hall at 5021 East Shelby Rd. More information is available on the East Shelby Facebook page.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2025 at 8:52 am
Orleans County Legislature passes resolution in support of program
Provided photos: Students at the Iroquois Job Corps Center learn in programs for brick masonry, carpentry, electrical, commercial painting, clinical medical assistant and certified nursing assistant.
June 30 won’t be the day that Job Corps centers shut down. A federal judge on Wednesday said the centers don’t have to close while a lawsuit is in federal court.
Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced on May 29 that 99 privately run centers would go on “pause” due to what she said were low graduation rates and high incidents of violence. She said Job Corps is not cost-effective. She set June 30 as the date for the centers to close, with students to be sent home earlier on June 6.
But U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said the Department of Labor can’t dismantle a program that Congress established and set aside funding to run. A preliminary injunction nationally will allow the centers to stay open while litigation continues.
The Job Corps program was founded in 1964 to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care.
“Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,” Carter wrote in the ruling, according to the Associated Press.
Carter directed the DOL to stop removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval, the AP reported.
The DOL said it was pausing the Job Corps, not shutting it down. But the judge disputed that.
“The way that the DOL is shuttering operations and the context in which the shuttering is taking place make it clear that the DOL is actually attempting to close the centers,” Carter wrote.
The judge said closing the centers harms students. They lose the progress they’ve made towards their education and certifications, with some plunged into homelessness. That is a big contrast from the “minor upheaval” described by government lawyers, he said.
County Legislature calls Job Corps ‘a vital resource’
The Orleans County Legislature on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution in support of keeping the Job Corps program open and at full capacity. The center has room for 225 students. The center assists students in earning their high school diplomas and learn skills in various fields – certified nursing assistant, clinical medical assistant, electrical, carpentry, bricklaying and painting.
County legislators said the Job Corps program for more than 60 years “has been a staple in assisting young adults obtain life skills, earn high school diplomas, receive on the job training in healthcare, construction and other in-demand fields.”
The Iroquois Job Corps has a $17 million impact annual economic impact locally, legislators said. Students also have completed many projects in the community at municipal buildings and parks in Orleans, Niagara, and Genesee counties, “thus saving the cost burden having been put upon the local property taxes.”
“Orleans County Legislators view the Iroquois Job Corps Center as a vital resource to the county by means of assisting up to 225 young adults at a time, employing 100 local residents, and providing an estimated $17 million annual economic impact on our local economy,” the resolution states. “The Orleans County Legislature does hereby oppose a ‘phased pause’ and closure of the Iroquois Job Corps Center in our County.”
Lynne Johnson, the Legislature chairwoman, has been a member of the community council at the Job Corps.
She said many of the students come from difficult circumstances and Job Corps helps them to learn skills and get jobs.
“They are contributing members of our society,” Johnson said.
The Medina Village Board also considered a resolution in support of Job Corps on Monday, but it failed to get three votes to pass. Mayor Marguerite Sherman and Trustee Jess Marciano wanted to state Medina’s support of the program.
“I think there is a lot of value to that program,” Marciano said.
Trustee Scott Bielski said he had to abstain because his company works with the Job Corps and he didn’t think it was proper for him to vote on an issue where he has financial gain.
“I support the Job Corps 100 percent,” he said.
Trustee Deb Padoleski said she was uncomfortable with the village weighing in on the issue.
“It feels like political activism to me,” she said.
Trustee Mark Prawel wasn’t at the meeting.
Mayor Sherman said Job Corps students were planning to do projects at City Hall and the Village Office this year to gain work experience. Students in recent years built the pavilion at State Street Park and made several Buddy Benches at Medina parks.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2025 at 8:36 am
‘This hurts a lot of people, and overall the economy. Because you have a bunch of people going home without a job, homeless and about to be not beneficial to society or themselves.’ – Unique Weeks
Photos by Tom Rivers: These Job Corps students include from left: Sienna Jack of Rochester, Unique Weeks of Bronx and Austin Show of New Hampshire and later Holley.
SHELBY – On May 29, the federal Department of Labor made an announcement that has threatened 99 Job Corps centers around the country, including the one in Orleans County in Shelby.
The DOL put those centers on “pause,” effectively shutting them down, claiming the centers were not successful – graduation rates were too low and incidents of violence too high.
DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced the 99 Job Corps would be suspended by the end of June. She said the centers haven’t been fulfilling their mission.
The DOL said the graduation rate nationwide at the centers is at 38.6 percent, with the average cost per student a year at $80,284. The average cost per graduate is $155,600, according to the DOL.
The National Job Corps Association countered that the DOL skewed the data, using information from 2023 when centers were still impacted by Covid restrictions.
Job Corps is currently operating at about half of its capacity because the DOL hasn’t allowed centers to do their own background checks on students. Since the DOL took over that duty in March, students haven’t been admitted.
The Job Corps graduation is historically closer to 60 percent, not the 38.6 percent from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, the association said. Job Corps said that prior to Covid restrictions in 2020, the average cost per Job Corps graduate was $57,312.
Three Iroquois Job Corps students and two of the center’s leaders spoke with the Orleans Hub recently.
Unique Weeks, 24, is from the Bronx. He recently completed the carpentry program and was planning to do the advanced training program at the Grafton Job Corps in Massachusetts. His younger brother also just started in Job Corps.
Weeks said he will try to find employment as a carpenter now that the advanced training program has been put in limbo.
He was working a “dead-end job” at a 7-11. He arrived at the Iroquois center on a cold day in Feb. 21, 2024. It was snowing.
Weeks learned to appreciate the setting of the Iroquois Job Corps in a wildlife refuge.
“It’s peaceful, it’s quiet,” he said. “It’s very therapeutic for city kids.”
Austin Shaw, 21, has been in the electrical program at Job Corps the past year. The New Hampshire native was living in Holley when he rode his bike to the center for a tour. He has embraced the program, on a path to a career after being homeless and making money stealing copper. He was slated for the advanced training program in Westover, Mass.
Shaw said he is grateful for all the training at Job Corps, which was at no charge to him. The students have access to power tools and other equipment, under the watchful eye of committed instructors.
“This place gave me discipline,” he said. “I was nervous and my life was chaotic. I was homeless and a copper thief.”
He said he will go back to New Hampshire and try to find a job or perhaps join the Navy. “I don’t really know,” he said.
He said the center is safe with very few fights. The incidents cited in the media and the DOL report “make it out to be way worse than it actually is.”
Sienna Jack, 19, of Rochester has been at the Job Corps for four months in the painting program. She said she will return to live with her family.
She said the Job Corps program has a 60-year track record of success.
“This is a free program that’s been around a long, long time,” she said.
Eric Seppala, left, is the center director of the Iroquois Job Corps in Shelby and JT Thomas is the director of operations.
Eric Seppala is director of the Iroquois center. He started as the security manager. He said the center has to “over report” incidents, including fender benders and damaged Chromebooks.
Job Corps has a “zero tolerance” policy for violence. Any incidents and the student misbehaving is out of the program.
The center was scrambling in early June to help students earn as many credentials as possible. Many won’t be able to fully complete their training program, based on the DOL order, but Seppala said they can still earn credentials such as being a flagger at a work or construction site, operating a fork lift, knowing customer relations, and other skills including OSHA credits.
Many students also are working towards earning their high school diplomas.
A lawsuit has paused the Job Corps directive from the DOL until June 25. The DOL ordered the 99 centers to close by June 30. The directive told the centers to send all students home by June 6. Although the lawsuit “paused” that order, Iroquois leaders said many students had already gone home by June 6.
The local Job Corps set up a “transition team” to help students get their paperwork in order, create resumes for job searches, and also to connect many with their Department of Social Services in their home counties. Many of the students were homeless before enrolling in Job Corps.
“We’re trying to give them every tool they need,” said JT Thomas, the director of operations and a 17-year employee at the Job Corps.
Thomas started at the Job Corps as a teacher, helping students with reading and to earn their high school diplomas. He was the academic manager before the operations director.
The following question and answer interview was conducted at the Iroquois Center on June 4:
Question: If you were the reporter what would you be asking about the Job Corps program?
Austin Shaw: I would be asking why are we really closing? What benefit does it provide to close all of this? Because we are giving people, who otherwise have little or no opportunities – people like me who were thriving off of copper theft or people that were in very bad home environments – a free opportunity.
We’re always being told to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make something of yourself. Well, we came here to do that. Now look what just happened. People can’t do that anymore. And that is the real question. What benefit is there to closing this? Would you rather your tax dollars go somewhere else?
Unique Weeks: I think it will become like the college situation. It was free and now it’s not. People won’t be doing it because they won’t be able to afford it. There are plenty of trade schools that can do it already, but they are somewhat unattainable or they require a certain amount of years done. This one (Job Corps) you can come without your high school and still get a trade done and get your education.
Maybe they don’t want to give that to people for free. Maybe they want people to pay for it. But they are endangering society by that because they are taking away people’s livelihoods and the opportunities to get jobs. There may be more jobs but there is not a lot of people who can take them because they refuse to train them and there are few schools that do this inside of a school.
In 2024, there were more people going into trade schools than any other. This generation, they are calling us the blue-collar generation right now. This hurts a lot of people, and overall the economy. Because you have a bunch of people going home without a job, homeless and about to be not beneficial to society or themselves.
Austin Shaw: They’re back to where they were at the start. Even the wealthy states, and I’m from a wealthy state in New Hampshire, there is that underbelly of people who can’t get out of that. The average trade school there is like $3,000 to $4,000. That’s a substantial amount of money.
Sienna Jack: My biggest comment would be you’re taking away opportunities for people, especially the underprivileged people of color, the young students. You have to look at the homeless population and where do those kids go.
Question: JT, what have you enjoyed about your career here?
JT Thomas: The success of the students. The students come in with pretty much nothing. They tell you their stories. When I was their high school instructor, one of their projects was to write a story about themselves. The obstacles they had to overcome just to get to the center is impressive. My first speech to them is, ‘You guys inspire us to do our jobs.’ They inspire us. They are overcoming everything. They may say Job Corps does it for them, but Job Corps is just an avenue for them to do what they can do. We’re just there to support them. It’s the students that do it.
When they say only 38 or 40 percent graduate, these are kids who are coming from being homeless and from the streets. If you have 10 students come here, and 4 or 5 students get a job making more than I do, and people don’t see that as a success? All these other students would be on the streets still or on social programs. People would be paying for them. They would either be in jail, homeless or living off of local or state programs.
It’s the students that we are here for.
‘The students come in with pretty much nothing. They are overcoming everything. They may say Job Corps does it for them, but Job Corps is just an avenue for them to do what they can do. We’re just there to support them. It’s the students that do it.’ – JT Thomas
Question: Eric you’ve been here for how long?
Eric Seppala: It’s about 6 ½ years. Before that I worked in a store and before that I had 22 years as a Genesee County deputy sheriff, and as a night supervisor and afternoon supervisor.
Question: Why Job Corps for you?
Eric Seppala: I was familiar with the program. Years ago they had us as law enforcement come out and we’d be here on pay days for students because they were paying them in cash. They would have one of us out here. We would escort the guy who was getting a considerable amount of cash and bring it back for all the students.
I knew what the program was and it’s close to home. When I had a chance to really look into it, I was really interested. It’s the way it changes peoples’ lives, the students. We’ve had them come from literally living under a bridge for four years and they come here and are as rough and as awful as you can be and by the time they leave a year later, they are walking out and they’re stepping into a job making $25 an hour as an apprentice.
Two years later you hear about them getting their journeymen’s papers and they’re making $40 an hour and they’re doing fantastic. Now it’s not every student but our students do do that. Our students leave here and they’re able to go to work and provide a better living for themselves and their family. That’s what this whole program is about.
Question: How did you tell them the news, that the government was viewing this as a failing program?
Eric Seppala: What they did is they played with the numbers. They pulled one year that was a bad year. They talked about there being 500 sexual assaults in one year. Well there’s 125 Job Corps sites, so that’s maybe 4 per center. We don’t have that many. We have very few.
You compare these numbers to where these kids come from and it’s so much safer.
That Transparency Report (from Department of Labor) was a bunch of garbage. The numbers in there were skewed. They did whatever they could to make it look worse.
A significant incident here, if someone knocks over a $5 plastic dispenser for napkins in the dining hall, that is a significant incident because it is government property and we have to report it.
JT Thomas: An adult student who is 18 or 19 they can leave the program, but if they leave without putting a pass in, that is an unauthorized exit and a significant incident report.
Question: Why do you think they (DOL) presented the report like they did? Are they against Job Corps?
Eric Seppala: If you look at the whole thing, with first of all them pausing the students from coming in. They stopped the background checks. They stopped them from coming in, and then the next thing that happened is this Transparency Report. Then the next week there are articles about how bad the Job Corps is.
They shut off our students. Then with every student we lose the cost-per-student goes up because we have the same staff in place.
Question: If Job Corps can continue through a court injunction or by Congress, how hard will it be to restart this program and bring students back?
JT Thomas: Every student going home is filling out a needs report. We’re getting all their contact information. If there is a restart, we have told them we will call them back. We will do that if we are given the opportunity.
Eric Seppala: Unless they get rid of the ban on the background checks, it wouldn’t matter. We would have students for up to a year but there wouldn’t be new students coming.
Question: Do you know how many graduates each year for all the Job Corps?
Eric Seppala: When we’re running almost full our numbers are close to 35,000 to 40,000.
JT Thomas: Since the inception of Job Corps, there have been over 3 million graduates.
Question: This center would normally graduate how many?
JT Thomas: It depends on our on-board strength because they have been taking some things away. Last year we had about 150 to 160 on the list of students who graduated or who were graduating. It varies with that. We’ve had 200 to 300.
Question: Would you do two graduations a year?
JT Thomas: We used to but we haven’t since Covid.
Eric Seppala: It’s one and it’s in August. It’s open for students who graduated during that previous year and ones who are on center and who are going to. Last year we had 48 or 50 who walked in it. Once they leave here, I understand it’s hard for them to come back especially for our New York City students but they are welcome to come.
Question: Do you know how many Orleans County students you have?
JT Thomas: That varies. We have room for non-residential students. We have about 8 to 10.
Question: And those would be Orleans and Genesee?
JT Thomas: We have Niagara too.
Question: Where do most of the students come from?
Eric Seppala: Rochester is probably our biggest area. The way it’s broken down is Cassadaga (in Chautauqua County) they’ve been given Buffalo. Ours starts in Niagara County. So we have Niagara County, Orleans, Genesee and we go east to Wayne County. We also get students from New Jersey and New York City. We have partners that we work with that are recruiting down in New York City and New Jersey who are coming here for our trades. They try to connect them to a Job Corps with those trades.
Question: Do you feel like this is the end for Job Corps or it will work out?
Eric Seppala: We’re fighting for it.
JT Thomas: I’m optimistic. Schumer has been a supporter. Gillibrand has been a supporter. Tenney has been a supporter. All of our people have been supportive. Our community is supportive.
For our Congress, we just hope they continue the support.
Question: It must have been difficult to see that report, for how Job Corps was presented?
Eric Seppala: I was reading it and after the second paragraph I could tell it was lies and manipulation. The National Job Corps Association has put out a rebuttal to it.
They are trying not to be political because this is a program for everybody. It’s not a Democratic program or a Republican program. We want everybody to support it because it’s a great program.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 June 2025 at 3:10 pm
Trump administration wants to close 99 centers, including Iroquois, by end of June
Photo by Tom Rivers: A sign near Route 63 in Shelby directs people to the Iroquois Job Corps in Shelby, one of 99 in the country slated to shut down by June 30.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer called on local elected officials in communities with Job Corps to press their Congressional representatives in the House to keep the Job Corps program.
Schumer urged a legal and public campaign to keep the job-training sites open for at-risk youths. The centers have a capacity to serve about 50,000 students nationwide but have only been about half full, with the Job Corps faulting the Department of Labor for not doing needed background checks to allow new students since March.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer speaks with reporters today through Zoom video conference.
“Across Upstate NY the Trump administration’s cruel order to shut down Job Corps centers has caused students and teachers to scramble, and if this goes through, it will be our small businesses and local economies paying the price,” Schumer said in a video conferencing call with reporters today. “We must save Job Corps across Upstate NY. We want to help young people get jobs, to get the training they need for successful careers, and eliminating these centers will hurt those students as well as local employers like small businesses and hospitals in getting the skilled workers they need.”
The National Job Corps Association has filed an injunction in federal court in Manhattan, saying the federal Department of Labor can’t dismantle Job Corps, a program established and funded by Congress. A court hearing is scheduled for June 17 to determine whether a preliminary injunction will be issued, Reuters reported.
Schumer referenced that lawsuit in his comments with reporters today. He believes putting pressure on members of Congress, especially Republicans, can ensure the program continues.
“The courts have already put a pause on Trump’s initial attempts to kill Job Corps, and I will vehemently oppose his attempts to defund this program in the Senate because the people are on our side in saving Job Corps,” he said today.
There are five Job Corps centers in the state, including one in Orleans County in Shelby. The Iroquois Job Corps has a capacity for 225, but was down to 125 when the DOL announced the program was on pause. The site has about 100 employees. The center has an $8.9 million annual budget. Iroquois officials estimate the local center has a $17 million annual impact on the local economy.
Schumer said Job Corps is a much-needed job training program that launches people into careers in healthcare, construction, and other in-demand fields.
“For 60 years, the Iroquois Job Corps Center has trained hundreds of young adults annually to become the electricians, carpenters, medical assistants and more that our community needs,” Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, said in a statement released by Schumer’s office. “The Center is also a vital employer, with 104 local workers, and has infused over 8.9 million dollars in federal funding into our region’s economy. Stopping student enrollments and threatening to close the Iroquois Job Corps Center not only risks the futures of over 12,000 students but also the workforce that drives our region’s economic growth. I’m proud to stand with Senator Schumer in calling for Job Corps student enrollments to resume immediately and keeping the Iroquois Job Corps Center open, so we can continue building a stronger, more prosperous community.”
On May 29, Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced that 99 centers would go on “pause” due to what she said were low graduation rates and high incidents of violence. She said Job Corps is not cost-effective.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training and community,” DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.”
Schumer said the Job Corps have proven to do “great work” in empowering young people and preparing them for careers in the work force. The DOL skewed the statistics by using data from Covid when the centers faced restrictions in operating their programs, the National Job Corps Association said.
The move by the DOL would hurt every region of the state, Schumer said, highlighting Job Corps centers in Brooklyn, Glenmont near Albany, Iroquois in Medina, Cassadaga in Chautauqua County and Oneonta.
The DOL announcement, providing such short notice for students to leave, “created pure chaos” for those students, their families and the centers, Schumer said.
“It’s outrageous, and it’s probably illegal,” he said. “We will fight it every step of the way.”
Getting a few Republicans in the House to oppose the closing could keep Job Corps funded. The Iroquois center is in Claudia Tenney’s district while Cassadaga is in a distict served by Nick Langworthy.
“If we get 3 or 4 Republican congressman who say don’t cut the job corps, then they can’t cut it because they need those votes,” Schumer said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2025 at 9:43 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: A sign directs people to the Iroquois Job Corps Center in Shelby on Tibbits Road. The center is one of 99 that was ordered to go on “pause” last week by the federal Department of Labor, with students to be sent home by this Friday.
A federal judge has temporarily halted the closure of 99 Job Corps Centers, including the Iroquois Job Corps in Shelby.
The Trump administration last Thursday announced the 99 centers would have to go on pause, with students to be sent home by June 6 and the contractors running the sites to be done by June 30.
The National Job Corps Association filed an injunction on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, saying the federal Department of Labor can’t dismantle Job Corps, a program established and funded by Congress. A court hearing is scheduled for June 17 to determine whether a preliminary injunction will be issued, Reuters reported.
“Shuttering Job Corps will have disastrous, irreparable consequences, including displacing tens of thousands of vulnerable young people [and] destroying companies that have long operated Job Corps centers in reliance on the Government’s support for the program,” the plaintiffs stated in the lawsuit as reported by Reuters.
The lawsuit also states that the DOL can only close individual Job Corps centers individual after seeking public comment and notifying local members of Congress.
DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer a week ago announced 99 Job Corps would be paused with programs suspended by the end of June. She said the centers haven’t been fulfilling their mission.
The DOL said the graduation rate nationwide at the centers is at 38.6 percent, with the average cost per student a year at $80,284. The average cost per graduate is $155,600, according to the DOL.
On average, participants earn $16,695 annually on average when they leave the program, the DOL said.
But the National Job Corps countered that the DOL skewed the data, using information from 2023 when centers were still impacted by Covid restrictions.
Job Corps is currently operating at about half of its capacity because the DOL hasn’t allowed centers to do their own background checks on students. Since the DOL took over that duty in March, students haven’t been admitted.
The Job Corps graduation is historically closer to 60 percent, not the 38.6 percent from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, the association said. Job Corps said that prior to Covid restrictions in 2020, the average cost per Job Corps graduate was $57,312.
Allowing more students would drive down the per-student costs, Job Corps noted on its website in response to the DOL statements.
Job Corps is the nation’s largest residential career training and education program, serving people ages 16 to 24. The centers have a capacity for about 50,000 students but currently have about 25,000.
Job Corps students placed in positions earned an average wage of $17.13 in 2023, more than twice the minimum wage of $7.25. Graduates earned annualized wages of more than $31,000, Job Corps said.
The DOL also cited incidents of violence at the centers, noting there 14,913 serious incident reports filed in 2023 at centers across the country.
“Per DOL’s reporting requirements, these ‘serious’ incidents include power outages and inclement weather, athletic injuries that require treatment, and adult students leaving campus without prior approval,” Job Corps said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2025 at 10:33 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: This sign on Route 63 in Shelby notes the Iroquois Job Corps, a center with space for up to 225 students served by 104 full-time equivalent employees.
The data presented by the federal Department of Labor to justify “pausing” Job Corps centers around the country is deeply flawed, the National Job Corps Association said.
On Thursday, DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced 99 Job Corps would be paused with programs suspended by the end of June, including at the local Iroquois Job Corps Center in Medina.
The DOL said the graduation rate nationwide at the centers is at 38.6 percent, with the average cost per student a year at $80,284. The average cost per graduate is $155,600, according to the DOL.
The program also doesn’t tend to be a pathway to a career. On average, participants earn $16,695 annually on average when they leave the program, the DOL said.
But the National Job Corps said the DOL skewed the data, using information from 2023 when centers were still impacted by Covid restrictions.
“Job Corps has transformed the lives of millions of Americans,” Donna Hay, president & CEO of the National Job Corps Association, said in response to the DOL decision. “We agree with Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins that Job Corps saves lives. This decision, based on a deeply flawed report, needlessly endangers the futures and the lives of thousands and potentially millions more young Americans.”
Job Corps is currently operating at about half of its capacity because the DOL hasn’t allowed centers to do their own background checks on students. Since the DOL took over that duty in March, students haven’t been admitted.
Allowing more students would drive down the per-student costs, Job Corps noted on its website in response to the DOL statements.
Job Corps is the nation’s largest residential career training and education program, serving people ages 16 to 24. The centers have a capacity for about 50,000 students but currently have about 25,000.
The students at the 99 centers need to be gone no later than the end of the month. Hay said more than 4,500 of those students were homeless before joining Job Corps and potentially face a perilous future. That figure amounts to 20 percent of current students but is as high as 50 percent at some campuses, she said.
Job Corps responded to many of what it said were false or misleading statements presented by the Department of Labor and widely reported in the media.
Graduation rate: The Job Corps graduation is historically closer to 60 percent, not the 38.6 percent from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.
“Like other schools and colleges, enrollment and graduates rates were depressed by Covid-19 policies,” Job Corps said. “Historically, Job Corps graduation rates have been above 60%.”
Job Corps said many students left the program because they were pushed to “college-ready” classes that did not align with their career goals.
Cost per student: The DOL said the cost per student for the program is less than $50,000. A report from the first Trump Administration put the cost at $34,301 per enrollee.
“The increase is due almost entirely to Covid-19 restrictions on the number of students Job Corps is allowed to serve, some of which are still in place,” Job Corps said.
The DOL said in its more recent report the Job Corps cost per student is more than what t costs to send a student to a four-year college. But Job Corps said a four-degree program can top $300,000 and only 49 percent of students in a four-year college program complete the degree on time.
Job Corps said that prior to Covid restrictions in 2020, the average cost per Job Corps graduate was $57,312.
Program failing to meet its mission: The DOL said Job Corps students are largely hired in minimum-wage positions, earning $16,695.
But Job Corps students placed in positions earned an average wage of $17.13 in 2023, more than twice the minimum wage of $7.25. Graduates earned annualized wages of more than $31,000, Job Corps said.
Incidents of violence: The DOL said there were 14,913 serious incident reports filed in 2023 at centers across the country.
“Per DOL’s reporting requirements, these ‘serious’ incidents include power outages and inclement weather, athletic injuries that require treatment, and adult students leaving campus without prior approval,” Job Corps said.
The National Job Corps Association urged people to contact their Congressional reps to help preserve the program before students are sent off campus in the next few days.
“ Job Corps plays a vital role in our economy,” the association said. “It strengthens local communities by preparing young people for the workforce, supplying local businesses with skilled, ready workers, and driving economic growth.
“Across the country, Job Corps graduates fill essential roles in healthcare, construction, IT, and more – industries where talent is urgently needed. Eliminating Job Corps would not only hurt individuals, it would undermine businesses and communities that rely on a pipeline of trained workers to thrive. For many reasons, Job Corps is needed now more than ever.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 May 2025 at 9:59 am
Department of Labor says program costs too much with dismal results
File photos: (Left) In these photos from February 2024, Iroquois Job Corps’ carpentry student Jeremiah Caldwell works on one of the buddy benches which will be placed in four local Medina parks as a way to spread goodwill. (Right) Students in the carpentry program at Iroquois Job Corps Center work on Adirondack chairs, which the Medina Rotary Club will sell to raise money for the community.
MEDINA – The Iroquois Job Corps has been ordered by Department of Labor to have its students sent home by June 4 as part of a “pause” announced by the DOL on Thursday.
Center officials believe the DOL is moving to close the centers, and not put them on pause. The DOL announced it has halted contracts with 99 contract-operated centers. The Iroquois center, with a capacity for 225 students, is run by ETR, Education and Training Resources. ETR operates 11 Job Corps in states. In New York, it runs the Job Corps in Medina and Oneonta.
Job Corps is an employment and training system for young adults aged 16-24 throughout the United States with over 120 campuses. The center in Medina is located on the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
It has 104 full-time equivalents working there with a $8.9 million budget serving up to 225 students. The center says it has a $17 million economic impact on the community.
The Department of Labor, in its announcement on Thursday, said the Job Corps are not cost-effective and the sites often have violence and other infractions, with a dismal graduation rate.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training and community,” DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
The DOL said the graduation rate nationwide at the centers is at 38.6 percent, with the average cost per student a year at $80,284. The average cost per graduate is $155,600, according to the DOL.
The program also doesn’t tend to be a pathway to a career. On average, participants earn $16,695 annually on average when they leave the program, the DOL said.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Legislature on July 20, 2024 recognized the Iroquois Job Corps on its 60th anniversary. Pictured from left include Luke Kantor (Admissions and Career Transition Services manager for the Iroquois Job Corps), Deshawn Knights, Logan Abeyta, Unique Weeks, Janissa Legister, County Legislator Fred Miller and Job Corps operations director JT Thomas.
For the Iroquois Job Corps, the DOL reports there were 247 students at a $12,281,990 “prorated yearly center cost” or $8,858,261 yearly center cost.
The DOL reports Iroquois is at $49,724 cost per enrollee with 28.4 percent graduation rate.
The cost per graduate is at $211,758. The DOL reports there are 225 in the program for contract, but only 111 actual.
There were also 121 infractions in 2023 at Iroquois, and 14,913 “serious incident reports” at all the Job Corps centers, according to the DOL report.
Those serious incidents at all Job Corps included 372 sexual assaults and inappropriate sexual behavior, 1,764 acts of violence, 1,167 breaches of safety or security, and 2,702 reported uses of drugs.
The Iroquois campus can serve 225 students who are ages 16 to 24. They receive training in six main programs: brick masonry, carpentry, electrical, commercial painting, clinical medical assistant, and certified nursing assistant.
Students stay on campus and receive other education. Some of those programs include work towards an equivalency diploma and driver’s education.
The DOL announced on Thursday it will be suspending program at 99 contract-operated centers. Those centers need to mobilize students to safely return to their home of record. Funds will be used to pause program operations, which includes managing facilities, maintaining student records, and ensuring students are connected with necessary employment and program resources, the DOL said.
The announcement is a major shock to the local center, which sees its program as a success, helping at-risk youth to receive employment training and often do community service projects in Orleans, Genesee and Niagara counties, said Skip Draper, a government liaison for Job Corps. He has worked for the program for 25 years. Draper is also an Orleans County legislator and chairman of the Orleans County Republican Party.
He said he and others are reaching out to elected officials, including Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, to stop the closure of the Job Corps centers. Draper said Congress has already approved funding to operate the centers through June 20, 2026.
The centers offer residential programs for students at or below the poverty line, who often struggled in a traditional school setting.
He is hopeful the DOL and the Trump Administration will reverse the decision when they see the many successes of Job Corps, connecting people to trades, health services and other careers.
“Job Corps is open to reform,” Draper said this morning. “The centers are well positioned to advance President Trump’s skilled-worker initiative. We have been able to get young adults in programs to take training initiatives.”
Draper said the enrollments are at about 60 percent capacity because the DOL isn’t letting the centers do background checks on students who seek to enroll in the program. The DOL took over that responsibility but hasn’t been doing the background checks. That has led to smaller enrollments, which inflates the cost-per-student, he said.
The Job Corps program has broad support in Congress, Draper said. Tenney and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have both visited the local site to meet students and learn about the programs offered there.
Born out of the War on Poverty and signed into law as the Economic Opportunity Act on August 20, 1964, Job Corps has provided safe housing, education, career and technical training opportunities, and support services for deserving young people, Job Corps officials said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2025 at 3:23 pm
6 candidates seek 3 spots on Town Board
Photos by Tom Rivers: Vassilios Bitsas speaks during Thursday’s candidate forum at the Shelby fire hall. About 100 people attended the forum that stretched more than 2 ½ hours.
SHELBY – The town has perhaps the most hotly contested election this year with six candidates seeking three positions on the Town Board.
Five of those candidates were at a candidate forum on Thursday at the Shelby Fire Hall with about 100 people attending the 2 ½-hour forum moderated by County Legislator John Fitzak.
The Town of Shelby Republican Committee organized the forum. The committee has endorsed incumbent Scott Wengewicz for another two-year as town supervisor, and also has endorsed Mike Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas for town councilman.
Jim Heminway has forced a primary against Wengewicz for town supervisor. Larry Waters Sr. and incumbent Ed Zelazny also forced a primary for the councilmen.
There will be nine days of early voting from June 14 to June 22 at the county Board of Elections in Albion, and then voting on the June 24 primary at the Shelby Town Hall.
Zelazny, a farmer, did not attend the forum. He and councilwoman Linda Limina often vote against the majority on the board, especially with the budget and financial issues.
“Not participating in a ‘debate’ run by the same crew that rigged it two years ago,” Zelazny posted on Facebook. “No rules, no agenda, no fairness and a fixed deck of questions to serve their agenda. I’m not playing along. If you have questions about town business or anything else, you know how to find me.”
Zelazny said he isn’t a “yes man.” He said he has proven to be a fiscally conservative town official.
“Some people say I don’t say much,” he posted on Facebook. “That’s fine. I’d rather listen, show up, and vote right than talk in circles.”
County Legislator John Fitzak served as moderator of the forum, which took many questions from the crowd.
The crowd was urged to submit hand-written questions. They were collected by supporters of candidates from both sides. Fitzak urged the speakers to keep it civil.
Heminway and Waters have been at many board meetings the past two years or so, and have been a frequent critic of what they said is financial mismanagement by Wengewicz.
They both referred to a state comptroller report’s that was critical of the town supervisor’s oversight of town finances.
They both said Wengewicz and the town government make it too difficult to obtain public information, often requiring people to fill out Freedom of Information Act requests and then face long waits for the information.
Scott Wengewicz said the town has made progress on several fronts during his tenure as town supervisor.
Wengewicz started as town supervisor on Dec. 13, 2022, taking the position after Jeff Smith stepped down. Wengewicz was appointed by the board to fill the vacancy.
He is retired from a 30-year career as a Border Patrol agent. He has opened two businesses in Medina/Shelby: Mystic Dragon’s Lair and Patriot Guns.
He sees many successes from the town government, while working through the difficult challenges with the accounting software.
Shelby was able to keep a wind turbine project from advancing and opposed a sewer pipeline along Route 63 that would have dumped waste water into the Oak Orchard Creek.
The town has upgraded the town hall, the parking lot and replaced two dump trucks, while tending to other town business, Wengewicz said.
He said he has pushed to keep expenses down. He said budget he prepared and submitted as the tentative budget would have kept the town tax rate flat at $3.40 per $1,000 of assessed property in 2025, but the rate went up after the other board members weighed in.
Wengewicz noted the town was able to convince New Leaf Energy not to pursue two turbines that would peak at 633 feet. New Leaf sought two turbines on Route 63 on land owned by the Smith family.
The project was proposed by Borrego Solar System Inc. Borrego spun off the development side of its business to ECP, which named the new company, New Leaf Energy.
“There’s still a lot to do,” Wengewicz said about moving the town forward.
He said residents are welcome to stop by the town hall and he will answer their questions.
“I’ll show you whatever you want to see,” he said. “I have nothing to hide. You can see everything.”
Jim Heminway said his management experience would benefit the Town Board if he became town supervisor.
Heminway pushed back on some of Wengewicz’s comments. Heminway said the turbine project went away because of resident opposition, not because of the Town Board. Many residents signed a petition opposing the turbines.
Heminway said Shelby’s relatively low tax rate is due to reassessments that significantly increased the town’s tax base, and also led to higher tax bills for residents.
Wengewicz also worked with Royalton town officials to allow Shelby to tap into their water system, bringing a lower-cost option to part of Shelby. Wengewicz said the water from Royalton should be about half the cost as from Medina.
Heminway, however, said Wengewicz did that while alienating the Village of Medina, and Shelby so far doesn’t fully account for a blended rate with water mixed together from the two systems. Wengewicz said the blended rate will soon be known. The town is waiting on the first quarterly water bills to go through to provide data for determining a mixed rate.
Heminway is retired as chief operations officer for Monroe Electronics in Lyndonville. He worked there from 1998 to 2019. He also worked for American Sigma and Baxter Healthcare.
“I’ve had a lot of experience working in very diverse groups, getting different people together,” he said. “I spent a career managing people and products.”
Heminway is a current village resident who used to live on Dunlap Road, outside the village. He said the current board takes an “adversarial approach” with the village that could prove detrimental to the overall community.
He said the village faces increasing dire financial straits, with its taxes going up and facing rising costs to provide police, ambulance, fire protection and other services.
He noted that while Shelby has long felt Medina was overcharging on water, Shelby officials didn’t find resolution with the village.
“We have to reestablish that relationship with those folks,” he said. “We’re all in this together. The way things are going with taxes, we’re going to sink together.”
Shelby has the Medina Business Park which is an attractive option for businesses. But Heminway said they need to be businesses that “don’t damage our natural resources.”
The community also needs to work to solve a housing crisis where there are too few options locally. Businesses that come to Shelby will need places for employees to live.
He said Shelby should strive to be fair with the village and not be another force that works against the village.
The candidates were asked how to help the village so it doesn’t dissolve as a village government.
Vassilios Bitsas said communication and transparency should be a focus from the Town Board.
All five at the forum said they value the village services, especially the police and fire department. Waters was the lone candidate to say more of the local sales tax needs to be shared by the county government. The County legislature has kept the towns and villages collectively at about $1.3 million since 2001. The county keeps about 95 percent of the local sales tax.
Heminway said the leaders of the Shelby, Ridgeway and Medina governments, as well as the county legislators from the community, need to get together regularly to go over the local issues and see how they can better work together.
“There needs to be more communication with our neighbors,” Heminway said. “We’re not that big.”
Vassilios Bitsas, age 25, works in the day-to-day operations with the family’s restaurant – Country Club Family Restaurant in medina – and three Cusimano’s Pizzeria locations in Medina, Lockport and Brockport. The family employs 250 people, and Bitsas said clear communication and valuing employees are keys to the businesses’ success.
Bitsas said he wants to be more involved in the community, and bring a younger adult’s perspective to the board, while seeking the input from residents and other board members.
“I just want to serve you guys and do what is best,” he said.
Bitsas said more affordable housing, and more housing options should be a priority so more people can choose to stay in the community. He said many of his peers are of the age when they are looking to buy a hose, and too often they have to pick outside or the Medina/Shelby area because there are few options.
“My goal is economic growth, to bring more businesses in to ease tax burdens on others,” he said. “We need more housing. There is no where to raise your family right now.”
Mike Moriarty said infrastructure needs to be improved to bring in more companies.
Mike Moriarty, 41, is the general manager at Pride Pak, a fruit and vegetable processing business on Maple Ridge Road. He also is an electrician.
Moriarty said he isn’t a political person. “I’m Pro-Shelby,” he said. “I’d like to see Shelby thrive, and that’s it. End of story.”
Moriarty noted Pride Pak is a $37 million company with 70 employees locally. It opened in Medina in 2016.
“We’ve stayed strong and we’re expanding,” he said.
He said the Orleans Economic Development Agency was critical in bringing Pride Pak to the community. He said Shelby should work closer with the Orleans EDA to bring in companies that are a good fit for the community.
Moriarty said he watches many of the Town Board meetings online through YouTube and is astonished by the bickering.
“It’s the same thing over and over,” he said. “There is no moving forward running meetings like that.”
Shelby needs to work with the county and village to make sure the infrastructure is adequate to serve businesses and residents.
“We have fallen way behind on infrastructure,” he said. “We need to get our infrastructure straightened out so businesses will come here. We’d love to see more businesses by Pride Pak, and see Pride Pak expand.”
Larry Waters said the Town Board needs to do better managing town finances.
Larry Waters works as the corporate inventory manager for Champlain Valley Equipment, overseeing a $130 million budget. Waters has attended many meetings in the past couple years. He said the board’s “fiscal irresponsibility” is the biggest motivator for him running for councilman.
“I’m very well prepared to take on this task and to help right the ship,” he said. “I want to put myself in a position where I can help to turn this thing around.”
Waters said many in the community are reeling from rising tax bill, from dramatic increases in their assessments to overspending at the government level.
The current board often leaves him frustrated. The board doesn’t provide answers to his questions during meetings, and doesn’t get back to him after the sessions.
“They are not transparent at all,” he said. “You have to fight tooth and nail. You have to submit FOIL requests for things that should be handed to you.”
Shelby also needs to figure out a way to bring public water to areas without a waterline. Wengewicz noted the costs are too expensive to serve some areas with too few houses to cover the costs of a water district. While some residents without public water want a waterline, others are happy with the well water and don’t want the added expense of public water, Wengewicz said.
He acknowledged “it’s a balancing act” with bringing in more businesses and still maintaining the rural flavor of Shelby, and also not jeopardizing the wildlife refuge and other natural resources.
