These charts are compiled by the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

Orleans and Genesee counties both have three new cases of Covid-19, the Health Department for the two counties reported this afternoon.

The three new cases brings Orleans County’s total cases to 34. The Health Department also is reporting two more people have recovered from the virus, bringing the number of recoveries to 12. Three of the current active cases are people who are hospitalized.

Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Ridgeway, one lives in Gaines, and 1 resides in Murray. The ages include one person in the 40s, one in the 70s and one in the 90s.

In Orleans, two have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.

In Genesee County, the three new positives bring the county’s total cases to 80. The three new positives are people who all live in Batavia. One is in the 20s, another in the 40s and the other in the 90s.

The positive individuals were not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic, the Health Department sated.

Two of the current active cases include people who are hospitalized. Genesee County has had 37 people recover from Covid-19, while two people have died after being infected with the virus.

Updates from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order Covid-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories.  Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.

• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).

• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.

• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.

• If you are experiencing any Covid-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Operational Updates:

• Because COVID-19 is circulating locally, we can’t stress enough how important social distancing is and that EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and stay home! It is your social and civic responsibility to protect yourselves and others.

• If you must shop for essentials, such as food, necessary household supplies or prescriptions, shop solo! Wear a face covering and wash or sanitize your hands frequently.

• Using cloth face coverings are recommended to protect others from you. Remember to wear one when you are out in public. You will need to be careful removing them from your face so as not to be exposed to any germs from the outside. Once removed, make sure you wash them in hot water, if able, and dry in a hot dryer. Wash your hands immediately after removing the mask. For more information about masks go to reliable sights such as the CDC (click here).

Mental Health

• Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and having to socially distance yourself from someone you love can be difficult. Below are resources that can help you connect to a professional that can help you through these challenging times:

• Care + Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 at 585-283-5200 or text  ‘Talk’ to 741741

• New Yorkers can call the Covid-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling

• Head Space:  A mindfulness app called Headspace is offering some meditations to listen to for free to ease minds in such a stressful time. The app is free to download and includes meditations, sleep, and movement exercises to help with the varying emotions you may be feeling. The app does include in-app purchases (click here for more information).

Photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor: Andrew M. Cuomo speaks during a press conference in Albany on Tuesday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has issued a new executive order requiring people to wear masks or a cloth covering their mouths and noses when in public and if social distancing isn’t possible.

The governor’s new order takes effect in three days.

“Wear a mask, what’s the big deal?” the governor said a press conference today in Albany.

The mask or cloth covering can help people to not spread the virus to others.

He urged people to be expressive in wearing the masks, which can be personalized and be colorful.

Cuomo said the masks need to be worn when social distancing isn’t possible. He mentioned subways, public transit and busy streets are places wear people are close together and masks need to be worn.

People could be out walking or jogging and might not have anyone near them. If they come close to somebody, they need to slip on a mask or cloth covering, even if it’s just briefly, Cuomo said.

He is urging local governments and police agencies to enforce the new executive order. Initially there won’t be a penalty but if people are not complying with the order, Cuomo said he will update the order to include a penalty.

He anticipates the public will send the message to others to comply.

“People will enforce it,” Cuomo said. “They’ll say to you if they’re standing next you on a street corner, ‘Where’s your mask, buddy?’ in a nice New York kind of way.”

In Niagara County, 31-year-old man with no underlying health conditions dies from the virus

Photo by Tom Rivers: The flags are lowered at Mount Albion Cemetery for the victims of Covid-19. The governor has directed flags to be lowered until at least April 29.

The Health Departments for Genesee and Niagara counties today are both reporting deaths from Covid-19.

Genesee County had a person over age 65 die from Covid-19. That person who lived in the central part of the county is the second one to die in Genesee from Covid-19.

“It is with great sadness that I am reporting the second confirmed death related to COVID-19 in Genesee County,” stated Paul Pettit, Public Health Director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. “Due to privacy issues, I will not be releasing further information about this individual. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the patient.”

The Genesee County Health Department is conducting contact tracing. Close contacts have been notified of their potential exposure to COVID- 19, and have been placed under mandatory quarantine to monitor for symptoms. Individuals under mandatory quarantine who develop symptoms will be swabbed. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are following guidance provided by the NYSDOH and CDC.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread within our communities, we must do everything we can to keep each other safe” said Pettit. “Please remain home unless you are an essential worker or need to purchase essential household items. In that case, designate one (1) household member to do the shopping. We must work together as a community to stop the spread.”

In Niagara County, the Health Department is confirming four more deaths from Covid-19, bringing the county’s total to nine. (Orleans County hasn’t suffered a death from the virus.)

New York State reported 752 more deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 11,586.

Niagara County says the four deaths reported today are a 92-year-old woman with underlying health conditions, an 80-year-old man with underlying health conditions, a 92-year-old man with underlying health conditions, and a 31-year-old man with no underlying health conditions.

Farms and restaurants seek better connections for utilizing food grown in the nearby community

(Editor’s Note: Madeline Gibbs of Albion is a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology, majoring in Dietetics & Nutrition. This report follows a study on local foods, including interviews with farms and restaurant owners.)

Guest article by Madeline Gibbs

Photos courtesy of Madeline Gibbs: Madeline Gibbs is pictured at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market.

During the summer of 2018 I had the privilege to get my hands dirty and experience what it’s like to be a farmer at Kirby’s Farm Market, a family-owned and operated farm located on Ridge Road in Brockport.

The experience truly was life-changing, and by far, the best and most-rewarding job I’ve had to date; it also led me to pursue research on the local food movement—to assess what local really means for farmers and restaurants that source locally, as well as what it entails for our health, communities, economy…our world.

My findings revealed the transition from a more global to local market brings people together and the primary reason restaurateurs source locally is for the high quality, superior taste, and freshness—yes—but more importantly because they desire a connection with where their food came from and a connection with who grew it. I experienced how rewarding this connection is by working on a farm myself.

The new trending area in the restaurant industry is “farm to table” and sourcing locally, as more and more consumers become health conscious and desire to have a connection with growers and food. Being one of those consumers myself and living in Rochester where I have the luxury of local food around me through places such as Brighton Farmer’s Market and Public Market, I tend to shop locally the majority of the time and still go to Farmer’s Markets even in the winter.

As consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, more restaurants are embracing local food and connecting with farmers. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in concerns about where to buy food as supermarkets struggle to keep up with demand; local farmers and food hubs may ensure community food resilience.

My study investigated farmers’, restaurateurs’, and chefs’ beliefs about the definition of local food, as well as how local food contributes to the local economy, community, overall health, and the quality of food. To my surprise, the current definition of “local” is very vague. U.S. Congress in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act defines a “locally produced agricultural food product” as “any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and distributed in (1) the locality or region in which the final product is marketed, so that the total distance the product is transported is less than 400 miles from the origin of the product, or (2) the State in which the product is produced.”

Working on a local farm, I felt this definition didn’t accurately encompass all that local food is. It turns out, the participants of my study had differing beliefs as well. Ten local farmers, and restaurateurs and chefs that source from local farms, participated in my study, allowing me to conduct one-on-one interviews with them. Questions addressed defining local, impacts that sourcing locally has, what it means to effectively source local in a restaurant, the infrastructure needed to see more restaurants go farm to table, etc.

Several themes were apparent in the interviews where participants were asked to define local. Relationships with farmers, being within one’s neighborhood or county, geographical distance, and proximity were all contributing factors in what local meant to restaurateurs, chefs, and farmers, but the most pertinent themes revolved around one central idea—that locality primarily meant familiarity to the participants, and furthermore, being a part of one’s community. The primary reason many chefs and restaurateurs sourced locally was to support their neighbors who are farmers and to connect within their communities. Two restaurateurs from fine-dining stated that local is “relationships, it’s very personal” and “the farms we are dealing with are our neighbors,” which further emphasizes the connection-based definition for local food. Quality, freshness, taste, and nutritional attributes were also a main focus of the results.

Small-scale production is a valuable aspect of the local food movement, but additional funds for local, small-scale farmers may help them reach more consumers and effectively provide to the restaurant industry.

Farmers, as well as restaurateurs and chefs, agreed that local food is better in quality and taste, and higher in nutrient content. Not only was eating with the seasons considered healthful, but consuming food soon after it has been harvested was also associated with higher nutrient content by chefs and restaurateurs. Chefs believed that local food is of better quality, of higher value, fresher, more flavorful, and easier to work with. Furthermore, local food was said to be more sustainable and better for the environment.

These findings suggest that local cannot be defined according to distance without also addressing the personal and community-based connection to local food. Both participant groups conveyed that local food is within reach and familiar to them.

The second finding revealed that local food is multifactorial, and its attributes go beyond just its definition. Local food has positive physical and sensory attributes, but there is also a perceived personal benefit of local sourcing that reverts to social connectedness. Restaurateurs, chefs, and farmers did not purchase local food for reasons solely dependent on consumer demand or trendiness, they support local sourcing because of personal values associated with the local food movement. Participants felt it was a rewarding act to buy local food and appreciated the restaurateur-farmer relationships that were formed.

While local food has many perceived benefits, that doesn’t come without barriers. For example, livestock farmers could benefit from more restaurants undertaking a nose-to-tail approach. Greater transparency can improve success of sourcing locally.

Policy initiatives to better assist local farmers should also be investigated. For example, meat producers struggle finding small USDA inspected slaughter houses and local butchers are limited in number, by implementing changes in this area, farmers may have less expensive butcher bills and be able to use that money in other areas of their farm.

Small-scale production is a valuable aspect of the local food movement, but additional funds for local, small-scale farmers may help them reach more consumers and effectively provide to the restaurant industry.

Strengthening community, collaboration, and local relationships were themes related to local food that proved to be of greater importance than the definition of local food itself. Thus, local food should be regarded as a pathway for bringing communities together, appreciating what agriculture a region has to offer, and providing a deep connection with not only who grew the food, but food itself.

The Holley Village Board met Tuesday evening through Zoom. Pictured from left include Mayor Brian Sorochty, and trustees James DeFilipps, Rochelle Moroz, Connie Nenni and Kevin Lynch.

HOLLEY — The Holley Village Board has approved a tentative budget that would reduce the tax rate from $16.41 to $16.20 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The board held a public hearing on the budget at Tuesday evening. The meeting was done online through Zoom. The Village Office remains closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the village’s first meeting online.

The budget will be formally adopted later this month. The village fiscal year runs from June 1 to May 31.

Although the tax rate will be going down, the village will be collecting more in property taxes. The tax levy will go up 2.3 percent or by $20,483 from $887,999 to $908,482.

The tax rate will go down because the village’s tax base grew by about $2 million. The village assessed value is up 3.6 percent or $1,967,513, from $54,098,660 to $56,066,173.

The general fund portion of the budget – office, DPW, police, employee benefits and general debt – totals $1,239,434, while the water budget is $436,401 and the sewer budget is $180,338.

Mayor Brian Sorochty said village officials have been working hard on the budget in recent months. He is pleased the tax rate will go down and the budget is under the property tax cap.

However, he said the village will have to be extra careful this coming fiscal year because state and federal funding may change due to the economic strains from Covid-19’s impact on the economy.

“We will really need scrutinize spending given the uncertainty,” Sorochty said.

In other action at Tuesday’s meeting, the Village Board:

• Approving spending $1,500 for the Waste Water Treatment to purchase two submersible pumps from Goodwin and 100 feet of lay flat hose.

• Approved spending $600 for the Police Department’s annual defibrillator certification conducted by Zoll.

• Approved spending $3605.83 for the Water Department to buy a Well Pump from Bailey Electric.

• Authorized spending $3,800 for the Water Department to buy four sampling stations from Blair Supply.

• Approved up to $900 for flowers and mulch for containers on Public Square and Wright Street.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

Public Safety Telecommunicators (911 dispatchers) are a vital part in an emergency. Through assessment and coordination of each situation, the 911 dispatcher links callers in distress to the correct emergency services needed for rapid response times.

Many lives are saved in the community due to the expertise and coordination of the 911 dispatchers.

Orleans County has nine full-time and three part-time dispatchers. About 100,000 calls are made to the dispatch in Orleans County each year.

Please join us in recognizing our 911 dispatchers for their diligence, dedication and service to our community.

Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Aging Committee, called on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, and HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Director Roger Severino to ensure the equitable distribution of health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the coronavirus outbreak strains New York’s health care system, Senator Gillibrand expressed concern that health care providers could discriminate based on age or disability status in decisions about the provision of lifesaving treatment to those who are most likely to survive.

Aging and disability bias for coronavirus treatment would devastate New York’s growing aging population and large community of people with disabilities. Enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act would help ensure these populations are protected and that health care providers are prevented from denying care based on age or disability.

In March, Senator Gillibrand led a bipartisan, bicameral call on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to protect against disability discrimination in state and health provider responses to COVID-19.

“Health care is a right, regardless of age or disability,” said Senator Gillibrand. “During this crisis, we must protect New York’s older adults and people with disabilities by ensuring that everyone has access to lifesaving health care. As our health care system struggles with the surge of COVID-19 patients, it’s crucial that the administration provide clear guidelines for equitable care for all Americans.”

To ensure people with disabilities and older adults do not face discrimination for COVID-19 treatment, Senator Gillibrand and her colleagues urged HHS to prioritize the enforcement of the following principles:

• Prohibit perceptions of quality of life of people with disabilities and older adults from being used to deny or give lower relative priority for care
• Prohibit denial or lower relative priority for care based on relative non-negligible survival probabilities
• Prohibit denial or lower relative priority for care based on resource intensity
• Require individualized, evidence-based assessment

Photo by Tom Rivers: The American flag is lowered outside the Veterans Service Agency on Route 31 in Albion on Monday. The flags are at half-mast while the state is declared on “pause” by the governor until at least April 29.

New York State has passed 200,000 cases of confirmed cases of Covid-19, by far the most of any state in the country.

New York had 7,177 new positives on Monday, pushing the state’s total to 202,208. That is about three times the number of cases in New Jersey, 68,824, the state with the second most cases. No other state has more than 30,000 cases.

New York also suffered 778 more deaths from Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the state total to 10,834.

“To me that’s the most painful number and it has been the most painful number every day, and those New Yorkers are in our thoughts and prayers,” Giov. Andrew Cuomo today during a news conference in Albany. “You look at the past few days and the number of lives lost, it’s basically flat at a devastating level of pain and grief but evidence is, everything else we’re seeing is basically a flattening at this level.”

New Jersey has the second most deaths at 2,805. Michigan has the third most deaths at 1,768, followed by Louisiana at 1,013.

The state also is reporting that 17,089 people have recovered from Covid-19.

Throughout the United States, there are 610,097 confirmed cases of Covid-19, which have resulted in 25,649 deaths. About twice that, 45,414, have recovered from Covid-19.

The confirmed cases in WNY counties include:

• Allegany – 28

• Cattaraugus – 32

• Chautauqua – 23

• Erie – 1,668

• Genesee – 76

• Livingston – 31

• Monroe – 850

• Niagara – 197

• Orleans – 31

• Wyoming – 32

Source: NYS Department of Health

Gov. Cuomo is hopeful the state has hit the apex and will start seeing a decline in daily hospitalizations, intubations and deaths from Covid-19.

For the state to reduce those numbers it needs continued vigilance from the public with frequent hand washing, social distancing and staying home as much as possible.

If those numbers go down the state can also push to incrementally reopen businesses, he said.

“We should take some comfort in the fact that we have demonstrated that we can actually control the spread of the virus,” Cuomo said about the initial much higher projections for hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19. “Tremendous, dramatic pain to do it, shut down everything but thank God we can control the spread. Can you imagine how bad a situation it would be if we did all of this and you still saw those numbers going up. You lock up with your family, you protect them, but somehow the virus still infiltrated the house. That would have been frightening. So there is good news in this.”

Cuomo said he knows people are eager to return to work and their normal lives. He cautioned the state won’t be hasty to charge back to life as normal.

“People need to get back to work,” he said. “The state needs an economy. We cannot sustain this for a prolonged period of time. Everybody agrees. Everybody will also say how you reopen is everything because of the first point which is we are now keeping down that rate of infection. If you start acting differently you will see a corresponding increase in that rate of infection. The worst scenario would be if we did all of this, we got that number down, everybody went to extraordinary means and then we go to reopen and we reopen too fast or we reopen and there’s unanticipated consequences and we see that number go up again.”

These charts are compiled by the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

The Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments today is reporting two new cases of Covid-19 in Orleans, including the first case in the county for a person under age 20.

Orleans County now has 31 total cases. Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Albion and other resides in Barre.

One is under age 20 and the other is in the 80s. The Health Department also reports that three more people have recovered from Covid-19 and been released from mandatory isolation. That brings the county’s total recoveries to 10.

Three people who have tested positive for Covid-19 are currently hospitalized.

Genesee County has one new positive case of Covid-19 for 77 total cases. The new case involves a person from Batavia in the 30s. The positive individual was not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.

Situational Updates from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

• Today we are adding Wyoming County mapping (click here to see three-county map showing Covid-19 cases and data). Genesee and Orleans County will not be making any statement related to Wyoming County. Please contact the Wyoming County Health Department for any inquiries.

• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.

• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).

• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.

• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.

• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Operational Updates

• State of Emergency To Be Extended: Due to the Governor’s Executive Order on April 12, extending the Disaster Emergency through May 12, both counties are extending the State of Emergency for the same time period.

• Because COVID-19 is circulating locally, we can’t stress enough how important social distancing is and that EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and stay home! It is your social and civic responsibility to protect yourselves and others.

• If you must shop for essentials, such as food, necessary household supplies or prescriptions, shop solo! Wear a face covering and wash or sanitize your hands frequently.

• Using cloth face coverings are recommended to protect others from you.  Remember to wear one when you are out in public.  You will need to be careful removing them from your face so as not to be exposed to any germs from the outside.  Once removed, make sure you wash them in hot water, if able, and dry in a hot dryer.  Wash your hands immediately after removing the mask.  For more information about masks go to reliable sights such as the CDC (click here).

‘Healthcare workers helping healthcare workers’

Cheryl Kast knows this Covid-19 pandemic is hard on people in many ways. Not only is there worry about their health, but the economy has drastically slowed down with nonessential businesses closed.

Public schools also are entering their fifth week of being off limits to students and staff.

People want to reach out and help others, but they are encouraged to stay home as much as possible, stay at least six feet apart in public and wait out the pandemic.

Kast, a physician’s assistant at Oak Orchard Health, and her family spearheaded sending more than a dozen care packages to healthcare workers on the U.S. Navy Comfort ship, which is being used as a hospital in New York City.

The Kast family recruited friends to fill more than a dozen boxes with blankets, egg crate mattress pads, granola bars, 20 pounds of fudge, trail mix, cheese fries and toiletries.

“There isn’t much we feel like we can do right now, but this is something,” Kast said.

She lives in Albion. She graduated from Attica. One of her classmates, Kathy (Smith) Gabriel, works at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and helped assemble the staff on the Comfort.

Kast’s daughter Sierra is a junior at Albion. Last month, before schools were shut down, she attended a trip with her classmates to Washington D.C. Sierra asked the students on the “Close Up” trip to DC to help fill the boxes with supplies. The students and their social studies teacher, Rich Gannon, responded.

Cheryl Kast also had a strong response from her colleagues at Oak Orchard Health. The board members at Oak Orchard also agreed to pay the shipping for the boxes.

“It’s healthcare workers helping healthcare workers,” Kast said.

John Kast of Albion checks the packages at Watt Farms Country Market. More than a dozen boxes will be sent to the Comfort ship in New York City.

Flowers for nursing home residents

Last week Mary Lewis received a call from a local resident. He wanted to buy flowers for all the residents at the nursing home in Albion.

Lewis, owner of Creekside Floral in Medina, prepared 60 vases with flowers for residents at The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Facility.

The man who paid for the flowers wants to remain anonymous.

“He wanted to cheer them up,” said Lewis, whose store is closed to the public, but she continues to take orders online and by phone. “He wanted something for each person to have to brighten their day.”

Lewis normally has five employees but they aren’t working right now with the shop largely closed.

She said people also are ordering flowers to send to families who have lost loved ones, but can’t hold funerals or calling hours because of the ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people.

“We still have people sending flowers,” Lewis said. “People just want to cheer everybody up.”

Apples and cookies for county employees

Provided photo: Apples and cookies were delivered to the county office building last week for county employees.

The Orleans County Administration Building is closed to the public but many employees are still showing up at work and assisting residents by phone or through email.

LynOaken Farms in Lyndonville and Medina wanted to show its appreciation for the essential workforce in the county government. Last week LynOaken delivered many apples for the county workforce.

Teresa Gaylard, the children’s librarian at the Hoag Library and a member of the current Leadership Orleans program, also sent the county employees a tray of cookies from Case-Nic Cookies in Medina.

File photo by Tom Rivers: Members of the American Legion in Lyndonville ride on a trailer and wave to the crowd during the Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2015.

LYNDONVILLE – The Memorial Day parade has been cancelled in Lyndonville, Steve Goodrich, the American Legion commander for the Houseman-Tanner Post 1603, announced this morning.

Several of the American Legion Posts in Western New York have announced they are cancelling the parades on May 25 due to concerns about Covid-19.

Goodrich said the average age of the post members in Lyndonville is 83.

“I can’t in good conscience put them at risk,” Goodrich said. “I feel it is only prudent  to take this action for the safety of everyone.”

News organizations in Western New York are reporting Memorial Day parades are cancelled in Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda, West Seneca, Lewiston, Lockport, Rochester and Irondequoit.

Goodrich said he has plans to recognize veterans in Lyndonville on Memorial Day. He asked community members to send him the names of local people currently serving in the military. He wants them to publicly acknowledged in the near future.

The American Legion in Lyndonville also places more than 400 flags on veterans’ graves right before Memorial Day. Goodrich said he doesn’t want the older members to be at risk with that duty. Goodrich said he will place the flags alone when he gets out of work. He said it will be a gradual process and urges the public’s understanding.

“If one is missed, I ask you notify me,” he said in a Facebook message on the Lyndonville, NY People page. “I will ensure any overlooked will receive a flag.”

Three Orleans County residents are among a new class of 28 people who finished the first year of a leadership program for people in the agricultural industry in New York.

LEAD New York just completed the year-long training program with its 18th class. Among the class members are three Orleans County residents: Jessica Decker of Kendall (Quality Systems Manager for the Brockport plant of Bonduelle USA), Matthew Toussaint of Medina (Partner/Manager of Toussaint Farms LLC in Medina) and David Bittner of Lyndonville (Orchard manager for Bittner-Singer Orchards in Appleton).

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the first year of the program didn’t end the way the class had anticipated. They weren’t able to hold the final, in-person seminar in Corning. The group instead met via Zoom, and other content will be covered later in the summer.

“This first year of the program focuses on leadership skill development, heightened self-awareness, improved understanding of the food, agriculture and natural resource sectors in New York State, and building a team of aspiring leaders that will support each other on their development journey” said Larry Van De Valk, Executive Director of the program. “In the second year, we turn our attention outward, spending less time on skill development and more time on issues awareness, critical thinking, and developing a global perspective. The current crisis will certainly provide much for us to discuss about food systems, community, and leadership.”

LEAD New York is a leadership development program for adult professionals in the food, agriculture and natural resource sectors. It consists of seminars, workshops, and field travel experiences both in and out of New York State, including an international study trip. The class in the first year has looked at the industry throughout the state, including spending three days in the Batavia area from Dec. 5-7 to study production agriculture locally.

The program focuses on leadership skill development, enhanced self-awareness, civic engagement, a greater understanding of issues facing our food system and rural communities, and cultivating leadership networks. Currently, there are over 500 LEAD New York alumni serving in leadership positions in private business, local, state and federal government positions, not-for-profit organizations, and educational institutions.

For more information on the program, click here.

Photo courtesy of Community Action: Hand sanitizer is loaded into a vehicle at Community Action’s Albion site.

ALBION – Child care providers who are licensed and remain open in Orleans and Genesee counties have been provided with hand sanitizer from the state.

The Child Care Resource and Referral through Community Action of Orleans and Genesee teamed up with the state Office of Children and Family Services on April 2 to distribute gallons of NYS Clean Hand Sanitizer to licensed child care programs that are still open and caring for children both counties.

Each provider was given a liquid base hand sanitizer to use in their program. This is different than gel-based sanitizer and is best used in a spray bottle. One spray covers adult hands and half spray covers children.

Taryn Moyle, CCR&R Program Manager, was present with John Rothrock, OCFS Fire and Safety Representative, and Toni Medrano-Bouldin, OCFS Buffalo Regional Office Child Care Licensor, as they conducted a drive-through at Community Action’s Albion and Batavia locations. OCFS held similar events throughout the state in the first week of April for active child care programs.

Press Release, NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today outlined several actions the Department of Agriculture and Markets has taken to assist the agricultural industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many sectors of the industry, including New York’s dairy farmers, have faced extreme economic difficulties with the loss of wholesale markets, such as schools and restaurants, and uncertain consumer demand. The Commissioner, in a joint letter with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, last week urged the United States Department of Agriculture to support New York’s farmers with immediate emergency relief funding. Read the letter here.

Commissioner Ball said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our agricultural community, as it has all of us, in so many ways. The challenges and disruptions our farmers are facing are like nothing we have seen before and our farmers are experiencing extreme economic difficulties. The Department is working, with all its partners, to seek relief for New York producers, and find new avenues for New York products while providing guidance and resources that allow many of our vital agricultural businesses to continue their operations.”

The Department has convened members of the Milk Marketing Advisory Council and continues discussions with food banks across the state, in coordination with the NYS Department of Health’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, to identify ways to alleviate the surplus challenges that are impacting New York’s dairy, specialty crop farmers, and seafood producers. The Department is also working closely with the New York Farm Bureau to address industry concerns and provide critical updates.

In addition, the Department is working to address limits being placed on the sale of dairy and other agricultural products in grocery stores, in coordination with the Food Industry Alliance, the Retail Council of New York State, the Business Council of New York State, New York Farm Bureau, and the state’s retail grocery stores.

Guidance to Maintain Businesses

To keep the agricultural community informed on the most recent Executive Orders as they relate to COVID-19, the Department has issued guidance documents for its farmers’ markets, retail food and food manufacturing firms, fisheries, and animal care operations to help them maintain business safely.

It has also granted restaurants approval to sell grocery items, allowing additional revenue for restaurants and an additional market outlet for farmers and food businesses. In addition, fisheries have been permitted to temporarily sell and/or process seafood directly to the end consumer. A list of guidance provided to the industry is below:

Guidance for the Operation of Farmers’ Markets

For Restaurants: Interim Guidance to Sell Grocery Items

Guidance for Fish Processors and Retail

Guidance for Animal Care Operations

Guidance for Food Manufacturing Facilities

All guidance documents and additional details are located on the Department’s website at agriculture.ny.gov/coronavirus, which is updated on a regular basis and as new information becomes available. The Department has also compiled and published a general resource guide for the agricultural community, which includes information on important actions and resources to help New York’s agricultural businesses, and information on other areas, such as food safety, companion animals, mental health, and more. The resource guide is available at agriculture.ny.gov/covid-19-resource-guide.

In addition, New York State has set up a COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-364-3065 and a space to submit questions online (click here).

Photos courtesy of Nick Nesbitt

POINT BREEZE – Nick Nesbitt, a local apple farmer, sent in these photos of swans this afternoon near Point Breeze.

Nesbitt happened to see the swans tucked away in a swamp near Point Breeze. They were out just before the high winds moved in.