Press Release, Senator Rob Ortt

State Sen. Rob Ortt (R,C,I,Ref-North Tonawanda) was joined his colleagues today in calling on the New York State Comptroller to identify the true cost of the state’s proposed subsidies for the building and operation of wind farms off of Long Island.

According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA), preliminary cost estimates for the subsidies to operate these proposed turbines came in at approximately $2.2 billion. However, after a closer review and analysis of financial documents by the Empire Center, an independent government watchdog, NYSERDA’s projections proved to be inaccurate. The Empire Center for Public Policy puts the inflation-adjusted subsidies, the actual cost to ratepayers, at more than $6 billion.

“With such a massive discrepancy in projected costs, it is only logical to ask for assistance from the objective experts in the New York State Comptroller’s Office to determine the true figures behind the subsidies as well as their long-term cost to New Yorkers,” said Sen. Ortt. “Reports that Upstate and Western New Yorkers will be forced to bankroll the undetermined costs of these energy projects is worrisome. An independent audit of these projects must be completed to protect the best interests and pocketbooks of New York’s taxpayers.”

Sen. Ortt and his colleagues are seeking transparency and a true independent determination on the Long Island wind farm cost to protect New York’s taxpayers and hold those responsible for these wind farms accountable should problems arise.

Senator James L. Seward (R,C,I-Oneonta) said, “Checks and balances, transparency, and accountability are crucial to ensuring the public trust in our government and preventing the misuse of taxpayer money. When billions of dollars are at stake it is vital that we know exactly how public funds are being spent – down to the very last penny. The New York State Comptroller’s Office needs to step in and provide the public with a true and accurate assessment of this project.”

Senator Daphne Jordan (R,C,I,Ref-Halfmoon) said “With New York State continuing to face serious fiscal challenges, most recently in the form of a multi-billion dollar Medicaid gap, providing transparency on the potential subsidy costs of wind farms off Long Island is critical. I agree with my colleague Senator Ortt that this information can help protect taxpayers and ensure that policymakers have objective facts about the true, long-term expense of this and other energy projects. Saddling upstate residents with these types of hidden costs is simply unacceptable. I am hopeful that we will receive the requested information and an independent audit as to the true costs of this project so we can better protect taxpayers.”

Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) said, “Upstate New York taxpayers will be on the hook for the long-term costs of these enormous subsidies, for twenty-five years or more, to provide electricity to New York City and Long Island. It is critical that an independent audit provide the transparency and the full reporting that taxpayers deserve.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: Fancher Road near the Holley Road intersection is shown on Saturday afternoon in Murray.

A wind advisory is in effect from 11 tonight through 10 a.m. on Friday for Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Erie and Chautauqua counties.

There will be westerly winds from 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 mph, said the National Weather Service in Buffalo. The gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result, the Weather Service said.

Today there is a high of 49 degrees with the temperatures dropping to 34 on Friday. Saturday there will be a high of 44, followed by Sunday’s high near 42, according to the Weather Service.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Albion Rotary Club today presented a check for $5,311 to Leadership Orleans, which is part of the proceeds from the club’s golf tournament in July.

Skip Helfrich (left), Leadership Orleans director, accepts the check from Richard Remley, Rotary Club president.

Leadership Orleans is in its second year. There have been about 25 members in each class for the first two years. The year-long program meets monthly and the members comes from a cross section of the community, including government department heads, farm leaders, agency directors and other business officials. The program picked residents who have demonstrated leadership abilities, interest in community affairs, and a commitment to Orleans County’s future.

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

The Rotary Club also presented a Paul Harris Fellow to Alex Krebs, left. She is a past president of the club. This is her second Paul Harris award, which is given in honor of Rotary’s founder. Krebs, who works in graphic design, accepts the award from Donna Saskowski, executive director of the Arc of Genesee Orleans. She is also Rotary assistance district governor.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Danielle Wyant is Miss Viola Swamp, a scary substitute teacher, in Miss Nelson Is Missing, which will be performed by Albion Middle School students at 7 p.m. Friday, and noon and 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Middle School School Auditorium.

Viola Swamp is brought in as a substitute after Miss Nelson, the class’s regular teacher, doesn’t show up for school. Swamp is mean and scares these students played by Mallory Kozody, center, and Lucy Rivers.

Miss Nelson’s class is the worst behaved in the whole school with uncontrollable students sending spitballs and paper airplanes flying. Miss Nelson is desperate to improve the bad behavior of the students. Cassie Brown is the student standing on a chair.

Mallory Ashbery plays, Mrs. Blandsworth, a nerdy principal who laments about her boring life and sings, “Carried Away.” She also shares with the students they will be having a substitute teacher.

Viola Swamp demands respect from the students and explains the consequences of disobedience in class. “Woe to those who misbehave,” she tells the students, which include Emma Shay, center, and Ella Trupo, right. Swamp also piles on the homework, and bangs her cane on the floor and desks.

The musical is based on a children’s book. The Albion production has 16 students in the cast and 18 in stage crew. The show is directed by Carrie Kozody with Kevin Feder the assistant director.

The students miss their teacher and go to Detective McSmogg (Isabella Gray) for help in finding Miss Nelson. The detective isn’t very helpful, but devises a plan to search the entire globe. Here she holds her magnifying glass that impresses the students.

Miss Nelson (Danielle Wyant) returns after the students send her letters, asking her to come back. Miss Nelson finds the students are much better behaved and more appreciative of her after their time with Miss Viola Swamp.

Adam Burlison plays Pop Hanson, a janitor who serves as a narrator.

CARLTON – Residents on many of the fire lanes and narrow roads by the lakeshore in Carlton were surprised to discover on Monday that Modern Disposal wouldn’t be picking up their garbage or recycling.

The company had notified the lakeshore towns – Carlton, Kendall and Yates – it had concerns over the narrow roadways. The company is using bigger trucks and Modern told residents in an email they had concerns for employees’ safety on the narrow roadways. Many of those are privately owned and aren’t maintained to the standards of a public road. There are more potholes and overheard limbs to contend with.

Modern told residents to take their garbage and recycling to collection points at the end of streets.

Town and county officials have received numerous phone calls and emails about the matter. The garbage and recycling contract is negotiated by the county.

Carlton Town Supervisor Gayle Ashbery said today she was caught off guard by the change that started this week.

After discussions with Modern, the company has agreed to resume garbage and recycling pickup on the seasonal roads, except for three – Erway Tract, Park Lane Extension and Sunset Island (by the peninsula north of Kuckville).

Garbage and recycling was left out Monday in Carlton on Lakeside Park Road but still hadn’t been picked up this morning.

Modern officials said their evaluation was fair about the safety of sending their trucks down the fire lanes. However, the company was “abrupt” in implementing the plan and didn’t allow enough time for the communities to review the plan and communicate the changes to residents, Joseph Hickman, strategic/municipal sales manager for Modern, said in an email to county officials today.

“In order to provide these community the required time to review, discuss and inform residents, we are suspending service changes and resuming normal collection,” Hickman wrote in the message.

Ashbery said Modern will likely be putting dumpsters for residents on those three streets to leave their garbage. The company is working on how to handle pickup on those three streets during the winter months.

The company said it would go back through Carlton today and Thursday to grab the garbage and recycling that was put out for Monday.

Vincent DeWind is one of the homeowners on the seasonal Park Road. He acknowledged it’s tough terrain for the garbage trucks.

“It’s very tricky backing up for them,” he said.

He faulted the local government and Modern for not communicating with residents about the changes.

He worries now that garbage could pile up at the collection spots, and could be a big cleanup effort if the trash blows around. He also said it will take much more effort for the residents to take it to the collection spots, especially for the senior citizens.

Press Release, District Attorneys Association of the State of NY, NYS Association of Chiefs of Police, and NYS Sheriffs’ Association

ALBANY – In numerous locations across the state, hundreds of District Attorneys, Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, Police Union members and other law enforcement officials called on the Legislature and the Governor to address serious concerns to New York’s new bail and discovery laws.

The bills were embedded in the greater budget bill and passed with little to no input from the law enforcement community. The bail bill will eliminate cashless bail for a wide swath of crimes and fails to provide any mechanism for judges to consider a defendant’s danger to the community.

Zero dollars were provided by the State for pretrial services to help ensure attendance at trial. The discovery bill overhauls the discovery process and requires an expedited timeline to provide materials such as police reports, radio transmissions, body-worn and dash-cam video, laboratory test results and volumes of other materials and data related to prosecution.

The bill considerably expands the number of cases where these documents must be exchanged yet provides no additional funding or resources for prosecutors or law enforcement to comply. The discovery bill also requires the disclosure of victim and witness names and identifying information to the accused without adequate mechanisms to protect against witness intimidation and tampering. Additionally, the law creates a statutory right for the accused to visit a crime scene even if it is a private home.

“Bail and discovery reform will change the criminal justice system in New York State, but not for the good of the law-abiding citizens of the state and Niagara County,” said James R. Voutour, sheriff of Niagara County and chairman of the Executive Committee of the New York State Sheriff’s Association. “The handcuffs are being removed from the criminals and placed on the hands of the hard-working deputy sheriffs, police officers, prosecutors, and other members of law enforcement working to protect our citizens. The Legislature and the Governor need to delay the implementation of these changes to ensure that all New Yorkers receive the protection they deserve.”

Virtually every other state in the country that has eliminated cash bail has given judges the resources to make proper decisions about who should be held and who should be released. Forty-seven states permit judges to consider public safety in their determination to set bail.

After neighboring New Jersey implemented cashless bail, within months, they moved to a system where judges use risk assessment to weigh a defendant’s criminal history and the charges they face to determine their risk of danger to public safety.

Year after year, New York continues to be a leader in public safety. New York is the fifth safest state in the country and has the lowest crime rate of any large state.

New York also has the lowest imprisonment rate of any large state. Since 2007, crime has declined by 18% in New York State.

The state has a property crime rate 40% lower than the national average. The every day work of prosecutors, sheriffs and police officers is an integral part of maintaining and improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers. All of these offices must be adequately funded and properly staffed.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is filled with Christmas festivities, traditions and family gatherings. But for many of our servicemen and women, they will be spending the holidays very far from home and their loved ones.

Thankfully, the Warrior House of WNY puts together stockings full of items to send to those serving overseas. Several boxes of the items were collected to send to our brave men and women who will not make it home for the holidays.

The Oak Orchard Elementary School staff and students were more than happy to collect items to add to these stockings and make the holidays brighter for those who are serving our country. Thank you to everyone who donated.

The Warrior House of WNY is a veterans service organization and farm located in Orleans and Niagara counties. The Warrior House mission is to offer direct support for wounded veterans, host hunting trips, fishing expeditions, temporary housing for veterans and a Christmas gift distribution program that provides gifts for the children of military service personnel and military personnel.

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that New York State will spend as much as $60 million to make sure that every New Yorker is counted in the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census.

The state will leverage resources across dozens of agencies, public authorities, CUNY and SUNY that regularly interact with millions of New Yorkers. Together, they will launch a wide-reaching campaign valued at up to $40 million from existing resources that will inform the public about the Census and support efforts to encourage residents to complete the questionnaire. Additionally, $20 million from the FY 2020 Budget is being made available to support targeted efforts in hard to reach communities.

“Counting every New Yorker in the 2020 Census is critical to ensuring we are accurately represented in Congress and receive the federal funding we deserve,” Governor Cuomo said. “While the federal government has thrown up road block after road block – spreading fear among immigrant communities in the process – in New York we will break through and make sure that even our most difficult to reach communities are counted.”

The state’s support for the Census count builds on findings and recommendations released in October by the New York State Complete Count Commission, which held 10 public hearings and reviewed hundreds of comments, expert testimonies and in-depth analysis of previous census results.

The Commission found that the 2020 Census faces unprecedented challenges. For the first time, the Census will be conducted primarily online, and while the Trump Administration failed in its effort to include a citizenship question on the Census, its attempt to do so spread fear among immigrant communities.

The Trump administration and Congress have also failed to fully fund Census operations in the years leading up to 2020.  As a result of that failure, the Census Bureau has been forced to cut costs, shifting responsibility for on-the-ground work necessary to drive participation in the 2020 Census from the federal government to state and local partners. The number of U.S. Census Bureau field offices in New York has dropped from 35 in 2010 to 21 in 2020.

To break through these barriers, CUNY, SUNY and dozens of other State agencies and authorities will use their resources and ongoing contact with the public to develop and deploy an up to $40 million from statewide Census awareness campaign using existing resources. These state entities, including the Departments of Labor, Motor Vehicles, Agriculture and Markets; the offices of Mental Health, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and People with Developmental Disabilities; Empire State Development; and the Division of Veterans Affairs will conduct outreach and provide Census-related information across their millions of contacts with the public.

While the U.S. Census Bureau is only providing translation for a fraction of the languages spoken in New York State, state employees are already trained to use the Language Line, which provides on the spot translation services for more than 200 languages.

Examples of how state entities will leverage their resources include, but are not limited to:

• The Department of Labor, which reaches more than 9 million workers, 550,000 businesses and serves more than 500,000 New Yorkers directly, will open all 96 of its Career Centers as census assistance centers where members of the public can securely complete their 2020 Census questionnaire online. Career Centers will also display Census information on TV monitors in the waiting room, posters and handouts in multiple languages. The Department of Labor has also already promoted Census Bureau jobs at more than 100 jobs fairs and other recruiting events it hosts in every region of the state.

• Every New Yorker lives within 30 miles of one of SUNY’s 64 campuses and CUNY adds 25 campuses across New York City’s five boroughs, all of which can serve as nodes that combine outreach efforts with resources. The two university systems, including community colleges, will also collaborate with the state to ensure their nearly 700,000 students are counted. Empire State College will open dozens of computer labs across the state for members of the public to use to complete the Census.

• The Department of Motor Vehicles has 27 state-run district offices and 94 county-run filed offices across the state through which it reaches about 12 million customers annually with 19.5 million connecting with the Department through its website. Census information will be displayed and distributed at every location and staff will be equipped to promote the Census in discussions with all visitors. It will also tap its database of approximately 4 million email addresses.

• The FY 2020 Budget also appropriated up to $20 million to support Census outreach. A Request for Expressions of Interest will be released next week with a response due back in 30 days. The funding will be targeted to “trusted voice” not-for-profit organizations and will be focused on reaching hard to count communities, including those with high populations of immigrants, children under 5 years old, and seniors. Funding awards will be determined based on plans evaluated on a variety of factors, including presence of cooperating libraries and other institutions, proven capability of the organizations, and other factors.

KENDALL – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $672,000 in funding for a water project in the Town of Kendall.

The USDA will provide a $384,000 grant and a $288,000 loan to create the West Kendall Road Water District #10.

This project will be located along Roosevelt Highway (Route 18) in an east-west direction and northerly along West Kendall Road. This will include replacing 6,500 linear feet of water main. This project will extend public water service to 19 residential users that currently do not have safe potable water, the USDA said.

Water-quality testing indicates a significant portion of the residents’ individual wells have coliform bacteria, which the Health Department indicates does not meet standards and are a threat to the health of residents, according to the USDA.

The USDA also approved more than $4 million for a water project in the Town of Sweden in Brockport. The town will construct a waterline on Lake Road and Redman Road. The project will extend an existing public water system to residents that currently have poor quality and quantity of water. The USDA is providing a $2,000,000 loan and $2,327,000 grant for the project.

‘We feel very comfortable this school system is not in danger from these three individuals.’ – District Attorney Joe Cardone

ALBION — About 200 people attended a meeting that lasted more than 2 hours at the Albion Middle School this evening. Many expressed concerns about the safety of students on campus after three middle school boys were arrested on Nov. 8 for allegedly planning to attack the school with guns and explosives.

Those students have been suspended and are home on 24-7 adult supervision without access to computers or phones. Orders of protection have also been issued for three of their classmates. The three boys can’t communicate with the other codefendants. Legally owned firearms have been seized and removed.

Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said a great working relationship with the school district and law enforcement agencies helped the Albion Police Department make three arrests in an alleged plot to attack the school.

Their cases are being handled in Family Court by Judge Sanford Church. They also will go through the school’s disciplinary process with a superintendent’s hearing.

Joe Cardone, the district attorney, praised the Albion police, school district superintendent Michael Bonnewell and their partnership in aggressively pursuing the threat. Cardone has been the DA for about 27 years.

“This is the first time we have dealt with something of this magnitude in one of our school systems,” Cardone said.

School and law enforcement officials said a fast-working investigation showed there was a credible threat at the school. A student reported to a teacher on Monday, Nov. 4, that she received a threatening message from a student.

Chris Glogowski, Albion school resource officer, was brought in and realized there was potential for a larger threat involving more than the two students. The Albion Police Department worked with State Police and the FBI as well as the District Attorney’s Office. The district also activated a Threat Assessment Team that had been formed over the summer.

“It was all hands on deck,” Cardone said. “We all had one interest to neutralize the threat and make sure this community is safe.”

The APD made three arrests on Thursday, Nov. 8. A press conference was called on Friday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. to announce the arrests and share how serious the threat was towards the school.

The thwarted attack made national news.

But many at the meeting this evening said the school and police should have told the community early in the investigation that there was a plot to attack the school. Some parents said they wouldn’t have sent their kids to school had they known police were investigating such a serious threat.

Roland Nenni, the Albion police chief, said the three students were in the planning stage and weren’t going to attack soon. The school didn’t face imminent violence, Nenni said.

The three boys were planning to use guns and explosives but didn’t have access to explosives or the materials to make them, Nenni said.

To announce the case early in the investigation also would have made it harder to gather information from witnesses who could have been tipped off, the police chief said.

“We didn’t want rumors,” he said. “We didn’t want to be inhibited in getting data and information.”

Nenni said the case remains an active investigation where evidence is being gathered and analyzed.

He told the parents he understands their frustrations.

“If I was in your shoes I would want all the information and all the details,” he said. “But we didn’t want to release anything that would hamper the investigation.”

District Attorney Joe Cardone said the superintendents from the five local school districts will be working with law enforcement to develop a protocol for responding to threats against a school and students. Mark O’Brien, Mental Health director, is at right.

Because the boys are minors their names won’t be released publicly. Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, said laws limit what can be said publicly about the cases. He didn’t want to predict how they will be punished until their cases go through court and the district’s disciplinary process. For him to say how he expects to punish the students could result in an appeal or reduced punishment if the boys’ families can show Bonnewell made up his mind on a punishment before the disciplinary process.

Some parents in the audience wanted more details and assurance the boys in the alleged plot would not be returning to school. If they come back, several parents said they would pull their kids from school.

Mark O’Brien, director of the Orleans County Mental Health Department, said local schools in recent years have become satellite sites for mental heath counselors to work with students. He wants to work with schools to identify students who may be showing troubling behavior and get them the help they need while they are young.

Cardone and Bonnewell said the boys, as part of the state law, must be held in the least restrictive means possible as long as they meet the conditions set by the judge. Cardone said the parents of three boys have all been very cooperative.

“We feel very comfortable this school system is not in danger from these three individuals,” Cardone said.

Other parents asked that Bonnewell notify the community of the boys’ punishment, and if they will return to school. He said he will share as much information as he is allowed by law after the students go through the court and disciplinary processes.

He was asked to have metal detectors at the school, to check backpacks. Bonnewell said he would present the request to the Board of Education.

Middle school students have been addressed by Principal Brad Pritchard about the threat, and urged to share concerns about student safety. There has also been an increased police presence on campus the past two weeks.

Bonnewell also was asked why elementary or high school students haven’t been spoken to about the threat. He said he would push for that outreach. The district’s first focus was at the middle school.

Mark O’Brien, director of the Orleans County Mental Health Department, said he is grateful for the outcome, that people were arrested before an attack.

“We’re not sitting here in a vigil,” he told the crowd. “We’re not mourning anybody.”

However, he said the sense of security has been shaken for students, and many staff and teachers. He said it is normal to feel angry and anxious.

Bonnewell told the crowd that the safety of the 1,847 students remains his top priority as superintendent.

He urged parents to communicate with their children about their social media use, to be wary of unfamiliar people online and to not allow strangers into their “digital home.”

Sue Webster has worked in the elementary school’s front office for 25 years. She said the district has tightened security in recent years. She spoke near the end of the meeting, which started at 7 and ended about 9:15.

She said Bonnewell has proven he cares deeply for students.

“Tonight is breaking my heart,” Webster told the crowd. “We need to stop pointing fingers and work together as a team.”

MEDINA – Parade of Lights chairman Jim Hancock has announced a longtime supporter of Medina’s Christmas celebrations will be the grand marshal of the Parade of Lights at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Jackie DeHollander, who with her late husband Shelley, thrilled children for more than 20 years as the couple portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“She loves bringing smiles to children and this is our way of saying thank you for her years of dedication,” Hancock said.

Hancock has also released the names of bands which will entertain on the four corners in Medina and during the parade.

Medina’s state champion Mustang Marching Band will return with a newcomer, the Jordan-Elbridge Downbeat Percussion. They will be joined by Prime Time Brass of Webster and Mark Time Marchers of Churchville, who are making their sixth appearance.

Hancock said floats are coming in slowly and he encourages individuals, companies and businesses to enter a float. He thinks perhaps the extra cold November and recent snowstorm may be deterring people from getting out and working on a float. He is optimistic a warmup in the weather will result in more entries.

He also wants to remind the public the parade route has been extended by nearly a block on North Main Street, and he is grateful to Five Star Bank for offering the bank’s parking lot for handicapped parking. Those who are disabled may park there and watch the parade from that spot.

He added the fireworks over Main Street before the start of the parade will be “absolutely spectacular” this year.

Erie County Comptroller hasn’t officially made campaign announcement

Photos by Tom Rivers: Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw speaks on Monday evening to about 15 people at the Orleans County chapter of SCOPE (Shooters Committee on Political Education).

ALBION – Stefan Mychajliw has been holding off on an official announcement whether he will be seeking to run for the 27^thCongressional District.

But Mychajliw made it clear on Monday in Albion that he will be running for Congress, and he expects to win next year.

Mychajliw said he is well-known in Western New York from his time as an investigative reporter in Buffalo, and for winning three elections as Erie County comptroller, running as a Republican in a county with a strong Democratic Party majority.

He said he wouldn’t be a RHINO (Republican in Name Only). He vowed to back an additional round of tax cuts, a reduction in government spending, and would be a strong ally of the president.

“President Trump needs a true conservative in the 27^th District, not a fake RHINO Republican,” Mychajliw told about 15 people at the Orleans County SCOPE meeting on Monday evening at Hoag Library.

The 27^th seat has been vacant since Chris Collins resigned in September. Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t set a date for a special election to fill the vacancy. The governor said he would prefer to do it during the presidential primary on April 28.

Mychajliw said that date would have a big turnout from Democrats. That’s another reason for Republicans to back him because he has proven he has support from Democratic voters, without abandoning his conservative beliefs.

While speaking at SCOPE on Monday, Mychajliw said he would be a strong voice against “radical progressives” that have taking over the State Legislature and want to spread an anti-gun and pro-abortion platform to Washington, D.C.

Mychajliw said he is a 100 percent Trump supporter, and credited the president with the lowest unemployment rate ever for African Americans and Latinos.

“All of us have more money in our pockets,” Mychajliw said about the Trump tax cuts. “I would double down on the tax cuts.”

Stefan Mychajliw speaks with Orleans County SCOPE members on Monday evening at Hoag Library in Albion.

Mychajliw, a resident of Hamburg with a wife and three children, said he has been laying the groundwork the past year to run for the 27^th, which covers eight counties. He said he will be ready to hit the ground running when he makes his official campaign announcement.

He would be running in a special election, then a likely Republican primary in June, and then another general election in November.

Mychajliw said his first act if a member of a Congress would be to join the Freedom Caucus, which consists of conservative Republicans in the House. He wouldn’t vote to raise the debt ceiling, an issue that has led to federal government shutdowns.

“Politicians need to go on a debt diet,” Mychajliw said. “The government should live within its means. I don’t support raising the debt ceiling because all that did is give politicians a blank check to spend more.”

One prominent Republican said he won’t be running for the vacated seat. David Bellavia, an Orleans County native and Medal of Honor recipient, announced last month he wouldn’t be running in the special election.

Two state senators, Rob Ortt and Chris Jacobs, are running, and so is attorney Beth Parlato, a former Darien town justice. Others, including Assemblyman Steve Hawley, may enter the race.

Mychajliw faulted Ortt and Jacobs for supporting Andrew Cuomo’s state budgets. Mychajliw said the two state senators would better serve the area by staying in the Senate, which has swung to a big Democratic Party majority. Republicans will be critical in the Legislature with redistricting coming up after the 2020 Census, Mychajliw said.

The Democratic-led State Legislature, without a strong Republican voice, could draw district lines that make it nearly impossible for Republicans to win, including in the Congressional seats, Mychajliw said.

Nate McMurray, a Democrat, lost a very close election to Chris Collins about a year ago, even though Collins was under indictment for insider training. McMurray has already secured the Democratic Party endorsements from seven of the eight counties. The district is the most Republican-leaning in the state.

Mychajliw said McMurray has little chance of winning after losing to Collins when the congressman was under indictment.

“He is a radical progressive who makes AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) look conservative,” Mychajliw said.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – The Oak Orchard Elementary School Student Council rallied their classmates to share some of their Halloween treats with troops overseas.

Teachers Natalie Scott and Sue Lehman delivered the candy, along with cards that the students made, to an organization that packages the candy and sends it to deployed soldiers.

“The students and staff at the school were incredibly generous with sharing their Halloween candy,” says Ms. Scott.  “We ended up collecting 285 pounds of candy! We are always glad to participate and thank the military for protecting our country.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Gertie Montulli goes over the rules for the first Orleans Ladies Night Out Vendor Bingo on Monday at the Elks Lodge in Albion.

Montulli organized the event which raised $814 for the Jason Johnston Memorial Scholarship. Each year, the Elks give a $1,000 scholarship in memory of Johnston, who was 24 when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Arghandab, Afghanistan on Dec. 26, 2009.

Specialist Johnston, an Albion native, was on his second deployment. He was also a paratrooper. He completed a 13-month-deployment in 2008 and left again for the war-torn country in October 2009.

Beth Kibbe was one of the vendors at the bingo event. She sells Tupperware products.

Montulli was expecting about 40-50 people on Monday. There were 135 there to play bingo for the chance to win baskets of prizes donated by vendors – Pure Romance, Chalk Couture, Tupperware, Perfectly Posh, Osbourne Books and Color Street.

Montulli said she wanted to put on a fun event and raise money for important causes in the community.

Montulli, a resident of Kuckville, created a Facebook page and Monday’s event was shared by many people. She organized the first event. It will become a monthly program to be organized through the Elks Lodge. Each month a different beneficiary will be picked for the proceeds.

Next month the bingo will be on the third Tuesday with PAWS Animal Shelter to be the recipient of the proceeds. The money is raised through a $5 admission charge and a 50/50 raffle.

In January, Montulli said the dog park to be built in Medina will receive the funding.

Jenny Nowicki of Usborne Books & More sells books as a vendor on Monday. It was her first event with Usborne. Each month, Montulli said she will try to bring in different vendors.

Provided photos

LYNDONVILLE – These Lyndonville students had the top 3 “Peace Posters” in an annual contest by the Lyndonville Lion’s Club. From left include Justin Higgins, first place; Katelynn Breeze, second place; and Daniel Barry, third place.

There were 37 Lyndonville 8^th-graders who participated in the contest with the theme, “Journey of Peace.” The Lion’s Club voted on 10 posters and narrowed it down to the top 3 selections.

First place went to Justin Higgins, whose poster will now go on to compete at the district level for the Lion’s Club.