MURRAY – The New York State Department of Transportation today announced that the bridges carrying Transit Road and Telegraph Road over the Erie Canal in the town of Murray, Orleans County, are scheduled to close to vehicular traffic on Monday as part of a previously announced project to rehabilitate seven Erie Canal bridges throughout Orleans County.

Transit Road over the Erie Canal is expected to close for approximately six months. Telegraph Road over the Erie Canal is expected to close for approximately ten months. Detours will be posted at each location directing motorists to nearby canal bridges.

The state is spending $10.7 million on the seven bridges in the county. The DOT said the work on these bridges will include installing high-strength galvanized steel to replace steel floor systems, low chords, gusset plates, and truss elements.

Bridge railing and guide rail on the bridge approaches also will be improved and each bridge will be repainted. The alignments and profiles of the bridges will not change.

The  seven single-lane truss bridges were constructed between 1909 and 1914.

KENDALL – After a group of boaters lost two friends to cancer, they banded together four years ago to sponsor “Boaters Against Cancer” to help fellow boaters and their families affected by cancer.

Dave Bentley and Gail Grigg of Albion are heading up the fourth annual Harris-Lace Flotilla Saturday at Bald Eagle Marina and Lure’s Restaurant.

Scott Harris of Oakfield and Phil Lance of Canada are the boaters who lost their lives to cancer.

A hundred boaters are expected to participate in the event Saturday, which will feature more than 20 vendors, live music from 4 to 10 p.m., a basket raffle, duck races, wine and beer tasting and fireworks over the lake at 10 p.m.

Each year, the boaters have planned on a flotilla in memory of the two men, but the lake hasn’t cooperated, and they haven’t been able to do it, Bentley said. He hopes this Saturday will be different.

The boats will tie up in the lake to demonstrate how boaters support each other and to commemorate fallen cancer victims and their families. In case the lake is rough on Saturday, the flotilla will be rescheduled until Sunday (again if the lake conditions allow).

Bentley said the event is open to the entire public, and he hopes other boaters and boat lovers will come and support their efforts.

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation further strengthening women’s health care protections. The bill (S.3852-A/A.5502-A) requires large group insurers to cover medically necessary mammograms for women aged 35 to 39.

The legislation, known as “Shannon’s Law,” is named for Shannon Saturno of Babylon, Long Island, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 28 years old and passed away at 31.

“We know that with cancer diagnoses, early detection is the best possible treatment. This administration has taken and will continue to take aggressive action to break down any barriers to breast cancer screenings for women across the state,” said Governor Cuomo. “By signing this legislation, we are taking another step to break down barriers to breast cancer screening and improve access to health care for all women in New York.”

Currently, many insurance companies are only required to cover annual mammogram screenings for women over the age of 40, but over 12,000 cases of breast cancer are detected annually are in women under the age of 40 and are oftentimes in later stages and more aggressive forms of cancer.

Shannon’s Law will require large group insurance companies to cover annual mammogram screenings for women aged 35 to 39 when medically necessary.

“We are continuing to double down on our efforts to expand access to potentially life-saving services,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “We know mammograms and cancer screenings must be available for all New Yorkers, and this law will help to ensure coverage, early detection, and treatment. We are committed to promoting breast cancer screenings statewide and continuing to save lives.”

ALBION – The Orleans County Agricultural District will grow by about 400 acres, pending final approval from the State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

The County Legislature last week held a public hearing and then approved adding 384.4 acres to the ag district. That brings the total acreage in the district to 116,703 acres.

Each year, property owners have the opportunity to be included in the district, which provides eligible operations right-to-farm protection, among other benefits. Property owners can petition to remove land from the district once every eight years.

The additions include:

• 10.80 acres on East Lee Road in Clarendon, owned by George D. Mathes

• 74.80 acres on East Lee Road in Clarendon, owned by Gary Germeo

• 9.20 acres on Roosevelt Highway in Carlton, owned by Louis P. Lustumbo, Jr.

• 6.60 acres on Kenmore Road in Kendall, owned by Jeffrey Cole

• 1.70 acres on Kenmore Road in Kendall, owned by Jeffrey Cole

• 30.00 acres on Crandall Avenue in Kendall, owned by Jeffrey Cole

• 16.00 acres on Kenyonville Road in Gaines, owned by Steven Fox

• 22.10 acres on Albion-Eagle Harbor Road in Albion, owned by Young Enterprises of Medina

• 119.60 acres on Oak Orchard Road in Carlton, owned by Young Enterprises of Medina

• 17.70 acres on County Line Road in Ridgeway, owned by Reah Johnson

• 75.90 acres on Beals Road in Ridgeway, owned by Patrick L. Kelly

The entire ag district will next be up for review in 2024, when property owners will have the option of both adding and subtracting acreage from the district. Until then there will be annual opportunities to add land to the district.

MEDINA – More than 200 bicyclists will stop in Medina on Saturday during their last leg of the 2019 Empire State Cyclists.

This is the fifth year for the ride from New York City to Niagara Falls to benefit Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Medina Tourism Committee chairman Jim Hancock is urging Medina residents to come to State Street Park between 10 a.m. and noon and extend a warm Medina welcome to the cyclists, who will be having lunch in the park. Tourism volunteers will help set up areas for the cyclists to eat.

Every year, participation in the ride grows, said Sue Moessinger of Cumberland, Md., a staff member and rider. She said riders average 70 miles per day. The ride started July 28 in New York City and will conclude on Saturday in Niagara Falls, where they have a police escort into the city, followed by a big celebration there.

Another staff member, Jessica Stankiewicz of Niagara Falls, said riders participating not only come from other states, but Hawaii and Canada.

Each rider must secure donations of at least $3,500 for Roswell in order to participate.

Stankiewicz said they always look forward to their stop in Medina because of the great park and quaint Medina area.

The committee would like to see a pedestrian bridge across Glenwood Lake, from Boxwood Cemetery to near Gulf Street Park.

MEDINA – A committee working on a plan to better utilize Medina’s waterfront has identified 18 projects that would better capitalize land near the canal, Oak Orchard Creek and Glenwood Lake for economic development, tourism, recreational and residential development.

The Medina Local Waterfront Revitalization Program has been meeting for the past year to discuss ways to bolster the waterfront areas in the village. The group has worked with consultant Bergmann Associates in Rochester for a community survey and other public outreach.

The group has identified 18 projects in three categories – trail networks, community use of public land, and private investment:

• Streetscape improvements – Adding more crosswalks, benches and ways to make the downtown area more walkable.

• Wayfinding signs would direct people to sites and services in the community. The signs should be cohesive in their design and should note public parking.

• Gateway signage at the four main entrances leading into Medina.

• Façade improvements on the back sides of the buildings facing the Erie Canal. That could include awnings, benches, tables and chairs, which would make the sites more appealing.

• Trail enhancements – improve the surfaces that are in disrepair and fill other gaps so trails are continuous. Add signs to point people to services and tourism sites. Add benches and seating opportunities.

• Trailhead improvements especially at Bates Road trail which is on state-owned land.

The back side of buildings facing the canal in the Canal Basin could be more appealing with awnings, façade improvements, more landscaping and benches, as shown in this rendering by Bergmann.

• Gulf Street Park is currently underutilized. The site could use parking, sidewalks and a clear entrance. The park needs recreational opportunities, which could include a pickle ball court and soccer field.

• Pedestrian bridge over Glenwood Lake that would connect Boxwood Cemetery trail to Gulf Street Park. The bridge could also have a kayak launch nearby.

• Canal Basin Park – remove current retaining wall to create slope to water which would then have natural amphitheater seating, add more greenspace, improve parking, create an alleyway at back of buildings that connects to trailways.

Putting lights on the Glenwood Avenue canal bridge would draw more attention to these structures that are more than a century old.

• Butts Park is highly visible and accessible on Route 31. The committee recommends a new skate park, improved ball fields, a concession stand, better parking areas, and a trail and pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek from the park to the neighborhood on other side of creek.

• State Street Park has the benefit of being close to the downtown and is next to the canal. A new bandstand recently was completed at the park. The committee would like to see State Street Park become a year-round destination with an ice skating rink and a cohesive trail that connects to Laurel Street on the other side of the canal.

• Medina Falls Access Improvements – currently there is limited access and many people take a chance using an unsafe ladder to get near the falls. The committee would like to see an overlook that extends from the towpath to the falls. The project would need Canal Corp. approval and more analysis.

• Lions Park enhancements – This park on the northern side of the canal would benefit from trail enhancements, an improved towpath with lighting and benches. The committee also suggests a fitness trail at the park. The committee also would like to see lighting on the canal bridges at night.

A large municipal lot off East Center Street should be redone with more trees and an improved layout.

• Downtown public parking with more planters and greenspace to make the area more inviting.

• Pedestrian connections on Orient Street, East Center Street and from Medina Railroad Museum to downtown. That could include better sidewalks and patio seating in some locations.

• Boater amenities at State Street Park and Lions Park including tie-ups for motor boats and kayak launches.

• Private investments with tourism and hospitality development, including glamping (glamorous camping) and more camp sites so visitors would stay longer in the community.

• Mixed use development along canal with the current building used by Snappy Co. on Commercial Street. Snappy is looking to relocate. Its building could be converted into a site with retail shopping and residential apartments upstairs, with a boat launch on the canal.

• Residential development with the vacant space north of the canal along Ryan Street. This site is the area of the first Medina Sandstone quarry and also the former Sweet Ironworks. One of the Sweet buildings remains on site and could be used for a farmers’ market or gathering space. There is lots of room of site for new housing opportunities.

The committee picked projects to capitalize on Glenwood Lake.

The committee for the Medina Local Waterfront Revitalization Program will be submitting a draft of the plan for the state to review. It also needs a final local approval.

The document can be used to help Medina secure grant funding from the state for some of the projects.

Medina Mayor Mike Sidari thanked the committee members, Bergmann and residents who participated in the project. He said it gives Medina a good blueprint for the future.

“Just remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint,” he said.

Kathy Blackburn served as the committee chairwoman.

“We’re very excited about all of the projects,” she said.

Many of the projects are in the downtown area, Canal Basin, State Street Park and near the waterfalls.

Press Release, Medina Police Department

MEDINA – The Medina Police Department today received information from NYS Parole, requesting assistance locating Isaiah D. Bonk due to a parole warrant.

At approximately 3:47 p.m., Bonk was located with a vehicle at the Boxwood Cemetery boat launch. Bonk fled in that motor vehicle, and a vehicle pursuit occurred.

Multiple Medina Police Department units engaged in a short vehicle pursuit, with the Medina Police Department successfully utilizing a tire deflation device as the vehicle was travelling northbound on North Gravel Road.

Patrol was able to box in the vehicle with minor contact between the suspect vehicle and a patrol vehicle. Bonk was then taken into custody without incident.

Bonk will be charged with Resisting Arrest, Obstructing Governmental Administration, Violation of Parole, along with a variety of vehicle and traffic offenses.

Units from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police, and Albion Police Department responded to assist.

ALBION – An inmate in the Orleans County Jail was arraigned in County Court today after allegedly punching a corrections officer on April 8.

Valerie Allen, 31, also allegedly bit the officer’s finger and pulled her hair. Allen today was arraigned on second-degree assault.

Allen was in the county jail awaiting sentencing after she pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate. She admitted in court previously to throwing urine and toilet water at corrections officers on Oct. 13, 2016.

She was sentenced to 1 ½ to 3 years in state prison on that charge.

In other cases in County Court today:

• John L. Crossley, 68, of Medina had a bail application hearing after he was charged last week with 7 counts each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, which are Class B felonies.

Crossley has prior criminal convictions, including most recently in 2009.

Joanne Best, the public defender, asked that bail be set at $500, which Crossley could afford. He has no failures to appear in court, she said.

Judge Sanford Church set bail at $25,000 in cash or $100,000 bond.

• Holly Bevins, 23, of Irondequoit admitted to violating her probation by using drugs, missing probation appointments and leaving the county without permission of the probation department. Bevins said she had a drug relapse while in treatment for the addiction.

She will be sentenced on Aug. 15 and faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.

• Rhonda Rushton of Spencerport pleaded guilty to felony driving while intoxicated after registering a 0.19 BAC on June 15 in Albion. She has a prior DWI in 2012 in Rochester. She will be sentenced on Oct. 17 and could face up to a year in jail.

ALBION – Several people are headed to either state prison or the county jail being sentenced in Orleans County Court this morning.

Christopher Aldrich, 49, of Albion was sentenced to 1 2/3 to 5 years in prison for felony driving while intoxicated.

Two weeks ago, Judge Sanford Church rejected a plea offer where Aldrich would have been sentenced to a maximum of 1 to 3 years in prison.

The judge said Aldrich wasn’t taking responsibility for the crime. He was charged on Jan. 25, when he said he drank about a dozen beers before driving. He registered a BAC of 0.21 percent.

Judge Church said he was also worried that Aldrich, who has 6 DWIs, would drink and drive again when he was released from prison.

Aldrich, if he went to trial and was found guilty, could have faced up to 7 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty today and accepted the plea offer with a cap of 5 years. He apologized for drinking alcohol and then driving without a license.

The judge urged Aldrich to take advantage of alcohol treatment programs while in prison.

Aldrich was fined $2,000 and has other court and DMV surcharges of nearly $1,000.

In other cases in court today:

• A Rochester man was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to selling fentanyl in Orleans County. Dante L. Thomas, 30, was charged in December with 14 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

Thomas has no prior criminal record. However, the judge said prison was necessary because Thomas had 12 undercover drug sales with either heroin or fentanyl.

“I learned my lesson,” Thomas told the judge.

In addition to prison, Thomas was sentenced to two years of post-release supervision and must pay $1,400 in restitution to the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.

• A Kendall man was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for felony driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Gilberto Gonzales, 49, was stopped in Albion on April 14. Gonzalez has prior DWIs in New York and Oklahoma.

He was fined $1,000 by the court and has other fines and surcharges of about $1,200.

• Isaiah Casanova, 19, of Medina was sentenced to six months in the county jail, plus five years of probation after pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge. He also must pay $180 in restitution to the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.

• Dakota Hunt, 24, of Medina was sentenced to two months of weekends in the county jail pus five years of probation. She pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and admitted she had cocaine on Oct. 31 with the intent to sell it. This is her first conviction.

“I’m going to work and surrounding myself with good influences,” she told the judge. “I don’t want to be in this position ever again in my life.”

Melissa Ostrom’s book focused on pioneers who settled in WNY

Photos by Tom Rivers: Emily Cebula, director of the Yates Community Library, holds a copy of The Beloved Wild, which is featured in a community reading project.

LYNDONVILLE – A book by an Orleans County author will be featured in a community reading effort in Lyndonville.

Melissa Ostrom of Holley wrote The Beloved Wild, which was published by Macmillan in March 2018. It honors the courage and resourcefulness of pioneer settlers in Orleans County and Western New York.

“They will feel like they themselves are traveling into this territory, going from New England to Batavia and then into our territory,” said Emily Cebula, director of the Yates Community Library.

Melissa Ostrom’s book will be featured for the first time in a community reading effort.

Ostrom, in the fictional account, brings life to pioneer characters. The pioneers were typically just teen-agers when they set out from New England to brave a hard journey by wagon, through dense forests, to get to Orleans County and Western New York.

There wasn’t a map. The pioneers followed markings on trees as they made their way west. The pioneer settlers tamed the land, and built homes and farms in the frontier. The obstacles were many – sickness, uninvited strangers, alcoholism, abuse.

Ostrom, a former Kendall high school English teacher, writes about those challenges and the indomitable spirit of pioneer settlers.

The book has earned some lofty recognition, including a 2019 Amelia Bloomer selection by the American Library Association. The Amelia Bloomer Project creates an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers. The Beloved Wild also is a Junior Library Guild selection.

Cebula said the book is a chance to vividly imagine life in Orleans County two centuries ago, and to be inspired by those pioneer settlers.

Ostrom will be speaking at the community library in Lyndonville  at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, and again at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12. The latter event is part of the 4^thannual Orleans County Heritage Festival.

Ostrom will also be meeting with Lyndonville students that week. Robert Smith, a Lyndonville native working on redeveloping part of the downtown, paid for copies of The Beloved Wild to be given to students.

Ostrom said she is “super excited” the Lyndonville community will be reading the book. This is the first time The Beloved Wild is featured in a community read, although Ostrom said many book clubs have picked the novel.

This is the second community reading effort in Lyndonville where the author of the book will meet residents and answer questions.

The debut “Lyndonville Reads” featured The Queen of the Bremen by Marlies Adams DiFante of Rochester. The book is her memoir of travelling from Naples at age 5 to Nazi Germany during World War II. Her family left to see her mother’s ailing father. They expected to be gone three months. It turned into seven years of struggling to stay alive.

Ostrom this spring also had her second book published by Macmillan. Unleaving highlights the courage and resilience of a 19-year-old sexual assault victim. That book will be featured in the upcoming school year by high school classes in Holley and Brockport.

Press Release, Albion Police Department

Two people seek money from Crosby’s, north of the canal, on Monday night in Albion.

ALBION – The Albion Police Department is continuing to investigate the attempted robbery that occurred at the Crosby’s North convenience store on July 29.

In an attempt to identify the suspects involved, the Albion Police Department has released clips from the security camera footage of the incident.

The videos can be viewed on the Albion Police Department’s Facebook page by clicking here.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Albion Police Department at (585) 589-5627 or Orleans County Dispatch Center (585) 589-5527.

Orleans leaders have already identified 32 spots for consideration for state funding

KNOWLESVILLE – The state has $300 million to help Lake Ontario communities protect infrastructure, businesses, cultural assets and other important community sites.

Orleans County officials, and leaders in the towns of Yates, Carlton and Kendall have already identified 32 sites at the three lakeshore towns in Orleans that are vulnerable to flooding and erosion.

The state has formed the Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative Commission – REDI – to work with municipalities to prioritize the sites for the funding.

New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid discusses the opportunities for funding through the new REDI program from the state.

The REDI Commission met in Knowlesville on Tuesday with about 50 officials from Orleans and Niagara counties.

The commission wants the municipalities to submit sites for consideration by Aug. 2. REDI will refine proposals on Sept. 12, and on Sept. 16 the commission will review regional proposals.

The REDI Commission formed after the second year of flooding and high lake levels on Lake Ontario. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he fears this is the “new normal” along the lake and wants communities to protect key infrastructure, cultural sites and businesses.

New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, and praised the governor and State Legislature for allocating funds for help the shoreline communities.

The big task now is identifying the projects.

The REDI Commission will consider several factors in prioritizing funding, including public support for the projects, feasibility of implementation, level and scale of protection, flexibility, durability and long-term effectiveness, cost, economic development, environmental and ecological benefits, and whether alternative measures exhausted.

Orleans County Legislator John DeFilipps takes a photo of a map and list of projects listed for possible funding in Orleans and Niagara counties.

The group will also weigh whether sites are at risk for potential damage from flooding event, if they are a critical facility for public health and safety, capacity of asset to adapt, how long would asset be out of service if exposed to a damaging flood, if the soil underlying the asset is highly erodible, and whether the asset protected by natural features such as dunes, bluffs, barrier islands or trees.

“We want to identify real tangible projects,” Kulleseid said.

Officials in Orleans have identified 32 sites, including several roads, parking areas, water plants, stormwater systems, marinas, docks and other infrastructure.

Some of the sites include:

Carlton – Lakeside Bluff Road, Johnson Creek shoreline, Jones Beach shoreline, Brighton Cliff shoreline, shoreline east of Point Breeze Road, shoreline of Oak Orchard on the Lake Road, Rock Ledge Road shoreline, Lakeshore Road, Cottage Road shoreline, Park Road, peninsula near Oak Orchard, public town road ends and culverts, pumping stations and waterlines, and low-lying spots Lake Ontario State Parkway.

Kendall – Ed Rose Shore, end of Norway Road, Lomond Shore, Peter Smith Road kayak launch, Rout 237 right-of-way to lake, Thompson Road (eroded turnout) and low-lying spots on Lake Ontario State Parkway.

Yates – Town Park and expansion, multiple properties on fire lanes, and Lyndonville water plant.

In addition, the list includes these businesses – Bald Eagle Creek Marina in Kendall, The Cottages in Kendall, Point Breeze businesses and boat launches, and Green Harbor Campground and Marina in Carlton.

This map shows some spots along the shoreline in Orleans County that local officials say are vulnerable to flooding and erosion.

Cuomo also directs State Police to strengthen gun buyback programs

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation limiting an educational institution’s ability to authorize any person who is not primarily employed as a school resource officer, law enforcement officer or security guard to carry a firearm on school grounds (S.101/A.1715), and directing State Police to establish statewide regulations aimed at strengthening existing gun buyback programs and create new programs for the safe removal of illegal, unsecured, abandoned or unwanted firearms (S.2449/A.2685).

This legislation builds on New York’s strongest in the nation gun laws, including the Red Flag Bill signed in February that prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a firearm, legislation Governor Cuomo signed July 29 extending the background check waiting period and banning bump stocks and legislation signed yesterday banning undetectable guns and expanding firearm safe storage laws to protection children.

“The answer to the gun violence epidemic plaguing this country has never been and never will be more guns, and today we’re expanding New York’s nation-leading gun safety laws to further protect our children,” Governor Cuomo said. “These measures will help slow the proliferation of guns by keeping unneeded firearms out of school zones and helping to ensure unwanted or illegal guns don’t fall into dangerous hands.”

Preventing School Districts from Arming Teachers

In the wake of a rising number of deadly school shootings occurring across our nation, many have suggested that teachers and other school employees should be trained and armed to help deter and prevent future school shootings, even though educators nationwide have disapproved of the idea of carrying guns.

Additionally, introducing guns into schools could create the potential for accidental shootings or other acts of violence. This legislation stipulates that educational institutions can’t issue written authorization to carry a gun to any teacher, professor, administrator or other person who is not primarily employed as a school resource officer, law enforcement officer or security guard. The bill takes effect immediately.

Statewide Regulations for Gun Buyback Programs

There are many different gun buyback programs across the state that allow individuals to dispose of illegal, unsecured, abandoned or unwanted firearms. While these programs are increasing in popularity, they currently lack a consistent set of standards and do not occur everywhere in the state.

This legislation directs the State Police to work with the Department of State to establish regulations for gun buyback programs so that all buyback programs across the state are operated consistently with uniform best practices, and that these programs take place in every county in the state. These standards will help ensure that gun buyback programs accomplish their stated goals of reducing the proliferation of guns in our neighborhood and that the programs are easily accessible to the public. The bill will take effect 180 days after becoming law.

Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said, “Our children deserve safe schools and neighborhoods. Keeping guns out of our classrooms and off of our streets is essential for the future of our kids, our educators, and our communities. I applaud Governor Cuomo for signing these bills and our New York legislators for passing these common sense gun safety measures.”

Press Release, Gov. Cuomo’s Office

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation (S.5054/A.7053) authorizing firefighters and other emergency medical responders to remove animals in unattended motor vehicles under conditions that endanger their health or well-being. This legislation will help reduce wait times when calls are made to 911 that a pet is in danger, especially in areas and at times when law enforcement or animal control availability is limited. The bill goes into effect immediately.

“Leaving a pet in a stifling hot or freezing cold car is inhumane and potentially dangerous, and emergency responders should have the ability to remove them if necessary,” Governor Cuomo said. “As a dog owner myself, I am proud to sign this measure into law to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of animals.”

Senator Kenneth P. LaValle said, “By authorizing emergency medical service personnel and firefighters to remove animals from cars in extreme heat or cold situations, we reduce wait times saving critical minutes and the lives of innocent animals. In areas with limited police resources, this new law becomes even more important as it expands the number of emergency personnel who can respond to a desperate situation where a helpless animal is in imminent danger and the owner cannot be located.  Too often we hear stories about an animal who has died due to the reckless behavior of its owner.  This measure will offer greater protections to our precious pets and penalize those who put them in harms way.”

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele said, “In the summer months, we are reminded of the danger that the confinement of pets in motor vehicles can pose when temperatures inside vehicles can soar to life-threatening extremes within minutes. This important measure will result in the saving of beloved pets’ lives in these dangerous situations by substantially expanding who can respond to a pet in distress. Firefighters and EMS personnel are equipped and trained to act in these situations. This will allow our firefighters to put that training to good use when a pet is threatened by extreme temperatures in a motor vehicle.”

LYNDONVILLE – A Lyndonville man who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma three years ago will do rigorous hiking next week in Iceland to raise funds for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

John Klatt, 66, is a retired Lutheran pastor and served congregations for 35 years in the Thousand Islands, Western New York and Herkimer. He grew up on a farm on Alps Road and graduated from Lyndonville in 1971.

Provided photos: John Klatt and his sister Mary Schlabach participated in a training hike on the Shortoff Trail in Asheville, NC.

Three years ago he moved close to home and was working on renovating a house on Townline Road with his wife, Bonnie.

He was feeling over-tired and realized he fractured 10 vertebrae in his back due to the multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of the blood plasma that weakens the bones.

He endured chemotherapy and a stem cell treatment. He hasn’t had any active cancer the past two years.

Klatt is thankful for the treatments at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. He has raised nearly $8,000 which he said will aid in more research for people battling multiple myeloma. (Click here for more information on Klatt’s fundraising page).

“Roswell was a life-saver,” he said at his home in Lyndonville. “I received great treatments. It was just what I needed.”

Multiple myeloma is currently an incurable blood cancer. Klatt said his treatments have made the myeloma manageable.

He walked on a treadmill to help in his recovery. He also finished many of the projects around his house.

John Klatt and about 10 others headed to Iceland spent a day bonding and hiking on a training hike on the Shortoff Trail in Asheville, NC.

Klatt has long enjoyed walking and hiking, going on journeys in the Adirondacks, Appalachians and Catskills.

He was thumbing through the CURE magazine, when he read about the opportunity to hike in Iceland. His sister, Mary Schlabach, and 10 others will join him. All have been affected by multiple myeloma as survivors, caregivers or loved ones of those with the disease.

“I am honored that one of those participating on the 12-person team to Iceland will be my sister Mary Schlabach who was one of my caregivers following my stem cell transplant in 2016,” Klatt said.

Klatt and the other hikers will trek for five days of challenging and spectacular hiking. The hike is often called “Fire and Ice.” Hikers on a single will cross lava fields and volcanoes, and then be by stunning glaciers.

Klatt and the hikers have prepared for 7 to 8 hours of daily hiking, going about 6 to 8 miles each day. They will be staying in mountain huts.

The event is organized by Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma in a collaboration between CURE Media Group, GSK and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Since its creation in 2016, MM4MM has raised nearly $2.5 million, which 100 percent going directly to cancer research.