By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 March 2019 at 7:12 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The East State Street sidewalk in Albion, by the former Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home, is pictured round 6 p.m. while snow was falling.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a special weather statement for Orleans County until 11 p.m.
“Travel conditions will deteriorate this evening,” the Weather Service said. “Periods of snow will continue through the evening hours across much of Western New York and points southeast and east of Lake Ontario.
“Snow has been melting on contact this afternoon and early evening due to warm pavement temperatures. The pavement temperatures will drop quickly after sunset, allowing snow to begin accumulating on roads.
“In addition, water from earlier melting snow may freeze, producing icy conditions on untreated paved surfaces. Motorists should be alert for deteriorating travel conditions after 8 p.m. with roads becoming snow covered and slippery in some areas. Sidewalks and parking lots may also become hazardous later this evening as icy spots develop.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 31 March 2019 at 5:01 pm
LYNDONVILLE – The grand opening of Hope Resales, a community thrift shop in the Lyndonville United Methodist Church was a huge success, according to Ruth Hedges, who came up with the idea and led efforts to get the shop organized.
“People have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic and generous with donations,” Hedges said Saturday night.
More than 110 people came to the grand opening to browse through a large selection of clothing, household items, toys, jewelry and linens.
Donations are still needed and may be dropped off at the entryway on the south side of the church. The door to Hope Resales is on the north side of the church at 102 North Main St.
Pastor Olga Gonzalez makes a final check of merchandise in the new thrift shop which opened Saturday at the Lyndonville United Methodist Church.
The thrift store particularly needs infant and children’s clothing and practical household items, Hedges said. They cannot accept books, televisions, computers, monitors, cribs, car seats, VHS and cassette tapes, typewriters or furniture.
Hope Resales will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
“We will follow that schedule for the first month and see if that fits the needs of the community,” Hedges said.
They will be closed Good Friday and the Saturday before Easter.
Anyone with questions or wishing more information may call the church at (585) 765-0045 or cell phone (585) 866-9133.
A large display of jewelry is among the many items for sale at Hope Resales, the new thrift shop which opened Saturday in the United Methodist Church of Lyndonville.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 31 March 2019 at 4:32 pm
Niagara-Orleans tennis and track competition will get underway this coming week as will Genesee Region League baseball, softball, tennis and track action.
The Albion tennis team will visit Roy-Hart on Wednesday and then host rival Medina on Friday.
In N-O track action, Medina visits Barker on Thursday.
G-R softball openers on Tuesday will have Lyndonville at Elba, Holley at Pembroke and Kendall hosting Wheatland-Chili while the baseball season gets underway with Elba at Kendall Thursday.
Lyndonville will visit Kendall in a G-R track opener on Wednesday.
Weekly Schedule Monday Baseball: Oakfield-Alabama at Roy-Hart, Lyndonville at CG Finney, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Pembroke at Medina, 4:30 p.m. Tennis: Holley at Attica, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall, 4 p.m.
Tuesday Baseball: Barker at Lyndonville, Oakfeld-Alabama at Albion, Batavia at Medina, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Brockport at Albion, CCA at Barker, Holley at Pembroke, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall, Lyndonville at Elba, 4:30 p.m. Lacrosse: Medina at Brockport, 5 p.m.
Wednesday Baseball: Alexander at Barker, Roy-Hart at Lew-Port, 4:30 p.m.; Holley at Albion, 4:45 p.m. Softball: Albion at Batavia, Cleve Hill at Medina, Roy-Hart at Williamsville East, 4:30 p.m. Tennis: Barker at Medina, Albion at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Akron, Holley at Alexander, Oakfield-Alabama at Kendall, 4 p.m. Lacrosse: Medina at Wilson, 5 p.m. Track: Lyndonville at Kendall, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday Baseball: Tonawanda at Roy-Hart, Elba at Kendall 4:30 p.m. Softball: Roy-Hart at West Seneca East, Holley at Byron-Bergen, Lyndonville at Wheatland-Chili, Elba at Kendall, Albion at Kenmore West, 4:30 p.m. Tennis: Akron at Barker, 4:30 p.m. Track: Medina at Barker, 4:30 p.m.
Friday Baseball: Holley at Barker, Pembroke at Medina, 4:30; Elba at Albion, 4:45 p.m.; West Seneca West at Roy-Hart, 5 p.m. Softball: Mt. Mercy at Holley, 4:30 p.m. Tennis: Roy-Hart at Newfane, Holley at Pembroke, 4 p.m.; Medina at Albion, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday Baseball: Barker at Byron-Bergen, 12 p.m. Softball: Aquinas at Albion, CCA at Medina, 12 p.m.; Pembroke at Barker, 2 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Wendi Pencille: Medina’s varsity guard consists of 13 students in grades 7-12. This year their show is “I Can Only Imagine.” Many people experience the loss of a loved one and this show takes you on a journey that can bring back fond memories of that special person. The students performed with photographs of loved ones who have passed away.
GATES – Medina’s Winterguard units competed at the North East Color Guard Circuit championships on Saturday, with Medina’s varsity coming in second just behind Corning-Painted Post.
Medina earned a score of 82.91, with CPP at 83.48 during the championships at Gates-Chili High School.
There were 33 guard units from western NY and Canada competing in 9 different classes. In addition, the ARC of Yates and the Heritage Hurricanes performed in exhibition and tied for Grand Champions.
The Novice class consisted of 3 guard units and Medina earned 1st place followed by Legacy and the Hinsdale Starliners.
The RA class had 7 guards in total and Medina earned 2nd place with a score of 82.91, bested by Lancaster with a score of 84.08.
Winners in the other classes are Victor in the Cadet class with a score of 77.21; Batavia in the A1 class with 79.23; Magic of Scout House in the SR class with 78.24; Gates-Chili in the 1A class with 88.34; Victor in the SO class with 85.40; in the IO class the Lancaster Independent with 84.40.
While Winterguard comes to a close for many of these students their skills and talents will now be channeled to spring street band, where practice began March 26. The band will travel to Boston, Mass. on April 25 for competition in parade as well as concert and jazz performances. They will also perform in the Seneca Fall Pageant May 17 and the Sherburne-Earlville Pageant on May 31. The band will perform for Medina during the Memorial Day parade on May 27.
This photo shows all of the Medina’s Winterguard units.
Permanent property tax cap at 2%, Internet sales tax and plastic bag ban all part of the budget
Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced an agreement on the FY 2020 Budget. The budget holds spending growth at 2% for the ninth consecutive year and cuts taxes for the middle class.
The budget includes several landmark policies that will bring sweeping transformation and social justice reform to the state with the passage of the permanent 2% property tax cap that has already saved New Yorkers $25 billion since it was first implemented in 2012; a strategic MTA reform plan and steady revenue stream to fund the next capital plan through Central Business District Tolling; an additional $1 billion to support education, bringing total education funding to $27.9 billion; and landmark criminal justice reforms, including reforming the cash bail system, speedy trial, and the discovery process for a more fair and just New York for all.
Spending
The budget agreement includes spending in the following categories:
Total State Operating Funds: $102.1 billion; 2 percent growth
All Funds spending $175.5 billion for FY 2020
School Aid: $27.9 billion; 3.8 percent growth
State Medicaid/Health Spending: $19.6 billion; 3.6 percent growth
“From the beginning, I said we will not do a budget that fails to address three major issues that have evaded this state for decades – the permanent property tax cap, criminal justice reform and an MTA overhaul including Central Business District Tolling,” Governor Cuomo said. “I also said this budget must be done right – meaning it must be fiscally responsible and protect New York from the federal government’s ongoing economic assault on our state.”
Budget Highlights Include:
• Permanent 2% Property Tax Cap: With the passage of this historic legislation, the inclusion of the permanent 2% property tax cap in the FY 2020 Budget will build upon the approximately $25 billion in taxpayer savings since the cap was implemented by the Governor in 2012.
• Criminal Justice Reform: New York continues its commitment to a fairer criminal justice system with the inclusion of the following reforms in the FY 2020 Enacted Budget:
• Reforming Bail and Pretrial Detention Reform: As part of a groundbreaking plan to modernize New York’s bail system, cash bail will be eliminated for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, alongside a new requirement that police officers must issue desk appearance tickets to most people charged with misdemeanors and Class E felonies, rather than making a custodial arrest. Together, these reforms will ensure approximately 90 percent of people charged, but not yet convicted of a crime, are not sitting in jail awaiting trial solely because they do not have the economic resources to meet bail.
• Transforming the Discovery Process: In order to overhaul New York’s antiquated discovery process by which prosecutors were able to withhold basic evidence until the day the trial begins, legislation included in the FY 2020 Enacted Budget will require that both prosecutors and defendants share all information in their possession well in advance of trial. Defendants will also be allowed the opportunity to review whatever evidence is in the prosecution’s possession prior to pleading guilty to a crime. In addition, the legislation will ensure that victims and witnesses are protected from intimidation and other forms of coercion by providing prosecutors with the ability to petition a court for a protective order, shielding identifying information when necessary to ensure the safety of witnesses and the sanctity of the judicial process.
• Ensuring the Right to a Speedy Trial: Under New York State law, misdemeanors are required to be resolved within 90 days and felonies within 180 days, however, the average length of pretrial detention is far longer. To address this injustice, the FY 2020 Enacted Budget includes legislation that requires courts to take a proactive role in advising litigants on how time will be charged. When appropriate, courts will also inquire into the government’s readiness to proceed to trial and require that the government file all appropriate paperwork before a statement of readiness is accepted, ensuring that the government is not able to proceed to trial until the defendant has been provided with all of the information in the case against them.
• Progressive Mansion Tax: To raise resources for the MTA, the Enacted FY 2020 Budget implements a progressive mansion tax on mansions with a combined top rate of 4.15% on the sale of properties valued at $25 million or above. This structure provides for efficient tax administration on high-end properties, raising $365 million that will be deposited into the MTA’s Central Business District tolling capital lockbox and will be used to support up to $5 billion in financing for MTA projects. The new rates go into effect on July 1, 2019.
• Internet Sales Tax: The Enacted Budget will provide a consistent framework for the collection of required sales taxes by internet marketplace providers, which is expected to annually generate $160 million in new revenue for local governments and $320 million for the MTA capital plan lockbox, supporting up to $5 billion. Other changes in sales taxes will generate another $48 million in new resources for county governments outside of New York City.
• Increases Education Funding and Equity: An increase of over $1 billion in education aid will bring total education funding to a record $27.9 billion, with over 70 percent of the increased funding going to poorer districts. School districts would be required to report how they provide appropriate funding for certain schools.
• Implements Public Campaign Finance: The FY 2020 Enacted Budget establishes a public financing commission that will have the binding power to implement public campaign financing for legislative and statewide offices, authorizing up to $100 million annually in public funds. The commission will determine specific aspects of the public financing system, including eligibility thresholds, public financing limits, and contribution limits for participating candidates. The commission’s findings will be due in a report by December 1, 2019 and will be binding unless modified by law within 20 days.
• Codifies the Affordable Care Act and Health Exchange into Law: As Washington continues to threaten to roll back the historic progress made with the Affordable Care Act, the codification of key ACA provisions and the New York State Health Exchange into law to ensure that no matter what happens at the federal level, these key provisions are protected in New York State.
• Prohibits the Use of Plastic Bags: The Enacted Budget includes legislation to ban single-use plastic bags provided to customers and allows counties and cities to opt in to a 5-cent fee on paper bags, with 40 percent of the revenue supporting local programs to buy reusable bags for low and fixed income consumers, and 60 percent of the revenue supporting programs in the State’s Environmental Protection Fund.
• Extends the Women’s Agenda: The Enacted Budget mandates coverage for in-vitro fertilization and egg-freezing, establishes rape shield protections for victims of sex trafficking, reforms domestic violence shelter requirements, and invests $26 million in child care to maintain the market rate for districts outside of New York City.
• Expands Janus Protections: The Enacted Budget provides new safeguards for public sector unions and goes further by extending Janus protections to all local governments in New York and guaranteeing the right to organize and collectively bargain.
• Enacts the Democracy Agenda: Building upon voting reform passed within the first 10 weeks of the legislative session, additional legislation mandating three hours of paid time off for all New Yorkers to vote on Election Day, enacting online voter registration, funding e-poll books, and expanding upstate voting hours to begin at 6 a.m. are being enacted as part of this year’s Budget, and includes $10 million for early voting.
• Invests in Clean Drinking Water: The FY 2020 Budget will invest an additional $500 million in clean water infrastructure, building on the State’s historic $2.5 billion investment.
• Expands Eligibility for the Excelsior Scholarship Free Tuition Program: As the state’s successful free tuition program enters its third year, SUNY and CUNY students whose families make up to $125,000 annually will now be eligible to apply for tuition-free college.
• Makes the Jose R. Peralta DREAM Act a Reality: First passed by the Legislature earlier this year, the Enacted Budget implements and fully funds the Jose R. Peralta DREAM Act for $27 million.
• Supports a Complete Census Count: This year’s budget authorizes up to $20 million for FY 2020 for outreach and education efforts to ensure all New Yorkers are counted as part of the census.
• Renews Record Funding for the Environmental Protection Fund: The Enacted Budget includes record funding of $300 million, the highest level of funding in the program’s history.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2019 at 3:36 pm
MEDINA – The Village of Medina is accepting applications for code enforcement officer to replace Marty Busch, who is retiring in July after 24 years in the position.
The village will take applications until April 3, and has received two so far, Mayor Mike Sidari said.
The village would like to have the new codes officer work with Busch for a little while before his retirement.
• The Village Board on Monday also accepted the low bid from K.D. Flooring of Medina to replace the carpeting in the Village Office on Park Avenue.
KD Flooring will do the job for $5,222, using a square-tiled carpet. The space that will get new carpet includes the village clerk’s office, mayor’s office and the meeting room.
Sidari said the village office will likely close on a Friday afternoon to give KD Flooring time to do the work before the office reopens on a Monday.
• The Village Board also approved having classic car shows on Friday evenings in the Canal Basin, beginning June 7 and continuing until Aug. 23. The super cruise, when one end of Main Street is blocked off, is scheduled for Aug. 28.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2019 at 11:05 am
MEDINA – The Village Board approved a skate jam at Butts Park and a fund-raising sign that will look like a giant skateboard at Butts Park.
The Medina Skate Society is working to raise money for a new skate park at Butts. The group is up to $22,000 so far. It needs to raise at least $50,000 in the next year to be receive a matching grant from the Tony Hawk & Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Those organizations have committed to a minimum $50,000 if the community can raise that money by March 2020. The grant goes up to $250,000 in matching funds.
The Medina Skate Society will have a skate jam on June 1 from 2 to 5 p.m. That event was approved by the Village Board earlier this week. The Skate Society also is planning a second skate jam on Sept. 14 from noon to 3 p.m.
Both events will be free to attend and will include demonstrations by local skaters. Food, shirts and stickers will be available and the Skate Society will be accepting donations for the new Skate Park, said Alex Feig, Skate Society president.
He also is working to have a thermometer sign at Butts to let the community know the fund-raising progress. Feig said that sign will resemble a large skateboard. The board gave him permission to put the sign on a fence at Butts Park.
The Skate Society also is accepting donations on-line through a GoFundMe.
File photo: This photo on November 30, 2012 is from the opening day of the Bank of Castile’s branch in Medina at 1410 South Main Street. Patrick Weissend has been the branch manager since day 1. Amanda Pollard is the assistant branch manager. The Bank of Castile used some Medina sandstone in the building’s construction.
BATAVIA – Tompkins Bank of Castile will be celebrating its 150th anniversary this spring. Together with our partners at Tompkins Insurance Agencies, and Tompkins Financial Advisors, we plan to acknowledge this important milestone in a number of ways and at several key events throughout the year.
The anniversary celebrations will kick off at the original Tompkins Bank of Castile branch on May 1 and continue at the bank’s annual WNY informational shareholders meeting on May 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the Genesee Country Village and Museum.
150 years is certainly a long time, but it’s even more impressive when you consider that fewer than 5 percent of the banks currently operating today in the United States have been around as long as Tompkins Bank of Castile. What’s even more impressive is that Tompkins’ mission and values have remained the same, allowing us to consistently perform at a level ranking among the best in the industry.
“For years, we’ve taken great pride in supporting the communities where we operate,” says John McKenna, President and CEO of Tompkins Bank of Castile. “We look forward to serving our customers for the next 150 years.”
Tompkins Financial Corporation is committed to creating long-term value for its clients, communities, and shareholders. Based in Batavia, Tompkins Bank of Castile serves the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties and beyond), Rochester, and recently expanded into Buffalo with the opening of the new Amherst location.
“We believe in the power of the local people working together to help our communities grow and thrive,” McKenna continued. Since 1869, Tompkins has valued its employees and invested in the communities they serve by volunteering and donating to charities, nonprofits, and civic organizations.
The Bank is a subsidiary of Tompkins Financial Corporation, which is also parent company to Tompkins Trust Company, Tompkins Mahopac Bank, Tompkins Insurance Agencies and Tompkins Financial Advisors. Together, Tompkins operates a total of 65 banking offices serving throughout New York and Pennsylvania.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 30 March 2019 at 8:54 am
“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 13
Dr. Francis Edward Stewart
On March 30, 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, became the first physician to administer diethyl ether to remove a tumor from the neck of James Venable. Four years later, Dr. William T. G. Morton would administer the same inhaled anesthesia to extract a tooth from Eben Frost of Boston, Massachusetts. For centuries, physicians have experimented with various chemicals to perfect the way in which medical procedures are conducted, but also to change the way in which diseases and symptoms are treated.
Francis Edward Stewart was born September 13, 1853, to Johnathan Severance Stewart and Ada E. Nichoson at Albion, New York. Unbeknownst to his parents when he was born in the home of his maternal grandfather and pioneer physician, Dr. Orson Nichoson, Stewart would become one of the foremost experts on pharmacology and a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry. The family relocated to Philadelphia in 1872 when Jonathan Stewart accepted a position as superintendent of the American Dredging Company in that location. It was here that Francis would begin his education in medicine and pharmacology.
Previously studying at the Cortland County Academy at Homer, New York and then at Oberlin College in Ohio, Francis Stewart enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy where he graduated with the class of 1876. Continuing down the path of higher education, Stewart graduated in 1879 from Jefferson Medical College and conducted post-graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of his schooling, Stewart moved to New York City where he spent time working with the Committee of Alms Houses for the County of New York and conducted work with the State Charity’s Aid Association.
For the majority of his career, Stewart focused his efforts primarily in pharmacology, making important developments in the pharmaceutical industry and filing numerous patents, even as a student. He became a strong supporter of placing the pharmacal and pharmaco-chemical industries under the control of the federal government for the purpose of introducing new remedies and overseeing medical advancements. Despite developing a comprehensive outline of the plan, the idea was rejected by Congress due to competing commercial interests.
Stewart pushed Parke, Davis & Company (now a subsidiary of Pfizer) to develop a scientific department where the company would perfect clinical trial methods for new medications, and assisted in the establishment of a Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry in conjunction with the American Medical Association. In 1885, Stewart relocated to Wilmington, Delaware, where he held a position as the leader of the University of Pennsylvania’s university extension at that location.
Among other notable accomplishments, he became the chairman of the Medical Board of Merck & Company and the first editor-in-chief of Merck’s Archives of Materia Medica and Drug Therapy. He served as a lecturer at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, a lecturer at Jefferson Medical College, and a professor at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. His expertise expanded into the realm of law when the American Pharmaceutical Association appointed him chairman of a committee to revise patent laws.
His obituary read, “Word has been received here of the death of Dr. Francis Edward Stewart, 87, a native of Albion and a physician and pharmacist of national importance, in Germantown, Pa., on Feb. 20, 1941…among notable patients of Dr. Stewart were President Benjamin Harrison, John Wanamaker and John D. Rockefeller.”
A life committed to advancement in pharmacology, his hopes of federal oversight of the pharmaceutical industry was realized over 20 years after he first introduced the idea in 1881. The passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, a result of the exposés of muckraking journalists, mandated labeling drugs with active ingredients and set acceptable purity levels for medications.
Provided photo: Don Colquhoun, left, the vice president of the Orleans County Adult Learning Services, accepts a $4,000 check from the Dave Cook, a board member for the Lyndonville Area Foundation.
OCALS provides free and confidential literacy services to residents of Orleans County and contiguous areas. The agency uses trained volunteers who have attended literacy training workshops, and matches tutors and students based on each individual student’s literacy needs. OCALS is based out of Hoag Library in Albion, but has tutors in other locations around the county.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2019 at 2:46 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone speaks during Wednesday’s County Legislature meeting.
ALBION – Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone said a proposed bail reform by Gov. Andrew Cuomo would turn people loose who have been charged with drug crimes and other offenses, putting the community at risk.
Cuomo is pushing to eliminate cash bail and require the immediate release of people charged with misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, except those involving domestic violence or sexual offenses.
“This will take away discretion from judges for setting bail,” Cardone said during Wednesday’s County Legislature meeting. “Frankly, this is an overreach.”
The State Legislature also is considering proposals to eliminate cash bail. Legislation could be part of the state budget that is due to be adopted by April 1.
Cardone said the governor and Legislature are pushing in the wrong direction, away from protecting victims and strengthening the criminal justice system.
Cardone said the bail reform proposed would put many people who have been charged with crimes right back into the community, at a risk to their victims or others, especially informants who have aided in drug arrests.
“It’s really not a thought-out position to do away with bail,” he said.
Proponents of bail reform say cash bail is particularly difficult on poorer people, who are kept in jail for non-violent crimes when they pose little risk to the community.
The state has been pushing other reforms, including having counsel at all arraignments. That will ensure the defendants always have an attorney to advocate on their behalf, including with setting bail, Cardone said.
He said the governor and some state legislators are pushing for bail reform after some people lingered at the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City.
But that isn’t the case in Orleans County, where Cardone said the bail is reasonable.
“Bail is not used to be punitive to the defendants,” he told county legislators. “This whole situation has been an overreaction to a knee-jerk reaction.”
The County Legislature also passed a formal resolution on Wednesday, opposing the bail reform. Legislators cited the concerns raised by Cardone and also said there would be a “significant financial impact” on counties, which would be mandated to establish and fund positions for “pre-trial agencies” that currently do not exist.
Cardone and the county legislators also said Orleans could face big increases in extradition costs if judges can’t set bail and defendants flee the area and don’t return to court.
Cardone said the county currently does about two or three extraditions a year, with officers going to other states to bring defendants back to face charges in Orleans County.
“There is extreme concern over the cost of extraditions,” Cardone said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2019 at 12:44 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has opposed the state’s push to expand the “Bottle Bill” which would add a deposit to sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit and vegetable beverages, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas.
County legislators on Wednesday said that expansion would likely hurt the recycling program which is picked up weekly through the garbage collection program.
Legislators said the county’s recycling program has already been hurt “by global recycling volatility and policy changes implemented principally by China, resulting over the last two years in a 90% reduction in the value of paper and a 63% loss in value of the traditional recycling stream.”
The expanded Bottle Bill could remove as much as 50 percent of valuable plastic and aluminum containers from the recycling stream, legislators said.
Instead of the expanded Bottle Bill, the County Legislature urged Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature to add a deposit for additional glass beverage containers, including wine and liquor bottles, hard cider bottles, and non-alcoholic class beverage containers.
Those items cause problems in the recycling stream due to breakage and contamination of other recyclables, county legislators said.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 29 March 2019 at 11:20 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Key players in the leadership of United Way of Orleans County discuss ways to move the organization forward in the coming months. From left are board president Ellen Eaton, new executive director Dean Bellack and former director and new board member Kaitlyn Delamarter.
The new leadership at United Way of Orleans County are really not new at all – just rotating responsibilities.
New leadership changes were precipitated by the transition of executive director Kaitlyn Delamarter from full time director to a position as board member.
This came about after Delamarter announced in January she had accepted another position as marketing director for a local company. She also indicated she wanted to continue to be involved with United Way in some capacity.
Delamarter, who has been director since December 2017, offered to be available to assist a new director, but also stated her interest in becoming a member of the board.
At that same time, Dean Bellack of Medina had agreed to join the board at the suggestion of Dave Cook of Lyndonville, a longtime member of the board. After attending a meeting and learning the board would be searching for a new director, he drafted a letter in which he stated his credentials and what would be his goals for advancing United Way of Orleans County.
Bellack is a native of the Cleveland area who moved to Medina for a job in 1984. He met and married the former Carol Lindsay, daughter of Jim and Sally Lindsay of Medina. They have fraternal twins, and welcomed their first grandchild, a boy, three months ago.
Bellack, a partner in C&C Marketing, had also just made the decision to retire, effective April 1, but knew he still wanted to be involved in the community.
“Serving my community has been a large part of my life for the last 15 to 20 years,” Bellack said. “I want that to continue and I hope my passion for the organization will result in significant benefits for our partner agencies.”
Bellack was chairman of the YMCA board for 10 years and was instrumental in helping them complete a more than $600,000 renovation through donations from all of Orleans County. He is active in Medina Lions, serving three terms as president and helping to grow their membership.
“I, along with the board, welcome Dean with his vast background of successfully supporting non-profit agencies in our community,” said United Way board president Ellen Eaton. “We are also delighted to have Kaitlyn commit as a board member. It shows her dedication and belief in United Way. United Way has been progressive under Kaitlyn’s leadership.”
Eaton said the board needs to push awareness of United Way in Orleans County and the aspect of giving.
“A lot of positive things are happening all at once,” she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2019 at 10:52 am
Planners also back allowing private airstrips in Carlton
ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is recommending the Town of Yates change the zoning to allow Medina Window to expand at 10708 Millers Rd.
Merle Yoder’s business has been growing. He wants to expand and add a storage building. The site is currently zoned residential-agricultural. The town is considering changing it to industrial.
The land was previous zoned industrial, and was the western edge of a industrial district. Other sites near by fit that use, including a mercantile across the street and a controlled-atmosphere storage building by H.H. Dobbins, said Gary Daum, an Orleans County Planning Board member from Yates.
The Planning Board on Thursday voted in favor of the rezoning, saying it corrects a previous oversight and brings the land back into compliance with the town’s zoning code.
In other action on Thursday, the Planning Board:
• Approved a request from Carlton about amending the town ordinance to allow private airports through a special use permit in rural residental, waterfront residential, waterfront development, and business zoning districts.
The change will allow property owner to establish a private airstrip, for the purpose of landing, takeoff and storage of one, single-engine aircraft. Use of the airstrip will be limited to daylight hours and fair weather conditions.
