Photo by Tom Rivers: State Assemblyman Michael Norris, R-Lockport, speaks during the Legislative Luncheon today at Tillman’s Village Inn. About 100 people attended the event organized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

ALBION – Orleans County towns and villages are urged to fight proposed cuts in the governor’s budget that would take nearly $300,000 away from the local municipalities.

State Assemblyman Michael Norris, R-Lockport, said the state should be increasing aid to towns and villages, especially given the big disparity in funding provided to cities.

“We need our money,” Norris told about 100 people during today’s Legislative Luncheon. “Not only do we need it restored, but we need it increased.”

The governor’s budget cuts Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM) by $290,276 to Orleans County, which already receives a tiny sum compared to counties with cities.

The four villages in Orleans – Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina – would all be wiped out in AIM, while eight of the 10 towns in Orleans would go to zero in AIM funding.

The governor proposed eliminating the funding unless it represented more than 2 percent of a town or village’s budget. Two towns in Orleans are just above the 2 percent threshold. So the governor proposed that Murray keeps its $44,677 and Albion, its $46,944.

The other villages and towns would lose the following in AIM funding, going from the amount listed to zero:

Villages ($108,371 total)

Albion, $38,811

Holley, $17,786

Lyndonville, $6,251

Medina, $45,523

Towns ($181,905 total)

Barre, $12,486

Carlton, $13,680

Clarendon, $11,416

Gaines, $21,323

Kendall, $21,299

Shelby, $45,007

Ridgeway, $46,273

Yates, $10,421

The governor has proposed cutting $59 million from the $715 million in AIM. The cities’ AIM is not touched, nor are villages and towns where AIM accounts for 2 percent or more of their budgets.

Norris urged the towns and villages to pass resolutions opposing the cuts and send those official stances to the governor and local state legislators.

“I encourage all of you to get on the record  right now so we can have backup to take to Albany,” said Norris whose district includes Shelby in Orleans, as well as portions of Niagara and Erie counties.

Many of the local towns and villages have protested the AIM program before, sending resolutions to the governor and state legislators about the unfairness of the aid. Cities get far more per capita than towns and villages.

For example, the Village of Albion (population 6,056 in the 2010 Census) has been getting $38,811 in AIM or $6.41 a person. The Village of Medina, population 6,065, has been receiving $45,523 or $7.51 a person.

Those villages have more people than some cities in the state. For example, Salamanca in Cattaraugus County has 5,815 people and receives $928,131 in AIM or $159.61 per person. Sherrill in Oneida County has about half the residents as Albion and Medina. Yet, the small city of 3,071 people receives $372,689 or $121.35 per capita.

The total AIM budget has been $715 million in recent years, and hasn’t been changed until the governor proposed cuts in 2019-2020.

State Sen. Robert Ortt said Republicans in the Senate could have be counted on to stop any proposed cuts in AIM. But now that they are out of the majority, Ortt said the cuts could go through.

“If the Senate were in Republican control I have no doubt that would go back,” he said about the AIM cuts.

Ortt said it’s upsetting to think the proposed AIM cuts may be part of strategy by the governor, treating the upstate town and villages as “pawns” in budget negotiations.

To see a previous Orleans Hub article on the AIM disparity, click here.

Press Release, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming Health Departments

The Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming County Health Departments and Hospitals are currently working with community partners to gather information from residents and those who work in these counties to help with public health planning for the next 3 to 4 years.

The information will inform and guide documents called the Community Health Assessment, Community Health Improvement Plan, and Community Services Plan. This initiative is part of the New York State Prevention Agenda which is the blueprint for state and local action to improve the health of New Yorkers.

To fully assess the health status of our communities we are asking for your input because your health counts! These organizations are asking the public to participate by taking a survey and sharing their viewpoints during community conversations.

An online survey is available, as well as paper copies at various locations in each county. You can access the survey by clicking here.  A Spanish version of the survey will be available soon. Watch the Health Department web sites and Facebook pages for updates.

The survey is anonymous, it only takes about 15 minutes to complete and focuses on the health of the person taking it. If you are under the age of 18 Years old, be sure to receive permission to take the survey from your parents or guardians.

“As chief health strategists the health departments are working toward assessing current capacity, resources, and services,” stated Paul Pettit, Director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. “This will also help identify community health needs and current gaps, ultimately helping to develop our Community Health Improvement Plan for the next few years.”

The health departments are also seeking to schedule Community Conversations with willing groups to learn what they feel are the greatest health concerns or issues in their community and thoughts on how they can be improved.

Responses from the confidential surveys and conversations will help identify services that are working, need improving, or to be created. The more members of the public who participate, the larger and stronger the “building block” of these plans will be.

To participate in a community conversation, obtain hardcopies of the survey, flyers that promote completing the survey online, or have any questions please contact your local health department:

 Orleans County Health Department at: 589-3278 or check out our website by clicking here.

 Genesee County Health Department at: 344-2580 ext. 5555 or visit their website by clicking here.

 Wyoming County Health Department at: 786-8890 or visit their web site by clicking here.

Jace Conn, a senior at Albion, is making an attachment for the robot to pick up panel hatches. Conn, who wants to study electrical engineering in college, said it’s a lot of trial and error to get the attachment designed to work properly.

ALBION – A group of nine 4-H’ers are designing parts, measuring and cutting metal, running wires and putting in electronics for a robot that will perform a series of tasks.

This is the eighth year the 4-H’ers from Orleans County are competing in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). There aren’t many robotics teams from rural areas. They will be up against about 50 teams on March 14-16 during a competition at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

They started building their robot about three weeks ago when they opened a box with a pile of parts. They need to build the robot and program it to go to specific spots on a space about the size of a basketball court. They will program the robot to move forward and backward, sideways and diagonally.

Each team gets about six weeks to build the robot. On Feb. 19, all of the teams have to stop work. The robot needs to be sidelined until the competition.

The robot will have attachments to pick up balls and hatches with a circular opening. The balls will be dropped through the hatches.

This year the theme is “Destination Deep Space,” in honor of the 50^th anniversary of the Moon landing on July 20, 1969. The course for the FIRST challenge will include replicas of cargo ships and rockets, and the robots need to complete challenges with those elements.

The team has three main mentors – Erik Seielstad, Jody Neal and Jason Foote – as well as other assistants.

Seielstad has been with the program since it started. He works as a systems engineer with computers for Kodak Alaris, a spinoff of Kodak. His son Morgan, now 22, was part of the team in the beginning. Morgan recently graduated from college with a degree in computer programming. Some of the past members of the team are pursuing engineering degrees in college. One is also studying to be a pharmacist.

Jacob Foote, an Albion ninth-grader, is at work on Tuesday.

Seielstad said the kids do the work, with the mentors providing some guidance.

Zachary Neal, an eighth-grader on the team, stands next to last year’s robot. It has a lift to perform some of the tall tasks.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said, explaining why he has stayed involved in the program.

It is also a relatively short-term commitment, with the teams building the robots over six weeks, and then having the three-day competition at RIT.

The team gets together three to four times a week. The Orleans team is unusual because it isn’t connected to a school district. Most of the programs are through school districts, with paid staff leading the teams.

The Orleans team has team members from at least three different school districts, and is led by volunteers.

It costs about $15,000 to run the program – to buy the robot and pay the competition entry fees. Xerox in Rochester and Baxter Healthcare in Medina have been the main sponsors for the program. BCA Ag Technologies allows the team to use its facility on Route 31A to build the robot.

The FIRST program is in its 15^th year, and has a goal of helping to develop leaders in science and technology.

All of the teams have names, and the Orleans team initially was known as “Joe’s Average Slackers.” But team members decided to rebrand the program to “Hardwired” last year.

Seielstad said some of the team members didn’t like calling themselves “slackers” because of all the work, commitment and skills needed to build the robot and get it to complete the challenges.

Jack Finley, 17, of Albion has been with the program for several years, starting with the First Lego League in elementary school. Students in the FLL build a robot through Legos and program it to do many tasks.

Finley likes the current program better because he said the equipment is higher quality and the robot can be programmed to do very specific tasks. He is looking to pursue a career in a technology field.

These team members are at work on their robot. From left include Dan Squires, Jacob Draper, Jace Conn, Zachary Neal and Jayden Neal.

ALBION – Community Action of Orleans and Genesee has been approved for $2,800,426 in federal funding to run the Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the two counties, Congressman Chris Collins announced.

The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which promotes school readiness of children under five from low-income families.

This is the refunding of the grant for Head Start (ages 3-5) and Early Head Start (ages 0-3) from Feb. 1, 2019 to Jan. 31, 2020. Community Action serves 189 children in Head Start at centers in Medina, Batavia and Albion as well as a Universal Pre-K classroom in partnership with Albion and Kendall elementary schools, said Ed Fancher, Community Action executive director.

The agency also serves 30 children in Early Head Start at Medina and Batavia centers.

“We’re proud to provide quality comprehensive services to children and their families through the Head Start program,” Fancher said this morning.

The Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is a nonprofit organization that has served Western New York for over 40 years. The organization empowers and provides opportunity for those who are not yet self-sufficient. Community Action works with programs, like Head Start, to provide short and long term goals for children and their parents in the community.

“Children are our future and this program ensures that the children of low-income families can get a jumpstart on their education before kindergarten,” Collins said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Orleans County has about two dozen canal bridges that are about a century old, built when the canal was widened from 1905 to 1918. Nearly all of the bridges are painted green, although the State Street bridge in Medina is black.

On Thursday, some of the bridges appeared to be white after sticky snow fell. The top photo shows the Brown Street bridge in Albion, which is normally green. (It is showing many rust spots lately. The bridge has been closed to traffic since 2012.)

This picture from Dec. 4, 2015, shows the Brown Street bridge in its green glory.

Photos  by Tom Rivers: The Ingersoll Street lift bridge, one of two vertical lift bridges in Albion, is pictured this afternoon.

ALBION – The planning committee for the Strawberry Festival has picked its theme for this year’s festival and it highlights the lift bridges in the community.

The Main Street and Ingersoll Street lift bridges were both built just over a century ago between 1911 and 1914.

The Strawberry Festival is in its 33^rd year. This year’s event on June 7-8 has the theme: “Albion’s lift bridges celebrating 100 years and still lifting.”

Each year a theme is picked to highlight a local asset. Last year the theme was “Celebrate Cobblestone Country.” In 2017, there was a Santa Claus theme in honor of the late Charles Howard, who founded a Santa Claus School in Albion.

The theme will be highlighted in posters and in the parade floats.

Don Bishop, chairman of the planning committee, said the lift bridges are marvels, still carrying many tons up high when boats pass underneath.

“They’re a hundred years old and still working,” he said. “How many things do you know of that are a hundred years old and still working?”

Orleans County has seven of the 16 lift bridges on the Erie Canal, and Albion has two of them. Others are located in Medina, Knowlesville, Eagle Harbor, Hulberton and Holley.

The Albion Rotary Club is the Strawberry Festival sponsor. Many community members help organize the event. Bishop welcomes more volunteers to help put on the festival. For more information, contact him at (585) 637-2422.

The Ingersoll Street lift bridge had major repairs about a decade ago.

ALBION – Two people were sentenced to state prison today in Orleans County Court for selling drugs in the county.

Troy Dukes, 25, of Rochester received the longest sentence with 3 years in state prison plus 2 years of post-release supervision.

Dukes has already been in the county jail for about 14 months, which will count towards his sentence. He was charged in October 2017 after a traffic stop when he was found with heroin on East State Street in Albion. He admitted in court he was trying to sell heroin in Albion.

“I want to apologize to the court,” Dukes told Judge Charles Zambito of Genesee County, who handled the sentencings today. “I’m just trying to better myself. I’m ready to turn around and do things better with my life.”

Nathan Pace, Dukes’ attorney, said his client suffered from a difficult upbringing and drug and alcohol use beginning when he was 14.

Zambito agreed to recommend drug treatment in the state prison system for Dukes.

• Another Rochester man also was sentenced to prison today. Victor Simmons, 48, has already spent about 16 months in the county jail.

He pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and faced a maximum of 2 years in state prison as part of a plea deal. The charge normally has a sentence of 1 ½ to 8 years in prison.

Simmons is accused of selling heroin and cocaine in Albion. Simmons said he had heroin with the intent to sell in Albion on Feb. 28, 2017.

He has been out of jail in recent months due to health problems and the deaths of two family members, including his son. His attorney thanked the court and District Attorney Joe Cardone for delaying the sentencing until today.

Simmons said he is determined to live a better a life.

“I would like to apologize to the court and the people of Orleans County for coming into your town,” Simmons said at sentencing.

Simmons also will be on post-release supervision for 2 years when he is released from prison.

• A Brockport resident was also sentenced this morning. Jason Schmeer, 38, was sentenced for fourth-degree grand larceny for taking a credit card. He has agreed to pay $485 in restitution.

He was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation, the same sentence he received in Monroe County. Schmeer has already been in jail for a year and that will count as time served.

“I’m very sorry and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to change,” Schmeer told Judge Zambito.

• Brandi Ralph, 34, of Lyndonville was praised for completing a diversion program.

She admitted during a previous court appearance to entering a garage on April 18, 2016 and stealing tools. Back then she was looking for something she could take and sell to feed her drug addiction.

She has completed drug treatment. A felony third-degree burglary charge was dismissed and she was sentenced to a misdemeanor of petit larceny. She doesn’t have to go to jail.

“She has done a fantastic job taking care of housing, a job and other issues in her life,” said Joanne Best, the public defender.

“We hope she continues down this path and has a successful life,” said District Attorney Joe Cardone.

Ralph told the judge she was grateful for the opportunity to be in the diversion program.

“I congratulate you for getting through the program because, as you know, not everyone can do it,” Judge Zambito said.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Employees with Frank’s Auto in Albion fasten a chain to a pickup truck that went off the road and into a ditch on West Countyhouse Road at about 11:10 a.m. today.

The driver sustained minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital. A state trooper said the driver was going too fast considering the slick road conditions.

The accident was on West Countyhouse, between Wood and Long Bridge roads.

This is one of several accidents in recent days with motorists contending with snow and ice on the roadways.

Photo by Tom Rivers: A snow fence is shown on Route 98 in Carlton on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo is predicting 9 to 17 inches of snow from 1 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday for parts of Western New York. Orleans County isn’t included in the winter storm warning that includes Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and southern Erie. Genesee and northern Erie are forecast for 7 to 14 inches of snow.

Orleans County could get 1 to 2 inches tonight and another 1 to 2 inches after Friday afternoon.

Firefighters credit smoke detectors for saving lives and property

MEDINA – Medina firefighters say smoke detectors were key in getting a quick response to a fire in a garage overnight.

The Medina Fire Department and police officers were dispatched at 3:33 a.m. today to 117 Eastview Drive for a carbon monoxide alarm activation with light smoke in the garage.

Police officers Fraiser and Gross arrived at 3:34 a.m. and reported heavy smoke showing from the garage. The officers moved the residents to a patrol vehicle and gained entry to the garage as Medina Engine 11 arrived on scene, the Medina Fire Department posted on its Facebook page.

Medina FD Lieutenant Young declared a working fire in the attached garage and requested the balance of the structure fire assignment be dispatched. Firefighters from the 4th Platoon made quick work of the fire and all mutual aid units were cancelled.

Fire damage was contained to one of the two vehicles parked inside the garage and that vehicle is a total loss. The second vehicle as well as the garage, its contents and the house are intact, only receiving some minor smoke damage.

Crews remained on scene until 5:20 a.m. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters during this incident. The fire is non-suspicious in nature and is currently under investigation by Medina Fire Department investigators.

“This incident highlights the vital importance of smoke detectors,” the Fire Department said. “Two lives were saved and over one hundred thousand dollars of property and contents were spared destruction because this house had smoke detectors properly placed throughout it.”

Press Release, New York Farm Bureau

Photo by Tom Rivers – This photo from October 2015 shows apples at an Albion orchard.

ALBANY – New York Farm Bureau on Wednesday released its 2019 state legislative priorities that look to address important budget and economic needs of its farmer members who make up the diverse agricultural community in New York. The priorities are based upon member approved public policy positions.

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the value of agriculture production for 2017, the latest numbers available, is just over $5 billion. It remains more than a $1 billion below where it was five years ago, a testament to the lingering downturn of the farm economy.

“It is important for lawmakers, many of whom are new to the Senate and Assembly this year, to understand not only the economic situation many farmers find themselves in, but also the positive impacts farms make to the rural economy and overall well-being of New York State,” said New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher during a press conference call with members of the media.

A top priority for New York Farm Bureau is making sure the final state budget agreement reflects the needs of farmers. The organization was very pleased to see Governor Cuomo increase the aid to localities budget for agriculture by $5 million to more than $29 million. This commitment to much needed research, promotion and marketing programs supports a wide range of commodities, including dairy, wine, maple, apple, Christmas trees, onions and more.

The Governor’s office has traditionally left this funding to the legislature to fill in the gaps, but with a new Senate majority, the Governor is expressing to the members and the rest of the state, why agriculture funding is so important.

“New York Farm Bureau will firmly make the case that this appropriation is much needed so New York farms can access the latest research available and improve their ability to compete in the marketplace,” said Fisher.

New York Farm Bureau also supports the $300 million slated for the Environmental Protection Fund, including money to assist farms that must cope with extreme weather conditions and to improve soil health.

“Farmers take great pride in passing on their land to the next generation, and that means having productive land and clean water that are protected for the future,” said Fisher.

Another legislative priority this year is for New York State to expand on the Farm Workforce Retention Tax Credit that left out many farm families when it was enacted in 2016.

New York Farm Bureau has repeatedly expressed how the rising minimum wage in New York makes it difficult on farms’ bottom lines. The minimum wage climbed again at the end of last year. It is now $11.10 in upstate New York and $12 on Long Island and Westchester County.

Farm Bureau opposed the hike but was successful in getting an employee tax credit to offset a fraction of the rising costs. However, it did not apply to all farm employers including Christmas tree and maple operations, farm wineries and cideries.  New York Farm Bureau is hoping that will change.

“State investment can help offset a portion of the state mandated wage hike. We were pleased to see the Governor has included this in his budget as well,” said Fisher.

Another public policy goal is to change the unemployment insurance law that currently requires farmers to pay unemployment insurance for H-2A workers, even though the workers are unable to collect it.

H-2A is a federal guest worker program that allows farms to hire and transport seasonal workers from other countries to New York for a set period of time. Once a farmworker’s contract expires, the employee must return to their home country. However, New York requires farms to pay the unemployment insurance on these farmworkers…even though the employees will never collect it. If they leave the job, they must return home and are ineligible to collect. The money is then absorbed by New York State.

“This is a common-sense fix to a long-standing regulation that increases the cost of doing business with no tangible benefit to the farmworker or farm,” said Jeff Williams, New York Farm Bureau’s Director of Public Policy.

Another top priority for New York Farm Bureau is to support training for police and district attorneys who investigate animal cruelty laws under the current statute in Agriculture and Markets Law.

New York Farm Bureau was successful in 2015, by working with the New York State Humane Association, to pass a law to help train law enforcement on animal cruelty laws already on the books. However, there has been no budget funding made available to implement this training. New York Farm, Bureau believes that needs to change.

“Farmers take animal care seriously and believe law enforcement could be better equipped to deal with abuse cases by receiving adequate training on Agriculture and Markets Law,” said Williams.

In the end, President Fisher said, “New York Farm Bureau will work hard to educate lawmakers, especially new members of the State Legislature, on the value our farms provide to all of New York and hopefully help them understand the impacts their decisions have, both positively and negatively, on our farm families, farmworkers and the rural economy.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Colonna walks out of a Muslim prayer house on Fuller Road in Carlton with Bilal Huzair, Jacob Zimmerman (left) and David Bell (in back). Colonna urged the group if they “see something, say something” in regards to suspicious activity directed towards the community.

WATERPORT – About 100 members of a mosque in Waterport are feeling on edge after a plot was discovered against a Muslim community near Binghamton.

The nearby Greece Police Department arrested four people in an apparent planned terrorist attack against a small Muslim community near Binghamton. The four Rochester-area males, ages 16 to 20, face felony charges of weapons possession and conspiracy after they were found with 23 guns and three homemade bombs.

“Whenever we see it in the news we can’t help but be concerned about our community and our families,” said David Bell, a member of the mosque.

The local Muslim community is part of the World Sufi Foundation. They have had a prayer house in Waterport on Fuller Road the past 40 years and a mosque on West Avenue in Medina. The group has been targeted before, with two crosses burned in the front lawn of the prayer house on Fuller Road. In 2010 shots were fired at the prayer house in Waterport, and five teen-agers were arrested.

Bilal Huzair, deputy director of the World Sufi Foundation, said local law enforcement has been very supportive of the Muslim community, taking any threats and actions against the members seriously.

Orleans County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Colonna met with Bilal and some of the World Sufi members today at the prayer house. He urged they to stay connected and to report any suspicious activity.

“If you see something, say something,” Colonna said, repeating a mantra of community policing.

Bell said the most of local residents and churches in the Orleans County are very welcoming and supportive of the community.

Huzair said the local Muslims are proud Americans who enjoy their community in Orleans County. He was saddened to see that the four people arrested in Greece were planning such a destructive act.

“This divisiveness has to end,” he said. “We don’t have time for this junk.”

Huzair issued this statement on behalf of the World Sufi Foundation:

“We the people of Waterport, New York and Orleans County hereby declare that America has no place for Fascists or Neo-Nazis. In light of the recent apprehension of Fascists in possession of bombs and weapons, we are greatly appreciative of the men and women who risked their lives to avoid a catastrophe of epic proportions.

“This attempted attack on Americans living south of Binghamton, NY could have resulted in the disruption of the peace that all Americans are privileged to by the Constitution of this great nation of people.

“America is not a nation of just Republicans or Democrats or any other party. Americans are not white or black nor of any other race. We are not defined by our heritage or by our ethnicity.  We stand United by our Flag, which symbolizes the freedoms and liberties that we shall let no one remove from the toils of our forefathers. We condemn the actions of the few Fascists and stand with the men and women who defend our rights to practice our religion in peace.

“We acknowledge all the hard work by all members of law enforcement, both local and federal, even during this time of hardship by way of the government shutdown. We know that our President, Donald J. Trump, our Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen share the same sentiments expressed in this statement.

“We further thank the local and national media for bringing this crime to light and exposing this deviant and abhorrent attempt by these Fascists to disrupt the peaceful life of all Americans. To save one life is to save all Humanity.”

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Darren Wilson, right, president of the Lyndonville Foundation, presents a check for $20,000 to Orleans Community Health CEO Mark Cye to help with purchase of a handicap accessible van for the North Wing,a skilled nursing facility at Medina Memorial Hospital.

MEDINA – Efforts to purchase a handicap accessible van for the North Wing at Orleans Community Health got a big boost with a donation from the Lyndonville Foundation.

On Monday, Lyndonville Foundation president Darren Wilson presented a check for $20,000 to hospital CEO Mark Cye.

Hospital personnel made a request to the Lyndonville Foundation after a suggestion by Lynne Johnson, Orleans County legislator and Lyndonville resident who is also on the Orleans Community Health board.

“We were looking for a local group which could support us in our efforts to purchase a van,” said Cindy Perry, director of outreach, education and marketing for the hospital’s Community Partners. “Our van takes residents to sites all over the county, including Lyndonville for ice cream in the summer.”

Wilson said the Foundation is always looking for opportunities to help the local community.

“Our board felt this was a valuable service which needed funding,” Wilson said. “This is what the Foundation does – fill gaps where funding is needed.”

Cye said they previously had a van, but it has been out of service for more than a year.

“It will be great to have a vehicle again which can accommodate wheelchairs,” Perry said.

The new van has been ordered and delivery is expected soon. It is a 14-passenger with wheelchair accessibility.

Cuomo also wants districts to add stop-arm cameras on buses to record motorists who pass stopped buses

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new proposals in his fiscal year 2020 Executive Budget to bolster student safety on school buses.

The Governor’s proposal would authorize school districts to install stop-arm cameras on school buses, increase the fine for passing a stopped school bus and require students to wear seatbelts on school buses. These proposals build on the Governor’s leadership in ensuring student safety and modernizing school safety laws.

“The safety of New York’s schoolchildren is our top priority and reckless drivers who put our kids in danger must be held accountable,” Cuomo said. “Motorists have a responsibility to pay attention and abide by the law, especially when driving in the vicinity of school buses, and these measures will ensure students make it to and from school safely and help prevent needless tragedies.”

In New York, approximately 1.5 million students ride school buses to and from school every year. Although it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus, on Operation Safe Stop in April 2018 – a day in which law enforcement target citations for passing a stopped school bus – over 850 people ignored the law and were ticketed. Extrapolated for 180 days of school, someone passes a stopped school bus 150,000 times a year, endangering the safety of school children.

To ensure students are safe on their way to and from school, the Governor is proposing authorizing school districts to install stop-arm cameras, which would document and record illegal passing of the school bus, and issue a resulting ticket in order to stop this behavior for good. As an added deterrent, the proposal would increase the fine for passing a stopped school bus to further increase student safety. In addition, the Governor has put forth a proposal that would require students to wear seatbelts on school buses.

Building on student safety reforms proposed in the FY 2020 Executive Budget, Governor Cuomo recently announced a proposal to formally reinstate the speed camera program in New York City and more than double the number of zones in which the cameras would be installed from 140 to 290. Speed cameras are a proven method to not only reduce car crashes, but improve the survivability rates in school zones.

After the Republican-led Senate blocked passage of legislation that would have allowed the program to continue in 2018, Governor Cuomo declared a State of Emergency as a temporary means of reinstating the program.

James O. White

MEDINA – A Lockport man was charged on Tuesday with manslaughter for allegedly providing the drugs in a fatal overdose of a Medina man.

Police arrested James O. White, 27, of Porter Street and charged him with one count of manslaughter in the second degree (a Class C felony) and two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (Class B felonies).

The charges follow a lengthy investigation by the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, with assistance by the Medina Police Department and the Niagara County Drug Task Force.

White allegedly provided a lethal combination of heroin and fentanyl to Wade Sargent who died on March 25, 2017. Sargent, who was 22 at the time, was found unresponsive at a residence in the village of Medina.

Investigators processed evidence located at the scene including baggies containing a powdery substance which were submitted to and analyzed by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department Forensic Laboratory and found to contain heroin and fentanyl, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force said today.

A forensic examination was completed on Sargent’s cellphone by the Task Force and numerous text messages were recovered connecting White to the death of Wade Sargent, the Task Force said.

White was arraigned in the Shelby Town Court by Town Justice Dawn Keppler, who committed White to the Orleans County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond. White is to return to the Shelby Town Court on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation, said Joe Sacco, supervising investigator for the Task Force.