Contributed Story Posted 8 January 2019 at 2:47 pm
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Retiring Holley-Kendall wrestling Coach John Grillo will be honored at the teams’s annual Senior Night on January 15.
The Holley-Kendall wrestling team’s Senior Night on Tuesday, January 15 will feature a special recognition ceremony for retiring Coach John Grillo.
The ceremonies will be held at 5:30 p.m. with the Holley-Kendall seniors being recognized first, with Grillo being honored for his 44 years of coaching immediately afterwards.
The match will commence following these ceremonies with Holley-Kendall competing against Lyndonville and St. Mary’s High Schools.
Grillo has more than 780 wins in his coaching career, which has spanned more than 30 years at Holley and 12 years at Pavilion.
In 2016, he held the record for the most wins in New York State. He was named a National Coach of the Year finalist, and he has been Genesee Region Coach of the Year 16 times and Section V Coach of the Year six times.
Grillo was a wrestling coach during his entire teaching career, and he has continued to coach after retiring from Holley in 2017. His wrestlers have won 22 Genesee Region League titles and 12 Section V Championships. He also coached two state champions.
Many members of past Holley wrestling teams will be present at this event as well.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday vowed to codify the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade into New York State Law upon the passage of the Reproductive Health Act, de-criminalizing women’s access to abortions and protecting the doctors who perform them once and for all.
The Governor on Monday rallied for the passage of the RHA, vowing to pass the bill within the first 30 days of the legislative session alongside former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and bill sponsors Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Deborah Glick. The passage of the RHA is part of the Governor’s 2019 Justice Agenda for the first 100 days of the legislative session, outlined in December.
In addition, the Governor announced that he will advance legislation supporting the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act, which would make regulations enacted by Governor Cuomo through Executive Order in 2018 permanent. This legislation would codify the requirement under the federal Affordable Care Act that health insurers much provide free contraceptive coverage in their policies into New York State law. The Governor pledged to not pass the budget until both the Reproductive Health Act and Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act are passed.
“In this tumultuous time, it is critical that we codify the Roe v. Wade decision into state law, and to take it a step further, we will fight to pass a constitutional amendment that writes into the Constitution a provision protecting a woman’s right to protect her own reproductive health,” Governor Cuomo said. “We will pass it, put it on the ballot, we will write it into the Constitution and we will be able to say we have protected women’s rights in a way no one has before.”
Throughout his administration, Governor Cuomo has staunchly supported codifying Roe v. Wade into state law. In 2018, upon the Supreme Court’s swing to a conservative majority, the Governor called on the Senate to return to Albany to pass this legislation, preserving New York’s progressive values and defending against the Trump Administration’s continued assaults on women’s rights. For the past six years, the Governor has consistently called on the Senate to pass legislation codifying these protections into the state constitution, as it has easily passed through the Assembly each of these years.
In August 2018, Governor Cuomo launched a public awareness campaign that served to connect women to comprehensive and confidential reproductive health services. The campaign was in direct response to alarming reports of Crisis Pregnancy Centers misrepresenting themselves as health centers in order to dissuade women seeking abortion from going through with the decision. The Governor’s campaign featured ads with clear, factual information in multiple languages to better inform women across the state of their reproductive health options.
“As keepers of the torch for women’s rights that was first ignited in our home state back in 1848, we have a moral responsibility to continue this fight today,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “That is what this next session will accomplish – enshrine into law long overdue protections. With the anniversary of Roe v. Wade later this month, we will finally codify Roe v. Wade into state law during a time when women’s rights are being threatened by the federal government.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 January 2019 at 8:34 am
ALBION – The school district will host a large “active incident drill” in March that will include law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders, as well as staff at a local hospital.
Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, said the exact date isn’t scheduled yet due to the coordination involved with so many of the participants.
“This will be the largest scale drill for the county, yet,” Bonnewell told the Board of Education on Monday.
The drill will be on a day when there isn’t school. Teachers and staff will role-play teachers, students and parents.
Medina and Kendall both hosted active incident drills last year for first responders.
At Medina on April 20 last year, police arrived in stages to simulate the response to an incident at a school. The drill focused on tactics in finding the suspect, emergency communications and mass casualty treatment and response.
The drills help local law enforcement improve their response to minimize chaos and casualties.
Bonnewell also updated the Board of Education on a new school resource officer. Interviews will start within the next week and will include six representatives from the school district and two from the Albion Police Department.
The district is working with the Albion Police Department to have an officer dedicated full-time to the district.
The officer will be a member of the Albion Police Department and will at the district during the school year. The officer will be available during the summer for road patrols and other duties outside the school district.
The district has approved paying $81,250 annually towards the officer. That will be pro-rated depending on the start date this school year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 January 2019 at 7:45 am
ALBION – The Albion Teachers Association is asking the Albion Board of Education for a deeper investigation into why there have been so many incidents of cancer and serious illness among elementary teachers and staff.
Angie Wolfe, a kindergarten teacher who was diagnosed with breast cancer in March, said she is one of 22 teachers or staff who have been diagnosed with breast cancer at the elementary school fairly recently. Wolfe has worked in the school for 19 years.
She is one of nine teachers or staff diagnosed in the past five years. In the past 10 years, it’s 16 employees at the school. Going back more than 10 years, it’s 22 people diagnosed with breast cancer at the elementary school. Other employees have had other serious illnesses. The middle and high schools have far fewer cases of serious illness among staff and teachers, she said.
A staff member at the elementary school who recently successfully battled breast cancer attended the Board of Education meeting on Monday.
She told the Board of Education the “alarming number” of people with serious health issues warrants a deeper investigation. She and other members of the Albion Teachers Association made a map showing where in the building the staff and teachers worked who became seriously ill. Wolfe said “the vast majority” tended to be in the original school building from the 1950s – wings A and G, the cafeteria and the district office.
Chris Keller, the Teachers Association president, said teachers are concerned about the safety of the building.
“The number of serious illnesses makes it imperative that we take a closer look,” he told the Board of Education on Monday.
Last month the district presented a report from WorkFit Medical for its assessment of the incidents of cancer and serious illness among elementary teachers and staff. WorkFit provides medical services to the school district and other districts and businesses in Western New York.
In a Nov. 27 letter to Michael Bonnewell, the Albion school superintendent, WorkFit officials say the rate of breast cancer occurrence at the elementary school is actually lower than the national average.
At Albion Elementary it’s one in 19 women compared to the national average of one out of eight women getting breast cancer during their lifetime, according to the letter from C. Jay Ellie, MD, general director of WorkFit Medical, and Heather Hosking, director of occupational and comprehensive school health for WorkFit Medical.
That report from WorkFit didn’t satisfy the Teachers Association. School officials learned last week the Teachers Association wanted further study of the issue.
The board and school administration in the past week have reached out to outside experts – its insurance company, the Orleans County Health Department, the NYS Department of Health, and Cornell’s University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Workplace Health and Safety Program.
Margy Brown, the BOE president, said the district will await direction from those groups. WorkFit advised the district that “environmental factors” in a building don’t cause breast cancer.
Wolfe urged the district to have an outside independent agency look at air and water quality and as well as environmental factors in the building.
“Please believe we want nothing more than the safety of our buildings for our students and for you,” Brown said at the meeting, which was attended by many elementary teachers and staff, some wearing T-shirts with the names of employees who have fought cancer.
The Teachers Association presented a packet with some new information to the Board and administration on Monday. Brown said they will review that information and respond to the Teachers Association soon, likely within a week.
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By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 January 2019 at 10:36 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf
SHELBY – The driver of this Ford Explorer escaped serious injury when she skidded on icy roads and rolled over several times this afternoon just north of the Alabama swamps on Route 63 in the town of Shelby.
Firefighters from the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company responded to the accident about 3 p.m. The vehicle landed upright in a field. No additional information is available.
State Trooper A.J. Keleman and Shelby firefighters are on the scene of a rollover accident this afternoon on Route 63.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2019 at 4:52 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The National Resources Conservation Service and Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District are open today, but down the hall at 446 West Ave. the Farm Service Agency is closed due to the federal shutdown, which is now in its 17th day.
The NRCS office is shown with the portraits of President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The NRCS is picking up some of the work from the FSA. The NRCS has funding for about two more weeks if the shutdown isn’t resolved.
The Iroquois Job Corps Center on Tibbits Road in Medina is open. That site is owned by the federal Department of Labor. However, the DOL contracts with a company to run the site. The employees aren’t federal workers.
The federal budget shutdown has closed the U.S. Department of Agriculture service office at 446 West Ave.
The Iroquois National Wildlife Center is staffed by federal employees and they aren’t working right now. The offices are closed.
However, public access to the refuge remains open on lands that do not require the presence of a federal employee or contractor.
“Any entry onto Refuge System property during this period of federal government shutdown is at the visitor’s sole risk,” the Refuge states on its website.
The U.S. Labor Department, through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports that there are 78 federal employees in Orleans County who earn an average annual wage of $45,477. That is $3,559,000 in total wages for the 78 workers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2019 at 1:28 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
BATAVIA – Kevin (Lockwood) Blackwood, an Albion native, pins Scotty O’Shea during one of the matches in Knowlesville on April 28 during the “Fairgrounds Fallout” at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
Kevin Blackwood posted this photo today on Twitter from the hospital. He suffered two broken ankles and head trauma in a car accident on Sunday.
Blackwood suffered two broken ankles and head trauma in a car accident Sunday night on Thruway. He was traveling with three other wrestlers. All four wrestle as the “Buffalo Brothers.” They were returning from a wrestler event in Montreal when they hit black ice on the Thruway and crashed into a guard rail just east of the State Street overpass.
Blackwood has been a featured wrestler with Empire State Wrestling for about two years. He competes in an independent circuit in New York and Canada.
Danny Garcia, another member of the Buffalo Brothers, broke one leg and broke an ankle on the other leg. The two other Buffalo Brothers, Nick Pufpaff and Kevin Bennett, suffered minor injuries.
A GoFundMe has been established to help the wrestlers with their medical bills. It has raised about $16,000 so far.
Blackwood posted this message Sunday on Twitter: “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of love my friends and I have received. I promise, nothing can stop us. Your words mean more than you could ever know #buffalove”
He posted this message at about 1:20 p.m. today: “I’m out of surgery on my leg. The worst part of this right now is knowing I’m not gonna wrestle for a while. But when I come back, the world is gonna know.”
MEDINA – The holidays were a great time for students in the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Adult Education Literacy classes at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Medina to come together and celebrate. The students are either ESL (English as a Second Language) and/or Adult Basic Education (ABE) and/or High School Equivalency (HSE).
Teachers Shelly Smith (Literacy Instructor), Karen Cunningham (Career Prep instructor) and Dorie Kenyon (Tester) wanted to reward the students for all their hard work over the course of the last few months.
“We had a gift for each one of the students that consisted of a mug filled with candy,” said Mrs. Smith. “Mrs. Cunningham and I purchased pizza, fruit, pop, a veggie tray, cookies and brownies. The students also brought in their favorite snacks to add to the festivities.”
One student even got a special gift of a new winter coat.
“Mary Melero is with us for six hours a day,” explained Mrs. Smith. “She is like a sponge in learning and a big help in the classrooms. She is always pitching in and helping clean up. She walks everywhere and only has a windbreaker. When we gave her the coat, the look on her face will always be etched in my mind.”
The students all brought in a gift of $3 or less and played a fun game of Dirty Santa. The teachers brought in extra gifts so everyone was able to participate and go home with a gift.
“Kindness is like snow,” says Mrs. Smith. “It beautifies everything that it covers. It was so much fun, especially because we had invited our most recent graduates to come and celebrate with us.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2019 at 11:25 am
KENDALL – The Town of Kendall wants to hear from residents about the brightness of new LED lights going in the town, and also see if there is enough interest for a new water district.
The Town Board has already approved switching high-pressure sodium lights with energy-efficient LEDs.
Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said the change will save the town about $2,000 to $2,500 annually in lower electricity bills for the 90 street lights. However, the town hasn’t decided if it wants some brighter lights in the business district on Roosevelt Highway. Lower-level LEDs could go along the residential streets.
The town will have an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday the Kendall Junior-Senior High School Auditorium.
“We want the public’s opinion,” Cammarata said this morning.
A National Grid representative will be at the 7 p.m. to discuss the street light options.
After the LED meeting, there will be a 7:45 meeting at the school auditorium to see if there is interest in creating a new water district.
Kendall last year constructed its first new water district in a decade. Cammarata said there remains several gaps around town without public water.
“Right now it’s a jigsaw puzzle and we want to end the jigsaw puzzle,” Cammarata said. “We want to get as many residents with water as possible.”
‘This march is only the beginning of a larger ongoing effort to bring awareness to the unique challenges faced by rural women’
Press Release, GLOW Women’s March
BATAVIA – This January, the GLOW region aims to prove that not every activist lives in a city.
Many women in Genesee, Orleans, Livingston, and Wyoming counties have been a part of the political scene going back centuries, and more have joined movements and causes since the 2016 election. A large number attended an event for the first-ever Women’s March in January 2017, the largest protest event in world history. But while they might have marched in D.C., Seneca Falls, Rochester or Buffalo in past years, this year the March is coming to GLOW.
On Saturday, January 19, women and allies will gather at Jackson Square in Batavia at 10 a.m. Following remarks and performances, marchers will embark on a short route down Center, Ellicott and Liberty streets, crossing Main and ending at the Mall at Batavia City Center for more speakers and nonprofit vendor tables with information on local causes and resources.
This march is only the beginning of a larger ongoing effort to bring awareness to the unique challenges faced by rural women – rural women of any race, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, citizenship status, and transgender women as well.
Marchers aim to encourage women to take a seat at the tables of local legislative bodies, and support the efforts of pro-women (or rather, pro-human) causes—including reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual and domestic violence prevention, gun violence prevention, racial justice, immigration reform, and climate change awareness, among others. These endeavors crisscross the many intersections of our lives, and by uplifting each other our entire community succeeds.
Marching in January is a demonstration of solidarity with our sisters, daughters, mothers, partners and friends for a future of equality, justice and compassion for all.
For more information, find GLOW.WomenMarch on Facebook and Instagram.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 January 2019 at 6:48 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: A caterpillar is on the move on Friday when it was about 50. This photo was taken on the Butts Road bridge in Albion.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a winter weather advisory on Monday for Orleans County and Western New York.
The advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with mixed precipitation – periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain – expected and some ice accumulations of a few hundredths of an ice.
“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the Weather Service said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute.”
Monday is forecast for a high of 36. The highs for the rest of the week include 47 on Tuesday, 34 on Wednesday, 24 on Thursday, 21 on Friday and 27 on Saturday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 January 2019 at 1:53 pm
Adam and Kelly Uderitz embrace a healthy lifestyle
Provided photo: Adam and Kelly Uderitz are shown at their wedding about 16 months ago on Aug. 17, 2017.
MEDINA – A Medina couple embraced a healthy lifestyle last year and the results have been life-changing, Kelly and Adam Uderitz said.
Together they lost about 340 pounds in 2018. They drank lots of water each day, ate healthy foods, got more sleep and made a commitment to exercise regularly.
Kelly lost 96 pounds and Adam took off 245. They used to get home from work and crash on the couch. Now they go out for walks or a jog.
They both say they have far more energy during the day, after cutting out their caffeine.
“I feel like I got my freedom back, the freedom from myself,” Adam, 43, said at their home on Saturday on Fruit Avenue.
He used to drink a lot of soda. The switch to drinking water cut out hundreds of calories each day. He has experimented in the kitchen, using more vegetables in their meals. He makes a cauliflower-crusted pizza, or mashed cauliflowers instead of mashed potatoes. On Saturday evening, it was scallops over cauliflower grits.
The change in diet took off a lot of pounds. Adam also embraced something he hadn’t done since he was a kid: he rode a bike. He first pedaled it down Fruit Avenue to the canal and back to his house, about a 3-mile ride. He built up his endurance and would ride 25 miles to Albion and back.
He started walking, then doing a walk-jog. In October, he was running a mile and then longer. In November, he completed two 5-kilometer races and is looking to try some longer races, a 5-miler and maybe a half marathon. Adam is often joined by the family dog, Maggie, a mixed breed.
Adam is at 176 pounds. He hasn’t been that low since he was a freshman in high school. Some of his own family members didn’t recognize him last year at some family gatherings.
Adam and Kelly Uderitz frequently take walks on the Erie Canal Towpath with their dog Maggie.
“I just feel so much better,” he said on Saturday.
He works at Saint-Gobain Adfors in Albion as a “fixer” or in maintenance. He used to sit down for most of his shifts at work, but last year decided to stay on his feet throughout the workday. That gave him about 10,000 steps each day at work. He has a step counter on his watch and averages about 15,000 steps a day, including his exercise outside of work.
Adam no longer needs medication for high cholesterol and blood pressure. He no longer suffers from sleep apnea. He gets a good night’s sleep and starts the day with zest.
Kelly and Adam have been friends for 16 years. They married on Aug. 17, 2017.
Kelly has lost nearly 100 pounds this year. She has steered herself away from deep-fried foods. If she goes out to eat, she has a salad instead of French fries or other food that tends to have a lot of grease.
Kelly, 44, said she started to put on weight after quitting smoking in 2000. Before embracing a healthy lifestyle about a year ago, she said she typically felt tired and would go to Tim Hortons once or twice daily for an iced cappuccino. Even then, she felt sluggish, especially when she got home after working. She is a special education teacher at Albion High School.
Kelly is an active parent volunteer with the Medina Mustang Band. Her son, Danny Squire, is a senior with the band this year.
His mother noticed that Jimmy Steele, the band director, has lost a lot of weight – more than 100 pounds. She asked him how he did it.
Steele shared his insights and offered to be a coach for Kelly and Adam Uderitz. He gives them recipes and encouragement.
Kelly and Adam both say they try to stay positive, even if they slip up and don’t have a good eating day.
“If you have a bad day, it’s not over,” Adam said. “Go forward and continue on.”
It is hard to eat good food all the time, especially during the holidays when there are some many cookies and treats.
The couple say Americans are inundated with junk food, fast food and unhealthy food.
“It’s always in your face,” Kelly said. “Everyone is trying to get you to supersize junk all your life.”
‘I feel like anyone can be successful. You have to remember why you’re doing it. It’s a journey not a diet.’ – Kelly Uderitz
Kelly and Adam try to eat every 2 ½ to 3 hours. In between meals that is often a handful of almonds. That fights off hunger and the cravings for fast food or junk food.
“It keeps the metabolism going,” Adam said.
The first couple months on the program were like being in detox as he shifted from soda to water, and from deep fried food to lean meats and lots of vegetables.
Kelly, like Steele, has become a health coach and is working with five people. She welcomes others to contact her through her Facebook page if they are interested in following the program that has worked for her and her husband.
Adam and Kelly have also become avid kayakers. That’s something that seemed unrealistic a year ago. Now they spend three or four hours in the kayak, traveling the Oak Orchard River.
“I feel like anyone can be successful,” Kelly said about the weight-loss program. “You have to remember why you’re doing it. It’s a journey not a diet.”
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 6 January 2019 at 9:35 am
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Amilcar Morales and his Purple Eagle teammates will host front-running Newfane on Wednesday and the annual Niagara-Orleans All-League meet on Saturday.
The annual Niagara-Orleans All-League wrestling tournament, which will be held at Albion on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m., will cap off the upcoming week of area high school sports competition.
Heading into Wednesday’s final round of N-O wrestling dual meet competition, defending champion Newfane is leading the title race at 4-0. The Panthers will visit 3-1 Albion in Wednesday’s key match. Akron, which is also at 3-1, will take on 1-3 Wilson while 1-3 Medina visits 0-4 Roy-Hart/Barker in the other matches.
N-O girls basketball competition on Tuesday will feature a clash of unbeatens as 4-0 Wilson visits 3-0 Albion at 7 p.m.
N-O boys basketball action will be highlighted by Tuesday’s Albion (2-1) at Wilson (2-0) contest. That same evening, front-running Medina (3-0) will host Roy-Hart (0-2).
In N-O boys swimming, 5-1 Roy-Hart will host 6-0 Albion in a key battle for first place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
In Genesee Region League boys basketball action, undefeated Division II leading Lyndonville (5-0, 9-0) will host Holley on Tuesday and then visit undefeated Division I leading Alexander (5-0) on Thursday.
Weekly Schedule Monday Girls Basketball: Holley at Barker, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday Boys Basketball: Albion at Wilson, 6 p.m.; Roy-Hart at Medina, Newfane at Akron, 6:30 p.m.; Holley at Lyndonville, Byron-Bergen at Kendall, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball: Akron at Newfane, 6:30 p.m.; Medina at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Albion, 7 p.m. Swimming: Akron at Medina, Albion at Roy-Hart, Newfane at Barker, 4:30 p.m. Wrestling: Alexander at Lyndonville, Holley-Kendall at Byron-Bergen, 6 p.m.
Wednesday Boys Basketball: Byron-Bergen at Barker, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball: Kendall at Byron-Bergen, 6:30 p.m. Wrestling: Medina at Roy-Hart/Barker, Akron at Wilson, Newfane at Albion, 6 p.m.
Thursday Boys Basketball: Lyndonville at Alexander, Kendall at Holley, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball: North Tonawanda at Medina, Albion at Barker, Newfane at Wilson, 6:30 p.m. Swimming: Albion at Barker, Roy-Hart at Akron, Medina at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.
Friday Boys Basketball: Wilson at Newfane, 6:30 p.m.; Barker at Albion, 7 p.m.; Akron at Roy-Hart, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball: Roy-Hart at Akron, 6:30 p.m.; Alexander at Lyndonville, Holley at Kendall, 7 p.m.
Saturday Boys Basketball: RAC at Kendall, 6 p.m. Wrestling: N-O All-League Tournament at Albion, 9 a.m.; Holley-Kendall at Eastridge Duals
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 January 2019 at 4:04 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – These three dogs were rescued this afternoon in a fire at an apartment, 11 White St., Holley.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 1:58 p.m. They put out a fire in the basement.
The residence filled with smoke. A tenant went back inside the house to get one of the dogs. The tenant was taken by Monroe Ambulance to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters opened windows and used fans to ventilate the house, which includes two apartments.
Firefighters form Holley, Clarendon, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray, Albion, Hamlin and Brockport were at the scene, as well as the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, Holley Police Department, Monroe Ambulance and the county fire investigators.
Harris Reed, right, took over as Holley fire chief from Kevin Dann, left, on Jan. 1. This was Reed’s first fire call as the chief.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 January 2019 at 9:58 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: A combine is shown on Oct. 12 in Barre on West Barre Road during the harvest season.
Tractors and other slow-moving vehicles will be able to go faster on public roads in New York after the governor signed legislation, increasing the maximum speed from 25 to 35 miles per hour.
“A NYFB legislative victory in 2018 is now law thanks to the Governor’s signature,” New York Farm Bureau posted on Twitter on Friday. “Farm equipment can now travel at speeds up to 35 mph while using the slow moving vehicle emblem.”
The legislation will take effect in the spring.
The tractors, combines and construction vehicles need to have orange triangular signs to show they are slow-moving vehicles.
The legislation was sponsored in the State Senate by Pam Helming, a Republican from Canandaigua, and in the Assembly by Carrie Woerner, a Democrat from Saratoga County.
State legislators approved the higher speed limit, saying farm equipment has improved and can go faster than 25 mph – even 35 mph.
