Turning big school buildings into apartments and offices costs many millions of dollars.

Home Leasing in Rochester has started work on the former Holley High School, turning a building that had been vacant for about 30 years into 41 apartments for senior citizens with about 6,000 square feet also to be used as the Village of Holley offices.

The Holley project will cost about $17 million. Tax credits and grants have been critical for the project to move forward.

The big cost for renovation won’t result in a property tax boom for Holley. Home Leasing is paying $13,500 in a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) beginning in 2021. The $13,500 will be shared among Holley Central, the Village of Holley, Orleans County and the Town of Murray.

Home Leasing in Rochester faces an ambitious project in turning the long-vacant former Holley High School into 41 apartments and the offices for the Village of Holley.

The 30-year PILOT agreement has the amount in payments increasing 2 percent each year until it reaches $23,973.90 in 2050.

Those 41 apartments would generate about $330 each in annual tax revenue in 2021 with the PILOT in 2021.

The owner of a house in Holley, valued at $80,000, pays about $4,000 in taxes. The tax rate for the school, village, town and county is about $50 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The renovation of the old school was never looked at as a tax windfall. Village officials didn’t want a prominent location in the community to continue to deteriorate, oppressing the entire neighborhood. The property also was in bankruptcy and had long stopped generating any taxes.

Albion also witnessed a stunning $7 million transformation of an old school. PathStone, formerly Rural Opportunities, in 2007 started work on the former Albion Grammar School, which was built in 1906 with gray Medina sandstone. The school on East Academy Street served kindergarten through grade six before closing in the early 1970s. It was originally a high school.

Rural Opportunities in 2009 opened the Albion Academy with 30 apartments for senior citizens, as well as space on the first floor for the Office for the Aging and the Arc of Orleans County. The Meals on Wheels and Nutri-faire program is run from the Academy.

Rural Opportunities wanted to plan its expenses for taxes. It reached a deal with the local municipalities to pay what the site was generating in taxes, $5,800, when it was privately owned with only a few apartments.

The Town of Albion, Village of Albion, school district and county agreed to keep the tax burden at $5,800 annually for 10 years.

The Albion Academy, like the Holley school, was viewed as an opportunity for affordable senior housing, while saving an important community landmark and providing a big lift to a neighborhood.

Photo courtesy of Tony Piedimonte

Holley vegetable grower Tony Piedimonte took this photo last week in New York City when he was at the New York Produce Show and Conference at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Piedimonte spotted this display at the show and was impressed with the creativity. The red stripes in the flag were created with rows of red peppers and the white stripes are cauliflower. The stars in the upper left corner are garlic.

Piedimonte said the show is a chance for farmers and ag organizations to connect with wholesalers, chain stores and other buyers in the New York City area and northeast.

Provided photos

ALBION – Boy Scouts from Troop 94 in Kendall presented gifts for local veterans on Monday at the Orleans County Veterans Service Agency.

Senior Patrol Leader Noah Rath and troop members dropped off 25 bags filled with hand warmers, socks, gloves, hat, mouth wash soap, hand sanitizer, tooth brush, toothpaste wash cloth, hot chocolate mix, cookies and water in each bag to be handed out to veterans in need during this holiday.

Earl Schmidt (center), director of the Veterans Service Agency, is pictured with the Boy Scouts.

“I am very happy to see our youth in the community with such dedication and loving hearts to put together these great gifts for our veterans of Orleans County,” Schmidt said. “The bags will be distributed through our office and the Orleans County Joint Veterans Council van service to our local veterans.”

Four projects in Orleans County have received state funding as part of the $763 million in economic development grants announced today by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The grants in Orleans include:

• Village of Medina – $1 million

The Village of Medina will install an ultraviolet disinfection system at its wastewater treatment facility. Additional improvements include relocating onsite stormwater and sludge piping and installing new catch basins. This project will provide additional treatment of wastewater before it discharges to Glenwood Lake.

• Village of Albion – $600,000

The Village of Albion will install an ultraviolet disinfection system at its water pollution control plant on Densmore Street. The outcome will be to fully treat the effluent, which reduces environmental contamination.

• Village of Lyndonville – $30,000

The Village of Lyndonville will create an engineering report to evaluate disinfection alternatives at the village wastewater treatment plant.

• Orleans Economic Development Agency – $20,000

The Orleans County Economic Development Agency will prepare a feasibility study to assess expansion and development of the Medina Business Park from 170 acres to approximately 350 acres. The study will identify infrastructure and permitting needs as well as costs to establish the site as one of the largest Shovel Ready sites in New York State that will benefit a distressed area in Orleans County.

Established in 2011, Cuomo and the state created 10 the regional councils to replace a top-down approach to economic development with one that is community-based and performance-driven.

“Over the last eight years, we have implemented a vision to move New York State’s economy forward by allowing communities to make strategic investments to help grow their local economies and reenergize and develop their unique regions,” Governor Cuomo said. “Regional-based economic development is vital for maintaining New York’s thriving, prosperous economy. I congratulate all of the winners of this year’s REDC awards and look forward to working together to build a stronger New York for generations to come.”

Orleans County is part of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, which was named a “top performer” and approved for $86.5 million to support 141 projects.

Press Release, US Department of Agriculture

Photo by Tom Rivers: Corn is pictured in Albion in August 2016. The USDA is providing $192 million to corn growers to help offset some of the impact of a trade dispute. Soybeans are getting $7,259,400 or 76 percent of the $9,567,400 total.

At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has launched the second and final round of trade mitigation payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. Producers of certain commodities will now be eligible to receive Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments for the second half of their 2018 production.

“The President reaffirmed his support for American farmers and ranchers and made good on his promise, authorizing the second round of payments to be made in short order,” Perdue said. “While there have been positive movements on the trade front, American farmers are continuing to experience losses due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. This assistance will help with short-term cash flow issues as we move into the new year.”

Secretary Perdue announced in July that USDA would act to aid farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to help protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets to help American farmers compete globally. In September, USDA initiated three programs to aid American agriculture in sustaining the short-term damages associated with the trade disputes and securing long-term, stable export markets.

Details of programs currently employed by USDA:

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has been administering MFP to provide the first payments to almond, corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, fresh sweet cherry, and wheat producers since September 2018 for the first 50 percent of their 2018 production.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is administering a food purchase and distribution program to purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities unfairly targeted by unjustified retaliation. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is distributing these commodities through nutrition assistance programs, such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program and child nutrition programs. So far, USDA has procured some portion of 16 of the 29 commodities included in the program, totaling more than 4,500 truckloads of food. AMS will continue purchasing commodities for delivery throughout 2019.

Through the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program, $200 million is being made available to develop foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products. The program will help U.S. agricultural exporters identify and access new markets and help mitigate the adverse effects of other countries’ restrictions. The application period closed in November with more than $600 million in requested activities from more than 70 organizations. FAS will announce ATP funding awards in early January.

Market Facilitation Program

Producers need only sign-up once for the MFP to be eligible for the first and second payments. The MFP sign-up period opened in September and runs through January 15, 2019, with information and instructions provided at www.farmers.gov/mfp. Producers must complete an application by January 15, 2019 but have until May 1, 2019 to certify their 2018 production. The MFP provides payments to almond, cotton, corn, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, fresh sweet cherry, and wheat producers who have been significantly impacted by actions of foreign governments resulting in the loss of traditional exports. The MFP is established under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation CCC Charter Act and is under the administration of USDA’s FSA. Eligible producers should apply after harvest is complete, as payments will only be issued once production is reported.

For farmers who have already applied, completed harvest, and certified their 2018 production, a second payment will be issued on the remaining 50 percent of the producer’s total production, multiplied by the MFP rate for the specific commodity.

Market Facilitation Program

Here is a list of the crops in the program, the payment rate and estimated cost to the USDA:

• Almonds, 3 cents a pound, $63.3 million

• Cotton, 6 cents a pound, $553.8 million

• Corn, 1 cent a bushel, $192 million

• Dairy (milk), 12 cents per hundredweight, $254.8 million

• Pork (hogs), $8 pe rehaz, $580.6 million

• Soybeans, $1.65 per bushel, $7,259,400

• Sorghum, 86 cents per bushel, $313.6 million

• Sweet cherries (fresh), 16 cents a pound, $11.5 million

• Wheat, 14 cents a bushel, $238.4 million

MFP payments are limited to a combined $125,000 for corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat capped per person or legal entity. MFP payments are also limited to a combined $125,000 for dairy and hog producers, and a combined $125,000 for fresh sweet cherry and almond producers.

Applicants must also have an average adjusted gross income for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016 of less than $900,000. Applicants must also comply with the provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.

HOLLEY – The local, state and federal officials all deserve lots of credit for finding money to help make the renovation of the former Holley High School a financially feasible project for Home Leasing, a Rochester firm with three generations of construction and housing experience.

It wasn’t just the politicians and government leaders who made the project a reality. Holley residents were also a big factor in saving the structure.

Home Leasing is working on a $17 million extreme makeover of the former school. It will be a major lift for Holley and Orleans County because the site is at an important gateway on the eastern end of county.

The school building has been deteriorating for about 30 years, oppressing the psyche and morale of the community. It’s transformation is more than a development project that will add 41 apartments for senior citizens and also become the new village offices for Holley.

The school holds cherished memories for many in the community. And the building’s prominent location on Route 31 in the heart of the village warrants the site be a showcase of pride. That hasn’t been the case for three decades.

There have been several would-be developers for the building over the years, and all backed away until Home Leasing stepped in about three years ago and showed great fortitude and perseverance. Holley residents also deserve lots of credit for not giving up on the site, for pressing the village to make the school redevelopment a priority.

Nelson Leenhouts joins the Holley community for a celebration photo last week in front of the former school.

Nelson Leenhouts, the Home Properties chief executive officer, has been in the real estate development business for 50 years. Never has a community worked harder on a project than the school redevelopment in Holley, he said.

Village officials worked with local, state and federal officials to get the pieces in place for the project. It wasn’t easy. The school was last owned by a manufacturing company that went bankrupt. The title for the property was in limbo. And that was a deal-breaker before.

This time the county attorney, recently retired David Schubel, worked out a way to get the title in the clear by having it go to a local development corporation instead of a municipality. The village and county didn’t want to take ownership of the property and be on the hook for liability, especially if the redevelopment fizzled and big building in ruin was left behind. The title was a big obstacle that was resolved.

The staggering cost of the project also scared off would-be developers. There wasn’t enough incentives and grants to make it work.

A local resident had an idea to sweeten the pot and perhaps make the project doable. Erin Anheier of Clarendon was successful in helping several sites in the Holley area get listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That designation increases the chances for grants and also historic tax credits for redevelopment projects.

She thought the Holley High School, built in 1930, was deserving of the National Register, and that distinction would also help make the site eligible for more tax credits. The redevelopment includes a $5.1 million in Historic Tax Credit.

Anheier was showing officials from the Landmark Society of Western New York the old stone store in Clarendon about seven years ago when she persuaded them to stop by the old Holley High School, which is about 4 miles from Clarendon.

The Landmark Society at the time was considering a new “Five to Revive” list. The Landmark Society wanted to highlight five properties in dire need of investment in the Rochester area. The organization wanted to pick properties where the redevelopment would have a big ripple effect in their neighborhoods.

The Landmark Society saw the old school as a perfect candidate for the Five to Revive. The inaugural list in May 2013 included the Holley school.

Leenhouts and Home Leasing took note and came to Holley for the first time to see the school. Leenhouts right away saw lots of possibilities – and challenges.

The Holley community deserves lots of credit for welcoming Leenhouts and helping him to work through the many potential pitfalls.

Photo by Ginny Kropf

ALBION – The United Way of Orleans County got a boost to their 2018-19 campaign goal with a $1,000 donation from the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association. Joe Miano, right, Western Region vice president, presented the check to (from left) board member Chris Cappetta, board president Jackie Gardner and executive director Kaitlyn Delamarter.

The local United Way is striving to reach its goal of $185,000 and welcomes donations of any amount. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 468, Albion, 14411. All money stays to help 18 agencies and programs in Orleans County.

Press Release, Wildlife Conservation Society, owner of the Bronx Zoo

ALBION – The New York State Supreme Court in Orleans County ruled that a habeas corpus petition filed by the NonHuman Rights Project – claiming Happy, a 47-year-old Asian elephant at the Bronx Zoo, should have the same rights as a  person – would be more properly heard in Bronx County.

The ruling on Friday is the latest in a long series of losses for this group as they desperately seek ways to use the courts to advance their agenda. Similar petitions brought by NRP in all four judicial departments in the State of New York, as well as a court in Connecticut, have been rejected on the merits.

The NRP shopped for a friendly court to file its lawsuit and chose Orleans County as a stage to advance an academic exercise as to whether Happy is “illegally imprisoned.”

Said Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and Executive Vice President of Zoos & Aquarium at the Wildlife Conservation Society: “The NRP has chosen to exploit Happy and capitalize on the Bronx Zoo name to advance its failed political agenda. They continue to waste court resources to promote their radical philosophical view of ‘personhood.’ The NRP’s own filings do not question Happy’s care or our facilities, but seek to have her recognized as an autonomous being and transferred to an elephant sanctuary.

“As we work through this process initiated by the NRP, we are forced to defend ourselves against a group that doesn’t know us or the animal in question, who has absolutely no legal standing, and is demanding to take control over the life and future of an elephant that we have known and cared for over 40 years.

“We are pleased our motion for change of venue to Bronx County was granted, and we are confident that the courts will continue to do the right thing in this matter.”

Photo courtesy of John Dieter, Cub Master of Pack 35

MEDINA – Cub Scouts from Pack 35 in Medina sang Christmas carols to the residents of Orchard Manor this past Saturday. Two of the scouts, Colton Smith and Jimmy Dieter, played solos with their instruments. Once done with the caroling the scouts handed out Christmas cards to the residents.

Photo from the Governor’s Office: Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks today at the Roosevelt Institute in New York City.

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

In the face of the federal government’s assault on New York, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled his “2019 Justice Agenda,” urging the State Legislature to act in the first 100 days of the next legislative session. The Governor’s agenda represents a suite of ambitious proposals to ensure the promise of full, true justice for all, including economic justice, social justice, racial justice.

Cuomo announced the agenda in a speech hosted by the Roosevelt Institute. This year, in the face of the nation’s biggest social crisis, and with the federal government seeking to undo generations of progress, Governor Cuomo broke with tradition, laying out his legislative agenda in December 2018 instead of waiting until the State of the State address to enable the Legislature to commence action on these top priorities immediately upon convening.

“Let this agenda be New York’s Declaration of Independence. We declare independence from this federal government’s policies. We disconnect from the nationalism, and the racism, and the chaos, and the xenophobia, and the misogyny, and the discrimination, and the dissembling of this Washington administration,” Governor Cuomo said. “We proclaim our Federal Government’s policy not only regressive, not only repugnant to New York values, we declare it un-American. Let us pass this ambitious progressive agenda as New York’s restoration of true democracy, restoring fairness, progress and pride.”

The 20-point agenda includes:

Ensure a Progressive Tax System: While the federal government prioritizes tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Governor Cuomo believes in a just, progressive tax system that taxes its citizens based on their ability to pay. The Governor will maintain the state’s progressive income tax with a millionaire’s tax, while permanently capping regressive local property taxes at 2%.

Cut Middle Class Taxes while Fighting to repeal SALT: The federal government’s cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions was a devastating and targeted assault on New York that has increased taxes on New Yorkers and reduced home values. Governor Cuomo will continue to lead the fight to repeal the cap on SALT while in New York continuing tax cuts for middle class families.

Protect Quality, Affordable Health Care: While the federal government and radical judges continue to roll back the Affordable Care Act and tear away health care from millions of Americans, Governor Cuomo will take action to make sure New Yorkers are protected. The Governor will work to codify the health exchange into law and pass a law to ensure pre-existing conditions continue to be covered by insurance companies regardless of what happens at the federal level.

Codify Reproductive Rights: In the face of the federal assault on women’s reproductive rights, including a Supreme Court that threatens to roll back Roe v. Wade, Governor Cuomo will fight to pass the Reproductive Health Act and the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act within the first 30 days of the new session.

Enshrine Gender Equality into Law: Nearly a century after it was first proposed, New York State has still not passed the Equal Rights Amendment to protect against discrimination on the basis of sex in our State constitution. To right this decades-old wrong, Governor Cuomo will push to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to add sex as a protected class.

Combat Gun Violence: 2018 was by far the worst year for school shootings in American history. To once again lead the nation on gun safety, Governor Cuomo will push to pass the Red Flag Law, ban bump stocks and extend the waiting period for purchasing a gun from three days to 10 days.

Launch a $150 Billion Infrastructure Plan: While the federal government fails to make progress on an infrastructure plan, Governor Cuomo will expand on New York’s nation-leading $100 billion infrastructure plan — building new airports, bridges and train stations all across the state — by investing an additional $150 billion in our infrastructure that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Fund and Restructure the MTA While Easing Traffic in New York City’s Business District: After decades of neglect and diffused responsibility, the MTA is in dire need of funding and reorganization. Governor Cuomo will fix the MTA by passing congestion pricing and overhauling the outdated structure of the authority in order to build a reliable, state of the art mass transit system with a steady funding stream and a structure that supports operational excellence.

Ensure Education Equity: After requiring data on how local schools distribute funds in last year’s budget, it’s clear that poorer schools too often do not receive an equitable share of funding from their school districts. Governor Cuomo will fight for an education system where districts distribute funding based on need and fairness to ensure that every child receives a quality education.

Pass the Dream Act: While the federal government has declared war on new immigrants, New York is standing up for our immigrant communities. This year, New York will pass the Dream Act once and for all to ensure a higher education system that opens the door of opportunity to all of our children.

Launch the Green New Deal: The federal government still denies climate change, remarkably turning a blind eye to their own government’s scientific report. New York will be the most progressive state in the nation in moving to renewables and growing the new sustainable green economy. The Green New Deal will make New York’s electricity 100% carbon neutral by 2040 and put the state on the path to eliminating its carbon footprint.

Ensure Clean, Safe Drinking Water for All: Industrial toxins have infiltrated many of our communities’ drinking water systems, but the federal Environmental Protection Agency has been slow to test and regulate chemicals and to regulate pollution. Governor Cuomo will invest in our water infrastructure and clean our water for our children and our children’s children.

Improve Our Democracy: To continue New York’s progressive path of justice for all, Governor Cuomo will protect our democracy to make sure our government truly represents the people. While the federal government works to disenfranchise voters, Governor Cuomo will encourage citizens to engage in the democratic process by allowing voting by mail, enacting early voting, instituting same day and automatic voter registration, synchronizing federal and state elections and make Election Day a State Holiday to ensure as many people as possible participate in the democratic process.

Increase Trust in the Democratic System: To ensure our government is for the people, by the people, Governor Cuomo will close the LLC loophole, ban corporate campaign contributions, overhaul our campaign finance system and end outside income for lawmakers.

Protect Public Sector Unions: While the federal government is waging an all-out attack on the labor movement in both the public and private sector and seeks to undermine the right to organize and collective bargaining, Governor Cuomo believes that the labor movement is a force for social justice and the middle class. The Governor will expand the Janus protections to cover public sector labor unions at the local level and ensure workers have labor rights in the gig economy.

Keep Housing Affordable for New Yorkers: The lack of affordable housing is a crisis across the state and nation. While the federal government has abandoned its constitutional and moral responsibility dictated by the 1949 Housing Act, under Governor Cuomo’s leadership New York will invest more in affordable housing than ever before. Governor Cuomo will reform rent regulations, including ending vacancy decontrol, repealing preferential rent and limiting capital improvement charges to protect affordable housing and respect tenants’ rights.

Pass the Child Victims Act: Governor Cuomo will fight to ensure our society holds those who abuse our children accountable criminally and civilly by passing the Child Victims Act once and for all.

Protect LGBTQ Rights: New York was the first large state to pass marriage equality, but as the federal government still seeks to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, Governor Cuomo will codify the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act into New York State law and end conversion therapy.

Legalize Adult Use of Recreational Marijuana: Governor Cuomo will end the disproportionate criminalization of one race over another by regulating, legalizing and taxing adult use of recreational marijuana.

Ensure Fairness in the Criminal Justice System: Governor Cuomo will work to address injustice in the criminal justice system by ending cash bail and enacting speedy trial and discovery reforms.

Provided photo

ALBION – Earl M. Schmidt, director of the Orleans County Veterans Service Agency, received a surprise this morning. He was presented with a flag that flew on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, on the USS Shoup (DDG 86), a Navy destroyer named for Medal of Honor recipient General David M. Shoup.

Schmidt, left, is joined by Marcia Bowles, wife of William Bowles, an Orleans County resident who served in the Vietnam War. Next to Bowles, second from left, is her daughter, Kristine Junot. Mary Fran Manfredi, right, is a family friend and U.S. Navy quartermaster, third class.

Manfredi presented the Veteran Service Agency  with a flag that flew on the ship when it was in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The family told Schmidt they appreciated his service in helping them to obtain veterans’ benefits that they were unaware of and that William Bowles earned.

“I accepted the flag in honor of the Orleans County Veteran Service Agency with the promise that it will be visible in the office for others to see and follow the examples of hard work and dedication to our veterans and their families,” Schmidt said.

HOLLEY – The school district evacuated students and staff from the middle-senior high school at about 11:30 a.m. today after the smell of gas was detected. They went to the elementary school.

The Holley Fire Department and NYSEG have isolated and addressed the issue at the MS/HS, and deemed the building safe to occupy, Holley school officials stated on the district website.

Staff and students have returned to the MS/HS and resumed classes around 1 p.m. All afternoon and evening activities will be held.

ALBION – The five principals who work with middle school students in Orleans County have formed a new group to discuss strategies, successes and challenges with students who tend to be ages 10 to 14, depending on the school district.

The new group also brings together student leaders from the districts so they can build a network and promote leadership among students before they reach high school.

Students do some team-building games during the Nov. 14 leadership program at Hoag Library in Albion.

“Students in the middle school experience more growth and changes from 10 to 14 than anytime other than birth,” said Kevin Watson, the middle level principal for Kendall. “We want to meet their intellectual and social needs.”

The five districts all have different approaches to middle school. In Albion, the students are in their own building for grades 6 through 8. Medina has them in a middle school building for grades 4 to 7.

In Lyndonville, the students are in a 7-12 building, which is the same setup in Kendall and Holley. Kendall, however, has created a middle level principal position. Watson is in his second year in the role with a focus on students in grades 5 through 8. He spends his school days working out of the elementary schools (grades K through 6) and the junior-senior high (grades 7-12).

Watson pushed to create a group for middle school leaders in Orleans County. The principals met for the first time this summer. Watson wanted a way for the county middle school leaders to get together. Orleans is split by BOCES organizations. Holley and Kendall are in the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, which is based in Spencerport. Albion, Lyndonville and Medina are in the Orleans-Niagara BOCES.

Watson has been part of a group of middle school principals in the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES. That BOCES includes member school districts that are much larger and wealthier than in Holley and Kendall.

The group of five districts in Orleans have similar demographics as rural districts.

“There are a lot of good practices going on,” Watson said about the local districts. “It’s a dream to come together with other leaders and focus on kids who are 10- to 14-year-olds. We want to make middle school be a special time. I want kids to love it.”

Watson is an Albion graduate. He worked as an English teacher, athletic director and assistant principal at Kendall before Kendall created the middle level principal position last school year.

He reached out to the other districts in the county about having a new Orleans County Middle School Principals group. They were all receptive.

Dr. Aaron Slack, the junior-senior high school principal at Lyndonville, said districts are trying to put more focus on middle school students. Some districts with junior-senior high schools have reconfigured the buildings so middle schoolers have a distinct space.

“The needs of kids at that level are so unique,” Slack said. “We’re going to collaborate and share our best practices.”

The principals get together monthly. They also are going to have student leaders meet quarterly. There were four seventh-graders from four of the districts that met Nov. 14 at the Hoag Library in Albion, the beginning of a student leadership summit.

Middle schoolers from four school districts get to know each other on Nov. 14.

Slack said the principals took the idea from Leadership Orleans. They want to build a network of student leaders across the county in the middle school. They are working with students to have a larger student leadership event for seventh graders later in the school year.

“We’re going to have team-building exercises for kids,” Watson said. “The whole goal is celebrating being a middle schooler and not just have middle school be a phase to blow through.”

Middle schoolers are unique and they tend to have a lot of passion.

“We need to harness that energy,” Watson said. “We need to stop treating them like elementary or high school kids.”

The principals will share what works for boosting academics, attendance rates and student engagement among the middle schoolers.

Watson credited the other principals for their enthusiasm with serving the middle school population.

“It’s a dream come true to come together with other leaders and focus on kids who are 10 to 14 years old,” he said. “These are kids going through a lot of changes.”

CLARENDON – The Town of Clarendon has been approved for federal funding for two water projects.

U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced the funding today. Clarendon will receive $790,000 for Water District No. 13 and $790,000 for a water improvement benefit area, No. 12.

The senators also announced funding for water projects in Alabama and Bethany in Genesee County. The Town of Torrey in Yates County also will receive federal money for its first-ever water district.

The funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants Program.

“These federal investments in job-creating and economy-boosting water infrastructure projects are great news for the Rochester-Finger Lakes region,” Schumer said. “This federal funding will allow five towns across the region to construct and make critical improvements to municipal water systems needed to provide clean, safe drinking water to their communities. I am proud to announce these federal investments and will continue fighting to ensure rural communities across Upstate New York have the resources they need to build, protect and maintain their water infrastructure.”

“All New Yorkers should have access to a reliable source of clean water, and with these grants, communities throughout the Rochester-Finger Lakes region will be able to expand and improve their water systems,” Gillibrand said. “These investments will help provide safe and clean water for residents in the Towns of Alabama, Bethany, Clarendon, and Torrey, and I will always fight in the Senate for the resources to protect the health and quality of life for residents.”

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature is seeking to make rifles permanent for big game hunting in Orleans County.

The County Legislature on Feb. 22, 2017 passed a resolution which was later supported by the State Legislature to allow rifles for deer and bear hunting. That authorization will expire on Oct. 1, 2019.

The County Legislature has been asked by the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation to request permission from the state for permanent use of rifles for big game hunting.

County legislators have it on their resolution at the Legislature’s meeting this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

The County Legislature was presented with a petition signed by about 500 sportsmen two years ago in support of rifles for hunting.

The meeting on Wednesday is at legislative chambers in the top floor of the County Clerks’ Building, 3 South Main St.

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