By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 December 2018 at 10:23 am
About 70 kids attend Wednesday program at North Point Chapel
Lisa Waldron, one of the leaders of the Truth Explorers youth program, speaks to the kids. They sang upbeat songs with a biblical message.
ALBION – North Point Chapel is bustling with kids on Wednesday evenings. About 70 children attend the Truth Explorers program.
The church started the program last January. Initially, it had a few kids on Wednesdays and they were mainly the kids of the North Point church families.
The church put flyers in the community and went door to door inviting children. Attendance was up to 30 in May. The program took a break in the summer. It was at 30 in September and then doubled when kids were given a $10 gift card from Walmart if they invited a friend.
Most of those friends have continued to go to Truth Explorers on Wednesdays. Last week there were 72 kids for the 2-hour program.
“We just love ’em and have fun,” said Lisa Waldron, leader of the program with her husband, Dean.
The Waldrons play recorded music that is up-tempo which Christian lyrics. They share a Bibical message. They keep the kids moving to different activities.
The program keeps the kids’ attention, and introduces many to Bible verses. Mike Outten, the church pastor, is pleased to see the kids so interested. Every week there are new faces. Last Wednesday there were three necomers.
The church bought a used mini-van in September so it could pick up children for Truth Explorers. The van holds 13 people. Outten made four trips on Wednesday to give children rides to North Point, which owns the former United Methodist Church building at the corner of Platt and East State streets.
“The kids are coming and they’re making friends,” Outten said. “They’re having a blast and they’re learning about Jesus.”
The children sing songs, including, “The B-I-B-L-E, that’s the book for me.”
The kids arrive about 6 p.m. and have pizza in the fellowship hall. They go to a check-in table and get points if they brought a Bible and memorized a verse.
The more points they accumulate, the bigger the prize they can win. They also earn points playing games at the church, including a bowling game where they can knock down plastic soda bottles. They can also shoot basketballs and play mini-golf.
North Point has 16 volunteers running the program, from serving food, checking to see if kids know their verses to running the games. Outten said the church welcomes more volunteers, who all need to go through a background check.
He said more children, ages 5 to 12, are always welcome for Truth Explorers. There is also a teen program on Wednesday evenings.
Outten and North Point took a leap of faith acquiring the long-time United Methodist building about two years ago.
The church purchased a used van in September to pick up kids in Albion for the program. The van holds up to 13 people. Outten makes four trips with the van on Wednesdays.
North Point started as a congregation about three years ago. It first met in the Hoag Library before going to the Arnold Gregory Office Complex. Two years ago North Point went to the United Methodist building after that congregation left the building and now shares space at Christ Church with the Episcopalians.
The United Methodists were told their historic building needed a million-dollar roof repair. When the North Point congregation was preparing to run steel rods in the ceiling, to support the walls and roof, it found the original steel cables. The big roof repair wasn’t needed after all.
Outten said he felt God leading North Point to the church building. His biggest priority was never about the building. He has been most concerned with reaching the community, especially the children.
“This building has come back alive again with all of these kids,” he said Wednesday above the excitement of the kids who were eating pizza and chatting with their friends. “This is the future of the church right here.”
Senator met with law enforcement on Aug. 24 in Holley
Sen. Charles Schumer
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Senate Democratic Leader, on Friday completed his 20th consecutive tour of all 62 New York State counties – an accomplishment that continues his track record as the first New York State public official to visit every single county in New York each year he has been in office.
Over the course of the year, Schumer made 135 trips to Upstate New York and Long Island. He visited counties in the Capital Region 19 times; Western New York 13 times; Central New York 21 times; the Rochester-Finger Lakes 19 times; the Southern Tier 13 times; the Hudson Valley 16 times; the North Country 7 times; and Long Island 27 times.
Schumer was at the Village of Holley Police Department on Aug. 24 when he was in Orleans County. He launched a push to pass the “Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act” as part of a package of bills to address the opioids crisis across Upstate New York and the United States.
“Two decades ago, upon my election to the United States Senate in 1998, I promised that each and every year I served I would visit all 62 of New York State’s diverse counties,” Schumer said. “Not only has this ritual remained a steadfast passion of mine because I get to see the absolute best that New York has to offer, but because of all I learn from my constituents and bring to Washington, D.C.”
“Although I’ve gained the title of Minority Leader, my proudest and most principal titles have been, and will always remain, New York’s Senator and ‘New Yorker.’ At the close of 20 years, my beliefs are as clear as ever: ‘Senators who stay in Washington and never return home are simply not doing their job.’ That’s why I go to all of the street fairs, parades, graduations, and public events that I can. Whether I’m in Buffalo eating beef-on-weck at the fair or slapping hands at the Boilermaker finish line, I’m always mixing, mingling and learning more about New York directly from my constituents.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 16 December 2018 at 2:07 pm
Assemblyman Stephen Hawley pauses to salute after placing a wreath in Boxwood Cemetery Saturday in honor of all veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
MEDINA – Four years ago, when Kathy Blackburn learned about Wreaths Across America and wanted to involve the Medina community, she received donations for seven wreaths to place on veterans’ graves in Boxwood Cemetery.
On Saturday, the number of wreaths donated for the project was 135.
Wreaths Across America was an idea of Morrill Worcester, owner of a wreath company in Harrington, Maine. As a young boy, he had visited Arlington National Cemetery, an experience he never forgot. So in 1992, when his company found itself with a surplus of wreaths, Worcester saw an opportunity to honor the country’s veterans.
With aid of his local senator, arrangements were made for him to donate wreaths to be placed in one of the older sections at Arlington, which had been receiving fewer visitors each year.
As plans were made, other individuals and organizations stepped up to help. The owner of a local trucking company provided transportation for the wreaths to Virginia. Volunteers from the American Legion and VFW posts gathered with community members to decorate each wreath and members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped to organize the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The annual tribute continued quietly for several years, until 2005, when a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered with snow, was circulated on the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention.
Requests began pouring in from all over the country from people who wanted to help at Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project in their local cemeteries or to just thank Worcester for honoring the nation’s heroes.
Todd Bensley, Village of Medina historian and member of the Boxwood Cemetery Association; Assemblyman Stephen Hawley; Dave Barhite, a member of the American Legion; and Kathy Blackburn, who chairs the Wreaths Across America project, talk prior to a ceremony Saturday in Boxwood Cemetery, in which 135 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves.
Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Worcester began sending seven wreaths to each state, one for each branch of the military and one for POW/MIAs. By 2006, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and other civic organizations, simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies took place at more than 150 locations around the country.
The Patriot Guard Riders volunteered to escort the wreaths going to Arlington, thus beginning the annual “Veterans Honor Parade” which travels the East coast early each December.
The annual trip to Arlington and volunteers eager to participate continued to grow each year, until it became evident the desire to remember and honor the country’s fallen heroes was bigger than Arlington and bigger than Worcester’s one wreath company.
In 2007, the Worcester family and others who had helped them with the annual wreath ceremony at Arlington, formed Wreaths Across America, a 501(c)3 organization to continue and expand this effort.
Volunteers wait to place wreaths on the graves of veterans representing all branches of the military during the Wreaths Across American project Saturday at Boxwood Cemetery. From left are Rodney Casey, Todd Bensley, Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Dave Barhite, Shirley Whittleton (partially hidden) Sandra Fenton and Tom Fenton.
By 2008, more than 300 locations had wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 oversees cemeteries. More than 60,000 volunteers placed more than 100,000 wreaths on veterans’ graves. That year, Dec. 13 was voted by the U.S. Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day.”
In 2014, Wreaths Across America volunteers laid more than 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond, including at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, Bunker Hill and Valley Forge, as well as the sites of the Sept. 11 tragedies. Also in
2014, Wreaths Across America’s goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery was met with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.
For the first time in Medina this year, Girl Scouts from the Cobblestone Service Unit volunteered to help place the wreaths.
Leader Pauline Bachorski said she discovered the Wreaths Across America project when she was searching online for something the Scouts could do for their community.
Dozens of volunteers, which included 13 Girl Scouts from the Cobblestone Service Unit in Albion, place wreaths on veterans’ graves throughout Boxwood Cemetery during the national Wreaths Across American project.
Community members who volunteered to lay the seven wreaths, one for each branch of the military and one for those missing in action or prisoners of war, were Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Tom and Sandra Fenton, Dave Barhite, Shirley Whittleton, Todd Bensley and Rodney Casey.
The ceremony included a prayer by veteran Dave Kusmierczak, a three-gun salute by a veterans’ honor guard and playing of Taps by Earl Schmidt.
Anyone wishing to sponsor a wreath may visit www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org and click on “sponsor locally,” “find a location” (New York or 14103) or contact Blackburn at (585) 735-5801.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 16 December 2018 at 11:23 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Local veterans gathered Saturday morning in front of the VFW in Medina to collect gift bags for delivery to shut-in veterans, in cooperation with an annual Christmas drive started 11 years ago by Allan Kepner. From left are Glenn Whitmore, Dave Morien, Fred Heschke, Orleans County Veterans’ Service Agency director Earl Schmidt, Steve Johnson, Dave Kusmierczak, Dave Higgins, Dave Barhite and Eric Delano.
MEDINA – A Medina businessman who started providing gifts to shut-in veterans at Christmas has been able to expand his ministry, thanks to support from the VFW and American Legion in Medina.
On Saturday afternoon, VFW and Legion members delivered gift bags to dozens of veterans in Orleans County who are homebound or in nursing homes.
The program was started 11 years ago by Allan Kepner as “His Healing Presence,” in which Kepner sought donations of gifts to deliver to veterans and their families.
At the same time, the VFW and American Legion were sponsoring their own veterans’ program at Christmas.
“All we could give was $5 and a pair of socks,” said Dave Kusmierczak, a member of both veterans’ groups. “Now that we have gone in with Allan, we provide gifts to all shut-in veterans in Orleans County, while he does veterans in Genesee, Niagara and Monroe counties.”
Gifts this year included blankets, a stuffed animal, hats or scarves, a plaque on an easel, word search book and an encouraging card with a flag. Extra gifts are provided for homeless shelters for veterans.
Anyone may still send cash or gift donations. For information, contact Kepner at (585) 356-8128.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 16 December 2018 at 9:13 am
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Jarin Rhim and Albion’s Michael DiCureia and their Mustang and Purple Eagle teammates will meet in a key early season Niagara-Orleans League game on Thursday at Medina.
Medina is facing a busy pre Christmas week schedule of three games in four days.
The Mustangs will host Elba on Monday and CCA on Tuesday in non league games and then entertain rival Albion Thursday in a key early season Niagara-Orleans League contest.
The Lyndonville boys likewise face a key week as the undefeated (2-0, 4-0) Tigers visit Wheatland-Chili Monday and then host unbeaten (3-0) Elba in a big early season Genesee Region League Division II game on Wedneday.
In girls basketball, Albion will host rival Medina on Thursday.
Weekly Schedule Monday Boys Basketball: Elba at Medina, 6:30 p.m.; Lima Christian at Holley, Lyndonville at Wheatland-Chili, 7 p.m.
Tuesday Boys Basketball: CCA at Medina, Notre Dame at Barker, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball: Depew at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; Lyndonville at Elba, Kendall at Wheatland-Chili, Holley at Byron-Bergen, LeRoy at Albion, 7 p.m. Swimming: Barker at Albion, Akron at Roy-Hart, Newfane ar Medina, 4:30 p.m. Wrestling: McQuaid vs.Holley-Kendall, 6 p.m. at Kendall
Wednesday Boys Basketball: Albion at Burgard, 6 p.m.; Elba at Lyndonville, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall, Byron-Bergen at Holley, 7 p.m. Wrestling: Roy-Hart/Barker at Albion, 5 p.m.; Medina at Wilson, Newfane at Akron, 6 p.m.
Thursday Boys Basketball: Albion at Medina, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball: Akron at Barker, 6:30 p.m.; Medina at Albion, Wheatland-Chili at Lyndonville, Notre Dame at Kendall, Pembroke at Holley, 7 p.m. Swimming: Medina at Roy-Hart, 4:30 p.m.; Akron at Barker, 4:45 p.m.
Friday Boys Basketball: Newfane at Roy-Hart, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball: Roy-Hart at Newfane, 6:30 p.m. Swimming: Newfane at Albion, 5 p.m. Wrestling: Roy-Hart/Barker at Holley-Kendall; Byron-Bergen at Albion 6 p.m.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 16 December 2018 at 8:57 am
Photos by Ginny Kropf
MEDINA – Sherry Tuohey adds hams to boxes of food and gifts to be delivered to 75 families on Saturday morning during the annual Christmas effort by the Medina Area Association of Churches.
Each family who applied received a gift, hat, scarf, mittens and socks for each member, toys for children, food for Christmas dinner and a bag of apples. Families with children received a ham, while senior citizens received ham steaks.
Tuohey chaired the holiday program for the first time this year.
Boxes of gifts and food are ready to be delivered by Medina area firefighters, who were first served breakfast Saturday morning at the United Methodist Church in Medina.
Firefighters from Medina and the surrounding area, including Shelby, East Shelby and Ridgeway, joined volunteers at the United Methodist Church for breakfast, before loading up boxes of gifts and food for delivery, a tradition which has been ongoing for several decades.
MAAC volunteers and local firefighters have breakfast Saturday morning at the United Methodist Church of Medina prior to the delivery of holiday gift boxes to 75 families. Clockwise from left are Sue Metzo, Pat Howe, Donna Johnson, Rose Ann Bensley, Sherry Tuohey and Sylvia Riviere.
A firefighter loads a red wagon onto his truck, to be delivered with holiday gift boxes to families in the Medina area.
Local firefighters load holiday gift boxes at the United Methodist Church as they begin the annual delivery to families in the Medina area.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 7:52 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
BARRE – The newly formed Barre Betterment Committee hosted a lighted tractor parade this evening down Route 98.
The top photo shows a tractor with a large American flag in back. Lamb Farms of Oakfield brought this tractor. There were almost 10 tractors in the debut parade.
The road was lined with lights inside milk cartons.
The parade went from Route 98 at East Barre Road to Maple Street. After the parade cookies and hot cocoa were served at the Barre Presbyterian Church.
Hu-Lane Farms decorated this International Harvester.
Martin Bruning drove a pickup and his kids were in the back with a mini-tractor. They include, from left: Aubrey, Everett and Sylvia.
Panek Farms put lights on this track tractor.
The Jurs family decorated a tractor and trailer and also gave Santa a ride.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 4:57 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion FFA unloads a flatbed trailer this morning after 35,000 pounds of produce was delivered to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.
Adam Krenning, left, is the FFA advisor. He is joined on top of the trailer by his nephew, Ryan Krenning, an FFA member.
About 20 farms donated to the annual FFA food drive. FFA members called them about six weeks ago. Many of those farms have been contributors to annual food drive for several years now.
Emily Harling works with other FFA students to unload the trailer.
The following donated to the effort:
Triple G Farms – Potatoes
Root Brothers – Cabbage
Kludt Brothers – Squash
Nesbitt Fruit Farm – Apples
Orchard Dale Fruit Farm – Apples
Kreher’s – Eggs
Martin Farms – Squash
Jeff Partyka – Apples
CY Farms – Onions
Starowitz Farms – Cabbage
Torrey Farms – Onions and Potatoes
Panek Family Farm – Green Beans and Corn
Robert Colby/ Colby Farms – Potatoes and Cabbage
Bittner Singer Orchards – Apples
Orleans County Farm Bureau – Hams
Mortellaro and Sons – Onions
Costanzo’s Bakery/ Dale Root – Bread
Adam Kirby – Apples
Navarra’s Greenhouses – Crates
Call Farms – Potatoes
Poverty Hill Farms and Upstate Niagara – Butter
Middle School Principal Brad Pritchard, right, joins the FFA students in a line that filled a shed with potatoes and other produce.
Some of the food today was picked up by six food pantries in the county, and four soup kitchens. The rest will be stored and given to people in the coming weeks and months.
Community Action will use the food for more than 450 families, including 250 in central Orleans, 186 in the Holley area and 20 in Lyndonville.
Russ Peters, pastor of Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship in Shelby, said the food will help the church prepare about 55 to 60 food baskets for families in the community.
“This is a huge help,” he said.
Michael DiCureia hands off a box of eggs.
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley was back again helping to unload the tractor trailer. He hands a bag of cabbage to Amanda Krenning-Muoio, a senior field advisor for New York Farm Bureau and Adam Krenning’s sister.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 12:42 pm
Provided photos
BARRE – Barre firefighters are escorting Santa around town this weekend, while Santa delivers presents. This group includes, from left: Brian Neal, Kara Bentley, Ben Flansburg, Santa Claus, Doug Bentley and Brian Bentley.
They are making 10 stops today and 20 visits on Sunday. This is the fourth year the Barre Volunteer Fire Company has given Santa rides around town to deliver presents to families.
Santa holds recently born Landon Flansburg.
The Barre Volunteer Fire Company sent out letters to the Barre community, asking if they wanted Santa to stop by this weekend. Santa will make 30 stops this weekend, traveling by fire truck. Santa gives each kid a toy. (Those presents were dropped off at the Barre Fire Hall by parents or grandparents a few days ago.)
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 8:48 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – FFA students from Albion were up early this morning to load produce for the annual FFA food drive.
The food was packed in bags, crates and boxes by the FFA on Friday. It will be delivered this morning to Communty Action of Orleans & Genesee.
The students were joined this morning by Paige Levandowski, in back left. She was an FFA student in 2010 when the Albion chapter had its first food drive. It collected 3,000 pound then and delivered the food to Community Action with two pickup trucks.
Levandowski is in her first year as a middle school career and technical teacher at Albion.
The food drive grew to 9,000 pounds in 2011, 17,000 the following year and 19,000 in December 2013. The FFA reached 27,000 pounds in 2014 and reached 30,000 for the first time in 2015. It was at 33,000 pounds in 2016 and now has hit 35,000 pounds the past two years.
Loren Beam, left, and Aneesa Jackson, both juniors, carry crates full of onions. Aneesa helped for the first time with the food drive today.
“It’s fun,” she said. “There are a lot of people here.”
Emma Mathes, a senior, carries a crate of apples.
Emily Graham, left, and Abby Pappalardo grab 50-pound bags of potatoes.
Kendall Derisley and Abby Pappalardo work together in carrying a big bag of cabbage.
Cody Wilson, left, Michael DiCureia and FFA advisor Adam Krenning load bags of onions and potatoes on a truck from Panek Farms.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 15 December 2018 at 6:04 am
“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 49
HOLLEY – After years of diligent work by the residents of Holley, the long-term preservation of the old Holley High School is finally secure. Historians commend those who undertake such noble work as communities so often set aside the difficult task of investing in historic treasures, instead investing in new construction as a symbol of “progress.”
The history of this particular structure dates back to 1930, but the story of the particular lot upon which it rests dates back to the 1840s. In 1847, the community selected Hiram Frisbee, Augustus Southworth, and William Hatch as members of a committee tasked with gathering subscriptions to establish an academy. This industrious team procured the necessary resources – money, lumber, millwork, timber, lime, brick, building stone, plows, boots and shoes, teaming (horses), and labor – so that a two-story brick building could be constructed on a $300 lot of land donated by Frisbee.
The school operated for nearly three years as a private academy until its formal incorporation by the Board of Regents as the Holley Academy in 1850. At this time, the institution’s assets totaled $3,021.25 including the building, library, academic apparatus, and land; Augustus Southworth was selected as the first president of the organization’s Board of Trustees. According to Isaac Signor, “For eighteen years this institution did most excellent work, but like many other academies was not financially a success.”
The apparent financial woes of the academy, combined with the increasing population of students in Holley, forced the community to explore alternate accommodations. The resulting decision established a Union Free district, combining this newly formed entity with the Holley Academy to form the Holley Union School and Academy.
A Union Free district typically involved the combination of two or more common schools within a particular geographic area to form a district with boundaries that matched the limits of a village or city. The Board of Trustees for the Union School and Academy included George Pierce, Jeffrey Harwood, Dr. Edwin R. Armstrong, James Farnsworth, Nelson Hatch (son of William Hatch), and D. H. Parsons; Col. John Berry, Augustus Southworth, and Horatio Keys were selected as honorary members.
Dr. Armstrong wrote the following concerning the academic coursework offered at the institution:
“Young men who desire a collegiate course can here go through the preparatory studies for admission to any College in the land. Those who are not able or desirous to enter College but with a thorough Academic education that will fit them for most any vocation in life can obtain it here. Young ladies who aim to secure a good knowledge of science and literature that will fit them for most any position which woman is permitted to occupy, need not go abroad to obtain it as we have a school here affording all the facilities for intellectual culture that may be found elsewhere.”
Praising the institution and calling the community to support the school Armstrong wrote:
“Good schools like good churches are paying institutions in any community, not only morally and intellectually, but even financially, for they enhance the value of real estate far more than the amount required to support them…If God has seen fit to give you money, and your poor neighbor children, contribute your money to educate your neighbor’s children that they may thereby become intelligent citizens.”
In 1882, the school constructed an addition at a cost of $4,500 in order to support an increase in attendance; seven years later the school purchased the Coy House and lot on the corner of Wright and Main streets, converting two rooms for use as classrooms. According to Signor, the school employed eight teachers to instruct 350 students in 1894. A remodeling project was undertaken in 1896 and two years later, the institution formally changed its name to the Holley High School.
Recognizing the growing population of the community and the failure of the aging building, now four times its original size, to meet the needs of a larger student body, residents made the decision to construct a new school by passing a $260,000 capital budget project. Designed by the Rochester architect Carl C. Ade, the new building would accommodate approximately 750-800 students, more than double the number attending the institution in 1894.
M. Iupa & Maggio Company of Rochester was selected as the general contractor, bidding $191,496 to complete the project. William C. Barber of Rochester was selected to complete the heating and ventilation work ($35,527), the Reinagel Lighting Company of Buffalo was selected to complete the electric ($12,020), and John Corcoran of Holley bid $9,814 to complete the plumbing work. Overall, the project came in well under budget, costing taxpayers approximately $.28 per square foot.
During this massive project, all grades below seven were relocated to three buildings on Geddes Street while all other grades remained in the old building; the old academy building was eventually razed in 1930.
Photo courtesy of FMC: Employees from FMC Corporation’s Agricultural Solutions Plant in Middleport helped to collect and donate more than 600 pounds of food to the Middleport Area Community Food Pantry to assist the local community during the holiday season. Participating in the effort are from left: FMC employees Bonnie Difino, Joe Burkett and Taylor Kunzelman, and pantry volunteers Rosie Gaughn, Melanie Shuttleworth and John Shuttleworth.
MIDDLEPORT – FMC Corporation’s Agricultural Solutions plant in Middleport recently conducted a collection and donation of more than 600 pounds of food to the Middleport Area Community Food Pantry to help needy community residents during this holiday season.
Participating in the effort were FMC employees working with Local 1180 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and FMC plant management.
“Throughout the year and especially during the holiday season, it is important to help those in our community who are in need,” said Dr. Roberta Kloda, FMC Middleport plant manager. “Our entire FMC Middleport team is very happy to do this with the Middleport Area Community Food Pantry.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 December 2018 at 6:08 pm
‘The 2018 Farm Bill is a major victory for New York’s farmers, rural communities and consumers.’ – David Fisher, president of New York Farm Bureau
Agriculture organizations say the new Farm Bill will provide a boost to farmers. Here are some of the reactions:
Statement from Richard A. Ball, commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets:
“I am encouraged to see that we have been able to come together with a multi-year, comprehensive farm and nutrition package that will benefit all New Yorkers – in urban and rural areas, Upstate and Downstate.
“To ensure that New Yorkers were considered in this important legislation, the Department held a statewide listening session to gather input on what the 2018 Farm Bill should look like, and I am pleased that so much of what was brought to us from our stakeholders has been included in the final policy package. As a result, this timely legislation protects our dairy farmers, ensures nutrition assistance for those in need, industrializes hemp, protects our environment from invasive species, and more.
“Improving the functionality of dairy programs is critical to New York’s dairy farms. I am happy to see that the Dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP) has been revamped as the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program. This improved program will expand coverage, increase flexibility, and allow dairy farms to take advantage of lower premiums. It will also provide greater enrollment options and will expand the margin. To address the losses of the failed MPP program, the Farm Bill provides an avenue for dairy operations to get a partial refund on what they paid in to the program from 2014 – 2017. Participants are eligible for either a 75% refund toward a new Dairy Risk Coverage program or 50% cash back.
“New York consumers are protected as well. SNAP recipients who were worried about losing coverage due to a change in work requirements can rest easy that they will still be able to put food on their family’s table. Additionally, farmers will continue to benefit from increased SNAP sales. It’s a true win-win.
“Finally, New York’s unique economy will continue to expand. The Farm Bill industrializes hemp and supports further research on the commodity, building on the progress New York and other states have made in cultivating this crop that provides new opportunities for our farmers and can fuel a multi-billion-dollar industry.
“Overall, the 2018 Farm Bill reflects the needs that our farmers and residents across the state voiced, and we are happy that their message was heard.”
David Fisher, president of New York Farm Bureau, issued this statement:
“The final vote for the 2018 Farm Bill is a major victory for New York’s farmers, rural communities and consumers. Farmers needed stronger risk management tools in place moving into next year where there are signs that the economic stress will continue in the farming community. In particular, the new Farm Bill enhances the dairy safety net for farms of every size, including increasing the margin that qualifies for federal insurance programs. New York Farm Bureau also appreciates the research and support programs in the bill that will benefit New York’s specialty crop producers. Having some certainty moving forward in challenging times is a relief for farmers.
“In addition, the Farm Bill supports critical conservation programs, rural development projects, and marketing and research programs to expand market opportunities for farmers. It legalizes industrial hemp which will benefit farms interested in diversification. And the legislation provides permanent funding to help veterans and a new generation of beginning farmers. The biggest portion of the Farm Bill also guarantees Americans, who can least afford to eat, the ability to access the food farmers produce.
“New York Farm Bureau is appreciative of New York’s lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives who supported the Farm Bill during this long process, resulting in the bi-partisan legislation that their constituents expect. We encourage the President to sign the Farm Bill.”
National Corn Growers Association President Lynn Chrisp issued this statement:
“The certainty of a new Farm Bill is very welcome news for farmers as they begin to look toward the new year. NCGA is pleased to see a return to the bipartisanship that has been a hallmark of past farm bills and we look forward to the President quickly signing the bill into law.
“To put it bluntly, the farm economy stinks. Between depressed commodity prices, record low farm incomes and tariffs and trade uncertainty, farmers are facing difficult decisions. Getting the Farm Bill passed, and signed into law, is one less thing they need to worry about.
“NCGA is most pleased to see the bill maintains support for a robust crop insurance program, our organization’s top priority, and strengthens the ARC-CO program through administrative improvements including a one-time program change option, an increase to the plug yield for disaster years, the use of a trend-adjusted yield factor, and a market adjustment provision for the floor price. The bill also provides increased funding for trade promotion programs that are especially important to agriculture at this time.
“On behalf of our grower members, I thank Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway and Ranking Member Collin Peterson, along with members of the farm bill conference committee for seeing this process through and passing a new bill before adjourning for the year.”
Two Rochester men have been charged with selling a lethal drug, fentanyl, as well as heroin and cocaine in Orleans County.
Dante L. Thomas
The Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task and the Albion Police Department were assisted by the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (G.R.A.N.E.T), ATF, DEA, and the Rochester Police Department Tactical Unit in executed a search warrant at 42 Roth St. Task Force members arrested a supplier of fentanyl at that location on numerous drug sale charges. A second person that was related to the investigation was also arrested on drug sale charges.
Oscar A. Rivera
The two are accused of bringing the drugs from Rochester to Orleans County. The arrests follow a 5-month federal investigation with numerous search warrants in Rochester on Wednesday, resulting in the arrests of eight men on federal drug charges.
The two facing charges in Orleans County include:
• Dante L. Thomas, 30, of 42 Roth St. He was charged with 14 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, which are Class B felonies.
He was arraigned in the Murray Town Court by Justice Gary Passarell. Thomas was committed to the Orleans County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond. He is to return to the Murray Town Court at 6 p.m. on Jan. 9.
• Oscar A. Rivera, 23, of 44 Third St. was charged with 3 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. He was arraigned in the Albion Town Court by Town Justice Joseph Fuller. Rivera was committed to the County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond. He is to appear in Albion Tow Court at 9 a.m. on Dec. 19.
Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation, the Task Force said in a news release.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 December 2018 at 3:45 pm
Plaintiff argues Happy is a ‘person’ and should be freed from captivity at Bronx Zoo
Photo from Nonhuman Rights Project: Happy, a female Asian elephant born in the wild in 1971, is shown in the Bronx Zoo where Happy has been living the past 40 years.
ALBION – A State Supreme Court judge heard motions today in a case that claims an elephant at the Bronx Zoo should be considered a person and not be held in captivity.
“This is probably the most unusual case I’ve sat on,” State Supreme Court Justice Tracey Bannister said in the Orleans County Courthouse today.
She said she has been a judge for 10 years and worked in the court for 20 years prior to that.
“I’ve always enjoyed elephants,” she told the attorneys before they began their arguments.
Bannister would ultimately not make a ruling on the arguments, except to grant the a change of venue motion from the attorneys representing the Bronx Zoo. The judge said the case didn’t belong in Orleans County.
If the case proceeds and experts, lawyers and witnesses are called to court, Bannister said the courthouse in Albion “would be amongst the most inconvenient places” for a case originating in the Bronx. She said the case should be heard there.
Kenneth A. Manning, the attorney for the Bronx Zoo and its owner the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the Nonhuman Rights Project has been trying to “hijack the judicial system” by arguing an animal is a person and “shopping” the case to different courts outside what should be the obvious jurisdiction.
“Orleans County has nothing to do with this case, nothing,” Manning told Judge Bannister.
Steven M. Wise, an attorney and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, said the court in Orleans County should hear the case.
He presented his arguments on behalf of Happy, a 47-year wild-born Asian elephant which has been in the Bronx Zoo for the past 40 years. Wise said he didn’t have any issues with Happy’s care by the zoo. He didn’t question the elephant’s veterinary treatment, food and health.
But he said the elephant ultimately is denied its freedom. Happy, while not a human being, should be considered a “person,” Wise said. An elephant is autonomous and social. It doesn’t want to held in captivity and confined to a “postage-stamp” of an acre, he said.
If the elephant was freed, Wise said it could go to an animal sanctuary with up to 2,300 acres to roam, including a site near Sacramento, Calif., or one in Tennessee.
Courts have historically acted on behalf of autonomy, Wise said. He cited cases when children held as slaves have been freed.
NhRP has filed habeas corpus lawsuits on behalf of chimpanzees with cases in Niagara County, Suffolk County and Fulton County. Manning, the Bronx Zoo attorney, said judges in those cases said NhRP failed to how cause. NhRP appealed and the Appellate Division at the Second, Third and Fourth Department all affirmed the courts’ decisions.
“A chimp has no benefit of habeas corpus because they simply not a person,” Manning said in court today.
The same logic should follow with the case of Happy, an elephant, he said.
“They will go from court to court, from animal to animal” until NhRP gets a favorable court decision, Manning told the judge.
He said the zoo has many experts who will testify that Happy is treated well.
Wise said the elephant has fundamental rights and shouldn’t be held at the zoo.
“It doesn’t matter whether they think Happy is happy,” Wise told the judge. “It’s a matter of liberty.”
