By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 July 2018 at 4:28 pm
Calvary Tabernacle hopes to be in new site by Easter
MEDINA – The Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God will start construction of a new building next month on Maple Ridge Road.
Calvary will continue to hold its Sunday services at the old Medina High School until the new building is ready. Vince Iorio, the church’s pastor, is hopeful the new building will be done by Easter in April 2019.
Contractors will start site work next month. The frame of the 9,306-square-foot building should be up and enclosed by winter. Iorio said the interior work will occur during the winter and early spring.
The project will cost about $1 million. The church has raised $400,000 so far and is seeking more donations for the project. Click here for more information, including a video that shows the church’s ministries.
The old high school will be renovated into apartments by Roger Hungerford and Talis Equity. Calvary owned the old school for about 25 years.
Iorio said the new location has more visibility for Calvary. The site is on Maple Ridge Road, a quarter mile west of Tops on the north side of the road.
The church acquired the 36-acre lot about five years ago. The project includes 58 parking spaces.
Calvary offers the community many ministries, including a food pantry that serves more than 200 families a month, the Stillwaters Counseling Center with about 100 clients a month, and programs for youth.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 July 2018 at 12:49 pm
Photo courtesy of Mary Herbert
SHELBY – Shelby firefighters provided much needed relief to 48 campers on Sunday at the Forrestel Riding and Sports Camp, just around the corner from the firehall.
Temperatues were in the high 80s on Sunday and the campers were feeling the effects of the heat and humidity. Firefighters stopped by and sprayed water on the group, which is spending time at Forrestel, which runs a girls summer horse riding camp.
Mary Herbert, owner of Forrestel, said she appreciated the firefighters stopping by to help cool off the kids.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and all 31 members of the Senate Democratic Conference led by Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Monday called on Senate Republicans to return to Albany to vote to codify Roe v. Wade into State law and show New Yorkers where they stand.
Following Governor Cuomo’s and Democratic Leader Stewart-Cousins’s joint Op-Ed calling for a vote, the unified Senate Democratic Conference has pledged to provide 31 votes and only need one Republican to vote to codify Roe v. Wade into State law.
The Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked efforts to update New York’s nearly 50-year old abortion laws to ensure that women in New York maintain their rights under Roe v. Wade despite any potential action by the Supreme Court. The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, creating a conservative majority on the Court, has heightened the risk of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
“Roe v. Wade is under attack in Washington and could be overturned,” Gov. Cuomo said. “With 31 votes secured in the Senate, only 1 vote is needed to ensure that no matter what happens at the federal level, the protections offered by Roe v. Wade are secure in the State of New York. The Republicans in the State Senate owe it to their constituents to allow a vote and tell the people of this State where they stand when it comes to woman’s reproductive health rights. Senate Republicans, where do you stand?”
“New Yorkers overwhelmingly support women’s reproductive health care options and it is troubling that the Senate Republican Majority is so hostile to these rights that they won’t even agree to codify Roe v. Wade,” Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “With the extremism coming out of Washington, New Yorkers, especially women, deserve to have their reproductive health rights protected. It is time to end the misinformation and the rhetoric – they either support Roe v. Wade or they don’t.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 July 2018 at 11:41 am
The lack of rain the past month is already taking a toll on local crops and farmers fear their yields will be down.
Corn is already starting to tassel even though the plants are only 4 to 5 feet tall. Normally the plants are 8 to 9 feet high when they start to tassel, said Larry Meyer, director of the Farm Service Agency in Albion.
“The plants are stunted and yields will be down,” he said.
Orleans County is the state’s second-leading apple producer behind Wayne County. This is normally the time when the fruit starts to put on size, but without rain the fruit will be undersized, with smaller yields and less revenue for the farmers.
Orleans County is officially “abnormally dry,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which last updated the drought map on Thursday. The county has received very little rain since then, unlike neighboring counties.
“It’s pretty critical and we keep missing the rains,” Meyer said this morning.
This map from the United States Drought Monitor shows the majority of New York State is “abnormally dry.” The map was based on data from a week ago and shows 63 percent of state is at least abnormally dry – including 9.3 percent that is in moderate drought.
Orleans was in worse shape two years ago when it was officially in a drought. Meyer said the crop yields were down about 40 percent in 2016.
In mid-July 2016, the State Department of Environmental Conservation issued a drought watch for the entire state, encouraging residents to conserve water due to reduced groundwater levels. That was the first drought watch in New York State since 2002.
Last year there were record levels of moisture, and now the county and region are approaching drought-like conditions.
“We went almost 20 years without being on Drought Monitor,” Meyer said. “Then we had the extreme moisture last year. We’ve never had 3 years like this, back to back to back. It’s not good.”
SHELBY – A public hearing planned for Wednesday for a comprehensive plan in western Orleans County has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
The hearing will give residents a chance to comment about a comprehensive plan for the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates and the villages of Medina and Lyndonville.
The plan covers a broad array of topics, including socioeconomic trends – housing; land use – zoning and development; infrastructure and utilities; environment; historic, cultural, and municipal resources; parks; open space and recreation; economic development; transportation; and sustainability.
For each topic area, the plan summarizes existing conditions, identifies issues and opportunities and outline recommendations and action items.
A committee with officials from the municipalities has been working on the plan for about 18 months. The Western Orleans Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee has completed a draft of the plan, a 339-page document that is available by clicking here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 July 2018 at 7:47 am
Nearly all of National Grid’s customers in Orleans County have their power on this morning after an outage on Monday left up to 4,500 customers without electricity for at least several hours.
As of 7:30 this morning, 39 of the 19,377 National Grid customers in Orleans were without power.
The power went out for 17,000 Grid customers at about 7:15 Monday morning. The outage ran from about Route 98 north of Albion to near Spencerport in Monroe County.
National Grid blamed a pair of transmission lines for causing the outage.
MEDINA – The New York State Canal Corporation announced on Monday the lift bridge in Medina will be closed to all vehicular traffic on Route 63 from July 16 to Aug. 4 as repairs are made to the bridge’s lifting system.
Crews will be replacing the counterweight cables to the bridge, which carries traffic over the Erie Canal in the Orleans County village.
The pedestrian walkways will remain open during these repairs, except for a brief time after the bridge is first placed in the raised position. The pedestrian walkways will not be handicap accessible during the scheduled work period.
During the project, a signed detour for vehicles will be posted utilizing Route 31E (West Center Street and State Street), Route 271 (North Main Street) and Route 104 (Ridge Road).
Motorists using the detour routes are encouraged to plan their trips accordingly and leave extra time for travel.
This work will not affect the Erie Canalway Trail or navigation on the Canal System. While a barge will slightly encroach into the channel, the normal overhead clearance will not be affected. Mariners should reduce speed, stop all forward motion, and proceed at a “No Wake” speed when traversing this area.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 7:38 pm
BARRE — The Town of Barre has been approved for $1.3 million in federal funding – $708,000 in a low-interest loan and $493,000 in a grant – for Water District No. 9.
The project will extend public water service to 42 residential users and one commercial user on sections of Kams Road, Maple Street, Pine Hill Road, Gray Road, Eagle Harbor Road and Hemlock Ridge Road.
Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced the funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Collins said the new water district will improve water quality for residents facing unreliable water.
“Access to clean water is essential, which is why I voted in support of the 2018 Omnibus spending bill that included these funds to our nation’s rural communities,” Collins said. “The Trump administration has prioritized investing in rural communities to build a foundation for rural prosperity, and I am pleased that these efforts are being seen in Western New York.”
Barre last year also was approved for federal funding for Water District No. 8, which will extend public water service to 36 residential users.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 7:12 pm
ALBION – Several people were sentenced in Orleans County Court today, including a Rochester man who admitted in a previous court appearance to having cocaine with the intent to sell on May 1, 2017.
Lamar Nelson, 29, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. He faced up to a maximum of 2 ½ years in state prison.
He was given the maximum by Judge Sara Sheldon as part of a plea agreement, partly because of Nelson’s previous rape conviction that made him a second-felony offender.
He has been in the county jail the past 14 months. In addition to time in prison, he will be on post-release supervision for 1 ½ years.
His attorney Michael O’Keefe said Nelson has “long and extensive use of drugs and alcohol since he was a teen-ager.”
In a presentence report, Nelson insisted he was innocent of the crime.
Sheldon told Nelson his DNA was on packaging for the drugs.
“There’s no question you were part of the enterprise,” she told him. “That you still maintain your innocence is an insult to my intelligence.”
Nelson said he pleaded guilty to the crime and is taking responsibility “for my actions.”
“I hope so,” Sheldon responded. “That’s part of being a man.”
• Chad Oehlbeck, 30, of Hamlin was sentenced to six months in jail and 5 years of probation. He pleaded guilty to aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
In a previous court appearance, Oehlbeck admitted to the judge he was driving without a license and was impaired on June 3, 2017. He also said he had a shotgun in the vehicle.
Sheldon said she regretted agreeing to the six-month cap in jail because the arresting officer, a state trooper, described Oehlbeck “as one of the worst people I’ve ever had to deal with.”
The judge issued an order of protection for a woman in the case.
• Richard L. Dixon, 46, of Waterport was sentenced to six months in jail and 5 years of probation for felony driving while intoxicated, his third DWI.
Dixon also was fined $1,000 for the DWI, and needs to pay a $520 court surcharge plus a $50 DNA fee.
• John W. Murphy, 45, of Lyndonville was sentenced to time served for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance for knowingly and unlawfully possessing a painkiller.
Murphy has been in a drug diversion program. That allowed a felony charge to be reduced to a misdemeanor. He spent 15 days in jail. He could have faced up to a year of incarceration.
He needs to pay a court surcharge of $250 within 60 days.
• The judge arraigned Crystal Woodward, 32, of Medina for second-degree grand larceny, and eight counts each of forgery in the second degree and falsifying business records in the second degree.
She allegedly took checks totaling $91,973 for Medina Transportation Company.
Joanne Best, the public defender, said Woodward is in a drug treatment program. Best asked for no bail for Woodward.
The judge agreed to release Woodward on her own recognizance.
“She has a very plausible and realistic defense,” Best told the judge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 6:09 pm
National Grid is working to restore power for nearly 3,000 customers in Orleans County, but restoration may not happen until 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., the company said in a “worst-case scenario.”
Dale Banker, the county’s emergency management coordinator, relayed the information from National Grid, which is working to fix transmission lines, which caused the outage from central Orleans to near Spencerport in Monroe County.
The company on its website says it is “assessing condition” of the outages in Orleans and Monroe.
As of 6 p.m., there were 2,932 customers without electricity in Orleans and 6,400 in Monroe County. The power went out at about 7:30 this morning.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 4:46 pm
ALBION – A former Orleans County deputy sheriff apologized to the community and his former colleagues in the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office today when he was sentenced for petit larceny and falsifying business records.
Tom Marano
Tom Marano, 46, has admitted to claiming 240 hours worked at Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, which operates a hydroelectric plant in Waterport. Marano filled out time cards for Brookfield while he was on the clock working as a deputy between Jan. 12, 2014 and Jan. 1, 2015. He has repaid $4,800 in restitution.
Marano was indicted last July along with Dean Covis, a former sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office. They faced grand larceny in the third degree for falsifying time sheets.
Covis has agreed to pay $12,915 in restitution. He was sentenced on June 11 and didn’t have to serve probation or jail.
Marano received that sentence as well today. Marano, like Covis, also won’t be able to work again as a police officer, Judge Sara Sheldon determined.
Sheldon quoted from a presentencing report that included a statement from the arresting officer: “Even though he betrayed the public trust, he doesn’t feel jail time would serve a purpose,” Sheldon said.
Marano’s attorney Joseph Damelio said there were many testimonials from the community about Marano for assisting them during times of tragedy. Marano most often performed his duties with high professionalism, his attorney said.
However, Marano takes full responsibility for the petit larceny and falsifying business records.
“He knows what he did is wrong and he is ashamed of it,” Damelio said in court this afternoon. “He wants to apologize to the entire County of Orleans. He wants to apologize to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. He wants to apologize to his friends and family.”
Marano regrets his actions cast a negative light on the Sheriff’s Office.
“In no way is this a reflection on them,” Damelio said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 12:08 pm
ALBION – A building by the Erie Canal in Albion would be turned into a wedding venue and events site in a plan by John and Natasha Wasuck of Spencerport.
The building at 160 North Main St. was the longtime site of Burgio Tire and then a carpet store. The Wasucks want to turn the building into “The Lockstone.” In addition to be an events venue, the site would be a candy and ice cream shop.
The Orleans County Planning Board approved the site plan on June 28. It goes to the Village Planning Board on Wednesday for a final approval.
The building is located between the Erie Canal and The Lake Country Pennysaver in Albion’s General Commercial District.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 10:56 am
ALBION – There are two public hearings Wednesday on the 40-unit housing project proposed by DePaul Properties of Rochester.
DePaul is proposing to demolish three unoccupied houses on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street.
DePaul needs variances for the project. It is proposing 50 parking spaces, when the village code requires 80 (two parking spots for each unit). DePaul is seeking a 5-foot rear setback when the village code requires 25 feet. DePaul also wants a fence to be 10 feet high for a sound wall on the south side of the property, instead of the 7 feet required by the village code.
The Albion Zoning Board of Appeals will have a public hearing at 4 p.m. on Wednesday about the variances. The hearing is at the Village Hall, 35 East Bank St.
DePaul anticipates the 50 spaces will be adequate based on the demand at its other apartment buildings. DePaul serves low-income individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities.
With the rear setback, DePaul will plant a row of evergreen trees for additional screening. DePaul also wants the taller sound wall to mitigate noise from the neighboring rail line.
The Village of Albion Planning Board will then have a public hearing at 5 p.m. for the site plan of the 40-unit apartment complex at 150 Liberty St.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 10:40 am
There are 4,500 Nation Grid customers without power in Orleans County since about 7:30 this morning.
The electricity provider says a pair of transmission lines are out of service. In addition to Orleans, there are about 12,500 Grid customers in Monroe County without power.
The problem is affecting about 17,000 customers from Route 98, north of Albion, to near Spencerport.
National Grid is estimating power will be restored at noon.
The outage comes on a day when temperatures are forecast to reach 90 degrees.
EAST SHELBY – Hundreds of people turned out to experience life in the 1800s’ village of West Jackson Corners during Old Tyme Day, sponsored by East Shelby Community Bible Church on Sunday.
The village includes a working blacksmith shop, a woodworker’s shop, a sewing shop, a penny candy store, a miniature church with a steeple identical to that of the main church.
The congregation created the village that is popular for the annual Old Tyme Day, when the church has pie, hot dogs, candy, hand-spun ice cream and popcorn available for a penny.
Shawna Baldwin of Medina is dressed as Betsy Ross as she strolls the grounds of West Jackson Corners Sunday with her sewing basket. Visitors were able to have conversations with other historical characters, including Ben Franklin, Martha Washington, and John and Abigail Adams.
Darlene Murphy, left, helps Sadie Pask, 4, and Gianna Hyde, 4, make little sheep out of wool carded by Heidi Pask. Other activities include kids’ games, candle making, basket weaving, horse and buggy rides and horseback riding.
Heidi Pask demonstrates carding wool during East Shelby Community Bible Church’s annual Old Tyme Day Sunday.
Levi Olsen, dressed as Baron von Steuben, strolls the grounds of West Jackson Corners during Old Tyme Day on Sunday.
Lewis Tombari of Lyndonville sits in his 1930 Model A at Old Tyme Day Sunday at East Shelby Community Bible Church. Tombari has owned the car for 51 years.
Youth from East Shelby Community Bible Church demonstrate old-fashioned dances in Penders Apple Barn.The day included patriotic concerts.
A working water wheel is one of the old-time features of West Jackson Corners.
