Provided photo: Pictured from left include Kenneth Gholston, Chairman of the Board for Homeless Alliance of Western New York; Karen Kinter, Oak Orchard Health CEO; and Rashied McDuffie, Esq., deputy mayor City of Buffalo.

Press Release, Oak Orchard Health

ALBION – Oak Orchard Health (OOH) is proud to receive the Community Advocacy and Education Award for its work in the communities it serves.

This award from the Homeless Alliance of Western New York recognizes exemplary individual or organizational efforts to advocate for homeless people through public education initiatives, awareness campaigns, conference presentations, or published research.

“The warming center initiatives that Oak Orchard Health leads in Orleans, Brockport, and Wyoming County are truly remarkable, and the Homeless Alliance of Western New York is so grateful for the work with those most vulnerable in rural areas of Western New York,” said the Homeless Alliance of Western New York.

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Oak Orchard serves 30,000 patients, including the homeless, farmworkers, and people of all races, genders, and ages. In addition, OOH has opened two warming centers (with a third coming soon), working with its community partners and funding from Monroe County (for the Brockport Community Warming Center) and Greater Rochester Health Foundation (Warsaw).

A Warming Center provides a warm, safe place for the unhoused when temperatures drop below 32 degrees (Code Blue).

Photo by Tom Rivers: Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Health, speaks during a celebration for a new warming center at Christ Church on Dec. 20, 2023. The site offers cots, coffee, tea, soup and hygiene kits when the temperature dropped below 32 degrees at night.

“It is truly an honor for Oak Orchard Health to be selected for the Community Advocacy and Education Award,” said Karen Kinter, CEO Oak Orchard Health. “In December 2023, we opened our first Warming Center in Orleans County. On December 23, the Brockport Community Warming Center will open. Oak Orchard Health has taken the lead on administrative and staffing of these centers.”

Many do not think there is a large, unhoused community in rural areas where our health centers reside, but that’s untrue.  The Orleans County Warming Center served 63 people on the 110 Code Blue days. New York State mandates that if the weather drops below 32 degrees, it is considered “Code Blue,” and the community must provide shelter.

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the lead agency for the Continuum of Care (CoC) and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, and Orleans counties.

Their program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness, providing funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

About Oak Orchard Health  

Initially founded in 1973, Oak Orchard Health has grown from serving farmworkers into an integrated health center with multiple locations providing health care services to 30,000 people, including primary care, pediatric care, vision and dental care, behavioral health, as well as nutrition and outreach services for everyone located in the communities they serve.

Oak Orchard Health is a recognized patient-centered medical home and 501(c) nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in the towns of Albion, Alexander, Batavia, Brockport, Corfu, Hornell, Medina, and Warsaw, New York. With the addition of the Mobile Medical Unit and Mobile Dental Unit, we will further increase access to care for our patients.

Organization was dropped as line item in 2025 budget

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Cobblestone Museum, a National Historic Landmark on Route 104 in Gaines, is a caretaker of many artifacts from throughout the county.

ALBION – The Cobblestone Museum, which was dropped as a line item in the county’s 2025 budget, will get $3,000 in funding from the county’s contingency fund.

The museum was in the 2024 county budget as a line item for $3,000. But county officials said the museum didn’t submit the paperwork for a formal request for funding in 2025, resulting in the museum being excluded in the budget. (The museum made its request through Fred Miller, a county legislator.)

The museum received $3,000 from the contingency fund in prior years. During a Dec. 17 meeting, the Legislature approved the $3,000, although Legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines, opposed it.

Allport has consistently opposed county funding for the museum in most recent years. He said the organization didn’t follow the proper process and he said the county shouldn’t be contributing to non-profit organizations.

“This is setting a precedent,” he said.

The other six legislators approved the funding for the museum, which expects to start construction on an expanded visitor center this year.

The county’s total budget includes $99,092,747 in spending, a 7.1 percent increase from 2024 that increases taxes by 1.95 percent.

The county allocates some funding to different agencies that provide services in the community.

Here are the funding amounts for 2025: Soil & Water Conservation District, $100,500; GO Art!, $4,000; Cornell Cooperative Extension, $240,000; four public libraries, $10,087 collectively; Orleans Economic Development Agency, $200,000; and Mercy Flight, $5,000.

The Sportsmen’s Federation used to be in the county budget and typically received $1,000 a year through 2023. It was dropped to $0 in 2024 and wasn’t allocated any funding for 2025.

The neighboring county of Genesee gives more to its museum and agencies that provide services in the community. Genesee has 58,388 people, compared to 40,343 in Orleans County.

Genesee has 44.7 percent more people, and nearly doubles the spending in Orleans County – $190,415,199 budget compared to $99,092,747 in Orleans.

Here are the amounts Genesee gives to some of the agencies in the community: Holland Land Office Museum, $38,554; libraries, $53,680; Soil & Water, $173,851; Cornell Cooperative Extension, $408,613; and GO Art!, $7,500.

Provided photo

ALBION – This group of vendors at the Downtown Browsery dressed up as Misfit Toys on Dec. 14 during Albion’s Hometown Holiday celebration.

The group includes, from left: Liz Groat, Kim Heiler, Paula Brooks, Linda Hollenbeck, Connie Ferris, Gladys Lotta, Dar Krull, Donna John and Diane Wight.

The Browsery celebrated its 20^th anniversary this past year.

Many people in the Orleans County community contributed making a memorable Christmas and holiday season, organizing and participating in parades, festivals, church services and community decorations, and by donating many gifts to others, including strangers.

We thank all of you who gave of yourselves to help make the season merrier and bright.

Photo courtesy of Jasmine Almeter

MORTON – Jasmine Almeter created a nativity scene representing the birth of Jesus out of snow on Tuesday morning in Morton. The weather was perfect, just above freezing, for making a snow creation.

Almeter owns Residential and Commercial Pest Pro in Morton, just outside Orleans County. She made a centipede out of snow in 2022 and last year made a mouse out of snow.

“This year the perfect snow came just in time for Christmas and we made a nativity scene,” she said.

Money will come from cemetery funds, but not from perpetual care

File photo by Tom Rivers: Mount Albion started the Deerfield section in 2001 with space for about 1,200 grave sites. It was the last expansion at the cemetery. There are only about 300 to 400 spots left at Deerfield.

ALBION – The sale has been finalized for the Village of Albion to acquire 35.2 acres of vacant land for future expansion of Mount Albion Cemetery.

The village is paying $250,874.58 to Patricia Nelson for the land that is next to Mount Albion’s southwest corner.

The sale was finalized on Nov. 8 and the Albion Village Board on Dec. 11 stipulated the payment comes from the cemetery, but not the perpetual care fund.

The village clerk and independent auditors reviewed the cemetery funds and determined the sale price will be paid from perpetual care funds, and instead will come from “accumulation of monies over time from donations for purchase of flowers for established grave sites or from the sale of burial sites at the cemetery,” according to a Dec. 11 board resolution.

Albion could run out of grave sites at the existing cemetery in the next five to 10 years, board members said.

Mount Albion opened in 1843 and has about 20,000 gravesites on about 80 acres. The cemetery does about 75 burials a year and sells about 50 to 60 gravesites annually, cemetery superintendent Jason Zicari said in a May interview.

The village acquired the land at $7,000 per acre plus the cost of the abstract of title and a survey.

Zicari expects the 35.2 acres will be developed in phases, and may not be needed for a decade.

Provided photos

Volunteers helped set 250 wreaths at Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon on Dec. 14 as part of Wreaths Across America. The wreaths were set at the graves of veterans.

The Holley Rotary Club led the effort for the second year. The Rotary Club joined Wreaths in 2023 and hoped to do 100 wreaths. It doubled that goal in 2023. The wreaths are $17 each.

The Holley Rotary Club organized Wreaths Across America at Hillside Cemetery. Some of the volunteers are shown at a veterans’ memorial at the cemetery. The memorial includes five granite etched stones for the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard. The memorial has a pentagon-shaped concrete base and a 25-foot flagpole.

Wreaths Across America has grown in Orleans County since Medina was the first to do it at Boxwood Cemetery in 2013.

Medina started with seven wreaths in 2013 at Boxwood. On Dec. 14, the community placed 1,260 wreaths at five Medina cemeteries. That includes 573 at Boxwood, 455 at St. Mary’s Cemetery, about 200 at Sacred Heart Cemetery and the remainder to Bates Road Cemetery and Tanner Cemetery on Telegraph Road.

Photos courtesy of Jacob Hebdon: Lance Corporal Nick Fitzak carries one of the wreaths during a ceremony at Wreaths Across America on Dec. 14. Medina has participated in the event each year since 2013.

“The community of Medina was very generous in their donations to the Wreaths Across America organization,” said Gloria Brent, chairwoman of the event in Medina. “Next year we hope to expand our reach to include all of Bates Road and Tanner Cemeteries with plans to cover all of our local cemeteries as awareness grows in the coming years.”

Veterans were part of a ceremony at Boxwood at noon on Dec. 14. After that a big group of volunteers placed wreaths at five cemeteries in Medina.

The following participated in the Wreath Laying Ceremony: The Color Guard and Honor Guard from the VFW and American Legion in Medina; Master Sergeant Michael Owczarczak – Master of Ceremonies; Sergeant David Kusmierczak, Chaplain for VFW & American Legion; Technical Sergeant Patrick Little; Sergeant Major Jonathan Little; Sergeant First Class George Pogel; Lance Corporal Nick Fitzak; Merchant Mariner Diana Anderson; Second Class Petty Officer W. Thomas Snyder and Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

“We were very fortunate to have Technical Sergeant Patrick Little and Technical Sergeant Scott Little perform Echo Taps during the ceremony,” Brent said. “Madelyn Elliott from the Medina High School Acapella Choir flawlessly performed the National Anthem.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley was part of the wreath-laying ceremony at Boxwood.

Brent thanked to the following organizations that participated in this year’s event:

• The Boxwood Cemetery Commission led by Jacob Hebdon. (Members include Gloria Brent, Jeff Pasnik, Mary Lewis, Nicki Fredericks and Janet Husung.)
• The Medina Village Department of Public Works led by Jason Watts, superintendent.
• The Medina Village Clerk’s Office led by Jada Burgess, the clerk/treasurer.
• The Carpenters Local Union 276 with Jeff Pasnik brought 36 members and family from Orleans and Niagara Counties.
• The Girl Scouts of America – Troop 70183 out of Lockport led by Kelly Stahl.
• The Boy Scouts of America – Troop 18 out of Gasport.
• The Boy Scouts of America – Troop 35 out of Medina led by John Dieter.
• The Friends of Boxwood – Offered free hot chocolate to the participants at the event.

The Lyndonville community placed 445 wreaths at veterans’ graves. The effort is funded through an endowment by Anna Stelianou. She funded the wreaths in honor of her five brothers who served in WWII and the Korean War.

Stelianou is shown in front of this group photo outside the Webber Café on Main Street, where there was a brunch for volunteers before they headed out to lay the wreaths on Dec. 14.

The 445 wreaths will be placed at veterans’ graves for six cemeteries in Lyndonville: Lynhaven, Yates Baptist Cemetery, Angling Road, Marshall Road and Greenman Road as well as the Robin Hill Estate.

The American Legion Houseman-Tanner Post 1603 is organizing the Wreaths Across America program in Lyndonville.

State Sen. Rob Ortt attended the brunch before going to Mount Albion cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony there. Mount Albion participated in Wreaths Across America for the first time on Dec. 14.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Jenn Thom carries a wreath to be laid down at a grave of a veteran at the Veterans’ Section at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Thom is a leader of Operation Honor, which led the effort to have Mount Albion Cemetery included in Wreaths for the first time. There were 225 wreaths placed at the cemetery on Dec. 14.

Operation Honor purchased 100 of the wreaths with other contributors purchasing 125.

Thom urged volunteers to say the veteran’s name when setting the wreath.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

SOMERSET – Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission has issued a final siting permit for the Somerset solar array.

The project, located in the Town of Somerset, Niagara County, will generate 125 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. Once operational, the facility will reduce carbon emissions by more than 177,000 tons annually—the equivalent of taking more than 35,000 cars off the road—and will produce enough electricity to power more than 25,000 average-sized houses.

“The Somerset solar array exemplifies New York State’s progress toward a clean energy economy,” Governor Hochul said. “With the issuance of this siting permit, we are creating good-paying jobs in Western New York, while providing clean, sustainable energy for our families and businesses.”

The Somerset solar project is the first ORES permit issued for a renewable energy facility on a repurposed industrial site. The facility is located on portions of Somerset Station, a former coal plant, and portions of a landfill – both of which are ideal for solar development.

The solar array permitting followed a timely, detailed, and transparent review process with robust public participation to ensure the proposed project meets or exceeds the State law requirements and its implementing regulations. The solar array application was deemed complete on Feb. 5 with a draft permit issued by ORES on April 5. ORES held a public comment hearing on June 11. The complete record includes 41 public comments and written statements.

New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission Executive Director Zeryai Hagos said, “With the announcement of the siting permit for Somerset Solar, New York State continues to demonstrate its commitment to a clean energy transition and the responsible siting and development of renewable energy resources. As we near 3 GW of clean energy permitted since 2021, ORES will continue to help New York implement one of the most ambitious climate policies in the country.”

According to the developer, the Somerset project will support more than 200 full-time construction jobs during the 18-month construction period. The developer says local construction employment is expected to primarily benefit those in the construction trades in Niagara County and the surrounding regional labor market, including equipment operators, truck drivers, laborers, landscapers and electricians. The project construction period will also stimulate spending at local hotels, restaurants, shops, entertainment and tourism.

In addition, the host community benefits include, but are not limited to, creation of permanent jobs during operations, local property tax spending, local and regional spending, and a host community agreement with the Town of Somerset all without significantly increasing costs to local authorities, school districts, or emergency services.

According to the developer, benefits will include public road enhancements, increased tax revenues to fund local infrastructure and public services, schools and other community priorities.

Somerset Solar marks the 19th ORES-approved large-scale renewable energy project since 2021, which cumulatively represents over 2.8-gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy in New York State. This progress is meaningfully advancing New York toward achieving its nation-leading clean energy goals while establishing New York State as an example for efficient, transparent, and thorough siting permitting process of major renewable energy facilities.

By Dr. Lalit Jain, Pediatrician and Dr. Karen Mawn, Pediatrician, Oak Orchard Health Albion

When it comes to healthcare, it’s important to treat the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. Many things affect your wellness. Physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental factors all matter. That’s where the idea of “integrative medicine” comes from. It’s how providers like doctors, dentists, and therapists at Oak Orchard Health all work together on your care. Integrative medicine combines traditional treatments like medications with therapy and wellness coaching.

Treating the whole family, including children, is important, too. For instance, what affects one family member affects others in your home. Plus, COVID-19 didn’t just affect our physical and mental health at home; it also changed our household routines, from screen time to exercise to schoolwork to sleep habits. At Oak Orchard Health (OOH), we understand the challenges you and your family face and have the experience to help you stay healthy.

Supporting new moms and their kids at Oak Orchard Health

From postpartum depression to anxiety, becoming a mother can be stressful. That isn’t something to be ashamed of. These are very common concerns. It’s important to ask for help. Our Mommy and Me program (Healthy Steps in Albion) combines routine office visits with the pediatrician, mental health for parents and caregivers, and social support. We can even provide supplies like diapers and children’s books. The Mommy and Me program also offers friendly people you can trust when talking to others about your changes and challenges. You’re not alone!

Looking out for mental health in young people

Everywhere you look, kids today often struggle with anxiety and depression, which can affect their physical health, too. It’s not always easy to find a therapist. With the recent opening of our Child & Adolescent Wellness Center in Albion and our behavioral health services in Brockport and other locations, Oak Orchard Health is expanding its mental health services so school-age kids up to 21 can see a therapist faster and closer to home.

During routine appointments like physicals or immunizations, we can screen school-age patients for anxiety and depression. If they need mental health services, they’ll get assigned a Care Manager who can get them into therapy, whether through our Wellness Center or a convenient telehealth appointment. Telehealth can also be a great alternative for our busy pediatric population and their families.

Dr. Karen Mawn, Pediatrician, Oak Orchard Health in Albion

Creating a healthier space at home

Just like it’s important to think of yourself as a whole person with different types of healthcare needs, it’s important to think of your whole family, too—the example you set and the routines you put in place for kids affect everyone in the household. For instance, the smartphone age has a big effect on children’s health. We can all get sucked into staring at our screens, from phones to TVs to laptops. That can affect you and your kids. Here are some helpful tips that can bring balance to your home life.

Make room in your schedule to be available to talk and give your kids your full attention.

Include your kids in household routines like family movie nights or cooking healthy meals together.

Students can be overwhelmed with school activities. Make sure they have some quiet downtime.

School-aged kids need at least nine hours of sleep. Create a routine that includes turning off their screens an hour before bedtime.

From bullying to bad information to inappropriate content, social media can be very harmful to young kids and teens. Limit kids’ screen time to two hours daily and use parental controls on devices and apps.

Here for you and your kids

As pediatricians with years of experience, we know what to look for and what to ask. If they aren’t making eye contact with us, facial expressions, fatigue, and simply not talking — often indicate that mental health services are needed. Changes from appointment to appointment are key signs, too. In addition, we often give kids a short questionnaire to help us understand where they are at. They may not want to talk about it and are more comfortable writing it down.

We understand that everything’s connected—not just to physical and mental health but to the health of your whole family. We’re here to support you as your family grows and changes at every step along the way, with caring providers at Oak Orchard Health and helpful support to make home life happier.

We’re also ready to meet you where you are and in your language. When you make an appointment, ask for our interpreter services. We’re here to help.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The Phipps Road culvert over Otter Creek has been closed to traffic since Sept. 9, 2022.

ALBION – A bridge that has been closed to traffic in Albion since Sept. 9, 2022 is expected to reopen as a new bridge next summer.

The Phipps Road bridge was closed after an inspection showed the steel high-beam supports were rotted.

The Albion Town Board and Highway Superintendent Michael Neidert successfully secured a state grant to replace the bridge, which is technically a culvert at 19.5 feet.

The new bridge will be 25 feet, which technically makes it a bridge, Neidert said. Bridges are classified as spans that are at least 20 feet.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on July 5, 2023 that the new bridge was awarded $1.038 million in Bridge NY funds. The bridge is over a tributary to Otter Creek.

Neidert said the replacement bridge is currently in design phase by Ravi Engineering and Land Surveying in Rochester. He expects the project to go out to bid in the spring with construction in the summer of 2025.

Press Release, NY National Guard

The North American Aerospace Defense Command defends the North American airspace 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

On Christmas Eve, NORAD will add one more element to its mission list as it tracks Santa Claus on his around-the-world flight.

American and Canadian NORAD personnel at the Eastern Air Defense Sector, a unit of the Continental U.S. NORAD Region-1st Air Force, located in Rome, are standing by to support this effort.

“EADS is always happy to support NORAD’s Santa tracking operation,” said Col. Joseph F. Roos, EADS Commander. “Our highly trained Airmen defend the homeland day and night, and they are prepared and ready to track Santa this December 24.”

EADS, which is responsible for the air defense of the United States east of the Mississippi. is composed of the New York Air National Guard’s 224th Air Defense Group, a Canadian Armed Forces detachment, U.S. Army and Navy liaison officers, and federal civilians and contractors. EADS also has a squadron and a detachment in the National Capital Region.

The modern tradition of tracking Santa began in 1955 when a young child accidentally dialed the unlisted phone number of NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command operations center.

The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, answered the phone and instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. A tradition was born and continued when NORAD was formed in 1958.

Each year since, NORAD has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families across the globe.

The NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center will become fully operational at 4 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Dec. 24. Children and parents can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk directly to a NORAD staff member who will be able to tell you Santa’s exact location.

Operators are available until midnight. Children, families and fans also keep track of Santa’s location on the NORAD Tracks Santa website and several social media platforms.

Click here to see the NORAD website tracking Santa. Editor’s Note: At 8:34 a.m., Santa was over Sydney, Australia.

Chart: NYS Department of Labor

The minimum wage will go up another 50 cents an hour in Orleans County and upstate counties beginning Jan. 1.

The minimum will go from $15 to $15.50 an hour. It continues a trend where the minimum wage has increased from $11.80 in 2020 to $12.50 in 2021, $13.20 in 2022, $14.20 in 2023 and $15 in 2024.

The new minimum will be higher in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, going from $16 t0 $16.50 an hour.

The minimum wage will go up another 50 cents in 2026 to $16 an hour locally. Then, starting in 2027, the increase will be at a rate determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region – the most accurate regional measure of inflation. An “off-ramp” is available in the event of certain economic or budget conditions, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office said.

“Putting money back in your pockets has been the focus of my first three budgets, and that includes increasing minimum wage for the lowest earners across the state,” Hochul said in a news release. “With rising costs of living, this increase will help to lighten the burdens of inflation for New Yorkers while providing businesses with the time needed to adjust.”

Minimum wage earners who do not see the increase reflected in their paychecks can file a wage complaint on the New York State Department of Labor’s website or by calling 833-910-4378.

“By gradually increasing wages for the lowest earners, we are ensuring businesses can adjust to the change while also helping more families make ends meet,” said Roberta Reardon, the state Department of Labor commissioner. “In this current era of inflation and rising costs, every cent counts for all New Yorkers, especially workers who earn minimum wage.”

Derek Reiner

ALBION – After 30 years at the Albion Town Hall, including the past 25 years as town clerk, Sarah Basinait is retiring on Dec. 31.

Basinait worked as a deputy town clerk to Nancy Miles from 1994 to 1999, before Basinait was elected to the position starting Jan. 1, 2000.

She has been town clerk during an expansion of water lines in the town and push to online databases and technology.

Basinait was at the her final Town Board meeting as clerk today, the year-end meeting at 5 p.m. The clerk’s office will be closed the rest of this week and next week due to the holidays and the transition to a new town clerk, Derek Reiner. He was serving as a deputy treasurer at the Village of Albion. He is resigning from that position effective Dec. 30 after being appointed by the Town Board to succeed Basinait.

Before working the Village Office, Reiner was a human resource/marketing/development specialist for Hospice of Orleans.

Reiner’s appointment as town clerk is for 2025, with town voters to fill the position after that during an election in November.

Basinait said she looks forward to relaxing and the next chapter in her life.

“The residents, I’m going to miss them,” she said after this evening’s board meeting.

Besides serving as clerk and keeping the minutes at board meetings, Basinait has processed dog licenses, hunting and fishing licenses, sent out 675 quarterly water bills, and responded to other needs of the residents for town business.

Basinait will be working the next week to close out the town books for 2024.