MEDINA – Get ready to witness history from a new perspective as the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief docks at 1 Canal Basin in Medina on Monday, Aug. 12, and Friday, Aug. 16.
Both days consist of live music, food trucks, engaging speaker series, and free tours of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief from 4 to 7 p.m.
Constructed by the Buffalo Maritime Center, the boat is a reproduction of the original Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief that opened the Erie Canal in 1825. It will make a trial run through Lockport, Medina, Brockport and Rochester in 2024 as preparation for its 2025 voyage to New York City. The 2025 journey marks the Erie Canal Bicentennial, honoring 200 years since the canal’s official opening.
According to Dawn Borchert, Director of Orleans County Tourism, the event will happen rain or shine and attendees are encouraged to bring a chair and stay for the afternoon. Food trucks will be available for dinner at the canal basin. Visitors can take advantage of free boat and exhibit tours, witness boat-building demonstrations, and even try paddle-shaping.
This historic moment for the Buffalo Maritime Center represents an exciting opportunity for Medina to experience maritime history. The Buffalo Maritime Center inspires meaningful connections and life lessons through community boatbuilding, preserving maritime culture, and exploring the waterways of Western New York.
BARRE – Heritage Wind is excited to announce four local organizations as awardees from the project’s community grant program. Launched in 2020, this program supports local community organizations throughout the Town of Barre and Orleans County working to build healthy communities, support economic development, foster environmental sustainability, and promote education.
“Heritage Wind is grateful to be able to continuously back local organizations that support Orleans County through our Community Grant Program,” said Carmen O’Keefe, Director of Development with Apex Clean Energy.
This round of grants were awarded to:
Medina Railroad Museum
The Town of Barre
Orleans County Deputy Sheriffs Association
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee
The Medina Railroad Museum has been awarded $4,000 to develop an interactive display allowing children to use virtual reality to simulate the operation of the railroad in several key positions, such as engineer, conductor, and railroad fireman.
The Town of Barre has received $4,000 for the continuous effort to upgrade the town park and the installation of new playground equipment.
“The Town of Barre is thrilled to announce it has been awarded a $4,000 grant from Apex Clean Energy and Heritage Wind’s Community Grant Program,” said Parks Department Director Jason Foote. “This funding will enhance public health through the renovation of the Town Park playground, supporting future expansion plans to create a vibrant and inclusive recreational space for all residents.”
The Orleans County Deputy Sheriff Association was awarded $4,000 for a new program benefitting their local deputies. Torry Tooley, President of the Orleans County Deputy Sheriffs Association, was thankful for the grant.
“The men and women of the Orleans County Deputy Sheriffs Association would like to thank Apex Clean Energy and Heritage Wind for awarding the association funds to further our effort to be ‘Fit for You,’” Tooley said. “This funding allows us to invest in the physical and mental well-being of our deputies. Your commitment to strengthening communities truly resonates with our mission to serve our citizens with the best possible care. This grant will be another step forward in this mission.”
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee was awarded $450 for the purchase of supplies to help the Credit Recovery Program. This program helps support local high school students working to obtain the necessary credits to complete high school.
Counting this year’s recipients, Heritage Wind has awarded over $120,000 to community causes and non-profit organizations. These grants are part of a larger community grant program by Apex Clean Energy that has awarded over $5 million in funds to local communities nationwide since 2020.
In addition to awarding grants to local community organization, Heritage Wind was a proud sponsor of the Barre Cubs little league team, who was able to clinch the midget league title this season.
Heritage Wind continues to strive to be a strong community partner to local governments, area businesses, and non-profits working to improve people’s lives across the region. The community grant program will open an additional round of grant funding this Fall to be awarded before the end of the year. To learn more or apply for a future grant, visit www.heritagewindpower.com/grant.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 9 August 2024 at 8:11 am
ALBION – The Cobblestone Museum’s annual tour of homes this year will feature a unique variety of buildings.
When the tours started in 1961 they were originally just cobblestone buildings, said Doug Farley, director of the Cobblestone Museum. There were 20 cobblestone structures all located along Ridge Road, between Childs and Oak Orchard on the Ridge. Six of those sites offered indoor tours. The tours continued on and off for many years, and more recently, historic buildings with different construction materials were added.
Twelve stops are included in this year’s tour, all with indoor access and all located in a quick and easy short drive from each other, Farley said.
This year Sue Starkweather Miller was asked to help plan the tour, as it is centered in the Albion area.
“While planning this year’s tour we thought about adding homes and buildings in Albion that are historically significant, that many people may not know about or haven’t had the opportunity to visit,” Miller said.
The tour also includes the Joseph F. Hart house on South Main Street, and the Day and Day Building on North Main Street.
Some of those buildings are the Ebenezer Rogers home, the oldest home in the village and current home of Mr. and Mrs. John Gailie at 352 South Main St.; the Grand Army of the Republic room at the Day and Day Building; and the chapel at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Miller is a former board member of the Cobblestone Museum and the current historian for the village of Albion, so she is well versed on the village’s historical structures.
“As soon as you step inside the beautiful entryway of the Ebenezer Rogers home, you get a real sense of what a colonial home looked like in the 1820s,” Miller said. “Also, many people have never seen the GAR Room in the Day and Day Building, or even knew it existed, so it is a unique opportunity to enjoy and appreciate its historical significance.”
Participants in the tour will have to climb two flights of stairs to see the GAR Room on the third floor, but the end result is well worth it, Miller said. The Pratt Opera House will also be part of that tour stop.
Mount Albion Cemetery’s chapel was built in 1875 of locally quarried Medina sandstone. It is the focal point of the cemetery’s entrance. Tour participants will be able to peek into the chapel that has suffered water damage due to the original slate roof needing to be replaced. Miller will soon be announcing plans for a community campaign to help raise the funds for a new slate roof and necessary interior repairs.
“Back in 1976 the Albion community came together to raise funds to ‘Save the Tower,’ and I am hopeful our community will come together again to help us save the chapel, which is also an important Mount Albion landmark,” Miller said.
Other stops on the tour are the Cobblestone Museum’s Thompson-Kast Visitors Center at 14386 Ridge Rd., Childs; the Bullard/Lattin cobblestone house at 3178 Gaines Basin Rd.; Gaines Basin District No. 2 Schoolhouse, 3286 Gaines Basin Rd.; Orleans Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution home at 249 North Main St.; the former Presbyterian manse and Harriette Greaser home at 31 East State St.; Marti’s on Main (Kim and Neal Muscarella), 20 South Main St.; Christ Episcopal Church, 26 South Main St.; Joseph F. Hart House, home of Diana Kay Dragan Reed at 349 South Main St.; and Mount Albion Cemetery’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument Tower, all in Albion.
At the Day and Day Building, visitors are asked to park on North Main Street and enter in the front; at the Ebenezer Rogers house and Joseph F. Hart house, park at Oak Orchard Dental, not along Route 98.
The 2024 Tour of Homes is scheduled for Sept. 21. Tickets are $20 for Cobblestone Society members and $25 for non-members. They may be ordered online (click here) or by calling the museum at (585) 589-9013.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York has issued nearly $200 million in food assistance to more than 1.5 million low-income children as part of the new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program.
New York is sending $120 per child to eligible families to help pay for healthy meals. Some eligible families have already begun to receive this assistance and the benefits will continue to be sent in the coming weeks. Governor Hochul also highlighted that more assistance is available, and the State expects approximately 2 million children will qualify to receive this benefit. New Yorkers are encouraged to learn more about eligibility and apply before the Sept. 3 deadline.
“Having access to healthy, nutritious food is essential for children’s health and well-being,” Hochul said. “As New York continues putting money back in the pockets of working families, we’ve already begun sending food assistance to more than 1.5 million kids – and we’re going to keep delivering these benefits to more families in need.”
Summer EBT is a new federally funded program that supports efforts to address food insecurity among children from low-income families. Each state electing to opt into the Summer EBT program is responsible for distributing the $120-per-child benefits to eligible families, as well as covering half of the administrative costs involved in distributing the funds. Governor Hochul ensured that New York would participate in this program and secured $13 million in the State’s FY 2025 Enacted Budget to support Summer EBT distribution efforts throughout the State.
Eligible children are receiving Summer EBT food benefits on an EBT card that their families can use just like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Summer EBT food benefits can be used to buy food like fruits, vegetables, meat, whole grains, and dairy at authorized retail food stores, farmers markets, and anywhere else SNAP is accepted.
Most children who are eligible – including recipients of SNAP, Temporary Assistance, or Medicaid – will automatically receive Summer EBT and do not need to do anything to apply. These families were sent a letter this summer letting them know that their child is eligible.
In addition to those who are automatically receiving benefits, other eligible families may apply to receive benefits for their children. To be eligible, a child must attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and meet the income requirements for free/reduced-price school meals.
To learn more about eligibility and apply, visit ny.gov/SummerEBT. Applications for Summer 2024 benefits must be submitted by Sept. 3, 2024.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said, “No child should ever go hungry, which is why I fought to secure federal funding for the Summer EBT program. Summer is often the time of year when food insecurity is highest for children and this assistance for families comes just in the nick of time for New Yorkers. I’m grateful for Governor Hochul’s work ensuring that federal dollars are being put to good use addressing food insecurity and helping feed children across New York State.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “This nearly $200 million will provide a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of families statewide. Thanks to the Summer EBT program, children across the state can have access to healthy, nutritious meals year-round. I’m proud to have helped deliver this funding and I applaud Governor Hochul for her commitment to addressing food insecurity across New York State.”
Provided photo: Pictured from left include Orleans County Legislators John Fitzak and Skip Draper; Niagara County EMS Director Jonathan Schultz; Orleans County EMO Deputy Director Scott Buffin; Orleans County EMO Director Justin Niederhofer; Niagara County Legislature Chairman Becky Wydysh; Niagara County Legislators Randy Bradt and David Godfrey; and Niagara County EMS Manager Tom Eggert.
Press Release, Orleans County Legislature
LOCKPORT – The Niagara County Legislature on Tuesday passed on a resolution authorizing the county to enter into an inter-municipal agreement to transfer a surplus ambulance to Orleans County.
The 2010 Ford EC4 Road Rescue vehicle was used by Niagara County when its ambulance service launched last year until its current ambulance fleet arrived earlier this year. Orleans County is in the process of launching its own staffed ambulance service in 2025 and this ambulance will be put into service immediately with a Basic Life Support (BLS) function to supplement current ambulance service in the county.
Orleans County Legislator John Fitzak attended the Niagara County Legislature meeting with Legislator Skip Draper, Emergency Management Director Justin Niederhofer and Deputy Director Scott Buffin.
“Orleans and Niagara County have a great history of working together and we very much appreciate Niagara County helping our efforts to support of volunteer ambulance services,” Fitzak said. “Communities across New York State all face the dual problems of a declining number of volunteer firefighters coupled with more regulatory demands on those same volunteers. This results in longer response times for citizens who need help. Today is a step forward for Orleans County in addressing these issues, with much more to be done in the coming months.”
“This is another great example of collaboration and shared services between Niagara and Orleans counties to better meet the needs of our residents,” said Niagara County Legislature David Godfrey, co-chair of the Niagara Orleans Regional Alliance. “Because we have mutual aid in place between the counties for emergency response, not only are we helping our friends in Orleans County with the transfer of this ambulance, we are increasing capacity in the region that could help our eastern Niagara towns in time of need.”
Editor’s Note:
The ambulance from Niagara County will not be put into service this year, said Justin Niederhofer, the EMO director for Orleans County. The unit doesn’t have any equipment. The County Emergency Management Office is seeking a grant to put in equipment and will be working to set up relationships with Medicare and Medicaid for billing.
Niederhofer said no new staff is expected to work on the ambulance this year or in 2025.
The current EMO staff will staff the ambulance for some backup calls when other providers are busy or for calls when a standby ambulance is needed at an emergency scene, such as a fire.
Niederhofer and Audra Fisher, EMO secretary, are both emergency medical technicians, and Scott Buffin, the EMO deputy director, is a paramedic.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2024 at 9:51 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
BATAVIA – Lindsey Almeter, an Albion elementary music teacher, directs the Batavia Cadet Band on Tuesday at Centennial Park in Batavia.
Many students from Albion and Orleans County schools were in the cadet band, which performed “Some Nights” and music from “Moana.”
These cadet band members perform in the concert which was the finale of the 100th anniversary season for the Batavia Concert Band.
The cadets joined the Batavia Concert Band for some of the concert, playing highlights from Frozen and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
John Bailey, a former Lyndonville teacher who now works at the Pembroke school district, directs the Batavia Concert Band on Tuesday. Many Orleans County residents are part of the group.
The band on Tuesday did a world premiere of “Centennial Overture” by Laurence Tallman.
These cadet trumpet players were part of a concert attended by about 500 people.
Dr. Craig Lamb, who started as president of Genesee Community College on Aug. 1, addresses the crowd at the concert.
The band highlighted key supporters and GCC provides space for the band to rehearse and also is an indoor option for the concerts when it is raining.
Lamb said GCC, like the concert band, is very community-focused.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2024 at 8:37 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALFRED – I was in Allegany County on Tuesday and imagine my delight to see an ox statue leading into Alfred State College.
The college in 2018 announced it picked an ox as the official school mascot to help promote the athletic program and build school pride.
“Big Blue” is very popular at Alfred with the ox on college apparel and all kinds of merchandise.
I’m on the Orleans County Bicentennial Committee. I think celebrating the ox during our 200th anniversary next year not only pays tribute to the pioneer settlers who had to tame a rough terrain, but also gives us a symbol of strength to rally around.
An ox statue was painted by artist Stacey Kirby Steward during the Orleans County Fair last month. We’d like to do more for the bicentennial and need to work out a plan for getting them paid for, the different themes on the oxen and where to place them around the county.
Alfred has “Pioneers” for a nickname. Previously the college used human depictions such as “Pioneer Pete” or “Orvis the Pioneer.”
A committee at Alfred in 2018 determined that an animal mascot is more inclusive and inviting. The goal is to provide athletes, students, alumni, and fans with a loveable animal mascot, the college stated in 2018 when the ox was introduced.
“Pioneers both from history and today are known for forging ahead, leading others, and mastering skills to succeed,” former Alfred State President Dr. Skip Sullivan said in 2018 when the ox was introduced as the new mascot. “The Pioneers nickname is perfect for our college. When we asked our students, they overwhelmingly recognized the importance of an ox for helping the pioneers. We will once again rely on input from our students this fall as we vote on a name for this friend of the pioneers.”
Photo from Alfred State: The college picked “Big Blue” for the name and the mascot appears at many athletic events and campus celebrations.
In announcing the ox for a mascot, Alfred State officials said the ox is a team player for getting work done. “As strong as an ox” is an expression that has endured for centuries because of the solid and hard-working attitude of the animal, Alfred State said in announcing the new mascot.
“The mascot choice is also appropriate for a college that started as an agricultural school in 1908 and has grown to offer more than 70 majors,” according to the press release in July 2018, announcing the ox as the official mascot.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 August 2024 at 5:45 pm
Provided photos
MEDINA – About 450 people attended the Orleans County national Night Out on Tuesday at Medina’s Clifford Wise Intermediate School. The event went on despite rain and drizzle for most of the day.
The top photo shows Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson sitting in the dunk tank.
Jess Marciano, a Medina village trustee and NNO committee member, plunges into the water after a kid tossed a bass at hit the bull’s eye.
Medina firefighter Steve Miller assists a kid in spraying water at a target.
The public had a chance to meet firefighters and law enforcement officers, while also enjoying free activities and refreshments.
A representative from Gov. Hochul’s office JW Cook, second from right, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley present a proclamation from the state to committee members who organized the NNO.
From left in NNO shirts include Heather Jackson, Jess Marciano, Medina Police Chief Todd Draper and Diana Baker.
This team of four competes in the Battle of the Belts, where they sat in a seat and fasten the seat belt, and then rotated to the other three seats. The fastest team to go in all four seats and fasten the seat belts won the competition.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 August 2024 at 3:31 pm
A group of friends from Medina High School with a passion for biking have added another prestigious ride to their repertoire.
Jeff and Bronwyn Green, Dave Maiorana and his companion Pam Brown Muscato, Kate Dydo Eaton and a family friend Amy Forbush of Indiana just completed a seven-day ride in the 51st Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Tom Walders of Medina accompanied the cyclists driving a support vehicle – Maiorana’s RV he named “Lola.”
Maiorana, Jeff and Walders graduated in 1981; Bronwyn and Eaton in 1982; and Muscato in 1983.
Jeff and Bronwyn started cycling during the first year of Covid in 2020, she said. Jeff had just had a total knee replacement in 2018 and his surgeon said cycling was a safe sport for him to try.
“He’s never looked back,” Bronwyn said.
They have cycled across America, including twice on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride from Buffalo to Albany; the Gravel Grinder, a 38.4 mile ride in the Adirondacks. They are in the Adirondacks riding this week, and plan to ride the Sun Road in Glacier National Park and the Gap Trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md.
Friends from Medina High School and a friend from Indiana pose with a Medina Mustang banner near the Mississippi River, after completing a seven-day ride across Iowa. Standing from left are Tom Walders, who was the riders’ support person; Jeff Green; Dave Maiorana; Kate Dydo Eaton and Amy Forbush. Kneeling are Bronwyn Green and Pam Brown Muscato.
The recent RAGBRAI, as the Iowa race is known, was one of the most challenging, Bronwyn said. It was also the first time they have ridden with Maiorana, who has a reputation as a world traveler since his retirement. He and the Greens planned for the RAGBRAI for a year.
The ride is the hilliest they have ever done, encompassing almost 20,000 feet of elevation, Bronwyn said. Where the Cycle the Erie Canal ride has 650 to 750 riders, RAGBRI had more than 18,000, making it the largest bike ride in the world.
“There was a river of bikes,” Bronwyn said. “The weather was perfect – in the 80s, and we were on the road most mornings between 5:30 and 6 a.m. “
The shortest day was 40 miles and the longest was 84 with an option to do 100. Jeff, Bronwyn and Forbush did the 100 miles.
The towns they passed through were all ready to welcome the riders with drinks, port-a-johns, snacks and bike repairs.
One van who followed the riders was pink and called “Pork Chop.” They cooked pork chops along the way and at a stop, each rider was handed a pork chop.
Maiorana and Muscato are next heading to Europe at the end of August to tour Italy and Spain for a month.
Bronwyn said they owe credit to Maiorana and Eaton for starting the wheel turning for the RAGBRAI trip to Iowa.
“We had all kept in contact after a Celebration of Champions get-together a couple of years ago,” Bronwyn said. “We all had cycling in common, and the trip, thanks to Dave as team leader, became a reality.”
The Greens plan to do the Virginia Creeper ride in September and may join Eaton and Forbush in Indiana to ride the Hilly Hundred in October.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 August 2024 at 11:50 am
Medina man says he intends to file lawsuit against county
ALBION – A higher court has dismissed the charges against a Medina man, siding with his claims that a special prosecutor was improperly appointed.
Dino Callara, 56, of Medina was convicted of a jury of grand larceny in the fourth degree and two counts of petit larceny on Feb. 22, 2022.
He served 24 months of incarceration in the county jail and state prison.
However, he contended the special prosecutor, Anthony Bruce, did not have jurisdiction in the case because Bruce does not live in the county or have an office in an adjacent county.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department issued a decision on July 26, agreeing with Callara and his attorney, Kerry A. Conner, that the case should be dismissed.
Callara was in Orleans County Court this morning before Judge Sanford Church, who held off on dismissing the case today but said he would likely do so on Friday.
Conner said it is “routine” for county court judges to dismiss cases after decisions from the Fourth Judicial Department in favor of a dismissal.
Bruce spoke at court today and said he doesn’t agree with the Fourth Judicial Department decision. He asked Church to hold off on dismissing the indictment, with Bruce saying the decision was made “with prejudice.”
Church said it would be “double jeopardy” to bring the charges again after Callara’s case already went before a jury.
Bruce said he wanted more time to state his argument for objecting to the decision. Bruce, a long-time federal prosecutor, lives in Orchard Park and lists 39 Ellicott St. in Batavia as an office in Genesee County, which is contiguous to Orleans.
Callara said after court that he intends to sue the District Attorney’s Office and County Court for its handling of his case. His attorney tried to argue Bruce didn’t have jurisdiction because his office in Batavia wasn’t set up or being used at the time of Callara’s court case.
Conner, an attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, said the defense should be the one to seek a stay to argue an appeal, not the prosecution.
“The Fourth Department’s decision is equivalent to an acquittal,” Conner said in court. “There is no reason not to dismiss.”
Judge Church acknowledged he hasn’t faced this issue yet as a judge, with a decision from the Fourth Judicial Department to dismiss the indictment. He said he will do more research and expects to dismiss the case in a written decision on Friday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 August 2024 at 8:59 am
Senator says I-90 Thruway corridor strategically positioned for semiconductor industry
Photos by Tom Rivers
BASOM – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer holds a photo of a finished factory for Edwards Vacuum during a celebration Tuesday in front of the company’s manufacturing facility that has been under construction since April.
Edwards Vacuum will be making a $319 million investment in the site and will hire 280 workers in 2025 and 2026, with expectations of 600 employees when the facility is at full capacity.
“What a historic day,” Schumer said Tuesday at the STAMP manufacturing site, where Edwards is building a new facility. “There is a four-letter word that makes us so happy with this project: J-O-B-S.”
Edwards leaders said the new facility at the STAMP will produce about 10,000 dry pumps a year for the semiconductor industry as part of phase one of the site. Edwards plans to eventually double the capacity to 20,000 dry pumps and have 600 employees at the site.
“Today we are not just breaking ground,” said Geert Follens, president of the Vacuum Technique Business Area for Edwards Vacuum’s parent company, Atlas Copco Group, which is headquartered in Sweden. “We are building the future.”
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer joins Genesee County leaders, officials from Edwards Vacuum and economic development leaders in a grand breaking celebration Tuesday at Edwards Vacuum in Basom.
Follens noted the facility will be emission free and carbon neutral, powered by hydroelectricity and certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Follens said Schumer called him about 18 months ago, pitching STAMP as a site for Edwards to manufacture the dry pumps for the semiconductor industry. Schumer gave him his personal phone number and touted the site’s proximity to hydro-power, water, a skilled workforce and the incentives through the CHIPS and Science Law. Follens also said Schumer promised his clout as the Senate Majority leader in supporting the project and the semiconductor industry, especially for the I-90 corridor.
Schumer said upstate communities have witnessed the pain of seeing many factories and businesses close in recent decades.
“Now the reverse will be true,” he said. “Parents will be moving their kids in other parts of the country as their kids come to upstate New York.”
He proclaimed a new era for Upstate New York. “We’re back! We’re back!”
Schumer hailed the CHIPS and Science Law, which he pushed in the Senate to become law for providing critical incentives for companies in semiconductor manufacturing. The incentives from the federal government have resulted in companies making major investments in the semiconductor industry, including Micron’s more than $100 billion megafab project in Central New York, and GlobalFoundries’ $11.6 billion expansion in Malta, Saratoga County.
Schumer said the investments are in upstate New York, and he expects more to follow. The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region received a Tech Hub designation through his CHIPS & Science Law and last month secured a $40 million investment to implement the Tech Hub’s work with companies like Edwards. Schumer said 25 percent of microchips will be produced in the U.S. in the I-90 corridor, providing a huge boost to the upstate economy and protecting national security.
The shortage of microchips was a crisis in the automobile industry and other sectors during the manufacturing slowdown during the Covid pandemic, Schumer said. Baxter in Medina struggled to get chips for manufacturing medical infusion pumps, just one of many businesses that were disrupted due to the chip shortage.
Shelley Stein, chairwoman of the Genesee County Legislature, welcomed Edwards Vacuum to the STAMP site. She praised the many partners locally and at the state and federal levels for working with Edwards and to develop STAMP off Route 63 in the Town of Alabama.
She said economic development is a marathon and communities need to “stay the course.” Stein praised Schumer for a “laser-like focus” in advocating for STAMP and upstate.
Rob Crossen, the Alabama town supervisor, said STAMP brings much-needed jobs to a community where many family farms have gone out of business over the years.
“This is about jobs, and it’s good-paying jobs,” Crossen said. “We’re going to see license plates from other states coming here.”
Crossen said Edwards has an outstanding reputation in the communities where it has facilities. That includes seven in the United States. STAMP is the fifth new site developed by Edwards.
“They pay very well,” Crossen said. “These are middle-class jobs that people can rely on and raise a family on.”
Hope Knight, president and CEO of Empire State Development, addressed the crowd, including Sen. Schumer under a tent during the celebration on Tuesday.
“New York is the future of America’s semiconductor resurgence,” she said.
Other economic development officials also spoke, including Mark Masse, president of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, and Matt Hurlbutt, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise.
STAMP is a regional and state-wide asset as a mega-site with access to hydroelectricity and the workforce in Buffalo and Rochester and communities in the middle, the officials said.
“STAMP is a strategic site that can compete with any mega-site in the nation and world,” Masse said.
He stressed that attracting a company and project like the new site for Edwards Vacuum is very competitive. The CHIPS & Science Law and the new Tech Hub designation “have put upstate on the map,” Masse said.
“It takes cooperation at all levels to make economic development a reality,” he said.
Hurlbutt said the Rochester economic development officials are behind STAMP as an important asset for the region. The Edwards Vacuum project was known as “King Fisher” in a code while the officials tried to sway the company to come to STAMP.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Schumer’s support of the semiconductor industry bodes well for upstate, Western New York and STAMP, Hurlbutt said.
“We look forward to filling up the STAMP site,” he said.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer shakes hands with Kent Stobbart, vice president of operations for the semiconductor division of Edwards Vacuum and its parent company, Atlas Copco Group.
The STAMP sewer discharge has been controversial with Orleans County suing to block a pipeline from bringing treated sewer water from STAMP to the Oak Orchard Creek. A lawsuit from Orleans County was dismissed in court, but project has been blocked after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service terminated the permit for horizontal drilling.
The Genesee County Economic Development Center is proposing a different open-construction method and is seeking a permit to continue the pipeline along Route 63 to the Oak Orchard. With that unsettled, GCEDC is working to have STAMP sewer go to the Village of Oakfield. Sewer water also could be hauled by truck in the short term.
GCEDC said it will be working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Tonawanda Seneca Nation on the Route 63 pipeline, which is needed for a larger buildout of STAMP, a 1,250-acre manufacturing mega-site.
