Press Release, Genesee & Orleans Health Departments

ALBION – The Orleans County Health Department is seeking information about the location of a dog and its owner following a dog bite incident on Wednesday, February 21, around 8 p.m.

The incident occurred in a yard on Holley Road near Riches Corners Road. After the incident, the dog was seen heading south towards East County House Road.

The dog was medium-sized, similar in size to a Labrador, and had large patches of black and white on its fur.

The Health Department is trying to avoid unnecessary medical treatment for the victim, so it is important to locate the dog to determine whether or not it is current on its rabies vaccination. If the vaccination status of the dog cannot be identified, post-exposure rabies shots will be recommended to the victim.

If you have information about the location of the dog and its owner, please contact the Orleans County Health Department at 585-589-3278.

Zoning change recommended for truck terminal in Shelby

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is recommending the Town of Ridgeway approve a business that stores and rents trailers for road use.

Reginald Cichocki wants to park and store empty trailers at 12620 Ridge Rd. in a general business district. Cichocki could have up to 100 empty trailers on the site.

He also will have a 6-foot-high chain link fence along the roadside that would be 350 feet long with a 30-foot sliding gate.

The fence will provide a barrier for safety and offer some privacy from the surrounding area and passing vehicles, county planners said.

In another referral, the Planning Board on Thursday recommended the Town of Shelby change the zoning at 11697 Sanderson Rd. from agricultural/residential to general commercial.

This 6.3-acre property has been a truck terminal for at least 50 years, planners said. The property should have been zoned for business many years ago but Dan Wolfe, the Shelby code enforcement officer, said the town appears to have made an oversight.

Planners were concerned the change could be seen as “spot zoning” but the property is near the ethanol plant on Route 31A and touches a light industrial district.

“It should be rezoned general business,” Wolfe said about the property that is listed for sale. “It gives more options to prospective businesses.”

Planners also voted to keep Brian Napoli of Ridgeway as the board’s chairman and Dan Strong of Carlton as the vice chairman.

‘These grants are particularly focused on post-prom and graduation activities that provide students with a place to go where they can have fun without the presence of any alcohol or drugs.’

Press Release, Orleans County Youth Bureau

ALBION – The Orleans County Youth Bureau, on behalf of Orleans County STOP-DWI, today announced it is accepting applications for funding in support of safe and structured school activities in alcohol-and drug-free environments.

Any student or school personnel from an Orleans County school district can submit an application.

“These grants are particularly focused on post-prom and graduation activities that provide students with a place to go where they can have fun without the presence of any alcohol or drugs,” said Jack Welch, chief administrative office of Orleans County.  “Grants can be used in support of things like hiring a DJ, renting a speaker system or purchasing supplies to create an entertaining event. Our goal is to promote a safe and healthy prom and graduation season.”

Grant awards will be based on availability of funds and school districts can only receive one grant per year. All grant applications are due by March 29.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of community members. Awardees will be notified by the middle of April. A copy of the application can be found by clicking here. Those with questions can email the Youth Bureau at OrleansCountyYouthBureau@OrleanscountyNY.gov.

Press Release, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) announced that her office is accepting submissions for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition from high school students in New York’s 24th District.

Since 1982, high school students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories have been invited by members of the U.S. House of Representatives to participate in this esteemed nationwide art competition. Over the years, this competition has provided a platform for over 10,000 works of art to be exhibited and celebrated.

The contest winner will have their artwork displayed in the prestigious halls of the United States Capitol for an entire year. Additionally, they will be given the exciting opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., to witness their masterpiece showcased at the Capitol. Southwest Airlines is donating two round-trip tickets for the winner and a guest to attend this year’s celebration on June 27.

All submissions must be delivered to one of Tenney’s district offices by the close of business on Friday, April 19. Additional information about the competition, including guidelines and student release forms required to participate, can be found by clicking here or by calling Tenney’s District office at (716) 514-5130.

Press Release, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library

MEDINA – Resiliency kits are now available for checkout at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.

Life is full of challenges and stressors for the little ones in your life. These kits are to help teach your child how to manage their “big emotions.” Teaching coping skills, social skills and emotional regulation will help your child be better prepared for the future.

The library has 18 resiliency kits available for two weeks at a time. They range in theme from “Happiness” to “Anger” to “Overwhelmed.”

In addition to Resiliency kits, we also circulate Discovery Kits, for hands on STEM learning, and Little Learners kits, for teaching the building blocks of literacy. All kits must be borrowed from and returned to Medina. Contact the library for more information.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Rochester pianist Gregg Herman practices on the new piano in the Harvest restaurant at Bent’s Opera House.

MEDINA – Diners at the Harvest restaurant in Bent’s Opera House can now enjoy music with their meals, with the addition of a new piano.

The piano was a Christmas gift from Bent’s owner Roger Hungerford to his wife Heather, who has always loved the piano and wanted to learn how to play.

“Growing up in a family of nine children, it was difficult to afford piano lessons” Heather said. “When Roger learned Denton, Cottier and Daniels in Buffalo was closing, he said we should go and look at purchasing one. Rather than put it in our house, I thought adding a piano here in this historic building would be a wonderful thing. Now everyone can enjoy it.”

She is hoping she and daughter Isabella can take lessons together this summer.

On a recent Thursday night, Rochester pianist Gregg Herman played music for diners. He has been playing jazz since he was 10.

“I’m looking forward to experiencing this wonderful place,” Herman said, as he sat down at the piano.

On nights when there isn’t a pianist, diners will be able to listen to dinner music, as the instrument is a player piano. It has been placed in the front window in the room off the bar, which will now be known as the “Piano Lounge.”

Walk-ins will now be welcome to stop in for a cocktail or order a meal, while they listen to the music, Heather said.

Justin Bruce, operations manager at Harvest, said they are thrilled to be able to provide an additional space where people can come in and relax.

“This is more casual,” he said. “We now offer something for everybody.”

Harvest is open for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, click here.

Gregg Herman likes the new piano at Harvest.

Structural discrimination from state leads to high taxes locally, neglected infrastructure

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Village of Albion has low water pressure on the east side of the village and has put plastic bags on fire hydrants on East State Street so firefighters don’t use them. It’s part of an aging infrastructure showing lots of wear and tear.

Town and village leaders in Orleans County and across the state have failed to fight for a long overdue increase in state aid through the AIM program. They need to holler but can’t muster a whisper.

The state sets aside $715 million annually through Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM). The cities get 90.5 percent of this money, with most small cities getting $100 to $150 per capita in aid.

The city of Salamanca, which is similar in size to both the villages of Medina and Albion, collects $928,131 in AIM funding or $156 per person for its 5,929 residents.

Medina, population 6,047, gets a lowly $45,523 in aid, while Albion with 5,637 residents, gets even less at $38,811. That is a meager per capita of less than $8 for Orleans County’s two largest villages.

It is infuriating to see the disparity of money given to small cities compared to similar-size villages that offer comparable services. But you don’t hear much griping from our local officials or our state representatives.

Orleans Hub calculations based on U.S. Census population statistics in 2020 and funding amounts from the NYS Division of the Budget.

I realize we are proud people who think we can manage our way out of what has turned into a crisis of high taxes and neglected infrastructure. But we need more revenue, outside of property taxes, especially for our villages.

Look at Medina facing a $1.7 million expense for a new ladder truck and an estimate of $6 million for an addition to its fire hall. Those projects will be a huge tax hit to a village that already has the highest tax rate in the Finger Lakes at $21.15 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The bond payment for the fire truck would be about $160,000 a year over 20 years. The fire hall will likely be even higher than that. And both payments are already on a strapped village where it feels the taxpayers are tapped out.

If only Medina was treated like a small city by the state with AIM. The village could easily handle those new bond payments and it’s high tax rate would be much lower.

The state started AIM in 2006 as a revenue-sharing program with cities, towns and villages. It gave the vast majority of the money to cities, which often have high poverty concentrations and greater demand for services.

The state should develop a metric that looks at poverty levels in communities, the tax burden on residents and the services offered by the municipalities. Right now, it doesn’t make much sense why there is such a disparity in the payments, and that includes among the cities where some get much more than others.

Of the $715 million in AIM, the cities get $647.1 million, while towns statewide receive $47.9 million, and villages share $19.7 million.

This money is a small chunk of what the state brings in sales tax each year and is intended to help municipalities pay for some of their critical services.

In Orleans County, the state takes in close to $25 million in sales tax with its 4 percent share, or half of the 8-cent tax on purchases.

Orleans County only gets $381,897 total in AIM funding. That is $108,371 for the four villages: Albion, $38,811; Holley, $17,786; Lyndonville, $6,251; and Medina, $45,523.

The 10 towns collectively receive $273,526, which includes Albion, $46,944; Barre, $12,486; Carlton, $13,680; Clarendon, $11,416; Gaines, $21,323; Kendall, $21,299; Murray, $44,677; Ridgeway, $46,273; Shelby, $45,007; and Yates, $10,421.

The AIM amounts haven’t increased in 15 years for anyone, even as the state budget has grown at a breakneck pace, from $132 billion in 2009-10, to $142 billion in 2013-14, to $229 billion in 2023-24, to the governor’s proposed budget for 2024-25 at $223 billion.

If state legislators and the governor don’t want to increase AIM significantly, they could first start by looking at the AIM payments to villages. Those payments could be multiplied by 10 and still be short of what small cities are getting.

A good start would be tripling the payments in the new budget. That would cost the state about another $40 million. If that happened, the Orleans County villages of Medina would get about $91,046 more, with Albion at another $77,622, Holley at $35,572 and Lyndonville at $12,502.

This wouldn’t be a transformative difference, but it would help. In Medina, for example, the village takes in $3,786,964 in property taxes. Another $91,046 in AIM would represent 2.4 percent of the tax levy.

I would focus on the villages first because they have police protection which isn’t offered by the local towns. The village police save the state (and county Sheriff’s Office) from paying more for additional officers and deputies.

The state should develop a formula for how it gives out this money, much like it does for school districts where it factors in services, enrollment or population, community wealth and several other factors. With AIM, there is no rationale for why some get much more – or less – than others.

Our elected representatives in the state government have failed us in Orleans County with this issue. They don’t speak out about such a glaring disparity in state aid to our villages and towns, compared to small cities in the state.

State Sen. Rob Ortt and Assemblyman Steve Hawley have had news conferences in the past month seeking more state funding for school districts and with CHIPS money for road paving.

These two are both articulate and forceful speakers. They should take up the cause of the gross AIM disparity for the towns and villages. I’d like to see press conferences and press releases with fiery rhetoric about this issue. They could stand outside the Medina fire hall, or by Albion’s off-limits fire hydrants.

The Albion village sign on Moore Street is in front of a fire hydrant that is bagged due to insufficient water pressure.

More state funding for the towns and villages would bring in new revenue to help knock down taxes and maintain services.

Orleans Hub has written about this issue many times in the past decade. There hasn’t been a sustained charge from our local team of officials – village, town, county and state – about how to press the state and rectify a situation where we are clearly getting shafted.

When others have faced discrimination, they have marched to help bring awareness to their plight. They have bandied together and not accepted second-class treatment.

Statewide a powerful display would be carrying a torch from one end of the state to the other, with mayors, DPW workers, police officers, clerks, firefighters and residents of villages and towns walking together, and then handing off the torch to the next town.

It should be delivered in the state capital with a massive rally of our small-town people, showing the Legislature and governor that there is work being done at all levels of government, not just cities. There are poor people and middle-class residents in towns and villages, too, who could use a break in their property taxes if more AIM came to their town or village. Our DPW could use updated plow trucks, rather than vehicles more than 20 years old.

Our firefighters would welcome dependable fire trucks that aren’t nearly 30 years old. They should be able to use fire hydrants that spew out a powerful stream of water, rather than a trickle.

I realize a statewide effort would be hard to coordinate. Orleans County could be the leader. I’d like to see Orleans municipalities and their elected officials, employees and residents have a march from one end of the county to the other, going 25 miles along Route 31, or 104 or the towpath.

I don’t understand the meekness with the issue. Our small towns and villages should follow the example of Rosa Parks, who refused to go to the back of the bus.

ALBION – The Albion Village Board won’t seek about $2,000 from the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern in late payments for rent.

The board approved a higher rate for GOMOC to start on Oct. 1. The rent for the third floor space at the Albion Visitor’s Center went from $1,146.67 to $1,550.96 a month, which includes utilities.

Jami Allport, the GOMOC director, last week asked the board for a smaller rent increase, perhaps 2 or 4 percent. She said the 35 percent increase was too high and would likely force the agency to find another place.

The board in a 3-1 vote kept the rent at the $1,550.96 amount. However, the board agreed to not start the higher cost until March 1. The board won’t seek about $2,000 owed over the five months in the higher rate.

GOMOC never signed the lease at the higher rate so the board believed it could give them a break.

“I think that was beautiful of them and we really appreciate that,” Allport said today about the reprieve.

She said she and the board of directors are considering the lease at the higher rate. The village would like GOMOC to commit to a year with the lease, from March 1 to Feb. 28.

Allport said the agency has other options, and could put its office in another community in Genesee or Orleans counties.

“People have been contacting us,” she said. “We are looking at other options. We’re keeping our eyes open.”

She would prefer to stay in Albion. She said Orleans residents account for more than double the people from Genesee that are served by the agency.

“We’d like to stay in the Village of Albion but we don’t have to,” she said. “The need is great here.”

The Ministry of Concern uses 2,386 square feet on the third floor of the building at 121 North Main St. GOMOC was previously paying 48 cents a square foot. With the new rate at $1,550.96, the square footage is 65 cents a month.

That is below the $1.65 a foot paid by Assemblyman Steve Hawley for 860 square feet on the first floor ($1,416.77 total); $1.30 by the Orleans Economic Development Agency for 1,686 square feet on the second floor ($2,196.06 total); and the $1.40 a foot for Darlene Benton of Paradise Healing Arts, who uses 289 square feet for $405 a month.

Photo from Orleans County Sheriff’s Office

ROCHESTER – Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke speaks during a “Reuniting A Heart” ceremony in Rochester on Wednesday.

A Purple Heart that was awarded 1st Lieutenant Herbert W. Stanford was returned to his family. The medal had been in evidence storage in the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Investigator Kevin Colonna was doing routine evidence management when he saw the medal and then worked to identify who it belonged to and to get it back to his family.

Stanford was a P-47 fighter pilot who was shot down in France during World War II. He was killed in the plane crash. His medal was donated to a museum in Brockport and was stolen about 20 years ago by thieves.

Colonna teamed with Bill Scribner, a retired Albion police officer who now is the police chief for the VA Finger Lakes. The medal had a number on it and then were able to connect it to Stanford, a Brockport High School graduate.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has authorized the county’s director of emergency management to form a countywide technical rescue team.

Justin Niederhofer, emergency management director, said the team will include firefighters from multiple departments in the county who will be trained together and will practice on the different rescue equipment among departments.

Niederhofer said the new team will be trained for highly technical rescues, such as rope rescues, grain entrapment and water rescues.

The move to a countywide team is in response to a declining number of volunteers at many of the departments, Niederhofer said at Tuesday’s Legislature meeting.

Carlton, Clarendon, Medina, Murray and Shelby fire departments each have equipment for technical rescues. Firefighters from those departments, as well as other departments without that equipment, will have an opportunity to be trained to be on the technical rescue team.

Not all departments with rescue equipment have the same gear. The team will train on each department’s equipment to be familiar with the ropes, harnesses and other tools. Some departments also have grain rescue equipment which includes steel plates and an augur. The team members will also have wet suits for going into the water.

Niederhofer said firefighters deploy rope rescues when people are stuck down ravines and embankments.

The formation of the team will also increase the chances for grant funding for equipment and training, Niederhofer said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Dave Beach, pastor of the Gaines Carlton Community Church, shares a message on Wednesday during the first Lenten luncheon served at the First Baptist Church of Albion at 30 West Park St.

The Baptist church is hosting Lenten lunches from noon to about 1 p.m. on Wednesdays until March 20.

Churches take turns preparing the lunches with soup, sandwiches and cookies. They also have a different local pastor share a message each week.

The remaining schedule for the churches preparing the meals includes: February 28 – Albion Presbyterian & Gaines Congregational; March 6 – Eagle Harbor Methodist; March 13 – West Barre Church; and March 20 – Holy Family Parish.

About 50 people attended the luncheon on Wednesday.

The Medina Area Association of Churches also sponsors a series of ecumenical Lenten lunches, which started Feb. 15 at the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street. The lunches will take place each Thursday during Lent until March 21.

Lunches are free and includes soup and sandwiches, with singing and devotionals after lunch. Churches take turns preparing the meals and sharing a message.

Fundraiser in memory of Tim Drake Jr. will support young wrestlers

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Mike Sanders, center, holds a $1,400 ceremonial check from the Elk Riders at the Albion Elks Lodge 1006 on Wednesday evening. Sanders is president of the Purple Eagle Wrestling Academy, which serves about 100 kids ages 4 to 12. They are based out of the former Apollo restaurant on Route 31 in Albion.

Sanders is joined by in front row from left, Tim and Kathy Drake, and Elk Riders President Mike Jenks and Vice President Mike Clemons, and other members of the group.

The money came from a garbage plate dinner on Jan. 12. The Elks served 116 dinners and many people also donated to a fund in memory of Tim Drake Jr., a star wrestler in high school at Albion. Drake passed away from cancer at age 22 on Jan. 2, 2021.

The Elks want to make the dinner an annual event and continue to give the proceeds to the Wrestling Academy.

Tim and Kathy Drake hold a picture of their son. Tim Jr. graduated from Albion High School in 2016. He wrestled and played football, and also was an avid motocross racer. He also loved to go hunting. Tim Jr. had a tattoo with the words: “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”

His father said the sport of wrestling helped shape his son into a hard-worker. Tim Jr. was aware the sport could be expensive especially with wrestling shoes. He would give some of his best shoes to other wrestlers, his father said.

Mike Sanders outlines the programs offered by the Wrestling Academy. A group of volunteer coaches runs the program that meets five evenings a week during a four- to five-month season. The program is finishing up its fifth year.

The $1,400 will help the Wrestling Academy pay for some tournament fees and other expenses for some of the kids to be in the program, Sanders said.