Provided photos: Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) met with the Keeler family and leaders of Barre Stone Products.
Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley
BARRE – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) visited Barre Stone Products, Inc. on Thursday in Orleans County.
Barre Stone Products is located in the Town of Barre and is a fourth-generation, family-owned business. Their parent company, Keeler Construction Company, was incorporated in 1942 and has been working in highway construction for more than 60 years. They specialize in crushed stone products, hot mixed asphalt and agricultural lime. Hawley is happy to see local businesses thriving and making an impact in the community.
“I was thrilled and honored to spend almost two hours talking, listening and touring Barre Stone Products and Keeler Construction operations yesterday,” Hawley said. “Their expertise, financial investment in equipment and technology and good stewardship of their many contiguous acres in Orleans County is commendable. I thank Barre Stone Products for allowing me to tour their facilities and for their impact on Western New York’s economy.”
Provided photo: Crystalina Baumer and Abigail Glyshaw, both string musicians, were part of a music tour in Europe.
MIDDLEPORT – Two Royalton-Hartland string students participated in a European music tour, sponsored by American Music Abroad over the summer of 2023.
Crystalina Baumer (Graduate of Roy-Hart Class of 2023) played the cello in the orchestra and sang in the chorus. Abigail Glyshaw (Roy-Hart Class of 2025) played the viola in the orchestra.
Student musicians for the American Music Abroad Program are carefully selected on the basis of recommendations from their high school music teachers and/or musical achievement demonstrated on audition recordings. Musicians convene at a college for a pre-tour orientation and rehearsal session which include an introduction to European art and architecture, as well as guidelines for touring in Europe.
The focus of the American Music Abroad tour is trifold: musical, cultural and educational, based on the belief that music is truly an “international language.” While performing in Europe, the concerts provide a basis to bridge the gap between languages and culture so that, at least on the musical level, the participants and audience connect and communicate. The numerous cultural and educational experiences built into the tour range from folkloric evening to visits to castles and World War II concentration camps.
“My trip with American Music Abroad this summer was life changing and I came home as a better musician with experiences I’ll never forget,” said Abigail Glyshaw. “I got to learn so much about the local culture and history of the places I visited, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. As a group, we rehearsed for hours on end, which was reflected in how well everyone played and sang during our concerts. I had the amazing opportunity to better myself not only as a musician, but also as a person. I came home more mature, worldly, and with unforgettable memories of the trip that I was so lucky to be able to go on.”
“The universality of music is a concept often spoken about, but that idea gained a whole new meaning for me after traveling with American Music Abroad,” Crystalina Baumer said. “The music we made connected us to the European locals in a way that would not be possible on a typical tour. The locals had a certain joy at our arrival in each location which seemed to grow when we began playing or singing songs. When performing surrounded by peers, who may not have known each other prior, you could see a greater spark in our musicianship due to the contagiousness of our audiences’ enthusiasm. In these moments, traveling became so much more than new places and people. It morphed into the joining of people from near and far with the power of one commonality. The beauty of the places I saw on this trip will live on in my memories, but the hospitality and joy shared will exist in the music I make from now on.”
For more information on American Music Abroad, click here.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 25 August 2023 at 1:08 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Jan Heideman, left, combs out Sandy Dujenski’s hair at Orchard Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. She was recently recognized by staff for 50 years of service.
MEDINA – One thing residents of Orchard Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center look forward to is the weekly visit from hairdresser Jan Heideman of Lyndonville.
Heideman was recently honored by staff for her 50 years of attending to residents of the nursing home.
“The residents really look forward to her visits,” said activities director Jamie Murphy. “They just love her.”
Heideman came to the nursing home when it first opened. She was 19 and just graduated from Continental Beauty School in Rochester. One lady who came in every week for a manicure said she heard Orchard Manor was looking for a hairdresser.
“They had opened in June and this was August,” Heideman said. “I was the only one who applied and they hired me.”
“I’m the oldest employee there now,” she said. “I plan to work as long as I possibly can. I love my job and I love the people.”
Heideman used to visit Clover Hill in Albion and Applegate in Medina, but they are now both closed. She still visits Orchard Manor and the hospital’s North Wing a day and a half each.
“I look forward to her coming every week,” said Sandy Dujenski, a resident of Orchard Manor. “It is a highlight of my week.”
Heideman cuts their hair, colors it and gives perms, she said.
Provided photo: Staff at Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center celebrated recently with hairdresser Jan Heideman on her 50th anniversary of doing the hair of residents. From left are Jenna Cracknell, administrator; Jamie Murphy, activities director; Heideman; Kristina Smith, business office manager; RoseAnn Velesko, social worker; Laurie Seager, activities aide; and Desiree Braham, MDS coordinator.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 August 2023 at 8:36 am
HOLLEY – The Holley Board of Education has approved the tax warrant which sets varying tax rates for the towns in the school district.
The rates vary from a low of $16.97 in Clarkson to $26.56 in Albion. The rates vary depending on the equalization rate, or how close the property assessments are to full market value.
In the Holley school district, only Clarkson is at full market value with a 100 percent equalization rate.
Holley will collect $7,835,466 in school taxes and $200,815 in library taxes. The school taxes are up by 1.49 percent or by $115,034 the $7,720,432 in 2022-23.
The district includes the towns of Clarendon, Murray, Albion and Barre in Orleans County, and the Clarkson in Monroe County.
Here are the rates per town for the district:
• Albion – $26.56 rate ($26.17 in 2022-23), total assessment in HCS at $59,000, equalization rate – 74 percent.
• Barre – $18.94 rate ($18.78 in 2022-23), total assessment in HCS at $1,733,467, equalization rate – 90 percent
• Clarendon – $18.88 rate ($18.81 in 2022-23), total assessment in HCS at $200,403,434, equalization rate – 90 percent
• Murray – $24.27 rate ($24.11 in 2022-23), total assessment in HCS at $162,871,748, equalization rate – 70 percent
• Clarkson – $16.97 rate ($21.85 in 2022-23), total assessment in HCS at $3,786,845, equalization rate – 100 percent
Total assessed value is $368,846,994. However, when adjusted for the equalization rate, the full value is $461,137,057. The overall tax rate at $21.24, compared to $21.19 in 2022-23.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 August 2023 at 7:53 am
ALBION – The fire chiefs in Orleans County, as well as the Orleans County Fire Advisory Board, are urging county officials to keep working to replace the emergency management building on West Countyhouse Road.
That building opened in 1962 as a bomb shelter. It is mostly below ground. The site is about 8,000 square feet and lacks handicapped accessibility. County officials are eyeing a new building that would be about twice the space.
“The present facility is woefully outdated and incompatible with the needs of the Office of Emergency Management and the fire service of Orleans County,” wrote Allen Turner in an Aug. 16 letter. He is secretary/treasurer for the Fire Chiefs Association and secretary for the Fire Advisory Board.
“A proper building that is ADA compliant, technologically up-to-date and that allows for large group instruction is both necessary and long overdue,” Turner wrote.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was in Albion last Friday to present a $2 million check towards the project which is an estimated $12 million. The county is also seeking $2.4 million from the state towards a new building.
“We realize the cost is substantial but it is also necessary,” Turner wrote to county legislators. “The building built during the heart of the Cold War period is simply not amenable to the needs of 2023. Please do all in your power to make a new, modern facility a reality.”
The new building is planned to be about 17,000 feet. That includes about 11,000 square feet for offices and classrooms, and another 5,600 square feet for equipment storage.
The county’s backup dispatcher center would be there, as well as training space for firefighters and other first responders. There are three full-time employees that work out of the building as well as part-time fire investigators and fire coordinators. There is also space for ham operators to operate if the communications systems totally fail.
The $12 million preliminary price for the new project includes taking down two radio towers – one is 485 feet tall and the other is 225 feet – and replacing them with one tower that would be about 300 feet high. The old underground building would also be demolished as part of the project.
County officials are working with LaBella Associates to develop more detailed plans and designs for the facility.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announces a $2 million federal grant towards a new emergency management facility for Orleans County. She is shown on Aug. 17 speaking outside the current building.
Governor Kathy Hochul today called on President Biden to take executive action and direct additional federal resources to the State of New York as it manages the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers arriving in New York.
In a formal request sent to the White House this morning, Governor Hochul outlined specific, outstanding requests, including expedited work authorizations for asylum seekers, financial assistance for New York City and New York State, the use of federal land and facilities for temporary shelter sites, and Title 32 designation to provide federal funding for the nearly 2,000 New York National Guard members currently providing logistical and operational support across the State.
“For over a year, I have called for federal assistance and support for New York as we manage the unprecedented number of asylum seekers arriving in our state,” Governor Hochul said. “New York cannot continue to do this on its own. It is past time for President Biden to take action and provide New York with the aid needed to continue managing this ongoing crisis.”
Governor Hochul also announced a program that will greatly expand the State’s ability to help asylum seekers quickly gain lawful employment. Governor Hochul directed the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) to help connect asylum seekers to employment opportunities so they can begin working immediately after obtaining federal work authorization.
All asylum seekers with work authorization in New York can now register for assistance here. DOL career experts will work with individuals to assess skills, work history, education, career interests and more, and connect them with employers across the State. Additionally, the New York State Department of Labor launched a portal enabling businesses to inform the State that they would welcome newly-authorized individuals into their workforce.
Today’s actions are Governor Hochul’s latest efforts to address the arrival of asylum seekers and migrants in New York. Earlier this week, Governor Hochul announced a $20 million investment to help expedite the casework filing process for more than 30,000 asylum seekers. This investment builds on the $1.5 billion the State already committed to support New York City by providing funding for health care, shelter costs, National Guard personnel, legal services, and voluntary relocation programs. The State has also loaned New York City sites to use as temporary shelters which currently house more than 2,000 asylum seekers every day.
Congressman Joe Morelle of Rochester said, “I am grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership in dealing with the large number of asylum seekers in New York State. I believe strongly in work requirements for all who seek asylum in the United States and am proud to partner with the Governor on common sense changes to asylum rules. I will continue to push for federal aid to ensure asylees can support their families and live independently.”
Heather Mulligan, President & CEO of the Business Council of New York State, said, “Businesses across New York are looking for workers, and that’s why The Business Council of New York State supports Governor Hochul’s call for federal aid to address this crisis. We have workers ready to work and employers ready to hire them — as long as the work authorization arrives. We appreciate the Governor’s commitment to boosting jobs and economic growth.”
Robert Duffy, President and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, said, “Economic growth requires a strong and talented workforce, an area of need for Greater Rochester and communities around the state and nation. We encourage the federal government to grant work authorization to the thousands of asylum seekers who are eager to work, and we stand ready to help these hard-working men and women get placed into jobs once they are eligible. We thank Governor Hochul for her strong leadership on this issue and we join and support her call for federal support that will help catalyze our region’s success.”
There are jobs and opportunities in New York for people who can legally work, and with federal support, we can make this a reality for asylum seekers.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2023 at 7:33 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has extended a contract with sheriff’s deputies, allowing 2 percent raises annually from 2024 to 2026.
The agreement include 24 members in the Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. The contract includes changes in the steps.
The deputies had a hiring step which was below a step 1 and went up to step 6, said Jack Welch, the county chief administrative officer.
“We still have a hiring step but now there are four steps,” Welch said. “The current deputies at the highest step will be placed in step 3 for 2023 and step 4 for 2024.”
The sergeants’ grade and the lieutenants’ grade each had seven steps, but now of these grades have four steps, he said.
“The employees in step 7 will go to the new step 4 for 2023 and remain in step 4 for 2024,” Welch said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2023 at 11:28 am
County Legislator Don Allport
ALBION – Orleans County Legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines, would like to see the sales tax rate in the county drop by a penny, from 8 to 7 cents.
Allport said residents have felt the squeeze in their pocketbooks from soaring inflation. Reducing the sales tax by a penny would add up in a big way for many residents and businesses, Allport said during Tuesday’s County Legislature meeting.
The state and county each take in 4 cents for every taxable dollar. Those 4 cents added up to $22.5 million for Orleans County in 2022, with about $1.3 million of that distributed to the 10 towns and four villages.
The county used to get 3 cents, but raised it to 4 cents on June 1, 1993. The county needs State Legislature permission every two years to keep the 4-cent tax.
That extra penny translates to about $5.6 million. Without that, the county would face a steep property tax increase or would have to significantly scale back services, other county legislators said.
Allport cast the lone vote against seeking to keep the local sales tax rate at 4 cents.
“If we were allowed to go back to 3 percent that would put $5 million back into the economy,” Allport said. “We should be lowering taxes on the economy.”
KNOWLESVILLE – Attention all Orleans County parents/caregivers: There will be a child car seat check point event on Saturday at Orleans County Fairgrounds on Route 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ranging from the ages of 1 to 13. Preventative measures, such as proper installation of car seats, boosters and seat belts can lower many deaths and injuries.
Informing and instructing parents and caregivers on child safety and proper installation of car seats is critical to saving young lives.
Our certified child passenger safety technicians will inspect your car/booster seats to assure that your child is in the correct seat for their size and age.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2023 at 9:34 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans County Historian Catherine Cooper leads a tour of old St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Sunday evening in Albion. Here she stops at the gravesites for the Spada family.
Francesco Spada (1864-1933) and Melania Spada (1871-1951) had 12 children, but only six survived. One of their sons, Peter (Pietro) died in 1907 after jumping off a canal bridge. The loss of their teen-age son devastated Francesco, a quarryman, who made the grave marker out of Medina sandstone. He poured his grief and love into the grave marker.
Francesco later contracted polio, Cooper said.
He came to Orleans County from Alfedena, Italy, a community where many of the quarry artisans lived before coming to work in the Medina sandstone quarries.
Catherine Cooper and a group of about 50 people on the tour are near the entrance of St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Brown Road. The 3-acre cemetery opened in 1873 and has about 1,500 burials.
It closed in the early 1920s when the Catholics opened a new St. Joseph’s cemetery on Route 31. There have been burials in the older cemetery in recent years at some of the family plots.
Catherine Cooper shows the grave stone for Patrick McCabe, an Irish immigrant who died at age 75 in 1874.
St. Joseph’s is the final resting place for many Italian, Irish, German and Polish immigrants who were Catholics.
The cemetery was also known as “Holy Cross Cemetery.” Many of the gravestones have crosses carved in the stone or prominently featured at the top of the grave markers.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, noted that many of the gravestones and monuments were made of Medina sandstone. That differs from the sites at Mount Albion Cemetery, where granite and other stone were more sought after. Those families didn’t want a common stone, often used for curbs and street pavers, for grave monuments.
But at St. Joseph’s, where many of the immigrants worked in the quarries, they wanted the Medina sandstone. That stone is what sustained many families in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Bill Lattin said many of the symbols and images carved into the stone are great examples of folk art. These hands, a man’s at right and woman’s at left, are on a monument written in Italian.
A statue of Mary is set on a big base of Medina sandstone. Two of the statues at the cemetery used to be down the street at the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church. They were moved after the church was closed by the Catholic Diocese in 2007.
Catherine Cooper stops by the grave for Civil War veteran John Frost. A new headstone for Frost was unveiled in 2016 as a project by Albion seventh-graders and former County Historian Matt Ballard.
A review of cemetery records showed Frost did not have a headstone. Frost was a principal musician (chief bugler) for the 33rd New York Infantry and also the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division of 6th Corps.
The seventh-graders worked with the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans and Niagara counties to secure a headstone for Frost. The marble stone was unveiled on April 30, 2016 during a service at the cemetery.
Frost was born in England on June 22, 1836. At age 13 he left for the United States with his father John and brother Edward on the Northumberland. They arrived in New York City on April 18, 1850 and moved to South Barre. In 1860, Frost was working as a farmer. He enlisted in the Union Army in his mid-20s and served three years.
Frost had the rank of musician, which was just below corporal and just above private. In the Civil War, musicians were relied upon to entertain troops, position troops in battle and stir them on to victory.
Frost, according to the 1880 Census, was married to Margaret Cusack and had five children, ages 14, 11, 9, 6 and 4.
The tour at St. Joseph’s was part of Sunday evening cemetery tours this month, a series planned by the Orleans County Historical Association. The final tour is this Sunday at 6 p.m. at Boxwood Cemetery in Medina. Todd Bensley, the Medina historian, is leading the tour.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 24 August 2023 at 6:00 am
KNOWLESVILLE – The installation of solar panels on the roof of the Knights Building at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds has finally been given the go-ahead.
Seventy-seven solar panels will be installed on the Knights Building roof, and will take about a week to complete. The installation should start Sept. 25.
The panels were scheduled to be ready before this year’s fair, but inspection in the spring revealed the roof rafters were not strong enough to accommodate solar panels, so additional support was needed.
This was a cost not anticipated, said Robert Batt, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. However, he said the Extension board built an amount into the budget to allow for them to contribute to the cost of the solar panels. The additional cost for the supports was $8,000, above the $65,000 expense for the panels.
Batt got the idea for the solar panels from another Extension director he met two years ago at a YMCA camp. That person informed Batt of a man in California who founded Everybody Solar, a company which helps non-profits solicit donations for solar panels. Everybody Solar will contact companies and foundations in the applicant’s area and raise the amount needed to fund their project.
“They were originally scheduled to be completed by June,” Batt said. “I was hoping they could be installed by the fair, so people would look around and say, ‘This is all powered by the sun.’ Now we’ll have to wait until next year.”
Batt estimates the power sold back to the grid will take care of the fairgrounds’ power bill.
He said they will still accept donations toward the extra $8,000 cost, so the board doesn’t have to come up with all of it.
POINT BREEZE – Albion’s Class of 1963 held their 60th reunion on Aug. 5 at the Lakeland in Point Breeze. Thirty-eight members of the class attended the reunion.
Pictured from left, front row: Cheryl Weits Wright, Carol Smith Hamilton, Carolyn Zambito DeMonte, Cherie Earley Holahan, Linda Anderson Heron Wind, Carolyn Ward Plain, Sharon Hughes Plummer, Judy Allen Manley, Shirley Gibson Holcomb, Linda Stritzel Schilstra, Betty Narburgh Bloom, Marilyn Frank Champany, Catherine Karns Moore, Linda DeCarlo, Brenda Waldo Ross, Margaret Curtis Gibbs and Donald Gibbs.
Row 2: James Zambito, David Westland, Charles Hucknall, Ellen Fenton Hucknall, Marbeth Wigley Haist, Jerry Saeva, Carol Kendrick Porter, Linda Palmer Hayes, Linda Fraser, Bill Pilon and Gordon Gillette.
Back row: George Buckland, Jack Miles, Sybil Townsand Sommers, Mike Donahue, Linda Harding Prince, Gerry Suhr, Bill Lattin, Gary Derwick and Larry Holliday.
In attendance but absent from the photo: Carol McKenna Pilon.
Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments
Provided photo: A Health Department official uses tick dragging to try to collect of host-seeking ticks
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) encourage residents to protect themselves, their children and their pets from tick-borne diseases.
Not all ticks can cause disease and not all bites will make you sick, but as ticks become more widespread, there is a higher risk the ticks will carry disease. It is important to learn how to prevent a bite, how to check for ticks, how to remove a tick and what to do if you think you could have a tick-borne disease.
“Lyme disease is endemic (widespread) throughout New York State,” said Brenden Bedard, Director of Community Health Services for GO Health.
“Lyme disease is also the most common disease spread by ticks in New York, but there are other serious diseases ticks spread including Anaplasmosis, Erhichioisis, Babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,” Bedard said. “There are many different species of ticks, but locally the most common is the deer tick. The deer tick is a vector (carrier) for several diseases (Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis) and received the name because of its habit of living and feeding on white-tailed deer, however ticks acquire Lyme disease by feeding on infected mice and other small rodents.”
According to the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, Genesee and Orleans counties have had 36 local cases of Lyme disease between 2018-2020, said Paul Pettit, Public Health Director for GO Health.
“Ticks are here locally and you can’t tell which are infected by disease or not,” he said.
Ticks are found in many types of settings such as woodlands, tree stumps, lawns and gardens, around stone walls, nature trails, outdoor summer camps, and playing fields. Ticks do not jump or fly, they attach to their host when a human or animal makes contact with something that a tick is on, like tall grass, shrubs, or an animal.
The risk of human infection with Lyme disease is greatest in late spring and summer, but ticks can be active any time the temperature is above freezing.
“We know the ticks that cause Lyme disease are in Western New York, that is why it is so important to make sure you do regular checks for ticks while outdoors and when you first get home,” Pettit said. “It is also important to check pets for ticks after they spend time outdoors.”
GO Health started conducting local tick surveillance in both counties this month. Tick dragging is a widely used technique for active collection of host-seeking ticks and is done by dragging a cloth over the top of vegetation and regularly checking it for the presence of ticks. The collected ticks are sent to the laboratory and tested for the presence of tick-borne diseases. Over the next few months, health department staff will continue tick dragging in local parks and public places.
To prevent tick-borne illness exposure while outdoors, you and your family can do the following:
Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently while outdoors.
Use insect repellent with 20-30% DEET. Follow use instructions.
Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid dense woods and busy areas.
Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.
Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (also check children and pets), and remove ticks promptly.
Additional prevention tips to create a tick-free zone in your backyard to keep you, your family and pets safe from tick exposure include:
Keep grass mowed, along with clearing tall grasses and brush.
Remove brush and leaves around stonewalls and woodpiles.
Keep woodpiles and bird feeders away from your home.
Keep family dogs and cats out of wooded areas to reduce ticks brought into your home.
Place swing sets, sand boxes, decks and patios in a sunny spot away from yard edges and trees.
Place a 3-foot wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas and around patios and play equipment.
Removing a Tick
To properly remove a tick, you should use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the ticks by its mouthparts, as close to the surface of the skin as you can. Carefully pull the tick straight up without twisting.
Do not touch the tick. Do not squeeze the body of the tick (it may increase your risk of infection). Clean your hands and the areas on your skin where the tick was. Watch the site of the bite for rash (3-30 days after bite).
Removing a tick within 36 hours of attachment to the skin can lower the risk of contracting Lyme disease. You can view a video to learn more about what you can do if you find a tick attached to you. (Click here to see it.)
To learn more about ticks, Lyme disease and other diseases ticks can spread visit the New York State Department of Health, click here.
For more information on Health Department programs and services, visit GOHealthNY.org or call your respective health department at:
To properly remove a tick, you should use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the ticks by its mouthparts, as close to the surface of the skin as you can. Carefully pull the tick straight up without twisting.
