Provided photo: Candace Pitts holds her award as employee of the year.

MEDINA – Iroquois Job Corps has recognized a dedicated employee for her ongoing efforts toward guiding students throughout their journey at the Job Corps center in the Town of Shelby.

Candace Pitts was recently named the Job Corps “Employee of the Year” for 2022.

Her honor is a result of selflessly altering her work schedule to help with getting students to and from their work-based learning jobs, according to Jen Barr, senior administrative assistant at Job Corps.

Pitts has gone above and beyond to make connections with communities for partnerships for the work-based learning program, Barr said.

“Ms. Pitts often has lines of students waiting for her outside her door and she makes time to talk to each one individually to address all of their questions or concerns,” Barr said. “The results she has achieved are impressive. We are grateful to have her as our compassionate and caring teammate who is always willing to go above and beyond.”

Provided photo

ALBION – The Orleans County Jail on Friday gave a tour to 28 students from the Orleans-Niagara BOCES Security and Law Enforcement class.

The jail tour was conducted by Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson, Lieutenant Christopher Caufield and Sergeant Christopher Shabazz. The students were able to see all of the jail operations which included inmate processing, facility kitchen operations, visitation, recreation, jail educational programming, CAP court procedures, inmate transports and jail medical operations.

Pictured are BOCES students, teachers Gene Newman and  Dudley Gilbert, and Lieutenant Caufield (front left), Sergeant Shabazz (front center) and Superintendent Wilson (front right).

Photo courtesy of Orleans County Sheriff’s Office: The driver of this truck was stranded for nearly 15 hours in the vehicle on Salt Works Road in Shelby before being transported to safety on Dec. 24.

ALBION – Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today she is seeking a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden for three Western New York counties to reimburse localities for snow removal efforts and other costs during the Christmas blizzard.

The two-day blizzard hit on Dec. 23 but the recovery lasted six days for some hard-hit communities, such as the City of Buffalo. Hochul is seeking federal aid for Erie, Genesee and Niagara counties, as well as St. Lawrence and Suffolk.

Orleans County isn’t included in the declaration.

“We have contacted our federal representative in an attempt to remedy this situation,” said Jack Welch, the Orleans County chief administrative officer. “However, right now we are on the outside looking in.”

Hochul said she is seeking to reimburse those five counties for their snow removal and storm response expenses. The governor is also requesting direct funding to cover funeral expenses and crisis counseling for residents of Erie and Niagara counties. The blizzard took the lives of 46 residents in Erie County and one in Niagara. No one from Orleans died from the blizzard.

The fierce winds left more than 5,000 National Grid customers in Orleans without electricity for extended periods during the frigid cold.

County officials also declared a state of emergency and travel ban due to the blizzard conditions with punishing winds, icy roads and whiteout conditions.

About 75 people spent Christmas Eve at shelters in the Albion and Medina schools. Some of those people were stranded and brought to the shelters by firefighters and Sheriff’s deputies.

The Orleans County Emergency Management Office has calculated the total municipal costs from the storm at $179,123.

The county can count municipal overtime and the costs of running the shelters, but not for snow removal for the streets. However, snow plowing can be included when used to keep open the shelters, the Emergency Management Office and Public Safety Building, said Justin Niederhofer, the county’s emergency management director.

Some of the damaged property was covered by insurance, Niederhofer said.

Hochul said federal aid will help the five counties recoup some expenses from a once-in-a-generation storm. She said the major disaster declaration secures federal aid for local governments and eligible non-profits for debris removal, protective measures, and repairs to buildings and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and wastewater treatment facilities, critical infrastructure sites, schools, parks and other facilities.

ALBION – The owner of a storage business is planning three more buildings at the site on West Countyhouse Road which will add 138 more units.

David Hill has the Orleans County Planning Board’s support for the project. The board on Thursday recommended the Town of Albion approve the site plan and permit for the project.

Hill in October 2020 opened Orleans Storage with 107 units at three buildings on West Countyhouse Road in Albion, just east of Route 98at Orleans Self Storage. He expanded the site last year and is 77 percent full with 221 units.

He wants to get the new buildings done to meet the growing demand. Hill told the Planning Board he doesn’t anticipate doing another expansion after this one.

There are currently five storage buildings at the site. The new buildings will be 230 feet long. One will be 30 feet wide and the other two will be 25 feet wide. The three new buildings will add 138 more units.

“He’s been quite successful filling these spaces on his property,” said Dan Strong, Albion code enforcement officer and County Planning Board member. “We’ve never received a complaint about it.”

Hill said most of the customers are local residents. He said he appreciates the community support and the cooperation from the local governments.

In another decision, the Planning Board voted to support a permit and the site plan for farm labor housing in Kendall at 1561 Norway Rd.

Zingler Farms will convert an existing single-family residence into living space for farm workers.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) is joining many New Yorkers calling on the governor to reconsider her position on banning gas stoves from future new housing and construction developments in New York.

What has been touted as a means to combat climate change and entice people to come to the state is now being seen as a measure to control businesses on a more granular level in New York, and Hawley doesn’t like the concept.

“Albany progressives claim the measure is a simple implementation of new policy, but I don’t see it that way,” Hawley said. “For one, the measure neglects the fact that people upstate rely on natural gas to a greater degree than downstate homeowners, who may, in fact, benefit more from electric devices. But of course, when implementing statewide policy, we’re used to the fact that downstate progressives in charge of our government favor the one-size-fits-all approach.”

“But more than that, it’s another example of Albany focusing on an issue that seems like a big deal but will do very little in the long run,” Hawley said. “The average person cutting out natural gas in their daily life will not change the climate dramatically, so why punish the average person or business with more restrictions on how they can live their lives or operate? Why not focus the unilateral power the Assembly majority holds on bigger issues like inflation? They shouldn’t be allowed to pat themselves on the back, because they are once again infringing on the choices of New Yorkers.”

MEDINA – Since the summer of 2022, Iroquois Job Corps Center’s bricklaying trade has been assisting the University of Buffalo’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering on a significant research project on improving the strength of unreinforced brick masonry buildings in the event of a seismic activity.

The project was funded by the National Institute for Standards and Technology, according to information from Jen Barr, senior administrative assistant at Job Corps.

In phase one of the project, Job Corps students helped in the construction of five multi-wythe five-foot tall walls in UB’s Structural and Earthquake Engineering Simulation Laboratory, which were tested last fall.

But their most important contribution, according to Barr, was to help plan and construct a single-story unreinforced masonry building which UB’s principle investigator Andreas Stavridis said is the “largest structure of this type ever tested on a shake table in the United States.

On its website, UB states the importance of the work. Buildings made of unreinforced masonry are known to be vulnerable to earthquakes, but often are used for residences and critical infrastructure, including schools and fire departments, UB writes.

Hence, this research project addresses an urgent national need, as such vulnerable buildings can be found in downtown areas of cities throughout the United States, including areas of high seismic risk.

The test structure will be instrumented with an array of 160 sensors and cameras and will be subjected to a sequence of bi-directional ground motions.

In a thank-you letter to Job Corps’ instructors Robert Kelichner and Lino Cometto and their students, Stavridis expressed gratitude on behalf of the University and invited the class back in March to attend the shake table tests. The results will be shared with the class, which will likely be called on again for future projects, Barr said.

ALBION – Orleans County will offer a household hazardous waste collection day on Aug. 12. Many of the details are being worked out, but paint – oil-based, latex and water-based – won’t be accepted.

Unused paint should be taken to Sherwyn-Williams stores through a state-funded program. (The closest Sherwyn-Williams paint disposal sites in Orleans County are the Sherwin-Williams stores in Brockport and in Batavia. Evans Ace Hardware in Medina also participates in the program.)

The county typically pays Environmental Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste, with the state them reimbursing the county about half of the costs.

The event is held in several stations at the Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street. The collection allows residents to dispose of tires (up to 10), propane tanks, auto/marine batteries and other hazardous household waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Some of the items include solvents, adhesives & resins, aerosols, motor oil & filters, pesticides, acids, fluorescent bulbs, corrosives, household batteries and antifreeze.

The event is organized by the Orleans County Department of Planning and Development. The county expects to begin taking appointments for the collection in late June, said Corey Winters, a planner with the department.

MIDDLEPORT – After a three-year absence due to Covid restrictions, Medina and Middleport Masons (now the Towpath Lodge) are serving bringing back their Lenten fish dinners at the lodge at 20 Main St., Middleport.

As with most organizations whose memberships are aging, the Towpath Lodge needs help in all areas, including kitchen, servers and clean-up. Every worker will be given a free meal in exchange for their help.

“This event will put us back in the public view as we Masons raise funds to be used to give back to the community through donations to various charities and others in need of aid,” said Scott Mason, secretary of Towpath Lodge.

Anyone who can help in any capacity can call Scott Mason at (585) 704-9323.

County stands to lose about $1 million in revenue if state keeps money

ALBION – A move proposed in the governor’s executive budget would take $1,059,000 in revenue from Orleans County, which could result in a nearly 6 percent tax increase locally.

The Orleans County Legislature has formally passed a resolution asking the governor and State Legislature to continue the pass-thru of federal Affordable Care Act enhanced Medicaid Assistance Percentage funds or eFMAP.

The state is proposing to keep those funds going forward and use them to cover further expansions of Medicaid eligibility and benefits and to increase payments to health care providers. That would have a $280 million impact on 57 counties and nearly $1 billion when New York City is included, according to the New York State Association of Counties.

NYSAC said the governor is proposing to cut the counties’ hare while trying to fully fund the state reserves two years ahead of schedule.

The Orleans County Legislature is following the NYSAC lead in urging the state to continue sharing federal funds with counties “as has been the precedent for over 20 years.”

Copies of the resolution from Orleans County, approved on Tuesday, will be forwarded to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the New York State Legislature, and the New York State Congressional Delegation.

David Simoni deemed competent to assist in his defense

ALBION – A Holley man who spent more than a year in a Rochester psychiatric facility has been deemed competent to aid in his own defense and the case against him will proceed, County Court Judge Sanford Church ruled today in court.

David Simoni, 34, was charged with attempted murder on June 15, 2021 after he allegedly lunged at a Holley police officer, attempting to stab him, when the officer was dispatched to the Holley waterfalls on Frisbee Terrace that evening.

Simoni has been transferred from the psychiatric facility to the Orleans County Jail where he remains on $50,000 cash bail and $100,000 bond.

Simoni was allegedly walking around that day with a knife antagonizing people, Robert Barton, Holley police chief, said a day after the incident.

Simoni also has been arraigned on menacing a police officer, reckless endangerment in the first degree, attempted assault with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon, menacing in the second degree, criminal obstruction of breathing, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, criminal mischief with intent to damage property, acting in an injurious manner to a child younger than 17, and resisting arrest.

District Attorney Joe Cardone said the case against Simoni will now proceed through the court process.

In other action in court today:

Joe A. Cortez, 40, of Batavia pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal contempt for violating an order of protection. He could face up to nine months in the county jail when he is sentenced.

Cortez also is facing a more serious charge of first-degree rape and third-degree rape in Genesee County for allegedly having forcible sexual intercourse with a juvenile victim under the age of 17.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved a redistricting plan in a 6-1 vote on Tuesday that makes slight adjustments in four legislative districts and keeps the at-large districts unchanged.

Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said the Legislature is following the recommendations of its redistricting consultant, Skyline Demographic Consultants, Inc.

The current districts have an 11.7 percent population variance, which is above the 5 percent threshold allowed.

Skyline’s recommendations include adding part of western Murray to a district that currently is the towns of Albion and Gaines (currently filled by Fred Miller, the lone Democrat on the Legislature).

That gives the Albion-Gaines (District 3) more people and also takes away from District 4 that includes Murray, Kendall and Carlton (currently filled by John Fitzak). The Murray section that is added to District 3 includes 522 people from Murray’s election district 5.

The orange part of Murray will be shifted into a district that includes Albion and Gaines, while the yellow will be in a district that includes Carlton, Kendall and most of Murray.

During the last redistricting about a decade ago, the county added a small part of Shelby to District 2 that included Yates and Ridgeway (currently served by Lynne Johnson).

This time the county will move more of that area back into District 1, the Shelby-Barre-Clarendon district (represented by Bill Eick). That represents a shift of 418 people.

Fred Miller cast the lone vote against the plan. He said there remains a 413-person difference between the biggest district and the smallest. Miller would have the most populous district at 9,961 people.

His district would pick up 522 people from Murray. He thinks it would have been better to split that part of Murray – with half in his district and the other half going to District 1, which has 9,548 people and includes Clarendon, Barre and most of Shelby.

The consultant from Skyline said that portion of Murray comes from election district 5. Redistricting plans should keep an election district whole and not split them up, according to the consultant’s report.

The other district sizes include 9,725 people in District 2 (Yates, Ridgeway and small part of Shelby) and 9,747 in District 4 (Carlton, Kendall and most of Murray).

The deviation from the biggest to smallest is 4.2 percent, within the legal threshold.

The three at-large countywide positions don’t legally require any changes because they represent the same population – the entire county, according to the consultant.

Jeff Lewis, the Orleans County Democratic Party chairman, was among the speakers during a public hearing on Feb. 9, when he asked the redistricting go to seven districts with no county-wide positions.

Lewis attended the Tuesday meeting and asked the legislators if there was any consideration given to his suggestions and others made at the hearing.

“There was much consideration,” Johnson responded.

The Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Legislature about the redistricting. The group would like a bipartisan panel of local residents to draft a proposal for seven districts.

This shows the section of Shelby in red that will be included in the Yates-Ridgeway District and the section in blue that will be in the district that includes Barre, Clarendon and most of Shelby.

First phase starts Jan. 1, 2024 with OT cap at 56 hours a week

Photo by Tom Rivers: A farmer works a field by an orchard on Route 31 in Ridgeway in May 2016.

ALBANY — The overtime threshold for farm workers will be 56 hours a week starting Jan. 1, 2024 – down from the current 60 hours a week.

After 56 hours, farm workers will be paid at an overtime rate. It is part of a phased-in plan to bring the OT threshold to 40 hours a week in 2023.

The threshold will be reduced by 4 hours a week every two years until it is at 40 hours.

“These new regulations ensure equity for farm workers, who are the very backbone of our agriculture sector,” New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said on Wednesday when she announced the changes have been finalized. “By implementing a gradual transition, we are giving farmers time to make the appropriate adjustments. These new regulations advance New York State’s continued commitment to workers while protecting our farms.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature enacted new tax credits to assist farm employers to ease the implementation of the lower overtime standard. The DOL said those include:

• The Investment Tax Credit was increased from 4 percent to 20 percent for farm businesses, providing an encouragement for potential automation of farm production.
• The Farm Workforce Retention Tax Credit was increased to $1,200 per employee to provide near-term relief to farmers.
• A refundable tax credit was established for overtime hours paid by farm employers at the level established by the new regulation up to 60 hours.

State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said the change will drive up cost for farmers who are already struggling with soaring operating expenses.

“Our family farmers are already struggling with skyrocketing inflation, high unemployment insurance taxes, and a severe worker shortage,” Ortt said in a  statement on Wednesday. “This is one more burdensome mandate passed on by unelected bureaucrats that will cause more harm. Instead of working to make New York more affordable, One Party Rule continues to impose anti-business policies that drive up costs for our small businesses and family farms.”

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney said the decision from the state will make it more challenging for farms to be successful in New York.

“Kathy Hochul, her Department of Labor, and Democrats in Albany have turned their backs on New York’s family farms,” Tenney said in a statement. “This gravely misguided decision deliberately ignored input from important stakeholders and will worsen the already difficult headwinds for New York’s agriculture sector. No farms, no food isn’t just a slogan; it will become the new reality if Albany Democrats continue to treat New York’s family farms with such disdain. I will continue my fight in Congress to assist our farm businesses and hold Albany Democrats accountable for this disastrous decision.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley issued this statement: “For the past three years, my colleagues and I have advocated for the family farmers of New York who have told us time and again that any changes to the overtime threshold would severely impact their economic security. I’m deeply disappointed that the DOL and Commissioner Reardon have ignored those pleas.

“Agriculture is the largest industry in New York, and its workers are the best in the nation. But for these smaller farms trying to get by, the costs just skyrocketed, and the burden of this mandate will unfortunately cause many farmers to fall by the wayside. With this reality in mind, I can’t help but wonder who the DOL thinks it is helping.”

The Orleans County Legislature went on the record on Tuesday in opposition to proposals from Gov. Kathy Hochul concerning fossil fueled-powered appliances.

The legislature called the proposed mandates “hypocritical and nonsensical environmental laws which burden the working-class citizens of the county and state.”

The governor last month said she wants to ban fossil fuel hookups in newly constructed buildings started with smaller buildings in 2025, and larger buildings in 2028. Any new homes or apartments would not be permitted to have gas-powered appliances. This does not include existing buildings.

Hochul also called for a ban on the sale of new fossil fuel-powered heating equipment in New York, beginning with smaller buildings in 2030 and larger buildings in 2035.

“The Governor’s ban is intended to help address climate change, but this government mandate is more of a burden on our region’s working-class residents and will have a devastating effect on restaurants, businesses and manufacturing facilities whey they have to convert to all electric,” the County Legislature said in a resolution.

Legislators said the cost to convert a house to electric would be $20,000 to $50,000 per household and would not include any kind of backup system in the event of a power outage.

The Legislature said the mandate creates an “unnecessary financial burden and hardship for businesses that compete on a national or global level.” Legislators said the ban on gas appliances will push more businesses and residents out of the state, contributing to “accelerated population loss.”

The ban on gas appliances and water heaters arlso isn’t feasible in Western New York with its harsh winters and exposed electrical infrastructure, according to the Legislature’s resolution. Appliances used to heat water and cook food need to work during power outages especially during times of inclement weather.

“The Orleans County Legislature hereby strongly urges Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature to fully examine the real-life impact their decisions will have for all New Yorkers, especially those least able to afford them,” the resolution states.