ALBION – The Albion Police Department is reporting that Brian MacDonald is safe and in good health.

MacDonald, 33, had not had contact with family since Jan. 20 and was reported missing on Jan. 31.

MEDINA – A Medina man with a real estate development business has acquired The Walsh and soon will buy the Holley Hotel.

Rollin Hellner, founder and CEO of Hellner Development Company, is only 29. He already has a real estate portfolio of several hundred thousand square feet with commercial and residential sites in Orleans, Niagara and Erie counties. He focuses on what he said are typically distressed properties.

Hellner lives in Medina in the Maple Crest, a 5,500-square-foot home that he renovated last year.

He had lived in Medina from 2015 to 2020 and was happy to come back to the village last year.

He has been friends with Tim Cooper for several years. Cooper bought The Walsh and worked three years on the first floor of the site. He opened a barroom and second tap room last summer.

Cooper had plans for the second and third floors, but will hand off the project to Hellner who is planning to make second floor apartments and third floor hotel rooms at The Walsh.

“He has a lot of energy and a lot of talent,” Cooper said about Hellner.

The new owner praised Cooper for his work at The Walsh, turning it into a popular gathering place for the community at 525 West Ave.

“Tim did a fantastic job with it,” Hellner said Saturday at The Walsh, as many people were coming into the tap room as part of the Wine About Winter event, with 800 people enjoying wine-tastings at 22 spots in Medina.

Cooper will stay on at The Walsh, managing the tap room.

“He did a lot of improvements that that brought back the original historic character,” Hellner said.

He also praised Cooper for creating a vibe at The Walsh that is focused on conversation and connecting with other people.

“We want it to continue to be a place where Medina residents feel comfortable,” Hellner said.

Rollin Hellner is his company will go through and renovate each of the 40 units at the Holley Hotel.

He also will close on buying the Holley Hotel on March 1. He has an agreement to start work on the site this week. There are some code violations that need to be resolved before people can move back into the building.

Residents in apartments at the Holley Hotel were forced to leave the site on Aug. 24 after the village code enforcement officer deemed the building was unsafe and unsanitary on Aug. 3. Residents were given three weeks to find alternative housing.

Some of the issues have been addressed, and Hellner and his team will work to get the site up to code. He said there will be a rebranding of the site, which will continue to be called the Holley Hotel. There are about 40 units in the Medina sandstone structure at the corner of Route 31 and Thomas Street.

There will be a screening process for tenants in the apartments, and he would like to offer hotel rooms. Initially, the units will be mostly apartments, but long-term he would like about half of the units to be hotel rooms. The building also includes two storefronts.

He said his development company will work on some parts of the outside of the building and go unit by unit inside, renovating the spaces.

“It’s a beautiful building,” Hellner said. “It’s very important piece of the Public Square.”

Mayor Mark Bower said he is very encouraged to see Hellner will be acquiring the site and putting resources into the building and giving it a new image in the community.

Hellner said he sees a lot of potential with Holley with its unique Public Square and its tourist attraction with the Holley Waterfalls.

His projects in Medina, Holley. Middleport, Lockport, Buffalo and Newfane are ambitious efforts, but Hellner said he sees the area as a good investment.

The properties in the villages are more affordable than in the suburbs, and he said he has a dedicated team that knows how to make the properties attractive for residents and businesses.

“I feel very good about a lot of the communities in Niagara and Orleans,” Hellner said. “We offer clean and affordable housing and real estate. I think there’s deals to be made here.”

Average price for regular unleaded at $3.545 in Orleans

The average price for regular gas is at $3.47 nationally, which is down 4 cents from a week, AAA is reporting this morning.

In New York, the statewide average for regular unleaded gas is $3.559 today compared $3.574 a week ago, $3.465 a month ago and $3.587 a year ago.

The average diesel price is at $5.256 today compared to $5.272 a week ago, $5.352 a month ago and $3.984 a year ago, AAA reported.

Here are the prices among Western New York counties:

• Orleans, $3.545
• Genesee, $3.430
• Wyoming, $3.494
• Livingston, $3.517
• Monroe, $3.491
• Niagara, $3.354
• Erie, $3.467
• Chautauqua, $3.616
• Cattaraugus, $3.517
• Allegany, $3.569

AAA issued this statement about gas prices:

“The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is down despite data from the Energy Information Administration which shows that gas demand is on the rise.

“However, total domestic gasoline stocks have increased. The growth in total supply has helped to limit pump price increases. If demand does not spike, drivers could continue to see pump prices drop.

“This morning oil prices range from $74 to $80 per barrel, down a few dollars from last week. Crude prices fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates and signaled that more increases are likely. As a result, the market believes oil demand could be less than expected this year, pulling prices down. Oil stock levels are also up.”

Courtesy of Medina Central School: The project includes a new vestibule at the Clifford Wise Intermediate School.

MEDINA – The school district will be holding a public information meeting today at 6:30 p.m. to go over a proposed $34.3 million capital project. The meeting will be in the junior-senior high school auditorium.

The project will go before voters from noon to 8 p.m. on Feb. 14 with voting in the district office board room.

The $34,357,277 project includes significant work at the three school buildings, plus the bus garage.

There won’t be any new taxes as part of the capital project. District officials said the cost will be covered through $29,895,213 from state building aid (87 percent of the total cost), $2,750,000 from capital reserve and $1,712,064 by retiring debt service payments, resulting in a “tax neutral” financing plan, district superintendent Dr. Mark Kruzynski said in a letter to the community on the district website.

Doing the projects as part of a capital plan will make the district eligible for state aid, covering the majority of the costs. If the project is voted down, Medina would still need to proceed with some of the “critical safety requirements and building preservation needs,” Kruzynski said. However, not doing the work in a capital project would put the full cost on district taxpayers, he said.

Eligible voters must be at least 18 and a resident of the school district for at least 30 days prior to the vote.

Here is a breakdown of the capital project:

Junior/Senior High School – $17,324,760

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• New Choral Room (including new office and practice rooms)
• New Band Room addition (including new offices, practice rooms, and storage)
• New Music Storage Room with stage access
• Replace stage curtains and add stage outlets
• New STEAM Classroom
• New Technology Computer Lab
• New Technology Wood Shop addition (including exterior dust collector system)
• New Greenhouse addition
• New first-floor connector link to provide access to new classrooms
• New first-floor classrooms at former District Office
• New 8’ wide corridor including new single ADA-compliant toilet rooms
• New first-floor boys’ and girls’ toilet rooms
• New second-floor boys’ and girls’ toilet rooms
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas
• New shared bus arrival/dismissal parking area for Jr/Sr High School and Intermediate School

Clifford H. Wise Intermediate – $9,769,533

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• Reconstruct existing Pool (including pool tank, gutter, deck, mechanical equipment, and lighting)
• Reglaze and reseal windows with failed seals
• Reconstruct select mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the building, including generator replacement, panel board replacement, sanitary piping replacement, sump pump replacement and crawlspace drainage improvements
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas: reconstruct existing exit onto Gwinn Street and expanded parking and roadway configuration

Oak Orchard Primary School – $6,198,091

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• New District Office in former Media Center
• Reconstruct Girls’ Locker Room to provide ADA-compliant toilets adjacent to Cafeteria and Gymnasium
• New Media Center
• New Computer Lab
• Reconstruct select mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the building, including panel board replacement, sanitary piping replacement and crawlspace drainage improvements
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas
• New parking lot at relocated District Office
• Bus loop paving restoration

Bus Garage – $1,064,893

• Roof replacement
• New staff parking area

If the project is approved by voters, the school district will work on final designs to be submitted to the State Education Department this fall, with SED approval expected in early 2024. The project would then go out to bid with the bulk of construction expected to start in summer 2024, according to a timeline from the district. Medina school leaders anticipate the entire project would be completed in early 2026.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The triangular units that form through-truss bridges are evident in this photo of the Gaines Basin Road Bridge.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3 No. 5

In Orleans County, which spans 24 miles across, twenty bridges facilitate north-south vehicular access across the Erie Canal. The Brown Road Bridge in Albion allows pedestrian access only. There is one stone arch tunnel at Culvert Road.

Orleans County Erie Canal Bridges, West to East

• Medina: Marshall Road, Prospect Street, Glenwood Avenue, Horan Road, Bates Road, Beals Road, Knowlesville Road and Presbyterian Road.
• Gaines: Eagle Harbor Rd. Bridge
• Albion: Gaines Basin Road, Lattin’s Farm Drive Bridge, Albion Main Street, Ingersoll Street, Butts Road, Keitel Road, Hulberton Road, Groth Road, Telegraph Road, East Avenue Lift Bridge in Holley, Bennetts Corners Road.

Regular maintenance of this infrastructure provided jobs for many. “Canal Appointments” was a listing of those hired to work on the canal. Those appointments were published in the local newspapers in the early 1900s.

Perhaps you may see a family name in this list published in the Medina Tribune, May 29, 1913.

• Water patrolmen: Daniel Horan and Thomas F. Holloran of Albion
• State Boat: Captain Noah D. Smith, Albion, William Brazzell, Medina
• Carpenter: James McKenna, Albion
• Laborers: John Fox, Patrick Rooney, Andrew Heckman and Thomas Cleary, all of Medina. Edward Woodhull of Knowlesville, and James J. Crandall of Albion
• Lift Bridge Operators: Knowlesville – John Manning, Joseph Higgins and Frank Hibberd; Eagle Harbor – Charles Maxon, John Webber and A.V. Lord; Albion Main Street – John W. McCarthy, John Owens and Martin Lucas.
• Bank Watchmen: Medina – Martin Fox, Arthur Cox, John Maher and Patrick Burns; Knowlesville – John Hauser; Albion – Mason Miller, Edward Maxon, Albert Steldinger and Leonard Fackler; Fancher – James Ballou; Holley – Mortimer Clark, Michael Compoleti, Edward Coady and William Sweeney.
• In addition, twelve men were employed at the waste weirs.

One can infer the ethnic origin of these workers from their last names. One can also infer their political leanings, as these appointments were made on the recommendations of the Orleans County Democratic Committee, the Democrats having aligned with canal interests. Indignant comments decrying “canal patronage” and “political activities among the faithful” were frequently lobbied, particularly by the Medina Daily Journal.

Politics had swirled around the Erie Canal from the beginning.

Courtesy of Medina Marching Band Boosters

MEDINA – Medina’s Varsity Guard performed for the second time this season on Saturday at Victor where 13 guards performed in six classifications.

Medina competed in the Scholastic A class and came in 5th with a score of 57.79. In that class Victor earned 1st place with a score of 67.69 followed by Orchard Park with 65.42; Jamestown at 60.76; and Lancaster, 60.05.

Winners in the other classes were Victor Cadets with 51.88; Gates Chili RA with 60.48; Gates Chili A1 class with 60.05; Gates Chili Independent A with 69.29 and Luminosa in Senior class with 73.58.

Medina’s next competition is Saturday, Feb. 18, in Batavia.

Courtesy of Wolfpack Multisport: The medal for those completing the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K or half marathon on March 25 pays homage to the late Wayne Burlison, an elementary school music teacher at Albion who also enjoyed long distance running. Burlison passed away from colon cancer at age 36 on March 26, 2014.

ALBION – There are two big changes so far for the annual Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K in Albion set for March 25.

This year there will be an option for a half marathon, and there will be medals for those who complete either course.

Bert Galloman, the race director, teased out the medals on social media last week. In the past, those who finished the race received shirts, hats and gloves.

Galloman wants to recognize the efforts of those who complete the courses, and pursue fitness goals during the winter.

“We are doing medals this year because you never know where someone is in their athletic journey,” Galloman said. “Each race is a way to celebrate their achievement and we want to help grow the community. We also love seeing the joy on athletes’ faces as they cross the finish line and get their medal around their necks – there is no better feeling at the finish.”

Galloman wanted to include the half marathon, a distance conquered several times by Burlison, a former Albion elementary school band teacher who passed away at age 36 from colon cancer on March 26, 2014.

Burlison promoted fitness in the community through a Run for God program that took people from the couch to a 5K in less than three months. He lost more than 150 pounds through exercise and better nutrition.

The 5k course starts on Clarendon Road near the elementary school and goes east on Route 31 to Mount Albion Cemetery. After running in the cemetery, participants come back out on 31 and head back to the elementary school parking lot.

The half marathon also starts ear the school but heads south and then east through some of the country roads on County House and Holley roads. Runners will come back along Route 31, and take a loop through the cemetery.

The medals includes different neck ribbons for those who complete the 5K and those that finish the much longer half marathon at 13.1 miles.

Galloman said the half marathon should provide motivation to keep people moving at longer distances during the winter. He also thinks it will be a nice kickoff to the running season with half marathons in Rochester in April and Buffalo in May.

Erin Smith, a triathlete from Albion, helped plan the half marathon course. It avoids the towpath, which can be muddy or snow laden in late March.

Smith thinks the timing in late March fulls a void in the racing calendar, especially for a longer distance. Lockport hosts a 10-mile race on Feb. 11 and there aren’t too many longer distance races after that before there are several in the spring.

“I’d like to see what we can pull in for the longer distance,” Smith said. “I love this community and I love running, and we’re able to mesh the two together. Hopefully this will inspire people to try to get out and try this half marathon.”

 Proceeds from the race have gone to a memorial scholarship for Albion at Albion Central School and also were used towards a walking trail at Bullard Park.

“It’s such a great cause,” Smith said. “Wayne was such a loved person and this was his most-loved distance.”

For more on the race, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Wine About Winter was another sell-out success in medina on Saturday. The annual event has been very popular since 2009. On Saturday, all 800 tickets sold for $25 each.

The top photo shows the first wave of people arriving at the Medina Senior Center, a former railroad depot, to get their commemorative glasses and maps for the 22 spots to sample wines.

The event is organized by the Medina Area Partnership. The event has become so popular that MAP has staggered the crowd into three groups to ease the lines for people getting tastings.

The Walsh was new as a wine-tasting stop this year. Andy Morris volunteered to pour wines from the Thousand Islands Winery from Alexandria Bay. This one he is pouring is a Wellesley Island White.

This group poses for a photo in The Walsh. They include, from left: Cheryl Holt of Medina, Lary Coia of Albion, Charise Blew of Batavia and Tim Jeziorski of Alden.

“It’s a great time to get together with friends and support local businesses,” Holt said.

The wine-tastings are inside businesses in the downtown Medina area.

Jocelyn Demmin of Medina is taking the photo of the four people in this picture. Demmin, 28, also was sampling wines for Wine About Winter.

She was making a “staycation” out of the day with dinner to follow at the Harvest restaurant at Bent’s Opera House and then a night at one of the Bent’s hotel rooms.

“Over the last five-six years Medina has really grown into something people want to visit,” she said.

Wine About Winter brings in out-of-towners, but Demmin said she also sees many of her local friends at the event.

Wine About Winter remains one of Medina Area Partnership’s most popular events, drawing big crowds regardless of the winter weather.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Zyann Pore of Albion sings a solo from “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen as part of the all-county elementary chorus.

Orleans County Music Educators’ Association presented the February All-County Festival today at Medina High School.

There were 76 students in the elementary chorus from Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina school districts.

Anna Ferlito, a Medina music teacher, stepped in to conduct the all-conty elementary chorus after the guest conductor from Oklahoma had a cancelled flight and couldn’t be there.

Besides “You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen,” the chorus sang “Shanty Boys” arranged by R.E. Dwyers, “Tarantella” by Viktor Bobetsky and “I Sing Because I’m Happy” arranged by Kenneth Paden.

Will Arlington of Lyndonville (back to camera) plays the timpani with the all-county junior high band which included 79 students.

Brad Batz led the junior band. Batz is director of jazz studies at Nazareth College in Rochester.

The junior high band performed “Jubilance” by James Swearingen, “Dixieland USA” by Andy Clark, “Balladair” by Frank Erickson, and “Boom Boom Galop” by Randall Standridge.

The senior high chorus was led by guest conductor Frank McCauley, the vocal teacher at Sharon Middle/High School in Sharon, Pa.

The high school chorus included 72 students and they sang “Festival Sanctus” by John Leavitt, “Omnia Sol” by Z. Randall Stroope, “Found/Tonight” arranged by Jacob Narverud, and “Total Praise” arranged by P. Barrett & Doreen Rao.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

Brandon T. Fuller

MEDINA – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office charged Brandon T. Fuller, 28, of Medina, following a vehicle pursuit on Feb. 1.

That day at about 10 a.m., Orleans County Sheriff’s Investigator Brian Marsceill attempted to initiate a vehicle stop of a suspected stolen vehicle on State Route 31A in the Town of Barre. The operator, later identified as Brandon Fuller, allegedly fled, driving recklessly at a high rate of speed east bound on 31A.

Sheriff’s deputies terminated the pursuit at 31A and Redman Road in Monroe County. Shortly thereafter, the stolen vehicle was located about two blocks east of Redman Road. Orleans County deputies were assisted by the State Police and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit assisted with a track that led law enforcement to the Brockport Wegmans where Fuller and another suspect were taken into custody. The other suspect was released pending further investigation.

Fuller was charged by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office with 16 NYS Vehicle and Traffic charges, unlawful fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property 4th degree, auto stripping in the 3rd degree, and criminal mischief.

Fuller was arraigned and bail was set at $10,000. In addition to that, Fuller is currently on Probation for Criminal Contempt and was also arraigned for violating his conditions. Bail is set at $100,000 on that charge.

In September of 2022, Fuller was arrested in Monroe County for an incident related to the theft of catalytic convertors. Also in September 2022, Fuller was arrested in Orleans County after being apprehended during the burglary of a barn. The charges from September 2022 are still pending in court in  both counties.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected.

One of many locally hand painted lobsters throughout Plymouth, MA.

Let’s go on an adventure together….Hunting For Treasures!

I admit, when I travel I do enjoy visiting the tourist spots – you know, those places that are famous (or infamous) that everyone wants to see at least once in their life. But, I also like to seek out what makes wherever I am stand out from any other place. I like to find the quirky little out of the way place you can only find there or someplace that tells a story of that town’s past or showcases local heroes, artists, or chefs. 

So, I like to do my homework before I go. I like to visit the area’s tourism website and also Google the area to see what comes up. I also visit sites like TripAdvisor to search for “Things To Do” in the area and use the website “Roadside America” to find the not-so-well known points of interest. If I have a car, I take time to just drive around town looking for murals, statues, and signs pointing me to points of interest that didn’t come up on any searches. If I don’t have a car, I try to do tours, such as hop-on-hop-off type bus tours or other ways to see the local attractions – my hotel usually will have lots of great suggestions, too.

I get especially excited when I find things like art walks or themes throughout a town or city. Here are just a few of the cool things I’ve found in my travels:

My favorite President sculpture in Rapid City, SD was right outside our hotel. There is one of these on every corner in downtown Rapid City representing every US President.

Rapid City, SD has branded itself “City of the Presidents” to build on the Mount Rushmore attraction. Downtown Rapid City has a wonderful life-sized statue of a President on every street corner representing every President in a pose that showcases his personality. My two favorites were John F. Kennedy depicted walking with young John-John holding a toy airplane and Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair with his young son kneeling beside him in a Civil War costume and Lincoln handing him a toy canon. 

Plymouth, MA had sculptures of huge lobsters hand painted by local artists scattered throughout their downtown area. There was one painted like a rock star holding a guitar above his head, one painted like a sea captain, and others with historic scenes on them. 

San Francisco, CA had an ongoing annual fundraiser called “Hearts of San Francisco” with large hearts painted by local artists that sell for enormous sums of money to benefit vulnerable residents through a fund associated with Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. At the time I was there, the hearts have raised over $220 million to date and can be found throughout the city. One in particular caught my eye when I was there in 2017 that was painted by singer Tony Bennett and sold for about $3 million! 

In Louisville, KY, I found Cave Hill Cemetery – a gorgeous garden styled cemetery established in the mid-1800s. It has rolling hills, lakes, streams, abundance of nature, and lots of stunning statues and memorials – some of the most unusual memorials I’ve ever seen! It is where Muhammad Ali and Colonel Sanders of KFC fame are buried. I spent a couple hours driving through and looking at all the cool statues and memorials. It was quite a treat!

Sioux Falls, SD has an amazing Sculpture Walk through their downtown area. Some sculptures depicted historical references of the area, some were quirky, some cultural, and some were even interactive. The sculptures line multiple streets in the downtown section of the city and is worth the stroll to see them all.

In Dubuque, IA, I enjoyed a stroll along the city’s River Walk on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River looking at various sculptures created by local artists and loads of art scattered throughout the downtown area.

These are just a few examples…I find wonderful treasures like these just about everywhere I go! Many cities and towns across the country love to showcase their local artists and history with murals, art walks, and themes. Even our own Albion has the beautiful downtown benches painted locally and the wonderful Santa themed murals downtown. Another fairly local example is the town of Chittenango, NY – the birthplace of L. Frank Baum – author of the Wizard of Oz books. They have yellow brick sidewalks, loads of Oz themed shops, and a wonderful Oz themed library – they even have an annual Oz-stravaganza festival the first weekend in June every year.

When traveling, be sure to look for the unique things that are local treasures found wherever you happen to be…near or far! You’re sure to enjoy what makes every place on earth “special” in some way! Check out my blog at http://thoughtsbykim.com and use the search box to enter the cities noted here for more info and photos.

Happy Adventuring!

Sioux Falls, SD Sculpture Walk includes this interactive sculpture of a conductor and a xylophone and chimes that passersby can play. I love that the conductor is wearing shorts and hiking boots with scrunched up socks. Delightful!

BARRE – A late night fire at 13200 Hemlock Ridge Rd. has resulted in a total loss of the residence, said James Neal, assistant fire chief for ethe Barre Volunteer Fire Company.

Firefighters were dispatched to scene at 1:24 a.m. It was 2 degrees out and the temperatures would drop to minus degrees while firefighters were at the scene until about 6 a.m.

The one resident in the house got out safely and the Red Cross has been requested to assist that person with temporary housing, Neal said.

He estimated 30 to 40 firefighters assisted with the response with firefighters from Barre, Albion, Carlton, East Shelby, Elba, Oakfield and Medina.

They used water from a hydrant and also filled 11 tankers with water to try to put out the fire, Neal said.

“My guys and everyone did a great job,” he said.

The cause has been undetermined and remains under investigation.

MEDINA – Mary Lewis took this photo of a sundog this morning at the Oak Orchard Primary School in Medina. The school district is hosting the all-county music festival today and students from all five school districts were there early to get ready for today’s 2 p.m. concert in the high auditorium.

The sundogs resemble rainbows. They appear sometimes in the winter when low-lying sun creates ice halos.

After an overnight low with negative temperatures, the morning has started cold in the single digits. It will “warm up” to a high of 25 today, followed by highs of 42 on Sunday, 34 on Monday and 49 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Press Release, Congressman Joe Morelle

ROCHESTER – Today, Congressman Joe Morelle called on the CEOs of Kia and Hyundai to address the alarming rise in automobile thefts in Rochester and across the country due to security flaws in their vehicles.

“These known security flaws in Kia and Hyundai automobiles have left our community vulnerable and created a public safety crisis that demands immediate attention,” wrote Congressman Joe Morelle in his letter. “I urge you to take responsibility for this alarming situation and accelerate efforts to ensure consumers are able to access security solutions free of charge. No customer should have to pay the bill for Kia and Hyundai’s failure to install standard security measures on their vehicles.”

From 2015-2019, Kia and Hyundai failed to install certain anti-theft devices in many of their vehicles, leaving them heavily susceptible to theft. In 2015, 96% of all other vehicles had installed these standard safety features, but only 26% of Kia and Hyundai 2015 models had kept that pace with the rest of the industry. Now, instructional videos detailing how to steal these vehicles have become widespread on the social media platform TikTok, leading to a significant increase in car thefts.

According to the Rochester Police Department, 116 of the first 168 cars stolen in 2023 were manufactured by Kia or Hyundai. On this current pace, Rochester is projected to see more than double the number of car thefts this year compared to 2022. Multiple stolen vehicles have also been linked to smash-and-grab burglaries impacting local businesses. In addition to the financial consequences of these crimes and the threat to public safety, this increase in crime is also putting an additional strain on local law enforcement.

Congressman Morelle continues to urge TikTok to moderate the dangerous content shared on its platform, including these instructional videos that encourage thefts, and will be taking additional action in the coming days.

ALBION – Two proposals in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget could result in a big tax hit for Orleans County.

Hochul has proposed increasing the hourly rate for assigned counsel from $75 to $119 an hour.  This would cost the county approximately $200,000 per year, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The increase in rates for lawyers in assigned counsel would cost counties and New York City about $150 million more annually, according to an analysis by the New York State Association of Counties.

A bigger impact on county taxpayers would be a proposal for the state to keep federal funding for the Medicaid program that currently is shared with counties and New York City to pay towards Medicaid.

The executive budget would end the Affordable Care Act enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (eFMAP) federal pass-through to counties and New York City. That would zap $1,059,034 per year in revenue to the county budget, or 5.6 percent of the county’s tax levy.

“This ends twenty years of the state sharing the eFMAP funding with counties,” Welch said. “This would be devastating to our taxpayers. Interested persons should contact the Governor’s Office expressing their opinion on this proposed change in the funding of Medicaid for our residents.”

NYSAC has analyzed the governor’s proposals and said eliminating the ACA eFMAP federal pass-thru will require the 57 counties to spend at least $280 million more annually, and about $1 billion more when New York City is included.