RIDGEWAY – “Fall in, ye lovers of Mirth, and enjoy a Dance to be given at RIDGEWAY HOTEL”
On this weekend, some 136 years ago, “Lovers of Mirth” attended a New Year’s Party at the Ridgeway Hotel. The hotel was a well-known landmark on Ridge Road, having operated as a tavern and stagecoach stop since 1811.
J.P. Tenbrook acquired the hotel in 1883. The Medina Register of October 4, 1883 noted that “John is popular in Niagara County and doubtless will be in his new quarters.”
Tenbrook was no stranger to the hotel business. His father, William, owned several hotels in Lockport and Olcott. His brother A.H. owned the Shelby Center Hotel for several years.
In Ridgeway, Tenbrook energetically set about organizing a series of parties held throughout the year – George Washington’s Birthday, July 4th, Harvest Celebrations. There are several specific newspaper references to the colorful invitations which he used.
Reporting on the 1888 New Year’s Party, the Medina Register of January 3, 1889, called it “A Grand Success”. The event was attended by 152 couples, which surpassed previous records.
“There was not a soul here who did not thoroughly enjoy the fine music and the excellent repast. The fact that Mr. Tenbrook’s parties are so well attended speaks better than words for the manner in which they are conducted.”
Elsewhere, he is referred to as “a genial host.” As a measure of his popularity, the hotel is referenced on several occasions with his name – “Tenbrook Hall”, “Tenbrook’s Hotel”.
He sold the hotel to D. Donovan in 1896. At the time of his death in 1910, Tenbrook was proprietor of the Waverly Hotel in Niagara Falls.
Postcard view of the Ridgeway Hotel on Ridge Road/Route 104. Remarkably, the building which then housed the hotel still stands and its appearance has not greatly changed. Note the hitching posts on Angling Road.
ALBION – Orleans County works closely with Modern Disposal Services to provide a countywide solid waste program for all of our residents who participate in our program.
The missed recycling collection due to the weather event from last weekend will resume on the next red or blue week for your household.
December 23rd’s recycling collection will occur on January 6th, the next red week. December 26th and 27th’s recycling collection will occur on January 9th and 10th, the next blue week.
Modern Disposal Services will perform double collection for solid waste beginning today, December 30th, Monday January 2nd and Tuesday January 3rd for those scheduled routes.
“We apologize for not clarifying the difference between the resumption of the solid waste collection and the recycling collection,” said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer. “We regret any inconvenience this created for our residents along the affected routes.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2022 at 11:11 am
ALBION – County government leaders are trying to fill 32 open positions, with some of the jobs open for several months now.
There are currently 22 full-time vacancies and 10 part-time positions. The county has typically had 20 to 25 positions open throughout the year.
It has expanded its outreach for applicants in 2022 by posting positions on Facebook, the Indeed web site, and through a college network called Handshake.
Some of the positions include an assistant county engineer, a mechanic, a motor equipment operator, caseworkers, account clerk, corrections officers, probation officer and housekeepers.
Katie Harvey, the county’s director of personnel and self insurance, has worked in the office for eight years including about three years as the director. She said counties throughout the state are struggling to fill positions, even though the jobs offer good pay, benefits and retirement.
“The county government is a great place to work,” she said.
The county has scheduled some Civil Service exams and had no one apply to take the tests to make them eligible for the positions.
She praised the county workforce of about 400 employees for continuing to serve the public despite vacancies in their departments.
But a full staff “would certainly make it smoother,” Harvey said.
The current open positions include:
Department of Social Service – Account Clerk, Senior Account Clerk, Senior Account Clerk, Social Welfare Examiner (3 full-time positions), Social Welfare Examiner (part-time) and Youth Court Coordinator (part-time), Caseworker (2 full-time and 2 part-time).
DPW – Assistant County Engineer, Automotive Mechanic, DPW Motor Equipment Operator (2) and Motor Equipment Operator, Lead Person
Office for the Aging – Caseworker, Housekeeper Aide (full-time and part-time).
Veterans Clerk (part-time)
Mental Health – Clinic Therapist and Community Mental Health Nurse
Press Release, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments
As we say goodbye to 2022, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) would like to wish you all a healthy and Happy New Year.
This was a full year for the Health Departments. Not only were staff involved in ongoing Covid-19 activities, Monkeypox (Mpox) and polio were added to the list of emerging issues. Staff were determined to keep working towards Public Health Accreditation (expected in 2023) and also kept many public services and operations running smoothly to help improve the health and well-being of residents.
• The Community Health Services staff have been working diligently, including remaining up-to-date on the evolution of the Covid-19 vaccination guidelines. Throughout 2022, immunization clinics (including Covid-19 and traditional), as well as outreach to migrant and seasonal farmworkers resulted in 3,212 vaccinations being administered. This includes 42 individuals who received post-exposure rabies treatment after being exposed to a confirmed or suspected rabid animal. Not including Covid-19, 472 communicable disease investigations were conducted. During the growing season, staff provided various healthcare services to 1,388 seasonal and migrant farmworkers on location to reduce barriers to receiving care.
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness started 2022 responding to a tidal wave of Covid-19 cases from the omicron variant. However, due to lower severity of this variant combined with increased immunity within the community, efforts to contain this variant began to lessen, and public health emergency preparedness eventually began focusing on risks associated with new infectious threats, which ranged from avian influenza and Ebola to Mpox and polio. Experience from Covid-19 response led to dramatic changes for Emergency Preparedness, including revision of major preparedness plans, re-organization of the medical reserve corps and revision of an emergency preparedness mobile app.
• Environmental Health staff continue to regulate permitted facilities throughout Genesee and Orleans Counties through compliance with the New York State (NYS) Sanitary Code. They help assure the community is safe from foodborne illnesses by conducting inspections of food service establishments. Staff also routinely inspect septic systems, monitor Public Water Supplies, enforce the NYS Clean Indoor Air Act, and offer free rabies clinics. The Lead Program continues to promote education and outreach to enhance lead poisoning prevention and promote testing of children for lead exposure. GO Health was awarded a second grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expand an existing home-repair program to address lead hazards and prevent childhood lead poisoning throughout the entire Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming (GLOW) region.
• Staff within our Children’s Programs work with families of our youngest children providing case management, education, support and referrals. Some of the services children may need that are provided through this program are speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and special education teacher services. Staff work closely with families to make sure children receive the services they need.
• The Public Health Education team spent a majority of the year developing the 2022-2024 Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming (GOW) Counties Community Health Assessment (CHA)/Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and in partnership with local hospital systems, Community Services Plan (CSP). The team was also responsible for implementing the ‘Strengthening Capacity in Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) Prevention for Local Health Departments’ technical assistance grant. This funding improved the internal capacity of GO Health to address the intersection of suicide, overdose and ACE’s and brought together community partners for a GOW Trauma & Resiliency Conference.
• Weights & Measures completed 470 inspections accounting for over 1,190 devices within the two counties. These tests involved pumping more than 26,000 gallons of fuel and using more than 5.9 million pounds of test weight ensuring all commercial weighing and measuring devices meet NYS standards. The department handled 13 complaint investigations, confirmed 591 package weights & 300 item prices, and collected 132 fuel samples confirming fuel sold within both counties met a variety of parameters. Since transitioning to a department of one in 2020, W&M has shown savings in excess of $150,000.
“It is our extreme pleasure to serve the residents of Genesee and Orleans Counties,” stated Paul Pettit, Public Health Director for GO Health. “We thank the Genesee and Orleans County Legislatures, the Board of Health, our community partners and other volunteers for their support and collaboration. We look forward to another productive year of improving the health and well-being of our community and wish everyone a safe, healthy, and happy New Year.”
For more information about GO Health programs, visit www.GOHealthNY.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2022 at 9:36 am
Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was at Baxter International in Medina on Aug. 11, touting federal legislation to boost microchip manufacturing in the United States. He is holding part of a Baxter infusion pump which requires 70 microchips.
Stopped in Medina on Aug. 11 to highlight microchip shortage
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer was in all 62 counties in New York State in the past year, making it 24 straight years he has been to all counties in the state.
He was in Orleans County on Aug. 11 when he went to Baxter International in Medina to highlight federal legislation to boost microchip manufacturing in the United States.
Baxter has nearly 300 workers in Medina but was forced to put employees on paid furloughs due to a supply chain shortage, where Baxter International didn’t have all 20 components for their medical infusion pumps.
Baxter International produces about 100,000 pumps a year and each one needs 70 microchips.
Schumer said there will be a long-term answer to the microchip crisis with the signing of the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Bill. That will provide $50 billion in incentives to increase microchip manufacturing in the United States and ease the supply chain problems.
(On Nov. 2, Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Edwards Vacuum, a British-based manufacturer of vacuum and abatement equipment in the semiconductor industry, chose the STAMP site in Alabama, Genesee County, as the location for their new $319 million, U.S. dry pump manufacturing facility.)
Schumer was re-elected to a fifth term in November. He also is the Senate Majority Leader. His office said he made 118 county visits to Upstate New York and Long Island in 2022.
“When I made the promise to visit every county in New York every year after my first election, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine doing it as Majority Leader, or that I would be doing so while simultaneously passing some of the most important legislation in generations: from the largest investment ever in fighting climate change, to lowering the cost of prescription drugs, to bringing manufacturing jobs back from overseas to Upstate New York,” Schumer said in a statement.
“At the close of 24 years, my beliefs are as clear as ever: ‘Senators who stay in Washington and never return home are simply not doing their job,’” he said. “Whether I’m eating ice cream at the State Fair in Syracuse or riding my bike in Brooklyn, New York is always on my mind, and I’m always learning directly from my constituents. To the New Yorkers who’d lost faith that Congress can do big things, this year was for you, and I will never stop fighting to deliver for New York.”
Schumer said he keeps New York in mind when he pushes for legislation in the Senate.
He highlighted the American Rescue Plan which he said delivered over $100 billion in relief to New York’s state and local governments, workers, small businesses, and health centers so they could recover from the impacts of Covid.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides the largest investment in fighting climate change in our nation’s history, all while also lowering prescription drug costs and making sure corporations pay their fair share, Schumer said.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer walks into the production floor at Baxter International in Medina with company CEO and President José (Joe) E. Almeida on Aug. 11. Schumer said he and the federal Health and Human Services have pushed to make Baxter designated as a “critical need” for micro chips to manufacture infusion pumps.
In recent years some of Schumer’s stop in Orleans County included:
Aug. 16, 2021, Schumer held a news conference in Holley’s Public Square with local elected officials to highlight $8 million in American Rescue Plan funds going to Orleans and Niagara counties to close high-speed internet gaps.
On Nov. 19, 2020, Schumer held a press conference at Medina Memorial Hospital to highlight his push for federal funds to be released for more Covid testing sites, especially in rural communities like Orleans.
On Nov. 27, 2019, Schumer visited Miller’s Organic Hemp Farm on Route 98 in Carlton to discuss the emerging hemp industry and the need for federal government to improve regulations for sampling and testing hemp. Terry and Gina Miller hosted Schumer’s visit to their farm.
Schumer was at the Village of Holley Police Department on Aug. 24, 2018 when he was in Orleans County. He launched a push to pass the “Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act” as part of a package of bills to address the opioids crisis across Upstate New York and the United States.
The senator stopped in Kendall on Oct. 9, 2017 at the Eagle Creek Marina to highlight a push for federal funds for infrastructure updates that will improve Great Lakes fisheries and restore habitats through the Great Lakes Aquatic Connectivity and Infrastructure Program Act.
On Nov. 11, 2016, Schumer joined Nelson Leenhouts, chairman and CEO of Home Leasing, to discuss the importance of keeping federal tax incentives for redeveloping historic sites, including the former Holley High School. Those tax credits were an importance piece in allowing Home Leasing to complete the $17 million renovation. Schumer also observed Veterans Day at the Holley VFW earlier that day.
Anthony Piedimonte Farms in Hulberton hosted Schumer on June 29, 2015 to discuss a June 9 computer crash of the federal system that processes temporary farm-working visas. Schumer joined local farmers and urged the U.S. Department of State to fix the computer glitch. That computer crash created a backlog of stalled applications and prevented farms across the state from accessing legal temporary workers to harvest their crops.
Aug. 14, 2014, Schumer was in Holley at the former Diaz Chemical, where he pressed the federal EPA to continue a Superfund cleanup.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 30 December 2022 at 8:55 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: The historic Ward House at the Cobblestone Society Museum will get much needed restoration, due to a $47,080 grant from the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program.
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Society Museum’s director Doug Farley has announced the receipt of a $47,080 grant from the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program.
The funding will go towards projects at the Ward House, which was built in 1836 as a parsonage. It is next door to the oldest cobblestone church in North America, built in 1834. The church, Ward House and cobblestone one-room schoolhouse on Route 104 have been declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of Interior.
The grant request was completed by Erin Anheier, president of the Cobblestone Society board of directors, in which she explained the work to be funded by the grant marks the continuation of addressing concerns identified in a 2013 condition report of the Ward House by architect Andrea Rebeck.
This grant will address masonry concerns, particularly in the basement, window restoration, some exterior trim repair and replacement of a rusting gutter. Work is expected to begin in the summer of 2023, said Doug Farley, the museum’s director.
Future projects, now in the planning stages, will restore shutters and the front door.
Photo courtesy of Cobblestone Museum: The Ward House and two other sites at the Cobblestone Museum are listed as a National Historic Landmark.
The news of the grant was announced by the Landmark Society in partnership with the New York State Office of the Governor of New York State and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. They stated that 12 historic rehabilitation projects in rural Western New York will be supported by more than $470,000 in federal grants and local matching funds.
This is the second round of funding, which will support such projects as structural repairs and restoration work of historic commercial buildings, ADA compliance upgrades to public spaces and window improvements for a creative arts center. The first round was announced in September 2021 and included more than $300,000 to five awardees.
“These business owners, nonprofits and local government units are deeply connected to the economic health of their rural communities, and all have historic assets that need support,” said Erik Kulleseid, commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “We are thrilled that these projects aim to increase accessibility and sustainability through preservation efforts and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that investments in local historic resources can have a powerful impact for New York’s rural communities.”
Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization is supported by a $750,000 award made to the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation through the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Fund as administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Another $43,250 in matching funds were provided by the Rochester Area Community Foundation, Letchworth Gateway Villages and the Landmark Society of Western New York.
“The Landmark Society is thrilled to be assisting OPRHP in administering this grant program,” said Wayne Goodman, executive director of the Landmark Society of Western New York, which is co-administering the GVRR program. “This grant program has shed light on the need for this type of funding in our rural communities around the Genesee Valley.”
Goodman said they are currently working with Round 1 awardees and seeing the impact this funding has on their ability to complete important preservation, restoration and repair work, and are looking forward to starting the projects awarded in Round 2.
In addition to the Cobblestone Society, grants in this second round of GVRR funding were issued to Cracker Box Palace, a Shaker First house and animal shelter in Wayne County; Village of Nunda for upgrades to the village hall; Dierdre Stevenson/the Sutton Company, a historic c. 1800 store building; town of Phelps for repairs and upgrades to the c. 1849 Phelps Town Hall; Livingston Integrated Management Associates for the Ellis Block; Romulus Historical Society for the chief engineer’s house; Friendship Free Library for upgrades; Rolling Hills Asylum in Genesee County for roof repair and replacement of the east wing of the main building; Architectural Rescue in Allegany County for the Wellsville Creative Arts Center; Genesee Library in Allegany County to update the 1903 building’s heating system and address water and flooding issues; United Methodist Church of Sodus for a boiler and elevator lift replacement, as well as funding for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
Press Release, Albion Police Benevolent Association
ALBION – Now that the dust has settled there is one thing that is apparent to the Village of Albion taxpayers. Mayor Angel Javier Jr.’s ill-conceived escapade of attacking the Village of Albion police officers has needlessly cost the Village taxpayers over $38,000!
More than $16,000 for the report from the Bonadio Group.
More than $15,000 to make the members of the Albion Police Department whole.
$7,500 for the police officers’ attorneys.
And who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars the Village wasted on its outside counsel?
When the Mayor first took office in April 2022, he set off on an ill-fated attack on the Albion police officers. The Mayor’s actions were based upon ignorance which was subsequently compounded by incompetence.
Completely unaware of the laws that govern labor relations between the Village and the Police Union, Mayor Javier breached the contract between the Village and the Police Union.
Luckily, back in June 2022, a majority of the Village Board voted to reinstate the correct pay rate. Unfortunately, that was only a temporary stay, which forced the Police Union to file a grievance against the Village.
Following the Village’s breach, the Police Union met with the Village and presented a 28-page Power Point Presentation detailing why the Village was wrong and that the correct pay rate needed to be reinstated. That presentation contained the contract language, the parties’ unequivocal practice of over 160 payroll periods evidencing the correct pay rate used by the parties; Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decisions, a New York State Comptroller opinion, New York State case law and reasons why the Bonadio report was based upon the wrong assumption.
The Village did not listen.
Following that meeting, the Village compounded its ignorance by incompetence. Rather than swiftly settling the grievance the Village dragged its feet. The Village’s incompetence forced the Police Union to file an Improper Practice charge before PERB.
One has to question if the Village’s delay was an intentional tactic of its representatives as it only increased legal fees the Village had to pay its attorney and the Police Union had to pay to defend against the Village’s breach of contract.
The Mayor’s actions also raised issues the Police Union would never have brought up. Further investigation resulted in the Police Union asserting Fair Labor and Standards Act violations. The Police Union’s investigation revealed that its members were owed over $714,000!
However, rather than pressing ahead with litigation, the Police Union sought to reduce the Village’s liability and started settlement discussions with the Village. Rather than quickly resolving the issues, the Village delayed, delayed, and delayed. The Village had to capitulate on every issue. With no other avenue but settlement, the Village vindictively added to the police officers’ frustration by delaying the settlement.
This was a story of ignorance, compounded by incompetence. The Mayor’s ignorance of the police officer’s correct pay rate was compounded by the incompetence in the manner in which the Village handled this dispute.
On a daily basis Village of Albion police officers serve and protect village residents.
Now, in the end, it is as it always was. The police officers looked out for the village residents. When presented with a possible cost to the village residents of almost three quarters of a million dollars, the Police Union resolved the issues just to make sure they were paid correctly. Unfortunately, there was nothing the Police Union could do to save village residents from the Mayor wasting over $38,000 due to his own ignorance.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2022 at 4:54 pm
Photos courtesy of Marc Major: Dalton Major trains during a recruit academy for the City of Batavia. He started full-time as a career firefighter with Batavia in July.
CLARENDON – Dalton Major, 23, is living his dream as a full-time firefighter. In July he started with the City of Batavia Fire Department.
He has responded to fires, emergency medical calls, car accidents and even ducklings trapped in the sewer. During the blizzard, he helped organize supplies that were delivered to people in need.
“There is no routine call,” Major said. “You have to be ready for everything.”
Major practically grew up in the Clarendon fire hall, following his dad Marc to calls. As a young boy, Dalton would wait at the fire hall in a meeting room with other children of firefighters. That room had toys, games and a TV.
As he got older, Dalton wanted to be part of the trainings.
“I just loved to be up there,” Dalton said.
Dalton’s mother Joanne also was an EMT with Clarendon from 2007 to 2014. Marc is now the fire chief of the volunteer fire company.
In recent years Dalton has joined his father on EMS, fire and other emergency calls. Dalton is a lieutenant with the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Company.
This summer he fulfilled a longtime goal of being hired to work as a firefighter when he joined the City of Batavia Fire Department.
Dalton said the Batavia department, staffed with professionals in a small city, is a perfect spot for him.
“It’s the best fit for me,” he said. “That place is really like a family.”
Dalton in the past decade has steadily been working towards his dream of being a professional firefighter.
Dalton was part of a First Responders Youth Program that gave kids in the Holley school district some exposure to firefighting. That group still meets Monday evenings at Clarendon and is run by Bob Freida and other firefighters. Marc Major, Pete Hendrickson and Joe Morlino also served as advisors in the program.
Dalton speaks at age 14 in Montour Falls for a County Coordinators Conference. Dalton shared about the First Responders Youth Program in Holley, Clarendon and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray.
It was intended to introduce kids to firefighting with the hope some of them would join a volunteer or career fire department as adults.
When Dalton was 14 he spoke at a state-wide County Coordinators Conference in Montour Falls. He talked about the benefits of the First Responders Youth Program in Holley, Clarendon and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray. The program for grades 7 to 12 is backed by the Holley Central School District and is an official school activity.
Clarendon Fire Chief Marc Major and his son Dalton Major celebrate Dalton’s graduation from the state fire academy.
The students gain some hands-on learning, but aren’t allowed to go to a live fire. They instead become familiar with fire trucks, equipment and training.
Some of the students in the youth group are local volunteer firefighters, including Zach Dann and Nate Smith with the Murray Joint Fire District. Others have gone into public service professions including Cassie Dean who is a security dispatcher at the Rochester airport, Delilah Doerr who is a home health aide, and Mike Snell, a member of the military who is par tof a crash rescue team.
At Holley, Dalton played soccer and basketball while being an active member of the youth program that met at the Clarendon fire hall.
After he graduated form Holley, Dalton then went to Onondaga Community College to completed his degree in fire protection safety and technology. He earned certifications in Firefghter 1, Firefighter 2, haz-mat awareness and haz-mat operations. He also has his national certifications to be a fire officer and fire instructor.
Dalton also was able to bunk in the Liverpool Fire Department fire house, staying there for two years in exchange for responding to calls.
“It’s a big city department,” Major said. “I got very lucky with Liverpool. I gained a lot of experience and met some really good people.”
Dalton graduated from Onondaga in May 2020 the height of the Covid pandemic. He worked about 10 months with Monroe Ambulance as an EMT, while also working part-time for an electrician in Brockport. He then worked as a utility worker for RG & E.
But he didn’t want to give up on the dream of a full-time job as firefighter. The firefighter Civil Service Exam was offered in Batavia. Dalton aced the test and then went to the state fire training academy in Montour Falls for 15 weeks, graduating in July.
He is grateful for a career where he said he can make a difference for many in the community, sometimes it’s a matter of life and death, other times it’s providing a listening ear and some comfort.
“It’s the best job ever,” he said. “You’re going to make someone’s bad day better. The main reason the fire department was created was to make things better for other people.”
Major said no fire or EMS call is shrugged off. If there is a call for a fire alarm, there could be a fire. An EMS call, even if it seems minor, is a very big issue for the person in pain.
“We treat everything as an emergency,” he said. “You have to be ready for everything.”
Dalton Major lived at the Liverpool Fire Department near Syracuse for about two years as part of a bunk-in program while a student at Onondaga Community College.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2022 at 12:03 pm
KENDALL – The Kendall community is invited to an open house on Sunday at the fire hall to bid farewell to the ambulance at the fire department.
The Kendall FD ran the all-volunteer service since 1968. It announced in October the service would cease at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31.
Firefighters will still respond to EMS calls, but transports will be handled by Monroe Ambulance and others in mutual aid.
The open house will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fire hall, 1879 Kendall Rd. Photos will be on display of ambulances through the years. Eric Maxon, a Kendall firefighter for 41 years and treasurer for the ambulance for 23 years, will give a presentation at noon about the history of the ambulance service in Kendall.
The fire department is the last one in Orleans County operating an all-volunteer ambulance service for free.
He said the training requirements and the transports to Rochester hospitals took more time for the volunteers.
“We’ve been known for our ambulance service,” Maxon said today. “But it’s such a burden on volunteers. It’s taken a toll on everybody.”
The fire department didn’t want to continue with the service when it was in doubt there would be a crew to make a timely response.
“We didn’t want a call go out and have nobody show up,” Maxon said.
The open house and decommissioning on Sunday is a chance for the fire department to thank the community for its support for the past 54 years for the ambulance service.
The department will be selling the ambulance and then acquiring a Tahoe that will function as a fly car for basic life support services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2022 at 11:20 am
ALBION – Orleans County has retained a lobbyist for $90,000 for 2023, keeping a relationship with Park Strategies that started in 2015.
The $90,000 is the same rate the county has paid annually since 2020.
The agreement calls for the county to pay Park Strategies $5,000 a month for government affairs services at the federal level and $2,500 a month for government affairs services at the state level.
The firm will be tasked with helping the county to receive $1.5 million from the federal government for broadband services. That funding was announced by Congressman Chris Jacobs and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer as part of a joint project with Niagara County.
“The way the language of the bill was written, we are having trouble accessing those funds for broadband,” said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.
Park Strategies has contacted Jacobs office to try to resolve the issue before his term ends in the next few days. Park Strategies also has coordinated meetings with the federal agency handling the funds to see how the county can access that money, Welch said.
Park also is assisting the county in obtaining $2 million through U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office for a new building for the Emergency Management Office.
“Orleans County currently has $3.5 million in promised funding from the federal government that Part Strategies is assisting us with the progress of being able to access these funds for our broadband and EMO project,” Welch said. “Without guidance from an outside agent for the county, we could very well lose these promised funds.”
Park Strategies was founded by Al D’Amato, the former U.S. senator from New York. The firm has given Orleans County a “louder voice” at the state and U.S. capitols, county officials said.
The firm assists county officials in setting up meetings with representatives from the state and federal governments. Park Strategies also makes the county aware of legislative that could be helpful or harmful to the county, and brainstorms ways to pursue funding for critical projects in the county.
In the past county officials have praised Park Strategies for helping to make the county’s case to the state Department of Transportation for canal bridges to be repaired. The state spent about $10.7 million recently to fix seven bridges.
The state also has repaved portions of the Lake Ontario State Parkway, committed to dredging harbors on Lake Ontario and also allocated funds to protect lakeshore properties from flooding.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2022 at 9:13 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has reappointed Kathy Case of Murray and Janice Grabowski as elections commissioners for two-year terms.
Case was recommended by the Orleans County Republican Committee and Grabowski was backed by the Democratic Committee. They will each be paid $21,664 in 2023 and $22,097 in 2024.
In other action at the Legislature’s meeting last week:
• Accepted a $93,490 state grant for the Sheriff’s Office for costs and services at the dispatch center. The funding is from the NYS 2021 Public Safety Answering Points Operations Grant Programs.
• The Sheriff’s Office also received a $26,888 grant from the State Homeland Security Program.
• Authorized emergency engine replacement of a 2017 Sheriff’s patrol vehicle for the K9 unit with $9,886 to be paid to Bidleman Chevrolet Buick GMC in Albion.
• Approved an agreement with James Punch, the retired Orleans County Court judge, to continue as the administrator of the Assigned Counsel Plan. Punch started in the role in Dec. 1, 2020. He will be paid $35,000 in 2023. He was recommended by the Assigned Counsel Advisory Committee.
• Appointed Dr. Thomas Madejski of Albion to continue to serve as coroner’s physician at an annual pay of $3,730 in 2023 and $3,805 in 2024.
• Authorized treasurer Kim DeFrank to set up new money in the Department of Public Works budget due to the $1,064,893 from the state’s Consolidated Local Street Highway Improvement program. Those CHIPS funds are an increase from the state.
• Appointed the following to three-year terms on the County Planning Board: Janet Navarra-Salvatore, representing Village of Albion; Michael Massaro, Village of Albion alternate; George Avery, Village of Lyndonville; Dan Gardner, Village of Medina; Richard Moss, Village of Medina alternate; David Knapp, Town of Murray; Thomas Fenton, Town of Ridgeway; and Tim Elliott, Ridgeway alternate.
• Reappointed John Kast of Kast Farms to serve an at-large position from the farming community on the Soil & Water District Board. The term is for three years.
• Reappointed Ed Urbanik to a three-year term on the Orleans County Board of Ethics.
• Created a part-time housekeeper aide position in the Office for the Aging to help with a waiting list for home care service. The position is 75 percent funded by the state.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 December 2022 at 8:00 pm
Villages and towns in Orleans share $1,366,671 – same amount since 2001
The Orleans County Legislature approved the 2023 sales tax apportionment for the 10 towns and four villages in the county.
They will again share $1,366,671 in sales tax. That amount to the towns and villages hasn’t changed since 2001 even though the sales tax revenue have seen big increases in recent years.
The county has used the big increase to stave off property tax increases while also addressing capital projects and infrastructure upgrades. The total local sales tax is about $20 million annually in Orleans County.
It has been rising recently with internet sales now taxed, higher inflation making goods and services more expensive, and higher gas prices for much of 2022.
The new amounts for the 10 towns in villages puts the total town share at $987,894 in 2023, down $3,157 from the $991,051 in 2022.
The villages are up $3,157 – from $375,620 to $378,777. Medina and Holley both will get more, while the villages of Albion and Holley are down slightly.
Charts compiled by the Orleans Hub.
The county every 10 years divvies up the shares among the towns and villages based on population. After that is set, the county in the following years will tweak the village and town amounts based on changes in taxable value in the municipalities. (That taxable value change doesn’t include Barre, Carlton, Clarendon and Kendall because they don’t have a village within their border.)
If a town’s tax base grows at a greater percentage than the village within that town’s borders, the town gets more of the sales tax and vice versa.
The villages generally see a steady decline in their sales tax because the towns’ tax base grows at a faster pace. In 2022, the village share dropped nearly $8,000. In 2013, the villages collectively received $404,661, nearly $26,000 more than they will get in 2023.
In Albion, the village hit a high of $211,669 in 2004. In 2022, it will receive $165,309, which is $46,360 less than in 2004.
In Holley, the village hit a high of $62,549 in 2002 – 21 years later it’s down to $46,545, a cut of $16,004.
Lyndonville was at $18,592 in 2002 and has dropped to $14,876 in 2023.
In Medina, the village received a high of $173,592 in 2002 and will be at $152,047 in 2023, a decline of $21,545.
Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation (S.739A/A.6300A) into law, creating a new path for people over the age of 18 to apply for “one-day designation,” authorizing them to solemnize a single marriage on a specified day in the State of New York.
“Joining individuals in marriage is a beautiful moment that should be shared with an officiant selected by the spouses-to-be,” Governor Hochul said. “By signing this legislation into law, we are eliminating any barriers to becoming an officiant so friends and family members can share such a meaningful time with loved ones of their choosing and have their marriage recognized under New York State law.”
Legislation (S.739A/A.6300A) amends the domestic relations law to enable individuals to apply for permission to be designated as an officiant in order to solemnize a particular couple’s marriage. New York is a premiere destination for weddings and this legislation is yet another reason for couples to celebrate here.
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi said, “Couples in New York will now have the opportunity to be married by their friends or family— allowing them to further engage their loved ones on their special day. I’d like to thank Governor Kathy Hochul for her commitment to modernizing our law, and thank Assemblymember Sandy Galef and my colleagues for their support of this legislation.”
Assemblymember Sandy Galef said, “New Yorkers joined in marriage by a friend or family member no longer have to worry about whether or not their marriage is legally valid thanks to the passage of this legislation. Thank you to Governor Hochul and my colleagues for your support of this legislation that will allow friends, family, and loved ones to share these meaningful moments without having a religious connection or political affiliation.”
ALBION – County government leaders are trying to fill 32 open positions, with some of the jobs open for several months now.
As we say goodbye to 2022, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) would like to wish you all a healthy and Happy New Year.
