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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

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.”

Photos courtesy of Gayle Smith

ALBION – Gayle Smith was outside her home on Wood Road in Albion this morning when she saw something she had never seen before.

Snow rollers that looked like bales of snow had formed. They are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter.

“We saw them this morning when we took the dog out for a walk,” Smith said in an email. “At first I thought there were from a snowmobile kicking up snow, but you can see the rolls start out of nowhere.”

A snow roller is considered a rare cold weather meteorological phenomenon when snow balls itself into donut-shaped spirals. National Geographic said snow rollers also are called “snow bales,” “wind snowballs,” or “snow donuts.”

The magazine said they are the cold weather equivalent of tumbleweeds, forming when wind pushes snow across the ground, gathering it into a hollow cylinder.

Smith, the Wood Road resident, said there are many of them in a field near the fairgrounds.

AAA is reporting that the average price for regular unleaded dropped 8 cents last week. The price today at $3.411 is less than the average price of $3.498 a year ago in New York State.

Nationally the average price is at $3.04 a gallon, compared to $3.29 a year ago.

The average price for diesel, however, is much higher than a year ago. The average price is at $5.361 today compared to $5.428 a week ago, $5.864 a month ago and $3.727 a year ago, according to AAA.

Orleans County currently has the highest average price for regular unleaded among the Western New York counties.

• Orleans, $3.595
• Genesee, $3.311
• Niagara, $3.379
• Monroe, $3.473
• Erie, $3.493
• Wyoming, $3.510
• Livingston, $3.518
• Chautauqua, $3.568
• Cattaraugus, $3.563
• Allegany, $3.570

AAA issued the following statement about gas prices:

“New York’s average for a gallon of regular is now lower than it was a year ago. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand remains low while stocks continue to rise.

“Increasing supply and low gasoline demand are pushing pump prices lower, a trend that will likely cause pump prices to continue to decrease through next year.

“Oil demand may continue to rise despite ongoing market concerns that a recession or slowdown could occur next year. If economic growth falters, crude demand will likely drop alongside prices.”

Press Release, Albion First Baptist Church & Society

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Rev. Marsha Rivers starts on Jan. 1 as the new pastor at the First Baptist Church in Albion. The church is part of Albion’s historic Courthouse Square.

ALBION – The Albion First Baptist Church is pleased to introduce their new pastor: Rev. Marsha Bolton Rivers.

Pastor Marsha will begin ministry in the First Baptist Church and the Albion community effective Jan. 1.

Pastor Marsha, an Albion native and graduate of Albion High School, has previously provided pulpit supply at Albion First Baptist at various times over the years. She was ordained in May 2017 and most recently served as Pastor of Congregational Care & Discipleship at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia.

She holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with a concentration in Nonprofit Leadership & Management from Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Social Sciences from Roberts Wesleyan College.

The church invites the community to join them in welcoming Pastor Marsha to their church family. There will be an installation service at the church on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Pastor Marsha in her new role at Albion First Baptist.

“I am delighted to be able to live, work, and worship in Albion. It is truly a dream come true,” Rivers said. “I thank God for this opportunity to lead a congregation; to listen, learn, and explore new ideas and possibilities alongside all of you, as well as those who will join us on the journey in the coming months and years.”

Regular worship services are held every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. The church is located at 30 West Park St. with the winter entrances through the Liberty Street side door and the handicap accessible entrance off the parking lot on the corner of Beaver and Liberty Streets.

Marsha and her husband Tom have four children and live in the Village of Albion. He works as the editor of the Orleans Hub.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is thanking emergency responders for their actions after Western New York’s brutal holiday snow storm.

Emergency employees are continuing to assist citizens who have been snowed into their homes and vehicles during this historic blizzard. The duties of our first responders are extremely important this time of year, especially the work of our highway crews, snow removal personnel and state and municipal snow plow operators.

“I would like to thank all of our incredible emergency employees and utility workers for their efforts to protect those in our area,” Hawley said. “I hope all of those in my district were safe at home during the holiday weekend blizzards.

“We know how difficult this weather can be in our area, but this is an important reminder that we have individuals who will be outside in these conditions ready to assist us. Thank you to our first responders for delivering blankets, pillows, water and other necessities to those in need. They are true heroes to our region, especially during Western New York’s brutal winter months.”

Photo courtesy of Orleans County Sheriff’s Office

ALBION – Before the Christmas holiday corrections officers at the Orleans County Jail delivered presents from the jail staff to students at Albion Central School.

The photo shows from left: corrections officer Nick Issac, Middle School Principal Brad Pritchard and corrections officer Doug Ashbery.

Stephanie Volpe, a nurse at the school, teamed with counselors and social workers at the school to direct the presents to several local families.