By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 15 October 2022 at 9:32 am
MEDINA – As soon as Julie Berry saw the restored Bent’s Opera House, she thought, “What a historic place.”
That immediately brought to mind two accomplished musicians who are friends of Julie and her husband Phil.
The Berrys met keyboardist Andrus Madsen, widely acclaimed head of the Newton Baroque, while living in Boston for 14 years.
Andrus Madsen
“As soon as I saw the opera house space itself, I couldn’t resist dragging him out here,” Julie said.
Accompanying Madsen will be another friend of the Berrys, soprano Audrey Luna of Cincinnati, who will present An Evening in Vienna – a Baroness Fanny von Arnstein Salon, circa 1790 at 7 p.m. today. Tickets are $30 and can be reserved on Bent’s Opera House website. Beverages and tapes will be available for purchase.
Luna will be making her Newton Baroque debut. They will perform Arianna a Naxos by Joseph Haydn, Lieder by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Abbandonate e sola by Haydn’s teacher, Nicola Porpora.
Madsen will be playing an 18th century pianoforte. He is no stranger to Western New York, having studied at the Eastman School of Music during the second half of the 1990s. He said he first loved 18th century music growing up in Utah and loves to find ways to play it that are exciting and grab people emotionally. This will be the first time he has performed with Luna. He said she came to Boston and they hatched the idea for this program.
Madsen plays various historic instruments. His harpsichord is like Haydn played, he said. His own piano was built by the company which also built Brahms’ piano.
“I’m very interested in how people used to play and how music is presented,” Madsen said.
Madsen and Julie feel Bent’s Opera House is a perfect space for a concert like this.
Audrey Luna
“This setting is more intimate than a large concert hall and creates a situation where the audience can connect much deeper with the music,” Madsen said. “It’s possible to wind up liking music you previously knew nothing about.”
Madsen is an active performer on the organ, harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano. He is the minister of music at the Second Church in Newton, Mass., founding director of Newton Baroque and also plays with Exsultemus, an early music vocal ensemble. He has received significant critical acclaim for his recording of keyboard music by Pachelbel.
Madsen said Luna early in her career sang in an opera house in Germany, where she was a fest soloist with Bremen Opera. She enjoys a varied career singing art song, chamber music, contemporary music, oratorio and teaching the Alexander Technique and Voice. Her love of chamber music has led to collaborations with not only several quartets, but with pianist James Tocco, with percussionist Allen Otte and Percussion Group Cincinnati.
“What attracted me to her as a singer was her priority to sing expressively, not loud or fast,” Madsen said. “She focuses on rich expression. This will be fun music. She will be singing about an abandoned woman who is desperate.”
The subject of the program, Baroness Franziska “Fanny” von Arnstein, lived in Vienna in the late 18th century. The eighth child of a prominent German Jewish family, she grew up in Berlin surrounded by Enlightenment ideals, and studied piano alongside Johann Sebastian Bach’s son Wilhelm Friedmann Bach. Fanny arrived in Vienna as an 18-year-old bride, and was eventually elevated as a baroness. She hosted the glittering salon gatherings, where the great musicians and artists of the 1780s and 1790s mingled.
At a time when Jews were not allowed to own property, Fanny von Arnstein helped to elevate the respect in which Jews were held in 18th century Viennese high society, Julie Berry said. Fanny personally knew Haydn and Mozart and was a financial support to him during some of his darkest times. Her sister Sarah Levy did much the same in Berlin, being a friend of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach. She inherited his portion of his family’s musical collection when he died.
The program at Bent’s Opera House will feature works that were likely performed at one of Fanny’s salons.
“I love music. I love Medina. And I love that space,” Berry said of Bent’s Opera House.
Photo courtesy of GCC: The Alfred C. O’Connell Library at GCC in Batavia has been awarded $20,000 from the COVID Library Relief Fund of the American Library Association.
Press Release, Genesee Community College
BATAVIA – Genesee Community College’s Alfred C. O’Connell library is pleased to announce the receipt of a $20,000 grant from the COVID Library Relief Fund of the American Library Association.
The ALA made available $1.55 million in emergency relief grants to 77 libraries that have experienced substantial economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. These funds are intended to bolster library operations and services including broadening technology access, developing collections, providing digital instruction, staffing, and expanding outreach, as well as maintaining and amplifying existing service strategies or adding new ones to extend impact through the end of 2022.
When the opportunity arose, it was an easy decision to apply for the grant.
“Since the pandemic we have been operating with fewer resources and the ALA funds will allow us to streamline essential systems. We are grateful for the monetary assistance,” said Jessica Hibbard, Associate Dean of Library and Instructional Support Services at Genesee.
The library plans to use the funds to enhance the library’s engagement with the campus and GLOW region community by hosting several events and workshops, including the return of the poetry and photography contests.
Upgrades to the library’s study room spaces feature new furniture and wall-mounted tablets to support an on-demand reservation system using the college’s booking software, providing greater access for students and less staff time spent in scheduling.
The grant also provided enhanced streaming media and database access for some of the academic programs on campus, most notably the purchase of Visible Body, a database that supports online lab instruction for health care programs.
As learning migrated online, streaming media is increasingly essential for coursework and the ALA funds made it possible for students to access videos for projects in general education courses such as cinema, history, journalism and musical theory/appreciation courses.
“This grant cycle has a short window so we have already started to get some of these projects underway and are very thankful for the opportunity to make some enhancements in the library that we otherwise would not have been able to,” Hibbard said.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.7862B/A.10261) ending the practice of charging an additional fee to debtors when collecting outstanding debts owed to the state resulting from educational expenses. Prior to this law, a fee of 22 percent was added by state law on top of the total debt due.
“When students across New York spoke up about the difficulties of digging out of debt, my administration listened,” Governor Hochul said. “By signing this legislation, we are removing a barrier to higher education and ensuring that students can graduate without debilitating debt that has disproportionately hurt students least able to afford it. Every New Yorker deserves access to a quality education without fear of getting trapped in a cycle of debt.”
Legislation (S.7862B/A.10261) adds a provision to the state finance law prohibiting state agencies from collecting a 22 percent fee when enforcing debt collection on educational debt. Various state agencies collect educational debts owed to the state, and when unable to collect through traditional means, these debts may be referred to the Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Recoveries Bureau.
Prior to the signing of this legislation, state law provided that the Attorney General recover its costs in pursuing collection of this educational debt through an additional fee of up to 22 percent of the outstanding debt; That fee was then added on top of the total debt due, which substantially increased the amount owed by student debtors.
Attorney General Letitia James said, “Charging fees to students already struggling with debt only compounds the problem. This law addresses that inequity and is an important step in helping these New Yorkers become financially stable. I was proud to push for this legislation and commend the bill sponsors and Governor Hochul for taking this action.”
GO Health has brought in grants to expand services, reduce costs
Press Release, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) are celebrating 10 years of working collaboratively through their cross-jurisdictional shared services arrangement.
This initiative was the first of its kind in New York State and is at the forefront of providing best practices for local governments looking to become more efficient through sharing services.
The shared services began as a PILOT project for two years and was part of a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that helped establish the Center of Sharing Public Health Services (www.phsharing.org). Following the first two years, the benefits, both fiscally and operationally have resulted in an ongoing agreement by Genesee and Orleans counties to continue forward with sharing public health services.
“The Genesee County Legislature saw this collaboration as an opportunity for our residents to be served by high quality staff, which is key to improving the quality of healthy living in Genesee and Orleans counties,” stated Shelley Stein, Genesee County Legislative Chair. “Since the beginning of this venture, both counties have made significant progress and now have shared services with the Youth Bureau and Weights and Measures. These shared services reduce local taxes and lower cost of governments. Additionally, across New York State our best practices and case studies have been studied by other counties seeking to cut costs for their residents.”
“The cross-jurisdictional collaboration to create the shared Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, now known as GO Health, was a transforming idea of two legislative bodies,” stated Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislative Chair. “This would not have been achieved if it weren’t for the faith we had in Public Health Director, Paul Pettit to lead the initiative.”
The support and technical assistance of the Center for Sharing Public Health Services for our integrated health departments helped identify the value for our leaders and provide the financial support to jump-start the collaboration.
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) also added their support to the pilot project of joining resources, which lead to the benefit of residents in both of our counties, and is key to our ongoing success.
Working together has helped fill workforce gaps, provide natural redundancy and attract additional candidates for vacant positions. The public health staff in both counties have become more creative and have worked together on several joint projects, including, but not limited to, a joint strategic plan, workforce development plan, quality improvement, branding and communication plan, and working on a joint application to become nationally accredited through the Public Health Accreditation Board as GO Health.
This collaboration has also seen an increase in the services we are able to offer our residents due to the ability to be more competitive with grant applications with a combined population of almost 100,000 residents. GO Health has been very successful in applying for and receiving approximately $7.5 million in grant funds since we began joint applications 10 years ago. These funds have helped to reduce county costs while enhancing services to county residents.
Paul Pettit
GO Health has regionalized service delivery further and is also the recipient of a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Lead Poisoning Prevention and Remediation grant in collaboration with Wyoming and Livingston Counties (GLOW region). These lead grants are going to assist residents to reduce lead poisoning and remediate hazards in their homes. GO Health has also benefited from three CDC Public Health Associate Program fellows that spend a two-year assignment working in both counties at little cost to the counties.
“Seeing all that we have accomplished over the past 10 years shows that our initial goals were on target,” Pettit said. “We continue to look at innovative ways to advance our collaboration, drive efficiencies, and be fiscally responsible. Where we are today with our integrated operations is a testament to the buy in and hard work of our county administration, the GO Health leadership team, and all the public health staff. The staff have been instrumental in the success of our work as they operate as a team, share ideas, deliver services, and promote health as a cohesive unit.”
The Covid-19 pandemic response put our integrated departments to the test. Having the ability to work together through sharing employees helped balance the surges over the past couple of years and was essential to meet the needs of contact tracing, administering Covid-19 testing and eventually vaccinations in both counties. One of the most effective benefits of our shared response was with public communications and messaging which allowed us to reduce redundancies and leverage staffing to push information across our shared media.
“We recognize our public health staff for their hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic and over the past 10 years,” said Johnson of the Orleans County Legislature. “We look forward to seeing what they can accomplish in the years to come.”
“Throughout the pandemic, I was able to volunteer my time at clinics and experience firsthand how caring and committed our health department staff are,” said Stein of the Genesee County Legislature. “Watching folks mature into highly functioning teams with only one goal – serve and care for the health and recovery of our residents. I am in awe of the dedication to public service that was very evident in each member of GO Health each day. They are a true gift to our communities. The GO Health partnership gives us the opportunity for health specialists here at home to be comparable with urban counties. I am grateful to know them. Our shining stars!”
“Looking forward, we expect to see GO Health continue to mature and provide further savings and enhanced service delivery to our residents,” said Pettit, public health director. “GO Health is in the final stages of becoming a nationally accredited health department, which is planned for mid-2023. GO Health will continue to integrate and serve as chief health strategists in our communities. We look forward to serving both counties as GO Health- onward.”
Photos courtesy of Arc GLOW: Matthew, left, congratulates Arc GLOW Direct Support Professional Roger Garrod on winning a statewide award today.
ALBION — Roger Garrod, a longtime Arc GLOW direct support professional, has received a Thomas A. Maul Direct Support Professional Excellence Award from The Arc New York.
The Albion resident has been an Arc team member since 2009 and currently works in the Academy Street Day Habilitation program.
The Thomas A. Maul Direct Support Professional Excellence Award is an annual award which recognizes direct support professionals who consistently demonstrate excellence, creativity and commitment to providing supports to people who have intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Four prestigious Thomas A. Maul Awards are presented each year.
Thomas A. Maul served as the Commissioner of the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities from 1993 to 2006. During his tenure, he addressed many long-standing issues facing disability service providers. The Commissioner and The Arc New York shared a priority – recognition of direct support professional staff. Upon his retirement, The Arc New York founded this award in his honor.
The 2022 award presentation was held virtually today as part of The Arc New York’s Annual meeting. Roger was cheered on at the presentation by individuals he serves, along with family members and co-workers. They gathered in the day habilitation site’s community room.
Supervisor at the day hab site, Michael Helwig, said Roger always puts the individuals first. “Roger is dedicated and a team player. He is an innovative DSP that is the heart and soul of support for people with disabilities,” Helwig stated.
Kelly Anstey, Senior Director of Day and Employment Services at Arc GLOW, said Roger demonstrates respect for the dignity, independence, culture, and rights of individuals he serves by first and foremost being present, and encouraging individuals to express themselves in whatever manner they use.
“I have seen Roger interact myriad times with individuals with very limited or seemingly absent communication skills, but the interactive rapport he develops leaves no doubt that true, two-way respectful communication is occurring,” Anstey said. “By developing effective communication, Roger builds trust allowing him to gain knowledge of individuals’ desires, choices and preferences.”
When Roger learned he was being honored with a DSP award, he couldn’t believe it. “There are so many staff that work so hard…I was shocked.”
The award recipient began working as a DSP in the Arc residential department before transferring to day habilitation, but still works as a relief DSP at Arc’s Hamilton Road home where his DSP career began.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Arc GLOW, formerly The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming and Arc of Genesee Orleans, is a family-founded agency dedicated to helping people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities meet their full potential and find fulfillment in learning, personal relationships, employment, volunteerism, recreation, the arts, and more. Arc GLOW serves more than 2,000 individuals and their families and recently marked its one-year anniversary as a four-county chapter.
Pictured, seated from left: Roger Garrod and Day Hab Coordinator Michael Helwig. Standing: Arc GLOW managers Kellie Kennedy, Kelly Anstey, Sherri Raab, Board President Cheryl Englert, CEO Martin Miskell and Board Secretary Charles Keenan.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2022 at 3:04 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Caleb Hughson, an Albion fifth-grader, makes it through a smoke simulator as part of Fire Prevention Week at the school.
A fire safety training trailer was outside the school today. That trailer, owned by the Orleans County’s Emergency Management Office, has a fog machine to simulate smoky rooms.
Students were urged to “Stay Low and Go.”
Students pretend to call 911 at outside the fire safety trailer. A person inside pretended to be a 911 dispatcher. Firefighters also encouraged students to develop a fire escape plan with their families.
Ben Mathes of the Barre Volunteer Fire Company helps Annie Curfman, a fourth-grader, spray water at targets. Barre brought a small fire hose it uses for brush and grass fires. That hose was more manageable for the students to use today.
Mathes said he was willing to help teach students about fire prevention, and also hoped they would consider joining a local fire department when they are older, or encourage their parents to get the training and become a firefighter.
“We desperately need people” Mathes said. “It’s community service and there’s camaraderie.”
James Fisher, an EMT with COVA, talks with students about the ambulance and some of the medical supplies inside, including a stretcher.
Colton Moreland, a fourth-grader, handles the deck gun on Carlton’s rescue boat.
Firefighters were outside the school from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today, showing about 800 students some of the equipment used by local emergency services.
Angie Wolfe, an elementary teacher and fire prevention week coordinator, said students enjoyed how interactive the event was, with an opportunity to go inside a fire truck, go on the rescue boat, spray water at targets and crawl through the foggy safety trailer.
Students can make a project – a poster, song, book, a diorama – and a winner from each grade level from Pre-K to 5 will get a ride to school in a fire truck.
Nathan Bloom, an Albion firefighter, shows students an Albion fire truck. Students were able to climb inside the truck.
Barre firefighter Mark Farone also worked the station where students could spray water at targets. He is assisting Eli Patten, a fourth-grader.
Rachel Lundmark, a fifth grade teacher, makes her way through the foggy safety trailer.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a series of pay increases for nurse positions within New York State agencies to help improve recruitment and retention among the state’s healthcare workforce.
The increases, which account for the rising complexity of nursing tasks and high credential requirements for nurses, will bring the starting salary of registered nurses working the day shift to nearly $90,000 upstate and $108,000 downstate when coupled with pay differentials. The pay increases will benefit approximately 6,500 New York State employees located across 15 state agencies.
“After more than two years on the frontlines in the battle against Covid-19, New York nurses deserve more than our gratitude – they deserve fair and competitive pay,” Governor Hochul said. “These wage increases reflect our state’s commitment to supporting our healthcare workers and will help us retain and recruit the next generation of nurses to keep New Yorkers safe.”
New York State upgraded select nursing titles, with the upgrades representing an average pay increase of 4.5 percent per title. Registered Nurse titles will also now be hired at the midpoint of the salary range. In addition, registered nurse titles will receive an updated shift pay to include an increase of 7 percent of base pay for the evening shift (4 p.m. to 12 a.m.) and an increase of 10 percent of base pay for the night shift (12 a.m. to 8 a.m.).
These pay increases are in addition to increased geographic pay differentials for registered and licensed practical nurse titles enacted earlier this year. In July, registered nurse positions located in Mid-Hudson and downstate locations received a $35,000 geographic pay differential, an increase of 94 percent from the previous $18,000 differential. Registered nurse positions located in the rest of the state also received a $20,000 geographic pay differential, an increase of 67 percent from the previous $12,000 pay differential.
In May, licensed practical nurse positions located in Mid-Hudson and downstate locations received a $13,000 geographic pay differential, an increase of 550 percent from the previous $2,000 differential and positions located in the rest of the state received a $4,000 geographic pay differential, an increase of 100 percent from the previous $2,000 differential.
The salary increase is expected to have the greatest impact at the following agencies, which currently have the largest number of eligible positions:
State University of New York – 3,381 employees
Office of Mental Health – 1,663 employees
Office for People with Developmental Disabilities – 674 employees
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision – 518 employees
Department of Health – 371 employees
Office of Addiction Services and Supports – 120 employees
Press Release, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council
MEDINA – GO ART! is happy to invite you to our Mexican Día de los Muertos celebration, co-sponsored by the Orleans County YMCA and Mariachi de Oro Mexican Grill.
Join us on Saturday, October 22 at the Orleans County YMCA, 306 Pearl St., Medina, from 3 to 7 p.m. Come learn about and enjoy this holiday that remembers ancestors, with free activities for the whole family.
The festivities will include Mexican crafts, face painting, dance and drama performance, sand painting and ofrenda displays, and special food tastings. All activities will continue throughout the day. A full schedule can be found at www.MedinaDoD.com.
The Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration is a time of joyful remembrance of deceased loved ones, filled with an array of colors, scents, sounds and stories. Centered around the observance of All Saints and All Souls Days on November 1 and 2, the celebration also includes images and ideas about the roles of ancestors in our lives that trace back to Mexico’s indigenous peoples. Tradition holds that this is the one time of the year when souls can return to earth for a day and commune with their families and friends.
The celebration last year included Mexican dance, music and dramatic performances by Alma de México, a group from Rochester led by Karla Alcalá. They will be back for the event on Oct. 22.
“We’re excited to be at the YMCA again this year, with the continuing support of local Medina businesses and community members,” says Karen Canning, director of GLOW Traditions at GO ART!
Mexican celebrations of the holiday often include animated skeletons, colorfully decorated skulls (calaveras), elaborately cut tissue paper banners, emphasizing life’s continuing vibrancy in the midst of mortality. Local business owners and community groups are hosting workshops in such arts, including sugar skulls, paper flowers and banners, and paper masks.
Hosts and volunteers include Della’s Chocolates, The Downtown Browsery, Oak Orchard Girl Scouts, and Medina High School students. Canalside Tattoos will offer temporary tattoos, Case-Nic Cookies will have Day of the Dead themed treats for sale, and Las Toxicas will feature Mexican jewelry and clothing for purchase. GO ART! staff will host face painting, and Mariachi de Oro will provide samples of Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a typical food of the holiday.
Beautiful altars (ofrendas) in homes welcome the returning souls and feature candles, wild marigolds, incense, photographs, mementos and loved ones’ favorite foods like fruit, tortillas, tamales, chocolate, and bread.
People dance inside these puppets were more than 10 feet tall. The street puppets were created by artist, Antonio Cruz Zavaleta. He is among the returning artists for the upcoming Day of the Dead.
Members of the Rosario family will again create a large ofrenda at the YMCA in the style of their hometown in Oaxaca, Mexico. Artist Antonio Cruz Zavaleta will create a sand painting in front of the ofrenda, another decorative art found in Oaxaca for the holiday—check the schedule for a Q & A with the creators of these artistic traditions.
Attendees can contribute to a community ofrenda, where they can place a candle (electric, provided) and add their own remembrances of loved ones.
Mexican dance and music performances will be presented by Alma de México, a group from Rochester led by Karla Alcalá. A former member of a folkloric dance group in Mexico, Karla now teaches community members traditional dance from a variety of regions. Live music will also be provided by La Marimba, a marimba band from Buffalo, led by Tiffany Nicely.
Large monos de calenda (street puppets), created by artist, Antonio Cruz Zavaleta, will also return to dance and wander among attendees. Everyone’s invited to join in, and feel free to come in Day of the Dead themed outfits.
This year we welcome four artists—Dan Butler, Ted Canning, Ruben Ornelas and Gaitrie Subryan—from the newly-formed GLOW Creatives collective, supported by a 2-year grant from Creatives Rebuild New York. They will assist with face painting, sound reinforcement, and presentations of personal ofrendas and dance—see the online schedule for exact timing (www.medinadod.com).
The event is co-sponsored by GLOW Traditions at GO ART!, Mariachi de Oro Restaurant, and the YMCA, with partial funding from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
The gymnasium at the Y will be transformed for the celebration of the Day of the Dead.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2022 at 8:46 am
Orleans County and Western New York are near peak with fall foliage colors, according to I Love NY’s weekly foliage report.
I Love NY gives a report every Thursday in the fall about the foliage. The report says Orleans County is reaching peak colors “with bright and brilliant reds, yellows and oranges.”
The green canal bridge on Butts Road in Albion stands out among a group of trees, where leaves have changed to red and yellow.
The leaves have changed to red and only a few have fallen along the towpath in Albion.
This spot is next to the Brown Street canal bridge in Albion.
The weekly fall foliage report shows how the leaf colors are changing throughout the state.
The New York State Department of Labor today announced a minimum wage increase for home care aides.
Effective October 1, 2022, through Public Health Law § 3614-f, the minimum wage for home care aides has been increased to $17.00 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, and $15.20 per hour for the remainder of New York State.
“We know how valuable our home care aides are, especially with the shortages we’re currently seeing,” said New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. “This minimum wage increase will ensure home care aides are well paid and able to support themselves and their families, which will help attract more people to the profession. Overall, this will ensure better worker retention and patient care.”
This follows an order by the Commissioner and State Budget Director raising the general minimum wage to $14.20 for counties outside of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, beginning on December 31, 2022, leading to an additional $1.00 increase an hour for Home Care Aides in those locations.
Under Public Health Law § 3614-f, “home care aide” refers to a home health aide, personal care aide, home attendant or other licensed or unlicensed person whose primary responsibility includes the provision of in-home assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living or health-related tasks; provided, however, that home care aide does not include any individual (i) working on a casual basis, or (ii) who is a relative through blood, marriage or adoption of: (1) the employer; or (2) the person for whom the worker is delivering services, under a program funded or administered by federal, state or local government.
Home care aides may be owed extra pay in addition to minimum wage rates for:
Overtime – Home care aides must be paid 1½ times their regular rate of pay for weekly hours over 40 (or 44 for residential employees).
Call-in pay – If home care aides go to work as scheduled and their employer sends them home early, they may be entitled to extra hours of pay at the minimum wage rate for that day.
Spread of hours – If home care aides’ workdays last longer than ten hours, they may be entitled to extra daily pay. The daily rate is equal to one hour of pay at the minimum wage rate.
Uniform maintenance – If home care aides clean their own uniform, they may be entitled to additional weekly pay.
The only time an employer may reduce wages below minimum wage is to claim a limited allowance for meals and lodging, provided they do not charge for those services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2022 at 2:38 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Charlene Sielaff, a retired village clerk who worked 41 years in the village’s clerk’s office, holds a plaque listing her as the 2022 recipient of the Mayor Vaughn Award for her years of distinguished service. She is joined by Village Trustee Connie Nenni (a former village clerk) and Mayor Mark Bower.
Bower and Nenni presented the award to Sielaff at Tuesday evening’s Village Board meeting. Bower pushed to bring back the award which was last presented in 2003 to Fedora Formicola. Other recipients include Daniel Mawn in 1982, Roland Nenni Jr. in 1983, and Evelyn Smalley in 1986.
Sielaff was hired in the village clerk’s office on June 11, 1978 by former Mayor Herman Vaughn.
“Everybody thought he was a great person,” Sielaff said about Vaughn.
Sielaff worked for the village for 41 years until retiring on June 1, 2020.
“I enjoyed working with the public,” Sielaff said on Tuesday. She was joined by many of her family members when she was presented with the award.
“It’s an honor to be on the same plaque with all those other names,” she said.
Mayor Mark Bower presents the award to Charlene Sielaff during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting at the former Holley High School. The auditorium in the former school is now used for village meetings.
Bower said Sielaff was always professional and always represented the village well in her role at the village office. She was often the person at the front counter or on the phone, assisting residents with their village business.
Bower recalled going to the village office to pay a water or electric bill, or his village taxes.
“She was the first face I saw,” Bower said. “She was a great representative of the village at the office.”
Bower, who started as mayor on July 1, recently learned of the Mayor Vaughn Award and wanted to bring it back as an annual award for a deserving citizen. When he announced the return of the award, Sielaff “was one name that came up immediately.”
Connie Nenni hugs Charlene Sielaff after she was presented with the Mayor Vaughn Award.
Nenni, who is the Holley school district clerk, was the village clerk and worked 4 ½ years with Sielaff. Nenni said Sielaff was very well organized with village records and knew local residents very well.
“Everyone loved her,” Nenni said. “I learned quite a bit from Charlene but I never got to her level of knowledge.”
Provided photos: Keely Hutton discusses her book with two students Chyanni and Shyanna Williams.
MEDINA – Medina Junior-Senior High School recently played host to Keely Hutton, a children’s book author and former English teacher. She has written three books: Soldier Boy, Secret Soldiers and Don’t Look Back.
School librarian Jennifer O’Toole invited middle school and high schools students to hear Mrs. Hutton talk about her new book, Don’t Look Back, and to discuss her writing process.
Don’t Look Back was written with Achut Deng and is Deng’s real-life story about surviving war, living in a refugee camp from the age of 6 to 16 and her journey from South Sudan to America.
Hutton and Deng spent many hours every week for 18 months talking over the phone for the memoir. Hutton lives in the Rochester area and Deng lives in South Dakota where she works in human resources at a meat-packing plant. The final product is a powerful story about the ugliness and beauty of humanity and the message about not giving up no matter what the obstacles.
Deng’s story was first mentioned in a 2020 New York Times article. Her emotional story about her flight from the Sudan, immigrating to the US as part of the Lost Boys program and being the single mom of three boys caught the public’s attention. Macmillan Publishers optioned her story and had Deng interview potential authors to work with. She chose Hutton to collaborate with.
Author shares writing process in book about refugee who survived war in Sudan.
Hutton told students that she had to research the Sudan and the period of time that her subject lived there. She also filled several notebooks from her Zoom calls and interviews with Deng. It was then she was able to get to the heart of the story and began writing.
Hutton told students that all her books are based on the real lives of her subjects. She said that even though she did not have the same experiences as they did, she does experience similar emotions which helps her write from their point of view.
“Looking for shared, universal emotions helps me to build an emotional bridge for me and my readers,” she told Medina students. “If you want to write think back to your own experiences and connect those emotions to your subject.”
O’Toole also invited Julie Berry, owner of the Author’s Note Bookstore in Medina. Berry helped to facilitate Hutton’s visit to the high school. She hosted a book signing for Don’t Look Back.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 13 October 2022 at 1:23 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Lyndonville native Megan Johnson is the new director of Orleans Community Health Foundation. She began her duties on Monday.
MEDINA – The new director of Orleans Community Health Foundation couldn’t be happier to be working in her native Orleans County.
Megan Johnson took over on Monday from Heather Smith, who left to accept a position at Niagara University.
Johnson was born and raised in Lyndonville, a daughter of Roger and Wendy Thering. She graduated from Lyndonville High School and Brockport State College. She lived in Lockport for 15 years before moving to Medina in 2020 with her husband Clay Johnson, also a Lyndonville native.
“I’ve always lived in the area, but I love Orleans County and really wanted to come back and serve my community,” Johnson said.
After college Johnson held positions in marketing and development with several non-profits, including Connects Life, the Summit Center and most recently New Directions Youth and Family Services.
Johnson has a son and step-daughter and said she really wanted to raise her children here. She also acknowledged the importance of the hospital in her home community.
“The hospital is such an integral part of the community,” she said. “I think it’s really important to have the services offered here available locally. That’s what really excites me about this position.”
Johnson said she is just getting her feet wet, but she’s excited to jump right into the job to continue old ideas and develop new ones. Her first challenge is wrapping up plans for Treasure Island, the Foundation’s annual fundraiser scheduled Nov. 5 at Shelby Fire Hall.
“I intend to finish the year as planned and in 2023 perhaps create some new events,” she said. “One goal is to develop programs to draw younger supporters to the hospital.”
Her first week has been busy, and she’s still meeting people in the hospital, she said.
“I loved growing up in Orleans County and I am very excited to be back,” Johnson said. “The people here rise up to the occasion when needed. I hope people realize the value of what we have here so they don’t have to go outside the community for healthcare.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2022 at 11:26 am
MEDINA – The Medina Police Department has made an arrest today on the stabbing incidents that occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 9.
Nicholas Amos, 43, of Medina has been charged with two counts of assault in the first degree (Class B felony), 3 counts of assault in the third degree (Class D felony), five counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree (Class D felony), criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (Class D felony) and disorderly conduct, which is a violation.
Police officers were dispatched to 610 Main St. at 1:35 a.m. on Sunday for a stabbing. There was an altercation and five people were stabbed, the Medina Police Department said today.
Multiple individuals were transported to the hospital and two of the victims required surgery for their injuries. All of the victims are now in stable condition, and there were no fatalities involved with this incident, police said in a news release.
Amos was processed and transported to Orleans County Jail for centralized arraignment.
“The Medina Police Department would like to commend all of our officers who were involved in this in-depth investigation,” the department stated in the press release. “We would also like to thank the agencies who responded and assisted on the night of the incident, including the Albion Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police, Sheriff’s Dispatch, Medina Fire Department, and COVA Ambulance.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2022 at 11:08 am
The Social Security Administration announced today that about 70 million Americans will see a 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments in 2023.
On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January, the Social Security Administration said.
This is the largest percent increase since 1981 and the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will help offset higher inflation costs, according to the SSA. Social Security will mail COLA notices throughout the month of December to retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries, SSI recipients, and representative payees.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a U.S. Senate Aging Committee member, issued this statement:
“Today’s Social Security Administration announcement of an 8.7 percent increase in benefit checks, the largest increase since 1981, is fantastic news for more than 70 million Americans who are struggling with skyrocketing drug prices, prohibitive housing costs, and the rising cost of living. The larger Social Security checks will start hitting mailboxes in January 2023.
“As a member of the Senate Committee on Aging, I support strong cost-of-living adjustments because they help people keep up with recent increases in everyday expenses. Cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits can provide crucial resources for retirees and other beneficiaries who depend on Social Security.
“I will also continue to champion the Social Security Expansion Act, which would ensure the solvency of Social Security for over 70 years by requiring the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share into the program, expand Social Security benefits across the board, and increase the cost-of-living adjustment.”
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) are celebrating 10 years of working collaboratively through their cross-jurisdictional shared services arrangement.
