Press Release, Tops Markets

File photo by Tom Rivers: In Orleans County, Tops operates a store in Albion on West Avenue (pictured) and also a store in Medina on Maple Ridge Road.

WILLIAMSVILLE – To honor the lives of those killed, we are encouraging people to join our Tops stores in a collective moment of tribute and reflection this Saturday, May 21 at 2:30 p.m., seven days after this tragic shooting.

“The impact of this tragedy stretches across our community and nation,” stated John Persons, president of Tops Friendly Markets. “We stand together as we remember them and pray that their families may find the strength needed to heal and move forward.”

Please join us in honoring those who were killed and the three who were injured.

Departed:

• Roberta A. Drury, 32, of Buffalo, New York
• Margus D. Morrison, 52, of Buffalo, New York
• Andre Mackneil, 53, of Auburn, New York
• Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, New York
• Geraldine Talley, 62, of Buffalo, New York
• Celestine Chaney, 65, of Buffalo, New York
• Heyward Patterson, 67, of Buffalo, New York
• Katherine Massey, 72, of Buffalo, New York
• Pearl Young, 77, of Buffalo, New York
• Ruth Whitfield, 86, of Buffalo, New York

Injured:

• Zaire Goodman, 20, of Buffalo, New York
• Jennifer Warrington, 50, of Tonawanda, New York
• Christopher Braden, 55, of Lackawanna, New York

“Everyone involved deserves our thanks and our prayers,” Persons said. “To our Tops associates who did everything in their power to selflessly protect each other and our customers. To law enforcement and our first responders, we thank you for your service and bravery. To the strength of our community leaders during this incredibly difficult time. And to our neighbors and so many others that have rallied together to provide respite and support of almost every kind imaginable.”

State to pay for project through Smart Schools Bond Act

ALBION – The school district has approved spending $1.8 million for an emergency classroom notification system.

The funding comes from Albion’s share of its $2,238,441 in the state-funded Smart Schools Bond Act, a $2 billion fund approved by voters state-wide in 2014.

Albion proposed the “District Network Connectivity and High Tech Security Projects” totaling $1,815,000 on April 4. The plan was on the district website for more than 30 days. No one spoke at a May 9 public hearing about the initiative.

The Board of Education voted May 9 to approve it, and it now goes to the State Education Department for its OK, a process that could take eight to 10 months, Albion school officials said.

Albion’s new emergency classroom notification would replace a PA/clock system with classroom speakers and displays. This will be a digital system with audio and display notification, said Mickey Edwards, the district superintendent.

In addition to the $1.8 million, Albion would need to spend $70,000 to upgrade the IT network to support the system with $15,000 coming from Smart Bond and $55,000 from the E-Rate federal technology fund.

There won’t be any local cost because the funding is already set aside from the state, Edwards said.

Albion will have about $400,000 left of its share of the Smart Schools Bond Act that will be “evergreen funds” that could be used in the future, Edwards said.

Long Point Camp reducing campers due to staff shortage

The signups for a summer camp run by the Salvation Army have been cancelled for Saturday at Yates Community Library in Lyndonville and the Community Free Library in Holley on May 28.

The camp is reducing the slots for campers due to a staff shortage of camp counselors, said Andrew Szatkowski of Medina, who is helping to coordinate the sign-ups in Orleans County.

Some kids in Orleans County have already started the registration process for Long Point Camp at Penn Yan along Seneca Lake. Szatkowski said he will push to get them fully signed up.

The camp will reopen this summer after being closed due to Covid restrictions and concerns in 2020 and 2021. However, the camp will operate at a reduced capacity due to the staff shortage, Szatkowski said.

The camp offers swimming, low ropes course, crafts, sports, fishing, kayaking, hiking, archery and other activities.

It usually has up to 192 campers a week, but will be maxed out at 50 a week due to fewer camp counselors, Szatkowski said.

Those in Orleans County who have started the registration process can reach out to him for more information at aszat74@yahoo.com.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Employees with Environmental Enterprises in Cincinnati collect household hazardous waste from Orleans County residents in this photo from Aug. 14, 2021. Many of the fluids were emptied into large drums to be hauled away.

ALBION – Orleans County will again be running a household hazardous waste collection event in August that will be free to residents.

The county has approved a contract with Environmental Enterprises in Cincinnati to be in Albion on Aug. 13 for the event, which will be at the Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street.

Residents will need to register for a time slot to bring household hazardous waste. The county expects it will start taking registrations in mid-June. The county will advertise and promote the registrations when it is ready in about a month to start assigning slots.

Last year there was a big demand for the disposal with 320 residents quickly filling up the time slots. There were about 100 other residents who wanted to dispose of items.

The county will try to accommodate more people this year, said Jim Bensley, the county’s director of the Department of Planning and Development.

The agreement with Environmental Enterprises includes aerosol cans, anti-freeze, chemicals (labpacks), corrosive acids, corrosive bases, fluorescent tubes, household cleaners miscellaneous chemicals, latex paint (Paint Care program), oil base paints (liquids), oil base paints & varnishes (sludges), oil filters, organic liquids, oxidizers, pesticides/insecticides, pesticides/insecticide (dioxin precursors), poisons, resins & adhesives (with cans), and waste oil.

The event typically costs about $18,000 to collect and haul away the waste, with state paying half of the cost.

The county on Aug. 13 also will accept up to 10 tires from residents in a separate contract with Modern Disposal Services. The county last year collected 1,200 tires during the event.

Press Release, Congressman Chris Jacobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) voted in favor of the Access to Baby Formula Act (H.R. 7791) when it passed the House of Representatives last night.

“Months ago, Abbott Nutrition issued a voluntary recall of their baby formula products and shut down their plant in Sturgis, Michigan while the FDA conducted inspections. The Sturgis facility is a major portion of the domestic supply of baby formula – yet the President and his administration sat on their hands for months, as the strain on domestic supply became a crisis,” Jacobs said. “Last night I voted in favor of the bipartisan Access to Baby Formula Act developed by the Education and Labor Committee of which I am a member. This bill provides flexibilities for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Children, and Infants (WIC) so that recipients can use their benefits to purchase what formula stores have on the shelves. This legislation helps new mothers, especially lower income families, access necessary supplies and develops a process to deal with future supply chain issues so a crisis like this does not happen again. I will proudly support tangible and meaningful solutions to this problem.”

The Access to Baby Formula Act would provide additional resources and protections to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program to ensure the FDA and USDA can act quickly in the event of a supply chain crisis to protect WIC recipients and ensure access to critical supplies – especially formula.

Today, Jacobs cosponsored the Babies Need More Formula Now Act to increase supply, require a plan from the FDA, expand choices for parents, and improve the recall process. Jacobs has also cosponsored the Formula Act that would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create a new set of international standards to cut red tape and allow for increased formula imports to supplement domestic supply. Additionally, Jacobs also sent a letter to the President last week expressing the urgency with which the administration needed to act and outlining additional action.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

ALBANY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) joined his Assembly Minority colleagues in drafting a letter to Gov. Hochul and New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Rossana Rosado requesting they facilitate an immediate meeting of the Domestic Terrorism Task Force (DTTF) in response to the tragic shooting that took the lives of 10 New Yorkers in Buffalo this past weekend.

Despite the fact the DTTF was established in 2020, the task force has never met, commissioned any studies or issued a single report, even though the legislation convening the task force had specified they were required to meet on a quarterly basis.

The task force was created to collect and disseminate information about how to identify potential mass shooters, protect vulnerable areas they could target and prevent mass shootings, among other responsibilities.

“We owe it to all New Yorkers to take action to prevent terrorists from inflicting further pain on our communities and to learn everything we can about how to prevent hate from animating into violence,” Hawley said. “It is frustrating to think that even as our state has faced a significant increase in violent crime in the last several years, the governor has allowed this task force to sit on their hands and leave us unprepared for tragedies like the one that took place in Buffalo less than a week ago.”

Andrew Cary of Holley, who is assigned to the Company B, 152nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, has received a promotion to the rank of 1st lieutenant on April 15.

Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general for the state of New York, announced the promotion of the member of the New York Army National Guard in recognition for capability and for additional responsibility and leadership.

Army National Guard promotions are based on overall performance, attitude, leadership ability, and development potential.

The Erie Canal will open Friday to boaters for the 198^th navigation season.

The entire system is scheduled to open at 7 a.m. The standard hours of operation are 7 to 5 p.m. daily until the season closes on Oct. 12.

However, the lift bridges from Spencerport through Orleans County to Gasport will be operational from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. through the peak navigation season from May 20 through Sept. 14. There are seven lift bridges in Orleans County – Holley, Hulberton, Ingersoll Street in Albion, Main Street in Albion, Eagle Harbor, Knowlesville and Medina. There are 16 lift bridges on the canal and the seven in Orleans are more than any other county in the state.

For the sixth straight year, the Canal Corp. is waiving the recreational boating fees. Those tolls were normally $25 to $100 for a season pass, depending on the size of the vessel.

It’s a colorful sight along the canal right now during the spring bloom.

Press Release, Author’s Note

Provided photo: Kate (Schirmer) Messner recently was honored with the Empire State Award for Excellence In Literature for Young People.

MEDINA – Acclaimed children’s author and Medina native Kate (Schirmer) Messner has won the prestigious Empire State Award for Excellence In Literature for Young People presented by the New York Library Association.

The Empire State Award is given annually and was first presented in 1990. It is a one-time award presented to a living author or illustrator currently residing in New York State.

The award honors a body of work that represents excellence in children’s or young adult literature and that has made a significant contribution to literature for young people. Youth Services librarians throughout the state submit nominations to an awards committee. The committee makes a decision that is then approved by the YSS Executive Board.

Messner, who lives on Lake Champlain with her family, will visit Medina on May 24 at 7 p.m. for an in-person signing and discussion at the Author’s Note bookstore, 519 Main St. In advance of her visit, she has provided free recorded school visits for students in grades PreK-3 and grades 4-8 which schools may utilize to share Messner’s presentations with their students.

The author grew up in Medina and graduated from Medina High School in 1988. She has penned many titles for young readers including award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Pond, The Brilliant Deep, and Rolling Thunder; novels that tackle real-world issues like Chirp, Breakout, and The Seventh Wish; mysteries and thrillers like Capture the Flag, Eye of the Storm, and Waking Up Missing; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series; and the popular chapter book series Ranger in Time about a time-traveling search and rescue dog and History Smashers, books with fun, well-researched fast history for kids who wants the truth in an engaging and entertaining way.

Messner’s books are often selected for community-wide reads like the One School, One Book Program. Her books are often included on prestigious notable and best lists such as the New York Times Notable, Junior Library Guild, IndieBound, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books. Her novel The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. won the E.B. White Read Aloud Medal and her science picture books have been finalists for the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences/Subaru SB&F prize for excellence in science writing.

‘Due to the HALT Act, we have lost the ability to isolate predatory inmates from the rest of the incarcerated population and we have lost the ability to enforce safety and security rules in these facilities.’

File photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Jail is located on Platt Street in Albion and has a capacity for 82 inmates.

Editor’s Note: Council 82 is the union that represents the Orleans County Sheriff’s Employees Association, which includes corrections officers, dispatchers, civil clerks and jail cooks.

Press Release, NYS Law Enforcement Officers Union, Council 82

ALBANY – The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, also known as HALT Act, has been in effect since March 31, 2022. It has been an absolute disaster for every correction facility across this state, and it is only getting worse.

Correction officers who work in state prisons and in county correctional facilities are being physically assaulted at vastly increased rates. The HALT Act has made it impossible for those of us who are sworn to protect the safety and security of every incarcerated individual to do so.

In our profession, until recently, we had the ability to protect incarcerated individuals from other incarcerated individuals who assault, bully, and extort them.

Due to the HALT Act, we have lost the ability to isolate predatory inmates from the rest of the incarcerated population and we have lost the ability to enforce safety and security rules in these facilities. The advocates who lobbied for the horrible HALT legislation may have had the best intentions, but in fact the HALT Act has created a far more dangerous situation for incarcerated individuals and the officers who must protect them.

The HALT Act as currently written, provides no mechanism to lock-in an incarcerated individual who uses their HALT-required hours out of their cell to threaten, harass, assault and extort other incarcerated individuals and staff.

“We implore Governor Hochul and the State Legislature to take immediate steps to correct this dangerous, unsustainable, and worsening situation – either through outright repeal of the HALT Act or through its significant amendment. The individuals who work and the individuals who are housed in these facilities deserve better,” said Ronald Walsh, President of Council 82.

Council 82 represents over 3,000 correction officers, police officers, deputy sheriffs, emergency dispatchers, and other public safety personnel across New York State.

Photo courtesy of Orleans County Department of Social Services: A speaker addresses a group of young people during a Lilypad workshop at Hoag Library in Albion.

Press Release, Orleans County DSS

ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Social Services completed its first series of workshops for its Lilypad program through NYS Safe Harbour.

The Lilypad is a crisis intervention program. It is designed to provide a safe place for youth to gather over the course of six-weeks to educate, and address immediate safety issues, while developing life skills to reduce the risk of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

Lilypad speakers included Homeland Security, Love146, the Laughing Survivor, Orleans County Digital Literacy, Orleans County Mental Health, Job Development, BOCES and D’Youville College.

The program was a huge success with up to 50 individuals in attendance each week. Individuals that participated in the spring session of the Lilypad had the opportunity to win raffle prizes including, but not limited to, a kayak, a trip to Outward Bound, and an Into the Enigma gift certificate. All participants received survival backpacks.

The Lilypad will begin another six-week workshop starting in late September. Please contact Sharon Nenni at Sharon.Nenni@orleanscountyny.gov or 585-589-3136 for information.

BROCKPORT – The public is welcome to attend a community meeting on 7 p.m. May 25 to get an update on a new pedestrian bridge in Brockport over the Erie Canal.

The meeting will be at the Village of Brockport Courthouse, 49 State St., and will include representatives from the New York Power Authority, NYS Canal Corporation, Village of Brockport and SUNY Brockport.

The officials will discuss the project timeline, present design renderings, and answers questions from the community.

The new bridge will be constructed adjacent to an existing Erie Canal guard gate. The new pedestrian bridge will connect the SUNY Brockport campus to the Empire State Trail. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2023, according to the Canal Corporation.

The bridge was originally announced as a project for Brockport in January 2020 during former Gov. Cuomo’s State of the State address. It is the first large-scale infrastructure project to begin under the state’s Reimagine the Canals initiative.

Funding for the project will come from NYPA and a $2 million grant by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, which will be administered by the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

‘Tragedy is not a reason to pass a flawed policy’

Press Release, Congressman Chris Jacobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) released the following statement on Wednesday night after voting against H.R. 350, the Domestic Terror Prevention Act. The legislation passed in the House, 222-203.

“The racist massacre that occurred in Buffalo this past weekend was horrifying and has shocked our community to its core. Simply put there is no place for such hatred in our country, and we must condemn hatred and racism in the strongest possible terms. However, tragedy is not a reason to pass a flawed policy. Unfortunately, what occurs too often in Washington is bad laws and problematic policies are given a good name to ease their passage and stifle reasonable debate. This legislation falls into that category.

“The Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation already have offices set up to monitor, investigate, and neutralize all threats of terrorism, including threats of domestic terrorism. Instead of approving additional resources for these existing offices to further aid in threat prevention, this legislation would divert resources to three new duplicative offices in DHS, DOJ, and FBI that have an initial focus on examining threats of domestic terrorism that occurred in the past, as opposed to focusing on current and future threats.

“Not only does this legislation spread critical resources thin, but it hampers the work DOJ, FBI, and DHS are already doing to address acts of terrorism. Furthermore, these new offices would be given broad jurisdiction that in the wrong hands could be used to investigate political enemies and infringe on the civil liberties and constitutional rights of Americans.

“We as a nation and a Congress have a duty to ensure the safety of every American – that is done through better supporting our existing agencies and programs, funding law enforcement, and supporting our communities. Hasty and reactionary policy without proper thought and debate is not the answer. We as a Congress must work better to develop actual, tangible solutions to the problems facing Americans.”

MEDINA – Staff at Orleans Community Health have come up with a way to help the families of the recent shooting victims in Buffalo.

OCH CEO Marc Shurtz and Scott Robinson, director of Marketing, Communication and Outreach at OCH’s Community Partners, met over the weekend to discuss what they could do.

“We agreed whatever we decided to do had to be actionable,” Robinson said. “We just couldn’t comment on social media.”

Heather Smith, director of Orleans Community Health Foundation, joined the discussion and helped facilitate a plan of action. Several other members of the OCH team reached out asking if the hospital could get involved with donations for “Buffalo Strong.”

“Our hearts ache for that community,” Robinson said. “We view the city of Buffalo as our neighbor. Whenever your neighbor is grieving, you do too.”

They plan they settled on was to place barrels at Medina Memorial Hospital, the Albion Healthcare Center, Middleport laboratory and Lake Plains Dialysis centers in Medina and Batavia.

“Our hope is that by placing these barrels at each of our locations we’re expanding the number of people that will be able to help contribute to the families and community in Buffalo,” Robinson said.

Recommended items to drop in the barrels include non-perishables, hygiene products, baby food and baby products, such as diapers.

In addition, the hospital is making contributions internally to the Thurman Thomas Family Foundation and others.