Spada and Passarell say district court would cost much more, be less responsive to community

Photos by Tom Rivers: Murray Town Justices Gary Passarell, right, and Ted Spada speak against a district court in Orleans County, saying it would cost much more to operate with less local accountability.

MURRAY – The town’s justices, Gary Passarell and Ted Spada, said they are strongly opposed to a district court coming to Orleans County, saying it will be more costly to operate, driving up local property taxes.

A district court judge could cost close to $300,000 for salary and benefits, and that person would have to be an attorney, Spada said.

The clerks would also be paid about $80,000 in salary. There would be mandated costs for security, stenographers, language interpreters and computer and facility upgrades.

“It would be a very poor business decision and would defy common sense,” Spada said about a district court.

The possibility of a district court has been suggested by District Attorney Joe Cardone and Public Defender Joanne Best, who say those courts would provide more equitable justice throughout the county. State aid would pick up some of the higher costs to operate a district court, Cardone and Best have said.

Murray Town Justice Ted Spada said a district court would be far more costly with higher-paid judges, clerks and other personnel.

Spada and Passarell are two of 12 town justices in the county. Passarell is retiring on Dec. 31 after 33 years on the bench. They are members of the Orleans County Magistrates Association, where all 12 justices oppose a district court.

“These are the courts closest to the people,” Passarell said about the town courts. “The town justices have a better grasp of common sense and their communities.”

A district court needs to include at least two towns. One district court could be enough for the entire county, or perhaps there could be two or three district courts, Cardone and Best have suggested.

Cardone and Best, during an April 27 meeting with the County Legislature and many of the town justices, said they are just trying to get a discussion going about the issue.

County Legislator John Fitzak attended the Murray meeting and he said the district court has a long way to go if it becomes a reality in the county.

“This is in its infancy beyond infancy,” Fitzak said. “Nothing is set in stone.”

If it moves forward Fitzak said there will be many public hearings and referendums in each for voters to have their say. Right now there isn’t enough information about the costs of the court and how it could work to have an informed discussion, he said.

He would like to see the town justices, district attorney and public defender get in the same room and discuss the issue at length.

“We’re all trying to make the system work,” Fitzak said.

Spada and the Magistrates have compiled a database on what the current town courts cost versus the costs of a district court.

Spada said a district court would cost $973,726 for one serving the four central towns of Barre, Albion, Gaines and Carlton. That’s four times the current expense of $245,235 for running the courts in the four towns, Spada said. This does not include the costs of infrastructure to bring the buildings up to regulations for a district court.

Two district courts at the west end (Ridgeway, Shelby and Yates) and the central towns (Barre, Albion, Gaines and Carlton) would cost $1,947,452 versus the $451,435 in the actual town budgets for 2022, Spada told county legislators on April 27 and again on Monday during the Murray Town Board meeting.

If there were three districts courts – west, central and east – The cost would be $2,921,177 compared to $562,127 to operate 10 town courts, and that doesn’t include the building upgrades that would be needed, Spada said.

If there were three district courts Spada said it would increase the county tax rate by $1.58 per $1,000 of assessed property or about 15 percent. The current tax rate is $10.09. The rate has gone up 60 cents in the past 10 years.

He said the local towns have worked to reduce their court costs. Eight of the 10 towns are down from two to one judge. Murray will go to one when Passarell retires.

“Orleans County is a relatively poor county,” Passarell said. “To burden them with the startup costs (and ongoing expense of a district court) would be an abomination.”

MURRAY – The majority of the Town Board voted on Monday for Joe Sidonio to resign as town supervisor, saying he has used racial slurs and demeaning language about women and town employees in recordings of phone conversations with a local resident.

Sidonio refused to resign on Monday, the second straight Town Board meeting where board members Paul Hendel, Randy Bower and Lloyd Christ voted for Sidonio to resign as town supervisor.

Mike Mele, a councilman and deputy town supervisor, abstained because he said he would become town supervisor if Sidonio resigns.

Sidonio apologized again for “unsavory language” but said he didn’t do anything illegal in what he thought were private conversations with a local resident. He said the effort to oust him from the board is “politics.”

Several residents spoke at Monday’s meeting, with some siding with Sidonio and others blaming the three board members for drawing negative attention on the town when they likely say things privately they wouldn’t want broadcast to the community.

Betty Passarell, mother of Town Clerk Cindy Oliver and former assessor Louise Passarell, called Sidonio “a disgusting human being” for his comments about her daughters.

She also said he was wrong to share discussions in executive session with the resident who was taping the phone conversations.

Louise Passarell said the taped conversations show “the real Joe” who body shames, harasses and bullies many of the town employees.

“It’s disgraceful and embarrassing to have him as a leader,” she said. “This isn’t one conversation. It’s multiple conversations over many months.”

Jeff Lipson said all of the board members, if fully scrutinized, have done embarrassing things.

Councilman Bower, a retired Orleans County sheriff, said Sidonio’s use of the N-word and other comments show him to be a racist who should not be in public office.

“I will never support a racist,” Bower said during Monday’s board meeting.

“I’m not a racist,” Sidonio responded.

Bower said if the public could hear Sidonio’s demeaner and his words in the conversations there wouldn’t be support for him.

Jeff Lipson stood up and said all of the board members have transgressions and shouldn’t single out Sidonio.

“I know things about all of you,” he said.

Ron Vendetti, the retired town code enforcement officer, said all five members of the board should resign.

“He may have said stupid things but none of you will would work with him,” Vendetti said during the public comment part of the meeting. “Just do your jobs.”

He faulted the board for walking out of last month’s meeting before finishing town business.

“The bottom line is stop fighting and being a bunch of babies,” Vendetti said.

He said he is angry his name was included in an official resolution from last month, calling for Sidonio’s resignation.

Vendetti said he shouldn’t be “dragged through the mud,” especially now that he is retired and no longer working for the town.

He told Councilman Hendel he shows “amazing arrogance.” Hendel introduced the resolution last month and on Monday calling for Sidonio’s resignation.

Hendel during Monday’s meeting started the discussion about Sidonio by saying the Marine Corps recently relieved a two-star general who used the N-word.

Hendel said Murray should follow the Marine Corps example of taking “quick and powerful actions” and showing no tolerance for racial slurs.

Hendel said the mass shooting in Buffalo on Saturday, where 10 people were killed in a racially motivated attack, makes him more convinced there can’t be any tolerance for racial slurs.

“This is nothing about politics,” Hendel said. “This is about leadership. Leaders set standards. There is no place in the Town of Murray or Orleans County for the behavior of our current leader.”

Amy Machamer, Sidonio’s wife, spoke during the meeting and said her husband is a person who goes out of his way to help all residents, regardless of their background and circumstances.

She said the board has targeted her business, Hurd Orchards. One of the board members came to her farm the day before Easter and said she would have protestors at the business if Sidonio didn’t resign. If he stepped down, the board member told Machamer “it all goes away” without being made public, Machamer said.

One resident Anthony Peone, urged the board, if it is serious about having Sidonio resign, to start a petition to have him removed from office. But Peone said he doubts the board is serious about the issue and is instead grandstanding.

Town Clerk Cindy Oliver said she has tried to be fair with Sidonio.

“We all say bad things,” she said. “But to hear what he called me is disgusting. I’m not even comfortable being here.”

ALBION – Residents in the five school districts in Orleans County will go to the polls Tuesday (May 17) to vote yes or no for school budgets and propositions, and also to elect members to the boards of education.

None of the districts are proposing tax increase more than 2 percent.

Eligible voters need to be a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years old and a resident of the district for at least 30 days before the vote.

Here are snapshots from each district:

ALBION – The district is proposing a $38,298,690 budget that doesn’t increase taxes. The budget keeps the tax levy at $8,449,039. This is the 14th time in the past 16 years that taxes have either stayed the same or decreased.

Voting is from noon to 8 p.m. in the elementary school gym.

Albion also is presenting a proposition to establish a Capital Improvements Reserve Fund for acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, renovation, alteration and improvements of buildings, facilities, sites and real property in the district, or the district’s share of any projects undertaken by the Orleans-Niagara BOCES. The district wishes to cap the amount at $15 million.

Albion is proposing to transfer $13,831,050 to that capital fund from the District’s Retirement Contribution Reserve Fund. That is the amount the state comptroller’s office said the account is overfunded.

Other propositions include bus purchases at $550,000 and $648,964 for Hoag Library. The money for the library is down 10.3 percent after Hoag paid off its mortgage.

Two board seats also will be up for election. They are currently filled by Kathy Harling and Wayne Wadhams. Both positions are five-year terms. Wadhams is seeking re-election. Former board member Kevin Doherty also is on the ballot. Ocie Bennett is mounting a write-in campaign.

HOLLEY – The district is proposing a $26,982,000 budget for 2022-23 that would increase taxes by 1.95 percent.

Voting will be in person at the Holley Middle School/High School from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The tax levy increase is below the district’s allowable tax cap of 2.793 percent, said Sharon Zacher, the district’s assistant superintendent for business.

The budget maintains all current educational programs and represents a 3.18 percent budget-to-budget increase. Zacher said contractual obligations and inflation of supplies and materials are the main reasons for the budget going up.

The ballot also includes a proposition to establish a capital improvements reserve fund at a maximum of $6 million. Zacher said the fund is needed as the district begins to prepare for the next capital improvement project.

Proposition 3 is to authorize purchasing new school buses as a maximum of $334,000.

Proposition 4 would be authorizing the district to collect $194,966 for Community Free Library, which is up from the $189,287 for 2021-22.

There are two candidates for two three-year terms on the Board of Education – Tracy Van Ameron and Anne Winkley. Van Ameron and Winkley both are currently on the board, and Winkley is the vice president.

KENDALL – The Board of Education and school administrators have put together a $19,822,921 budget for 2022-23 that doesn’t increase taxes.

Voting will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Kendall Town Hall, 1873 Kendall Rd.

The budget keeps the tax levy at $4,964,656, and decreases spending by $157,808 to $19,822,921.

There will be four propositions on the ballot on May 17. The budget is proposition one.

Proposition two is to spend up to $250,000 from a Transportation Bus Reserve Fund to replace transportation vehicles of the district.

Proposition three establish a Capital Reserve Fund for up to $5 million for a future capital project.

Proposition four is electing a member to the Board of Education for a five-year term. Current board member Lisa Levett, who is the board president, is running unopposed.

LYNDONVILLE – The district is presenting a $15,704,953 budget that increases spending by 2.9 percent or by $438,157 from 2021-22.

The budget calls for a 2 percent tax increase, or by $90,564 to $4,618,740 for the tax levy.

Voting will be from noon to 8 p.m. in the Stroyan Auditorium.

The budget maintains all current programs, including music, athletics and extracurriculars, and also keeps a school resource officer and on-campus space for a mental health counselor.

“The proposed 2022-23 school budget allows for a rigorous instructional program, while providing for the health and safety of all our students,” Sharon Smith, interim district superintendent, said in the budget newsletter.

Besides the budget, there are propositions to collect $119,183 for the Yates Community Free Library (up from $116,718 in 2021-22) and to spend up to $145,000 for a 64-seat passenger bus.

Four people are running for three spots on the Board of Education, including James Houseman and incumbents Vernon Fonda, Harold Suhr and Kristin Nicholson. The terms are for three years.

MEDINA – The district is proposing a $39,884,316 school budget that calls for a 2 percent tax increase, the first in a decade in Medina.

The board and Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, said the “runaway escalation of utility costs” is the biggest factor in the tax increase. The district still remains below the state-imposed tax cap, Kruzynski said.

Voting is from noon to 8 p.m. at the District Office Board Room.

The budget represents a 1.43% increase over 2021-2022. The proposed budget maintains all programs and staffing, increases student support services, purchases three large school buses and one wheelchair bus, adds new cafeteria tables for Oak Orchard Primary School, and returns a high school musical to the Medina auditorium.

The tax levy, what Medina collects in taxes, increases from $8,641,861 to $8,814,697.

Two candidates – Scott Robinson and Debra Tompkins – are running for two three-year terms on the Board of Education.

Press Release, NY Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and Assembly Republican Leader Will A. Barclay today introduced legislation that would bring capital punishment back to New York State in the wake of this weekend’s tragic mass shooting in Buffalo.

The bill would reinstate capital punishment in cases of mass murder, fatal hate crimes, and acts of terrorism, among other acts of extreme violence.

“Some crimes are truly unforgivable,” Ortt said. “This past weekend in Buffalo, a crime of unforgivable magnitude occurred when a hate-filled terrorist took the lives of ten innocent people in cold blood. We are heartbroken. We are also outraged.

“Now it is clear that New York must send a message to those who would deliberately target our neighbors based on the color of their skin. We do not tolerate racism. We do not tolerate terrorism. We do not tolerate acts of extreme violence on innocent civilians. We must bring capital punishment back to our state today, and deliver the only justice that is appropriate in this case and to ensure acts such as these never happen again.”

The bill, sponsored by Republican leaders in both houses of the New York State Legislature, would reinstate capital punishment in cases of:

• Mass murder;
• Murders motivated by hate or racism;
• Murders related to terrorism; and
• Murders of law enforcement and first responders.

Photo collage by Bruce Landis

BARRE – Bruce Landis stayed up late getting photos of the full lunar eclipse last night. Landis sent in this collage of photos.

He was out from 9:30 p.m. to 2:40 a.m., bundled in winter clothes.

The moon appeared reddish in a total lunar eclipse with the sun, Earth and moon forming a straight line in the night sky.

Landis is the owner/photographer of Photos by Bruce and Associates on Ridge Road in Albion.

Provided photo: Dozens of items are on display at Case-Nic Cookies in Medina which are part of a basket raffle to benefit Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern.

MEDINA – During the month of May, Case-Nic Cookies is displaying information on services provided by the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern.

A basket raffle is also taking place through May 31, and tickets are on sale at Case-Nic for $10 for a sheet of 20.

Items included in the fundraiser are gift certificates to local stores, family fun for adults and children, household items and two July 4th celebration baskets.

Gretta Smith, director of GOMOC, urges the community to support this fundraiser.

GOMOC has been serving residents of Genesee and Orleans counties for more than 50 years, Smith reported. The non-profit organization is known as the “Agency of Last Resort,” as it often provides assistance to individuals who are struggling and don’t have other resources available to them. The agency offers emergency services to many of the working poor in the two counties.

In-house advocates work on behalf of clients with utility companies, landlords and other entities as necessary, Smith said. Eligible individuals and families can receive help with personal care items, short term emergency housing and financial assistance with prescriptions and utilities.

The Furniture Program accepts donations of gently used furniture and non-gas appliances which are subsequently delivered without cost to people in need.

GOMOC encourages clients to become independent, self-sufficient and contributing members of the community, Smith added.

Anyone wishing help or more information on services available can call (585) 589-9210.

MEDINA – The Village Board approved a $16,200 agreement with a Buffalo firm to present conceptual designs and options for expansion of the Medina fire hall and the village clerk’s office on Park Avenue.

The agreement was initially for an expansion to the fire station, but was amended last week to include an addition on the village office for a meeting room for up to 50 people.

The agreement with the Barton & Loguidice firm will be paid for from federal funds for Medina through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The board last month approved spending $17,000 to acquire vacant land next to the village clerk’s office at 119 Park Ave. The vacant land is at the corner of Park and West Avenue. Medina is paying Generations Bank for the land, and also approved spending up to $3,000 for any closing costs. The village is using American Rescue Plan Act for the purchase.

The land gives the village options for expansion in the future, including the meeting room, Mayor Mike Sidari said.

The board was meeting in the Shelby Town Hall, which is outside the village limits, and then recently shifted to having its meetings in the Senior Center, next door to the village offices.

Barton & Loguidice also will work on a conceptual design on for a 45-by-88-foot addition to the current fire hall.

That addition is needed for a larger ladder truck. The current truck is from 1996. It barely fits in the existing fire hall. The new trucks are bigger and won’t fit in the current fire hall bays, Fire Chief Matt Jackson has said. The ladder on the current truck is 75 feet long. Medina officials would like a truck with a 100-foot-long ladder.

The addition also will be designed to have space for modern ambulances and fire trucks, be ADA compliant, and meet the department’s needs for the next 50 to 100 years, Jackson said.

Barton & Loguidice, in the contract with the village, said it will meet with Medina officials, including the fire chief and village clerk, to discuss the needs for the additional space to help the firm develop a concept layout for the floor plan.

The study will include developing equipment inventories, assessing current and future fire department needs and storage requirements. That will include number of truck bays, building uses, office requirements and current and future maintenance operations.

The firm will develop preliminary budget level opinions of probably costs for the addition, including potential infrastructure concerns and necessary system upgrades.

The contract doesn’t include site surveys, geotechnical investigations, design development of construction contract documents for site and building design, environmental reviews/investigations, bidding assistance, and construction administration/inspection.

The proposal also doesn’t include hazardous materials testing, assessment, abatement, remedial design, environmental remediation design or environmental permitting services.

Photos by Tom Rivers: This group of seventh-graders and their teacher Tim Archer dedicated this interpretive panel on Friday at Central Hall on East Park Street. The building, currently used by the county treasurer’s office and historian, used to be the Sheret American Legion Post. The post is now located on Gaines Basin Road at the former Pap Pap’s Par 3 golf course. Pictured from left, going up and then back down, include: Wesley LeFrois, Lily Brigham, Maylie Fisher, Anna Grillo, Jillian LeBaron, Tim Archer, Julianna Newbould and Mackenzie LeFrois.

ALBION – An interpretive panel was dedicated on Friday for the Sheret family, where brothers Sgt. James Sheret and Pvt. Egbert Sheret were killed in action on the same day, Sept. 29, 1918.

The two fought in World War I and were killed on the Hindenberg Line. They were in the 108^th Infantry, the only men to break the Hindenburg Line that day.

James Sheret led a charge on German defenses at the Hindenburg Line and was slain after killing German soldiers in two hostile posts with his revolver, and then attacking the enemy in a machine gun nest. Sheret was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.

His brother Egbert was a machine gunner.

Another brother, Andrew, was the company’s bugler and was severely wounded during the engagement. A fourth brother, John G., served in the Navy and survived the war.

The Honor Guard gave a gun salute at the close of Friday’s ceremony at Central Hall.

The building was a school from 1882 to 1934, and then was the home of the Sheret American Legion Post from 1935 to 1980. The post then moved down South Main Street at what is now the Main Street Store before moving to the former clubhouse of a par 3 golf course on Gaines Basin Road.

Lily Brigham, a seventh-grader, sings “America the Beautiful.”

County Legislator Don Allport spoke at the ceremony and thanked the students for highlighting the sacrifices of the Sheret family.

“Freedom isn’t free,” he said. “We need to make sacrifices so some day down the road they will look back at say thank you to us, too.”

County Historian Catherine Cooper said the Sheret brothers are heroes, and their parents and family also should be acknowledged for persevering despite their broken hearts.

The family lived on West Park Street and attended the First Presbyterian Church.

The Sheret brothers – James and Egbert – and their family were ordinary people leading ordinary lives, without capes or superpowers, “who found themselves put to the test in extreme circumstances,” Cooper said.

She said the Legion posts in Orleans County bear the names of heroes: Butts-Clark in Medina, Jewell Buckman in Holley, Houseman-Tanner in Lyndonville and Sheret in Albion.

“The thing about heroic actions is that they are elicited suddenly, without warning,” Cooper said. “There’s no time to stand back to analyze the pros and cons of an action when the enemy is upon you or the house is burning. The innate ability to react in a heroic manner must already exist, be a part of a person’s character. James did not hesitate when he came upon the enemy.”

Ron Ayrault, a local veteran and member of the Honor Guard, recalled seeing the citations and displays at the building when it was a Legion Post. Ayrault, 90, said he would visit with many of the veterans who would spend time in the building. He said the community had a lot of fun in the building at dances and dinners.

“I have so many happy memories of this place in the 1940s,” he said.

Ann Jacobs, regent with the Orleans County chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said the DAR was grateful to be part of the project honoring the Sheret family. The DAR provided some of the funding for the panel.

Before the service, the students cleaned the gravestones at the Sheret family plot at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Press Release, NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association

ALBANY – The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association is launching a public awareness campaign calling on the State Legislature to immediately repeal the Humane Alternatives for Long Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act which was recently implemented in all state-run correctional facilities.

The HALT Act severely limits, or in some cases eliminates, the ability to place incarcerated individuals in Special Housing Units separated from the general population.

“As we have said for years, the HALT Act would only do one thing, make our correctional facilities more dangerous,” NYSCOPBA President Michael Powers said. “The New York State Legislature, the people who created this poorly thought-out legislation are directly responsible for the skyrocketing violence we’re experiencing in our prisons today. They ignored our warnings, our pleas to educate themselves properly before passing HALT, and now they’ve put the lives of everyone who resides or works in a correctional setting at risk.”

According to numbers reported by the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision, since April 1, 2022, overall violence in New York State correctional facilities has risen over 30%.

Inmate-on-staff violence has increased approximately 25%, while inmate-on-inmate violence has climbed 40%. According to the data, the single-week high of inmate-on-staff assaults was set during the week of May 1, 2022, as 37 staff members were assaulted.

The weekly average number of staff members assaulted in 2022 prior to the implementation of the HALT Act is 22. Additionally, the single-week high of inmate-on-inmate assaults was set the prior week, the week of April 24th, 2022, as 37 inmates were assaulted by other incarcerated individuals. The weekly average number of inmates assaulted by other inmates in 2022 prior to the implementation of the HALT Act is 23.

“Conditions inside our prisons are worsening by the day. Staff members are being assaulted at a record pace, inmates are settling longtime scores with other inmates by utilizing dangerous weapons, and our officers are being put directly in harm’s way,” Powers said. “If the goal of HALT was to improve the mental health and well-being of the incarcerated community, this couldn’t be what the Legislature had in mind. Unless the violence is addressed immediately, someone is going to be killed. We can’t allow that to happen which is why we’re launching our Repeal HALT campaign, so that we can raise awareness in the public of the crisis at hand in our correctional facilities. Simply put, ignoring the rise in violence is not an option.”

The Repeal HALT campaign will be a comprehensive approach to raise awareness in the general public of the dangerous working and living conditions inside New York State’s correctional facilities by utilizing NYSCOPBA’s various social media platforms. There the public will be able to view short videos urging the NYS Legislature to address prison violence, access press releases on severe incidents of prison violence across New York State and be easily connected to various media coverage of violence in correctional facilities.

In May 2021, NYSCOPBA filed a federal lawsuit against New York State to overturn HALT, arguing that the new law violates its members’ civil rights. That lawsuit is still pending.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The gas prices at the Crosby’s in Albion on Route 31 on Thursday included $6.29 for diesel, $4.69 for regular unleaded and $5.29 for supreme.

Gas prices went up another 24 cents a gallon for regular unleaded in New York State last week to $4.76, which is an all-time high, AAA reported this morning. A year ago, the NYS average was $3.06.

The national average is at $4.48, which is up 15 cents in the past week.

The prices for counties in the region include:

• Orleans, $4.685
• Genesee, $4.652
• Monroe, $4.700
• Livingston, $4.676
• Wyoming, $4.641
• Niagara, $4.550
• Erie, $4.648

In northern New York, in the counties of Clinton and Franklin, the average price for regular unleaded is $4.820. In Queens, the price is $4.861. Rockland is the highest in the state at $4.955.

Regular unleaded is at all-time high at $4.759. Diesel hit an all-time high on May 15 at $6.503 a gallon. Today it is down about a penny to $6.494.

Here is a press release from AAA this morning:

“Today marks record high gas prices at the national, state, and local level. According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased while gasoline demand dropped slightly. Normally a decrease in demand would bring prices down, but oil prices remain volatile.

“This morning, oil prices are about $109 per barrel. Crude prices rose over growing market worries that Ukrainian and European Union actions against Russian oil-and-natural gas companies could spark retaliation by Russia leading to more market disruption and uncertainty.

“Meanwhile, the national average for diesel fuel hit a new record yesterday reaching $5.57. One year ago the price was $3.17. In New York, the average price for diesel is $6.50, which is also a record high set yesterday. One year ago the price was $3.23.”

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Bailey Papaj, who recently joined AJs Play Date as director of operations, sits in the main play room, where new things are being added all the time.

MEDINA – When Adam and Kerry Papaj needed to add more help at AJs Play Date, they knew the perfect candidate – daughter Bailey.

Bailey, who has a degree in public health and education and previously worked as a social learning specialist in Greece, has joined the family business as director of operations.

“I just had a baby and didn’t want to do the long drive every day,” Bailey said. “I wanted to be closer to home. And I had previously helped here as event coordinator, so it was obvious to me a director of operations was needed.”

As owner, Adam said he and Kerry had gone as far as they could, both having other jobs, as well. Adam drives school bus and Kerry is a speech pathologist at Lyndonville Central School.

The business, which opened in August 2019, has been a big hit. They recently utilized the north end of the building on West Avenue for AJs Café, which serves quick foods, such as pizza, chicken nuggets, snacks, cookies, beverages and ice cream. The area can accommodate families in a safe environment who come in for a party or special occasion or want to include a bite to eat in their play experience.

Bailey has plans to expand events, to be a destination for birthday parties and field trips.

Another added feature is massage chairs, where parents can pay for a massage in 15-minute increments while their children play. A six-minute massage is free on Massage Mondays when paying for a child’s entry.

Bailey also has a full lineup of special events planned during the summer. She has invited a firefighter,  magician, Challenge Island Steam Camp, someone knowledgeable in science and technology, arts and math. A children’s yoga instructor be available, as well. Special days will feature a “farmer-in-training” day, “super hero-in-training” day, “chef-in-training” day, “artist-in-training” day and a music and movement day.

Adam Papaj and his daughter Bailey sit in the newly opened AJs Café adjoining AJs Play Date on 627 West Avenue, Medina. Bailey just joined the business as director of operations.

Children can sign up for one special day for $25 or a package of three days for $70.

“We want to bridge the gap between June and September when children have nothing to do,” Bailey said. “We want to widen our ability to reach out to different people.”

“Besides being fun, these things will be educational,” Adam said.

The Papajs said AJs Play Date is a hidden gem. Kids with learning problems recognize the activities geared to them, and for children who aren’t challenged, the place is just plain fun.

A Pajama Club is being started for July and August and registration is required. Information is available on their website at www.ajsplaydate.com.

AJs Play Date also offers Drop and Go for a child 5 or older, whose parents want to drop the child off while they run errands. All the staff are CPR and first-aid certified.

“Coming here is an investment in your child,” Adam said.

He said it is fun to watch even a six-month old crawl among the play stations. Children under 1 are allowed free of charge.

Children up to 5 years old can enjoy Little Tykes Time on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Open play is from 9 to 11 a.m.

“Our goal is to make sure families feel safe and welcome,” Adam said.

AJs Café and Ice Cream Shop will be open all year, Adam said. He is waiting approval for a drive-thru window.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced flags on state buildings will be flown at half-staff on May 16 in honor of the victims of the horrific shooting at Tops Supermarket in Buffalo.

Flags should be lowered to half-staff at sunrise on May 16 and should remain lowered until all of the victims are laid to rest.

“The violence we witnessed at the hands of this white supremacist is sickening, unacceptable and it must stop here,” Governor Hochul said. “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and we must confront white supremacy head on. My heart is with our neighbors in Buffalo, the victims and their families — their legacy will live on.”

Photos courtesy of Dan Mawn

HOLLEY – This class of Holley second-graders wave tickets after visiting the railroad depot last week. The tickets were designed by the historical society to resemble original tickets from the New York Central Railroad.

Volunteers act as a conductor and ticket agents, punching the tickets for the students.

The depot was constructed in 1907. It was moved in 1988 to Geddes Street Extension and was turned into a museum about local history. Holley second-graders typically would visit the site each year to learn about Holley and Murray artifacts.

Students didn’t come to the museum in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid restrictions, but they are back this year. Four classes of second graders visited the museum.

These students try an old restored telephone inside the museum.

“The kids are amazed by it since all they know are cell phones,” said Dan Mawn, president of Murray-Holley Historical Society. “This one rings when the handle is cranked.”

Mawn and the historical society volunteers also showed the students a working telegraph, which is a precursor to the telephone.

Down to a two team race, four regular season ending games this coming week will determine the Niagara-Orleans League baseball champion.

Currently, front-running Roy-Hart at 9-1 holds a one game lead over defending champion Medina at 8-2.

Roy-Hart will determine its own fate as the Rams can lock up sole possession of the title by scoring road wins at Akron (6-4) on Tuesday and at Albion (5-5) on Wednesday.

Medina’s road to the title is a bit more challenging. The Mustangs not only need to sweep a home-and-home series from Barker (2-8) but also need to have Roy-Hart lose to either Akron or Albion in order to gain a share of the title. The Mustangs will host the Raiders on Wednesday and then visit Barker on Thursday.

Wilson will host the annual N-O track and field championships on Thursday.

Section V and Section VI softball playoff action will also get underway this week.  The Section VI seeding meeting is Tuesday and the Section V meeting on Thursday.

The Section VI lacrosse seeding meeting will be held on Wednesday with the opening round of games slated for Friday.

Weekly Schedule
Monday
Baseball – LeRoy at Medina, Albion at Oakfield-Alabama, Newfane at Wilson, 4:45 p.m.; Finney at Lyndonville, Holley at Byron-Bergen, 5 p.m.
Softball, Newfane at Barker, 4:45 p.m.; Lyndonville at Finney, Geneseo at Kendall, 5 p.m.
Tennis – Barker at Roy-Hart, Notre Dame at Holley, Alexander at Kendall, 4 p.m.
Track – Wilson at Roy-Hart, 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday
Baseball – Lyndonville at Wilson, 4:30 p.m.; Roy-Hart at Akron, 4:45 p.m.; Holley at Kendall, 5 p.m.
Softball – Kendall at Holley, 5 p.m.
Tennis – Holley at Oakfield-Alabama, Pembroke at Kendall, 4:30 p.m.
Lacrosse – Medina at Newfane, 6 p.m.
Golf – Wheatland-Chili at Holley, Kendall at Elba/Oakfield, 3:30 p.m.

Wedneday
Baseball – Barker at Medina, Roy-Hart at Albion, 4:45 p.m.
Softball – Lyndonville at Elba, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall, 5 p.m.

Thursday
Baseball – Medina at Barker, Albion at Akron, 4:45 p.m.; Elba at Lyndonville, Attica at Holley, Kendall at Alexander, 5 p.m.
Tennis – Kendall at Elba, 4 p.m.
Track – N-O All-League meet at Wilson, 4 p.m.

Friday
Baseball – Albion at Lew-Port, Roy-Hart at West Seneca West, 4:45 p.m.; Byron-Bergen at Lyndonville, Holley at Alexander , 5 p.m.

Photo by Fred Holt of Albion – Lettuce is harvested on the mucklands in the 1930s.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans – Vol. 2, No. 17

BARRE – The newly drained Tonawanda mucklands in southern Orleans County proved to be very productive.

In 1936, the Calarco brothers set a record for raising lettuce: 108,000 heads from three acres. In March of 1977, The Journal-Register noted that crops growing in the rich soil brought in about $7 million a year.

Mother Nature was not always kind. A windstorm in June 1926 and a hailstorm in July 1947 were but two of several weather-related setbacks experienced. Flooding was a recurrent problem.

Heavy rains in September of 1977 (7.28 inches, three times more than the monthly average of 2.37 inches) caused massive crop destruction. As a result of lobbying efforts, the Oak Orchard Small Watershed Protection District was formed whereby the Federal Government assumed all construction costs for a flood protection plan, while owners were responsible for maintenance and replacement costs. The project began in 1982. Erosion has continued to be a problem; some estimates indicate that a third of the original area has been lost.

Though many of the tasks associated with the large-scale crop production on the mucklands were mechanized, some, such as weeding, thinning, and harvesting still required labor intensive manual labor. Those who “worked on the muck” remember their experiences vividly. It was hard work. Hard on the knees, the back, the hands and the hours were long.

Ciel White of Medina recounted her experiences in an oral history interview conducted in 1982. Her mother and many other women “the wives of Italian and Polish families” worked on the muck in the early years.

Born in 1911, Ciel was only 7 when she started to accompany her mother to work during the summer and on Saturdays throughout the school year. Farmers provided transportation. In the spring, they worked on weeding the onions and carrots to help the crops thrive because “the weeds grew as fast as whatever was planted.” Hand weeding was necessary because the young plants were delicate. Lettuce was thinned after it reached a certain height.

Ciel recalled: “When you were weeding, you got paid by the day… which was from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The women got $1.50 a day, but the kids only got $1.00.

You would have an hour for lunch, you would bring your own. There was a well which they had dug so you could get water. There would be a pail there and a dipper, and everyone helped themselves. And a privy.”

When they were harvesting onions:

“Each person would take two rows, the rows were about a quarter of a mile long, and there would be two people. We would grab the tops of the onions, pull them out and put them in a single row between us, so that they could dry out. Once the managers determined the onions were ready, we would go back with a crate, two people would work with the one crate and we would get 10 cents per crate.”

Ciel often worked with her cousin, Pauline Cichocki:

“After we had filled a hundred crates, we would call it a day, which was $5 for each of us. Then we’d goof off for a little bit or help our parents so that they could earn some more money (depending on how we felt).

This was also true of the carrots which was the last crop that we finished on the muck in the fall. Sometimes we couldn’t go out early because there would be frost on the tops, then as it began to warm up, they thawed out a little bit. You really got wet, because it was late in the season, and you got heavy dews as well as frost. You wore gloves, because not only had you to pull the carrots out of the ground, but you had to wring the tops off them and put them in the crate, 10 cents a crate also.”

Their work clothing was practical:

“We wore bloomers, very full pant-like affairs that came down to the knees, with elastic, and a middy blouse and a sweater. And I can remember the black-ribbed stockings and laced shoes, they were high-topped shoes, ankle supporting. You had to put pads on your knee, or they would be raw. The women would make the pads that they would put in their stockings – several layers of flannel or soft material which acted as a cushion, so that the wood and muck wouldn’t go through and ruin your knees.

In the summertime, when it was unbearably hot with the sun reflecting off that black dirt, we used to wear wide- brimmed hats. When the wind would blow, it was terrible, the dust would get in your eyes.”

Nevertheless, she recalled that morale was good, the women would sing as they worked, Polish hymns and songs. They were working for extra money for their families. Ciel’s father worked for Wm. J. Gallagher and her mother put their muckland earnings in the family “kitty.” They had bought a home, 574 East Ave. in Medina, and were determined to pay off the mortgage.

Writing from Virginia recently, Jack Capurso, formerly of Albion, recalled working on the mucklands as a teenager for three summers, 1956-58.

“As I pulled weeds out of the onions, I remember marveling that most of what we would call dirt was actually small pieces of decayed wood mixed in with soil.

The work was physically demanding, ten hours a day, six days a week at the rate of 50 cents an hour ($5.14 approx., per inflation calculator). However, after three summers I had saved almost $1,000 ($10,300 in current value) towards my first year at Geneseo.

I remember vividly 26 July 1956, the day the Andrea Doria sank in The Atlantic. We watched film of the sinking while we were having lunch. I did my best to explain to the workers what was happening but at that time my Spanish was terrible, and their English was worse. I still remember the Puerto Rican workers and wonder what happened to them.

When I come to Albion this summer to visit relatives and friends, I am going to try to find my way back to the muck. I know the memories will return, and I will smile.”

Two books on local agriculture are available at the NIOGA libraries:

• Farm Hands: Hard Work and Hard Lessons from Western New York Fields by Tom Rivers, 2010

• Mom & Pop Farming in Orleans County, New York by Canham & Canham, 2016