By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2022 at 11:19 am
4 from Albion honored for outstanding performance in leading role
Photos by Tom Rivers: Leah Kania is Fiona and Rowan Ford is Shrek in Albion’s production of Shrek the Musical which received several awards on Thursday night at the Stars of Tomorrow event in Rochester. Kania and Ford also were recognized for outstanding performance in a leading role.
ROCHESTER – The Albion High School production of Shrek the Musical won many awards on Thursday night at the Stars of Tomorrow in Rochester, including four awards for outstanding performance in a leading role.
The Stars of Tomorrow is a program through the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. It judges and recognizes musicals from 25 schools in the Rochester region. Albion is up against many of the much larger suburban districts in Monroe and Ontario counties.
The Albion students recognized for outstanding performance in a leading role include: Leah Kania as Fiona, Rowan Ford as Shrek, Myles Miller as Donkey and Jeffrey Brown as Lord Farquaad.
In addition, Leah Kania, Myles Miller and Rowan Ford are candidates to represent Rochester in a New York City competition – the National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards. Online voting starts at noon today. Click here for more information.
Myles Miller was named an outstanding performer in a leading role for her energetic and often hysterical turn as Donkey.
Jeffrey Brown shined as Lord Farquaad, the villain of the musical. He is short in stature and a ruthless ruler with many insecurities. Here is shown facing an uprising from the Fairytale Creatures.
Albion’s performance of Shrek was honored for the following:
Excellence in student orchestra
Excellence in acting ensemble
Excellence in production crew.
Other individual awards included:
Natalie Baron received a Tip-of-the-hat award for her performance as Pinnochio.
Hannah Coolbaugh starred as the Mad Hatter.
• Special Recognitions to Ethan Merrill and Hannah Coolbaugh. Ethan Merrill ran the lighting board and never missed any of the 220 cues for the production.
• In addition to being the Mad Hatter, Hannah Coolbaugh was a Duloc Dancer, one of the 3 Blind Mice, Rat Tapper and a Knight. She was dance captain and choreographed the number in 3 Blind Mice.
• Kaitlynn Basinait was a Rising Star recipient. A middle schooler, she stepped in to run one of the spotlights.
This year was a welcome return to performing in front of a live audience for the Albion drama program. The musical in 2020 was cancelled due to Covid. Last year’s show was performed without an audience and then shown online through a video. Students also were able to take the stage this time without masks.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2022 at 10:29 am
ROCHESTER – The musical production of Cinderella by Lyndonville and Medina students brought home many awards on Thursday night at the Stars of Tomorrow competition in Rochester, which recognizes the top school musicals in the Rochester area.
Students from 25 local schools come together at Stars of Tomorrow for an awards show that includes performances from the schools on the Rochester stage.
Lyndonville and Medina’s musical won several awards. The schools in the competition used to be separated by size in different divisions. But now they all are in the same division. The Lyndonville and Medina as well as Albion were up against Greece Athena, Greece Odyssey, Pittsford Mendon, Victor, Brighton and other much larger districts.
• Lyndonville and Medina won one of the 10 awards for excellence in overall musical production.
• Lyndonville and Medina also was recognized for excellence in student orchestra and excellence in vocal ensemble.
• Lyndonville and Medina performers also were honored for overall excellence in performance in a leading role: Elizabeth Whipple as Cinderella and Danielle Schmidt as the Fairy Godmother.
Beginning at noon today, there will be online voting for the top high school performers in Rochester to have a chance to go to New York City in a national competition – the National High School Musical Theatre Awards or Jimmy Awards.
Schmidt and Whipple both were nominated to be considered for the NYC event. Click here for more information, beginning at noon today.
Greyson Romano is Lionel in the musical Cinderella. He was recognized as a “Future Star.” Here he is shown announcing there will be a ball for the prince.
Lyndonville and Medina performers also received these awards:
• Future Stars – Emani Fuentes and Greyson Romano
• Special Recognition – Rory Smith and Seagan Majchrzak
• A Round of Applause – Andrew Austin, Auston Bentley and Tessa Zeitz
• A Tip of the Hat – Annabelle Follman and Emani Fuentes
Elaina Huntington, center, plays the Stepmother who is shown with her two daughters. Emani Fuentes is Joy, left, who snorts when she laughs and Annabelle Follman is Grace, who is often itching her arms. All three are mean to Cinderella and don’t want her going to the ball. Funetes and Follman received “A Tip of the Hat” for their acting in the show.
Seagan Majchrzak is Queen Constantina and Henry Rigerman is King Maximillan. They are the prince’s parents and they conspire to throw him a ball where he must dance with every woman. Majchrzak received a special recognition award from the Stars of Tomorrow.
Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday signed legislation S.5924-C/A.6938-B that prohibits colleges from withholding a student’s transcript because of unpaid debts or charging individuals who owe debts a higher fee to obtain their transcript.
This legislation ensures that students can access their transcript when necessary so that they may continue their education or find a job.
“Transcripts are critical for students to continue pursuing their educational and career goals,” Governor Hochul said. “To hold transcripts hostage until outstanding debts are paid is an unfair, predatory practice that prevents our students from reaching their full potential. I was proud to make ending transcript withholding a top priority and took action to end this practice at SUNY and CUNY in January. Today, we put an end to this abhorrent policy for all higher education institutions to ensure a level playing field for New York’s students.”
The tactic of withholding student transcripts or overcharging for their release has been used by some colleges in the state to leverage collection of outstanding debts, however one is not related to the other. Withholding a student’s transcript is a punitive measure that penalizes students with less resources, while ironically making it more difficult for them to advance in higher education or obtain employment that will allow them to make outstanding payments.
Governor Hochul made the proposal to end this practice in her 2022 State of the State Address. In January, the Governor announced that the SUNY board and CUNY board voted to end the practice.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2022 at 5:34 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – Officials from the Town of Carlton, Orleans County and state Office of General Services and Department of State joined for a ribbon-cutting this morning for the new boat launch at Point Breeze.
The new boat launch opened on April 27. The old one was closed just after Labor Day.
The project was $627,000 and was 95 percent funded through the state’s Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI).
During the historic flooding of 2019, the previous boat ramp was submerged, preventing access to the floating docks, and forcing the boat launch to be closed.
The new launch is raised about 2 ½ feet and will be more resilient in case of flooding and higher lake levels. The steeper ramp also can better accommodate launching boats when the water levels are low.
“It can handle the two extremes,” said John Papponetti, the county’s commissioner of the Department of Public Works.
The project was designed by Wendel, an engineering firm, with CP Ward the contractor.
The boat launch also has a new boat ramp and abutment above high water level, a sloping roadway to the new boat ramp; and regraded remaining portion of roadway.
County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said the boat launch is important for recreational boaters and also for the county’s sportsfishing industry, which has a $28 million annual economic impact on the county.
“This is really the eye of Lake Ontario for Orleans County,” Johnson said about Point Breeze.
She praised the state leaders for making the REDI funding available. There are $17 million of projects in Orleans County that are part of the $300 million REDI program.
Other projects include wastewater infrastructure for Kendall and Hamlin, $9,053,000; Yates Town Park and expansion in Yates, $2,531,000; Lakeshore Road breakwall in Carlton, east of Point Breeze, $2,062,000; Public Town Road Ends/Culverts in Kendall, $1,500,000; stabilizing Lakeside Park Road East in Carlton, $385,000; Fortified shoreline along Lakeside Park Road West in Carlton, $235,000; Thompson Drive turnaround to become beach access in Kendall, $131,000; erosion mitigation at Route 237 right-of-way in Kendall, $40,000; installing markers on submerged structures in Orleans and Niagara, $50,000.
The REDI funding also includes dredging many harbors along the southshore, including Oak Orchard and Johnson Creek in Orleans County.
Jeanette Moy, acting commissioner of the state Office of General Services, praised the local town and county officials for pushing many of the projects along.
The local leaders identified assets “that were damaged repeatedly by high waters,” she said.
The REDI projects show local and state officials working together, Moy said. There are 134 of the REDI projects across the southshore of the state.
Stephanie Wojtowicz, director of division planning for the Department of State, praised the partnerships at the local and state levels to get the infrastructure upgraded and protected.
“You can’t have a resilient economy without resilient infrastructure,” Wojtowicz said.
Photo from Congressman Chris Jacobs’ Office: U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs and members of Citizens Against Wind Turbines in Lake Erie held a news conference this morning outside Hoak’s in Hamburg.
Press Release, Congressman Chris Jacobs
HAMBURG – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) introduced legislation aimed at blocking the development of industrial scale wind farms in the Great Lakes.
“The Great Lakes are a regional resource and economic driver. From providing fresh drinking water to millions of people to allowing for recreational and tourism activities – the health of our lakes is of paramount importance to our region’s long-term prosperity,” Jacobs said. “After spending decades cleaning the lakes of past pollutants, the prospect of large industrial construction to install wind turbines is a threat to our lakes’ health we cannot afford.”
Jacobs’ legislation would deny the ability for developers to receive federal tax credits to build offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes. Due to the massive capital needed for these projects, without federal tax credits, developing these projects would prove difficult.
“Offshore wind development has long been a goal of the out-of-touch politicians in Albany. Despite being from Western New York and supposedly understanding the importance of the lakes here, Governor Hochul’s budget this year allocated an additional $500 million for offshore turbine development,” Jacobs said. “We must reject this effort. I’m proud to lead this legislation to protect the Great Lakes, and I will continue my work to secure additional resources to ensure the long-term health of our lakes.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2022 at 2:12 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Emily Trapiss, a senior at Albion High School, holds the first-place poster she made to promote the 34th Albion Strawberry Festival.
The event on June 10-11 has a theme of “Together We Serve” and will highlight service clubs and volunteerism in the community. The Albion Rotary Club is one of the festival’s sponsors. The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
The poster created by Trapiss will be featured in promotional materials for the festival, which is back this year after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions and concerns.
“I wanted to make it inclusive and show everybody working together,” Trapiss said.
Jeffrey Brown, an Albion senior, holds his second-place poster.
Lily Zambito, another Albion senior, holds her third-place poster. There were about 40 entries in the contest. The prize money included $50 for first place, and $25 for both second and third.
The posters winners – Lily Zambito, Jeffrey Brown and Emily Trapiss – are shown with Don Bishop, the logistics chairman for the festival.
They were recognized at today’s Albion Rotary Club meeting at the Cobblestone Museum.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2022 at 9:22 am
Provided photos
HOLLEY – A group of about 75 people volunteered on Saturday to pick up trash along 9 miles of the Erie Canal towpath and many of the village streets and parks.
The Holley Rotary Club and Holley Interact Club met with other community members on Saturday morning to walk the canal the length that spans the school district.
The volunteers picked up litter as part of the annual Canal Clean Sweep.
They covered the stretch of the towpath from the public boat launch on County Line Road at Route 31 to Transit Road.
Teams went from bridge to bridge picking up trash.
Brendan Keiser, Holley’s director of Teaching and Learning, worked with students at this spot overlooking the Holley Waterfalls.
The volunteers tackled trash in many of the village neighborhoods as well.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 May 2022 at 8:19 am
Photos courtesy of Kevin Watson, Kendall Middle School principal
A group of about 50 Kendall eighth-graders, teachers and chaperones have been visiting Gettysburg and Washington, DC.
The group is shown in the top photo in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The class departed by bus on Tuesday morning in the return of the eighth-grade trip. The outing was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions and concerns. The trip was reduced from four days and two overnights to three days and overnight stays.
Kendall students applaud and give a standing ovation for a veteran who was on the Honor Flight on Wednesday, visiting memorials in the nation’s capital.
Kendall students high five this veteran. The Honor Flight included 86 veterans from the Vietnam War, one from World War II and two women who served as Rosie the Riveters, working in manufacturing plants.
The Kendall students on Wednesday night visited the memorial for Martin Luther King Jr., the famed civil rights leader.
The students also saw the Supreme Court, White House, Capitol, Jefferson Memorial, World War I Memorial and other national landmarks in Washington, DC. Today the group is headed to Arlington National Cemetery.
The students visited the Civil War battlefield sites at Gettysburg, including Little Round Top on a rocky hill. This is the spot where Union soldiers pushed back an assault by Confederate troops on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Kevin Watson, the Kendall Middle School principal, said he is grateful the middle school trips have resumed after being cancelled the previous two years.
Next week, Kendall seventh graders will take a day-long trip to Howe Caverns followed by a tour of Albany and the Governor’s Building. The fifth grade team also has brought back its annual trip to Old Fort Niagara.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2022 at 8:17 pm
Orleans County has passed a milestone in the two-plus years of the pandemic: 10,000 cases.
The county had 197 new confirmed cases in the past week (April 27 through May 3) and now has had 10,077 confirmed cases since March 2020, according to data from the Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments.
The two counties, Genesee and Orleans, also hit a grim milestone with 300 deaths from Covid during the pandemic. Genesee and Orleans each reported a Covid-related death in the past week. Genesee now has 186 deaths and Orleans 114 due to Covid.
Orleans has 40,343 residents, according to the 2020 Census. The 10,077 cases represent about 1 for every 4 residents, although some residents have contracted Covid more than once.
Genesee County, which has 58,388 residents, has 15,805 cases during the pandemic, which is also about 1 for every 4 residents.
The cases continue to increase each week since mid-March. The 197 in Orleans the past week is up from 166 the previous week (April 20-26) and 113 the week before that.
Genesee is reporting 286 new cases from April 27 to March 3, and 278 the week before that, and 168 from April 13-19.
State-wide the 7-day average for positive tests is 6.94 percent, but it’s much higher in the Finger Lakes Region, which includes Orleans. That region is at a 13.02 percent positive over the past seven days. Western New York is the highest at 17.48 percent and New York City is the lowest at 4.44 percent.
Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse continues to be recognized as one of the state’s “best companies to work for.”
For the fifth consecutive year, the New York State Society for Human Resource Management (NYS-SHRM) has included the Batavia-based substance use treatment, prevention and recovery agency on its list of Best Companies to Work for in New York. GCASA also has an office in Albion at 249 East Ave.
GCASA was one of 23 companies selected in the medium employers’ category (100-249 employees) for 2022. Additionally, 27 small employers (15-99 employees) and 25 large employers (250 or more employees) were honored at a reception last month in Albany.
“It is truly an honor to be selected for a fifth straight year,” said GCASA Executive Director John Bennett. “We were one of four agencies certified by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, with the other three in the large employer category, and we actually ranked higher than those other three. This is a testament to our employees, who have shown remarkable resilience and commitment to their profession over a challenging last couple of years.”
To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:
Be a for-profit, not-for-profit business or government entity;
Be a publicly or privately held business;
Have a facility in the state of New York;
Have at least 15 employees working in New York; and
Must be in business a minimum of 1 year.
Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Companies to Work for in New York. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part was worth approximately 25 percent of the total evaluation.
The second part consisted of a survey to measure the employee experience. This part was worth approximately 75 percent of the total. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final rankings.
Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in New York and also analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings.
For more information on the Best Companies to Work for in New York program, visit www.BestCompaniesNY.com.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2022 at 2:12 pm
Provided photos
WATERPORT – Orleans County Tourism received assistance from Brockport State College students and Brookfield Renewable Power to free 18 mature steelhead from one of the overflow pools at the Waterport Dam on Tuesday.
The group was able to electro-fish and seine or net the mature steelhead.
“They were spawned out fish primarily and we did capture at least two smolts that were likely earlier spring stocked Coho salmon,” said Ron Bierstine, owner of Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge. “The effort was spearheaded by SUNY Brockport Environmental Science and Biology Departments with about 20 of their students.”
Brookfield Renewable Power, owner of the power-generating site, was on hand for a safety briefing and was ready with a fish transfer culvert apparatus that didn’t need to be used.
“We were able to just cradle the fish in a net or seine and I quickly released them back into the turbine (tailrace) channel,” Bierstine wrote in this week’s fishing report from the Orleans County Tourism Department. “Some fish were certainly in rough post spawn state, but every fish I released swam away under its own power – with the chance to get back to the main Lake and recoup.”
Bierstine thanked Brookfield for the allowing access and for the assistance from SUNY Brockport and students.
The group wasn’t able to capture any fish in the main plunge pool at the base of the falls with the equipment they had and the allowable access.
“But I’d count it as a success showing that it can be done and that likely with what we found in the one pool that there are a goodly amount more fish in the other plunge pool,” Bierstine wrote. “So hopefully we can collectively think of ways to capture those fish in the future and can work towards and consider a better remedy to keep fish out of that channel or give them some passage out of there when flows recede so that they don’t become stranded.”
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions Club’s current major focus is finalizing plans for the return of the Lyndonville Lions club July 4th extravaganza with a full parade and fireworks display.
The club president and parade committee encourages everyone to support the fireworks fund drive. Fireworks collection cans have been placed at area retailers for individuals to donate to support the fireworks show.
The July 4th Lyndonville Lions parade, absent the past two years, will return this year and begin at noon, followed by an arts and craft show on the front lawn of the Lyndonville School. Food venders will be available and the annual chicken barbeque starts serving at 1 p.m. Chicken barbeque tickets will be available for early purchase from any Lyndonville Lions Club member.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Department will also be on site for child car seat checks, children identification cards and the Yellow Dot program.
The Lyndonville Lions Club holds its bimonthly meetings at the White Birch Golf Club in Lyndonville. New members Chris Cappetta and Dr. Nancy Ciavarri were inducted in April. The Lyndonville Lions also accepted two additional members applications for induction in May.
Following the club’s March Pop-Up Eye Clinic, the club recently completed its first phase of delivering 60 pairs of eye glasses to people across Orleans County. The second phase will culminate in the next few weeks with the delivery of the remaining 90 pairs of eyeglasses.
A presentation was given by Vern Fonda on behalf of “The Murph Challenge” – an endurance competition that helps raise money in support the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
This foundation awards scholastic scholarships to children of wounded or fallen military personnel. For more information on this scholarship program and for information on participation in the “Murph Challenge” – log on to the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation web site. The Lyndonville Lions has supported this program for several years.
John Belson, Lions Club member and Lyndonville mayor, presented the results of this year’s Lyndonville Easter Egg Hunt which continues to be a well-attended event. The club is preparing for its upcoming Mothers’ Day rose sale. Long stemmed red roses are available for $20 per dozen and can be picked up on Friday, May 6, at the White Birch after 10 a.m.
Orders can be placed by contacting any Lyndonville Lions Club member, by leaving a phone or text message at 585-745-0895 or by contacting the White Birch.
Provided photo: Patrick Riviere speaks on set with Broadway veteran Mary Ellen Ashley, who is the focus of a documentary produced and directed by Riviere.
Press Release
BUFFALO – Albion native and Niagara University Graduate Patrick Riviere has just learned that his award-winning documentary film, Just a Broadway Baby: Mary Ellen Ashley has been named an “Official Selection” at the Inaugural Upstate NY Film Festival to be held June 3 – June 9 at Eastern Hills Cinema in Williamsville. The film is slated to screen as part of BLOCK 16 on June 6th at 5:30PM.
Patrick Riviere
The film follows the career and life of Mary Ellen Ashley (formerly Mary Ellen Glass) who made her Broadway debut at the age of 5 in An Innocent Voyage. She would follow that with a role that was created just for her in the original Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun with Ethel Merman.
Ashley grew up with the show and would go on to play all of the younger Oakley sisters and stay with the production for the entire run. But Broadway was not her only success. She was on radio, early Television, films, Las Vegas, her own club act and a plethora of Regional Theaters (including ArtPark) playing the most beloved leading ladies numerous times: Dolly Levi, Mame Dennis, Mama Rose…the list goes on. She would return to Broadway in the original production of Yentl starring Tovah Feldshuh. For eight decades she has graced the stage and screen and she met Riviere when they co-starred in the World Premiere of Family Dinner Off-Broadway over a decade ago.
The film won “Best Picture” at its World Premiere at The Oregon Documentary Film Festival in January. Riviere himself was awarded “Best Director of a Documentary Short” from The Vesuvius International Film Festival in Italy and the “Indie Soul Special Recognition Award” from The Boston International Film Festival (BIFF).
The official movie poster for Just a Broadway Baby: Mary Ellen Ashley
The film was also a nominee for Best Documentary Film at Green Mountain International Film Festival and Texas Short Film Festival. The film has also screened at Dam Short Film Festival. In addition, the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT) at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has invited the film to become a part of its permanent archive.
Riviere hails from Albion and graduated with honors from Niagara University where he was known for his roles both on the Niagara U main-stage and at ArtPark (most notably as Action in West Side Story, Che in Evita and Ali Hakim in Oklahoma).
In Buffalo he has performed at Studio Arena in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and several years ago co-starred as Gangster #1 in the Kleinhans/Buffalo Philharmonic Concert of Kiss Me Kate! starring Michele Ragusa.
He won a Gold Telly Award for his starring role in an Attorney Tom Spark’s Commercial which debuted during Super Bowl LII (2018) in the Providence, RI and Western MA Markets on NBC and was renewed for a fifth year in January. He is also a director, playwright and arts administrator and his play, The House of Nunzio, was named “Festival Winner” at The Barnstable Comedy Club in 2020. This film marks his directorial debut. He now resides on Cape Cod.
Editor Laird Odgen also hails from Albion and is the Creator and Executive Producer of “Captain Stargood” which brought him to collaborate with Riviere again after they had performed together in High School in My Fair Lady, many years earlier. Odgen approached Riviere about voicing two of the characters in the puppet based sci-fi spoof, which is currently available on-line.
More information, including the official trailer for the film can be found by visiting justabroadwaybabymea.com.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2022 at 9:12 am
Library looks forward to busy year in 2022
ALBION – Five trustees to the Hoag Library were elected on Monday, and the board then re-elected Linda Weller as president.
There were five candidates for five positions on the board. The vote totals include: Mary Covell, 34; Rachel Hicks, 30; Linda Weller, 26; Jim Babcock, 26; and Kevin Doherty, 21. (Covell and Hicks are new to the board.)
The top three vote-getters will have four-year terms and the two others will have three-year terms. Babcock and Weller were tied and Babcock agreed to take the three-year term with Weller getting four years.
Weller was then elected by the board to continue as president with Covell as board vice president, Dawn Squicciarini as secretary and Rachel Hicks as treasurer.
The election results were announced during the library’s annual meeting on Monday.
The library hasn’t caught up to its circulation levels from before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Circulation in 2021 totaled 46,270 with 28,927 books, 11,025 non-books, 3,663 digital items through Hoopla and 2,655 digital items through the Libby/OverDrive.
The circulation is down about half from the 90,000 that was typical in the years before the Covid pandemic.
In 2021, there were also 112 homebound deliveries, and 89 items through library-to-go where the books and materials were in the front area of the library instead of inside the main part of the building. Some patrons are concerned about Covid-19 and don’t feel comfortable inside the main part of the library.
Hoag also loaned 4,695 items through the Nioga inter-library loan program and borrowed 6,274 items from other libraries.
Hoag staff – Mike Magnuson and Elizabeth Haibach – also notarized 292 documents in 2021. Hoag has been offering that service for about two years and the library’s hours on evenings and Saturdays have been helpful to residents who need papers notarized.
The library last year added a new book vending machine, electric charging stations for automobiles, a restored Civil War flag, story walks at the school and Mount Albion Cemetery, a collection of music books donated by George and Marie Follett, and replaced some indoor lights with LED bulbs.
Hoag Library also paid off a $1.69 million mortgage from 2012. That will reduce what the library will be seeking from taxpayers in the May 17 budget vote by 10.3 percent, a drop from $724,260 in 2021-22 to $648,964 in 2022-23.
The library in 2022 is looking forward to an expanded children’s garden, a partnership with Orleans/Nagara BOCES for high school equivalency classes, a new website and new computers, and also the summer reading program which will have a theme of “Oceans of Possibilities.”
Medications reduce withdrawal and cravings which decreases the use of illicit drugs and overdoses
By Mike Pettinella, GCASA Publicist
Provided photo: Melissa Weingarten, right, Wyoming County Jail nurse, makes a point as Kathy Hodgins, chief clinical officer at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, during the GOW Opioid Task Force meeting at The Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road.
BATAVIA – No matter what term is used – and there are several of them, the practice of combining medication and treatment for people struggling with substance use disorder has a singular goal: Saving lives.
“Medication-Assisted-Treatment – or MAT – is an evidence-based program that has been shown to make a positive difference in saving lives for persons with an opiate use disorder. And it’s considered the gold standard for treatment of opiate use disorder,” said Ann Bowback, clinical director at Spectrum Health & Human Services in Warsaw.
Bowback is the project director for the Partnership to Address Opioid Epidemic and Save Lives in Western New York Through Medication-Assisted-Treatment, a program funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Speaking at the GOW Opioid Task Force quarterly meeting recently, she explained that her program, in collaboration with Evergreen Health, is looking to increase the number of persons receiving MAT within the Spectrum agencies by at least 200 per year.
“We work to link people with a prescriber the same day, if possible, but at the latest within 72 hours of their initial visit with us,” she said. “We also will add two additional data waiver subscribers per year in order to meet the needs of these additional 200 people. And with this grant, our goal is to ensure that all the MAT clients are offered peer services (recovery advocates) within 60 days of admission.”
Other speakers at the meeting, which took place at The Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road and provided access via Zoom videoconferencing, were Melissa Weingarten, Wyoming County Jail nurse, and Kathy Hodgins, chief clinical officer at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.
Bowback said most substance use disorder providers along with jails and prisons are taking a “whole patient approach” to treatment.
“MAT is more than just medication,” she said. “For some members of the recovery community, including our Evergreen partner, they refer to this as MAR – medication-assisted-recovery. This can be a referred term for some people because it emphasizes a person’s commitment to recovery while using medications, and they may or may not be involved with treatment.”
She also said it can be referred to as MOUD (medications for opioid use disorder), which zeroes in on the importance of medication and addressing opiate use, and also as OTP (opioid treatment program) or OBOD (office based opiate treatment).
“PWUD stands for people who use drugs as we’re ideally trying to get away from some of the stigmatizing language like addicts and things like that,” she added. “OUD stands for opiate use disorder and OTP is where you would get medication such as methadone.”
Currently, the Food & Drug Administration has approved three medications for treatment of opiate use disorder – methadone, naltrexone and buprenorphine, Bowback said.
“All medications work a little differently, but all basically normalize brain chemistry in order to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms,” she noted. “Methadone was first used in 1947 to treat opioid addiction and critics complained at that time that methadone merely exchanged one drug for another which led to strict government control over methadone, and that continues today.
“Now, in order to receive methadone for an opiate use disorder, you have to obtain it from an OTP. And although methadone is very effective, some individuals are hesitant to take this medication.”
Bowback said Spectrum offers naltrexone (brand name, Vivitrol), which was approved to treat opiate use disorder in 2010.
“The extended-release formulation is generally preferred for the treatment of opiate use disorder,” she said. “But some individuals do still prefer the pill form. Our prescribers will typically start a person on the pill form prior to prescribing the injection just to ensure the person is able to tolerate it. In order to receive this medication, though, the person cannot have opiates in their system; otherwise, they’ll experience withdrawal. So, you must be abstinent for at least seven days.”
Spectrum also offers buprenorphine (also known as suboxone) for MAT, she said. In the 60s, buprenorphine was developed for treatment of pain and approved for treatment of opiate use disorder in 2002.
“Unlike methadone, a person almost immediately receives a seven-day script and within a very short time is able to receive a script for 28 days, which results in less daily disruption to lifestyles,” she advised. “You don’t have to be present at a clinic daily … and you don’t have to be abstinent for seven days in order to receive the medication.”
Medications reduce withdrawal and cravings and, as a result, decreases the use of illicit drugs and overdose, stabilizes the brain and “most of all, saves lives,” Bowback said.
“It also socially decreases criminal activity and reduces risk of transmission of communicable diseases, reduces risky sexual activity, and increases engagement with treatment.”
MAT is at the core of services at GCASA, which offers an integrated treatment and OTP clinic at its main location in Batavia as well as clinical services at its Orleans County location in Albion, Hodgins said.
“When I started at GCASA in 2002, we were already doing medication-assisted-treatment with alcohol, using naltrexone to treat alcohol dependence,” she said. “And then shortly after, we did start using buprenorphine – suboxone for opiate use disorder individuals that came in.”
Hodgins said GCASA counselors and medical professionals treat medication for substance use disorder “similar to any kind of medication that you take.”
“So, those on medication are definitely in recovery – it just assists with the recovery. And it really does help reduce the cravings and the physical withdrawal.”
Weingarten shared that Wyoming County Jail started its MAT program in early 2020, offering suboxone and naltrexone.
“We provide medication to those who have been on MAT programs in the community, as long as we can verify that they’ve been in treatment and continued to get it,” she said.
She also mentioned that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that requires all prisons and jails, beginning in October, to provide MAT to inmates.
“So, we’ve started that way before she’s required it,” she said, adding that the jail program includes individual and group counseling – and connection to peer recovery advocates.
Hodgins said “it just makes sense” to keep incarcerated people on medication, especially considering the rising overdose rates. GCASA provides services to inmates in six jails or prisons, including Genesee, Orleans, Albion, Groveland, Wyoming and Attica.
“Our common goal in our community is to save lives and I’m grateful that the state is on board with that,” she said. “I believe the best way to proceed is to start with a thorough assessment while they’re in jail and getting them on the right medication prior to release. That is how we’re going to save additional lives in our community.”
Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse continues to be recognized as one of the state’s “best companies to work for.”
