ROCHESTER – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that John Cecchini, 28, of Albion pleaded guilty to bank robbery and four counts of Hobbs Act robbery before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
John S. Cecchini
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean C. Eldridge, who is handling the case, stated that between April 2 and April 5, 2021, Cecchini, a former Medina resident, committed robberies at five locations across Clarkson, Lyndonville, Albion and Medina:
On April 2, 2021, Cecchini robbed the Five Star Bank branch at 2 West Avenue, Clarkson. He handed a bank employee a note which read, “Please do not make me hurt you. I need all of your money in your drawer and hurry up. You delay, I’ll start shooting.” Before the teller could read the note, Cecchini said, “give me all of the money in the drawer before I start shooting.” The teller complied and gave him cash, and Cecchini fled the area.
On April 3, 2021, Cecchini robbed the Discount Groceries and More at 11 South Main Street, Lyndonville. He entered the store and handed a store employee a note that read “I don’t want anyone to get hurt” and verbally demanded all of the money in the cash drawer. The employee complied with Cecchini’s demands and handed him cash, and Cecchini left the store and fled the area.
On April 4, 2021, Cecchini robbed the Alexander’s Mobil Gas Station at 4118 Lake Road, Clarkson. He told an employee that he had a taser and said “This is a stick up. Keep your hands on the counter, act normal.” The employee handed Cecchini cash from the cash register while Cecchini placed his hand in his sweatshirt pocket as if he had a gun. Cecchini took the cash, exited the store, and fled the area.
On April 5, 2021, Cecchini robbed the Crosby’s Gas Station at 202 North Main Street, Albion. He showed an employee a taser gun and demanded money, saying that the taser had probes in it and he wasn’t afraid to use it if the employee didn’t hurry up. The employee handed Cecchini cash, and Cecchini fled the area.
Later in the day on April 5, 2021, Cecchini robbed the Family Dollar at 11322 Maple Ridge Road, Medina. Cecchini asked a store employee “have you ever been robbed before?” while holding an object in his hand as if it were a weapon. The employee handed Cecchini cash, and he fled the area in a car. After a brief chase, Cecchini was apprehended.
The plea is the result of/culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Major Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter; the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Chad Kenward; the Albion Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Mogle; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eugene Staniszewski; the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Christopher Bourke; and the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph Cardone.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, at 3 p.m. before Judge Geraci.
Press Release, NYS Division of Military & Naval Affairs
A New York Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter dumped 2,000 gallons of water over Lake Ontario using a “Bambi Bucket” near Hamlin in this photo from May 6, 2020. (Army National Guard Photo by Capt. Avery Schneider)
HAMLIN – New York Army National Guard aircrews flying a CH-47F Chinook helicopter will be conducting fire-fighting training over Lake Ontario at Hamlin Beach State Park in Hamlin on Wednesday and Thursday.
The helicopter crews, which are based at the Patriot Way Flight Facility in Rochester, will use specially designed water buckets outfitted for the aircraft, known by the trademarked name of Bambi Bucket, to scoop up 1,500 gallons of water from the lake and practice dropping the water back into the lake at marked points.
The soldiers would use these buckets to fight wildfires if asked by state officials. The aircrews train each spring to be ready for any potential missions.
The training will take place at Hamlin Beach State Park between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. both days. Three aircrews of four soldiers will be trained during the two days.
The Army National Guard Aviation Soldiers will be joined by 12 Department of Environmental Conservation Rangers for the training.
The Rangers will conduct training on firefighting techniques, fire behavior and the terminology firefighters use. They will work with the Soldiers on board the helicopters and on the ground.
The Army National Guard aircrews are from Detachment 1, Company B, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation. They operate the CH-47F, the Army’s largest helicopter. It can lift more than 30 Soldiers and carry approximately 28,000 pounds of cargo.
Water will be scooped in a linear flightpath parallel to the shore at a distance of 500-1,000 feet from the shoreline. Buckets will be scooped from deep water to avoid any contact with the lake bottom.
The training is necessary because a bucket full of water weighs approximately 12,500 to 13,000 pounds and helicopter pilots need to practice flying with that additional weight and rapidly losing it when dropping the water in order to fly safely during firefighting operations and in an emergency.
The New York Army National Guard employs helicopter firefighting equipment when requested by state officials. Most firefighting is conducted by New York State Police helicopters.
Aircrew from the Company B, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation will also be assisting the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Preservation in removing a pontoon from the Niagara River near Goat Island in May.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 April 2022 at 11:53 am
Sarah Hallifax Bateman previously led North Wing in Medina, now works in Rochester
Sarah Hallifax Bateman
A Medina native has been named a “Women of Distinction” among nursing home administrators and will be honored during a celebration in Chicago on May 12-13.
Sarah Hallifax Bateman graduated from Medina in 2006. She served as director of the North Wing facility at Medina Memorial Hospital from July 2018 to September 2020. She is currently administrator of the Edna Tina Wilson Living Center, which is part of the Long Term Care Division of Rochester Regional Health.
Bates said she is “truly honored and humbled” to be included in the 2022 McKnight’s Women of Distinction program.
She enjoys here career in long-term care.
“The most rewarding part about being a nursing home administrator is the relationships – relationships with residents, families and staff,” she said. “Nursing homes become a family of sorts – and those relationships grow within the walls of the facility, but extend far beyond into every facet of life.”
Bateman has worked 10 years with Rochester Regional holding various roles from social worker to administrator. She worked two years at the North Wing as part of a collaboration with Rochester Regional and Orleans Community Health.
She said she has had many great mentors, including the late Jim Sinner, who was the administrator of the Medina Memorial Hospital for many years.
“I am proud of my Medina roots and owe the start of my career to Orleans Community Health, Mr. James Sinner, and my grandparents Lloyd and Janet Hallifax whom both were longstanding members of the Medina community and worked at Orleans Community Health,” she said.
About the Event
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are thrilled to once again recognize women making a mark in skilled nursing, senior living and home care, inspiring others and having a powerful effect on the lives of the individuals they serve.
“As the pandemic continues to challenge long-term care providers, we’re so pleased to be able to offer this opportunity to give the exceptional women working in long-term care — often behind the scenes, making a difference in the lives of their colleagues and those they serve — the recognition they deserve,” says McKnight’s Senior Living Editor Lois A. Bowers.
Press Release, New York State Association of Counties
After years of underinvestment, the recently enacted SFY 2023 State Budget provides nearly $26 million in urgently needed state funding for local health departments that have been fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in every county for the last two years.
The funding is often referred to as “Article 6” funding for the section of Public Health Law that sets the state grant amounts and reimburses local health departments for the core public health services they perform, including communicable disease control and emergency preparedness and response.
Prior to the passage of this year’s budget, local health departments had not received an increase in state funding in more than seven years.
“Over the past two years, New Yorkers have had the opportunity to see their local health departments in action as they rose to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Martha Sauerbrey, NYSAC President and Tioga County Chairwoman. “We commend Governor Hochul and legislative leaders for making the investments we need to ensure our local health departments are prepared to see our state through this pandemic and confront whatever comes next.”
The enacted budget amends Public Health Law to increase base grant funding to full-service local health departments to $750,000 and increases base grant funding to partial-service LHDs to $577,500. This increase will allow LHDs to better respond to new and emerging public health threats.
The enacted budget also amends Public Health Law to make fringe benefits like employee retirement funds and health insurance an eligible expense for Article 6 state aid. This change will help local health departments compete for talented health professionals and increase staffing levels to meet public health demand.
Sarah Ravenhall, Executive Director of the New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) said, “NYSACHO welcomes this funding as an important first step in providing the resources necessary to make our public health system fully capable of responding to the myriad public health threats facing our communities. As New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary Bassett recently said when discussing the state budget: ‘Overcoming years of underinvestment in public health won’t be a one-shot deal.’ We believe the Commissioner is absolutely right and we are excited to work with the Governor, the Department of Health and the Legislature to build on the successes of this budget to make our public health infrastructure even stronger in the future.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 April 2022 at 9:31 am
File photos by Tom Rivers: Greg Reed is shown on the steps at the Orleans County YMCA on Pearl Street in Medina, a former Armory that trained soldiers. Reed helped the Y build many partnerships in the community.
MEDINA – Greg Reed, the YMCA director in Orleans County, has been promoted to director of the Y in Genesee County. Reed will continue to help oversee the Y in Orleans County, acting as a mentor to the new director.
The Y has set a deadline for Wednesday for applicants to be executive director of the operations in Orleans County. That person will oversee 30 employees, 460 membership units, a $580,000 annual budget and an 80,000-square-foot facility on Pearl Street in Medina. (Click here to see the application.)
Reed said the Y wants a director with the core values of respect, responsibility and a community mindset.
“Some one who is a doer and has a servant heart will thrive in this position,” he said.
Reed, a Stafford resident, welcomes the much closer commute to Batavia. He also will be part of the Y team that is developing a $30 million healthy living campus in Batavia with Rochester Regional Health and United Memorial Medical Center.
Reed will also stay connected in Orleans County, helping the Y develop disc golf courses at Gulf Street Park in Medina, Bullard Park in Albion and a site in Holley.
He also is working to develop a bike share program where bikes can be rented in Medina. Last year the Y also partnered with the Canal Corp. and New York Power Authority to offer free use of kayaks and hydro-bikes. That program will continue this year.
Reed said the Y in Orleans County wants to expand youth sports and programming in the afternoon and evenings.
The Y partnered with the Genesee-Orleans Regional Art Council on several projects, including outdoor art on the sidewalks and steps, and hosting the annual Day of the Dead festival. That event in late October remembers ancestors, and included free activities with Mexican crafts, face painting, dance and drama performance, sand painting and ofrenda displays, and special food tastings.
“My biggest goal trying to encourage people to see the Y as a place for community,” Reed said. “I wanted to get people in the door and they can see it’s not the same Y as it was years before. We wanted to recognize our Armory roots and show that it now looks different.”
Jill Pettigrew, an artist from Batavia, shows off a transformed room at the Orleans County YMCA to Greg Reed, the Y director, in this photo from March 2, 2020. Pettigrew painted the mural that shows animals having a picnic in the forest. The wall used to be white on top with blue on the bottom. It is one of several projects where the Y worked with artists to give the Y a new look.
The Medina Armory opened in 1901 for Company F, which formed in 1891. In 1977, the National Guard left the Medina Armory, a site on Pearl Street. The site has been used as a YMCA for nearly four decades.
The Y recently opened an indoor playground, and revamped its child watch area to be much more interactive.
“We’re focusing on families right now,” Reed said.
The YMCA received a $51,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to transform the sidewalks and steps by the Y with art. There was grant money left over from that project to pay an artist to work on the child watch room.
Reed also is proud of the Canal Club where members can explore the canal through exercise with kayaks, snow shoeing, biking and hydro bikes.
Reed was recognized fin 2018 as the Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Person of the Year” for building many strong community partnerships, and bringing new programs to the Y.
“We’re a wellness center and we’re for the community,” Reed said. “Our goal is how to make the Y so there is truly something for everyone when they walk in the door.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 April 2022 at 8:40 am
MEDINA – The Board of Education on Monday granted tenure to seven staff members.
Those granted tenure include: Jamie Schechter, school counselor; Audralee Doll, school counselor; Kayla Rosenbeck, ELA teacher in grades 7-12; Kelsey Evoy, elementary; Morgan Brower, school counselor; Megan Gooden, elementary teacher; and Joel Reed, high school assistant principal.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 18 April 2022 at 8:32 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Pastor Tim Lindsay from Harvest Christian Fellowship holds a book written by Will Ford and Matt Lockett, “The Dream King.” Ford and Lockett will be in Albion and Medina from April 29 to May 1 to share their story about healing America’s racial divide.
ALBION – Two men who met by chance and became friends will share their story about healing America’s racial divide in Albion and Medina on April 29 to May 1.
The Rev. Timothy Lindsay is pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, and a member of Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT). Pastor Lindsay was instrumental in bringing Will Ford and Matt Lockett to the area to speak in their upcoming visit.
Lindsay first heard about Ford and Lockett when he was having lunch last year with a friend in Rochester. They were discussing race relations when the friend told Lindsay he had to read “The Dream King,” a book about Ford and Lockett and how their lives are woven together, including generations ago by history.
Lindsay realized a man in his church had met Ford, who was his teacher at a Bible school in Dallas, and the pastor asked his Rochester friend to help arrange a visit. The friend contacted Ford, who then called Lindsay.
Ford and Lockett’s story is unbelievable, Lindsay said.
“Will is an African-American with intricate knowledge of his family’s life in slavery in Louisiana,” Lindsay said. “He has shared his story for years. He was in Washington, D.C. in 2005, on Martin Luther King Day, speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial. A white man was in the audience – Matt Lockett. Will’s speech resonated with Matt and he made an effort to meet Will. This led to a friendship between the two families, which continues today.”
The two families have spent considerable time together. Lockett was very interested in ancestry and genealogy, and after 10 years, Ford and Lockett made an astounding discovery.
Lockett discovered it was his family who owned Ford’s ancestors in Louisiana.
“It was a very emotional discovery for the men,” Lindsay said. “The slave owner was a very wicked man and was terrible to the slaves. Now you’ve got a family name attached to that. It was Will’s best friend’s family. The men realized God was going to use their friendship to reconnect the nation.”
Will Ford, left, and Matt Lockett will share their story of friendship and racial reconciliation during presentations at local churches and two schools on April 29 to May 1.
Lindsay said every person in America needs to hear their story.
The coincidence doesn’t end there, however. General Lee fought his last battle in the front yard of Lockett’s family farm at Sailor’s Creek, near Appomattox.
“In reality, that’s where the Civil War ended,” Lindsay said.
Ford and Lockett will share their story at 7 p.m. April 29 at Albion First Presbyterian Church; at 1 p.m. April 30 at Medina First Baptist church; at 7 p.m. April 30 at Roberts Wesleyan College’s Cultural Life Center; and at 7 p.m. May 1 at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Rochester. They will also be speaking at assemblies in Albion and Medina high schools.
In addition Ford will speak at Sunday services at 10 a.m. May 1 at Harvest Christian Fellowship.
Registration to attend any of presentations is encouraged by logging on to www.UnitedAndHealed.com. A free will offering will be collected at each event.
Press Release, Genesee Orleans Wyoming (GOW) Pathway to Hope
BATAVIA – It is estimated that one out of every two people in any given congregation has personally been affected by suicide.
Soul Shop trains faith community leaders to offer support, hope and connection to those in their congregations.
Hosted by Genesee Orleans Wyoming (GOW) Pathway to Hope, along with Northgate Free Methodist Church, and co-sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Soul Shop equips participants with the resources and guidance they need to foster hope in their community.
If you are a faith-based leader (pastor, lay leader, youth group leader, Sunday School teacher, etc.), please join us on May 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Northgate FMC – South Campus – 350 Bank Street Road, Batavia.
The cost is $10 and includes a light breakfast, lunch and snacks, along with materials to take with you. To register, click here or call/email Karen Heisig at kheisig@afsp.org (315) 664-0346 for more information.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 April 2022 at 4:07 pm
Provided photo
MEDINA – The Medina Knights of Columbus raised $3,080 for humanitarian relief in Ukraine. The fish fry on Good Friday, April 15, raised $1,789. Donations collected during the seven Lenten fish fries added up to another $1,291.
Pictured include the K of C Fish Fry Crew.
Front row, from left: Martha Gardner, Jim Mirand and Laura Valley. Middle row: Dave Cook, Denny Dubai, Robie Dubai, Virginia Klotzbach, Jeanne Crane, Joy Gardner and Pam Cook. Back row: Howie Gardner, Alan Worgo, Darlene Rich, Melissa Cotter, Dave Cotter, Kristian Snyder, Kate Hardner, Mike Goheen and Skip Draper.
Also part of the crew but not pictured include: Mike Fisher, Mike Sidari, Mike Fuller, Scott Grimm, Sally Grimm, Cathy Fox and Eric Valley.
The Knights want to thank the community for their support and donations during the Lenten season.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) led 15 representatives in introducing the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act to ensure an individual’s right to self-defense is not stripped due to financial hardship.
“An American’s right to protect themselves and their family is not conditioned on their financial standing. People fall on hard times, but their fundamental rights afforded under the Second Amendment are ensured by our Constitution and must be protected,” Jacobs said. “I am proud to lead this effort in the House to ensure any law-abiding American can continue to defend themselves despite financial hardship, and I will continue my work to protect and defend the Second Amendment.”
The Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act (H.R. 7493) would modify federal bankruptcy law to allow an individual debtor to exempt from their bankruptcy estate one or more firearms up to a total maximum value of $3,000. The bill also specifies that such firearms are household goods that are not subject to liens in bankruptcy.
The legislation was originally cosponsored by Representatives Cawthorn (NC-11), Newhouse (WA-04), Weber (TX-14), Mooney (WV-02), Van Drew (NJ-02), Garbarino (NY-02), Stefanik (NY-21), Tenney (NY-22), Mullin (OK-02), Gosar (AZ-04), McKinley (WV-01), Budd (NC-13), Norman (SC-05), Feenstra (IA-04), and Herrell (NM-02).
“I am proud to sponsor legislation to ensure gunowners can always maintain their Constitutional right to bear arms. The government should not be allowed to take advantage of lawful gunowners who have declared bankruptcy,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21) said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 April 2022 at 11:30 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo shows the banners on Route 98 near the Barre fire hall of James Gaylard, who served with the Army in World War II, and his grandson, Peter Gaylard, who was in the Air Force and deployed to Kuwait.
BARRE – There are 84 banners of veterans from Barre now proudly displayed on utility poles along Route 98.
The Town Highway Department installed the banners last week. They stretch from West Barre Road north, just past the town park.
The Barre Betterment Committee coordinated the effort and raised funding for the project. The veterans and their families didn’t need to pay for the banner.
The committee sought names of veterans from Barre, reaching out to the West Barre United Methodist Church, Barre Presbyterian Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and other word of mouth, said Cyndy VanLieshout.
The committee welcomes more names of local veterans, going back to the Civil War. To submit a name or for more information, send a message through the Barre Betterment Committee’s Facebook page.
VanLieshout said she is impressed with the effort so far, with nearly 100 veterans recognized in a town of about 700 homes. There is room on utility poles to include more banners, going all the way to Route 31A.
She said there were some veterans who didn’t want to be highlighted on a banner.
The portraits are expected to be displayed until just after Veterans’ Day in November.
VanLieshout said she was moved hearing about how so many Barre residents have sacrificed and served the country in the military.
“It felt good listening to peoples’ stories,” she said. “It tears at your heart. It was uplifting.”
She welcomes more people to be a part of the Barre Betterment Committee.
“We have a great town,” she said about Barre. “It’s a small-knit family.”
Press Release, NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association
ALBION – Several inmate-on-inmate fights over a two-day period resulted in multiple officers getting injured while attempting to stop the fights at Orleans Correctional Facility last week.
In addition, one inmate attacked and kicked an officer in the head causing a two-inch laceration, concussion and fracture above the left eye that needed to be treated at an outside hospital.
On Wednesday, April 13, during classroom movement, three inmates began to fight. The inmates ignored orders to stop fighting from staff. A staff response was called. In order to get the inmates to comply, OC spray was administered. The spray had the desired effect on one inmate. The other two inmates remained combative. OC spray was administered a second time and the two remaining inmates became compliant.
During the fight, a fourth inmate, who was in the outside hallway, attempted to enter the classroom and get involved in the fight. An officer grabbed the non-compliant inmate in a body hold and forced him to the ground. Handcuffs were applied and the inmate became compliant.
The four inmates were removed from the classroom. They face disciplinary charges in the incident.
Four officers sustained injuries containing and stopping the fighting. One officer sustained a laceration to his finger and shoulder pain. The remaining officers sustained multiple abrasions. They were treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.
The following day, April 14, six officers were injured in two separate incidents at the facility. Two of the injured officers needed to be treated at an outside hospital.
During an escort, an inmate became combative with officers and continued to fight with them when they applied body holds and used OC spray to control the inmate. Four officers were injured in the incident.
Two of the officers were taken to an outside hospital for treatment of knee, wrist and forearm injuries.
The second incident, two officers were injured and several officers exposed to OC spray when three inmates began fighting in a classroom. The inmates initially would not comply to multiple orders to stop fighting. OC spray was administered several times before the three inmates became compliant.
The inmates were placed in handcuffs and removed from the classroom. They face disciplinary charges in the incident.
The injured officers were treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.
Less than an hour after those two incidents, an officer was attacked and kicked above the left eye when an inmate approached him in a facility room and ignored orders to sit back down. Staff immediately responded to the attack and contained the inmate. Initially compliant, he attempted to kick officers again as he was escorted out of the room. Body holds were utilized and the inmate was forced to the ground.
Handcuffs were applied and the inmate was initially placed in a Special Housing Unit and then transferred to Attica Correctional Facility.
The officer who was kicked above the left eye was taken to an outside hospital for treatment of a two-inch laceration above his left eye, concussion and fracture over the left eye.
Two officers sustained wrist and knee injuries containing the inmate. They remained on duty.
“Assaults, inmate fights and injuries continue throughout all of our correctional facilities in the state and have gotten worse since HALT legislation went into effect on April 1,” said Kenny Gold, NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President.
“All of these incidents at Orleans occurred in a Residential Rehabilitation Unit that was created by the HALT legislation,” he said. “It doesn’t take a lot to connect the dots and realize all HALT has done is make prisons more dangerous. Our members, who are attacked daily, are overworked and the facilities are understaffed, creating a serious safety issue. The legislators who supported this ill-conceived legislation should put on a uniform and see firsthand how their lack of vision has negatively impacted the facilities.”
Provided photo: The Donate Life is flying at Orleans County Office Building in Albion.
Press Release, County Clerk Nadine Hanlon
ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Motor Vehicles is teaming up with Donate Life NYS in observance of National Donate Life Month, celebrating the lifesaving impact made by organ, eye and tissue donors.
Donate Life NYS is the statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase organ, eye and tissue donation in New York State through collaborative advocacy, education, research and promotion. The theme of 2022’s Donate Life Month, “Bee a Donor,” was inspired by the vital role bees play in sustaining life.
“The Orleans County DMV is proud to provide visitors with the opportunity to ‘bee’ a donor by enrolling in the New York State Donate Life Registry when conducting a license, permit or non-driver ID transaction. Our office will continue to raise awareness of the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donation in New York State,” said Orleans County Clerk Nadine Hanlon.
While more than 3,000 lifesaving organ transplants were performed in state last year, nearly 8,500 New Yorkers remain on the national organ transplant waitlist. In 2021, 465 patients awaiting an organ transplant in New York State died because the organ needed to save their lives was not donated in time.
“DMVs throughout the state have already helped nearly six million New Yorkers enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry. By providing the opportunity for the public to enroll in the NYS Donate Life Registry, they are the key to saving and healing the lives of the thousands of New Yorkers in need of a transplant,” explained Aisha Tator, Executive Director of Donate Life NYS.
Donate Life NYS operates the New York State Donate Life Registry, an electronic database that documents a person’s consent to be an organ, eye and tissue donor upon their death, under contract with the State of New York. New Yorkers age 16 or older who haven’t already enrolled have several opportunities to do so:
Check “yes” in the “New York State Organ and Tissue Donation” section when applying for or renewing your driver license, learner permit, or non-driver ID. The DMV will transmit your enrollment to the Registry and print a heart icon and the words “Organ Donor” on your photo document.
Sign up through the MyDMV website located at dmv.ny.gov/mydmv/mydmv-0 using your NY.gov login credentials. The DMV will transmit your enrollment to the Registry, but a heart icon and the words “Organ Donor” will not be printed on your photo document.
Enroll online in just minutes by visiting the Registry’s website located at donatelife.ny.gov.
Complete the optional “Register to donate your organs and tissues” section on the back of your NYS voter registration form. Your county Board of Elections will forward that page of the form to the New York State Donate Life Registry.
Check “yes” to the organ and tissue donation question when applying for health insurance through the New York State of Health Online Insurance Marketplace (nystateofhealth.ny.gov).
Additionally, New Yorkers can show their support for organ and tissue donation by purchasing a “Life-Pass It On” custom license plate from the DMV or making a voluntary $1 contribution to organ transplant research, education and donation promotion projects by checking off the box when applying for or renewing their driver license, learner permit, or non-driver ID.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 April 2022 at 8:35 am
Orleans County is forecast for 1 to 3 inches of snow tonight through Tuesday morning. Other areas will get much more.
East of Rochester the forecast calls for 3 to 5 inches in Wayne, northern Cayuga and Ontario counties. East of those areas will get 5 to 11 inches and a winter storm warning in effect for Oneida, Madison, Chenango, Otsego, Delaware and Sullivan counties.
In Orleans County the forecast today will be sunny with a high of 51, followed by rain and snow on Tuesday with a high of 42. Wednesday will be sunny with a high near 51 followed by a high near 62 on Thursday.
BATAVIA – It is estimated that one out of every two people in any given congregation has personally been affected by suicide.
