James White

LYNDONVILLE/MEDINA – Voters went to the polls in two villages in Orleans County today.

Lyndonville elected a write-in candidate, James White, over Steven Colon, who was on the ballot for a two-year trustee term.

White, a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, received 53 of the 78 votes cast. Colon received 19, followed by 2 for Thomas Goetze, and 1 each for James Smith, Valerie Wells and Dennis Seekins.

White will fill a vacancy on the board created when Terry Stinson stepped down as trustee in August.

White’s term starts on April 1.

James “Scott” Bieliski, left, and Jess Marciano

Medina had two positions up for election but only James “Scott” Bieliski turned in enough petitions to be on the ballot. He was elected today with 201 votes.

The other two-year trustee position was determined by write-in ballots. Jess Marciano, an incumbent with nearly four years on the Village Board, was elected with 90 write-in votes, followed by 30 for Mike Maak. Others received one or two votes, said Judy Szulis, chairwoman of the election inspectors.

“I am very excited to serve the people,” said Bieliski, co-owner of a communications services business for hospitals and the healthcare system.

The trustees will be faced with putting together the village’s 2025-26 budget by the end of April. Bieliski said he is eager to get to work and join the board when the term starts April 1.

“I’ve already gone over the village budgets,” he said. “I have a good overview of where we’re at.”

Marciano didn’t circulate petitions to run for trustee. She instead was considering going for the Ridgeway Town Board. But she said she is happy to have two more years as a village trustee.

“I’m incredibly excited for the next two years,” she said.

Marciano won’t be pursuing the Ridgeway position this upcoming election “because that would be a disservice to the 90 people who voted for me today.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Tara Thom, owner of the Town & Country Quilt Shop at 10 East Bank St. in Albion, works on the Orleans County bicentennial quilt at her shop today.

Thom and a group of quilters have been working on the quilt that will be presented to county officials during an April 15 celebration of the county’s 200^th anniversary. That bicentennial ceremony is at noon at the County Courthouse.

Thom is shown putting a feathering pattern of stitches in the top of the quilt.

Each of the 10 towns in Orleans County are featured on the quilt.

There is still binding to put on the outer perimeter of the quilt, which include blocks of all 10 towns in the county and the year they were established, as well as three other blocks that are dedicated to “Farming,” “Faith” and “Family.”

The bottom of the quilt also says “1825” and “2025.”

Thom opened the Town & Country Quilt Shop in 2017. She and a group of volunteers have been working on the quilt for several months. They did it in a classic pattern. The quilt will be nearly 6 feet by 6 feet when it is finished.

The quilt is done with a design that was common in the 1800s.

EAST SHELBY – The AES Corporation presented the east Shelby Volunteer Fire Company with a $45,000 donation for 12 new turnout gear suits for firefighters.

AES will be the owner/operator of the proposed 200 MW Hemlock Ridge solar facility in Barre and Shelby. The company is expected to soon start clearing land of that project, which the facility becoming operational in about two years.

The new turnout gear are the protective clothing required by firefighters to shield them from extreme heat, flames and other hazards.

“These suits are essential equipment shielding our firefighters from extreme heat, flames, and other hazards, ensuring their safety in the field and compliance with New York State fire codes and regulations,” said Debbie Taylor, East Shelby fire chief. “We are grateful for our partnership with AES and its support of crucial emergency response efforts in East Shelby.”

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – Members of the Senate Republican Conference penned a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul calling for her to rescind Executive Order No. 47.3. Enacted in response to her failure to properly address strikes at correctional facilities statewide, the order bars 2,000 terminated state corrections officers from working for the State of New York or local agencies.

“(This order) is punitive and will only have a ripple effect, impacting not only the 2,000 correction officers but also the members of the National Guard that must continue to serve in our prisons,” the letter reads.

“Whether it be the thousands of corrections officers out of work without health insurance or the brave men and women of the National Guard being sent to hold our prisons together– the whole situation has been seriously mishandled since the start,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt. “While the state is pandering to laid-off Federal workers and sticking it to the current administration, they are turning their backs on the brave public servants who have dedicated themselves to protecting their communities and our state.”

“This governor has sealed criminal records for the express purpose of helping felons find jobs, but she doesn’t believe in any second chances for correction officers who were enduring record violence and mandatory 24-hour shifts. It’s insulting,” said Senator Jake Ashby, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs. “The sooner our correctional facilities reach safe staffing levels, the sooner we can get our National Guard Troops out of a dangerous mission they were never properly trained for in the first place.”

Legislators also want HALT Act repealed in prisons

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Courthouse dome was illumined in blue on Feb. 25 in a show of support for corrections officers.

ALBION – The County Legislature is planning to go on the record opposing an executive order from the governor that prohibits counties from hiring terminated corrections officers.

The County legislature is calling a special meeting for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday and will vote on a resolution calling for the governor to rescind its prohibition for counties to hire terminated corrections officers.

The state fired 2,000 COs on March 10 who refused to report for work after beign on strike for about three weeks.

A draft of the resolution from the County Legislature states the county “has experienced significant staffing shortages for county employees,” and has received several applications from corrections officers who were fired from the prisons.

The corrections officers were on strike due to unsafe working conditions, the resolution states. Due to the Taylor Law, COs aren’t legally allowed to go on strike.

The resolution from the Legislature states Gov. Kathy Hochul imposed the executive order, prohibiting counties from hiring the COs “to punish striking New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision employees—and to chill such labor strikes—by imposing strict, punitive, and arbitrary barriers on their ability to obtain future employment, without affording such employees due process of law and in violation of the New York State Constitution and statutes.

Legislators, the resolution, said the governor’s executive order “is an abuse of authority and discretion, and unlawfully intrudes upon the County’s powers of Home Rule secured by Article IX of the New York State Constitution, and illegally impacts the hiring efforts on all levels of government.”

Legislators said counties should have their own discretion in who they hire.

“This overreaching executive order unjustly punishes Corrections Officers by wrongfully preventing them from gaining future employment,” the resolution states. “These former Corrections Officers are members of our community and counties should be able to decide who they hire and the reasons for said hire.”

Legislators also plan to vote on a resolution calling for the repeal of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT Act), which was signed into law on March 31, 2022, and took effect the following day.

The HALT Act was one of the main reasons for the strike, saying it has made prisons less safe for staff and inmates.

The HALT Act limits segregated or disciplinary confinement of inmates to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) or in a separate keeplock housing unit to a maximum of 15 consecutive days, or 20 total days within any 60-day period, according to the draft resolution from the County Legislature.

“Under the HALT Act, these time limits may not be meaningfully extended even where an inmate has committed such serious acts as attempted escape, physical or sexual assault on staff and other inmates, or even homicide,” the resolution states. “The HALT Act essentially eliminates any meaningful disciplinary sanctions for inmates who commit violent acts.”

Legislators say assaults in state prisons have increased 124% over the last 10 years, reaching a record number of 1,173 assaults on staff in 2021.

“Since the HALT Act went into effect on April 1, 2022, the number of daily assaults in NYS correctional facilities has gone up from 6.8 to 8.1 a day, an increase of 25%,” according to the resolution.

Prior the HALT Act, inmates in solitary confinement and confined to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) still had access to outdoor recreation, personal visits, and commissary, the resolution states.

The HALT Act prohibits segregated confinement for “special populations,” inmates who are 21 or younger, who are typically the most unpredictable and violent population, the resolution states.

“The HALT act is causing meaningful programs for general population inmates to be canceled due to lack of staff,” according to the resolution. “The staff that should be instructing these programs are being redeployed to cover the HALT law mandated programs, thus punishing the general population inmates that are complying with facility rules, which causes more idle time and friction inside the facility.”

Steve Colon faces write-in challenge from James White

LYNDONVILLE – Village residents will go to the polls today to choose a trustee for a two-year term. The polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall, 2 South Main St.

Steve Colon of the Village of Lyndonville Party is the lone name on the ballot, but he faces as write-in challenge from James White, a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

Colon has pursued public office before on the Town Board and the Republican Committee but so far hasn’t been elected. White also ran for the County Legislature when he was 21 in 2015, losing to Don Allport.

Colon has written many letters to the editors in recent years, and is staunchly conservative, saying he wants the government out of private lives. He also has written about being in Washington, DC on Jan. 6, 2021, saying he was expressing his displeasure with voter fraud against Donald Trump.

Colon has lived in Lyndonville since 1998. He said he cares deeply for the community and touts the local architecture, fishing and hunting resources, the public library and school system. He said he often reaches out to public officials at the local, county, state and federal levels.

“I am not afraid to express myself,” he said. “I want to work for you, to hear your grievances and to address those things that are important to you, to work with you when issues arise in order to work things out. Let me be your voice in local government and we will work hard to improve things that you and our fellow neighbors can see. Together we will make a positive difference.”

White said is committed to transparency, fiscal responsibility, proactive leadership and being accessible to the community if he is elected to serve on the Village Board.

White said he has budget management experience, including when he was treasurer for the student government in college, managing finances for more than 30 campus clubs. He earned a master’s degree in business management from D’Youville University.

A former school resource officer at Kendall Central School, White said he has “extensive experience ensuring departmental compliance with organizational policies and procedures” during his time at Iroquois Job Corps for three years.

“Under my leadership, external independent audits consistently confirmed that standards were not only met but exceeded,” he said.

White is a 2012 Lyndonville graduate who grew up in the village. He and his wife moved to Lyndonville with their young son about a year and half ago.

“This community has always been special to me, and I believe there is no better place to raise a family,” he posted on social media. “As Trustee, I will work with people, not against them. The best solutions often come through collaboration and compromise, and I am committed to listening, understanding, and working together to make Lyndonville the best it can be.”

Press Release, GLOW With Your Hands

BATAVIA – More than 650 students from 31 school districts in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming (GLOW) counties experienced hands-on healthcare career exploration on Monday.

The annual GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare event returned for a third year at Genesee Community College, supported by business and educational groups and sponsors led by Triple Platinum Sponsor ESL Federal Credit Union and volunteers from numerous local organizations and businesses.

Willow Hoover, a sophomore at Alexander High School, said the experience attending GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare ignited a passion for a career in healthcare as a sonographer.

“This event gives you an opportunity to learn about careers outside of a classroom, even though I would like to pursue a career as a sonographer,” Hoover said. “I have learned about so many new careers and skills that I did not know about until I was able to interact with the companies here.”

Since 2023, GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare has connected students to dozens of career paths and employers, municipal agencies, non-profits, and educational institutions. The healthcare event and GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing with the goal of exciting, educating, and empowering youth to seek success in careers.

“GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing and Healthcare have connected over 6,000 local students to local careers, transforming their interests into great career opportunities in the GLOW region,” said Angela Grouse, GLOW With Your Hands co-chair. “Supporting organizations and sponsors are addressing the healthcare needs of our local communities, and students attending this event want to be a part of the solution, educating themselves in the desired fields they hope to enter and ultimately serve.”

Many local healthcare organizations met with students during the event at Genesee Community College.

In addition to hands-on demonstrations, every student participated in a pair of self-selected workshops with a variety of healthcare careers led by medical, emergency response, and training professionals.

Sessions covered careers in EMS, pharmacy, healthcare administration, physical therapy, healthy living, physicians/residents, holistic medicine, radiology/sonography/ultrasound, mental health and social work, research science, nursing, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, physician’s assistant/nurse practitioner, surgery, and vet technician.

“Our goal is to help students turn aspirations into full-time rewarding careers available in their backyards,” said Karyn Winters, GLOW With Your Hands co-chair. “Our participants are the reason why vendors and local organizations continue to support GLOW With Your Hands.  It is encouraging to hear the questions asked, see the hands-on demonstrations and interactions and the resulting learning that sparks interest in careers for the next generation of the regional workforce.”

Zachary Baron, an Albion High School senior, attended a respiratory therapy workshop where he and his classmates learned about life-saving measures and proactive steps taken in respiratory emergencies. This workshop reinforced the impact these careers can have on others in the local community.

“Coming to this event can help you understand the different services that make up the healthcare sector,” Baron said. “I enjoyed experiencing the many careers that assist and help others in need, now I know the different opportunities I have available after graduation.”

Representatives from hospitals and health systems and professionals in nursing, mental health, social services, and emergency responders interacted with students to discuss their careers and pathways into their respective fields.  Along with immediate career opportunities available after graduating high school, attendees will also be able to explore educational pathways in the healthcare sector through BOCES and degrees available at local colleges and universities.

“GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare provides students a unique opportunity to interact with and acquire a deeper understanding of the variety of careers our organization and the GLOW region has to offer,” said Justin Bayliss, Wyoming County Community Health System, skilled nursing administrator. “Retaining our brightest minds within our region results in family-sustaining careers that uplift our local communities.”

For more information about GLOW With Your Hands, please visit www.glowwithyourhands.com/healthcare.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Betty Sue Miller, director of Hoag Library in Albion, holds one of the buttons that were given away today on the 125^th anniversary of the library opening.

Albion’s public library was called Swan Library from 1900 to 2012, and then became Hoag Library when the new library opened at 134 South Main St.., increasing the size from 6,000 square feet to 14,600.

The first library was chartered by the state on Dec. 21, 1899. Swan Library opened March 17, 1900 in a former mansion on 4 North Main St. The library was named for its benefactor, William G. Swan.

The new library that opened in July 2012 was named for Albion native Maurice “Mo” Hoag and his wife Courtenay who gave $1 million towards the library, which is legally the Hoag Library of the Swan Library Association.

Library staff meet two young patrons by the ox statue which is on display as part of Orleans County bicentennial this year. Brothers Mikey Madison, 11, in blue shirt and Timmy Madison, 8, were happy to try some of the cookies given out for the library birthday. The treats were compliments of the Friends of Hoag Library. The library also had a contest to guess the jelly beans in the container held by Mikey.

The staff pictured include, from left: Michael Magnuson, Adult Services librarian; Betty Sue Miller, director; and Elizabeth Haibach, assistant director.

“For 125 years, we’ve been a cornerstone of the community — a place for stories, learning, and connection,” the library posted on its social media accounts. “From books to programs, local history to friendly faces, we’ve grown alongside Albion, and we couldn’t have done it without you!”

Press Release, Community Action of Orleans and Genesee

ALBION – Renee Hungerford, CEO of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, recently spent a week in Washington, DC, to meet with members of Congress and their staff to discuss the critical importance of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).

“Helping people to stay out of poverty and stand on their own two feet is something that I believe any political party can get behind,” Hungerford said. “I am thankful for the words of support we have received. During these times of economic difficulty, the assistance we provide to someone in need is more important than ever.”

During her visit, Hungerford emphasized the vital role that the CSBG plays in supporting low-income families and communities. She highlighted how CSBG provides flexible funding that enables Community Action Agencies to offer programs like Head Start and Weatherization, in an efficient and low cost manner.

“Our ability to offer a wide range of programs with one central administration creates efficiency and cost savings,” Hungerford said.

During the visit she also discussed the importance of supporting preservation of the grant programs that fund Head Start and Weatherization.

“Community Action Agencies are held accountable to achieve outcomes,” she said. “We are not about handouts; our mission is to help people achieve self-sufficiency and provide help during a challenging time.”

The Community Services Block Grant is the backbone funding source for Community Action. There are 1,000 Community Action agencies in the country with 47 in the state.

For every $1 from the CSBG, the Community Action agencies leverage $10.54 from other sources, including volunteer hours, to make a positive difference, Hungerford said.

“We build strong communities and families beginning with Head Start through social programs and transportation for seniors,” she said. “We address health-related social needs which are a key driver of positive health outcomes.”

The agencies also are important parts of their local economies, providing meaningful employment for staff and offer work development to others who go on to become agency staff, obtain other employment, or start businesses, Hungerford said.

“This investment, in turn, becomes an investment in the economy of the communities we assist,” she said.

Community Action of Orleans and Genesee remains committed to its mission of reducing poverty and promoting self-sufficiency through various programs and services. Hungerford’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC, underscore the organization’s dedication to securing resources that empower individuals and strengthen communities.

For more information, please contact: info@caoginc.org.

Press Release, ONE Catholic

ALBION – ONE Catholic (Orleans Niagara East Catholic Community) will be holding a three-night Lenten Retreat entitled, “The Eternal Father,” presented by Sr. Mary Claire Strasser, SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity), April 1 to April 3.

This three-night retreat includes the first three sessions of the SOLT Retreat, “Disciple.” The other six sessions will be offered later in the year.

Each evening’s portion of the retreat will begin at 6:30 p.m. and include a presentation by Sr. Claire, a time for prayer and then fellowship. The topics and locations for each evening are as follows:

• Tuesday, April 1, Holy Trinity, Medina – “God the Father and Becoming His Child”
• Wednesday, April 2, St. Mary’s, Holley – “Living as a Child of the Father”
• Thursday, April 3, Holy Family, Albion – “Mary: Beloved Daughter of the Father”

Father Mark Noonan, Pastor of ONE Catholic, is very excited to welcome all to this Lenten event.

“Sister Claire is an extraordinary Christian speaker,” Father Noonan said. “She is originally from Nashville, and she has served all across our country. I’ve known her for 15 years, and I’ve experienced first-hand her dynamic Christian witness.  Everyone is welcome and invited to join us for this three-night Lenten retreat! You can come for one night, two nights or all three. We want to provide a great spiritual opportunity for our community this Lent.”

More info can be found at onecatholic.org.

Marciano also mounting write-in campaign for other trustee position

James “Scott” Bieliski

MEDINA – Despite the packed-out board meetings in recent months for the Medina Village Board, only one candidate will be on the ballot in Tuesday’s election.

Two trustee positions are up for election, but only James “Scott” Bieliski turned in petitions to be on the ballot. Candidates needed to turn in petitions signed by at least 100 registered voters in the village by Feb. 11

Bieliski will be the only name on the ballot in the election. He is running under the “For the People” party.

Voting is from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center, 615 West Ave.

Two of the incumbent trustees, Diana Baker and Jess Marciano, didn’t turn in petitions for re-election, but Marciano now is seeking election as a write-in candidate to help keep experience and continuity on the board. The trustee terms are for two years.

The two top vote-getters, whether through a mark on the ballot or write-in, will get two-year terms that start on April 1.

Bieliski, 56, has lived in the Medina community his entire life. He is co-owner and chief operating officer of Maza Communications, which provides communications services to hospitals and the healthcare system. The business takes him all over the state and region.

“My intention is to be solution-based,” he said. “For every problem we have to find a solution.”

Bieliski has considered running for the Village Board before, but believed he was too busy, until now. He is stepping back a little form his business and has the time to devote to the position, he said today.

He owns seven houses in the village, and he said the village taxes have been a big concern for many residents. They have shared those worries when he went door to door to get petitions signed.

Bieliski said he is proud of the village and Medina community, especially with a vibrant business district and professional village staff. But he said village taxpayers bear too much costs for those services.

He wants to see the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway contribute more to Medina’s services, and he said it is long overdue for the county to share more of the local sales tax with the village.

“I want to keep what we have, but we need help from towns,” he said. “Everybody benefits from the village of Medina but the village pays the entire bill.”

Marciano also has made a push for more sales tax sharing as a focus, saying the village needs to keep the pressure on the County Legislature to significantly increase how it shares the local sales tax. The county hasn’t increased the amount to the local towns and villages since 2001, despite the sales tax revenues more than doubling in that time.

The village will get $159,630 of the sales tax in 2025 out of a total expected to be around $23 million this year. That is less than 1 percent for Medina of the total local sales tax in the county.

Bieliski said Medina generates a big share of that sales tax.

“It’s peanuts what we get back,” he said. “We make the county beautiful. We are putting it on the map. We capture that dollar and the person coming in.”

More of that sales tax would bring down village taxes, and allow Medina to continue with full-time fire and police protection.

He said additional revenues from county and the towns is critical for the village. He also said he will take a detailed look at spending, and work with the village employees to identify what they need to do their jobs to serve the community.

“I don’t want them in subpar working conditions,” he said about firefighters, who expressed their concern about an out-of-date fire hall, aging fire trucks and equipment and the proposal for a one-bay addition for a new ladder truck. Firefighters said a two-bay addition and overhaul of the current fire station would best serve the community.

But the board balked at a $6 million price tag, and is now looking at $1.1 million for the one-bay addition.

Bieliski sees the addition as a “band aid” solution to a bigger problem. He thinks there could be other options for housing the ladder truck and doesn’t want to commit just yet.

“We can think our way through this,” he said.

Bieliski has confidence in a quality staff of village employees. He has worked with village DPW, water and sewer, code enforcement for work on his properties.

“I don’t want any of our employees to think they are not valued,” he said. “Ultimately it’s what’s fair for our employees and what’s fair for our tax dollars.”

30 of 42 prisons reopen for legal visits today

File photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans Correctional Facility, a medium security men’s prison on Gaines Basin Road in Albion, will resume legal visits inmates today.

ALBION – The state is resuming legal visits at 30 of the 42 prisons beginning today. That is the first time for legal visits after a strike at the prisons started about a month ago.

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision declared the strike over a week ago, and said 2,000 corrections officers had been fired after not reporting to work on the March 10 deadline.

The strike started on Feb. 17 at Elmira and Collins, and by the next day spread to most of the other prisons, including Albion and Orleans.

DOCCS said legal visitations for incarcerated people and their attorneys returns today at Orleans, Wyoming, Wende, Attica, Collins and 30 prisons in all.

Albion Correctional, a women’s prison, is listed to reopen for legal visits in the next 1 to 2 weeks but a specific date is to be determined. Albion is among nine prisons to have legal visits resuming in 1 to 2 weeks. Three prisons – Bare Hill, Sing Sing and Upstate – are “indeterminate” for when visits will resume.

Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES

MEDINA – Congratulations to Culinary Arts teacher Chef James Atzrott and his ProStart team of Emily Chambers (Medina), Selena Wolf (Lockport), Tirsa Converso (Medina) and Justine Fitzsimmons (Medina).

The team, from the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Orleans Career and Technical Education Center, took first place at the NYSRA (New York State Restaurant Association) ProStart Invitational held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. They will be representing the state at the National ProStart Invitational May 2-4 in Baltimore, Maryland.

ProStart is a two-year, industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program for high school students that integrates practical skill sets and allows students to become familiar with restaurants and food service and prepare them for the workforce.

The team’s menu consisted of flat iron steak with tri-colored baby carrots, polenta fries with a chimichurri sauce and strawberry fraiser for dessert. The team competed against seven other teams and were thrilled they came out on top of the competition.

“We cried every day from the stress of everything,” says Selena Wolf.  “We were very emotional and they were things that were going wrong like the burners being higher than what we practiced with and having to use plastic thermometers as opposed to metal. We finished with seven seconds left.”

The team said they started screaming when they were announced as the winners and then it was Chef Atzrott’s turn to cry.

“We were so excited and so glad to have won it for our teacher,” Selena Wolf said. “We are so ready to go to Baltimore and hopefully win there, too!”