Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Office
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Omicron variant of Covid-19 raises new challenges and continues to spread, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY-26), and Congressman Chris Jacobs (R-NY-27) are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to maintain the open U.S.-Canada land border for vaccinated individuals safely and efficiently. After nearly 20 months of closure, the Biden administration announced the decision to allow fully vaccinated travelers from Canada and Mexico to travel to the U.S. for non-essential travel through all ports of entry in October of 2021. The New York lawmakers are now urging the administration to uphold its decision to protect the economic livelihoods of New York businesses and to ensure additional burdens are not placed on the nation’s supply chains.
“Now that vaccines are widely available, we cannot return to the economic and personal sacrifices that would be made if the northern border is closed once again,” said the lawmakers. “The impact of nearly 20 months of closure was devastating to countless New York businesses, medical providers, and families who depend on travel across the New York-Canadian border. The northern border is the gateway to an indispensable economic partnership, and we are confident border crossings can continue safely and efficiently.”
Throughout the pandemic, Senator Gillibrand has been a vocal advocate for safely reopening and maintaining an open U.S.-Canadian border. Weeks before the administration made its decision to reopen the border in October, Gillibrand sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requesting clarification and medical justification for the CDC’s decision to treat air and land border crossings differently.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Gillibrand has requested guidance from both the Biden and Trump administrations to understand how closures and quarantines would affect New York’s bordering communities and to ensure all necessary exemptions have been made in the interest of public health and safety. The closure and loss of Canadian business cost the U.S. economy $1.5 billion each month and $665-855 million annually in Erie County alone. In July of 2021, Gillibrand applauded Canada’s decision to reopen the border to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens, even as the U.S. government extended its ban on non-essential travel from Canada.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 January 2022 at 9:46 am
This coming Friday’s matchup of 7-1 teams as Kendall visits Lyndonville for a Genesee Region League girls game will highlight the week’s local basketball action.
Lyndonville will also host Kendall in a G-R boys contest on Thursday.
In Niagara-Orleans League action, Tuesday’s Medina vs. Albion boys and girls basketball games have been postponed marking the second postponement in a row for the Mustang squads.
“We are holding off for safety reasons with the recent rise in (Covid) cases locally,” said Medina Athletic Director Eric Valley.
In N-O girls swimming action two meets this week – Newfane (5-1) at Akron (4-1) on Tuesday and Akron at Roy-Hart (4-2) on Thursday – will go a long way in determining this year’s league champion.
Monday Girls Basketball – Byron-Bergen at Kendall, 7 p.m.
Tuesday Boys Basketball – Barker at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Akron, 6:30 p.m.; Lyndonville at Alexander, RAC at Kendall, Byron-Bergen at Holley, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball – Roy-Hart at Barker, Akron at Wilson, 6 p.m. Swimming – Medina at Barker, Roy-Hart at Albion, Newfane at Akron, 4:30 p.m.
Wrestling – Medina at Canisius, 7 p.m.
Wednesday Girls Basketball – RAC at Kendall, 6 p.m.; Alexander at Lyndonville, Holley at Byron-Bergen, 7 p.m. Wrestling – Roy-Hart/Barker at Medina, Albion at Akron, Newfane at Wilson, 6 p.m.
Thursday Boys Basketball – Kendall at Lyndonville, Notre Dame at Holley, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball – Medina at Newfane, Wilson at Albion, Barker at Akron, 6″30 p.m. Swimming – Medina at Albion, Akron at Roy-Hart, Barker at Newfane, 4:30 p.m. Wrestling – Roy-Hart/Barker at Lyndonville, Byron-Bergen vs. Holley-Kendall at Kendall, 6 p.m.
Friday Boys Basketball – Newfane at Medina, Albion at Wilson, Akron at Barker, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball – Kendall at Lyndonville, Holley at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Saturday Boys Basketball – Warsaw at Kendall, 4 p.m. Swimming – Akron at Medina, 10 a.m. Wrestling – Lyndonville at Cal-Mum Tournament; Medina at Lockport Tournament
CARLTON – In the year 1851, Millard Fillmore was the thirteenth President of the United States and Washington Hunt was Governor of New York.
On their Oak Orchard River Road farm in the Town of Carlton, Hosea and Sarah Ballou had experienced a snowy January (Vol 2, No.1), which had kept them close to home.
Hosea continued to record his daily activities. He did chores for neighboring farmers. He and Sarah kept cattle, sheep and a pig and he sometimes fished. He sold wheat and pork. He chopped wood and Sarah made candles to provide heat and light. He helped his brother-in-law butcher and received beef in return.
Journal of the Year 1851 continued.
(Each diary entry is of interest, however we will omit those that are similar)
February 4: Reed commenced cutting timber and I piled brush behind him.
February 20: Went to Ralph’s to help him kill a beef. Rained all day.
February 21: Went round and let the water off the wheat. Went to The Bridges. Ralph brought me home and brought my hams and some fresh beef.
February 25: Went to the PO and from there to the lake and helped draw the seine six times and got a bony sucker for my share
March 13: Went to Mrs. Porter’s and bought a sow with pig and made a pig pen.
March 15: Went to mill, carried 4 bushels wheat.
March 18: Drawed stone. Sarah went down to Uncle Miles. Sarah Miles came home with her and staid all night.
March 23: Sunday, warm. Sow had 8 pigs today.
March 29: Drawed stone, went to The Bridges. Ralph, Ashbel, Dick and myself went aspearing (sic) in the evening. Got 5 pickerel, 6 bullheads, 1 sucker, 2 bass, 1 sunfish.
In April he plowed and planted wheat. George Stillwell came to mend his boots. A surprise storm on May 2nd brought snow, “equal to any January weather.” He plowed the garden, bought garden seed and on May 26 sowed potatoes and carrots.
May 11: Fine growing time. First whippoorwill tonight.
Has anybody heard that distinctive bird song in Orleans County?
The diary provides an interesting reference to the marketing of apples the Brown family’s long involvement in apple production
May 20: Sorted apples for Ralph (Brown, Hosea’s brother-in-law)
May 21: Started for Buffalo with apples with Ralph.
May 22: On the canal in Lockport most of the forenoon, Rained.
May 23: Got in Buffalo this morning at 3 o’clock. A very hard thunder shower around 1 o’clock. Started home on the packet Niagara at 7 o’clock this afternoon. A heavy frost on the canal.
May 24: Got in Albion at 9 o’clock. Rode home with O. Scofield.
As Helen Allen observes: Ralph Brown’s home storage must have been good to have had salable apples in the latter part of May.
After a day’s rest, Hosea washed sheep on May 26, sheared the sheep on June 6 and on June 18 sold the wool to D.V. Simpson in Albion for 36 cents per pound.
Hosea also fulfilled his civic duties. He paid his school taxes, attended a town meeting and “worked on the roads” on June 24 and 25. Towns were responsible for building and maintaining roads, land owners were required to work on the roads a few days every year in place of paying a road tax.
He references attending meetings on several Sundays, at the stone schoolhouse and “down home.” Members of the Presbyterian congregation met in homes or schoolhouses prior to the construction of their church in 1855.
Survival required hard work and physical labor. Yet there seemed to be plenty of socializing. Their friends and Sarah’s sisters often came “avisiting” and stayed overnight. The entry for July 4 is brief: Went to The Lake.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 January 2022 at 4:52 pm
Genesee has 171 new cases, while Orleans reports 113
New York set a new pandemic high for most new Covid cases in one day on Friday with 90,132, Gov. Kathy Hochul said today.
Those cases include 113 in Orleans County and 171 in Genesee.
The 90,132 cases in one day tops the previous high of 85,476 on Dec. 31.
The percentage of positive tests reported on Friday was 21.17, and the seven-day average of positivity is 22.15 percent state-wide.
The number of patients hospitalized with Covid is 11,843, which is up 295 from the previous day.
“There is an answer to this winter surge and it’s simple: the vaccine and the booster,” Hochul said. “Our vaccination rate among children is still too low. Parents and guardians don’t delay in getting your children vaccinated and boosted, if eligible. It’s safe and widely available. This is the one of the best ways to keep our numbers down, as well as wearing a mask and staying home if sick.”
By Kim Pritt, Contributor Posted 8 January 2022 at 3:00 pm
My brother, Kevin, and I with Mr. Peanut on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City mid-1960s.
Let’s go on an adventure together….down Memory Lane to Atlantic City, NJ!
Of course I don’t need any special day or event to bring memories of my mom into my day, but the holidays always seem to make those memories so much more active. I was giving a lot of thought to what my first travel article for 2022 would be about (the start of my third year doing these articles). What kept coming to mind was trips my mom would take my brother and I on when we were kids. She worked at GE and had two weeks off for vacation every July. She’d save up all year and when July came, we’d pack up the car and either go to the Adirondacks, Snowhill, MD to visit our Aunt Betty, or Atlantic City, NJ. There are no blog posts to link to for these memories and very few photos – after all, they were not only pre-blog, but also pre-internet, pre-computers, and pre-digital photography.
I’m going to talk about Atlantic City, NJ in this article. For you young whipper-snappers (yes, I just proudly used the word “whipper-snappers”) out there reading this, Atlantic City wasn’t always a gambling mecca – the east coast answer to Las Vegas. When we spent our summer vacations there, it was just a wonderful beach with a boardwalk and a steel pier. It was a place where a single mother could afford to take her children to play in the ocean and experience some magic for a week or two. We’d usually travel with friends of Mom’s to help share the expenses – often another mom with kids – and we’d stay in roadside motels.
Fun souvenir photo on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City in 1965. (Top row: Mom’s friend Peggy and Mom. Bottom row: my brother, Kevin, Peggy’s daughter Pam, and me.)
Our days were spent on the beach and walking the famous boardwalk and steel pier. Meals were hotdogs on sticks and other not so healthy treats we found on the boardwalk. I remember starting each day with big breakfast at a diner near the motel and dancing to the jukebox while other diners looked on and applauded – “I Ain’t Got No Satisfaction” and “Wooly Bully” were a couple of my go-to selections for these daily morning performances. And, my brother and I thought we were so cool getting our photo taken with Mr. Peanut, who strolled the boardwalk advertising the peanut carts that were conveniently located along the walk. Of course, there were lots of sandcastles built, holes dug, and sand burials of pesky brothers performed on the beach when not frolicking in the ocean.
One year, we got to see Brenda Lee in person on the Steel Pier and another year we saw The Four Seasons in concert – live concerts like that weren’t as pricey as they are today. I usually say my first concert was the Guess Who for my 16th birthday, but that’s only because I tend to forget that my true first concerts were Brenda Lee and The Four Seasons when I was about 9 or 10. The Steel Pier was the place for all kinds of circus type acts – including acrobats and even a horse that dove off the pier into the ocean! WOW! That was a thrill we looked forward to seeing whenever we went.
Souvenir photo taken at World Famous Hackney’s Seafood Restaurant in Atlantic City – 1965. (same gang as in the jail photo)
Mom loves to tell the story about scrimping on food so that she would have enough money to eat one nice meal at the world famous seafood restaurant – Hackney’s, which I believe is sadly no longer there. She’d say that the menu was full of seafood choices – any kind, cooked any way, stuffed with whatever other seafood you could possibly want. And….what did the kiddos choose? Spaghetti!!! Hahahaha…..over the years, I did develop a passion for seafood, but at that time – yep, spaghetti was the only thing on the menu that appealed to me or my brother!
I have not returned to Atlantic City since it became the glitz and glitter place it is today. Maybe I will, someday, and I can write another article comparing my experiences. For now, I have these amazing memories of vacations with mom, my brother, and the friends who shared them with us. We didn’t know we were making memories…..we just knew we were having fun playing in the sand and the ocean and seeing magical things happen before our very eyes.
Happy Adventuring!
The best memories are sometimes those you don’t even know you’re making!
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 8 January 2022 at 12:44 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: The Butts-Clark American Legion Post made a $500 donation to the local Wreath’s Across America project on Friday afternoon. From left are Dave Kusmierczak, Wreaths Across America coordinator Kathy Blackburn, Legion commander Glenn Whitmore and Dave Morien.
MEDINA – Medina’s Wreaths Across America project got a big boost Friday with a $500 donation from the Butts-Clark American Post.
The donation is particularly significant because the national Wreaths Across America organization announced it would match any donations made by Jan. 13, said local organizer Kathy Blackburn.
“I’m thrilled people are stepping up for this match program,” Blackburn said.
Medina first participated in Wreaths Across America in 2013, when the initial seven free wreaths were sent from the Worcester, Maine, Morrill Wreath Company. Support for the program soon mushroomed, with 315 wreaths placed in Boxwood Cemetery last month.
Blackburn also praised Tom Snyder from Medina Lumber, who made a major donation to the effort.
Next year, Blackburn said all veterans’ graves in St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Cemetery will also have wreaths placed on them.
Dave Kusimerczak, a member of the local American Legion, who first suggested the Post make a donation to Wreaths Across America, has volunteered to walk both St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Cemetery and count the number of veterans’ graves.
Blackburn said it is incredible how the Wreaths Across America program has spread across the country. Initially, in 1992, Morrill Worcester of Harrington, Maine, who owns a wreath company, had a surplus and donated enough to cover a neglected section of Arlington National Cemetery. Now, annually hundreds of tractor trailer drivers donate their services to deliver wreaths to 2,700 locations across the county.
“This program is amazing,” Blackburn said.
She added they can always use more volunteers to help placing the wreaths, the third Saturday in December each year.
Kusmierczak said he suggested the donation because he not only wanted to honor veterans, but give recognition to the American Legion.
Legion Commander Glenn Whitmore said he thought it was a great thing to do.
Anyone who would still like to make a donation and have it doubled by Wreaths Across America, can get it to Medina village clerk by Jan. 13. Checks should indicate “Wreath program.”
Boosters also recommended for 12-15 year olds; Nursing home visitors need negative Covid tests, surgical masks
Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office
Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday announced new guidance recommending booster doses for all New Yorkers ages 12 and older.
The guidance, following action by the CDC, recommends that people, including the newly authorized 12-15 year-old age group, who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should receive a booster dose at least five months after their second dose; the previous recommended interval was at least six months.
In addition, moderately to severely immunocompromised 5-11-year-olds can receive an additional primary dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 28 days after their second dose. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children ages 5-11.
Additionally, the CDC on Friday recommended the same change to a five month booster interval for the Moderna vaccine, which is only authorized for people 18 years and older.
“As we continue to battle this winter surge, I strongly recommend that all New Yorkers ages 12 and older get boosted as soon they are eligible,” Governor Hochul said. “With boosters now available for all adolescents, I especially urge parents and guardians to get their children in this age group a booster dose as soon as eligible. A booster dose will provide greater protection against severe outcomes from Covid-19 and help keep our kids healthy, protected, and safe.”
Governor Hochul additionally announced her plan to require that all covered health care workers previously required to receive a Covid-19 vaccination under the Department’s August 26th Emergency regulation must also now receive a Covid-19 booster dose within two weeks of becoming eligible, absent a valid medical exemption.
Consistent with the August 26th Emergency Regulation, there is no test-out option. Following review and approval by the Public Health and Health Planning Council at their emergency meeting on Tuesday, the emergency regulation will be filed with the Department of State (DOS). Regulations are effective upon the filing with DOS.
The Governor also announced new rules for nursing home visitations. Starting Wednesday, all visitors must wear “surgical”-type masks and must present upon entry a Covid negative test taken within 24 hours of their visit. Governor Hochul further noted that 952,000 tests and 1.2 million masks are being delivered to nursing homes late this week into next.
On Jan. 5, the CDC endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s (ACIP) recommended expansion of booster dose eligibility for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 to individuals ages 12 through 15.
CDC now recommends that all adolescents ages 12 through 17 should receive a booster dose five months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series. This followed the CDC’s updated recommendations that severely immunocompromised 5-11 year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second dose, and that people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine series should get a booster dose at least five month after the second dose, instead of six months.
“Booster doses are a critical tool in our continued response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and I am grateful that they are now available for all New Yorkers 12 years of age and older,” said Dr. Mary T. Bassett said, the state’s acting health commissioner. “Data show that people who are vaccinated and boosted are more protected against serious illness from Covid-19, and we continue to urge all those eligible to act now. Do what you can to stay healthy and out of the hospital by getting vaccinated and boosted and wear a mask. If you have questions, talk to your health care provider or vaccine administrator.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 January 2022 at 8:46 am
BROCKPORT — A Clarendon man was killed on Friday when he was operating a forklift at work for Lineage Logistics on Owens Road.
William Spoor, 57, was backing up the forklift when he leaned out and became trapped between a pole and the machine, the Brockport Police Department told WHAM in Rochester.
Spoor was pronounced dead at the scene. The Brockport PD is working with OSHA on the investigation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2022 at 9:14 pm
Genesee, Orleans and state won’t be doing contact tracing for people 19 to 64 but will for those 18 and younger, 65 and older
The big increase in Covid cases locally is resulting in a change in the contact tracing, especially for people ages 19 to 64.
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments and State Health Department won’t be doing contact tracing for people 19 to 64 in the two counties but will continue for people 18 and younger and those 65 and older.
The G-O Health Departments needs to prioritize its resources, and will focus on the younger and older age groups “due to the higher risk of spread and severity,” said Paul Pettit, public health director for the two counties.
Orleans County hit a pandemic high for active Covid cases with 561 on Thursday. The county has 75 more cases reported today by the State Health Department. Genesee County has 180 more cases today, according to state data.
The State Department of Health also announced that beginning next week changes will be implemented to case investigation and contact tracing. This guidance may change, G-O Health said this evening in a news release.
Effective Monday, Jan. 10, residents who test positive for Covid-19 or who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 will be able to visit www.GOHealthNY.org and choose the red “Covid-19 Isolation & Quarantine Information” button to be directed to the isolation and quarantine documents.
Those who have tested positive for Covid-19 will be contacted by NYS by e-mail or text. Once notified of the positive result by the lab or NYS, immediately self-isolate and notify close contacts of their potential exposure, G-O health officials said.
Those in the 19-64 age group who test positive should no longer expect to receive a call from the local health department – and a call isn’t required to the local health department.
Those people in that age group who test positive for Covid should follow the general directions from the state for isolation and quarantine, and contact their healthcare provider for medical advice.
For those in need of isolation, quarantine or release documents, they are available on the G-O Health website. Complete the form(s) and print out for employer or school.
Isolation (for those who test positive for COVID-19) G-O Health says the following apply:
Isolate for 5 days, where day 0 is the day of symptom onset or (if asymptomatic) the day of collection of the first positive specimen.
If asymptomatic at the end of 5 days or if symptoms are resolving, isolation ends and the individual should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional 5 days.
Individuals who are moderately-severely immunocompromised should continue to follow standard (i.e., not shortened) Isolation Guidance.
Individuals who are unable to wear a well-fitting mask for 5 days after a 5-day isolation should also follow standard isolation guidance (i.e., 10 days, not shortened)
Quarantine (for those who have had close contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19), G-O Health issued these protocols:
Quarantine as follows, where day 0 is the last date of exposure:
If not fully vaccinated or fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster but not yet boosted, quarantine for 5 days and wear a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional 5 days.
If fully vaccinated and boosted (with the booster at least 2 weeks before the first date of exposure) or not yet eligible for a booster, no quarantine is required but these individuals should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for 10 days after the last date of exposure.
If possible, test at day 5 with either a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT, e.g., PCR) or antigen test.
If symptoms appear, quarantine and seek testing. In this situation, quarantine would end when the test is negative. If testing is not done, isolate according to the guidance above.
Quarantine orders and release are also included on the GOHealthNY.org website to complete and provide to employer/school.
Given the changes announced for case investigation and contact tracing the Orleans and Genesee data collection/reporting will be adjusted. Starting next week, GO Health will be releasing limited data on Wednesdays.
SOMERSET – Multiple fire departments, including four from Orleans County, responded this morning to a fire at the AES Somerset power plant site.
That 676-megawatt plant has been closed since 2020. It is being eyed for a 1,000-acre solar power project or as a cryptocurrency data mining plant.
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office issued the following press release:
This morning at 9:22, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a structure fire the former power plant at 7725 Lake Rd.
Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies responded with members of Barker Volunteer Fire Company. Responding personnel observed large amounts of black smoke and visible flames coming from the top of one of the power plant modules in the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) building.
The operations manager on scene, John Mason, stated that his employees were cutting a hole into a flange of the building in order to place an anchor and tear down the module. While cutting the hole, the rubber liner on the interior of the building started on fire.
The fire spread to the wood platform and plastic chevrons inside the building, creating a large amount of black smoke. Mr. Mason confirmed that all employees were evacuated and accounted for.
Several other volunteer fire companies from Niagara and Orleans counties, as well as the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, responded to assist in extinguishing the fire.
One firefighter is reported to have suffered an injury during the incident and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The fire is currently extinguished; however, fire companies are remaining on scene during demolition as a precautionary measure.
The cause of the fire is currently being investigated by Niagara County Origin and Cause.
Editor’s Note: The responding fire companies include Carlton, Lyndonville, Ridgeway and Shelby from Orleans and Barker, Olcott, Wilson, Gasport, Hartland, Wolcottsville and Wrights Corners as well as the Niagara falls Air Reserve Station and Niagara County Origin and Cause.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2022 at 2:51 pm
The garbage collection today in the village of Holley and towns Albion and Murray is delayed until Saturday. The Albion section includes residents on Route 31.
“The unintended consequences of the Covid-19 rise in positive cases has affected the collection of our solid waste as scheduled,” said Jack Welch, chief administrative officer for Orleans County.
He urged residents in the affected areas to leave out their bins and Modern Disposal will collect the solid waste on Saturday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2022 at 1:19 pm
After service in WWII, ‘Wally’ Higgins worked as professor at Alfred University and was advocate for senior citizens in his retirement
File photo: Wallace “Wally” Higgins addresses the Kendall Lions Club in June 2015. He was a member of the Alfred Lions Club for more than 50 years.
ALFRED – A Kendall native who served during World War II with the Tuskegee Airman has been honored by the Allegany County Office for the Aging for his advocacy on behalf of senior citizens in his retirement.
Wallace “Wally” Higgins was born in Kendall. He joined the U.S. Army on Dec. 10, 1943, before finishing high school. He served until March of 1947. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps and trained with the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
During a presentation to the Kendall Lions Club in June 2015, Higgins talked about encountering racial segregation and discrimination for the first time after entering the service and training in Pre-Flight at the Tuskegee Institute.
As soon as he turned 18, Higgins enlisted in the Air Corps. Having already attended Civil Air Patrol classes in Rochester during his senior year of high school, Higgins was interested in pursuing aviation.
After initially reporting to Fort Dix, New Jersey, Higgins was sent to Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training and aptitude testing. As a result of his skin color and proficiencies, Higgins was selected to be part of the Tuskegee Airmen experiment in Alabama, where he trained in Pre-Flight and Primary Flight training, including solo runs in the P-17 Stearman.
Following 11 months at Tuskegee, a downturn in the war in Europe resulted in less pilot training and Higgins was transferred to the 1909th Engineers Aviation Battalion. Severe illness also prevented him from completing his training and with the conclusion of the war in Europe, he was transferred to the Pacific Theatre.
A sergeant in charge of an all-black, 30-man platoon, Higgins served in Saipan and Okinawa building roads, airfields and ammunition storage buildings.
After being honorably discharged on March 17, 1947, attended the NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University. While a student there, he met and married Norma Miller. They were married 64 years and raised four children. She passed away on Dec. 24, 2015.
The husband and wife stayed in Alfred. Mr. Higgins went on to become an Associate Professor at the university, retiring in 1985.
Higgins passed away on Aug. 22, 2018 at age 92.
Higgins was active with the Alfred community. He served in the Alfred Lions Club for more than 50 years.
In 2003 he helped found the Allegany Senior Foundation to raise funding for the Office for Aging. That group has raised more $500,000 in nearly 20 years to support Meals on Wheels and other programming for seniors.
Higgins helped develop the Foundation’s mission: “Our mission is to identify gaps in services, find programs to fill those gaps and fund those programs. We want to be sure that Allegany County remains a wonderful place to grow up and grow old.”
The OFA on Wednesday dedicated “Wally’s Wall” in the entrance of the Allegany County Office for the Aging at Crossroads in Belmont. That wall includes many memorial bricks. Allegany County officials on Wednesday said Higgins was instrumental in the site and was a strong advocate for local senior citizens.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2022 at 10:12 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Traffic moves slowly this morning at about 9:15 on Route 31 in front of Albion Central School when a band of heavy snow hit Orleans County.
The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement about the band of heavy snow affecting parts of Orleans, Niagara and Genesee counties.
The band of heavy snow was along a line extending from near Middleport to near Spencerport and slowly moving southeast.
The forecast for Saturday includes sunny with a high near 32, followed by a high near 40 on Sunday, with rain likely before 4 p.m. and then a chance for snow.
These bikes get a little refuge from the snow underneath a big beech tree by Albion Middle School.
CARLTON – In the year 1851, Millard Fillmore was the thirteenth President of the United States and Washington Hunt was Governor of New York.
The big increase in Covid cases locally is resulting in a change in the contact tracing, especially for people ages 19 to 64.
