Plug Power expected to break ground this fall as first tenant in 1,250-acre site in Alabama, just south of Orleans County off Route 63

Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was in Genesee County today at the STAMP site in Alabama. He welcomed Plug Power as the soon-to-be first business at the 1,250-acre site and also announced he is making a big push to bring Samsung to the location. Pictured at right is Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh and Steve Hyde (far right), who is president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

TOWN OF ALABAMA – Years of laying the groundwork at the 1,250-acre STAMP site in Alabama will soon be paying off. The first tenant in the park, Plug Power, expects to break ground this fall on building North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant.

It will take about 16 months to construct that project. The company said it will have 65-70 workers at the site when it opens.

Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh joins Sen. Schumer at a news conference at STAMP. Plug Power expects a fall ground-breaking at STAMP for North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant. It anticipates 65-70 workers at the site.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer visited the site today along with Plug Power executives to tout that project, which will use low-cost renewable energy from the Niagara hydropower plant. The production of the hydrogen will use green energy to make more green energy, company officials said.

Schumer also announced he is making a hard push for Samsung to build a $17 billion semiconductor chip fabrication plant at STAMP, which is one of the sites being considered by the company. Samsung officials visited the site last month, Schumer said.

“The WNY STAMP Campus is the perfect place to establish the next global hub for the semiconductor and clean energy industries,” he said. “Now with STAMP in contention to land Samsung’s $17 billion chip fab and its first tenant Plug Power is building North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant here, there’s no site better suited to lead the next tech revolution, and that’s because STAMP, with its shovel-ready facilities, low-cost and reliable utility grid, and top-notch workforce spanning from Buffalo to Rochester and beyond, is tailor-made to suit large-scale tech development.”

The Senate has approved $52 billion in federal incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development through the Schumer-led U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). Schumer said it is a matter of national security to be making those high-tech chips in the country.

Many industries also rely on them, including the auto manufacturers which have had to curtail production due to a chip shortage.

Schumer also said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), under negotiation, would include $9.5 billion for new hydrogen fuel investments.

Those federal incentives would “give STAMP the green light it needs to attract and lead established and emerging tech industries,” he said.

Plug Power has seen a boom in business as many companies – Walmart, Amazon and others – use fuel-cell-powered forklifts, instead of battery-powered. The company sees expansion with hydrogen-powered Class A trucks and airport tugs. Plug Power can not only promote hydrogen power, but can say it was produced using renewable hydro-electricity available at STAMP.

Schumer said the STAMP site with Plug Power and the future tenants will “benefit all of the GLOW Region, including Rochester and Buffalo.”

Steve Hyde, GCEDC president and CEO, praised Schumer for championing the STAMP site, helping to secure funding for infrastructure and critical tax incentives to make the site attractive for businesses. “He’s been a stalwart leader driving projects to the region,” Hyde said about Schumer.

A new Hydrogen Fuel Production Tax Credit is included in the Budget Reconciliation Bill and would help enable Plug Power to grow and expand its green hydrogen fuel production levels at its sites, including the new STAMP site, Schumer said.

Currently the STAMP facility is expected to make 45 tons per day of green hydrogen fuel, but Plug Power estimates the Production Tax Credit will drive higher demand for green hydrogen powered equipment that in turn will enable Plug Power to produce and sell more green hydrogen fuel.

Plug Power estimates that 20 to 25 additional permanent jobs will be created for every additional 15 tons per day of fuel produced. Ultimately, Plug Power’s goal is to produce as much as 500 tons of green hydrogen fuel across its planned U.S. production facilities including the STAMP plant.

Plug Power said it looks forward to the fall ground-breaking of the hydrogen fuel production facility at STAMP and opening a new gigafactory in Monroe County to manufacture hydrogen electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cell components.

Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh said hydrogen will make up more of the country’s energy needs and the STAMP project, as well as a Plug Power manufacturing site in Rochester, puts the region at the forefront of bringing “affordable hydrogen to the market.” Plug Power has 1,700 employees with 1,000 in the U.S., and the company is growing with the projects in Genesee County and Rochester.

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay, and members of the Republican Conferences today blasted One-Party Rule in Albany for planning to extend the unconstitutional eviction moratorium while ignoring a disastrous rent relief rollout that has plagued New York tenants and property owners alike for months.

“For months, my Republican colleagues and I have pushed for our Democratic colleagues to deliver much-needed relief to struggling New York tenants and landlords,” Ortt said. “For months, they have ignored our calls, as well as everyone else who isn’t a radical ‘cancel rent’ activist. Their unlawful eviction moratorium, being continued today, defies all common-sense if the true goal is to protect renters, small business owners, and stabilize the housing market. Their failure to deliver these critical funds – combined with the devastating policies they craft behind closed doors – is an implicit acknowledgment of their own incompetence. Deliver the relief NOW.”

“Since January, $2.6 billion in federal emergency rental assistance funding has been available to landlords and tenants, and yet OTDA (Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance) has repeatedly failed to deliver to those struggling to make ends meet,” Barclay said. “The state’s eviction moratorium expired yesterday, but here we – the Legislature – are today, back in Albany for an emergency special session to address a matter that should have been resolved long before now. Had the rent-relief program been administered by the state properly, and in the manner in which the federal government intended in the first place, tenants who have fallen on difficult times due to Covid and small-property owners who have received no income for the past 18 months, would have been in a far better financial position. Once and for all, OTDA must get its act together and ease the fiscal insecurity for landlords and tenants alike.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) also issued a statement opposing extending the moratorium on evictions in the state into 2022.

Hawley has expressed frustration that this moratorium has been extended multiple times, even as the state government sits on the vast majority of $2.6 billion in federal funding meant to address the issue, having distributed only 10 percent of those funds to tenants and landlords.

“If we do not do something to help our small landlords in this crucial moment, they may well go extinct within the housing market if forced to sell their property to large conglomerates to escape crushing debts which they cannot collect rent to pay,” Hawley said.

“More often than not small landlords are retired people with families to feed, tax and mortgage bills to pay, and properties that take time, money, and hard work to maintain,” he said. “To think we would ask them to continue to absorb the brunt of this housing crisis after holding on for roughly a year and a half now is absurd, especially when incompetency in our executive branch has kept money out of the pockets of the tenants and landlords that truly need it. Had we acted with any reasonable speed or efficacy in distributing the federal assistance that’s been sat on since January, we would not need to be debating this matter now.”

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 1, No. 20

There are many stories “buried” along with their protagonists in our local cemeteries. The key to one forgotten tale of passion, murder, daring escapes and an eventual karmic tragedy may be found in the following entry in the Knowlesville Cemetery listing:

Asa, aged 47, Amos, aged 3 and Sarah, aged 24, all with the same death date. What could have happened? The Medina Tribune of 28 June, 1888, provides the answer:

A Sad Drowning Accident

Asa Broughton and His Wife and Baby Drown Together

The article records that Mr. Broughton had just completed building a “handsome but rather cranky little row boat.” On that Monday evening, he took his wife and little boy, and his wife’s sister, Rosa Train, aged nine years, out on the canal for a pleasure ride.

After rowing about for some time, a canal steamboat towing another boat came along, and Broughton rowed between the two, with the evident intention of grasping the tow line and being towed a short distance up the canal. The captain of the steamer warned Broughton that he should not attempt to catch the line so near the steamer’s wheel, but he paid no attention.

As Broughton stood up in his boat to seize the line, it suddenly capsized, throwing the entire party into the water. Rosa Train, who was able to swim a little, managed to reach the overturned rowboat, clung to the side and was rescued by James Stork. Broughton desperately tried to save his wife and son, but, sadly, all three perished.

The last paragraph of the article references a more intriguing tale:

“The sad affair caused great excitement. Broughton will be remembered as the man who, on May 14, 1879, shot and killed Levant Bancroft and fled to Canada, crossing the cables of the old suspension bridge at Lewiston, in the night, hand over hand. His capture in Canada by Captain Beecher, and subsequent daring escape from the Albion jail, his trial and imprisonment, are too well known by our readers to need rehearsal here. Since his release from prison, Broughton has been a quiet, industrious man, and was a prominent worker of the Salvation Army during its stay in this place.”

And indeed, the headline of the article in the Medina Tribune May 15, 1879, reads:

MURDER! Asa Broughton shoots and kills Levant Bancroft

Apparently, jealousy was what prompted the deed. Following a quarrel over the attentions Levant Bancroft was paying to his wife, Mrs. Broughton left the house. Since she did not return in the evening, Asa Broughton sent their son to learn her whereabouts. The son returned with the information that she was at Bancroft’s, whereupon Broughton went to Bancroft’s house, and requested him to step outside. Angry words ensued, and then shots were fired. Bancroft exclaimed:

“I’m shot! Asa Broughton did it!”

He expired fifteen minutes later, “of two frightful wounds.”

A reward of $300 was offered for the apprehension of Broughton. However, he proved rather elusive. He made his way west to the home of a cousin in Hartland, where he worked for a day. But his cousin read of the crime he had committed from the Lockport paper and refused to shelter him.

Broughton then proceeded to the Niagara River, and amazingly:

“He performed the perilous feat of crossing on wires suspended upwards of a hundred feet above the river at Lewiston. (The wires referred to are those left of the old Suspension Bridge at that place, and it is said no one ever dared to cross them before).” – Medina Tribune

The Buffalo Weekly Courier of June 4, 1879, provides additional details:

“Hand over hand, suspended in the air 100 ft. above the river, he made his way to the opposite shore. The wire swayed to and fro with his weight. Several times he had to pull himself up and clasp his legs and arms round the wire to rest his hands, which were badly blistered and cut.”

Broughton then walked sixty-five miles to his sister’s home in Hagersville, Ont. where he was apprehended on May 22nd by Deputy Sheriffs Beecher and Rice who received the $300 reward. He was placed in the Albion jail but escaped from there on August 4th by cutting a hole through the wooden door above the water closet and then through the wall. A $200 reward was offered.

This time, Broughton made his way to Genesee County, and while in a drug store in Corfu, a constable came in with a copy of the printed reward which included his photo. Fearful of being recognized, Broughton set out for Oakfield, where he worked two days in a harvest field. He left there for Medina and spent three hours at the residence of his wife. He set off for Middleport and thence to Lewiston, where he again crossed to Canada on the wires of the old bridge. He wandered about, visiting relatives, but was captured by Deputy Fuller on August 17.

The murder trial commenced on October 13, 1879. The defense pleaded self-defense with partial insanity at the time of the murder. After a trial of nearly a week, the jury rendered a verdict of manslaughter in the third degree. Giving the highest penalty he could, the judge sentenced Broughton to four years hard labor in Auburn prison. Many people felt that a stronger verdict and sentence were deserved.

It is intriguing to note that the tragic drowning accident nine years later which claimed Broughton, his young wife and son, occurred two days before George Wilson was hung in Albion for the murder of his wife.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Christian Drisdom, 18, does an ollie today at the Luke Nelson Skate Park at Butts Park in Medina. The site opened this week after being built the past three months by Spohn Ranch Skateparks.

Drisdom just started on a skateboard a few days ago when the park opened. He started by riding around the park on a skateboard and is trying some tricks with the board.

“When you learn something new, there is nothing like it in the world,” he said today.

The $550,000 park is named in memory of the late Luke Nelson of Middleport. He often came to Medina as a kid and young adult to use the former skate park, which was on a former tennis court. He was 23 when he passed away on April 22, 2017. His family has donated to the park and helped organize fundraisers to upgrade the site.

Ian Oppel, 10, of Medina zooms on a scooter in a  bowl of the new skate park.

There will be grand opening celebration of the skate park this Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting, music and food trucks.

The Medina Skate Society lined up nearly $550,000 to build the new site at Butts Park. That includes $250,570.53 raised through local fundraisers and donations. That allowed the Skate Society to maximize a $250,000 matching grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, rallied the community to support the project.

The Skate Society also has been awarded $42,000 for an Environmental Impact Award grant by The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony hawk Foundation. The $42,000 will be used for storm water management and bioswales.

David Rhim, 18, does a drop-in at the skate park. He started skating today and picked up the sport pretty quickly.

Kaleb Hungerford, 11, of Medina takes off in the bowl.

The park includes areas and features for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

Some of the features include:

• 2.5-foot to 4-foot quarter pipes lining the southern edge of the park.
• A 2.5-foot mini-ramp/beginner bowl section that waterfalls down to a 4-foot section along the north eastern edge.
• A fun box with a hip and an inventive street sized curb (for doing slappys).
• There are hubbas (grind ledges) and grind rails for beginner, intermediate and advanced skaters and riders.
• The intermediate kidney shaped bowl begins at 5 feet and waterfalls down to 7 feet.
• The most prominent feature facing South Main Street is a functional art installation (steep slant) standing approximately 9 feet tall and 24 feet wide.
• When entering the park from the walkway stretching from the main parking lot past the pavilion/seating area, there is 9-inch manual pad with a 20-inch ledge that bares the name of The Luke Nelson Skate Park.

Jeff Anderson, 39, of Tonawanda brought his skateboard out after taking a break for several years. He is in Medina today with his fiancé. He is shown on a steep slant that is about 9 feet high.

Anderson said the skate park will be an asset for the area.

“They did a great job,” he said about the park. “I’d rate it a 10 out of 10.”

Wedding and events site seen as draw to community

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – State Sen. Rob Ortt on Tuesday presented a “Senate District 62 Small Business of the Month” award to Natasha Wasuck and her husband John Hernandez. They are shown inside the Lockstone at North Main Street, next to the Erie Canal. Natasha and John’s daughter Ephy joined them.

Wasuck and Hernandez bought the site three years ago. It was a former auto repair business. They have transformed the site into a wedding and events center. They also use the front part of the building for Tinsel, an ice cream business that opened in June 2019. The site also includes “The Kitchen,” a private event room used for celebrations and community meetings.

The Lockstone has hosted eight weddings so far this year and has 16 more scheduled for 2021, and 30 next year. The 30 weddings next year are expected to draw at least 3,000 people to Albion.

Ortt first toured the site on July 16 to see some of the locations receiving funds in Main Street grant from the state. Ortt said he was impressed by the couple’s vision for the property and their work in giving the building from 1875 a new purpose.

“It’s really cool what you’ve done with this spot,” Ortt told Wasuck and Hernandez.

Ortt previously served as mayor of North Tonawanda where he said small business owners were the key to driving innovation to the downtown. He praised Wasuck and Hernandez, who are from Brockport, for seeing the potential in the Lockstone location. He said “fresh eyes” coming into a community sometimes see what long-time residents miss.

Photos courtesy of the Lockstone: A bride gets ready in the bridal suite at the Lockstone, which features an eyebrow window looking out on Main Street and the lift bridge over the Erie Canal.

Wasuck has been involved in the Albion Merchants Association, helping to plan community events. She sees Albion’s connection to the original Santa Claus School, led by the late Charles Howard from 1937 to 1966, as a way to distinguish the community from other canal towns.

She tapped into that Santa history by naming the ice cream business “Tinsel.” She also led the effort to have a Santa mural painted next to the Lockstone at the Pennysaver building at 170 North Main St. She also raised money for a soon-to-be planed Christmas tree on the Courthouse lawn.

Ortt sees the historic canal downtown like Albion as irreplaceable treasures.

‘I’ve always felt people want to be in these downtowns,” he said. “You can’t replicate this.”

But he acknowledged it can be tough to make money these days for small businesses. That’s why he started his monthly award in February, wanting to highlight a business in his district, which includes Niagara, Orleans and part of western Monroe.

“My whole district is along the Erie Canal, from North Tonawanda to Spencerport,” Ortt said. “The canal is your ticket to development.”

He said Covid-19 restrictions made it even more challenging for business owners. Many had to close to in-person sales or face reduced capacity. There have been supply-chain disruptions and a shortage of workers.

“Covid has really emphasized the challenge of running a small business,” Ortt said. “These businesses never had a playbook for how to operate in a pandemic and then to have to deal with the restrictions.”

The Lockstone owners also created a grove for outdoor weddings on Orchard Street, a short walk from the Lockstone.

Wasuck and Hernandez said they feel more convinced the weddings and events site in Albion was a good choice. Most of the weddings have been couples from either Rochester or Buffalo, who like the location between those two cities.

The couples like being by the Erie Canal for their wedding, and Wasuck and Hernandez give the couples free rein of the facility, allowing them to decorate however they want and to bring in bartenders, caterers, DJ’s and other vendors.

The couples also like the industrial vibe at the Lockstone.

“It’s a unique location,” Wasuck said. “It’s not a golf course or a rustic barn. The people like it here. They are having a good time.”

Wasuck has been successful marketing the site to couples and her husband has done much of the construction work himself.

“We see this as an opportunity to ‘create the community you want to be a part of’ here in Albion,” Wasuck said. “We recognize the importance of the Erie Canal for tourism and appreciate the unique history this village has to offer.”

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a beach hazards statement for today through Thursday afternoon along Lake Ontario in Orleans, Niagara, Monroe and Wayne counties.

Strong currents are expected. The Weather Service urges people to stay out of the water due to the dangerous swimming conditions.

Event highlights job opportunities in building trades, agriculture, advanced manufacturing

Provided photo: Jay Lazarony, executive director, GLOW Workforce Development Board; Angela Grouse, director of Education to Employment programs at the Livingston County Chamber & Livingston County Education Alliance; Alexis Merle, Congressman Chris Jacobs, MaryEllyn Merle, Genesee Construction project manager in Dansville; Chris Suozzi, GLOW With Your Hands co-chair; Assemblyman Steven Hawley; Karyn Winters, director of the Genesee County Business Education Alliance; and Molly Huangs, LandPro Equipment marketing manager. The Merles are holding an image of a new handicapped accessible ramp that will be built by Genesee Construction. The ramp leads to the entrance of the Laing Kennedy 4-H building at the fairgrounds in Batavia.

BATAVIA – The local school districts in Orleans County will be among 30 districts and 700 students at the GLOW With Your Hands event that highlights careers in the building trades.

Organizers have reduced attendance per school and are providing masks for all attendees in an effort to ensure the safety of all participants. In fact, BMP America in Medina is donating masks produced by the company.

The Genesee County Economic Development Center and the job development agencies in the GLOW counties have organized the 3rd Annual Glow With Your Hands Expo which will take place at the Genesee County Fairgrounds on Sept. 28. Local business and education leaders also helped plan the upcoming event and were joined by Congressman Chris Jacobs on Monday to unveil details for Sept. 28.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Joe Lang, line supervisor for National Grid, shows Pavilion students how to set a switch with a pole during the first GLOW With Your Hands event on Sept. 24, 2019. National Grid representatives said the company offers many career opportunities as a line man, or jobs in administrative, metering and the service department.

The expo will include over 40 local companies providing hands-on experiences for potential career opportunities in the skilled trades and advanced manufacturing.

“In just a few weeks, over 700 students will here at the Genesee County Fairgrounds where they will experience first-hand activities associated with careers in agriculture, manufacturing, food and beverage production, electro-mechanical technicians, heavy equipment operation, building trades and many others,” said Chris Suozzi, GLOW With Your Hands co-chair. “It’s going to be a great experience for our kids as they will get to see and experience the great careers opportunities with companies that are based right in their own backyard.”

Ashton Sommerton of Pavilion tries operating an excavator under guidance from Jared Swift, an operator with LG Evans Construction in Avon, during GLOW With Your Hands in 2019.

The event is sponsored by organizations across the GLOW Region, including manufacturing, agriculture and construction employers, economic and workforce development organizations.

“In our conversations with some of the leading employers in the GLOW region, they are expressing the same level of excitement we have in bringing so many students,” said Karyn Winters, Director of the Genesee County Business Education Alliance. “Not only can they provide live demonstrations of the type of work required for these jobs, but they can start the recruitment process for their next generation of workers.”

The participating businesses are recognizing the future demands of their respective workforces need to be addressed now, especially as the current generation of workers are retiring or planning retirement in the next few years.

“Whether our technicians are working on a residential mower for a homeowner, a skid steer for a builder or a combine or baler for one of our farmers the career path they’ve chosen allows them to feel fulfillment at the end of every day,” said Molly Haungs, LandPro Equipment Marketing Manager. “That is the message that we, as the GLOW With Your Hands Career fair committee we are working to get to our youth and their families.  A career in trades offers opportunity for our youth to work hard, learn, continue education and provide a lasting and lucrative career that can combine passion with success.”

GLOW With Your Hands committee members emphasized how the Expo is aligned with the needs of employers and the GLOW region’s students.

“I know I can speak for my county and I am sure other Chambers in the GLOW regarding that we hear almost everyday from our members about the importance of workforce development,” said Angela Grouse, Director of Education to Employment programs at the Livingston County Chamber & Livingston County Education Alliance. “We know some of them are thinking – where am I going to find my next generation of workers? On September 28th, the answer will be right here in front their own eyes.”

The kick-off event also unveiled that Double Platinum sponsor Genesee Construction will lead 700 participating students in building an accessible ramp at the entrance to the Kennedy Building at the Genesee County Fairgrounds.

“I cannot stress enough how critically important it is for our business to be able to identify the next generation of the workforce who possess these skills.  The future of our company depends on it,” said Mary Ellyn Merle, Genesee Construction Project Manager.

Over 1,000 students, educators, volunteers and vendors participated in the inaugural GLOW With Your Hands event in 2019. The September 28th event will once again highlight the successful and in-demand careers available in the GLOW Region.

“It’s important to note that a significant number of these jobs do not require a four-year college degree. Training provided by these companies and our region’s workforce and education organizations can result in someone starting a great career soon after graduation,” said Jay Lazarony, executive director, GLOW Workforce Development Board. “Employers are concerned about the future of their respective workforces and rightly so. However, through GLOW With Your Hands they are witnessing, and more importantly participating, how as a region we are collaborating to provide a solution about these concerns.”

Jay Helker, vice president of operations for Swan Equipment & Trucking in Avon, discusses some of the tools used to fix big trucks and other equipment during the first GLOW With Your Hands event on Sept. 24, 2019. Helker told students he enjoys his job. “There is a lot of hands-on work,” he said. “The days go by fast.”

BATAVIA – Genesee Community College has been awarded $430,441 from the federal government to provide service as an educational opportunity center, with the college providing counseling to adults interested in entering or continuing a postsecondary education program.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, announced the funding today. It is part of $6,169,701 in federal funding for higher education opportunity programs throughout New York State.

The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Talent Search Program and Educational Opportunity Centers Program and will be used to provide individualized support to both high schoolers and adults throughout the college application progress, Gillibrand said.

Funding for the Talent Search Program will provide academic, career, and financial counseling to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds finish high school and pursue higher education.

The Research Foundation for SUNY on behalf of SUNY Brockport was awarded $277,063 for a Talent Search Program.

The EOC program focuses primarily on adult learners, including low-wage or displaced workers. EOC works with clients to provide assistance in college entry and re-entry, thereby addressing the challenges faced by students who have dropped out of high school or college. Quite often, EOC clients pursue higher education as a means of enhancing their families’ economic viability, according to a letter signed by Gillibrand.

“TRIO Programs are a proven way to ensure that promising students from all backgrounds have the resources they need to successfully navigate the college application and preparation process,” Gillibrand said. “At a time when the Covid crisis has added hurdles to college accessibility and retention, it is vital that New Yorkers have access to the support they need to complete their education and launch their careers. These programs are an investment in our future and I am proud to have advocated for this funding.”

Delta variant breaks through but few of those people get seriously sick if they are vaccinated

ALBION – Covid-19 cases are on the rise locally, and about 25 percent of those new cases are among people who are vaccinated, said Paul Pettit, the public health director in Genesee and Orleans.

So far in August there have been 452 new Covid cases in the two counties and 112 were among people who were fully vaccinated or 24.8 percent of the total. That includes 17.1 percent of the cases in Orleans so far August – 34 out of 171 – and 30.8 percent in Genesee – 78 out of 253, Pettit said in a news briefing this afternoon.

The vaccines are working, however, because Pettit said few of the vaccinated people who get Covid show serious symptoms. Most are asymptomatic or have minor symptoms.

“It is keeping people out of the hospital,” he said about the vaccine.

He continues to encourage eligible people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.

The latest Covid surge, after there were few cases in early summer, include people of all ages, including children, Pettit said.

“We do know the Delta variant is likely the cause of it,” Pettit said about the current Covid surge. “We know that it is here.”

Genesee currently has 77 active cases and 15 of those are hospitalized. In Orleans, there are 64 actives cases and two are in the hospital due to Covid.

In the past seven days, Genesee has 114 new cases and a 5.8 percent positivity rate, while Orleans has 55 new Covid cases and a positive test rate of 5.3 percent, Pettit. Those positivity rate are above the state and regional averages.

Pettit said the two counties are lagging behind the regional and state averages for vaccinations. The Health Department continues to make reaching the eligible unvaccinated (those 12 and older) to get the shot, while also preparing to offer booster shots beginning on Sept. 20.

“Our focus truly remains on the unvaccinated,” Pettit said. “We can’t stress enough to get more people vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

The Health Department this week is holding get-back-to-school vaccination clinics, including one on Thursday at Albion Central School. Click here for more information.

Pettit also addressed the mandate from Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Health, requiring students, teachers, staff and visitors inside schools to wear masks. Pettit said the decision frustrated many local school districts that had already developed safety reopening plans.

Pettit said the local districts are committed to have all students back for in-person learning with as few disruptions as possible this school year. The mask mandate has an added benefit of reducing the need to quarantine students if they have been in close contact with another person in school who tests positive for the virus.

“The quarantines were very disruptive to students’ learning,” Pettit said.

NY will require weekly testing for unvaccinated school staff

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul delivers a Covid-19 briefing at the University at Buffalo today. (Photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

BUFFALO – Governor Kathy Hochul today announced new measures to combat the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Speaking at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine, the Governor announced she will be working with localities, the state health department and the Public Health and Health Planning Council in the days ahead to put in place mandatory weekly Covid-19 testing for unvaccinated public and charter school employees, and to establish a vaccination requirement for all staff at state-regulated facilities and congregate settings.

The governor announced $65 million will be available to local health departments across the state to support the quick and reliable distribution of booster shots.

“Last year every community across the state came together in a profound way to say, ‘we can do this’,” Governor Hochul said. “This war is not over and the Delta variant is a serious threat, especially for people who are still unvaccinated. We all need to remain vigilant to protect each other – and that means coming in to get your shot and booster shot, wearing masks in indoor spaces, and exercising basic safety measures that we are all familiar with by now.”

Getting children back to school where they can learn most effectively and protecting the students, teachers and staff are top priorities for Governor Hochul. Building on the state department of health’s directive requiring universal masking for anyone entering schools, the governor will be working with localities, the department of health and the Public Health and Health Planning Council in the days ahead to implement a mandatory weekly Covid testing for school staff who are not vaccinated.

Following the department of health’s announcement last week that all staff in health care facilities need to be vaccinated, the state is exploring how to expand this requirement to include staff at all state-regulated facilities.

Local health departments will be supporting the distribution of booster shots in New York, enabling them to use their knowledge and workforce to quickly deliver booster shots to their communities. The governor is making $65 million available to local health departments to build the infrastructure for these efforts.

Prince Wilson facing attempted murder charge

Press Release, Albion Police Chief David Mogle

ALBION – On August 14 around 11:50 p.m. the Albion Police Department – with assistance from the New York State Police, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and Medina Police Department – responded to the report of a male with a gunshot wound to the leg in the area of South Main Street and Beaver Street.

The victim was treated and then transported to Strong Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later released.

Jonathan Jimenez

Through subsequent investigation, it was later determined that another shooting incident, related to the August 14 shooting had taken place a week prior to the initially reported one only blocks away on August 8 around 12:10 a.m.

The victim from the August 14 incident, 23-year-old Jonathan Jimenez of Holley, was arrested and charged regarding both incidents with one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd: Loaded Firearm (C Felony), one count of Reckless Endangerment 1st (D Felony) and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th (A Misdemeanor).

Prince Wilson

The other suspect, 22-year-old Prince Z. Wilson of Albion, also was later arrested regarding both shooting incidents. Wilson was charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th (A Misdemeanor), one count of Reckless Endangerment 1st (D Felony), one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd (C Felony), one count of Attempted Murder 2nd (B Felony), one count of Criminal Use of a Firearm 1st (B Felony), one count of Aggravated Criminal Possession of a Weapon (C Felony), and one count of Assault 2nd (D Felony).

Both individuals were transported to the Orleans County Jail for centralized arraignment. Both firearms believed to have been used during the incidents, were located and seized. These incidents are also believed to have been isolated amongst the two suspects.

Both incidents are still part of an active investigation and additional charges are pending. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Albion Police Department at (585) 589-5627 or the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office at (585) 589-5527.

The Albion Police Department would like to thank the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, New York State Police, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Medina Police Department, COVA Ambulance and Albion Fire Department with their assistance regarding both incidents.

KNOWLESVILLE – There will be a child car seat check on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orleans County 4-H fairgrounds, Sheriff Chris Bourke said.

According to data, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ranging from the ages of 1 to 13. Preventative measures, such as proper installation of car seats, boosters and seat belts can lower many deaths and injuries, the sheriff said.

“Informing and instructing parents and caregivers on child safety and proper installation of car seats is critical to saving young lives,” Bourke said. “Our certified child passenger safety technicians will inspect your car/booster seats to assure that your child is in the correct seat for their size and age.”

For more information, contact Kevin Colonna, certified car seat technician with the Sheriff’s Office, at (585) 589-5527 or Kevin.Colonna@orleanscountyny.gov.

Any unvaccinated adults and children over the age of 2 attending this event are required to wear a mask and adhere to safe distance protocol.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: From left, Katrina Chaffee, director of operations, reporting and community service at Community Action, case manager Michelle Figueroa and Annette Finch, director of public relations and fundraising, pose with school supplies and backpacks donated for their annual backpack giveaway. Deadline to register is 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

ALBION – Community Action in Orleans County will be taking applications for free school supplies through the end of business on Tuesday. The office closes at 3:30 p.m.

The giveaway is an annual event at Community Action, which normally provides free backpacks and school supplies to 50 to 60 families. This year, however, applications have been light, according to Michelle Figueroa, case manager.

She and Katrina Chaffee, director of operations, reporting and community service, think it is because families have been uncertain as to what the schools were going to require or even if there would be in-person school due to Covid. Local school districts will all have in-person education without a hybrid or remote schedule.

Community Action has received piles of backpacks and school supplies donated by the West Barre United Methodist Church. Others have been purchased through a grant from the Emma Reed Webster Foundation.

Applications will be accepted at the Albion office at 409 East State St. for students in the Lyndonville, Medina and Albion school districts. Students in the Holley and Kendall school districts may apply at the Eastern Orleans Community Center, 75 Public Square, Holley.

Supplies can be picked up Sept. 1, 2 and 3.

Applicants must bring proof of residence, proof of income and identification (Social Security card or birth certificate) for all children in the household. Income guidelines apply. More information is available by calling 589-5605 or 638-6395.