By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 June 2021 at 8:12 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Annalise Steier, one of the drum majors in the Albion marching band, directs the group during a performance for parents and friends last month on May 27. The band performed “Old Town Road.”
ALBION – The Albion marching band, in its only competition this season, won the Peoples’ Choice Award, getting more YouTube likes for its video and two other bands in the AA Division.
The video competition was organized by the Sherburne-Earlville Pageant of Bands is up. People could only vote once. (The video link is no longer available.) Albion topped Norwich HS in second place, and Fonda-Fultonville HS in third.
Albion filmed its video on May 8. The contest gave the band a competition and an event, because its parade season was cancelled.
Albion and its 50 band members performed “Old Town Road” and the video also included some antics and whimsical moments.
“The band appreciates the community’s support, especially in this unusual year, which included practices held virtually via Zoom, no travel, and no live competitions or parades,” said band director Mike Thaine. “I applaud the core of kids who stuck with it!”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2021 at 4:59 pm
Provided photo: Mandy Gilmore and her 2-year-old daughter, Rosie Gaines, were the first ones to try the spray park today at Bullard Park. “We had so much fun,” Gilmore said. “She loved it.”
ALBION – The Village of Albion’s spray park is now open. The village was looking at a July 1 grand opening but moved that up with the current heat wave.
The site is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. There is a touch pad to activate the water at the splash park, which is located at Bullard Park on Route 31.
The village has been working on site for more than two years. It still needs to put in some sidewalks leading to the splash pad, and that could mean the site is off limits briefly.
The spray park has 18 spray elements. It is part of about $800,000 in upgrades to Bullard, Albion’s most popular park on Route 31. The improvements also include an amphitheater, utility building with bathrooms and a pavilion.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The splash pad is shown through a climbing wall at Pee Wee Park that is part of Bullard.
The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for the Bullard projects. The village also received $97,500 from the county and $45,000 from the town of Albion, money that was through a revolving-loan fund by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
The Albion DPW is providing $166,370 of in-kind services as part of Albion’s local share for the state grant. The DPW took down a pavilion and storage building in 2019 to make way for the new utility building. The DPW also ran a new sewer line across Route 31 near the Bullard entrance. That sewer line will service the park.
The DPW also ran 600 feet of waterline for the splash pad and utility building, several feet of sewer line, and did the electric service for the amphitheater.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2021 at 4:20 pm
Number of active cases drops to 3 in county, down from 45 on May 28
Orleans County only has 1 new confirmed Covid-19 case since Friday, and the number of active cases has plummeted to 3. That is down from 45 on May 28.
Genesee County has 3 new confirmed cases, and the number of active cases is down to 11, compared to 33 on May 28. The active cases are dropping as new recoveries outpace new infections.
In Orleans, the new case reported today is a person between 0-19, according to an update from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.
Orleans currently doesn’t have any residents hospitalized due to Covid. The county also has had 11 more recoveries or people who have completed their 10-day isolation and been removed from mandatory isolation.
In Genesee, the three new cases are in the age groups of 0-19 and the 20s.
Genesee has 3 residents currently hospitalized due to Covid. Genesee is reporting 3 more recoveries or people who completed the 10-day isolation and have been removed from mandatory isolation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2021 at 4:02 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: A 19-year-old man died today at Millenium Roads on East Yates Center Road.
YATES – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the man who died today while working at Millennium Roads LLC.
Keegan Bayne, 19, was found unresponsive inside a semi-tanker and was pronounced dead at the scene, said Jeff Gifaldi, chief deputy of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Chase Johnson, 35, was taken by Mercy Flight helicopter. He was found with shallow breathing. He was treated by Medina Fire Department ambulance personnel before being flown by Mercy Flight.
The Orleans County 911 Center received a call at 10:56 a.m. about two unresponsive men inside a semi-tanker at Millennium Roads LLC on East Yates Center Road. Fireifghters, deputies and Orleans County Emergency Management personnel removed the two men from the semi-tanker.
The two had inside the semi-tanker cleaning the tank that was used to haul the product, “Lignin,” Gifaldi said.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Assisting at the scene were the Lyndonville Fire Department, Medina Fire Department, Orleans County EMO, Genesee County EMO and Hazmat team, Niagara County Technical Rescue Team, State Fire, Mercy Flight, State Police, NYS DEC and the Orleans County Coroner’s Office.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2021 at 2:15 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
YATES – A man has died and another was injured in accident this morning at Millennium Roads at 12118 East Yates Center Rd.
Firefighters and Medina’s ambulance were dispatched to the scene at about 11 a.m. for reports of two men trapped in a de-icing tank.
An Orleans County Sheriff’s deputy at the scene said one person passed away and the other was taken by Mercy Flight helicopter. No other information was available but Sheriff Chris Bourke is expected to provide more information later today.
Millennium Roads has been in business for about 20 years working in the road construction industry.
Genesee County’s Hazmat team is assisting at the scene.
Press Release, Orleans County Department of Planning & Development
Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from May 9, 2018 shows fruit trees in bloom at Watt Farms, near the pond behind their country market on Route 98 in the Town of Gaines.
ALBION – Orleans County is accepting enrollment of additional parcels in its existing, certified agricultural district during the month of June, pursuant to New York State Agricultural and Markets Law. The annual 30-day window is for inclusion of property that consists of predominantly viable agricultural land.
During this time period, land may only be added and not removed from County Agricultural District No.1, which in 2016 became the sole agricultural district in the County as a result of a consolidation process.
This opportunity supplements, but does not replace, enrollment in an existing agricultural district during a more comprehensive review process held once every eight years. The next eight-year anniversary review – the only time during which parcels can be both added and removed – will not occur until 2024. Presently, there are over 116,700 acres in County Agricultural District No. 1.
Requests for inclusion in District No. 1 will be evaluated, in order, by the Orleans County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, the Orleans County Legislature, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. To enroll, owners must complete and sign a Letter of Intent for Annual Enrollment form.
These are available from the Orleans County Department of Planning and Development (589-3197) or online by clicking here.
Completed forms should be sent by July 1st to:
Corey Winters, Planner
Orleans County Department of Planning & Development
14016 Route 31 West
Albion, NY 14411-9382
Please note that requesting enrollment during this 30-day time period is not a guarantee that an owner’s property will be added to Agricultural District No 1. Moreover, it will not automatically qualify your land for a reduced agricultural property tax assessment. For information on obtaining a reduced agricultural property tax assessment, please contact your local assessor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2021 at 10:56 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Kathy Blackburn, left, president of the Medina Tree Board, shows third-grader Elizabeth Dresser how to throw the first shovel of dirt around the tree being planted in front of Gwinn Street Park on April 30 during an Arbor Day celebration.
MEDINA — The Village of Medina has been named a “Tree City USA” for its commitment to an effective urban forest management, the Arbor Day Foundation announced.
Medina has earned the distinction as a “Tree City” for several years. The village typically plants 40 to 60 trees a year.
Medina has a Tree Board and also has formed a “Releaf Society” to raise money to plant new trees to replace some of the old ones which have or will be taken down, especially at Boxwood Cemetery. The Tree Board helps to decides what kind and where trees can be planted and which need to be trimmed or cut down.
Medina meets the Tree City USA criteria with four requirements: a Tree Board or department; a tree care ordinance; and annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
“Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community first hand,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The trees being planted and cared for by Medina are ensuring that generations to come will enjoy a better quality of life.”
With communities worldwide are facing issues with air quality, water resources, personal health and well-being, energy use and protection from extreme heat and flooding, the Arbor Day Foundation has launched an unprecedented goal to plant 100 million trees by 2022.
ROYALTON – A Lockport woman was killed Sunday in a motorcycle accident in Royalton.
State Troopers said Alicia T. Calderone, 41, died after a collision at the intersection of Chestnut Hill Road and Mill Road at about noon.
Troopers said the 2004 Suzuki operated by Calderone was eastbound on Chestnut Hill Road and lost control turning north on Mill Road, striking a curb and then a boulder off the side of the roadway.
Calderone was pronounced deceased at the scene. She was transported to the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.
The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in the investigation, which remains ongoing.
Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt
ALBANY – Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay and members of their respective conferences on Monday announced the introduction of a concurrent resolution that would terminate the state disaster emergency declared by Governor Cuomo on March 7, 2020 under Executive Order 202 and finally revoke his unilateral decision-making authority.
“We have repeatedly advanced an amendment to strip the Governor of his emergency powers and the Democrats unanimously reject it, despite it being clear that their sham repeal bill passed in March did nothing,” Ortt said. “Today, we have joined the Assembly to introduce a concurrent resolution that would terminate the state disaster emergency and remove the governor’s unilateral control once and for all,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt.
“We are in a state of recovery – not emergency – and it’s time New Yorkers are able to return to their daily routines and a sense of normalcy,” Barclay said. “The process has been long. Many lessons have been painful, but it’s time to finally move forward. Fortunately, the state’s Covid infection rate is reaching its lowest levels while the number of vaccinations steadily increases. The virus is no longer stressing the limits of our health care system. We’ve made great progress fighting back against the virus and restrictions have been loosening for months.”
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, under the emergency declaration, Governor Cuomo was given broad emergency powers to issue directives and suspend and modify statutes, local laws, ordinances rules and regulations in order to handle the state’s pandemic response.
While the original order was set to expire on April 30 this year, Legislative Democrats effectively extended it indefinitely under legislation – negotiated with the Governor – that they claimed would rescind the Governor’s powers, but instead actually extended them until the end of the declared disaster emergency.
Most other states have ended, or have a plan to end, their state’s declared disaster emergencies.
Editor’s Note: Local assemblyman, Steve Hawley of Batavia, also issued a statement on Monday in support of terminating the governor’s emergency powers. Hawley said that as of June 2, New York state’s seven-day average positivity rate was the lowest in the nation at 0.64 percent, and hospitalizations dropped to under 1,000 for the first time since October 2020.
“In the wake of the decision by our state Department of Health and the CDC to largely let life get back to normal, we should follow the data and restore state government back to normal with all of the checks guaranteed by our constitution,” Hawley said. “Declarations of emergency should be decisions based on public health, not political expediency, and if the governor and the Majority also believe this, they should immediately terminate this state of emergency. If this legislative session ends with this declaration still in place, it will only be to secure the governor’s power, not for anybody’s well-being.”
Assemblyman Mike Norris (R,C-Lockport) is pleased to announce the passage of legislation to create the Commission to Prevent Childhood Drowning (A.7734).
Assemblyman Michael Norris
Norris spearheaded this bipartisan effort at the State Capitol, reaching across the aisle to work with Rockaway Beach Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and getting the legislation passed by the Assembly in less than four months’ time.
“This is an example of good government at its best,” Norris said. “The issue of childhood drowning is a deeply concerning one for parents and for us all. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn how to swim. I introduced a bill (A.6141), worked with my colleagues and we were able to work out an agreement to get a final bill passed before leaving Albany for the summer.”
Sadly, drowning is the number one cause of death in children under the age of four, but people of all ages frequently overestimate their swimming abilities, not to mention those who accidentally fall into water over their heads or have boating accidents. An average of 10 people drown every day in the U.S., and 50 percent of people treated for near-drownings need follow-up medical care, making accidents as costly financially as they are to your health and well-being.
Swimming is an essential life skill to have, and Norris has been an advocate of encouraging all New Yorkers to learn to swim. Most municipal recreation programs offer swimming lessons, as do not-for-profits like YMCAs or JCCs. In addition to offering swim lessons, the American Red Cross also offers lifeguarding courses and vital lifesaving courses like CPR classes as well.
“Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato and I represent very different communities,” Norris said. “I am from Western New York, with many rural towns along the Great Lakes and Erie Canal. She is from Queens, New York City, with a very crowded city beach. But we have much in common on this issue, and that’s protecting our constituents – particularly small children – when they are near the water. From there, it was easy to move this forward.”
Having passed in the Assembly, the legislation will now need to pass in the state Senate before being considered by the governor to be signed into law. Norris said he hopes these steps will happen soon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2021 at 9:06 pm
ALBION – The school district is planning to celebrate graduation outside at the football stadium at 7 p.m. on June 25.
The district usually has graduation in the high school gym. Last year, when schools were limited to no more than 150 people at commencement, Albion opted to record each student receiving his or her diploma individually and then compiled a video.
This year the students will all be together for graduation. They will be limited to three tickets. The crowd will sit on the football field, between the 20-yard lines, with the grads in the bleachers.
The state has currently limited outdoor graduation ceremonies to 500 people or 20 percent of venues with more than 2,500 capacity. Indoor ceremonies are limited to 150 people or 10 percent for venues with capacity of 1,500 or more.
If it’s raining on June 25, Albion will move the ceremony to 2 p.m. on June 26. If it’s raining then, June 27 at 2 p.m. is the next option.
Jennifer Ashbery, high school principal, went over the plans with the Board of Education this evening.
The graduates will meet before the ceremony at the LGI in the high school. They will also be given the option of decorating their graduation caps, with the design to be approved by school officials.
The graduates will walk from the community entrance at the back high school parking lot, up the driveway and enter the football stadium from the east gate facing the elementary school. Faculty will line up and create a tunnel for students to pass through.
After the ceremony, the graduates can gather on the grassy area between the football stadium and high school parking lot. That differs from the past when the graduates and their families would congregate in front of the high school.
Ashbery shared other end-of-the-year highlights for seniors, including prom this Friday at Hickory Ridge. Last year’s formal event was cancelled due to the Covid restrictions.
Class night, which is usually on the Friday a week before graduation, this year will be on Thursday, June 17. That’s because there won’t be school on June 18 due to the new Juneteenth holiday.
Class night also will be celebrated in the high school gym instead of the middle school auditorium. Ashbery said she met with the class officers and they preferred the gym.
“They love the atmosphere, the warmth and the feeling of home that our high school gymnasium offers,” Ashbery said.
Members of the junior class will serve the seniors dinner before class night.
The baccalaureate service also will be on Sunday, June 20, at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion.
Melanie Conley named ‘School Business Official of the Year’
Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
Melanie Conley
MEDINA – Melanie Conley, director of business services for the Orleans/Niagara BOCES, has been awarded the New York State ASBO (Association of School Business Officials) School Business Official of the Year Award.
Mrs. Conley was honored with the Gregory E. Carlson award, which was named for the past ASBO President and is given to a school business official that has demonstrated excellence in the performance of their duties and responsibilities to their school district and community.
The recipients’ school district will receive a $1,000 donation in their name to use to purchase equipment or offer as a scholarship.
“I am truly honored to be recognized by ASBO NY,” Conley said. “They are a first-class association that’s mission is to provide professional opportunities, networking and advocating for quality education for all students.”
Mrs. Conley also extends thanks to Orleans/Niagara BOCES District Superintendent Dr. Clark Godshall and the Board of Education for their support and encouragement.
“It is wonderful being part of an organization that provides opportunities for all of our component district students and communities,” she said. “Most of all, I would like to thank my family. I would not have the opportunity to both have and love my profession if it was not for them. My husband Mark, my parents and my mother and father-in-law have been so supportive and helpful when I was not available at home. I could not do without them! My daughter, Eva, and son, Ryan, have been understanding when mom cannot always be at an evening activity, like a chorus concert. However, they know that mom loves to provide opportunities not only for them, but also for all children.”
Mrs. Conley has been with BOCES since 2017 and before that served for eight years as the school business administrator for Amherst Central School.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2021 at 2:04 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Saturday was the season-opener for this year’s Sandstone Park team in the Albion Midget League.
Players and their fans noticed a series of improvements. There is a new flag pole, upgrades to the dugouts and backstop, a new inscribed stone in the shape of a home plate thanking the founders of the park, and a new outfield fence.
Sandstone Park is an original member of the Albion Midget League, which formed in 1956. The field in 2019 was named in honor of Steve Coville Sr., who volunteered for 40 years, with 22 years as a coach and then as groundskeeper for the park as well as running the concession stand. He passed away at age 76 on Jan. 17, 2019.
Omer Fugate, left, is watering down some of the dirt so it wouldn’t be too dusty. His son plays for Sandstone.
Frank Sidari designed this memorial display in the shape of home plate. He made the wooden frame while Brigden Memorial engraved the stone in tribute to the families from “The Greatest Generation” that bought the former quarry from the village for $25 in 1954. Dedicated community members have kept up the grounds since then, and coached generations of young baseball players.
Frank Sidari came up from Florida and worked on upgrading the dugouts, stands for fans and the equipment shed.
Sandstone has only had four head coaches since 1956. Dan Bartlett has led the team since 2002. He addresses the team on Saturday afternoon before they played Carlton. Bartlett played for Sandstone when he was a kid. Josh Trapiss and Scott DeSmit also are in the photo and they serve as coaches, along with Omer Fugate.
Sandstone was first coached by Guido Mannella. He did it from 1956 to 1966. He was followed by Leonard Sidari, who led the team from 1967 to 1978. Then Coville took the reins from 1979 to 2001.
Two Carlton players warm up their arms before Saturday’s game. They are in front of the new outfield fence. That fence was about $20,000 of the $30,000 in improvements. The scoreboard also is a new addition to the field on East State Street.
Bruce Sidari thanked the Sandstone supporters for contributing to the improvements. Many former players and current families donated, from $25 to some in the thousands, Sidari said.
He launched the fundraising push about two years ago when he friend Gil Pritchard was in town and they went to watch a game. Both played for Sandstone as kids and graduated in the Class of 1966. Pritchard graduated from West Point and has had a successful business career. He and Sidari noticed some deterioration in the backstop and fences.
They talked with Bartlett, and wanted an outfield fence, partly to separate the older layers from the younger ones who are 7 to 9. The younger players have a designated practice area on the other side of the rightfield fence.
Sidari played on the team beginning in 1957. His son Geoff played for Sandstone and so did grandson Patrick Ricker.
Sidari spoke on the field before Saturday’s game. He said generations of kids have now benefitted from the vision of the families in 1954, who bought the 16 acres for $25 and formed a non-profit organization that continues today.
“This a special place to us and always will be,” Sidari said. “I’d like to salute everyone who has contributed over these last 65 years. I think this field and this team speaks volumes about the quality of the men and women – all the participants – who supported their efforts.”
The dugouts now have roofs to offer some cover from scorching sun or falling rain.
Frank Sidari put in the roof, and spent about 200 hours working on projects to make Sandstone Park better, including painting the benches and replacing rotted wood for the players in the dugouts.
The visiting team also has an improved dugout with a roof. Ben Narburgh, the Carlton coach, gets a little shade before Saturday’s game. Jayden Allport, right, served as umpire of the game.
The storage building has a new roof and has been painted in the team’s orange. It also has new shelving. There is even a port-a-john next to this building in Sandstone orange for the season.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that school districts can choose to lift the requirement that their students must wear masks outdoors.
Guidance on mask use indoors remains in place. This change aligns New York State’s guidance on schools with CDC guidance on summer camps, where even unvaccinated students are not currently required to wear masks outdoors.
“We spoke with the CDC, and since they’re not going to change their guidance for several weeks in New York State, we’re going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside for children,” Cuomo said. “We’ll leave that up to the local school district and we spoke to the CDC, which has no objection. It’s very important that people understand the logic between these decisions and that they’re rational and based on the science and the data. We have a disconnect right now between the school guidance and the camp guidance, and it’s important to rectify it because if people don’t think the rules are logical, then they’re not going to want to follow the rules.”
On May 24, Cuomo announced that based on the current Covid trajectory, all New York State schools will reopen for full in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year beginning in September.
YATES – Save Ontario Shores, Inc., the grassroots organization opposed to plans to erect dozens of massive industrial wind turbines in the lakeshore communities of Somerset and Yates, is calling on members of the public to take part in The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Great Lakes Wind Feasibility Study Public Feedback Session.
The virtual event will be held Wednesday, June 9, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Registration for the event is required – click here.)
“How many towns, marinas, boaters, and those in the tourism business along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are aware of a feasibility study to look at the possibility of placing industrial wind turbines in the lakes Ontario and Erie?” asked SOS President Pam Atwater. “As we speak with stakeholders we realize that most are not aware of this study. It is crucial for residents to voice their concerns about the negative impacts this project will have on the quality of life for lakeshore residents.”
“In Somerset we are particularly concerned as one of the locations where transmission lines could come onshore would be at the Somerset Beowulf property where they would use the existing transmission lines,” Atwater said. “That would put the turbines right off our shore. New York State has an expansive amount of Great Lakes shoreline and it is an enormous resource to the local economy. Millions have been spent over the past decade to restore the Great Lakes environment. Now the state is spending a million dollars to decide if it is feasible to industrialize it! And as is standard practice in New York, the rural communities and businesses who would be most impacted are not brought to the table.”
According to NYSERDA: “The study will consider existing and emerging technologies for fixed and floating turbines (including icing considerations unique to the Great Lakes), new technology development timelines, geospatial conditions, resource assessment, regulatory processes, permitting requirements and risks, potential conflicts, costs and economic opportunities, electrical infrastructure, and overall cost-reduction pathways.”
“The fact that floating turbines are not likely due to ice issues, means that development would be limited to lake depths of 197 feet or less until new technologies emerge,” Atwater said. “This would still allow for offshore wind development throughout much of New York’s Lake Erie waters, but limit development to within a couple miles of shore within New York’s Lake Ontario waters.”
An August 2020 survey commissioned by SOS found 83 percent of Somerset and Yates respondents opposed to plans by the state to allow for installation of industrial wind turbines up to 10 miles off the shores of Lake Erie and one to two miles off Lake Ontario’s shores.
“These distances are far less than the 30 miles offered to shoreline areas off Long Island,” said SOS Vice President Kate Kremer. “If these offshore industrial wind projects are allowed to proceed, they will have a devastating impact on eco-tourism, fishing and boating, and recreation which people now enjoy in an unencumbered manner.”
