By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 7:28 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Medina Mayor Mike Sidari, second from left, joined members of Luke Nelson’s family and Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, for a ground-breaking celebration today for Medina’s new skate park at Butts Park.
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. He was 32 when he passed away on April 22, 2017. His family has donated to the park and helped organize fundraisers to upgrade the site.
Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, pushed to raise local funding and secure the grants for the project.
“He loved coming here,” said his mother Terri Nelson. “He would come here and skate and skate.”
Initially the family just wanted to raise money to buy a bench at the park so family and friends could relax and watch the skaters.
But the opportunity was there for a matching grant for up to $250,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, rallied the community to support the project.
Generous benefactors stepped forward, and many smaller fundraisers allowed the Skate Society to pass its fundraising goal, Feig said.
“It all added up,” he said. “We just didn’t stop.”
Feig often skated with Nelson and the two worked together for a year at Barden Homes. Feig said the previous skate park was outdated and there were cracks in the asphalt. The new park will be an attraction for Medina, and give skaters a safe place for their sport.
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.
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.
Design by Spohn Ranch Skateparks: The new skate park in Medina will have many elements for skaters, from the beginning level to intermediate and more advanced skill levels.
A six-person construction team from Spohn Ranch Skateparks arrived in Medina to start work on the project on Tuesday, following site work from the village Department of Public Works. That included removing the previous asphalt surface and adding fill for the site. The old skate park was a repurposed tennis court.
Spohn Ranch’s schedule for construction is for 14 weeks, which puts the anticipated opening of the park in early September.
Mayor Mike Sidari praised the Skate Society and Nelson’s family for their efforts in pushing for the park.
“It’s quality of life for the village residents,” Sidari. “This will be a draw for Medina, bringing people from other communities.”
Many of Nelson’s family members were part of the ground-breaking today, including his parents, Terri and Ken Nelson; sister, Casie Nelson and her daughter, Adelita, aunts, Dawn Powell and Catherine Puff; cousin, Sarah Powell and her daughter, Remi Gill; and nephew, Otice Lokey.
Catherine Puff, Luke’s aunt, said she has enjoyed meeting the many skateboarders in Medina through the fundraisers and skate jams.
“The Medina skater kids have become like our family,” said Puff, a Newfane resident.
The family has bought them pizza and cheered on the skaters when they do some of their daring tricks on the skateboard.
Dawn Powell, also one of Nelson’s aunt, said she never would have imagined she would spend so much time at a skate park.
“I’m 64 and I’m clumsy,” she said.
But she feels enriched by getting to know the skaters.
“One of the biggest blessings is getting to know these kids,” she said. “I’m so grateful we are able to do this park for them.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 4:29 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office was budgeting $88,865 from the state for the STOP DWI Plan. That money is distributed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns with local and county courts reduced the court fines. That is forcing the state to amend its allocation for the county. The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will now be receive $54,065 through the STOP DWI Plan.
The Orleans County Legislature approved the amended memorandum of understanding last week.
In other resolutions approved last week, the Legislature:
• Authorized spending $143,840 for three sheriff patrol vehicles with two 2021 Ford Explorer AWD Interceptors for $50,131 each from Tri Star Motors in West Blairsville, Pa., and one 2021 Police Charger AWD for $43,576 from Joe Cecconi’s Chrysler Complex in Niagara Falls, NY.
• Authorized Computer Services to spend $7,686 for 21 Advidia security cameras with mounting junction boxes, with cameras to be used to protect county assets.
• Authorized spending $7,200 to purchase TextMyGov software and licensed messaging platform to be used to communicate with government employees and the general public at large if needed.
• Authorized county treasurer to set up money in the county attorney budget to accept $10,780 in intervenor funds from the Town of Barre for the Heritage Wind project. Apex Clean Energy is providing the funds to be used to hire counsel on environmental issues.
• Authorized probation director to apply and accept $149,616 from state Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, effective for the calendar year from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.
• Approved probation director accepting $120,392 to reimburse department for Raise the Age costs from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020.
• Renewed agreement with Lyndonville Central School with Orleans County Sheriff’s Office providing deputy as school resource officer at a cost of $87,148 for 11 months.
• Authorized district attorney to accept $30,200 in State Aid to Prosecution grant from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
• Authorized Department of Public Works to spend $168,991 for a 2022 Hunter Peterbilt 10-wheeler dump truck from Hunter Buffalo Peterbilt in Buffalo. The dump truck is reimbursable through state CHIPS funding with county cost $100.
• Authorized county DPW to spend $56,531 for 6-ton Falcon Asphalt Recycler and Hot Box Trailer from Stephenson Equipment in Syracuse. The equipment is reimbursable with CHIPS funding.
• Authorized spending $6,447 to Lyons Collision in Medina to remove old decals, replace and repair body diamond plate, and do body work and lighting upgrades on a mobile command center that has been donated by Erie County to the Orleans County Emergency Management Office. The Legislature also authorized spending $1,650 for six new tires for the 2006 mobile command center.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 2 June 2021 at 3:04 pm
Provided photo: Pictured from left include Steven Davis, Riki Lake and Joe D’Amore showing a sample of the cards which customers will have to collect to win a scavenger hunt C&H PC is sponsoring during the month of June.
MEDINA – A local computer repair store is ready to give Covid the boot and start promoting local businesses.
C & H PC has announced a scavenger hunt with prizes while encouraging people to walk around and visit local stores.
C & H PC co-owner Joe D’Amore came up with the idea as a way to help the community. While many businesses had to shut down during the pandemic, he and co-owner Steven Davis considered themselves lucky that they were able to keep working for most of the time.
D’Amore and Davis purchased C & H PC in September 2019, barely six months before the pandemic. During the worst months, technician Riki Lake worked from home to serve their customers.
“This contest is a way to get customers’ feet in other stores,” D’Amore said.
“We are not only promoting us, but other small businesses as well,” Lake said.
The scavenger hunt will take place during the month of June. A dozen businesses downtown and in the Medina area have agreed to participate. Those store windows will have a decal in their window with the scavenger hunt logo, identifying them as a participant. Each business will have a limited number of playing cards, on which will be written a different component of a computer, such as ram, hard drive, etc.
Other special cards will be marked with nearly three dozen other various prizes, but there will be only one grand prize.
In addition to winning their own computer, the grand prize winner will be invited to C & H PC to enjoy pizza from Avanti’s while watching the computer being built or they can build the computer with the C & H staff.
Before an entrant visits a participating store, he must download the scavenger calendar from C & H’s website and bring it with him, so the business can validate it with a colored checkmark. Those who do not have a printer can stop by C & H PC at 11089 Park Ave. There is a limit of one playing card per day, to make it fair for everybody.
At the end of each week, C & H PC requests entrants update them on their Facebook page with pictures of their findings. They are reminded to use the hashtag #CHPCScavenger21, so C & H can locate them. One person will be randomly selected to win a prize at the end of the event. Each posting is an entry into the drawing.
All playing cards must be turned in by June 30 to be eligible to win. Of the participating 12 businesses, only four will be announced the first week, with four more added each of the next two weeks.
Davis said all participating businesses have a store front, but not all are necessarily downtown.
Lake said they realize the Medina Area Partnership sponsors some great events, but unlike Ale in Autumn and Wine About Winter, which only adults can participate in, this scavenger hunt is open to any age.
If no one finds all the necessary cards by June 30, D’Amore said they will pick a grand prize winner. The grand prize has an estimated value of $2,000.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 1:23 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature is applying to the state for federal funding to expand broadband access.
The county last week voted to apply to the state Office of Community Renewal for money through the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act).
The CARES funds includes public service and infrastructure projects to ensure families in underserved communities have WiFi access for remote education and telehealth services.
“Broadband has been a number one priority of this legislature,” Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said during last week’s meeting.
The grant, which didn’t specify a dollar amount, is another effort from county officials to fund high-speed internet access.
The county estimates it would cost $4.1 million to have the service county-wide, which includes 1,351 properties without access and opportunities for the other 20,000 property owners to have improved high-speed internet.
Johnson and county officials on April 29 met with leaders from the 10 towns in the county and the five school districts, pitching a collaborative effort to use federal American Rescue Plan aid for the expanded high-speed internet.
The American Rescue Plan will bring $7.8 million to the county, while the 10 towns in the county will share $4,430,000 with some of that going the four villages.
The five school district collectively will receive $12.5 million in federal funds. However, the districts will be expected to use most of those funds to help students catch up in lost learning during the pandemic.
If the county’s grant application for CARES money is successful, Johnson said that would mean the county (and possibly towns) wouldn’t need to spend as much from their allocations through the American Rescue Plan.
If the county receives the grant, it will work with Upper Edge Consulting to implement the project and the funding.
Photo courtesy of GCASA: The 20-bed structure for GCASA is ahead of a planned December completion.
By Mike Pettinella, GCASA publicist
BATAVIA – The executive director of Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse said he feels fortunate that the agency’s detoxification building project on its campus at 430 East Main St. has yet to hit any major supply delays and excited about the prospect of opening the 20-bed facility ahead of schedule.
“It’s an 8,600-square-foot building that will house four people on the first floor and 16 on the second floor (two per unit) for short-term detox – five to seven days,” John Bennett said. “It will be connected to the back of the Atwater Home and, when finished, will continue the look of that structure.”
Javen Construction of Penfield is the general contractor for the venture, which broke ground in January.
Bennett said the detox center originally was scheduled to open in December, but could be moved up a couple months.
Amber Gorzynski, a construction field representative with the Dormitory Association of the State of New York’s Buffalo office, said lag time to get materials hasn’t been an issue.
“So far the lead times have been similar to we had before Covid,” she said. “We’re scheduled for December but we’re hoping to beat that.”
Gorzynski said she is looking forward to turning the building over to GCASA.
“It’s needed and I just appreciate that I am part of this,” she said.
Tim Ryan, superintendent for Javen Construction, said the outside walls are finished and inside insulation has been installed, setting the stage for fire inspection in the coming days.
Subcontracting work is being done by local companies, such as Turnbull Heating & Air and Genesee Plumbing.
Editor’s Note: The facility will be open to people in Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region, including Genesee and Orleans counties.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 11:44 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: A “Help Wanted” sign is displayed in the window of Avanti’s on Main Street in Medina. Many local companies are hiring even as the unemployment rate falls locally.
In Orleans County the unemployment rate was down to 5.8 percent in April, continuing a downward trend in the county, according to data from the State Department of Labor.
The rate in Orleans was 7.6 percent in February and 7.1 percent in March. The 5.8 percent in April was a dramatic difference from the previous April when the rate was 16.8 percent. That was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when many businesses were closed or severely restricted from state guidelines.
The DOL reported there were 16,000 people working in the county in April, up 300 from March and 2,200 more than the 13,800 in April 2020.
National the unemployment rate for April was 5.7 percent, compared to 14.4 percent the previous April. In New York, it was 7.8 percent in April compared to 16.2 percent the previous April.
Tompkins County had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 4.2 percent while Bronx was the highest at 15.0 percent.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 9:29 am
Summer recreation program set for 6 weeks
MEDINA – With the closing of the NAPA store on North Main Street, the Village Board has decided to remove the designated 15-minute parking spot.
A sign designating the spot from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is expected to be removed soon, possibly by the end of the day. NAPA had its last day on Main Street on April 30. The new NAPA corporate owner, Genuine Parts Company based in Atlanta, also acquired CarQuest. It moved the Medina operations to the CarQuest site on Maple Ridge Road at the Tops Plaza.
In other action during last week’s Village Board meeting:
• The board also approved a 6-week summer recreation program, and hired Taylor Schaal to be the director. The program is a joint effort by the village and towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.
The program starts June 28 and will include swimming at the school and a park program.
“We are going to go ahead with the program,” said Village Trustee Owen Toale, who serves on the Joint Medina Recreation Commission. “Not having anything last year wasn’t good. We have to do something for our residents.”
More details about the program will be forthcoming.
• The board hired Andrew Steel of Oakfield as a firefighter/paramedic and Braden Beutel as a mechanic who will work on village-owned vehicles, including for the police, DPW and Fire Department. Steel currently works for the LeRoy Ambulance Service.
• The board approved a transient business application for Phantom Fireworks to set up outside the Medina Lanes, a bowling alley on Maple Ridge Road, from June 20 to July 4 and sell sparkling devices and other legal fireworks. The permit is for 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day. The company needs to pay a $100 application fee and then $25 for each of the 15 days or $475 total.
• The village intends to apply for a grant for about $30,000 that would pay for an engineering study of Medina’s water system, prioritizing future needs for infrastructure upgrades, including waterline replacements, pump stations and the water tank. There will be a public hearing on the grant application at 7 p.m. on June 28 at the Senior Center on West Avenue. The funding would be through the state and could help Medina pursue a larger grant through the federal American Rescue Plan for infrastructure.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 June 2021 at 8:16 am
Photos courtesy of Shirley Roth: These bird eggs are shown in mid-May at a nest by a wreath at Shirley Roth’s home on Johnny Cake Lane in Barre. Roth provided an update on Tuesday of the hatched birds. “Babies are now here,” Roth said in an email. “Fun to watch them grow.”
It’s going to get hot in Orleans County later this week with high temps in the upper 80s and then into the 90s next week, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Today will be partly sunny with a high near 72, followed by a high near 71 on Thursday with showers likely and a possible thunderstorm after 2 p.m.
Friday is forecast to be partly sunny with a high of 77 while Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high near 86.
Sunday will be sunny with a high near 89, followed by 90 on Monday, and 91 on Tuesday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 June 2021 at 7:40 pm
The number of new Covid-19 cases since Friday is only 2 in Orleans and 3 in Genesee, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported today. That is down significantly from recent new caseloads in the two counties.
There has also been another death from Covid in Genesee County, bringing the total deaths due to Covid to 125 in Genesee. There have been 83 Covid-related deaths in Orleans during the pandemic.
In Orleans County the 2 new positive Covid cases brings the total to 3,085 cases in the pandemic since March 2020.
There is currently 1 Orleans resident hospitalized due to Covid.
Due to technology issues, the Health Department is unable to report ages and the number of people removed from mandatory isolation in Orleans. This information will be updated in the June 4th briefing, the Health Department said.
In Genesee County the 3 new positive cases bring the total to 5,312 cases during the pandemic.
The new cases include people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. There are currently 4 Genesee residents hospitalized due to Covid.
Genesee is reporting 18 more people have completed their 10-day isolation and been removed from mandatory isolation. The number of active cases in Genesee has dropped from 33 on Friday to 16 today.
New hires include deputies, dispatchers and a corrections officer
Provided photos: Pictured from left include Deputy Sheriff James White, Correction Officer Kyle Strickland and Deputy Sheriff George Barton taking the oath of office last week in the Orleans County Legislative chambers.
Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke
ALBION – Sheriff Christopher Bourke would like to take this opportunity to introduce six new employees who have been hired in 2021.
The Orleans County Legislature led by Chairman Lynne Johnson was gracious enough in allowing us to use the Legislature Chambers for this event.
Orleans County Clerk Nadine Hanlon performed the Oath of Office while the Sheriff, Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson and Communications Coordinator Allen Turner assisted.
Chairman Johnson, on behalf of all the Legislators, expressed her deep appreciation for the work performed by members of the Sheriff’s Office during these difficult times. Chairman Johnson reiterated the continuing commitment of the Orleans County Legislature to provide the Sheriff with the resources to keep our county safe and secure.
Sheriff Bourke thanked all in attendance wished the new hires well. Sheriff Bourke also personally thanked the County Legislature for their continuing support. I consider myself very lucky to live in a community that supports law enforcement agencies.
Pictured being sworn into office include from left include Correction Officer Jenna Raglan, Public Safety 911 Dispatcher Robin Boyle and Public Safety 911 Dispatcher Amy Strickland.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 June 2021 at 3:09 pm
Municipalities can’t ban marijuana after legalization by state; Sheriff worries about impaired drivers
Photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke said law enforcement agencies will adapt to the new state legislation for legalizing recreational use of marijuana, but he is concerned there will be more impaired drivers on the road.
ALBION – Orleans County municipalities have until Dec. 31 to decide whether they will opt out of allowing marijuana dispensaries, where people could purchase adult-use cannabis products.
The municipalities also need to decide by the end of the year if they will opt out of allowing onsite consumption at businesses such as a smoking lounge.
The towns and villages can’t overstep the state and ban recreational use of marijuana. But the towns and villages can prohibit dispensaries and smoking lounges.
It’s not an issue for the county government, but instead for the towns and villages, said Lynne Johnson, County Legislature chairwoman.
“It’s not a county-regulated issue,” Johnson said. “It’s a town and village one.”
She spoke with other local government leaders in the county during a monthly meeting last week for the Orleans County Association of Municipalities.
The state has approved a 13-percent excise tax on marijuana with a breakdown that includes 9 cents for each taxable sale to the state, 3 cents to the municipality that has the dispensary, and 1 cent to the county.
“I don’t believe the monetary gain with sales tax will counteract the negative effect in the long run,” Johnson said.
Municipalities that opt out wouldn’t be eligible for the 3-cent share of the 13-percent sales tax. The municipalities could also adopt zoning and limit the locations for dispensaries, including establishing certain distances from schools, churches and other houses of worship.
If the municipal board for a village or town decides to opt out, residents could push a permissive referendum, with the matter going on the ballot.
“It comes down to what your community wants,” said John Belson, the Lyndonville mayor.
Municipalities could decide to opt out, and later decide to “opt in” and allow the dispensaries and lounges, said John Sansone, municipal attorney for Holley, Murray and Clarendon.
If the municipalities don’t vote to opt out, then they are “opting in” and that doesn’t require a vote to allow dispensaries and the smoking lounges.
Sansone is also an assistant county district attorney, and that office led by Joe Cardone is concerned about public safety with recreational marijuana being legalized.
“It presents challenges,” Sansone said to the local officials.
Sheriff Chris Bourke said law enforcement may not easily be able to determine if a driver is “impaired” by marijuana. There isn’t a Breathalyzer machine to determine a level of impairment or the amount of marijuana in the system.
The local law enforcement agencies can have officers and deputies trained as drug recognition experts but that is a costly and time-consuming training, Bourke said.
“Our concern is how many more impaired drivers will we have on the road?” Bourke said. “We think quite a bit and are we prepared for that?”
Bourke said officers and deputies trained as drug recognition experts “are few and far between.”
The local government leaders also will need to look at employee policies for whether marijuana can be used during breaks, how to respond if employees come to work with a level of impairment, and whether the marijuana products will be banned for use on municipal grounds.
Bourke said he wants a “zero tolerance” policy for employees of the Sheriff’s Department. He said the workers face too many critical issues and need to be 100 percent.
“I don’t think a 911 dispatcher who has been smoking marijuana all day should come to work and handle 911 calls,” Bourke said.
Sansone said he isn’t sure whether municipalities could have a zero tolerance policy for a product that is now legal in the state.
That could depend on what jobs the workers have. A motor equipment operator, for example, may be subject to a no tolerance for marijuana while working.
“All town attorneys are likely working on this,” Sansone said. “It’s an issue that will likely be determined by lawsuits.”
Sansone said municipal leaders will also face the issue of how to determine impairment among the workers. Bourke said a simple “smell test” may be enough. He doesn’t want employees who smell of marijuana.
“If you are serving the public and reek of marijuana that is unprofessional and will be forbidden by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office,” he said.
ALBION – The Albion Police Department will be conducting a Child Safety Seat Check event in the parking lot of COVA on Saturday, June 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That is located at 239 South Main St.
This check event, which is sponsored by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and COVA, will allow parents and guardians to have their child seats inspected by a Child Safety Seat Technician. The technicians will determine if the child safety seat will provide adequate protection for the child or if a new child safety seat is needed.
The Albion Police Department received a Child Passenger Safety Program grant from the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. This grant funding allows the Albion Police Department to purchase child safety seats and other related items for conducting child seat inspections. The funding is used to provide child safety seats to persons who currently have seats that do not meet safety standards following an inspection conducted by an Albion Police Safety Seat Technician.
Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% when used correctly. However, misuse reduces effectiveness. More than 90% of child safety seats are used improperly. The Albion Police Department will continue to address this issue by participating in the New York State Child Passenger Safety Grant Program and conduct Safety Seat Inspection Checks.
Residents may call the Albion Police Department anytime at (585) 589-5627 and schedule an individual appointment to have their child safety seat inspected.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 June 2021 at 11:54 am
MEDINA – Life can be full of surprises.
Just ask Donna Graves of Medina and Debi Cone of Nunda, formerly of Holley.
The two met quite by chance when they discovered a unique connection.
Forty-four years ago, Cone’s mother, who lived on Child Street in Rochester, put three ceramic cats for sale in a yard sale. She had had the cats for a few years and when Cone was 5, she was helping her mother dust when she broke one of the smaller ones. She was so scared, she ran upstairs and hid, she said on Saturday, when she met Graves for the first time.
Graves’ brother, the late David Williams, was deaf and attending school at the National Technology Institute for the Deaf in Rochester when he purchased the three cats at that yard sale in 1977.
Donna Graves, left, and Debi Cone have a lot to talk about after Cone found three ceramic cats her mother had sold 44 years ago and Graves advertised them for sale online.
“He loved cats,” Graves said. “He had three real cats.”
After Williams’ death Feb. 10, Graves, who is retired from the military, came home from Florida to clean out her brother’s house, planning to have a yard sale during Medina’s Community Yard Sale on June 5. The cats, however, and several other special items, she advertised for sale on Marketplace online. She immediately got a call from a woman who wanted them, but the woman failed to show up as she promised.
Then Graves got another call – from Cone.
Cone begged Graves to hold the cats for her.
“They’re mine,” she screamed over the phone. “I think they were my mother’s and I’ve been searching online for them for years.”
She asked Graves where she had gotten them and to prove they were, indeed, her mother’s cats, Cone told about breaking one of the smaller ones and asked Graves to check the neck and she would see where it had been repaired.
Sure enough, there was a fine crack around the neck of the smaller one which had been repaired and which Graves had never noticed before.
Cone, who had recently moved from Holley to Nunda with her partner Mike Costello, told Graves they would come and get the cats on Saturday.
“It’s like she’s getting part of her family back,” Graves said.
Both Cone and Graves are the only surviving members of their family. Williams was Graves’ last surviving relative, and Cone lost her parents and sister in the span of a year in 2019-20.
Cone arrived with several pictures of the cats when her mother owned them. One picture, taken in 1968, shows Cone and her sister, whose name was Donna, sitting in front of the cats on a table in their mother’s living room.
Cone said her mother had purchased the cats in the 1960s from a department store called Gems. She said her mother had collected birds, but for some reason bought these cats.
Cone is going to put the cats in a case where nothing will happen to them, she said.
Graves said after she heard Cone’s story, she couldn’t possibly charge her for the cats. She’s just happy they are back home.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 June 2021 at 10:23 am
MURRAY – The Town of Murray is planning a 12-month moratorium on any applications for solar, wind, biomass or alternative sources of renewable energy.
Town officials want to look at Murray’s current ordinance for renewable energy and see if any updates are needed. The town may not take the full 12 months for a review of its ordinance for alternative energy, said Paul Hendel, a town councilman and Orleans County Planning Board member.
He spoke during last week’s Planning Board meeting, when the county recommended Murray approve the moratorium. No applications for renewable energy projects will be accepted or reviewed while the town has the moratorium.
This doesn’t apply to projects where the power is used for a homeowner. It only includes energy that is marketed or sold.
Alternative energy, especially solar, increasingly is being sought in Orleans County. Last week the County Planning Board reviewed four solar projects, with two in Albion, and one in Carlton and another in Kendall.
“As you can see renewable energy is active in many towns in the county,” Hendel said. “We want to take a pause and look at other towns’ laws to see if a rewrite is necessary.”
