By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 April 2021 at 9:28 am
County goes from lowest rate in early April to now tied for 3rd lowest
Orleans County in early April had the lowest vaccination rate among 62 counties in the state. But not any more. Orleans is moving up and is now tied for the third lowest rate.
The state’s Vaccine Tracker on Monday had Orleans and Fulton counties both at 32.8 percent of their populations with at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. That is ahead of Allegany at 29.9 percent and Tioga at 32.5 percent.
Orleans, despite its improvement in the vaccination rate, is still well behind the statewide vaccination rate (with at least one dose) at 44.3 percent and the nine-county Finger Lakes Region which is at 45.4 percent.
Less than three weeks ago on April 8 Orleans was at the bottom of all counties at 25.6 percent of the residents have had at least one vaccine shot. Bronx County was the next lowest at 25.9 percent, with Fulton at 26.6 percent, Tioga at 26.7 percent and Allegany at 26.8 percent.
Orleans has been holding many mass vaccination clinics to boost the rate, and has been accepting walk-ins at those clinics and has a helpline to help others make appointments.
Here is updated data on the vaccination rates.
Lowest vaccination rates in the state
Allegany County (46,430 population) – 29.9 percent with at least one dose
Tioga County (48,560 population) – 32.5 percent with at least one dose
Orleans (40,612 population) – 32.8 percent with at least one dose
Fulton County (53,591 population) – 32.8 percent with at least one dose
Bronx County (1,432,132 population) – 33.1 percent with at least one dose
Nearby counties
Wyoming County (40,085 population) – 35.4 percent with at least one dose
Genesee County (57,511 population) – 39.2 percent with at least one dose
Niagara County (210,433 population) – 42.6 percent with at least one dose
Erie County (919,719 population) – 47.3 percent with at least one dose
Monroe County (742,474 population) – 48.1 percent with at least one dose
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 6:12 pm
The Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments wants to work with local businesses to host a pop-up vaccine clinic for employees.
Businesses with 50 or more employees are urged to fill out a 4-question survey (click here) to show their interest in hosting a clinic.
The Health Departments note that all vaccine recipients must complete and pass a screening questionnaire to qualify for a vaccine.
Individuals must be at least 18 years of age to receive Moderna vaccine and 16 years of age to receive Pfizer vaccine. All individuals must be able to commit to a second dose vaccine to receive the first dose – 4 weeks after first dose for Moderna and 3 weeks for Pfizer.
In the survey, the Health Departments ask how many employees would be expected to receive the vaccine at the clinic, and whether the business has a facility where at least 20 people can be socially distanced by at least 6 feet.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 5:57 pm
Genesee County passes 5,000 Covid cases during pandemic
There are 52 more Covid-19 cases reported in Genesee and Orleans counties in the first update since Friday afternoon from the Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments. The 52 new cases bring the total to 7,862 for the two counties since the pandemic started about 13 months ago.
In Orleans County the 30 new positive cases bring the total to 2,842 during the pandemic. The new cases are in the West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby), Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre) and East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon). The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s.
Orleans is reporting that 3 of the new cases were people on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive
Orleans also is reporting 38 more of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.
There are currently three Orleans County residents hospitalized due to Covid.
Of the new cases, 2 are inmates at the Albion Correctional Facility where 52 have now tested positive.
In Genesee County, the 22 new cases push the county past 5,000 for a total of 5,020 during the pandemic. Genesee has 57,280 residents, according to the 2019 Census estimate, and 8.8 percent have now tested positive for Covid since March 2020.
The new positive cases in Genesee are in the West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke), Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield) and East Region (Bergen, Byron, LeRoy, Pavilion, Stafford).
Genesee is reporting 1 of the new positive individuals is a resident of the NYS Veteran’s Home, where 88 residents have now tested positive.
Genesee County is having computer issues so there is limited data for Genesee County today. More information about the county’s Covid caseload is expected on Tuesday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 5:17 pm
There are opportunities this week for Orleans County residents to get the Covid-19 vaccine at a mass clinic.
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have first dose Moderna vaccination clinics with appointments available targeting those who are 18 and older and open for any New York State individuals, who reside, work or study in the state.
There will be a clinic on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ridgeway Fire Hall on Route 104. As of 5:10 p.m., there are currently 116 appointment spots available. Click here to register.
There will be a clinic Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon at GCC in Batavia at the college’s athletic center. There are currently 169 spots available. Click here to register.
Walk-ins will be accepted at both clinics from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
“We want to see all of these clinics filled up with those who can also commit to returning for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine 28 days later,” said Paul Pettit, public health director in the two counties.
Vaccine registration help line: Both counties are offering vaccination clinic registration via phone – these numbers are for Covid vaccination registration only.
In Orleans, call (585) 589-3170. In Genesee, call (585) 815-7168. For both numbers ask for the vaccine registration help line. The vaccine registration help line is not associated with either Public Health Department. The individuals who answer the phone can only assist with registering for a Covid-19 clinic.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 4:55 pm
US population grew by 7.4% since 2010, from 308.7 million to 331.4 million
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the 2020 Census shows the country’s population grew by 7.4 percent or by 22,703,743 since the last Census in 2010. The population went from 308,745,538 to 331,449,281.
New York is losing a congressional seat – down 27 to 26 – despite the state growing by 4.2 percent or by 823,147 people since the last Census — from 19,378,102 to 20,201,249.
However, that percent growth was behind the national average of 7.4 percent.
New York’s clout has gradually diminished in the 435-member House of Representatives, dropping from 41 members in 1960, to 39 in 1970, to 34 in 1980, 31 in 1990, 29 in 2000, 27 in 2010 and soon to be 26.
New York was the country’s third most populous state in the 2010 Census, behind California and Texas. The new count puts New York as the fourth largest state, with Florida claiming the third spot. California is at 39,538,223, followed by Texas at 29,145,505, Florida at 21,538,187 and New York at 20,201,249.
States that lost congressional seats include New York, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
Six states are gaining seats with Texas getting two more and following get one more seat in Congress: Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Montana and Oregon.
Rob Ortt, the State Senate Republican leader whose district includes Orleans County, issued this statement about the loss of a congressional district in New York:
“Once again, New Yorkers are forced to suffer the consequences of One-Party Rule of state government, as we are now officially set to lose a congressional seat, according to today’s U.S. Census announcement.
“With the out-migration of more than a million people in the last decade, New York will lose federal representation and critical resources. We didn’t lose these New Yorkers to places like Florida and Texas ‘because of the weather.’ We lost them because we tax too much, we spend too much, and we fail to offer the opportunities that are available in more affordable states.
“It is an abject failure for the Empire State to be losing federal representation at a time when we should be leading the nation’s recovery. Our seniors, working families, small businesses, and all New Yorkers deserve better.”
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the online learner permit test for Class D (passenger vehicles) and Class M (motorcycles) is now available to New Yorkers statewide.
The announcement comes after the launch of an online permit application pilot program last year. This new service allows New Yorkers to begin the permit application process and take the test from the comfort of their home, saving the customer significant time in the DMV office.
“As we continue to reimagine the future in a post-pandemic world, we need to focus on modernizing and improving the way we provide essential government services to New Yorkers,” Governor Cuomo said. “This new online permit test will make it faster and easier for New Yorkers to begin the process of applying for a driver learner permit from the comfort of their own homes, improving the overall customer experience while also reducing congestion in DMV offices.”
Taking and passing the permit test online does not allow a person to drive. After passing the online test, the applicant must still come to the DMV office to obtain their learner permit, however, their visit will be quicker and more convenient and will allow a greater number of customers to be served.
To ensure customers bring all the documents they need to the DMV office, the new online application provides a checklist of the necessary identification documents and requires customers to upload those documents before they are eligible to take the online permit test. In participating offices, DMV representatives will then review the documents ahead of the customer’s appointment and advise if any corrections are needed, helping ensure the customer’s experience in the DMV office is as short and seamless as possible.
About the Online Permit Test
Before taking the permit test, the DMV encourages all customers to review the driver manual and take practice tests. Once a customer is ready to take the test online, they will first be asked to log into their NY.GOV ID account or create one if they do not have one already. This will help ensure the customer’s security when uploading their documents and will allow the customer to correct and re-upload their documents, if needed. Once a customer is logged in, has confirmed the type of permit they want, and uploaded their documents, they will be sent an email with a link to take the permit test online.
The online learner permit test on average takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. After successfully passing the online test, applicants will be asked to make a reservation so that they can go into a DMV office to have their picture taken and complete the application process.
All documentation that has been uploaded must be brought to the appointment. The documents must be originals or certified copies. Successful test takers have two years from the time they pass the test to schedule a reservation at the DMV and complete the application process.
All test takers must take the test without any outside assistance. A parent or guardian must supervise the test for 16- and 17-year-olds, and then must accompany the applicant to the DMV to finish the application process and certify that they supervised the test.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 1:49 pm
Provided photos
MEDINA – Boy Scouts from Troop 35 and Cub & Webelos Scouts from Pack 35 participated in Canal Clean Sweep on April 17 and filled several bags of trash.
The Scouts picked up garbage starting at the Culvert Road tunnel and worked on the area on the canal towpath to the Beals Road Bridge, and also about a mile east of Culvert Road.
Troop 35 and Pack 35 have registered with the Canal Clean Sweep program for the past several years.
“This is a great way for the scouts to earn their community service hours and help keep the community and its resources looking great,” said John Dieter, Scoutmaster of Troop 35.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 12:30 pm
Photos courtesy of Kendall Lions Club
KENDALL – The Kendall Lions Club and other community members held their annual cleanup day on Saturday. The top photo shows John Patt, a Kendall Boy Scout at left, and other volunteers.
About 30 volunteers picked up trash along Kendall roadways. Eric Maxon of the Lions Club chaired the event.
Lions Bob Slocum and Gary Crawford drop off the trash they collected.
Pictured from left include some of the volunteers: Stacey Baker, Stacey Lynaugh and Lion Zina Cappatelli
Lions Bob Furness and Bill Ingham cook hotdogs for the volunteers.
Ken Spohr is leader of the Kendall Scout troop. Several scouts and their families participated.
On Friday, Lions Club member Mike Cusimano visited fourth grade classrooms and gave each student a tree, which has been a club tradition the day before the cleanup day.
MEDINA – The annual meeting of the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will be held at the library on Monday, May 10, at 7 p.m.
Agenda items include voting on a trustee position, the presentation of the annual report and the presentation of the proposed budget. Trustee Steve O’Dea is seeking re-election to the Board for a five-year term.
The Board has prepared another conservative budget for 2021-2022. There will be no increase in the library tax with the amount unchanged at $546,285.
“The Board is sensitive to the pressures felt by taxpayers, particularly in the Village of Medina,” said David Schwert, Board President. “As fiscal stewards, we constantly strive to balance increased operation costs with a conservative revenue request. We are proud of our staff and our high standards of service.”
Residents of the Medina Central School District are invited to attend this public meeting. The library is located at 620 West Ave.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 11:17 am
OAKFIELD – The Oakfield Betterment Committee announced this morning that it has cancelled the Oakfield Labor Daze, a community festival on Labor Day weekend from Sept. 4-6.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us all to make difficult decisions,” the organization stated on its Facebook page. “It’s a terribly frustrating circumstance made yet worse by the uncertainty of COVID-19. The New York State gathering guidelines have made many planned events just plain impossible.”
The Betterment Committee said it is not in a position to enforce capacity limitations, and verify the status of vaccinations and testing for COVID, and other requirements.
“Labor Daze is also dependent on our wonderful sponsors and we also believe it is irresponsible to solicit donations during times where business are also struggling,” the Betterment Committee said. “OBC will continue to work with local and state government agencies in an attempt to bring something to our wonderful Oakfield-Alabama community. Thank you to our board, members, many volunteers, and sponsors for your continued support.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 11:03 am
Photos courtesy of Samantha Zelent
HOLLEY – Lily Newman and Allison Merle, students in the Holley Interact Club, carry bags with trash along the Erie Canal towpath on Saturday during the Canal Clean Sweep event.
There were 68 volunteers for the project and they covered 9 miles of the canal towpath in the school district, and also picked up garbage and debris along all of the village streets.
Holley Rotary Club member Jeff Martin, Interact students Grace McKeon and Sara Kingdollar, and Rotary member Krista Wiley worked together on a section of the towpath.
Two girls in front, Emma Brady and Samantha Bates, go trash-hunting in the park near the Holley Waterfalls.
Interact students Thomas Dobri and Mason Neale team with Sal DeLuca and venture into a grassy area in search of trash. The volunteers filled about 20 bags with garbage.
Breanna Girangaya, Libbie Pechora, volunteer chaperone David Weaver, Casey Onisk and Hayley Lipke teamed up on a section of the canal. Casey Onisk designed the shirts with an Earth Day theme.
The Holley Rotary Club and Interact Club hope to make the event an annual springtime tradition, said Zelent, a social worker in the junior-senior high school and co-advisor with Kelly Marzano, a chorus teacher at the school.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 9:37 am
Provided photos
MEDINA – The Medina Rotary Club was part of Saturday’s Canal Clean Sweep, with community organizations and residents along the canal system out picking up garbage along the historic waterway.
The Medina Rotary Club worked on the area near the Marshall Road bridge, taking the path west to Fruit Avenue. They filled several bags with trash.
The Rotary Club rejoined the cleanup effort this year. Some of the participants included Carl Tuohey, Jeanne Tuohey, Jackson Tuohey, Cindy Hewitt, Joe Pane, Ben and Lydia McPherson, David Nixon, and organizer Gary Lawton.
Lydia McPherson finds a can and other debris near the canal during Saturday’s cleanup.
Local resident Colleen Brakenbury also led a cleanup on Saturday in Medina for the Canal Clean Sweep. That group met at the Prospect Avenue bridge and went to the State Street canal bridge. They filled about 20 bags with trash.
The Medina Sandstone Society also is planning to pick up garbage near the Canal Culvert this Friday and may work on other areas as part of the United Way’s “Day of Caring.”
The Medina Lions Club is planning its annual environmental cleanup day on May 1. Volunteers will pick up trash from Medina village parks and streets, and spread mulch along the north bank of the canal in the village.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2021 at 9:02 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Dan Conrad and Christina Nenni on Friday are shown putting together activity buckets that will be distributed to local kids. Those buckets include toys, bubbles, jump ropes, paddle balls and other activities.
Conrad is coordinating the effort. He did it last year and was able to deliver 50 of the activity kits to children in Orleans County.
On Friday, he and a team of volunteers put together 38 of the buckets, and they will be doing more. Conrad promoted the project on Facebook and received $500 in donations right away.
He wants to do more and welcomes people to send him a direct message through Facebook on details for donating or for receiving a bucket.
Nenni, co-owner of Best of Tymes Party Rental with Michelle Wiseman, offered part of their space at the Arnold Gregory Office Building in Albion to store and assemble the kits.
Conrad said he got the idea for the activity buckets after seeing people promote wine, beer and meat fairies for adults last year during the Covid pandemic. Adults could sign up and receive bottles of wine and beer, or packages of meat.
“I saw all of the things for adults but there was nothing for kids,” Conrad said.
Provided photo: Lt. Steve Fox of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office picked up six of the buckets on Friday that will be distributed by the Sheriff’s Office.
Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan: The congregations of the United Methodist churches in Albion and Holley held a joint service today at the Disciples United Methodist Church in Holley/Clarendon on Route 237.
Article courtesy of Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon town historian
Linda Glantz (left) is the pastor for the two congregations. She is joined in addressing the congregation by Vonda Fossitt, the district superintendent.
CLARENDON – Religion was very important to the pioneers who made their way to the wilderness that was Orleans County in the early 1800’s. They brought their families and belongings to a strange place and the people who were their neighbors most likely were of similar circumstance and what brought them together was religion and hard work.
Today was history in the making as Albion First and Disciples United Methodist Churches came together to worship and to vote on the merger of the two congregations.
Albion and Holley have been faithfully serving their communities for many decades. Today District Superintendent Vonda Fossitt spoke to the two congregations. She oversees 100 churches including those in the Finger Lakes area and is the former pastor of the church in Albion.
“You will be embarking on a spiritual journey with this merger,”
Fossitt said. “I encourage you to learn how to hear God’s voice. God wants you to get this merger right and grow.”
Her message also included: “People should not lean on their own. Lean on God and listen to his voice. Trust in God and let him guide you.”
After the service was concluded Fossitt addressed the congregations and said: “Today is a big day, it is going to change your future and for me it’s a celebration.”
The congregations split up and went into separate rooms to conduct the vote. Pastor David Underwood spoke to and answered questions of the Disciples United Methodist congregation and District Superintendent Vonda Fossitt spoke to and answered questions of the Albion First United Methodist congregation.
They were instructed that they would be voting on the merger, a new name Disciples First United Methodist Church and on a new leadership council to carry out the legalities and paperwork.
The Disciples United Methodist congregation voted unanimously on the ballot to merge.
The Albion First United Methodist Church vote 15 yay and 1 nay to merge.
The two churches held a combined service for both congregations today.
The newly merged church, if accepted, will unite on the first Sunday of July. A celebration service is planned for July 11 at 10 a.m. with fellowship afterwards.
The period of time between the acceptance and the uniting celebration will be a time of preparation for the legalities of the merger. Each church will maintain its current status until the merger is completed.
The Albion congregation met for more than a century out of a building at the corner of Platt and East State Streets. It vacated that site in 2015, fearing the building faced a costly roof repair that church members said would take $1 million to fix. That proved too much for the congregation. The site has since been acquired by North Point Chapel.
The United Methodists in Albion started to share a building with the Episcopal congregation at Christ Church in Albion, before shifting to the same building with the Disciples congregation in Route 237.
Linda Glantz became pastor on July 1, 2016 of the United Methodist churches in Albion and Holley. For the first several years she went to both sites on Sunday mornings to lead services. Now the two groups will soon to be together as one body and for the same services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 April 2021 at 3:16 pm
Provided photos
MEDINA – Tessa Costich, a sixth grader at Wise Middle School in Medina, turned 12 on April 22. This year she didn’t want any presents. Instead, she asked family and friends to use money they would have spent on gifts to buy birthday kits that she could distribute to community groups.
So far Tess has put together 165 kits and donated some to the Gasport Food Pantry, Hands 4 Hope ministry and St Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Medina. She is looking to connect with another church to give away more of the kits.
The kits are a disposable tin pan, a box of cake mix, can of frosting, sprinkles, candles and party blowers. Some have vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, some red velvet cake. There have also been some cookie and brownie kits minus the frosting.
