MEDINA – Saturday in Boxwood Cemetery, veterans and members of the community are invited to gather at noon to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families and teach the next generation about the value of freedom.

According to information from Kathy Blackburn, who started the national Wreaths Across America project in Medina, this gathering takes place in local and national cemeteries in all 50 states – most recently at more than 2,000 participating locations as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.

Medina will be placing 261 wreaths at veterans’ graves, the most since it joined the program in 2013. The first year there were seven wreaths at Boxwood. The wreaths cost $15 each.

Each year, a new theme is chosen to help volunteers and supporters focus their messaging and outreach in their own communities. The theme announced for 2020 is “Be an American Worth Fighting For.”

The inspiration for this year’s theme came from a keynote address by Sgt. Daniel Strong during the 2018 escort to Arlington welcome stop at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (Monty Tech) in Fitchburg, Mass.

As an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps, Strong lost 18 Marines during his service, three of whom were his friends when he was a lance corporal, six as their squad leader and the remaining nine as their platoon sergeant. Each impacted Strong in a unique way as he witnessed first-hand what true sacrifice was and experienced the ripple effect it has on all involved.

LYNDONVILLE – A new Dollar General store has been proposed for downtown Lyndonville at the former Crosby-Whipple Oil Corp. service station.

The Broadway Group, a commercial real estate developer from Huntsville, Alabama, is proposing to demolish and remove the Crosby-Whipple building at 30 North Main St. It would be replaced with a 7,200-square-foot Dollar General with 29 parking spaces.

The site is in a historic district and the building needs a “certificate of appropriateness” from the Village Planning Board.

Tara Mathias, development manager, met this evening with Planning Board members through Zoom video conferencing. She said the store can be designed in a way that fits in with the other buildings in the district.

She said the new store would revitalize the downtown and be convenient to the local residents.

“It’s just a quick trip down the street to the neighborhood store,” she said.

The building is on a 1-acre site and will need variances for setback distance. The store is the smallest building offered by Dollar General at 7,200 square feet. Most of the stores are over 9,000 square feet.

Patricia Gawne, a member of the Planning Board, asked why Dollar General wants another store only 4 miles from the one at the corner of Route 63 and Ridge Road in Ridgeway. That 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store opened in October 2014.

Mathias said Dollar General wants to cater to their customers, and there currently isn’t a Dollar General in the village.

Barbara Champlin, owner of the EZ Shop in Lyndonville, said the store will hurt the locally owned businesses in the community. She saw her grocery sales go down 30 percent when the store on Route 104 opened.

“I’ve seen the downside of these big corporate businesses coming in,” she said during the meeting this evening.

The Broadway Group will continue to work on the site plan and will apply for variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The village engineer, the MRB Group, said some of the drainage will be improved at the site by increasing a sewer line from 8 to 12 inches.

The village wants to make sure a retaining wall is adequate to protect the property from when there are rising waters at Johnson Creek.

The store plans to have eight to 10 employees, Mathias said.

The Planning Board also discussed two other projects in the village.

• Taller Communications Tower: SBA Communications wants to extend the cellular phone tower at 246 West Ave. by 25 feet to accommodate microwave dishes and additional equipment. The tower is currently 225 feet high.

Village officials believe the tower was originally 190 feet high and this would be the second extension. The MRB Group will review the project to make sure the tower would be structurally sound. There is a chance the company would need an easement from neighboring property owners if the fall line would extend into a neighbor’s property.

The project will be sent to the Orleans County Planning Board for its review and opinion.

• Solar project: Panek Farms wants to have a solar array constructed at 15 Linwood Drive. The project would generate 340 kilowatts of electricity to be used by the farm. The array would have 960 panels and run about 1,000 along the edge of the property in a spot that isn’t active farmland. Panek Farms is working with Solar Liberty on the project.

The solar panels would be set off from the road. When corn is high for several months a year the panels won’t be visible to people driving by or any neighbors, said Jim Panek of Panek Farms.

Steven Vann, the Planning Board chairman, wants the village engineer to review the project. Dan Wolfe, the village code enforcement officer, said the ground-mounted solar project is an allowable use because the electricity will be used by the farm and isn’t a utility-scale project.

The Planning Board next meets at 6 p.m. on Jan. 20.

400 tested with 12 positives for Covid-19; Next county clinic on Monday

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Motorists line up outside the Trolley Building at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds to give self-administered Covid-19 rapid tests.

This was the first free rapid testing clinic offered in Orleans County. There were 360 people tested, as well as 42 personnel who ran the clinic. Of those 402 tests, there were 12 people who were positive for Covid-19. (None of the personnel were positive for the virus.)

The 12 positives out of 402 tests is a positivity rate of 3 percent. That is much lower than the county’s positivity rate the previous seven days, which was 9.6 percent, the highest of the nine counties in the Finger Lakes Region. The Orleans rate on Tuesday was 12.6 percent with 19 positive tests out of 151, according to state data.

Today’s clinic was targeted for asymptomatic individuals. Genesee County had a testing clinic on Tuesday and 60 of the 550 people tested were positive.

“The goal is to identify the positives and get them into isolation to reduce the exposure and not spread it out into the community,” said Paul Pettit, public health director in Orleans and Genesee counties.

Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer, carries a test to another volunteer inside the Trolley Building. The volunteer personnel all wore fitted N-95 masks and face shields.

The state paid for the test kits and the county needed to organize the clinic and find the personnel for the testing. Justin Niederhofer, deputy director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, took the lead in organizing the testing clinic and fitting all of the personnel for N-95 masks.

Jack Welch holds one of the nasal swabs which people would self-administer, putting it in a lower nostril for 5 seconds. The results would come back in 15 minutes, with the personnel texting or calling people with their results. They will also receive an email.

The cars are lined up just before the start of the rapid testing clinic at 1 p.m. The drivers and passengers were first screened at the start at a trailer for the Orleans County Emergency Management Office.

Roxanne Wagner, a secretary at the Holley Junior-Senior High School, was among the volunteers at today’s clinic. She puts a testing kit in a plastic bag. Bill Fine is next to her. He also volunteered today.

The county will be offering the testing clinics weekly until at least the end of January. The clinics will usually be on Wednesdays but next week will be on Monday from 1 to 4 p.m. An online registration link is available by clicking here. The clinic will be on Monday next week so it’s not so close to Christmas.

Bill Fine, left, and Paul Grout look closely at one of the test kits to see if the results are negative or positive.

This group of volunteers include Dan Doctor, Medina Central School’s director of community outreach. Many of the local school districts, towns, villages and county departments had personnel at the testing clinic.

“Everything ran smoothly,” Pettit said.

The county had a reduced capacity today for the first testing clinic with about 400 people tested. That will be expanded to 480 tests for the next one on Monday.

Oak Orchard Health also will be offering free Rapid Covid-19 tests at Oak Orchard’s Albion location on Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Click here for more information.

There are 90 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported today in Genesee and Orleans counties. The two counties also have 58 recoveries from Covid, thr genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported.

In Orleans County there are 28 new positive cases of Covid-19 for a total of 931 cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Albion, Barre, Carlton, Kendall, Ridgeway and Shelby. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Of the new cases, 10 of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

The county is also reporting 25 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

Orleans also is reporting 2 of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.

• Albion Central School was informed today that a staff member in the elementary school tested positive for Covid-19. The last day the staff member was in school was Friday, Dec. 11.

Contact tracing and the quarantine of students and staff members was implemented according to health department guidelines, the school district stated on its website.

• Kendall Central School is reporting its first high school student has tested positive for Covid-19. The student was last in school on Thursday, Dec. 10. Health Department contact tracers will contact people if they are deemed a close contact and need to quarantine, the district stated.

Kendall also reported later in the day a second student at the Junior-Senior High School has tested positive and the Health Department will soon start contact tracing to see if there are any close contacts.

In Genesee County there are 62 new positive cases, bringing the total to 1,572 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Alabama, Alexander, Batavia, Bergen, Bethany, Byron, Darien, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield, Pavilion and Pembroke.

The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Of the new cases, 12 are in nursing homes, including the first six cases at LeRoy Village Green Residential Healthcare Facility. There were also six new cases at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in Batavia, and one new confirmed case at the VA Medical Center.

Genesee is reporting 33 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

Genesee has 24 residents hospitalized due to complications from Covid, which is the highest its had during the pandemic.

• 3-county data (active cases increase from Tuesday): Click here to see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. There are currently 446 active cases in the three counties, which is up from 417 on Tuesday. The 446 is three shy of the pandemic high of 449 on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10.

In the three counties, Genesee has 200 active cases (up from 184 active cases on Tuesday), Orleans has 137 (134 on Tuesday) and Wyoming is at 109 (99 on Tuesday).

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The start of the Niagara-Orleans League swim season has once again been delayed as the result of a decision made by the Section VI Executive Committee today.

Swim practice had been scheduled to begin on January 4 but the Executive Committee voted to further delay the start of winter sports until January 18. The Section had previously made the decision to pause the season until January 4.

“We as a Section remain committed to conducting our winter sport seasons,” said Section VI President, Brett Banker. “We are hopeful that by making this difficult decision, we are giving our communities, health departments, school officials and families just a bit more time.”

Last week, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) made the decision to cancel all winter state championships and in doing so, has given Sections the opportunity to extend out the traditional winter season.

“We are encouraged by the measured and cautious reopening plan that the Department of Health and Governor’s Office have endorsed,” continued Banker. “Schools are opening up. By starting winter sports on January 18 it allows us time to examine the numbers after the holiday season and gives athletic departments time to better prepare.”

“By delaying the winter season, we are hopeful that as the Governor examines high risk sports, the data will yield something different than what has been assumed since August,” added Banker. “Our athletes, coaches and athletic departments continue to implement and follow mitigating measures that have proven to keep athletes safe during practice and competition and we are confident these same measures will have the same result in sports that have not been permitted to play, yet.”

Destructive insect seen as threat to agriculture

Photo by Michael Houtz: The Spotted Lanternfly as an adult.

Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is calling on Congress to deliver $16.066 million in funding to combat the spotted lanternfly, an invasive species that threatens specialty crops, including grapes, across the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley.

In a letter to appropriators, Gillibrand called for full funding of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Specialty Crop Pest program in the final FY21 Agriculture Appropriations bill, and specifically provide $16.066 million for the spotted lanternfly, consistent with the House funding level.

“The spotted lanternfly has proven to be an invasive and destructive pest that threatens New York State’s specialty crops, especially vineyards throughout the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley,” Gillibrand said. “If not contained, this pest will have devastating economic consequences on agriculture, tourism, and residential homes, at a time when our economy needs these industries for a strong recovery. Congress must ensure the Specialty Crop Pest program is fully funded to prevent further spread.”

The spotted lanternfly is thought to have arrived in the United States in 2012. According to Cornell University, the first infestation was found in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014.

“Although quarantine measures were taken in the infested townships and efforts were taken to eradicate this pest, spotted lanternfly has proved difficult to contain,” Gillibrand wrote Dec. 11 in a letter Sen. Richard Shelby, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. “It is imperative that this pest is contained before it further invades the Eastern Seaboard and eventually makes its spread across the United States.”

ALBION – District Attorney Joe Cardone is leading an effort to gather information and study whether it makes sense to have district courts in Orleans County, rather than 10 town courts.

Joe Cardone

Joe Cardone, the district attorney the past 28 years, is gathering information from the 10 towns on how much they spend annually for their justice courts, with salary and benefits for judges and court clerks, as well as other costs – security utilities and equipment.

Cardone said the data could show the court system locally could be more efficient and offer better service with district courts, which might be set up with one court for western Orleans, one in the central towns and one on the eastern end.

“This is something we’re looking at as a possibility,” Cardone said during a recent meeting with local elected officials at the village, town and county level. “I think we should at least keep our eyes open to the different possibilities.”

Orleans municipalities have already taken steps to make the courts more efficient. Albion and Medina about a decade ago abolished their village courts, with the function handled by the towns. Shelby and Ridgeway use the same building – the Shelby Town Hall – for court. Many of the towns have also eliminated one town justice position and have one person in the role, with agreements with neighboring towns to fill in when needed.

If the local municipalities decided to have a multi-jurisdictional district court, they would need state approval, Cardone said.

The study should show how many judges and support staff would be needed for a district court, and whether the community would be best be served with the existing 10 town courts, or one, two or three district courts.

“We want to study the issue,” Cardone said. “I don’t think we’re doing our jobs if we don’t study it.”

The DA also is compiling information on code enforcement in the local towns and villages to see if it would be better to have centralized code enforcement through the county.

The DA’s office is gathering the data from the local municipalities on the code enforcement budgets for 2020 and 2021, with the salary and benefits of personnel, as well as other expenses.

Some counties, such as nearby Wyoming County, run code enforcement through the county, where there is a full-time presence. In Orleans, most of the municipalities have part-time code officers.

“Right now with codes we are lacking standardization and consistency,” County Legislator Ken DeRoller said at a recent meeting with the Orleans County Association of Municipalities.

HeBrews 5:9 serves more than coffee – prayers and praises embraced

The coffee shop displays prayer requests and praises.

ALBION – Jim Nowaczewski moved to Albion two years ago drawn initially by the low-priced real estate.

He liked the small town feel, and the diversity of the community, and he said he has been blessed with friendly neighbors.

Nowaczewski, who grew up near Buffalo, was working for a safety company about a year ago, a job promotion that took him to southern California. He worked out there until May, when the Covid-19 pandemic prompted him to live more simply. Southern California “was insane” with the traffic and the fast pace.

Nowaczewski, 37, thought one day he would run a coffee shop. He was thinking that would be years in the future.

But Nowaczewski said he felt a calling and passion to open the shop now – in the midst of a pandemic in downtown Albion.

He opened the doors of HeBrews 5:9 on Nov. 28 during the “shop small” celebration of small businesses in Albion and across the U.S. The coffee shop soon picked up positive reviews from community members on social media.

“It has exceeded my expectations so far,” Nowaczewski said. “I didn’t grow up here but I’m already feeling the support of the community.”

He isn’t running the normal coffee shop. HeBrews has a Christian flavor, with a bulletin board to display prayer requests and praises. Even the name is a book of the Bible, and Hebrews 5:9 is a Bible verse that states: “and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

The name “HeBrews” for the Albion coffee shop also sends a message that men are encouraged to stop by. Nowaczewski said many coffee shops seem to cater to women. He wants everyone to feel welcome at HeBrews. The 5:9 in the name comes from the business’s address at 59 North Main St.

Nowaczewski said he became a Christian five years ago and wants HeBrews to be a ministry for the community. He wants the location to be edifying, but he doesn’t want people to feel like religion is being pushed “down their throats.”

The prayer and praise board already is filled with notes from customers, with most of the messages left anonymously.

“I believe prayer does something,” Nowaczewski said. “It brings the community together to bear one another’s burdens. And the praises show a grateful attitude.”

Jim Nowaczewski serves up coffee at the HeBrews 5:9. He offers a monthly subscription for coffee and curbside service.

He sees a downtown coffee shop as an important metric in the quality of life for a town. He wants college students and teens to feel welcome to stop in for conversation, to plug in their devices and use the internet.

“It can be a change of scenery from their room,” he said about the increasing number of students who are doing remote learning at home.

Other professionals or people needing a charge – caffeine or WiFi – are welcome to stop by.

“Coffee shops are a litmus of the vibrancy of a community,” he said.

He also has offered the space inside to book groups and others looking for a group discussion.

Nowaczewski senses that people are increasingly polarized and stressed. He wants HeBrews to offer a safe place to relax and have candid, but non-threatening conversations.

“This is just a place where we can be people again,” he said.

Nowaczewski is experimenting with the hours and the menu. Right now he is open 6:30 to noon, and then 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

He has a monthly subscription for coffee where those customers can text their order and Nowaczewski will bring their coffee out for curbside service. He also makes tea and hot chocolate.

He sells baked goods from Pretty Sweet Bakery in Albion and soon will be offering homemade bagels from Papa Thom’s Rockin’ Bagels.

KNOWLESVILLE – Local officials were notified this week there will be one more food distribution in Orleans County this month, in what might be the final one in the program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

The schedule had Dec. 11 as the last distribution of the year, but a new one was added for this Friday at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. There will be 300 boxes of produce and 300 boxes of dairy given away, beginning at about 8:30 a.m. Each vehicle will get one of each box.

All cars must enter the Fairgrounds on Taylor Hill Road. If the line extends out of the Fairgrounds, the line needs to go south on Taylor Hill Road so no traffic will be backed up on Route 31.

‘We really need to buckle down.’ – Paul Pettit, public health director

ALBION – Orleans County has the highest percentage of positive cases in the Finger Lakes over the past seven days and on Monday.

And that is in a region which leads the state for the highest percentage of positive tests – 8.17 percent on Monday.

“We’re trending in the wrong direction,” Paul Pettit, the county’s public health director, told local elected officials in a conference call this evening. “We really need to buckle down.”

Orleans has had far fewer Covid cases than neighboring Genesee in recent days and weeks. But Genesee is testing a lot more people and has a lower positivity rate. That rate is one of the key indicators the state uses in determining whether an area will be designated a yellow, orange or red micro-cluster with added restrictions on businesses, schools and for gatherings.

Orleans had a 9.7 percent positivity rate on Monday and has a 9.5 percent rate the past seven days. The Finger Lakes Region has had the highest positivity rate each day among the 10 regions since Dec. 7, averaging 7 to 8 percent nearly every day.

Here are the rates among the nine counties in the region:

• Genesee: 4.9% on Monday (27 out of 555); 8.6% over 7 days
• Livingston: 6.0% on Monday (33 out of 546); 6.1% over 7 days
• Monroe: 7.9% on Monday (548 out of 6,949); 8.7% over 7 days
• Ontario: 7.6% on Monday (46 out of 602); 7.1% over 7 days
• Orleans: 9.7% on Monday (17 out of 175); 9.5% over 7 days
• Seneca: 4.4% on Monday (8 out of 181); 6.3% over 7 days
• Wayne: 6.7% on Monday (34 out of 504); 6.1% over 7 days
• Wyoming: 7.6% on Monday (19 out of 249); 7.9% over 7 days
• Yates: 3.7 % on Monday (3 out of 81); 5.6% over 7 days

The City of Batavia and an area with the Batavia zip code was designated a yellow zone on Monday by the state. That is a precautionary zone with the least restrictions of the three zones. (Orange and red are more restrictive.)

Pettit said Orleans is trending towards a micro-cluster designation. He urged the community to adhere to social distancing, wear face masks when in public buildings, stay home if showing symptoms and try to avoid social gatherings of any size.

Those gatherings are responsible for 74 percent of the Covid spread in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Pettit, who is also public health director in Genesee County, said the gatherings, even three or four people, are big factors in the local spread as well.

“What we know about Covid is it does a very good time of spreading in close gatherings,” Pettit said.

Many people are contracting the virus at work and then bringing it home, where it spreads to family. If friends come over, it can spread from that indoor social gathering, Pettit said.

These are the percentage of positive tests by each region the past three days.

KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County has already had a big response to the first day of free rapid Covid testing in the county with 480 people already preregistered for the event on Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m.

The county expects to offer the events every Wednesday until late January at the Fairgrounds. People should enter from Taylor Hill Road and then will exit on the east side of the property on Wood Road.

All of the slots for the self-administered test are full for tomorrow, and a new link will be posted on Thursday for people to sign up for the testing on Dec. 23.

The focus is for asymptomatic individuals. Genesee County has already had four of the events, with all of the slots filling up beforehand.

For both Genesee and Orleans, the Health Department advises the following guidelines:

• You must pre-register for any of the county clinics.
• If you have a printer, complete the GO Health Intake Form (click here) and bring it with you. If you completed the Intake form online please print it out and bring it with you. If you don’t have a printer, the form will be provided for you at the clinic.
• Make sure you have a pen in your vehicle.
• Everyone in the vehicle is to have their mask on when they pull up at the testing site.
• For those who are getting tested, they may get a call fairly quickly from an unknown number…please answer the phone. Staff cannot leave messages and can only give results to the individual tested or the guardian of minor children. Hard copy results will be e-mailed within 48 hours if we have a valid e-mail address.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are reporting 83 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 today for the two counties.

In Orleans County, there are 19 new positive cases of Covid for a total of 903 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Albion, Carlton, Clarendon, Kendall, Murray, Ridgeway and Yates. The individuals are in the age groups of 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Five of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive. Orleans also is reporting 24 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

Three Orleans County residents are currently hospitalized due to complications from Covid-19.

In Genesee County, there are 64 new positive cases of Covid-19 for a total of 1,510 cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Alabama, Alexander, Batavia, Bergen, Bethany, Byron, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield and Pembroke.

The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. (Three of the new positive cases are residents at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation.)

Genesee is reporting 50 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

Genesee has 24 residents hospitalized due to Covid, the most during the pandemic.

• Health Alert – This is a new format for announcing when there is a time when the G-O Health Departments cannot contact potential close contacts. This will replace several press releases and will be reported as needed.

The Health Departments encourage all businesses and organizations to take down names/contact information and time in attendance at their business to assist with contact tracing should someone be positive for Covid-19. This may eliminate the need for a press alert if the health officials are able to contact potential close contacts.

For people at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Batavia on Dec. 6, between 10 and 11 a.m., they should monitor for symptoms of Covid-19. If the symptoms develop, contact a primary care provider to seek testing immediately and self-isolate until the test results are received.

Symptoms of Covid-19 include but are not limited to fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.

• 3-county data (active cases increase from Monday): Click here to see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. There are currently 417 active cases in the three counties, up from 409 on Monday.

Genesee has 184 active cases (173 on Monday), Orleans has 134 (132 on Monday) and Wyoming is at 99 (104 on Monday).

Local group wants to reach goal of 5,000 completed surveys

Local leaders trying to document the needs for high-speed internet in Orleans County are pleased so far with the response to a survey of residents about their internet access and needs.

In the two weeks the survey has been available online, 1,700 people have responded, with 20 percent of those 17 or younger. (Click here to see the survey.)

Other notable feedback in the survey so far:

• 17% of residents who responded do not have internet at home, and of those, 88% do not have an option of purchasing it.
• Only 21% of respondents said that their internet is very reliable.
• Females are participating in the survey at a rate of 2 to 1 to males.

Mary Beth Debus, president of Program Savvy Consulting, shared some of the early results of the survey with the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative Steering Team. That group has a goal of 5,000 surveys from the community. The more data from local residents, the better the county can document the situation in the community for internet access and need, and can make a stronger case to potential funders, Debus said.

“Our ability to attract funders will be enhanced by being able to show the degree of engagement on this issue,” Debus said. “The participation in the survey is one way to measure engagement.”

The Orleans County United Way received a $50,000 grant to study the issue. It has hired a consultant who has interviewed school, business and community leaders on the issue. Debus prepared the 48-question survey for residents to share about their internet access and how it affects them. The online survey will be available soon in Spanish.

The United Way has formed a steering committee for the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative. The committee includes Dean Bellack, executive director of the Orleans County United Way; County Legislator Ken DeRoller; Kelly Kiebala, director of the Orleans County Job Development Agency; Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County; and Greg Reed, director of the Orleans County YMCA.

Debus is interviewing community members and expects to have the surveys tabulated for a report in March. That information will allow the county to then pursue funding through the state or federal government, or through at least 20 foundations.

ALBANY – Rob Ortt has been unanimously re-elected by his Republican colleagues in the State Senate as the conference leader.

Rob Ortt

Ortt, a North Tonawanda resident, has a district that includes Orleans, Niagara and part of western Monroe counties.

“I’m proud that my colleagues put their confidence and faith in me to lead the New York State Senate Republican Conference,” Ortt said. “I am prepared to work tirelessly to put forward an agenda that helps ensure all New York families across the state thrive. It is time to bring back affordability and say ‘NO’ to higher taxes. I, along with my Republican colleagues will make it a priority for our small businesses to succeed now more than ever and continue to promote economic development growth.”

The Senate Republicans saw their numbers shrink after the November election and Democrats now have a supermajority, 43-20. That gives them enough for a super-majority where they could override a governor’s veto.

The Democrats in the State Senate re-elected Andrea Stewart-Cousins as their leader on Dec. 7.

“During our first session as the Democratic Majority, we enacted historic legislation to protect and expand New Yorkers’ rights and build a stronger and fairer state for all residents,” Stewart-Cousins said. “The voters clearly supported our efforts and agenda as they elected the largest majority in Senate history and the first modern Democratic supermajority. We will use this mandate to help lead New York State forward as we address the ongoing pandemic and rebuild from this economic crisis.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Metro Environmental in Niagara Falls uses an excavator to knock down a house a 221 West State St. in Albion today.

The house is one of three that were badly damaged in a fire on Dec. 5. This house suffered the most damage and village officials wanted it taken down because it posed a threat to the neighborhood, said Kevin Sheehan, the village’s code enforcement officer.

“This house is a danger,” Sheehan said. “It’s a hazard. They are knocking it down and taking it away.”

The neighboring houses on each side also may be removed. Insurance adjusters are reviewing those structures. Sheehan said they don’t pose an imminent threat to the neighborhood, like the one at the corner. The village closed off a section of the East Academy Street in front of the house, out of concern the structure might topple.

Before Metro Environmental started knocking down the house, the village was able to assure the company the site was cleared of explosives after the FBI and ATF checked the scene.

The fire started when a resident, Gary Tarr, was testing fireworks he made in the garage at 221 West State St. Tarr mixed compounds with fireworks in the garage and lighted a small portion of one to test it, Albion police said. That set off a series of explosions, destroying the garage with the fire spreading to the three houses. Tarr faces felony charges of reckless endangerment and arson.