Photo courtesy of Albion Police Department: Albion Police Officer Christopher Glogowski is pictured with elementary school students in this photo from February 2019.

ALBION – The school district agreed to keep a school resource officer until the end of the school year on June 30, 2022.

The Board of Education voted on Monday to renew a 2-year contract with the Village of Albion, at the same $81,250 rate. The contract keeps an officer committed at the district from Sept. 1 to June 30.

Chris Glogowski, an Albion police officer, has served in the role since February 2019, after the district didn’t have an SRO for several years. The Board of Education on Monday said Glogowski has proven to be “a valuable asset to the district.”

“He also has spent a large portion of his time working with our students and building a relationship with them,” the Board of Education stated in the contract agreement. “You can often find him greeting students when they arrive in the morning, along with a send-off wave at the end of the day. When he isn’t greeting students, you can find him in the classroom reading stories to students which he continued during our closure through recorded videos.”

If Albion is unable to assign an officer to the school, the contract will be reduced by $350 per day.

The school resource officer works under direction and supervision of the Albion police chief, but the school superintendent and building principals also can have input in the officer’s duties and job performance.

The duties of the SRO include but are not limited to law enforcement, investigation, education, counseling (as appropriate), and those items identified in a specific job description, according to the contract.

The officer will work normal school hours, Monday through Friday, and some major school social and sporting events.

The $81,250 contract with Albion is less than the $95,070 that both Lyndonville and Kendall pay the county to have a deputy assigned as school resource officer. With the county contract, there is no built-in overtime. If Kendall or Lyndonville district need overtime, that is invoiced separately.

Medina’s contract for a school resource officer has the school district paying the village $70,000 for services from a Medina police officer this school year.

WNY, most of upstate set to go from $11.80 to $12.50 an hour

(Editor’s Note: The minimum wage on Dec. 31 is scheduled to increase from $11.80 to $12.50 per hour in the state, outside of New York City and Long Island and Westchester County; and from $13 to $14 on Long Island and Westchester County. New York City’s minimum wage is $15 an hour.)

Press Release, State Sen. Robert Ortt

ALBANY — New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and members of the Senate Republican Conference today wrote a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, seeking a pause in the minimum wage increases on Long Island, Westchester, and areas outside of New York City on December 31.

Small and medium-sized businesses across New York State continue to face unprecedented challenges this year, and are struggling to keep their doors open while keeping their employees on the payroll. In order to keep employees and customers safe, these struggling businesses have made significant investments, but they are barely making it.

“Our small businesses are hanging on by a thread and in order to help businesses stay open and keep all of their employees,” Ortt said. “We cannot add any additional financial hardship at this time. The Governor has the power to temporarily pause minimum wage increases and we urge him to do so until the end of the pandemic. We do not want our small businesses to make the difficult choice of laying off workers or closing their doors because this becomes the final straw during the financial fragility of the pandemic.”

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) found that 90% of small businesses which received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans have entirely spent down those funds and are ready to begin the loan forgiveness process. The federal loan program was created to keep employees on the payroll, but even with this assistance and other programs, NFIB says 20% of small businesses believe they will shut down within six months. About 19% believe they will close within a year.

The scheduled increase to the minimum wage could make this crisis worse. But, the law allows for the temporary suspension of the increases based on a report and recommendation from the Governor’s Director of Budget. Postponing the increases until small and mid-sized businesses are on a sturdy financial footing post-pandemic will save jobs across the state.

First priority: nursing home residents and staff, high-risk hospital workers

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today he expects the first shipments of a Covid-19 vaccine to be available in the state, possibly this weekend.

The state is due to receive 170,000 doses in the first Pfizer shipment. The governor said the first doses of the vaccine will go to nursing home residents and staff, and high-risk hospital workers.

The state will develop guidance on who should be considered high-risk hospital workers (emergency room, intensive care units) but Cuomo said each hospital will decide who gets the first round of the vaccine.

The governor said the first does of the vaccine will be distributed by the following amounts per region: 11,150 in Finger Lakes Region (which includes Orleans), 14,500 in Western New, 4,500 in Southern Tier, 6,400 in Central New York, 19,200 in Mid-Hudson, 3,700 in North Country, 4,200 in Mohawk Valley, 7,850 in Capital Region, 26,500 in Long Island and 72,000 in New York City.

Cuomo said the state will launch a public education campaign to encourage people to take the vaccine. He said 75-80 percent of the population needs to take it for it to be effective in shutting down Covid-19. He said he is concerned that 50 percent of the population don’t trust the new vaccine.

Cuomo has offered to be among the first to take it to show his confidence in the vaccine. He said vaccinating the population is needed to allow the state and country to move on from the Covid crisis, which has caused the deaths of nearly 300,000 Americans since March.

HOLLEY – Orleans County Undersheriff Mike Mele has returned to his home in Holley after surgeries on a “severely broken leg,” said Sheriff Chris Bourke.

Mele was injured Saturday when he swerved to avoid a head-on collision on Route 31 near Tuthill Road. Another driver crossed into Mele’s lane due to slick roads.

Mele took a hard right turn to avoid an accident with that vehicle. His Chevy Tahoe left the road and crashed into a house.

Mele broke his right leg, cracked three ribs, suffered lacerations on his head and a brain bleed. Doctors at Strong Memorial Hospital put pins, screws and plates in Mele’s right leg, Bourke told local elected officials on a conference call Tuesday evening.

“Mike is looking at quite a long time to recover,” Bourke said. “He’s in a lot of pain.”

The Sheriff’s Office has received encouraging notes and phone calls from other sheriffs and undersheriffs around the state, as well as from the local community, Bourke said.

A group of pastors stopped outside Mele’s house on Tuesday to pray for his recovery.

“We appreciate all the thoughts,” Bourke said.

DSS organizing Christmas effort for 148 kids in the county

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Genesee County Deputy Robert Henning, left, and Orleans County Deputy Dave Foeller delivered boxes of toys on Tuesday to staff at the Orleans County Department of Social Services, with DSS staff Christina Tilbe, second from left, and Heather Manella helping to move the toys inside.

Stan’s Harley-Davidson in Batavia and Van’s Pit Stop in Clarendon collected toys to be given to families served by DSS. Stan’s collected seven boxes and Van’s, in its first year as a collection site, had one box for the effort.

The toys will be shared by DSS in Genesee and Orleans counties.

The local deputies also donated proceeds from “No-Shave November” to the DSS to purchase gifts for the kids.

Jesse Underwood, right, from Stan’s Harley-Davidson carries one of the boxes of toys. He said Stan’s customers gave more toys and bigger gifts this year for the drive.

“People were even more generous this year,” he said.

Orleans County Deputy Dave Foeller hands a box to Lisa Thrash, a caseworker with the Orleans County DSS. The deputies offered to transport the boxes for the annual drive.

Lisa Thrash carries a box inside the County Administration where the toys will be sorted. Jeanine Larkin, the DSS supervisor of foster care and preventive services, follows behind with boxes on a cart.

Larkin said the DSS staff is organizing an effort to provide presents to 148 children that they work with. They are trying to have at least two presents for each of the children.

Larkin said there used to be a holiday party for families and children at DSS, but that won’t happen this year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The DSS staff will instead be delivering the gifts. She said many county employees have purchased toys and presents for the children, and the staff at the county courthouse purchased 25 winter jackets for children.

Other community members, churches and organizations provide toys for the agency to give to the children.

“There is so much love and joy coming in,” Larkin said.

MEDINA – Construction work has resumed on a hotel being built on Maple Ridge Road.

The Wisconsin-based Bri-Mark is the company building the 58-room hotel in the Medina Business Park. The hotel was previously scheduled to open last March, until a work stoppage in December 2019. Then the pandemic hit and construction was not resumed.

“I’m very excited they are back and working,” said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for Orleans Economic Development.

No opening date has been set, she said.

The hotel was 80 percent complete when work stopped.

The new hotel, which will be named Cobblestone Inn and Suites, will be owned by Medina Hospitality.

Cobblestone Suites previously told the Orleans Hub that the company has carved a niche with a “mid-scale product” that isn’t an economy hotel or a “mom and pop” operation.

The company has about 150 hotels open or under construction in small towns. They range in size from 31 to 73 rooms, with 45 being the average.

Cobblestone Suites will be Orleans County’s first branded hotel. The Orleans EDA worked for about five years to bring the project to the community, seeing the hotel as a way to boost tourism revenue and keep visitors in the county longer, which should help local businesses.

Workers load furniture through a window of the hotel. Construction stopped a year and then a restart was slowed by the pandemic.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health has announced that Medina Memorial Hospital has been provided with the antibody medications approved by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization through the Federal and State Covid-19 programs.

“These medications are for patients who are confirmed positive for Covid-19 and have high risk complications that put them at a high risk for hospitalization”, said Kathleen Brauen, Pharm D. Director of Pharmacy at Orleans Community Health.

The drugs are Bamlanivimab and Casirivimab/Imdevimab.

Both drugs can only be given to non-hospitalized patients with mild or moderate symptoms only. They are an infusion and must be administered at the hospital. The infusion and observation period required are around two hours, Brauen said.

Patients interested in these drugs should discuss them with their healthcare provider to determine if they are a good candidate.

Any medical provider interested in setting up these infusions at Orleans Community Health for their patients can call Melanie Lusk in Care Management at 798-8490.

Events will be Wednesdays, starting Dec. 16, for 7 weeks or longer

KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County will offer free rapid testing for Covid-19 for the first time starting next Wednesday, Dec. 16, at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The testing is for people who are asymptomatic for Covid. Those with symptoms should consult with a medical provider on getting tested.

The events at the fairgrounds will be from 1 to 4 p.m. and are expected to last seven weeks. The times could be modified and there could be additional weeks depending on demand, Public Health Director Paul Pettit shared during a conference call with local elected officials today.

More details need to be worked out and the Health Department will be releasing more information soon about the rapid testing.

The public will need to register online, to help manage the traffic flow and stagger the arrivals. Pettit said more information and an online signup will be available soon.

People should enter the fairgrounds from Taylor Hill Road and go to the north side of the Trolley Building. After their test sample and results, they should exit from Wood Road.

Genesee County has offered rapid testing last Thursday and today at the Genesee County Emergency Management Office & Fire Training Facility on State Street Road in the Town of Batavia.

There were 400 people who were tested on Thursday and 470 today, with 32 positives today, said Pettit, who is public health director in Orleans and Genesee. The Genesee events are drawing people from six or seven counties, he said. Click here to sign up for the event at Genesee. An online registration hasn’t been set up yet for Orleans.

Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature chairwoman, said she appreciates free testing will soon be an option in the county.

She urged local towns and villages to dedicate some of their personnel to help run the events, which she said will take about 20 to 25 people to manage.

Pettit said the county officials have been pressing the state for months for free testing options in Genesee and Orleans.

“I think we’re finally moving the needle on this,” he said.

Provided photos: Teresa Wilkins (left), Holiday for the Holidays 5K race co-leader, is pictured with Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center Administrator Martin MacKenzie and Roseanne Velesko, one of the social workers at Orchard.

MEDINA – Teresa Wilkins, one of the organizers for the Home for the Holidays 5K in Medina, had meals delivered to nursing home and healthcare staff today and on Monday.

Wilkins and Debbie Tompkins are co-leaders of the 5K that was held on Nov. 28. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the race was capped at 50 participants.

There were 48 runners for the event, plus another 11 who did it virtually at another location or time.

Wilkins and Tompkins decided to use some of the funds raised from the race to buy lunch for the healthcare and nursing home workers, who are on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic providing compassionate care for the community.

Teresa Wilkins delivers gift cards to Nicci Nicholson, a social worker at Medina Memorial Hospital. The gift cards will cover a meal for the weekend staff at the North Wing.

Proceeds from the race paid for a pizza lunch for the staff at Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and the North Wing at Medina Memorial Hospital.

“We felt that this year we should honor our Hometown Heroes, and that the staff at both facilities have been impacted greatly this year,” Wilkins said. “It is small way to say ‘Thank you’ to them, and a lift of encouragement that they are doing a wonderful job. It also hits close to home since my own mother is a resident in North Wing, and the staff have become like family to her with all of the restrictions that are in place.”

Food was delivered to the North Wing staff on Monday for lunch and then for the night staff. The weekend shift will also get a meal.

Today, a pizza meal was delivered for three different shifts at Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.

Cusimanos’s Pizzeria in Medina donated four large pizzas as part of the effort.

Genesee and Orleans counties are reporting 44 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the two counties today. Genesee also is reporting two deaths from Covid, and Orleans also had a resident die from a Covid-related illness.

In Orleans County, there are 23 new positive cases, bringing the total to 741 positive cases since March.

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

Two of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said in an afternoon news briefing.

The resident who passed away from a Covid-related illness was community member over the age of 65 who wasn’t in a nursing home. Orleans has now had 59 people die due to Covid.

“We will not be releasing any further information to protect the individual and their family,” the Health Departments said. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this community member during this very difficult time.”

The county also reported 20 of the previous positive individuals recovered and have been removed from the isolation list. Six of the current positive individuals are hospitalized, which is down from nine the previous day.

• Albion Central School reported today that two elementary school staff members tested positive for Covid-19. Contact tracing and the quarantine of students and staff members was implemented according to Health Department guidelines, the district stated on its website.

• Lyndonville Central School was notified today that a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. The staff member was last on campus on Friday, Dec. 3. No students or staff need to be quarantined after confirmation from the Orleans County Health Department, the district stated on its website.

In Genesee County, there are 21 new positive cases for a total of 1,237 Covid cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Batavia, Bergen, Bethany, Byron, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield and Pembroke. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 70s.

The county is reporting 57 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list. Genesee has 17 people hospitalized due to Covid, which is down from 20 the previous day.

The two residents who died due to a Covid-related illness are both community members over the age of 65. They weren’t nursing home residents. Genesee has now had 10 people die this month due to Covid, and 17 during the pandemic.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments has a new format for announcing when there is a time when they can’t contact potential close contacts.

The above chart will replace several press releases and will be reported as needed.

“We encourage all businesses 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,” the Health Departments said. “This may eliminate the need for a press alert if we are able to contact potential close contacts.”

For people who were at these establishments at the state times and if symptoms of Covid-19 develop, contact your primary care provider to seek testing immediately and self-isolate until you receive your test results.

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: Click here to see an online map of confirmed cases in the three rural counties of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming. There are currently 422 active cases in the three counties, with 231 in Genesee, 92 in Orleans and 99 in Wyoming. That is down from the 449 in the three counties on Monday, which was the peak for active cases during the pandemic.

The three-county combined numbers were down even though the active cases are up in Orleans (from 89 to 92) and Wyoming (from 91 to 99). Geneses’s active cases dropped from 269 to 231 since Monday.

Provided photos: William Scribner of Lyndonville has been promoted Chief of Police, VA WNY Healthcare System.

William G. Scribner was recently promoted to Chief of Police, VA WNY Healthcare System. Scribner has been working with the VA Police since February 2016, soon after he retired from the Albion Police Department.

Scribner started with the Batavia VA as a police officer and was promoted to Deputy Chief of Police in August 2018. On Nov. 17, 2020, he was selected as Chief of Police and confirmed by Washington D.C. on Dec. 4.

Chief Scribner’s vision for leading the VA Police in WNY includes continued emphasis on community policing, professionalism, teamwork, trust and remaining veteran-centered.

Chief Scribner also is an adjunct instructor at the Law Enforcement Training Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, assisting with developing the Interview & Interrogation Course and teaching this new course.

Scribner retired from the Albion Police Department as a sergeant in August 2015.  During his law enforcement career he was the training coordinator at Albion, a member of the Orleans County Multi-Agency SWAT Team and worked as a Narcotics Investigator for the Orleans County Drug Task Force.

He also served as a police instructor at the Police Academy through Genesee Community College since 2000 and a staff member at the Academy since 2008. He retired from the Academy in February 2020.  Bill also served with the Medina Police Dept and New York State Park Police during his career. He was a grant writer receiving over $100,000 worth of grants for Police Departments.

Dena Scribner is shown with her husband, VA Police Chief William Scribner, holding a United States American Flag. This flag was flown at the Buffalo VA Medical Center and the Batavia VA Medical Center in honor of Dena Scribner in recognition of her service to the VA Police and veterans. Dena Scribner is a co-founder of the annual Veterans’ Halloween Party.

Scribner also is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He served as a Security Policeman, Trainer and Criminal Investigator from 1989-1994. He volunteered and served a tour of duty in the Southwest Theatre of operations during Desert Storm in 1991, and received the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Medal and Kuwait Liberation Medal.

During his time in the Air Force he was named Law Enforcement Specialist of the Year in 1991 at Homestead Air Force Base, Fla. He was named Homestead Air Force Base Airman of the Year in 1991, Ninth Air Force “12 Outstanding Airman of the Year and Tactical Air Command’s Security Police Professional of the Year in 1991. In 1992 he was named Law Enforcement Specialist of the Year at Clear Air Force Station and received the Air Force Space Commands “Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award.” During his time as a municipal police officer, Chief Scribner was named New York State “Top Cop” in 1999 and 2000.

The Chief received his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice with Honors from Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh in May 1995 and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Society, Excellence in Academics. He attended the Police Academy at the Rural Police Academy at GCC in Batavia, graduating in 1997. He received the 1st Place Firearms Award and 2nd Place Academics Award. He has attended over 3,500 hours of additional local, state and federal law enforcement training during his career.

Chief Scribner is a former Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor of the Village of Lyndonville for 10 years. He also served as a volunteer firefighter for over 13 years for the Lyndonville Fire Department.

Chief Scribner has been married to his wife Dena and recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in September 2020. He has two stepchildren, Joshua Bowman and Casey Durow, and 2 grandchildren Colton and Brae’lyn. Bill is the son of Harold and Eloise Scribner of Lyndonville.

Local State Assembly members, Steve Hawley of Batavia and Michael Norris of Lockport, are among eight members of the Assembly who signed a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

They are asking FEMA to ensure adequate funding for projects to protect Great Lakes shoreline communities and surrounding habitats. Within the letter to FEMA Administrator Peter T. Gaynor, the eight Assembly members requested the federal government omit cost-sharing requirements that may come with a potential FEMA grant due.

“The people of our shoreline communities have already had to manage both flooding in recent years as well as the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hawley said. “If we do not prepare now for future flooding, things could become much worse for them given rising water levels in the Great Lakes. We need to be proactive in preparing our infrastructure for rising water levels, because every day we are not the problems our shoreline communities will have to face become more dire.”

Others signing on to the letter include Brian Manktelow, Ken Blankenbush, Mark Johns, Peter Lawrence, Mark Walczyk and Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay.

The Assembly members said state and local governments will likely struggle to meet any cost-sharing agreements for potential FEMA grants due to fiscal stress from the pandemic.

“We request that the federal government omit this cost-sharing requirement to ensure these shoreline communities do not face additional economic hardship, as they have already been affected by recent flooding events on top of the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to the letter.

Provided photos: Justin Niederhofer (right), the outgoing Carlton fire chief, presents the President’s Award to his mother Valerie Niederhofer on Monday evening. Ed Cooper, president of the Carlton Volunteer Fire Company, is at left.

CARLTON – The fire company presented awards on Monday from 2019. Those recognitions would have been presented at an early spring banquet but that was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Fire company leaders were hopeful the awards would eventually be presented in a gathering with firefighters recognized in front of their peers. But the recent spike in cases and hospitalizations in the county makes an indoor banquet unlikely in the near future.

Jacob Marks, left, is presented with the Chief’s Award from Justin Niederhofer, the Carlton fire chief.

Fire Chief Justin Niederhofer and President Ed Cooper decided to give out two special awards from 2019 on Monday evening.

Cooper gave the president’s award to Val Niederhofer. She is the mother of current fire chief Justin Niederhofer. Justin’s brother Andrew also has been fire chief, and their father, James “Dutch” Niederhofer, served in the role in the early 1990s.

Val Niederhofer has been a key supporter of the fire company for decades.

“She is the most selfless person you could ever meet and is so dedicated to this community and to the firefighters/EMT’s of our town,” Justin Niederhofer said. “There are so many that don’t or won’t find time to take classes, yet she will take classes for stuff she most likely will never use just to fill a seat so that she can make sure the other responders in our department are afforded the opportunity to get much needed training.”

Niederhofer presented the Chief’s Award to Jacob Marks, who committed himself to many training classes to be an asset to the community as a firefighter and EMT.

“Thank you Jake Marks for all that you did to make my first year as chief easier, being there when I needed you, the line needed you, our community and the neighboring communities needed you,” Niederhofer posted on Facebook today. “Most don’t complete their fire or EMT classes in the first year and Jake did both! So proud of the progress you have made and the challenges you have overcome and I am so looking forward to all the great things you will do in the future. Our town is truly a safer place because of you!”

Niederhofer earlier this year accepted a job with the county as deputy emergency management coordinator. He didn’t seek another term as fire chief after two years.

“This year has brought about many challenges that we thought we would never see in our lifetime, but we faced them head on as the professionals we are and served our town proudly,” Niederhofer said in a message to the firefighters.

The officers for the Carlton Volunteer Fire Company in 2021 include:

• Fire Chief Dale Niehaus
• 1st Assistant Chief Andrew Niederhofer
• 2nd Assistant Chief Seth Dumrese
• Captain James Fisher
• 1st Lieutenant Matt Hughson
• 2nd Lieutenant Noah O’Kissick
• President Ed Cooper
• Vice President Richard Brakenbury
• Secretary Val Niederhofer
• Treasurer Tom Yockel
• Board of Directors: James Heiler was chosen to serve a second three-year term.

Press Release, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension

Master Gardener Brenda Radzinski holds a finished centerpiece Saturday.

KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension kicked off the holiday season with a series of small wreath-making classes open to the public last week.

Typically the class has extra greenery that is usually composted or taken home by volunteers for their own holiday décor. This year, however, Master Gardener vice-chairperson Janelle Flammger thought those leftover greens could be used in a better way.

“We talked at our meeting about how this holiday season would be different for so many people and how we could give some people a little boost,” Flammger explained. “I thought why not use the leftover plant material from wreath-making to make centerpieces that we could donate.”

Most years the Master Gardeners have a holiday party in December to celebrate another successful year of fun and educational programming. With the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing restrictions, the entire season of their typical programming was cancelled.

This year, instead of their usual holiday party, the volunteers decided to get together to make holiday arrangements and gift them to various organizations. And so, this past Saturday, with cheerful holiday music playing in the background, six Master Gardener volunteers gathered at Orleans County CCE to get creative and spread a little joy.

“This is such a fantastic way for our volunteers to really support their neighbors in a festive and heartwarming way,” said Katie Oakes, coordinator of the Master Gardener volunteer group and Horticulture Educator at Orleans County CCE. “And so many of our community members were impacted by the pandemic this year, especially those in medical or long-term care facilities. We realize that everyone’s holidays will look a little different this year, and our volunteers just wanted to spread a little cheer in whatever way they can.”

Oakes reached out to the Orleans County Office of the Aging Director Melissa Blanar for ideas of locations to donate the centerpieces to. In addition to Medina Memorial Hospital and Orleans County’s two resident nursing and rehabilitation centers (Oak Orchard Rehabilitation in Medina and The Villages in Albion), volunteers donated festive arrangements to Supportive Care (formerly Hospice of Orleans County), long-term adult care facilities, and congregate meal sites at various locations in the county.

Orleans County CCE staff and all of our dedicated volunteers are wishing all the residents of Orleans County a safe and happy holiday season.

Master Gardener Nancy Halstead used fresh pine and fir branches to create one of the centerpieces.

This centerpiece was delivered to Supportive Care of Orleans in Albion.

BARRE – The third annual Barre Lighted Tractor Parade is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Tractors should show up on East Barre Road by 5:15 p.m. They will then head north on Route 98 to the Barre Town Park. No RSVPs are needed in the event planned by the Barre Betterment Committee.

Last year the event went on despite heavy snow. This year there is a pandemic. Organizers urge spectators to adhere to social distancing and wear facial coverings.

About a dozen tractors participated in the parade on Dec. 14 last year during heavy snow. This year the forecast shows a good chance for rain, but no snow during the event.