Big celebration on horizon: Orleans County’s bicentennial in 2025

This stack of photos has people who aren’t labelled. Cooper said she would welcome input in identifying this lady in the top photo.

ALBION – The new Orleans County historian in settling into much bigger office space. The historian was working out of the basement in the Treasurer’s Office at 34 East Park St.

Last month the office moved to the upstairs of the building. The computer services department was using the space but moved to the new addition at the County Administration Building.

That left six rooms available for new historian, Catherine Cooper. She has space to process items, organize and store them.

Cooper started in the part-time position on Sept. 14. She retired in June after 33 years at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina, including 10 years as director.

“This position is like an extension of being a librarian,” Cooper said. “You help people find things.”

One of her immediate goals is to take stock of all the photographs and printed materials in the historian’s office. There are many boxes to go through.

“I want to organize and position the collection so all of the contents are findable,” she said.

Catherine Cooper holds a photo of retired County Historian Bill Lattin. This photo was taken on May 3, 1984 by Louis Monacelli. Lattin served in the role for 35 years. He retired Dec. 31, 2014. Cooper said Monacelli left a trove of photos where people are identified and the date recorded on the photographs.

Cooper praised her predecessor Matt Ballard for his efforts in organizing parts of the collection and digitizing some important records. Ballard also wrote a weekly column of local history and gave frequent public presentations.

The new office for the historian looks out at the Orleans County Courthouse and County Clerks’ Building.

Bill Lattin, who served in the role for 35 years before retiring on Dec. 31, 2014, also was superb in the role, writing a local column for the newspaper, giving many public presentations and authoring many books on local history.

Cooper plans to write columns, too, but not at Ballard’s pace. She will work with the local town and village historians. A big anniversary is around the corner. The county’s bicentennial is in 2025. That year is also the 200^thanniversary of the Erie Canal opening across the state.

Cooper would like to begin preparing for the county’s big birthday. “There will be a big gala celebration,” she said.

She also is intrigued by older local barns and would like to create a “barn census” with local barn owners sending in photos and information on those structures. Cooper regrets that many of the older wooden barns have collapsed in recent years.

She is grateful for the space in the historian’s office. She finds she can spend hours looking through the photos and records.

“The time really flies by,” she said.

Cooper has office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. She can be reached in the office at (585) 589-4174 or at Catherine.Cooper@orleanscountyny.gov.

Lynne Johnson warns against ‘Covid fatigue’ as cases go up

ALBION – Orleans County residents are urged to support local small businesses this holiday season and also to take precautions against the spread of Covid-19.

“Small businesses are in trouble,” said Lynne Johnson, the chair of the Orleans County Legislature. “They are barely keeping themselves alive through this pandemic. We need to give them a lifeline. I can’t stress enough we need to shop local and we need to shop often.”

Lynne Johnson

Johnson and the other county legislators held a Zoom video conference with Darlene Hartway on Monday. Hartway delivered a message that the locally owned small businesses are worried about surviving the pandemic.

Covid-19 restrictions pushed more customer traffic to Big Box stores and online shopping, hurting the businesses on Main Street.

The holiday season comes at a time when Covid cases and hospitalizations are surging locally, in the region, state-wide and across the country.

If Orleans was designated a micro-cluster focus zone by the state, local businesses could see more restrictions. Johnson urged residents to continue to take precautions by wearing masks, social distancing and using hand sanitizer frequently.

“Covid fatigue is setting in right when it can be the most dangerous,” Johnson said on Tuesday during a Zoom conference call with elected officials. “We are facing our toughest test of the pandemic.”

Most of the recent surge is attributed to Covid spreading in-doors at house gatherings. New York is one of at least 15 states to set limits of 10 people for gatherings in private residences.

“It only takes one positive person who can spread it,” said Paul Pettit, public health director in Genesee and Orleans counties.

He said people don’t tend to wear masks in a private setting. Those gatherings are fueling some of the local spread, he said.

Orleans and Genesee are also seeing spread from workplace settings where some asymptomatic workers are passing it to co-workers who then take it home to family members.

“We’ve had several clusters where it was driven in the workplace,” Pettit said during the Zoom call on Tuesday.

If urged people who have symptoms to stay home from work or school and get tested to verify if they have Covid-19.

Local law enforcement has responded to 300-plus PAUSE complaints during pandemic

ALBION – Orleans County law enforcement wasn’t called to investigate any complaints on Thanksgiving about people exceeding a 10-person limit on gatherings inside private homes, Sheriff Chris Bourke said.

“I was expecting to get a lot of those and we did not receive any,” Bourke told local elected officials in a Zoom conference call on Tuesday.

There were only eight complaints in the state on Thanksgiving about the 10-person limit, Bourke said, quoting a survey from the New York State Sheriffs’ Association. That survey included responses from 46 of the 62 counties in the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said there weren’t any fines in the state on Thanksgiving for exceeding the 10-person cap.

Bourke said local law enforcement continues to respond to “New York on PAUSE” complaints, where customers or employees can call a hotline or file a complaint online to report a business that isn’t adhering to social distancing or mask wearing.

Of the 311 complaints filed during the pandemic in Orleans County, Bourke said 171 have been handled by the Sheriff’s Office, 63 by the Medina Police Department, 47 by the Albion Police Department and 30 by the Holley Police Department.

Bourke said the Sheriff’s Office uses “friendly persuasion” in responding to the complaints, making sure the businesses know the rules and understand the threat of Covid-19.

Bourke urged the businesses and community to treat Covid-19 seriously. He said one of his neighbors has died after contracting Covid, and the brother of a corrections officer died after getting Covid.

ALBION – The public health director in Genesee and Orleans counties said he is concerned by the increasing number of being hospitalized with Covid-19.

Paul Pettit

That is the reality in the two counties, statewide and nationally, said Paul Pettit, public health director for the two counties.

Genesee currently has 12 people hospitalized due to Covid, while Orleans has six. In Orleans County, there are currently 37 active Covid cases and six are in the hospital. That 16 percent is a high percentage of people with severe symptoms after getting Covid, Pettit told elected officials in Orleans County during a Zoom conference call on Tuesday.

In Genesee the 12 people hospitalized are out of 207 active cases or 6 percent.

“It is troubling, the severity of the cases,” Pettit said. “We are seeing people with more challenging symptoms.”

During the summer and early fall, Pettit said most of the local Covid cases were people who were asymptomatic or who had mild symptoms.

“Now we’re seeing a significant increase in hospitalizations,” Pettit said.

The hospitalizations have been rising fast in the state. They were at 3,774 on Monday. That’s up from the 1,151 on Nov. 1, and 2,124 on Nov. 16. The state passed 3,000 on Nov. 25 with 3,056.

Nationally, there are about 100,000 people hospitalized with Covid, the most during the pandemic. On Nov. 11, the U.S. had 60,000 people hospitalized with Covid.

Free tests for people who are asymptomatic, but may have been exposed to Covid

BATAVIA – Genesee County will offer residents, who are asymptomatic with free drive-thru Covid-19 self-administered rapid testing on Thursday.

The free testing will be offered from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Genesee County Emergency Management Office & Fire Training Facility, 7690 State Street Rd. in the Town of Batavia.

For anyone with a recent potential exposure to Covid-19, it is not recommended to be tested until at least 5 days have passed since the exposure. Anyone with any cold or flu-like symptoms, even if mild, will not be eligible for this test, and neither will any others arriving in their car.

This is for people without symptoms or who are not feeling sick.

Those interested in scheduling a test must register on-line (click here). Anyone needing additional help for online registration may contact the Genesee County Health Department at 585-344-2580 ext. 5555.

“It is very important to note that this testing is not for residents who are experiencing symptoms,” said Paul Pettit, public health director in Genesee and Orleans counties. “Those individuals should be contacting their physician to discuss treatment and testing options. Given the surge of infections in the county, it’s important that we identify those who are infected that may not be demonstrating any symptoms and in fact are feeling fine.”

At the drive-through site, a staff member for the testing center will offer guidance for residents to administer their own self-test by using a cotton swab. Each person in a vehicle will self-administer their own test. If there is a minor in the car, an adult in the vehicle will be asked to administer the test. People will then drive off and will be contacted via phone with the results, with option for these results to be emailed as well.

“If a person who is asymptomatic tests positive for the virus, he or she will need to be in isolation for a minimum of 10 days,” Pettit said.  “While this might discourage people from getting tested, we need to work together as a community to reduce the surge, plus someone who is asymptomatic can still infect a loved one who is not.”

Pettit said he expects additional rapid testing opportunities in the near future in Genesee and Orleans counties.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Jail had 13 corrections officers and three inmates test positive for Covid-19 last month.

ALBION – Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke said the county jail had 13 corrections officers test positive for Covid-19 last month, with one of the officers hospitalized and on a ventilator for two days.

Bourke said most of the staff who tested positive were asymptomatic or had minor symptoms.

“Everybody has recovered and is doing well,” Bourke said on Tuesday on a Zoom conference call with other elected officials in the county.

The jail has about 45 staff members total. In addition to the 13 corrections officers, three inmates tested positive for Covid last month.

The jail is at about a quarter of its 82-inmate capacity.

Bourke said there are no in-person inmate visits right now. Friends and families of inmates can use the Video Visitation System.

There also won’t be weekend jail sentences served during this current surge in Covid cases in the region. Bourke said those sentences have been suspended, and not eliminated with the time to be served later when the Covid cases go down.

District Attorney Joe Cardone also said the county court system is back to functioning mostly through virtual appearances. There will be very few in-person appearances. Cardone said three upcoming trials that were scheduled have been postponed because juries can’t be picked due to restrictions with the Covid pandemic.

Judges also can’t sentence people to jail until February, Cardone said in the conference with local officials.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The lawn at Courthouse Square is covered in snow this morning. Snow showers could continue before 9 a.m. with up to an inch of snow possible, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Today is forecast for a high of 36, followed by sunny with a high of 44 on Thursday, rain showers and cloudy with a high of 43 on Friday, and a chance of showers and cloudy with a high near 40 on Saturday.

A plow truck heads north on Main Street in Albion this morning. The plow trucks didn’t see much work in November.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are reporting 9 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Orleans and 8 in Genesee.

However, the number in Genesee is likely higher. Genesee is listed by the local health department as 960 total cases since March, but the state has the number of cases in Genesee at 1,041.

“Our goal is to make sure the data provided to our communities is as accurate as possible. In order to provide accurate numbers, case investigations include contacting the individuals, of which some are not county residents,” the Health Departments said in a news briefing this evening. “This will show discrepancies between the local numbers and the state numbers. The numbers reported are those cases we have accurate data and have had contact with the individual and all their subsequent contacts.”

In Orleans County, the 9 new positive cases bring the total to 632 confirmed cases since March. The new positive cases reside Barre, Clarendon, Murray, Ridgeway and Shelby.

The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. One of the individuals was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Orleans also is reporting 11 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.

The Health Department also said one of the new positive cases was recovered prior to the department receiving the test results and is being included in the recovered data.

The number of hospitalizations increased to 6. On Friday, there were two Orleans residents hospitalized due to Covid-19.

In Genesee County, the new cases are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Genesee has also had 126 of the previous positive individuals recover and be removed from the isolation list.

One of the individuals identified at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at

Batavia and one of the individuals identified at the Batavia VA Medical Center have been identified as out-of-county residents and have been removed from the Genesee facility and total count.

Genesee currently has 12 residents hospitalized due to Covid-19.

Message from the G-O Health Departments: We can’t stress enough the importance to limit time with non-household members. Continue to do your best to limit the spread of Covid-19 and the flu by frequently washing/sanitizing your hands, wearing a mask/face-covering over your mouth and nose when out in public and keeping at least 6 feet from non-household members.

If you are not feeling well, please stay home and contact your primary care provider for guidance.

Mickey Edwards, former Albion teacher and principal, has been leading Byron-Bergen school district

ALBION — The Board of Education has picked an Albion graduate to be the next district superintendent.

Mickey Edwards

Mickey Edwards started his career in Albion as an art teacher. From 2007 to 2009, Edwards was the Principal at Charles D’Amico High School. He also served as the Assistant Principal at Carl I. Bergerson Middle School for four years and interned as Dean of Students in Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School. Edwards lives in the district in Kent. His three children all graduated from the district.

The Board of Education this evening appointed Edwards to be superintendent. He is expected to start in mid-January to February 1, 2021.

“I am incredibly honored and grateful to the Board of Education for extending me the opportunity to serve as Albion’s next Superintendent of Schools,” Edwards said in a news release from the district. “My hope is to bring my experiences, skills and network of contacts to the district and help build upon our mission of Achievement, Character and Success for Life. I look forward to being a part of the team and serving our community together.”

After graduating from Albion, Edwards spent four years active duty in the United States Marine Corps before beginning his career as a teacher at Albion.

After working at ACS, he was the Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction at Orleans-Niagara BOCES before gaining six years of experience as a superintendent. In 2014 he was appointed as the superintendent at Wyoming Central School District. He was there two years before being hired in 2016 as superintendent at Byron-Bergen Central School.

Under his leadership, Byron-Bergen Junior-Senior High School has been named to US News and World Report Best High Schools in the Nation for the last two years. Additionally, Edwards resurrected an agriculture and FFA program in the district after the program’s 40-year hiatus and worked to increase the amount of advanced college courses offered at the high school, including AP and Genesee Community College ACE Courses. He also implemented a program for trauma, illness and grief in the district to address the social and emotional needs of staff, students and families.

“The ACS Board of Education is pleased to welcome Mickey Edwards as our next Superintendent of Schools,” according to a statement from the board. “With input from stakeholders, the Board set out to find a superintendent who was a proven leader, of unquestioned integrity, with proven collaboration and communication skills and an ability to improve student performance and programs. We believe Mr. Edwards embodies not only these characteristics and qualities, but so much more. His experience as superintendent in two previous districts will allow him to hit the ground running, while his background as a lifelong Albion resident and Purple Eagle will provide him with a deeper understanding of school and community needs and the drive to fiercely advocate for our students.”

When he was at Albion previously, Edwards was on the committee that developed the district’s mission statement of “Achievement, Character, and Success for Life,” and still firmly stands by it. He believes the mission statement “needs to be part of everything we do, not just words on a wall.”

Edwards serves on a number of committees and boards across the Genesee Valley region including chairman for Career & Technical Education Committee, member of Legislative Committee, a representative in the House of Delegates for NYS Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) and the Board of Directors for Rural Schools Association and Genesee County Business Education Alliance.

“We would like to thank the students, parents, teachers, staff and community members who participated in focus groups and completed the superintendent search surveys,” the BOE stated. “The input provided was invaluable, and gave us the guidance we needed as we reviewed applications and interviewed candidates for the position.”

The cover of the 2021 Erie Canalway Calendar features A.T. McLean’s winning photo of the Butternut Creek Aqueduct, located in the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park in DeWitt. Calendars are available for free beginning today at libraries and visitor centers throughout the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

Press Release, Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor

WATERFORD – The public is invited to pick up a free 2021 Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor calendar starting today at selected libraries and visitor centers throughout the National Heritage Corridor. The calendar features winning images from this year’s Erie Canalway photo contest.

“The calendar showcases the unique beauty, history, and character of New York’s canals and canal communities,” said Bob Radliff, Erie Canalway Executive Director. “We hope it inspires people to preserve and celebrate our incredible canal heritage.”

Calendars will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, thanks to generous sponsorship by the NYS Canal Corporation.

“The 2021 calendar celebrates our iconic Canal System by displaying brilliant photographs as captured by many of our canalside neighbors, and I encourage everyone to retrieve one while supplies last, so that they too can enjoy these spectacular scenes all year long,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton.

Editor’s Note: The public libraries in Albion, Brockport, Holley, Medina and Middleport are among the locations listed as having the calendars. (Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina is closed to the public until Dec. 7.)

Click here to see a list of locations where the calendar is available. For people who don’t live in the Canal Corridor, you can request a copy by emailing erie_canal@nps.gov.

Cory Pawlaczyk took this photo of a sunrise along the Erie Canal in Medina. It is featured in September in the new calendar highlighting Erie Canal scenes.

Administrator says state mandates dominate tax levy

ALBION – Orleans County officials went over a proposed $73 million budget for 2021 that would increase the tax levy by 1.66 percent. That stays under the county’s allowable tax cap of 1.75 percent.

The county had $314,749 in allowable growth in the levy. The budget came in with about a $15,000 cushion before hitting the tax cap, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer. The 2021 budget is his first one since taking over as top administrator in March.

The budget would increase spending by 2.16 percent, from $71,711,638 to $73,262,025. The tax rate would increase by 1.11 percent or 11 cents, from $9,87 to $9.98 per $1,000 of assessed property.

“The 2021 budget moves us in the right direction, keeps the services our residents depend on, stays within the tax cap and fights Covid,” County Legislature Chair Lynne Johnson said during a budget hearing on Monday evening.

That hearing was conducted through Zoom video conferencing due to Covid-19 concerns and restrictions. About 40 people participated in the Zoom conference.

The Legislature is scheduled to vote on the budget at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a meeting to be conducted through Zoom.

Johnson praised the county employees for their efforts the past eight months during a pandemic. All of the departments have needed to change the way they provide services.

The Covid pandemic has been “the greatest public health threat” during the lifetimes of the current legislators and cunty officials, she said.

“The departments stepped up and mobilized like never before,” Johnson said.

She also praised the county workforce for their sacrifices. There were 34 employees temporarily laid off in late April and 10 other positions weren’t filled due to fiscal constraints from the pandemic.

The proposed budget would eliminate 8 full-time jobs and 12 part-time positions from 2020. The county will down 8 full-time positions from 333 to 325.

Department heads followed the push from the Legislature to submit “no frills” budgets, Johnson said.

Johnson remains hopeful the federal government will come through with a relief package for local governments. But with no funding yet approved by Congress for localities, Johnson said the county officials had to act and craft a budget that stays under the tax cap but also maintains existing programs.

“It is our investment in people and services,” she said. “It shows we are here to serve you and continue to serve you in a responsible way.”

Nine mandated programs from the state account for more than 90 percent of the tax levy, Welch said. Those “9 for 90” mandates and their county cost include: Medicaid, $8,121,776; Pension, $3,054,489; Public Assistance/Safety Net, $1,802,337; Child Welfare/Protection, $1,336,399; Special Education, $971,931; Probation, $759,299; Indigent Defense, $536,053; Youth Detention, $302,650; and Early Intervention, $204,688.

Those nine mandated costs add up to $17,089,622, or 93 percent of the $18,309,497 tax levy.

Some other highlights include:

• The budget allocates $2,577,00 in capital projects — $1,225,000 for highway reconstruction with state CHIPS money (down 20%), $1,152,000 in preventive maintenance on four bridges (funded through federal TIP funds), and $100,000 in county funds for culvert and bridge repairs, and $100,000 in local funds to patch and seal county roads.

• Sales tax is currently slightly above the receipts in 2019. That convinced county officials to budget $400,000 more in sales tax in 2021, to $16,175,000.

• The budget also maintains funding to outside agencies. They didn’t face a funding cut, and they didn’t get an increase.

Those agencies and organizations in the budget include: $240,000 to Cornell Cooperative Extension, $190,000 to Orleans Economic Development Agency, $92,500 to Soil & Water Conservation District, $10,000 to be shared among four public libraries, $5,000 to Mercy Flight, $4,000 to Sportsmen Federation, and $3,000 to GO Art!

• The fee for solid waste and recycling service will be $216, which is a 2percent increase from 2020.

• The budget also calls for 2 percent raises for the seven county legislators. Their pay will go from $18,496 to $18,886 for the chair, $13,985 to $14,265 for the vice chair, and from $12,329 to $12,576 for the other five legislators.

Medina Railroad Museum repeats as grand champion

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina Railroad Museum was named grand prize winner of Saturday’s 12th annual Parade of Lights. There were about 20 displays in the parade.

MEDINA – Winners of Saturday’s Parade of Lights have been announced by the parade committee, chaired by Jim Hancock.

For the second year in a row, Medina Railroad Museum was the Grand Prize winner for their float of a lighted railroad station.

“This year was quite different from previous years,” Hancock said. “We were so thankful to have as many entries as we did.”

Because of the Covid pandemic and restrictions on crowds, the Parade of Lights Committee came up with the idea for a reverse parade. Floats were stationed throughout the Medina Central School Campus, while vehicles drove through and viewed them.

Orleans County Tourism, which had a fishing-themed float in the “parade,” estimated 1,800 cars passed through the school grounds. Cars started lining up before 4:30 p.m., in anticipation of the 5 p.m. start.

Traffic filled village streets from Oak Orchard and Park Avenue to the Pickle Factory, Gwinn Street, West Avenue and Main Street, at times a steady stream through intersections and across the railroad tracks.

When it became evident all the cars could not make it through by the 8 p.m. closing time, float participants agreed to stay until everyone had seen the parade. This took until 8:45 p.m.

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, the following prizes were awarded:

Best in Class – Not for Profit: Knights-Kaderli Memorial

Fire Company: Middleport Fire Department

Service Clubs: Little Bits 4-H Club

Business: Party Tents Plus

Religious: Grace Baptist Church

Other: Orleans County Tourism

Littlest Elf Award: Cub Pack 18

Littlest Elf Award: Cobblestone Girl Scouts.

Star Award: Red Rose Landscaping.

Santa’s Pick: Parker’s Pit.

The East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company was among the Community Spirit Award winners.

Community Spirit Awards – Case-Nic Cookies, Calvary Tabernacle, Shelby Fire Company, East Shelby Fire Company, Orleans Community Health/Surgical Unit, Medina Lions Club and Canal Village Farmer’s Market.

Each winner will receive a cash award and a plaque.

“If it wasn’t for these organizations/people, we wouldn’t have had a parade this year,” Hancock said. “They are all winners.”

Landmark Society of WNY gives special citation to Greg Lawrence

Courtesy of Cobblestone Museum: This photo of the Alexander Town Hall in Genesee County is among about 5,000 images in the new digital archive available through the Cobblestone Museum. This building was erected in 1837 as a boarding house. It later became a school and then the town hall. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

GAINES – The Landmark Society of WNY has presented its annual awards for people who have tackled ambitious preservation projects in the region.

Greg Lawrence

A Clarendon resident is among the winners. Greg Lawrence was recognized with a special citation from the Landmark Society for his efforts in creating the digital repost for all 800 known cobblestone buildings in New York State, as well as in some other states and Canada. Altogether, the database includes nearly 1,000 cobblestone sites.

This archive includes about 6,500 images in a database created by Lawrence, who took on the project as a volunteer.

Lawrence worked to digitize a collection of photographs, with most of the images are from Robert L. Roudabush between 1976 and 1980. The images and scans of maps are available online by clicking here.

The database includes cobblestone buildings in 28 counties in NY, and cobblestone sites in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as structures in Canada, England and France.

Lawrence is retired after 31 years at Kodak in micrographics (microfilm) and high volume, commercial document scanners.

Erin Anheier, the Cobblestone Museum president, approached Lawrence in Spring 2018 with a proposal to digitally duplicate the “Robert Roudabush Survey of Cobblestone Buildings in New York State” archived at the Landmark Society of Western New York.

Lawrence accepted the challenge and expanded it to include an information base with a platform to maintain, update, and import information as desired. Lawrence said it is “a growing, living library of information, a repository of all known and found about cobblestone structures that can be accessed worldwide.”

CARLTON – Don Bemont sent in this photo he took of a Snowy Owl this morning, soon after it got light. Bemont took the photo along the service road at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The owls typically nest in the Arctic tundra and winter in Canada. But in recent winters they have migrated into the U.S. in search of food.

This owl appears to be a female. The males tend to be nearly all white while the females have darker markings except on their faces, which are always white.

Provided photo: Bishop Michael William Fisher has been named the new leader of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

BUFFALO – Washington, D.C. Auxiliary Bishop Michael William Fisher has been appointed by His Holiness Pope Francis as the 15th bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in an announcement from the Vatican today at noon Rome time.

“I am deeply humbled and grateful to the Holy Father for this gift to serve the people of Buffalo as their bishop,” said Bishop Fisher. “I am eager to become part of this vibrant faith community, with a proud and distinguished legacy of Catholic education, ministry and civic service.”

Fisher thanked Bishop Edward Scharfenberger “for the generosity of his spirit and his selfless devotion” in leading the Diocese for the past year as Apostolic Administrator following the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone. Scharfenberger also is the bishop of the Diocese of Albany.

The 8-county Diocese includes Orleans County and about 600,000 Catholics. It is a challenging time for the Diocese. Last February it filed for bankruptcy. Last week it was sued by the State Attorney General’s Office for failing to follow mandated policies and procedures that would help to prevent sexual abuse of minors by priests within the Catholic Church. The Diocese’s former senior leaders, Bishop Emeritus Richard J. Malone and former Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz, were named in the lawsuit.

Bishop Scharfenberger said the Diocese’s new leader has shown a passion “to serve, to listen, to heal and comfort have distinguished his 30-year ministry.”

Bishop Fisher, 62, is a native of Baltimore and the oldest of five children born to Margo and William Fisher. The new bishop was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal James A. Hickey on June 23, 1990. He was assigned to Sacred Heart parish in La Plata, Maryland, and in 1995 as a pastor of Holy Family parish in Hillcrest Heights, MD. Four years later, he became pastor of St. John Neumann parish in Gaithersburg, MD.

“At my core I am a parish priest and pastor,” said Bishop Fisher. “All I ever wanted to be when finally discerning and accepting the call to ministry was to serve a parish family, to walk with its members and accompany them on their own journey toward holiness; to share in their joys, their heartaches and to have some part to play in revealing the incomparable love and grace of God as they experience life’s defining moments.”

In 2005, then-Father Fisher was named a Chaplain to His Holiness John Paul II and was appointed that same year as Vicar General for the Apostolates which entailed overseeing archdiocesan ministries for education, ethnic ministries, social justice and service, parish life and youth ministry.

The following year, then-Monsignor Fisher was appointed Vicar for Clergy and Secretary for Ministerial Leadership, with responsibility for vocations, formation and care of the clergy for the archdiocese. Upon the appointment of Archbishop Wilton Gregory (now Cardinal Wilton Gregory) in 2019, Bishop Fisher maintained his responsibilities as Secretary for Ministerial Leadership.

He was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington by Pope Francis on June 8, 2018. Bishop Fisher was ordained to the episcopate on June 29, 2018 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Much of Bishop Fisher’s ministry has involved the continuing education of priests, particularly in aiding new pastors in their roles and the planning and implementation of ongoing clergy training via convocations and retreats.

Bishop Fisher’s installation will take place on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 2 p.m. in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Buffalo. His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Metropolitan Archbishop of New York, will preside and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will be in attendance.

“Bishop Fisher is an exceptionally compassionate and skilled servant of the Church,” said Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. “His distinguished history as pastor, Vicar for Priests, and member of our Pastoral Administration have prepared him well for his new responsibilities in that diocese. While we will miss his deft pastoral talents, they will be warmly welcomed by the faithful, religious, and clergy of the Diocese of Buffalo. May the Lord bring joy to his heart and to the hearts of the people who will welcome him.”