Several vendors offer variety of items at the site on North Liberty

Photos by Tom Rivers: Sarah Ebbs and her mother Pamela Jenks own Pretty Sweet Bakery, which is located in “The Backroom” at 117 North Liberty St. The share space with Maureen Bennett’s business, A Lil’ Cottage Chic.

ALBION – A year ago a business opened in downtown Albion with a bakery and a shop with “an eclectic mix of vintage” – handcrafted gifts, gourmet dips, candles and seasonal décor, soaps, spaghetti sauce, lanterns and other items.

“The Backroom” at 117 North Liberty St. has made it to a year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Maureen Bennett pushed to open the business following nine years as a vendor in the Downtown Browsery. She also had retired from Albion Central School.

She was joined at the downtown site by Pamela Jenks and her daughter Sarah Ebbs. They run Pretty Sweet Bakery together.

Jenks, 54, had been working as a servicer for a mortgage company in Elma. She had talked for years of opening a bakery. Her daughter joined the effort, expecting to squeeze in some time when she wasn’t doing a full-time job driving to Geneseo as a student loan collector. That position was eliminated in late March due to the financial impact of Covid-19.

Ebbs, 33, was able to make the bakery a full-time pursuit with her mother. The site and other bakeries were deemed an essential business by the state and never had to close during the pandemic.

Pam and Sarah praised the building’s owner, Michael Bonafede, for putting in a kitchen certified by the Health Department. The location also benefits from a big parking lot that serves Five Star Bank and other businesses.

“There is plenty of parking and people can get in and out quickly,” Pam said. “So many of the people that come in say we finally have a home-made bakery in the downtown.”

Sarah Ebbs decorates a cookie with a holiday theme.

They have seen the business steadily grow the past year. Pam does lots of the baking and her daughter Sarah has an artistic flair for decorating the cookies, scones, muffins, pies and cakes. Sarah is a baker, too, who enjoys experimenting with ingredients to add new flavors.

“We both love what we’re doing,” Sarah said at the bakery on Thursday. “Every day is a science project where we try new things.”

Sarah often brings her daughter Charli to the shop. She will be 3 in January. She is wuick to learn peoples’ names and gives them big greetings and sendoffs.

Sarah has enjoyed baking and decorating since she was a kid, helping her grandmother Beulah Jenks who had a wedding cake business.

Sarah would make cakes and other baked goods for friends and family. She always has had a knack for decorating the cookies, and has the family gene for baking, her mother said.

Sarah is thankful for the response from the community the past year, with many people stopping by the shop or ordering for pickups. That has helped her weather what would have been a rough time with her job being eliminated in March.

“This is a supportive community,” she said about Albion. “There are a lot of people who want to see things work.”

Some of the bakery’s hot sellers have been raspberry cheesecake bars, lemon blueberry cake with whipped cream cheese frosting, pumpkin sandwich cookies, and cookie cutout with royal icing. Pam and Sarah also take orders for cakes for birthdays, weddings and other special events. Sarah posts frequent photos of the creations on the bakery’s Facebook page.

Maureen Bennett opened A Lil’ Cottage Chic a year ago after nine years as a vendor at the Downtown Browsery. She is shown with Charli, Sarah Ebbs’ daughter who delights in greeting customers at the shop.

Bennett, owner of A Lil’ Cottage Chic, said the bakery and Bennett’s shop have been a winning combination.

“We complement each other,” Bennett said. “They have the home-baked goods and we have so many home-made items.”

Bennett urged the community to support the local businesses in the downtown, which she said are safer with generally only a few people in the stores during the Covid pandemic.

“These little stores have far less people,” she said.

Student population will be reduced during Covid pandemic with strict protocols in place

MEDINA – When the Covid pandemic hit in March, 36,000 students nationwide were sent home from Job Corps centers.

With the announcement that students are slowly being phased back to the Iroquois Job Corps comes the news the center will again be under the management of Education and Training Resources (ETR), headquartered in Bowling Green, Ky., effective Dec. 1.

ETR’s CEO Brian Fox made the announcement via Zoom at the Orleans County Legislature meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

ETR was the former manager of Job Corps for 12 1/2 years through 2017, Fox said. He said ETR is transitioning the center, with the current incumbent operator still having responsibility and operational authority, so ETR is not authorized at this point to speak on any specific matters involving Iroquois Job Corps.

“I can, however, provide an overview of what to expect following Dec. 1,” Fox said.

“We are no stranger to the Iroquois Job Corps Center,” Fox said. “We are proud to be back and be part of the Medina, Orleans County, GLOW and Western New York communities. We thank you for the opportunity to be your manager again. We will strive to be good partners to Western New York.”

Fox added, under ETR’s new contract, they will be focusing a lot of the Center’s outreach and recruitment of new students from within the nine-county Western New York area.

Fox added this is obviously a change from the past, but a positive one in that it focuses heavily on enrolling and serving Job Corps eligible students from Western New York and less on sending larger number of students from New York City. He said the credit for this new local and regional focus goes to the United States Department of Labor, which recently implemented a National Enrollee Assignment Plan for all Job Corps centers across the nation.

“Our goal is to enroll about 300 new students per year from the counties of Orleans, Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Yates and Seneca,” Fox said. “Additionally, the Iroquois Center will receive about 150 students per year from within the five counties of Niagara, Erie, Allegheny, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, through applicant referrals from the Cassadaga Job Corps Center. Lastly, the Iroquois Center may also receive up to 100 students from the New York City area.”

According to Fox, the USDOL has begun selecting centers to reopen, with very strict protocols, testing and quarantine requirements in place. Before arrival, 100 percent of staff are tested for Covid and required to be negative. Upon arrival, all students are tested and required to be negative. Any student testing positive will be isolated and returned home.

Students testing negative are quarantined for 14 days in a dorm room with virtual learning resources in place; and then retested again. If negative, their cohort group can move to in-person training in classrooms, but will not mix with other cohort groups until all protocols are completed.

The Iroquois center’s director will be Dennis Essom of Cheektowaga, who said he was excited to be working for ETR at the Iroquois Job Corps.

“This is the first Job Corps I went to when I started, and I know these gentlemen there,” he said. “I love the community, this center and the staff.”

Skip Draper of Medina, who has worked at the Job Corps for 20 years and has been Corporate Business Community liaison, said he is happy ETR is back.

The Iroquois Job Corps Center had a pre-Covid capacity of 275, but with Covid restrictions, the student population won’t be anywhere near that, Draper said.

All dormitories will be switched to accommodate one or two students, and will be thoroughly sanitized according to CDC guidelines. Additionally, the USDOL has invested significant resources in the Covid-specific retrofitting of all physical areas on centers across the nation, including dorms, cafeterias, offices, classrooms and all other areas on the campus.

Students will not be allowed to travel back and forth to their home and no weekend passes will be issued. Fox said, following Dec. 1, if any local public health officials would like to contact the Center and review the Covid protocols in place, that transparency and support would be welcomed and important.

Fox said the center will be interested in expanding relationships with schools, colleges and other organizations in the community.

“We are pleased to be back and look forward to working with all the partners in the area,” Fox said.

Iroquois Job Center will continue to provide Health Occupations Career Technical Training programs for employment of students in the areas of clinical medical assistant and certified nurse assistant. They will also provide four pre-apprenticeship CTT program with union partners in the skilled area of electrician, bricklaying, carpentry and painting.

Fox added the Iroquois Center is always interested in hearing from local residents and professionals who are interested in serving on the Center’s Community Relations Council and Workforce Council. Also, recognizing there are many other workforce development providers in Western New York, Iroquois Job Corps Center is always interested in how they can adjust the Center’s CTT programs to better meet the needs of the employers in the region.

Legislature chairwoman Lynne Johnson welcomed Fox and ETR back.

“You are a huge contributor to our county and we are proud to have you back on site,” Johnson said.

Electric appliances doomed other industries, including ice harvesting

(Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series about the historic Childs hamlet. This article is part 2 of when electricity came to Childs in the late 1920s. Part three will be next week.)

By Doug Farley, Cobblestone Museum Director

Electric appliance companies, such as Edison General Electric, had an interesting marketing pitch in the 1920s to help sell their newfangled electrical devices, “Electricity is the only servant you will ever need!”

Such was the case in the Hamlet of Childs after electric power became readily available after 1926. Perhaps the most successful of all of the G.E. appliances was the monitor top refrigerator (pictured above), first introduced in 1927.

This success of the refrigerator sounded the beginning of a death knoll for another industry, ice harvesting.  The “Iceman” was a frequent visitor to homes in the Hamlet of Childs before the arrival of electricity.  It’s probably safe to say there was an icebox in every home in the 1800s and early 1900s as demonstrated by this ice sign found in window at the Ward House in Childs.

Homeowners used signs like this to let the iceman know how much ice they needed for their delivery.  The number showing at the top of the sign signaled the iceman to bring the corresponding number of pounds of ice into the home.

With monitor top refrigerators replacing ice boxes, a new dilemma surfaced for housewives, namely how to defrost their refrigerator without spoiling all the food inside.

Today with frost-free refrigeration, we’ve lost track of the need to manually defrost the appliance to remove the ice that would build up on the refrigerator’s freezer compartment. Electricity came to the rescue with a new gadget designed to quickly and safely melt the accumulated ice.

If monitor-top refrigerators were one of the largest electrical appliances, perhaps the smallest would have been the electric sifter.  Even such mundane tasks as sifting flour became fair game for electrification in the new electric household.

When electricity was new, it was originally installed in a home for lighting.  As manufacturers began to produce more and more electrical appliances homeowners didn’t have enough outlets installed in their homes.

Necessity became the mother of invention and it was not unusual to see a power cord dangling from an overhead light fixture, because that was the only power source to be found. This is demonstrated at the Vagg House in Childs where a Royal Rochester waffle iron is plugged into an overhead light fixture.

This connection was made possible by removing an incandescent lightbulb from a light fixture and screwing in a lampholder plug to provide an outlet in the room.  In the early days it was not uncommon to use a light fixture to power your vacuum cleaner, space heater, flat iron, radio and many other appliances.

Another problem with early electrical appliances was found with the plug at the end of the cord. Appliance manufactures each chose their own design for the arrangement of the prongs.

Even if you were fortunate enough to have an electrical wall socket in your home, it might not have the needed configuration to match the pins on your appliance.

This socket and plug dilemma didn’t get resolved until the mid-20th century when groups like Underwriters Laboratories came up with their “Seal of Approval” to designate standardized, safe appliances. You can see a portion of the familiar red and gold seal on this apartment-sized electric clothes washer manufactured by the Cinderella Company and on display at the Vagg House in Childs.

Washday doldrums were a routine occurrence prior to the arrival of electricity.  Every piece of laundry required hand scrubbing, rinsing, and wringing dry, followed up by hanging laundry outdoors to air dry. Here we see a 1900 mechanical clothes washer manufactured by Boss of Cincinnati.

It required hand cranking to scrub the clothes and then using the mechanical wringer shown here. This washing system is in place at the Ward House in Childs and represents the way clothes were cleaned in the Victorian era.

Moving forward a generation to the 1920s, electricity changed the washday routine offering “modern” homemakers a little more leisure time. Here we see an early electric clothes washer manufactured by the Easy Washing Machine Company (1877-1963) with headquarters in Syracuse, NY.

This model featured a spin dryer, which was an improvement over their wringer model. This system is found in the Vagg House in Childs.

With all of the new labor saving electrical devices, homemakers now had some new found leisure time. Families could turn their attention to enjoying some music, news, or drama on the console radio in their living room. Early radios were often large pieces of furniture that made a statement that this household has arrived in the 20th century.

Our next article (Part 3) will take a look at even more labor savings appliances that found prominence in the all-electric home of the Roaring ’20s, including the Air-Way Sanitizing System (vacuum cleaner), Hamilton Beach Mixer with Juicerizer, ceramic hotplate, electric iron, mangle, tie presser, pants creaser, drip-o-lator, and more.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Vance VanSkiver, an Albion Department of Public Works motor equipment operator, secures a banner to a light pole on Main Street today. The DPW put out the holiday and seasonal banners as well as the wreaths.

Vance VanSkiver and Shaun Stephens are in a lift while putting up the holiday decorations. Charlie Ricci is the driver. The spire of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion is in back.

Shaun Stephens makes sure the wreath is plugged in and secured.

VanSkiver and Stephens work together to get the banner in place. They put up decorations on Main Street and Bank Street.

In past week Genesee had 150 new cases, while Orleans added 48

Orleans County has one new confirmed case of Covid-19 to report today, which is the fewest in the past two weeks.

Genesee, however, has 17 new confirmed cases today, the Genesee and Orleans County health Departments said in a news briefing this afternoon.

Orleans has 48 more cases in the past week since Nov. 13, while Genesee has 150 new cases during those seven days. Orleans has now had 542 positive cases since March while Genesee is up to 652 cases.

The new positive case in Orleans is a Barre resident in the age group of 0 to 19. The individual was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Orleans also has 29 more recoveries and those people have been released from mandatory isolation. Orleans has now had 328 recoveries among people who contracted Covid, not counting resident sin nursing homes and other state-regulated facilities.

Orleans has three residents currently hospitalized due to Covid.

Genesee County received 17 new positive cases of Covid-19 today and now has had 652 test positive since March.

The new positive cases are residents of Alabama, Batavia, Darien, Elba and LeRoy. One of the new positive individuals is a resident at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Batavia.

The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. One of the individuals was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Genesee also is reporting 19 more recoveries, bringing that total to 453 community residents.

Genesee has eight residents hospitalized due to Covid.

• 3-county data: To see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, click here. In the past month the local cases have really jumped in the three counties. Orleans was at 356 on Oct. 20, and now has had 542 test positive. Genesee was at 345 cases on Oct. 20, and now is at 652. Wyoming has nearly doubled its total cases, going from 175 on Oct. 20 to 343 today.

The number of active cases in the three counties is declining after a high of 268 on Wednesday. It was at 256 on Thursday and 216 today, with 128 in Genesee, 44 in Orleans and 44 in Wyoming.

Press Release, Genesee County Health Department

BATAVIA – The Genesee County Health Department has received 7 positive Covid-19 tests from individuals who attended funeral service arrangements on the following dates and locations:

• November 11^th, Gilmartin Funeral Home (333 W. Main Street, Batavia) between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• November 12^th, Resurrection Roman Catholic Church (303 E. Main Street, Batavia) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• November 12^th, Saint Joseph’s Mausoleum (Ellicott Street, Batavia) between 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• November 12^th, Polish Falcons of America (123 S. Swan Street, Batavia) between the hours of noon and 6 p.m.

Contact tracing is in progress. However, unidentified individuals may have unknowingly been in contact with the positive cases.

We advise all individuals who were at the locations listed to monitor their symptoms for 14 days. 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.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KENDALL – A Hamlin firefighter walks through a garage that was destroyed by a fire this morning. Firefighters were dispatched at about 11 a.m. to 1759 Kendall Rd.

The garage is owned by William Ireland. No one was injured in the fire.

Firefighters spray water on the smoldering fire. Firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to the family’s residence.

Kendall was assisted in responding to the fire by Carlton, Hamlin, Holley and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray.

Albion also filled in and was sent to a call on Center Road for the Kendall FD.

No information on the cause is available. Fire investigators were called to the scene.

Fire Chief Jason Hardenbrook communicates to other firefighters by radio. Several tankers carrying water were needed to help douse the fire at the garage, which was set back far from the road.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board supported several projects on Thursday evening including a home business in Yates selling firearms, and a new monopole in Clarendon for Verizon.

In Yates, Steve Boring Jr. wants to open “Patriot Arms” at his home 12177 Platten Road in Agricultural- Residential Zone. Boring, in his application to the Planning Board, said he wants to sell firearms and ammunition to hunters and target shooters.

Boring will need a federal firearms license to open the business. Before he gets that license, he needs the local approval from the Yates town officials for a permit to operate the business and site plan approval.

The County Planning Board makes recommendations on referrals from towns and villages. The county suggested Yates approve the site plan and issue a permit, as long as Boring has adequate security measures in place and has a turnaround on the driveway.

• In Clarendon, county planners recommended the town give Verizon a permit and approve the site plan for a 149-foot-high telecommunications tower at 4514 Holley-Byron Rd. in a Rural Agricultural Zone.

The monopole for Verizon will be built on land owned by Albert Schnabel Jr.

• County planners also recommended the Town of Barre approve the site plan and issue a permit for Marissa and Patrick Olles, who want to open automotive repair shop at 13299 West Lee Road, west of Eagle Harbor Rd. This is the site of the former Jordan River Logging business.

Patrick Olles opened Pat’s Long Bridge Repair in 2015 on Long Bridge Road in Albion, doing car and light truck repairs.

Request for a Site Plan Review and Special Use Permit for an Automotive Repair Facility at 13299 West Lee Road in Agricultural-Residential (AR) Zone. They are in the process of acquiring the site from Virginia Van Apeldoorn.

• In Shelby, county planners supported amendments to the town’s zoning amendments for regulating solar energy systems.

Michelle Billington, an environmental attorney for Bond, Schoeneck & King, discussed the changes with the County Planning Board on Thursday.

The amendments will require utility-scale solar systems to have a decommissioning plan with site restoration. The solar energy companies also need to provide a cost estimate with an annual review for decommissioning and removing a non-operational or abandoned systems.

The zoning amendments also allow utility-scale projects to do a host community agreement with the town.

Provided photo: Josmar Hernandez (second from left), is pictured with his teacher Crystal Gurney, Weson, Animal Control Officer Airel Ambrose, and Undersheriff Mike Mele.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office

HOLLEY – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Animal shelter received a large donation from a Holley Elementary student.

Josmar Hernandez, a sixth-grader, has been collecting donations for the past three weeks from staff and students in Holley to give to the Orleans County Animal Shelter.

Josmar’s love for animals, especially dogs, prompted him to start collecting items that the shelter could use. Over 300 items including dog and cat food, toys, bedding, and cat litter are just some of the items that were collected.

Josmar wanted to come to the shelter to visit the animals but due to Covid-19 that currently isn’t allowed.

Undersheriff Michael Mele and Animal Control Officer Airel Ambrose along with friendly dog Weson visited Josmar at the school.

All items donated will be used at the shelter to make the animals have a happy stay while they are waiting to be adopted to a loving family.

RIDGEWAY – The Orleans County Planning Board has recommended the Town of Ridgeway approve the site plans and give a permit for two solar projects on the south side of Ridge Road near North Gravel Road (Route 63).

The projects, west of North Gravel Road, would total 8 megawatts, and both are on land owned by Richard Fisher. TJA Clean Energy in New Bedford, Mass. is the developer of the project. The company split it into two separate projects because it is limited to 5 megawatts on a parcel, Mike Frateschi, TJA Clean Energy engineer, told the Orleans County Planning Board during its monthly meeting on Thursday evening.

One of the projects at 11074 Ridge Rd. is for 3 megawatts and would use 16 acres of a 70-acre site.

There will be 40 125kW string inverters and 10,946 solar panels for the 3-megawatt project. There will be 158 racks that are 8 feet high, 3 ½ feet wide and 6 ½ feet in length.

The project will have screening, a decommissioning plan and an access road going south that is 5,330 feet long. The planners said TJA needs to get an opinion from the county’s Emergency Management Office on the width of the access road. TJA is planning for the gravel road to be 16 feet wide, but Dan Strong of the Planning Board said 20 feet wide may be needed.

The 5-megawatt solar production facility would be at 11074 Ridge Rd. This project would use 23 acres on a 98-acre site.

It will have 17,524 solar panels on 241 racks. The site will have screening. There is already a natural tree forest buffer. Like the 3-megawatt project, planners put a condition on the project for an opinion on the width of the access road from Emergency Management.

Both projects are for land that is zoned Agricultural-Residential.

Senator is pleased Rochester will be Triple AAA team for Washington Nationals after Twins departure

Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer spoke in Medina today about the need for the federal government to release $9 billion in funding already designated for Covid testing and contact tracing. Schumer took questions from the media and said a new federal relief package is needed for small businesses and local governments. Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, also attended the press conference.

MEDINA – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was at Medina Memorial Hospital today to show his support for releasing $9 billion in federal funds for free Covid testing and more tracing. He highlighted Orleans County as a community without free Covid testing for residents.

The senator said he also is determined to get another Covid relief bill passed, and very soon. He said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed open today to negotiating a deal.

Schumer said he wants the $2.2 billion HEROES Act already passed by the House of Representatives to be the framework for the package. That includes funding for schools and other local governments.

The state has warned schools they could be facing a 20 percent cut in aid. That would be about $5 million for Albion and Medina.

“We have to get aid, not just testing aid, we need aid for businesses, we need aid for unemployment, we need aid for local governments, we need aid for many things,” Schumer said.

The senator said the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided a lifeline to small businesses and he favors expanding that program in the new relief package.

“We need something very similar and strong,” he said about the PPP. “That is what we’re trying to do.”

A previous proposal from McConnell didn’t include local government aid, which stalled discussions. Schumer said he is more optimistic today that McConnell is open to the aid to local governments.

“We need state and local aid,” Schumer said. “It affects our governments and the schools. It is at the top of our list.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer arrives at Medina Memorial Hospital for a press conference this morning about the need for a free Covid testing site in Orleans County.

Schumer acknowledged there is a shortage of PPE for hospitals and businesses and the relief package needs to help organizations have PPE for their employees.

The senator also responded to criticism Gov. Andrew Cuomo has faced about wanting to ensure the vaccine is safe and fairly distributed to people throughout the state. Cuomo has been criticized for slowing down the vaccine’s distribution in the state.

“The governor was simply trying to make sure the vaccine is distributed effectively to all parts of the state and efficiently,” Schumer said. “For him to request that is just fine. We need vaccines and I’ll be on top of that working with the governor to make sure New York gets its fair share.”

The senator from Brooklyn said he was happy to share some good news at press conference outside Medina Memorial Hospital this morning.

The senator confirmed the Washington Nationals are bringing their Triple AAA baseball team to Rochester and leaving Fresno, Ca. The Minnesota Twins announced last week they were ending an 18-year agreement with Rochester for Triple AAA.

Rochester didn’t have to wait long for a new team. The Nationals won the World Series in 2019. Schumer said he spoke with the Nationals owners on Wednesday, and urged them to commit to Rochester.

Binghamton also will have a minor league team in 2021. Schumer said he wants to press now for Batavia and Auburn to keep their professional teams in the future.

“We’re trying to convince Major League baseball that these teams are vital,” Schumer said.

The baseball games bring several hundred people to downtown Batavia, with many going to restaurants and other businesses before or after games.

These protestors stood along Ohio Street near the hospital and said Democrats are trying to steal the presidential election from Donald J. Trump. “Lying, Cheating Democrats,” the man holding the “Trump 2024” sign shouted several times. Schumer’s conference was moved from near the road to farther down the driveway away from the protestors.

The protestors also heckled members of the media. “You couldn’t tell the truth if it bit you in the a–,” one of the demonstrators yelled to the journalists.

Press Release, New York State Association of Counties

County health departments said today they are prepared to help our state and federal partners distribute the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it is ready to deploy.

That pledge came out of webinar hosted by the New York State Association of Counties and included federal, state and local public health experts who discussed how the vaccine will be distributed across the state. View a recording of the webinar here.

“As the level of government closest to the people, New York’s counties will once again be the boots on the ground, doing the vital work of turning a vaccine into vaccinations,” said Jack Marren, NYSAC President and Ontario County Chairman. “But we can’t do this alone. We’re going to work in close collaboration with our partners in the state Executive branch, the state legislature as well as the new administration in Washington to ensure we have the resources we need to support our dedicated county public health workforce and to carry out this mission.”

The webinar featured presentations from Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Loretta Santilli, Director of the Office of Public Health Practice at the NYSDOH and Sarah Ravenhall, Executive Director of the New York State Association of County Health Officials.

“Make no mistake, this may be the most important thing that we as counties ever do,” said Marc Molinaro, President of the New York State County Executives Association and Dutchess County Executive. “Counties are the backbone of public health in their communities, with decades of experience in providing large-scale vaccinations for diseases like the flu. We have the experience and the insight that is needed to reach vulnerable and underserved populations, we just need the resources to do it. New York State is one of the few states that has not suballocated CARES Act funding to counties with populations under 500,000. This is one area where you could strongly argue that those funds should be passed on to the county so we can do the essential work of educating the public about a vaccine and deploying it across our communities.”

“Today’s webinar provided invaluable insight into the state and federal government’s plans for vaccine distribution, but it’s important that we have a continued dialog with state,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “The prospect of a vaccine is providing all our county leaders and frontline workers with welcome glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have miles to go before this is over. We look forward to working with state and federal leaders to develop plans and secure the resources we need to fully empower our county workforces and help defeat this terrible pandemic.”

Orleans also has 3 new confirmed Covid cases, while Genesee has 20 more today

Orleans County today is reporting a death from someone who had Covid-19. This is the second death this month in county from someone who contracted the coronavirus.

The death reported today is a person over age 65 who lives in the community. The county has now had 57 Covid-related deaths during the pandemic, with 54 of those at two nursing homes in the county.

“Due to privacy issues, we are not releasing further details about this individual,” the Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments said in a news briefing today. “We would like to express our sincerest sympathy for this individual’s family and friends.”

Orleans also has three new confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, bringing the total to 541 cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Albion and Barre with the individuals in the age groups of 0-19, 40s and 50s. None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

The county is reporting 4 more recoveries and have been removed from the isolation list.

Three from the county are currently hospitalized due to Covid-19.

• An Albion elementary student tests positive for Covid: The Albion school district also notified the community this afternoon that a hybrid learner in the elementary school has tested positive for Covid. The student is in school twice a week.

Since the student was last in school on Friday, Nov. 13, the Health Department determined there is no need to do further contact tracing due to the 48-hour look-back period, the school district said.

Genesee County received 20 new positive cases of Covid-19 today and has now had 635 test positive for Covid since March.

The new positive cases reside in Alexander, Batavia, Elba, LeRoy, Pembroke and Stafford. Four of the new positive individuals are residents at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Batavia.

The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

The Health Departments are reporting that 26 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

Genesee also has 8 residents hospitalized due to Covid.

• 3-county data: Click here to see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. The number of active cases in the three counties is down today with more recoveries than new cases. There were 268 active cases in the three counties on Wednesday. Today there are 256 with 131 in Genesee, 72 in Orleans and 53 in Wyoming.

Supportive Care of Orleans also unveiled a new logo.

ALBION – Hospice of Orleans has announced a name change, designed to better reflect the services offered by the organization.

Hospice will now be known as Supportive Care of Orleans, according to a press release issued today by Kellie Spychalski, CEO.

The organization had planned an event for the public to make the announcement, but due to the pandemic and concerns about increased cases of Covid-19 in Orleans County, the new name was launched with a virtual presentation today through Facebook Live.

The organization, which provides expert medical care, symptom management and emotional and spiritual support tailored to the needs of the patient and their families, made the change in order to increase awareness of its various services.

The new name better reflects the broad range of supportive services, which go beyond what traditional hospice care encompasses, and includes supportive care for a variety of illnesses, not only those that are terminal, Spychalski said.

‘We support people throughout their illness. We provide care at every turn. No matter the illness. No matter the need. Supportive Care of Orleans is here to help those who are struggling with serious, chronic or life limiting illnesses, and we’re here for their loved ones, too.’ – Kellie Spychalski, CEO for Supportive Care of Orleans

Hospice of Orleans has a long history of providing supportive care to the community, and the name change to Supportive Care of Orleans is the next step in building on a legacy of compassionate care, she added.

Kellie Spychalski

“We’ve grown as an organization and we want to build on the tremendous bond we have built with our community,” Spychalski said. “We’ve responded to the growing needs of the community, and it made sense for us to align our identity with our evolved mission and expanded reach.”

The name change is also timely, Spychalski said, as November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a month-long opportunity for engagement, outreach and education. It is the organization’s hope that the event will raise awareness of the important role hospice and palliative care have in increasing quality of life.

The new name and logo highlight the patient-centered care that is the hallmark of palliative and hospice programs, as well as how the organization is strongly rooted in the Orleans community. It will also help begin conversations about the comprehensive services and program the organization provides and the benefits to patients and families, such as the Martin-Linsin Residence, caregiver and bereavement support, complementary therapies and advanced care planning.

“We support people throughout their illness,” Spychalski said. “We provide care at every turn. No matter the illness. No matter the need. Supportive Care of Orleans is here to help those who are struggling with serious, chronic or life limiting illnesses, and we’re here for their loved ones, too.”

While the name has changed, patients and families can still count on the same level of service and quality of care, according to Supportive Care of Orleans’ leadership.

“Our mission is not changing,” Spychalski added. “We’re making life easier for patients and families facing serious illness and end of life, by providing choice, dignity and compassionate care with our umbrella of comprehensive services.”

More can be learned about Supportive Care of Orleans by visiting their website at www.supportivecareorleans.org.