By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2020 at 12:30 pm
Event that honors memory of Nicholas Kovaleski has raised $25K for scholarships in 10 years
Photos by Tom Rivers: Dancers rehearse the opening number of the 10thannual Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas. Performers will be videotaped today with the show available to watch online beginning Dec. 4. A $10 purchase gives 24 hours of access of watching the show. There are also baskets up for raffle. Tickets can also be purchased online for the baskets or in person at Gotta Dance by Miss Amy.
ALBION – Covid won’t be stopping the 10th annual Hometown Christmas show in Albion. While there won’t be an in-person audience the show will be available to watch online.
Nicholas Kovaleski
Amy Sidari, owner of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy, has directed the Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas shows the past decade. They honor the memory of one of her dancers.
Nicholas Kovaleski also excelled in football, swimming and tennis for Albion, and was a Boy Scout. He valiantly battled leukemia and passed away at age 15 on June 29, 2011.
The Hometown Christmas show includes some of Miss Amy’s dancers and other performers from the community, including singing by Gary Simboli, Marcy Downey and Riley Seielstad. Jim Babcock, a local contractor, will appear as Santa and two of his employees, Craig Lane and David Karcz, will be dressed in reindeer costumes.
Sidari also will give a message about love, community and unity during this difficult year.
“With love we can overcome the negativity, the restrictions and feelings of lost hope,” Sidari said. “With Covid, our whole community has gone through its own grief. We’re a group that wants to bring joy to people.”
Kelly Kovaleski will share with the audience about her late son, who was upbeat while pushing himself to excel. The Hometown Christmas shows have raised $25,000 in scholarships which are given to Albion seniors selected by Kelly and Jay Kovaleski who “Live with Purpose.”
Kelly Kovaleski and Amy Sidari have worked together on the Hometown Christmas shows in memory of Kovaleski’s son, who passed away from leukemia at age 15 on June 29, 2011. They are wearing facemasks with the “Live with Purpose” message that a guiding principle in Nicholas’s life.
That was the guiding principle for their son. Albion seniors submit applications for the scholarship, and the Kovaleskis want to honor students who step up for their families and friends.
The scholarships have ranged from $500 to $800. Last year the Kovaleskis were able to award three scholarships – Laiken Ricker, Masey Ferchen and Colby Ferchen were the winners.
The scholarships and fundraising are through the Jim and Diane Salmon Children’s Fund, which is a 501c3 organization, allowing tax exempt donations.
Salmon, a home repair radio host for WHAM in Rochester, had Nicholas as a guest on the show.
“He was sick, but he was wonderful,” Salmon said. “He did a great interview.”
Salmon said the Hometown Christmas continues to honor Nicholas’s memory, and this year provides an important outlet for the performers and the audience.
“This show is a testament of the tenacity of Miss Amy, and Jay and Kelly Kovaleski,” Salmon said. “They have found a way to do the show and do it within the rules.”
Michayla Kovaleski rehearses a dance on Sunday for this year’s Hometown Christmas show. She is Nicholas’s sister and works as a dance instructor at Miss Amy’s. She recently graduated from Nazareth College.
People can purchase an online ticket for $10 and then have 24 hours of access to watch the show, which will be about an hour. The show will be available on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5.
Sidari also will host watch parties at the studio for small groups to view the performance on the big screen. (Sidari’s Cabaret at Studio B has already done online shows with Gary Simboli.)
The event also includes the chance to win at least one of 40 baskets donated by the community. Tickets can be purchased and placed in-person at Miss Amy’s or purchased online with notes sent to Miss Amy on which baskets the tickets should go.
For more information on the Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas, click here.
Cost of classic Thanksgiving dinner increases from $46.37 to $49.23
Press Release, New York Farm Bureau
File photo by Tom Rivers: These turkeys were part of the 2014 meat auction at the 4-H Fair in Knowlesville. The cost of a turkey is up about $2 compared to Thanksgiving a year ago.
New York Farm Bureau’s 2020 Market Basket Survey shows the price of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner saw a modest 6 percent uptick from last year’s meal.
The average total price, which includes a 16-pound turkey and other common items found on a holiday dinner table, is $49.23 or a $2.86 increase over last year. (The survey showed the average price for the Thanksgiving dinner was $57.54 in 2018.)
Turkey prices are about $1.41 per pound in New York State, which is about an 11% increase over last year’s average price in this informal survey. Prices found by volunteer shoppers ranged from $.68/lb. to $1.69/lb. This price is above the national average of $1.21/lb. As we move closer to Thanksgiving, turkey prices may continue to drop in the stores, reflecting sales in the final days before the holiday.
The New York numbers revealed price increases in several categories including for a gallon of whole milk, Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix, fresh cranberries and a 14-ounce package of cubed stuffing. Some ingredients saw decreases. These include whipping cream and a carrot/celery veggie tray.
This year’s survey also includes a more notable increase for an expanded menu that includes a four-pound ham, five-pound bag of russet potatoes and a package of frozen green beans. When those prices are included, the total meal price jumps to $64.31, more than $4 over last year’s number.
The survey highlights that the classic meal remains affordable with a price point of under five dollars per person for a 10-person meal. The affordability demonstrates that although farmers and ranchers dealt with significant issues this year related to market and distribution disruptions due to the pandemic, consumers are still benefiting from relatively low retail prices, in part because the actual cost of the food – the portion paid to farmers – is only eight cents of each dollar consumers spend on food at the store.
“It has been a challenging year for every New Yorker, but farmers haven’t stopped doing what we do best, growing quality, nutritious food. Market disruptions have affected some prices, but overall, our volunteer shoppers found the traditional dinner remains affordable for many shoppers,” said Darleen Krisher-Meehan, chair of New York Farm Bureau’s Promotion and Education Committee. “While the holiday season may look a little different this year, we should all give thanks that our food supply remains strong and stable thanks to our farmers and employees who have proven to be essential workers in 2020.”
This survey is one of the responsibilities of the NYFB State Promotion and Education Committee and is part of the national effort with the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF’s 35th annual informal national price survey found the average national cost of this year’s feast is $46.90, about $2 less than New York’s number.
New York Farm Bureau’s volunteer shoppers sampled prices at 14 different supermarkets throughout the state trying to get the best prices available, but they did not use promotional coupons or special deals such as “buy one-get one free.” They were also encouraged to use online shopping because of the pandemic.
The shopping list includes 15 common Thanksgiving food items ranging from turkey and rolls to stuffing and celery to pumpkin pie mix, enough to feed 10 people around the dinner table. An average for miscellaneous ingredients, like flour and butter, is also included. The 2020 Thanksgiving survey displayed considerable price variation across the state. The best advice for shoppers is to compare prices to save money.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2020 at 5:36 pm
A report on sales tax revenues for the first 10 months of the year shows a significant drop for the state, but an increase in Orleans County.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s Office shows sales tax is down $3 billion statewide through October. The total sales tax collected in the state the first 10 months is $46.8 billion.
The sales tax for counties and cities is down 5.2 percent compared to the first 10 months of 2019, according to the comptroller.
Orleans County, however, is up by 7.7 percent or by $1.1 million, from $14.4 million to $15.5 million.
The county’s sales tax has seen some big swings each month: $1.4 million in January (up by $100,000), $1.2 million in February (up by $100,000), $1.9 million in March (up by $500,000), $900,000 in April (down by $500,000), $900,000 in May (down by $400,000), $2.6 million in June (up by $700,000), $1.2 million in July (down by $100,000), $1.2 million in August (down by $200,000), $3.0 million in September (up by $1.0 million) and $1.3 million in October (same as 2019).
The comptroller’s monthly report on October showed a 5.2 percent drop state-wide compared to October of 2019. DiNapoli said that decline is less severe than in other months during the pandemic.
“Statewide local sales tax collections have declined year-over-year for eight straight months,” DiNapoli said in a news release. “Our local governments are on the forefront of the pandemic response and they need financial aid from the federal government to help them get through this crisis.”
DiNapoli reported last month that local sales tax collections dropped 9.5 percent in the July-September quarter, down $452 million from collections in the same quarter of 2019.
“Revenues are down and New York continues to withhold billions of dollars in spending due to the fiscal impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” DiNapoli said. “Caution is needed because rising infection rates may force more shutdowns and even greater economic damage. Washington must respond with more economic stimulus, including real relief for state and local governments.”
While Orleans is up so far in sales tax revenue, that isn’t the case for other local counties. Here are how some nearby counties are doing through the first 10 months of 2020, compared to the same time period last year.
Genesee County: $33.7 million (down 3.9 percent or by $1.4 million)
Livingston County: $29.2 million (up 1.0 percent or $300,000)
Orleans County: $15.5 million (up 7.7 percent or by $1.1 million)
Wyoming County: $16.0 million (up 2.8 percent or by $400,000)
Monroe County: $412.6 million (down by 4.1 percent or $27.7 million)
Niagara County: $104.5 million (down by 1.3 percent or $1.4 million)
Erie County: $661.0 million (down 2.7 percent or $19.5 million)
Orleans County officials in a tentative 2021 budget plans to continue sharing $1,366,671 with the 10 towns and four villages. That has been the number since 2001.
However, the county is seeing the state take some of the local sales tax and divert it. The county will see $102,814 in its sales tax withheld by the state in January and sent to the Fiscally Distressed Hospital Fund, with another $87,460 to be withheld later 2021, said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.
The county also will have $290,276 taken from its sales tax for AIM (Aid and Incentives to Municipalities). That used to be paid for by the state to some towns and villages but now comes from the local sales tax.
The shifting of sales tax to AIM and the Distressed Hospital Fund will cost the county $480,550, Welch said.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today called on Congress to renew and expand federal support programs for unemployed Americans — many of which have expired or will end just days after Christmas.
The programs provide critical benefits for millions of American families that have faced unemployment as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, including supplemental benefits for individuals and support for local and state governments. Cuomo, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to act quickly as states across the country face another surge of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths while millions of Americans remain unemployed.
“The pandemic has not just impacted Americans’ health — it has also created an unprecedented economic crisis. As we enter the holiday season, and as states once again enact stronger measures to stop Covid, critical federal unemployment benefits are about to expire. Inaction from Washington is putting millions of Americans’ financial security at risk.”
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, New York State has paid more than $55 billion in unemployment benefits to 3.8 million New Yorkers — which represents more than 26 typical years’ worth of benefits.
“Congress moved decisively this spring to address the economic impacts of the pandemic and should once again take action before the calendar year ends to bring badly needed support to millions of struggling Americans,” Cuomo said.
Nationwide, more than 20 million Americans are currently receiving unemployment benefits, including 12 million covered by programs that will expire on December 31, 2020. In New York, that includes 1.2 million current claims from New Yorkers receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides benefits for freelancers, self-employed workers, and others who do not typically qualify for traditional unemployment benefits, and 682,000 claims from individuals who are receiving 13 additional weeks of benefits under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program after exhausting the 26 weeks of traditional benefits.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2020 at 10:03 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – This sign was in the front yard of a residence on Ohio Street, across from Medina Memorial Hospital, showing appreciation for nurses who are on the front lines of providing healthcare in the community.
Marc Shurtz, CEO of Orleans Community Health and the hospital, spoke at a news conference on Thursday outside Medina Memorial with U.S. Sen. Charles Schemer. The senator said he is pushing for federal funding for a free Covid testing site in Orleans County.
Shurtz praised the local healthcare workers for stepping up during the Covid pandemic to serve residents, many who are critically ill.
“Our health workers are on the front lines of this pandemic every day,” Shurtz said at the conference.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 22 November 2020 at 9:15 am
Photo by Derek Reiner/Supportive Care of Orleans: Gilbert Cain of Medina, a volunteer at Supportive Care of Orleans (Hospice), was honored this week by the New York State Office for the Aging as an outstanding community service volunteer.
ALBION – Gilbert Cain has volunteered for Hospice (now known as Supportive Care of Orleans) since June 2015. This week, in celebration of the annual Older New Yorkers’ Day, Cain was recognized by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and director of the New York State Office for the Aging, Greg Olsen, in a virtual ceremony.
Because Cain does not have access to the internet, Supportive Care of Orleans streamed the broadcast for him at their Conference and Counseling Center on the Hospice grounds on Route 31 in Albion.
Hospice patients and family members are amazed all Cain does at the age of 85. He has mastered the hospice residence volunteer meal service position and now trains new volunteers. He won the 2018 Hospice of Orleans Volunteer of the Year Award for outstanding volunteer service. In 2019, he provided more than 700 hours of service.
“Gil is the kind of volunteer who takes time to learn people’s favorite foods and makes certain those foods are available,” said Derek Reiner, manager of Development and Public Relations at Supportive Care of Orleans. “Gil has been known to deliver spaghetti dinners, lemon pie and special donuts to patients at all hours of the day and night. Gil donates holiday meals prepared by Tops and Wegmans for residence patients and their families. He works at least six shifts per week in the Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence. Gil also participates in hospice fundraisers and is a friendly, welcoming face around the campus. We can’t wait to welcome Gil and all of our volunteers back to campus once the pandemic ends.”
Cain retired from Lipton’s after 38 years, where he worked as a distribution analyst. In addition to volunteering at Hospice, he is an active volunteer in his church.
Cain would tell others that volunteering is a great way to keep your mind and body busy.
“Volunteering and giving to others is a great way to lift your spirits and feel rewarded at the end of the day,” he said.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 22 November 2020 at 9:08 am
The Orleans County Retired Teachers’ Association has announced the donation of $100 each to a food pantry in each of Orleans County’s five school districts.
According to treasurer Ann Czajkowski of Newfane, the donations were made possible by a contribution of $500 to each of the 10 counties in the Central Western Zone of the Retired Educators of New York. The CWZ was able to do this because of the generosity of its members during the 2020 President’s Appeal, which created excess funds, Czajkowski said.
The $100 checks were given to Community Action in Albion, Medina Food Pantry at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Medina, Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley, Lyndonville/Yates Food Pantry in Lyndonville and the Kendall Food Pantry in Kendall.
Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying” holds special meaning this Thanksgiving. The lesson: don’t take for granted tomorrow and don’t hold back on your dreams. Click here for a video of McGraw’s song.
You never want to look back and wonder why you allowed yourself or others to hold you back. Life is a gift to delight in and hopefully not fear. Rise up each day as if it might be your last and live it like you were dying.
That perspective as depicted in the song would be a great gift. Run, skip, love, hug, show kindness. Know that God is with you, don’t be afraid. A positive perspective that propels me daily is, “I would rather die tomorrow knowing each day I lived life than live forever knowing I was afraid to live.”
It is the power of quality over quantity, because you never know what news you could get tomorrow that could change everything. A three-month illness was a true wakeup call, a turning point. When you lay in bed at night, sometimes in tears because there is so much pain, you tell yourself, “if I can get to the bottom of this illness and get myself better, I will never take my days and life for granted.”
I guess that is why I am so sensitive to feeling as if others are trying to hold us back. If illness falls upon me again, I don’t want to look back and say “I should of, when I could of.” And if you noticed I said “Get Myself” better. Never depend on others to keep you safe. That is up to you. Do what is needed to be your best self and allow yourself to live life to it’s fullest.
If you are not your best self take 100 percent pride in getting yourself there, if it is within your ability. If others are willing to make the sacrifice you must be willing to also look within yourself to be your best self. In the song he reads the Good Book and realizes that life is meant to be lived like you were dying.
We may not go skydiving or rocky mountain climbing, but we should hug often, laugh often, twirl around, sing, throw our hands up to the sky. Love deeper, forgive others, let the weight of the world evaporate and experience true joy. Don’t be someone who might wonder what they would do if they could do it all over again.
Tomorrow is a new day, a second chance. Start living like you were dying. Living life to the fullest, while becoming a better person. When you look back at your life, if it ended tomorrow, what do you hope to see? Make it happen now because tomorrow is never guaranteed. Travel, see those you love, hug them, laugh with them, share adventures with them. Because the dawn of a new day brings a new reality. Make that reality one that makes you feel fulfilled. What is on your Joy List?
Have a blessed Thanksgiving full of love, family and of course food. And Happy Birthday today to my husband Brian, who is 60!! Looking forward to many more adventures together. xoxo
Visit My Blog live online (click here) and catch up on Weekly Photo Perks and past Sunday Posts. Like and share your comments.
In an effort to keep our roadways safer during the Thanksgiving holiday, Orleans County law enforcement agencies are joining forces in a zealous effort to stop drinking and driving during a Thanksgiving DWI crackdown from Nov. 25 to Nov. 29.
As Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest drinking nights of the year, it is vital that law enforcement presence be at its peak on this night. People are encouraged to have a sober plan while traveling.
Although STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol-related fatalities, there are still too many lives lost due to DWI crashes.
You can help save lives, by not drinking and driving and having a sober plan for getting home.
Plan a safe way to get home.
Call for a ride from a sober friend, family member, taxi, public transportation, or Uber.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 November 2020 at 12:32 pm
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.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 21 November 2020 at 9:57 am
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.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 November 2020 at 6:29 pm
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.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 November 2020 at 4:47 pm
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.
