Public welcome to fill out online survey, email comments

MEDINA – The Medina Committee on Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative was planning a second public meeting on Wednesday to take comments from the community.

But the recent spike in Covid-19 cases locally prompted the committee to cancel the in-person meeting.

“With new restrictions being put in place, we want to make sure we’re taking the public health of the community into account with all of our actions,” said Scott Robinson, a member of the committee.

The committee has been reviewing current Medina Police Department policies and procedures, while also reviewing new additions and modifications for consideration.

Following the public comment received on September 23, the committee launched an email address and survey to increase participation in the process. Comments can be emailed to medinaprrc@gmail.com.

Click here for a link to the survey in English and click here for the survey in Spanish.

Through the remainder of 2020, the committee will be reviewing public comments, policy and procedure recommendations, and additional recommendations being offered by stakeholders from the community and committee.

On June 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated an executive order entitled the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The core objective was that each local government with a police department needed to review the policies, procedures, and strategies of the police department.

To achieve this, each head of government must work with the leader of the police department to compile a group of community stakeholders who will review these activities. In medina’s case, Mayor Mike Sidari and Police Chief Chad Kenward worked to form a committee.

The committee includes faith-based leaders, business owners, the district attorney, public defender, a representative of the public schools, and others.

Consistent with the Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order, after receiving community input, a plan will be submitted for acceptance to the Medina Village Board and provided to the state by April 1.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) this morning announced that the start for “High Risk” winter sports including basketball, wrestling, competitive cheerleading and ice hockey has been moved back to January 4, 2021.

The NYSPHSAA release added that until authorization is granted by state officials, NYSPHSAA member schools are not permitted to participate in sports determined to be high risk by the New York State Department of Health. (NYSDOH).

Low and moderate risk winter sports which includes swimming, will be permitted to begin on November 30th as previously determined by NYSPHSAA.

“The NYSPHSAA membership has expressed concerns pertaining to the increase in infection rates,” said  NYSPHSAA Executive Director Robert Zayas. “Minimizing risk and exposure to COVID-19 is a top priority of the Association. We continue to make these types of decisions based upon readily available information and communication with state officials.”

The release adds that low and moderate risk winter sports practices are still on schedule to begin on November 30th for those schools and sections who have determined it feasible to host interscholastic athletics at that time. Regular season games/contests can begin for low and moderate sports  once student-athletes have participated in the required number of practices.

“NYSPHSAA’s leadership recognizes the numerous challenges interscholastic programs are experiencing and the obstacles associated with resuming high risk sports,” said NYSPHSAA President Julie Bergman. “While it is certainly the goal of the Association to provide all students with the ability to participate in interscholastic athletics we must remain steadfast in our decisions to ensure the safety of our athletes is our focus.”

The release concludes by stating that “at this time all winter NYSPHSAA State Championship events remain as scheduled.”

Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments

BATAVIA – The Genesee County Health Department has received a positive Covid-19 test from an individual who was at The Harvester in Batavia last week, November 8th through the 14th.

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

We advise all individuals who were at The Harvester anytime last week 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.

Many volunteers, community members contribute to friendly environment

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Debbie Rothmund, coordinator of the Eastern Orleans Community Center, and volunteers Rachael Escobar and Hunter Rife get desserts ready for lunch at the Holley Center.

HOLLEY – Whether providing free holiday food boxes or a free lunch, or just offering a place for friendly conversation, the Eastern Orleans Community Center is a vibrant program of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

The center, led by coordinator Debbie Rothmund, provides a variety of services to the community, including an emergency food pantry, daily meals, free holiday food baskets, free clothing, family development/case management services, public access to computers with internet and more.

With all this, many of the people who visit the center, like a woman named Patti, come every day for the socialization.

“And the food is always good,” she said.

The Eastern Orleans Community Center partners with several local agencies to fight poverty and hunger on the eastern end of the county. These include FEMA Pro, St. Vincent de Paul from Rochester, Food Link and The Salvation Army.

National Honor Society students from Holley High School volunteered to put boxes together last week at the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley. The boxes were packed with food for Thanksgiving dinner for families in the Holley area.

Annette Finch, director of emergency services at Community Action, praised the cooperation from local organizations and people, such as the National Honor Society members at Holley High School. Last week they came to the center to fold boxes and help give out 60 Thanksgiving food boxes.

“We do it every year,” said high school senior Julia Buck.

Senior Kasey DeFrank said she likes to do it to help the community.

Rod Skehan, local treasurer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, said they have been involved for 40 years. They had always done some drive at Thanksgiving at their church, but with change in the laws, they now partner with the Community Center to provide Thanksgiving dinner to needy families.

“Through donations to our society, we are able to purchase turkeys, milk and bread to distribute to the families,” he said. “We utilize the Honor Society to tie it in with the community.”

Julie Tranello, standing, a volunteer at the Eastern Orleans Community Center, talks with center coordinator Debbie Rothmund in the dining room.

Finch said it is amazing what Rothmund does at the center. They average 750 meals a month, serving daily at 11:30 a.m. They play bingo on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“Through the pandemic shutdown, we never stopped,” Rothmund said. “We did take-outs instead.”

Rothmund, who has been at the Community Center for almost 20 years, also makes regular phone calls to the shut-ins to make sure they are alright.

The food pantry serves 60 families a month and food distributions benefit 600 households annually.

Patty’s Boutique next door provides free clothing, all of which is donated, to anyone. Volunteer Julie Tranello works at the boutique. The Center’s affiliation with The Salvation Army helps people facing eviction, utility shutoffs or needing prescriptions.

Carol Pietrzykowski, seated, new fiscal director at Community Action, enjoys lunch at the Eastern Orleans Community Center. Talking to her, from left, are Community Action’s director of emergency services, Annette Finch, and volunteers Maria Fernandez and Kerri Glover from Maison Albion.

The center is always looking for volunteers, such as Kerri Glover, new owner of Maison Albion (formerly the Pillars) on County House Road in Albion, and her venue coordinator Maria Fernandez. Kerri, her husband Cole and son Benjamin, 12, visited the center last week, where Kerri volunteered to help serve lunch.

After purchasing the Pillars, the Glovers were looking for a non-profit agency to support, and she learned about Community Action. After meeting with Finch, she asked where she could volunteer. Maison Albion is planning a grand opening celebration on Dec. 12 and will be doing a fundraiser for Community Action at that event, which will be in-person and virtual.

The Eastern Orleans Community Center welcomes all residents. Finch’s invitation is to “Stop by, meet our friendly staff, get answers to your questions, have a cup of coffee, play a game of cards or bingo or just have fun.”

The Center is located at 75 Public Square in Holley.

Annette Finch, left, director of emergency services at Community Action, opens a pizza for lunch at the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley. Looking on is center coordinator Debbie Rothmund. Hunter Rife, at right, comes every day to volunteer.

Highs will be in 50s later this week

Photo by Tom Rivers: A barn and field of corn are pictured Monday on Keitel Road, near Zig Zag Road in Albion.

The area could see some snow showers this morning before 9, with rain and snow showers also likely between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Today is forecast for a high of 37 in Orleans County. It will be blustery tonight with a low of 27 and a chance for 1 to 2 inches of snow, the Weather Service said.

On Wednesday, there is also a chance for snow showers, possibly mixing with rain after noon, then gradually ending. It will be mostly sunny on Wednesday, with a high near 35. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch is possible, the Weather Service said.

The high temperatures then go up the rest of the week with 54 on Thursday, 58 on Friday and 54 on Saturday.

Orleans could eliminate 8 full-time positions and 12 part-time jobs

ALBION – Jack Welch, in his first year as Orleans County’s chief administrative officer, submitted the county’s tentative budget today. For months Welch has expressed concern about the county finances with declining state revenues, and potential hits in sales tax.

The 121-page document submitted today shows a spending plan that increases spending by 2.16 percent, from $71,711,638 to $73,262,025.

Jack Welch

It would increase taxes by 1.66 percent, with the tax levy going up by $299,798 — from $18,009,699 to $18,309,497.

The tax rate would increase by 1.11 percent or 11 cents, from $9,87 to $9.98 per $1,000 of assessed property.

Welch said the budget faces uncertainty with the state, if the governor and Legislature will pull back funding in 2021.

“The financial challenges we are experiencing include our businesses being restricted in their operations due to the changing Covid-19 operating guidelines that must be followed,” Welch said in his budget message. “This has affected our residents purchasing from local businesses which has changed the historical patterns of sales tax revenue for 2020. Therefore forecasting 2021 sales tax revenues is challenging at best.”

Some budget stresses are certain. The county will be paying 20 percent more in retirement contributions. That’s because the stock market was at a low point on March 31, and that’s the date the state comptroller takes the valuation of the retirement fund to set retirement rates for 2021.

The county also faces a 19 percent increase in health insurance premiums for 2021 due to  rising pharmaceutical costs in the county’s health plan.

The county also is in a two-year annual sales tax diversion of $190,274 for “Fiscally Distressed Health Facilities,” which was imposed by the state.

“Of course we have had to plan for continued use of PPE for our employees as well as for heightened cleaning and disinfecting of our facilities in 2021,” Welch said.

The budget meets a goal of county legislators in maintaining core services while staying within the state tax cap.

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, same since 2019
• $3,000 to GO Art!

The tentative 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. The county is adding eight full-time positions, but eliminating 16 for a net reduction of eight.

The new positions include two in Office for the Aging, two in highway administration, one in public health, one in computer services, one in emergency services, and one in real property tax services.

The full-time reductions include four in the Sheriff’s Department, three in the highway department, three in mental health, three in probation, two positions in social services, and one in the county jail. (The four deputy positions in the Sheriff’s Department that are being eliminated were assigned to courthouse security, which has since been taken over by the state. New York was paying the county for security, but is now staffing it with state court security officers.)

The number of part-time employees also will be down by 12 from 95 to 83. Those changes include two less part-timers in real property (from 2 to 0), one less in the public safety communication system (from 6 to 5), six less in the Sheriff’s Office (from 6 to 0), one less in the jail (from 12 to 11), one less in emergency management (from 10 to 9) and one more in social services (from 4 to 5).

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

“The current fee will continue to support the e-waste collection efforts for county residents at three sites across Orleans County,” Welch said. “The program remains very popular, with high demand for the disposal of CRT monitors and televisions. The county is also planning to continue to offer the Household Hazardous Waste pick up annually.”

Orleans passes 500 cases since March; 2 counties have nearly 1,000 people on mandatory quarantine

Orleans County is reporting 25 new confirmed Covid-19 cases today in the first update since Friday. Genesee County is reporting 78 new cases. The two counties combined are reporting that 843 people are on mandatory quarantine with 633 in Genesee and 210 in Orleans.

The new confirmed cases in Orleans are in nine out of the 10 towns: Albion, Barre, Carlton, Clarendon, Gaines, Murray, Ridgeway, Shelby and Yates. Kendall is the only town without a new case since Friday.

The new cases are in all of the age groups categorized by the local Health Department: 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

The Genesee & Orleans County health Departments are reporting three of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

In Orleans, 18 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list. The county now has six people hospitalized due to Covid-19.

• The Villages – The Health Department has been notified that 2 residents of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive, the first new cases in the nursing home in several months. The Villages has now had 60 residents test positive during the pandemic. No further information will be shared by the Health Department.

• Medina Central School – The Health Department has been notified that one staff member of the Medina Central School District has tested positive. The individual is on mandatory isolation until they recover. Contact tracing has been done for those who are considered close contacts and will be on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual.

In Genesee County, there are 78 new confirmed cases from Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The county has now had 580 positive cases since March. This report reconciles the positive cases from last week including the 30 reported on Friday.

The new positive cases includes residents in 13 communities – Alabama, Alexander, Batavia, Bergen, Bethany, Byron, Darien, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield, Pavilion, Pembroke and Stafford.

The new cases also include all of the age groups – 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Nine of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said in a news briefing this evening.

Genesee is reporting that 31 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

There are currently 5 Genesee residents hospitalized due to Covid.

Two of the active positive cases are residents from The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Batavia and one is a resident at the Batavia VA Medical Center.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital is hosting a series of focus groups this week in an effort to obtain community/consumer-based input on the services provided through the local healthcare system.

The local healthcare provider also wants to hear if there are any barriers residents may have experienced or know what others may experience when it comes to receiving proper healthcare throughout the county.

Anyone who lives or works in Orleans County is welcome to participate in these groups, according to Jessica Capurso, director of Outreach, Education and Marking at the hospital’s Community Partners.

All sessions will be presented in a hybrid format, meaning one can attend in person at the Shelby Fire Hall or attend virtually through a Zoom call. Due to the quick pace of the sessions, they will be limited to 10 participants each.

Session times and dates are 1 or 5:30 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18; 1 p.m. only on Nov. 19 and 5:30 p.m. only on Nov. 20.

For all those who attend in person at Shelby Fire Hall, a light meal, snacks and refreshments will be provided. Masks, sanitizer and temperature checks will be required upon entering the facility, and social distancing will be practiced throughout the event.

Registration is required by e-mailing Heather Smith, Orleans Community Health Foundation director, at hsmith@medinamemorial.org or calling her at (585) 798-8426.

In your e-mail or voice message, please be sure to include name, e-mail, phone number, date and time of the session you want to attend and indicate if you are attending in person or through Zoom. For those attending via Zoom, Smith will send a link to log in before noon the day of the meeting.

Smith extended thanks to Shelby Fire hall for donating their space for these sessions.

“We appreciate their dedication to improving healthcare throughout our community,” Smith said.

Press Release, Sheriff Chris Bourke

ALBION — In the month of October, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department 911 Dispatch Center processed 2,159 police incidents, including 947 events for the Sheriff’s Road Patrol, 208 for the New York State Police and 1,004 calls for the village police agencies of Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina.

There were also 622 Fire/EMS-related calls dispatched countywide with 475 of those calls emergency in nature and three drug overdoses.

Sheriff’s Department road deputies handled 57 automobile accidents, including four with injury and 40 car-deer collisions. Road patrol also made 116 service attempts and successfully served 53 subpoenas, civil or court papers.

The Sheriff’s Animal Control Division handled 118 incidents with 26 stray or loose animals, two animal bite complaints, nine neighbor-dog problems, and several other miscellaneous animal calls. In addition, nine animals were taken in to the shelter on a voluntary surrender.

ALBION – Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is shifting its annual holiday effort for local families to gift cards instead of presents.

Annette Finch, director of community service for the agency, doesn’t want to put volunteers and staff for Community Action at risk of contracting Covid-19.

“I’m not putting my volunteers, staff or families in jeopardy,” Finch said today. “We’re doing this differently. It’s the sign of the times. I’m not jeopardizing anyone who volunteers with me or who works the agency.”

Community Action expects to serve about 150 families in Albion, Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville for the holiday drive, but Finch said that number could go up given the economic challenges this year during a pandemic.

Nov. 25 is the deadline for families interested in applying for a gift card through Community Action. People should contact Michelle Figueroa, a Community Action case manager, at (585) 589-5605, ext. 105. Figueroa will set up an appointment.

The size of the gift cards will vary depending on the size of a family. The gift cards are all for Walmart. People who receive the gift cards will then pick out the presents for their children.

Community Action will include food baskets with the gift cards. The agency also will be welcoming the Albion FFA for its annual food drive, with produce delivered to the agency on Dec. 12. That food is shared with several local food pantries.

Finch encouraged anyone with a shortage of food to call Community Action anytime during the year.

“No one should have to go hungry,” she said.

Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments

BATAVIA – The Genesee County Health Department has received a positive Covid-19 test from an individual who was at Bourbon & Burger restaurant in Batavia on:

• Thursday, Nov. 5, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 6, between 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 7, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Nov. 9, between 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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

We advise all individuals who were at Bourbon & Burger on the stated dates and times 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.

Provided photo: This is the Memorial Tree in the lobby of Medina Memorial Hospital last year. OCH Foundation has decided to put the tree up this year.

MEDINA – A longtime tradition of honoring loved ones will continue this year at Orleans Community Health.

The hospital Foundation has announced it will be able to put up the annual memorial tree in the lobby of Medina Memorial Hospital, according to Foundation director Heather Smith.

“This is a tradition I look forward to every year, and I am especially excited to do it this year,” Smith said. “It is a special opportunity to hang an ornament in memory and honor of family, friends and other loved ones.”

Smith said the tree has been a tradition for many years, but she isn’t sure how long they’ve been doing it. She does remember the first one had apple ornaments.

This year’s ornament is a copper-colored angel, which is similar in design to one of the ornaments last year, Smith said. The price remains at $10 per ornament.

The Foundation is offering an option this year of having the ornament mailed, so purchasers won’t have to come into the hospital to pick it up after the holidays.

The ornaments may be ordered online or by mailing in an order with the name of who the ornament is in memory of, and a check payable to OCH Foundation, 200 Ohio St., Medina. Ornaments are $10 each, plus $5 for mailing or $8 for mailing two.

Ornaments will be available for mailing or pick up at the hospital after Jan. 8.

Anyone wishing more information may call Smith at (585) 798-8426.

Donations will be shared with MAAC, Community Action for their Christmas efforts with local families

MEDINA – The annual Parade of Lights in downtown Medina has also been a chance for a one-day toy drive, with community members dropping off gifts and donations at Canalside Tattoo on Main Street in Medina.

Those gifts and donations are then shared with Medina Area Association of Churches for its Christmas Box Program and also to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

But this year, the parade won’t pass through the downtown and there won’t be several thousand people gathered for a holiday celebration.

Instead, Medina is doing a “reverse parade” at the school campus on Nov. 28, with the floats stationary and people driving by to see them decorated displays.

Andrew Szatkowski, chairman of the annual toy drive, decided to instead do a “Santa Hat Drive” at the parade where people can donate money, in a similar manner that they give to boot drives by firefighters.

“We didn’t want to give up because we have been gaining momentum,” Szatkowski said about the annual toy drive. “We want to give people a chance to chip in.”

The money from the Santa Hat Drive will be used to supplement the toys and clothing given by MAAC to Medina families. Some of the proceeds will also go to Community Action, which this year is shifting from giving presents to gift cards. The agency will continue to give families food baskets with a turkey or ham in a sealed package.

Szatkowski in the first three toy drives offered an incentive where people could win one of 20 packages donated by local businesses. For every $5 spent, people would get a chance to win a package.

But Szatkowski didn’t want to ask local businesses to donate to a package this year, given the difficult economic climate in the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is more information about the “Santa Hat Drive” on a Facebook event page, including an option to use Venmo to send money for the effort.

Canalside Tattoo also is selling some whimsical calendars of their staff as a benefit for the toy fund drive. Erin Townsend took the photos. Click here for more information.

LYNDONVILLE – The village will have its 8^th annual display of Christmas trees at Veterans Park from early December through at least Jan. 1.

There won’t be a festival or big bash when the lights are turned on for the first time for the collection of trees, like there has been in years past.

But there will still be display for people to enjoy during the holidays. Lyndonville has already sold 42 trees and the deadline is Thursday to purchase one. Many residents, businesses and community organizations have bought them in the past and then decorated them.

The village started the tradition in 2013 with 26 trees, and it has grown each year since with 76 last year. The $30 fee covers the cost of the tree, materials for the sign, lead cords, replacement cords and adapters as needed. Participants provide lights and decorations.

For more information, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Part of a tree on East Park Street fell last evening when high winds barreled through the region.

National Grid is reporting 201 of its customers in Orleans County are without power this morning, as of 7:56 a.m.

The company is “assessing condition” as it works to restore electricity with numerous outages around the region.

National Grid is reporting 10,580 customers without electricity in upstate this morning, including 4,602 in Erie County, 2,499 in Chautauqua, 1,336 in Niagara, 1,036 in Cattaraugus, 201 in Orleans and 13 in Genesee.

In Orleans County, the biggest outage is in Albion affecting 95 customers. That outage is east of Route 98 and south of Route 31.

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